the 2013 Presidential Inauguration | My Experience and some Pictures from the Inauguration


On Monday (January 21, 2013) I attended the 2013 Presidential Inauguration. This was the historic second inauguration of Presiden Barack Obama and while it didn’t draw the same size crowd as the first inauguration it was still the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen. According to the news over 800,000 people attended the inauguration ceremonies (with some estimates over one million) and it was officially one of the highest attendances for a second inauguration of a president. For this blog entry I want to share my experience and some pictures from the inauguration.

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Flash Grids | A Must Have Accessory for Controlling Your Light


Today I want to talk about Flash Grids and why they are a must have accessory for controlling your light. Getting the most from your flash involves taking control. It’s important to place your flash where it will create the best illumination and shadows. On my hot-shoe flash I almost always keep a Sto-fen difusser attached to help soften and scatter the light for more pleasing results. Another great accessory I use often is a flag (also called a bounce card, flash bender or 80-20). People who follow me on this blog also know that I’m a huge user of colored gels to create unique looks or to match my flash with the available light. But another way to take control of your flash is to use an accessory called a grid. In this blog I’ll talk about the hot-shoe flash grid system I use.

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Interior Photography | My Two Light Approach for Getting the Shot


For this blog entry I’ll be talking about interior photography and sharing my two light approach for getting the shot. I’ll be sharing some behind the scenes images of a recent shot I shared here on my blog. The shot was of a living room that featured a fireplace and a Christmas Tree. The challenge wan’t getting a shot of the room, the challenge was in creating exactly the shot I had in my mind. Instead of just pointing my camera at the room I ended up using two flashes and a few post-processing techniques to create my image.

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