In a previous blog entry I mentioned that when I travel light (photographically) there’s a particular bag that I keep packed and ready to go. That bag is my Manfrotto (Stile Collection) Unica VII Messenger Bag.
Monthly Archives: April 2012
Photographing Shuttle Discovery (Part 3)
For my third (and final) entry on my experience photographing the arrival of Space Shuttle Discovery I thought I’d talk a bit about the history of this particular space shuttle and what it was like to see her arrive. I’ll share a few facts along with my best pictures from a great day of seeing history.
While I was at the National Air And Space Museum (Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center) I had an opportunity to meet a man named Robert A. Adamcik who wrote a great book about Discovery called “Voyages of Discovery”. I’ll be using that book to keep my facts correct in this blog entry.
Photographing Shuttle Discovery (part 2)
After making her first pass over the National Air & Space Museum (Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center) Space Shuttle Discovery left to make her appearance over Washington DC. Since she would be gone for a little while I used this time to review my images, transfer some of my favorites to my iPad and to change compact flash memory cards.
Since this is a photography blog I thought I’d spend a little time talking about my equipment choices and the camera settings I used.
Photographing Shuttle Discovery (part 1)
On Tuesday April 17, 2012 I woke up early and drove into Chantilly, VA to try to be part of the historic arrival of the Space Shuttle Discovery. This was a decision I made when I first heard she would be flying in on the back of a 747 and I knew I wanted to get to see this historic moment.
When I learned that the shuttle would be flying around Washington DC I was conflicted about where I should go to get my once in a lifetime shots.
Quick Light (Using Only What You Brought)
As a location photographer I’m usually quick to break out as much lighting gear as possible. To me there’s almost no photographic problem that more light can’t solve (when it’s done correctly).
But sometimes you’re completely limited by the place where you’re working, the rules of the location or (in extreme situations) what you happened to bring with you. When it’s a really big job I over pack gear like you can’t imagine. But sometimes an unexpected job comes along that requires you to think on your feet and use what you have (often in ways that it was never intended). Today I did just such a thing to photograph my girlfriends grandmother.
Customer Service Done Right
As a business owner I think about customer service a lot. I think about how I like to be treated when I have an issue and I try to remember how I want to be treated when a client has an issue.
A few days ago I got to experience customer service at a level unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
When it comes to Mpix Pro I was already impressed from past experiences with the customer service department. But what they did for me and my family on this occasion was absolutely out of this world.
Making Yourself Easier To Find On Google+
It’s no secret that I am a big fan of Google+.
It’s been a great new way for me to connect with other photographers as well as being a cool way to talk about my current projects and share some of my personal techniques with my camera and in Photoshop/Lightroom.
So far a lot of people have found me on Google + without very much effort on my part. But the people who have found me were already on Google+. What about all the people who still haven’t created an account? To make it easier to find me I created an “easy URL” to help people find me on Google+.
Here’s how I did it using godaddy.com (along with some screen captures).
How Google+ Enhanced My Photoshop World Experience
Photoshop World (Washington, DC 2012) ended on March 27th and it was my very first PSW. I heard from a lot of instructors and attendees that this was “the best Photoshop World yet.” I spent a lot of time absorbing my personal experience and a thought hit me that could help explain why Photoshop World DC was so special for me.
There is no doubt all of the planning, preparation and hard work by +Scott Kelby and his incredible team are among the biggest reasons the convention was such a success. But I think that another very small difference from previous years helped to make my first Photoshop World special.
My All New Photography Blog
Welcome to my all new blog site.
Now that I’ve given up on using Photoshop, Flash, After Effects, Fireworks and Dreamweaver to create webpages I should have a much easier time keeping things up here.
I discovered the joys of posting on Google+ right around the time I started getting too busy to update HTML code for every new entry. Because Google+ is so easy (and fun) my blog totally suffered. But Photoshop World DC reminded me of the importance of keeping a blog in addition to being social. So I decided to start from scratch and this time I’m taking advantage of Word Press.