I got to shoot this great guitar. Great study in composition, lens selection, lighting and exposure.

Julia Margaret Cameron_Photographer



Born 197 years ago (1815) Julia Margaret Cameron became a legendary female British photographer shooting portraits of celebrities during her time, many with an Arthurian theme. Many of her portraits are the only remaining record of many historical figures, including Charles Darwin, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning. Read more HERE @ Photography News. More images HERE @ Preus museum's Flickr photostream.

My Interview with Sinar Bron Imaging

Sinar Bron Imaging recently interviewed me on their Big Blog. Bron Imaging makes professional camera and lighting equipment. What attracted their attention was a stop motion animation that I did. It's an interesting and fun read, it also gives you a little insight into my world. Check it out HERE, @ Bron Imaging Blog.

Personal Work

This test shot was a practice and study in lighting, composition and prop gathering. It is a shot editorial in nature, of mens accessories. Working closely with my wonderful photo stylist Kevin Hardiek, (see his web site HERE) this shot came together so fast and with such ease that I was scratching my head and asking myself if it really could be this easy. But in reality we discussed this photo extensively for three weeks prior, and we gathered all our props and we knew exactly what we were after. With proper planning and dialog, the execution of this photo went surprisingly smooth and flawless. See more at my portfolio HERE.

CURRENT EVENTS IN ADVERTISING:

Current Events in advertising: Mercedes Benz makes their new car invisible. This new vehicle runs on a hydrogen fuel cell and emits zero emissions. I.E. Invisible to the environment. So to promote the car the company decided to make the car invisible.

Photographer_Dennis Manarchy

Dennis Manarchy, a Chicago photographer who reached iconic status in the 1980's is on a mission to build the "Mother of All Cameras", a 35 foot film camera mounted on a flatbed trailer to photograph images of "Vanishing Cultures" project. This project will feature Holocaust Survivors, members of small Native American Tribes, and the survivors of the Tuskegee Airmen to name just a few. More story HERE @Workbook. Dennis Manarchy web site HERE. See more or contribute HERE.

What's it like shooting with a 35-foot camera?

"Two days of preparation results in 1/1000th of a second flash exposure and I have only one chance to get it right. I literally focus half-way down an eyelash. If the subject moves, it's out of focus...if they blink, it's a disaster...and if their expression is off the portrait suffers. I must say that the length of time it takes with the subject creates a special bond that I would never want to lose...and that moment is captured in every one of these portraits."

--Dennis Manarchy

CNN Firing Editors and Photojournalists

Recently CNN has fired Editors and Photojournalists in a bid to save money and reduce redundancy created by their i-reporters. Everyday people sending in video and photos to air on CNN for free. Kind of absurd to think people would prefer a free i-report sent in by...the kid across the street...? or a report or story done by professionals, especially these days of competitiveness when actual content is again becoming so important. Here, Steven Colbert brings a satrical comedy to the notion of "Free Reporters"

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Julius Neubronner_Inventor of Pigeon Camera

Julius Neubronner, born 160 years ago was a pioneer of amateur photography. He is best known for inventing the pigeon camera for aerial photography and was used for military air surveillance during WWI. See more HERE @ Photography News.

Gimme Some Water

Photographer Jaroslav Wieczorkiewicz made these shots by throwing buckets of water in a controlled manner and using very minimal photoshop too. Good story at Strobist HERE of how he shot it.

Stop Action Test

Here is a test I did the other day of a boot and water splashing on it. I used a black boot on a black background and two lights positioned on each side and to the back of the boot. My flash duration was set to burn at 1/8000 of a second.

Ryan Enn Hughes_Photographer

Photographer Ryan Enn Hughes 360 degree project took 48 interconnected DSLR cameras to produce. Check his videos he produced using this technique and the behind the scenes video showing how he accomplished this task. See full story at PDN HERE. Ryan's web site HERE.

KRUMP 360 (The 360 Project) from Ryan Enn Hughes on Vimeo.

BALLET 360 (The 360 Project) from Ryan Enn Hughes on Vimeo.

The 360 Project - Behind the Scenes from Ryan Enn Hughes on Vimeo.

Photographer_Patrick Hall on Wakeboarding in Studio

Great idea, wonderful execution and results. And this guy is a wedding photographer! Watch the video. From Fstoppers HERE. Patrick Hall photography HERE.

Fstoppers Original: The Wakeboard Studio Shoot from FStoppers on Vimeo.

Photographer_Don McCullin

"I was sleeping next to bodies and things (in Hue)... and then you say, 'What the hell's this got to do with photography?' 'Who am I?' 'Where the hell have I just been?' 'What's happened to me?'"

110 STORIES_Interesting app for IPhone

Orient your phone towards where the Twin Towers once stood and this free app will draw in the Towers exactly where they would be. Submit the photo and a story about why you felt compelled to take the photo and your submission is published on the 110 Stories web site and added to a global repository of memories and stories. 110 Stories web site HERE.

Photographer_Jake Chessum

Photographer Jake Chessum (his site here) has celebrity photos posted at Life.com (HERE) along with personal stories about the photo shoots which I found interesting. I like his story about shooting Alec Baldwin not to mention the great photos he got:

ome quick thinking -- and a fortuitous playdate Chessum had set up for his daughter near the Hamptons location -- helped save a shoot with Alec Baldwin when the actor arrived late, then refused to go sailing as planned: "It's 105 degrees outside. [Baldwin] calls me over: 'Sit down, sit down. Umm,' he said, 'I'm not going out on the boat. It's too hot. It's 20 f---ing minutes to get out, and you have to go 2 f---ing miles an hour. . . . I'm not doing it.' It's like, What do you mean? But you can't argue with him -- he's not going to change his mind. So I'm thinking on my feet and I say, 'Okay, what about we go to my friend's pool?' He looked me up and down -- I'm pretty scruffy -- and he said, 'Your friend doesn't have a f---ing pool.' And I'm like, 'Trust me, my friend has got a pool, and it's about half a mile away from here.' So he kind of looks at me and goes, 'Yeah, all right.'""So I texted my friend, Lisa, and I asked, 'Can I bring Alec Baldwin to your house?' And she texted back: 'The answer would be yes.' We turned up and they had their whole family there because it was their hangout; it was like grandstands on the deck. Alec grabbed my daughter's friend Georgia, stood on a surfboard, and promptly fell in fully clothed in some Ralph Lauren suit. He did sharks and threw them in the air. He did 20-25 minutes, and then he got out, dried off, got in his car, and drove away. "

Scott Witter_Photographer

I came across this Los Angeles photographer and really enjoyed some of his work. I have been shooting dogs at the local animal shelter for our company and the previous post here is also dog themed so this photographers work about people and their dogs seems perfectly timed. But there is something else here that I like about Scotts Dog People project, he put a lot of effort into the project before he even started shooting, and it shows. The people, locations, lighting, clothing, all well thought out before-hand. "The next two months consisted of passing out flyers, casting, scouting, scheduling, concepting, and most importantly, shooting (my favorite part). Every dog had its own unique personality as well as a special bond with their human companion. Eighteen photo sessions, numerous lighting set-ups, four 10oz bags of dog treats, many long hours behind the computer later… "

Check out his great project and photography here at Scott Witter website

Read more about the Dog People project at Scott's blog here

The Psych of Great Photography

Great photography can sell anything. Its so powerful really great photography is like a legal scam prompting you to buy something wether you need it or not. This video from Sunday Morning show demonstrates the influence good images can have on people, wether its dogs or cloths the psych is the same.

A Canon announcement Coming Soon_

Hmmm, I think this will be BIG...not little! Check out more here @ PetaPixel.

Chicago_Tilt, Shift, Time-Lapse

AIRVENTURE_THE GREATEST SHOW ON (AND OFF) EARTH

I will be updating my portfolio soon with new images included from AirVenture, Oshkosh, Wi. Here are a few.

CHRIS BUCK: "ISN'T"

Photographer_Chris Buck

A great portrait photographer who recently shot the Michelle Bachman Newsweek cover photo. I'm not sure how the actual shoot went, or who the art director was, and I'm also not saying it is a great cover, but Chris Buck is a great photographer. See his website HERE.

The Real Deal

Images of me assisting Photographer Al Lada (Flickr page HERE) in Chicago during the early 80's. FILM! You had to get it right the first time by knowing your craft and having the confidence in your professional abilities. A huge learning curve for a young aspiring photographer. After shooting all day on location you would see your finished photos a day or more later, no checking the back of the camera for an acceptable image. No photoshop. Time management, even then some shots required more time than others, but it was never a cookie cutter situation putting out mediocre photography (or what I call...Making Sausage), every shot counted. We were selling merchandise, big time. The image sells it. The books prove it. Today, most of your internet photography and a hell of a lot of your catalog photography is people making cheap, quick images, 20 maybe 30 or even more a day. And well, it looks like it. That will change. Thats why I love the current tough economy. "Making sausage" in your photo studio is not going to endure. The consumer demands a better product and will pay for it, if it is value oriented. The advertising needs to be professional and creative enough to spur that decision. Great photography is the single best investment a company can make to break through the clutter and sell merchandise. Glad I was able to work and learn from some of the best in a professional atmosphere when the value of commercial photography was taken much more serious. Thanks Al.

Photographer_ John C. H. Grabill

This is interesting, very little is known about John C. H. Grabill but his photographs exhibit a level of mastery of technique equal to the greatest of the frontier photographers. What is known is that he opened a studio in Sturgis, Dakota Territory in 1886 and had studios in Hot Springs, Lead, and Deadwood, Dakota Territory through 1891. He then moved to Chicago and operated a studio until 1894, at which point no other information about Grabill is available. Most of what is known about Grabill's career as a photographer comes from a group of 188 photographs he sent to the Library of Congress for copyright protection. These photographs document early frontier life including western town landscapes, Native Americans, mining, and exclusive photos in the aftermath of the Wounded Knee Massacre on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Check out an excellent collection HERE @ the denverpost.com. Check out the full collection HERE @ the Library of Congress.

Tim Hetherington_Photographer

Award - winning war photographer Tim Hetherington was killed on April 20, 2011 while covering the conflict in Libya. In 2007 Hetherington began a year long assignment following American troops in Afgahanistan's Korengal Valley, this assignment turned into a documentary called "Restrepo" that was nominated for a 2010 Oscar. See a collection of Tim's photos for Vanity Fair HERE. See Restrepo Trailer HERE. New York Times HERE.