A couple of months ago Gina & I got to take a trip to NYC for work & play. Who am I kidding—most of my work is play. One of my favorite photographers & online friends, Ryan Brenizer was hosting a workshop at his Manhattan home. Since I appreciate his creativity, the way he pushes himself I figured this would be a workshop that’s right up my alley. Plus, who could turn down a trip to one of the most exciting cities in the world. It was amazing. I can’t wait to get back there. Here are some pictures from the trip.

These first photos were taken during the workshop. There were many others but it’s really important that I only show photos that are my vision & not Ryan’s or anyone else’s.  So these photos are all set up by me & not technically ‘workshop’ photos. I have plenty of those, but you’ll never see them because I don’t think it’s fair to try to pass off photos that were set up by someone else as my own. I think it’s a little silly when photographers post photos from a workshop where every photographer has the exact same photos that they all took in the same place, during the same time, of the same models.

I also have to add that the workshop was immensely valuable to me. In addition to the techniques that I’ve already implemented to great success, it was a great time to recharge my photographic batteries. Ryan answered every question & was an outstanding host. I can’t imagine a workshop that holds a better value. If the workshop mirrors the value he gives his clients, those are some very lucky people.

The view from Ryan’s roof.

Valerie (an incredible photographer herself) was a wonderful model & completely up for adventure. So when I wandered from the group while in Central Park & found this stream, waterfall, & sun combo, I ran back to the group & asked Valerie & a couple of other photographers to come check out what I found, she was completely up for it. This is the result. Magic.

I felt like that shot needed a full crop to see it’s full beauty.

After that shot, I ran around the big rock & saw the light hitting her. Again, magic.

Not a bad location for a workshop.

Valerie again. While waiting for the subway to take us to Harlem I figured it was a good time to take some photos.

Getting our learning on.

In Central Park. I’m convinced it wasn’t an accident that Ryan stopped to teach by this tree. See Ryan’s book, “Subliminal teaching techniques.”

Some NYC wildlife was on display.

An amazing place. Inspiring on so many levels. All photos in MOMA were taken with the Fuji x100.

Jackson Pollock. I spent a solid 15 minutes staring at this piece, section by section, & as a whole. Seeing it in person was definitely a highlight of the trip. The textures are shocking. Half of the beauty is lost by viewing it on a paper page. I tried to capture it in my close up (my current desktop photo). The textures of all the pieces were wonderful to see. I’d seen so many of the works on display in 2D. They beg to be seen in 3D.

ICP, AKA the International Center of Photography. No photos allowed inside for obvious reasons. 9/11 memorial was on display. I’ll never forget some of the photos on display. The power of photography was on full display.

Got to meet up with some friends & walk around. Brittany (during her USA walkabout), Heidi, Dennis (the only local among us), & Luis.

Some attempts at street photography.

I love contrasts. Especially the contrasts of buildings & trees. Normally in NYC you’re surrounded by buildings & can see some trees. Central park makes the opposite true.

Central Park. One of my favorite places in the world. Even while suffering with massively bruised ribs I had to go for a run in Central Park. Every step hurt, but it was fun crossing the New York City Marathon finish line which was set up for the race.

On the streets of NYC.

What can I say, I love taking picture of couples. It’s what I do.

So many landmarks that, to me, had before only existed in movies, music, & on TV.

The only place in the world where you hear the word ‘subway’ & sandwiches are the second thing you think of.

The amazing food was one of the things I miss most about NYC. Our hotel was on the edge of Hell’s Kitchen. Since we walked most places, there was great food everywhere. These photos were taken at eatery nyc. Yumm.

We stayed at the Hudson New York Hotel. This is the lobby. Definitely a cool place. I could have spent hours photographing the different places just in the hotel. Our room was TINY. I’d have taken a photograph of it, but my macro lens wouldn’t fit inside. But that’s what you get when you want to stay a block away from Central Park. Hey, it’s Gina (talking to our girls)!

The end.

**For the best viewing experience, open up the first photo & use the left & right arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate through the photos.**

Here’s Lindsey & David’s engagement session we shot in downtown Spokane. We had a blast getting these shots. At least I did, & they said they did. That’s good enough for me.

**For the best viewing experience, open up the first photo & use the left & right arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate through the photos.**

Amber & Alex got to participate in one of my favorite activities recently for their engagement photos. I call it the “jump in the car & drive in that direction” photo shoot. To be honest we knew we were heading in the direction of Liberty Lake, but beyond that, we didn’t know where we were going. I really love the excitement of looking for a spot to shoot when it’s somewhere I’ve never been before. Fortunately we found some incredible locations that I’m sure I’ll be going back to regularly.

First off, I have the best clients. I don’t know why I’m so lucky. I love hanging out with these couples & getting to know them. Amber & Alex were no exception. We were laughing the whole time & I can’t wait to shoot their wedding!

This photo shoot had it’s share of wildlife. First there were some deer running around us while I took the photo on the walking bridge. Then we got to watch the osprey hunt over the lake. Then a dragonfly landed on Amber’s shoulder. Then we made our way to the ‘forest’ & there were bats, owls, & mosquitoes. I didn’t do so well with the mosquitoes—not sure where the bats were on that one. Then while editing photos I saw an eyeball of something reflecting back at me. Not sure what it was, but it was some kind of animal watching us (you can see the orange dot in the last photo about 150 pixels to the right of Alex’s shoulder). Creepy.

For photographers: The forest shots were shot with 2 lights, an AB800 8′ up at camera right & a Nikon SB600 at 3′ about 25′ behind A & A pointing at the trees. Some adjustments made in LR. None in Photoshop. The best thing is that the final photos look exactly how they looked in my head.

I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a while, and a photo I took last night gave me a good opportunity to get to it. I hope to make it a regular feature. If anybody reading this has a good suggestion for one of my photos you’d like to see deconstructed then let me know in the comments or send me an email.

This shot stems from needing a portrait for a local online arts magazine, SPOKE(a)N(e), that was doing a profile on my photography and I thought it would be a good opportunity to play around with some ideas I’d had (see the interview here). The full concept came together in a quick brainstorm while standing in the back yard where Gina was fixing the treehouse ladder and the girls were riding their bikes & scooters with their friends.

1. AlienBee 800 with a beauty dish & grid. 1/2 power. This is the main light that’s lighting the front of me and the front of the treehouse.

2. Vivitar 285 flash on 1/2 power. Gives me some separation from the dark background as an effective rim light.

3. Olympus Fl-36 fl on 1/4 power propped up on the tree & shot through a 20″ softbox. This light is meant to light the girls. Had to have Kelsey lean way forward & Reagan stand in back with baby G in the middle (& standing on a foot stool) so the light would hit them all.

4. Another Vivitar flash sitting under an umbrella behind the girls in the treehouse. Not sure of the power & it was meant to separate the girls from the sky. Didn’t exactly do what I needed. I probably should have propped it up on a tripod so it was higher.

5. Rebounder/trampoline that launched me in the air. If only I could carry one of these on the basketball court, I could probably dunk.:)

6. The most expensive prop ever. My Nikon D3. Didn’t even turn it on.

This was shot with my soon to be sold Olympus E-3 with the ZD 14-54mm lens on a tripod. The lights were triggered with Cybersyncs. Settings: 14mm (28mm at the 35mm equiv) f/10, 1/13 (trying to keep a little sky in the photo), ISO 200. Post processing done in Lightroom & resized/sharpened in Photoshop.

Thankfully I had awesome models for this shoot who were just happy to stay outside a little longer than they would have been able to if dad wasn’t working on something. The MVP for it goes to Gina who had to hit the shutter button at the exact time when I was at my apex, and did every time. She made it look so easy, I’m thinking about dropping her pay.

If I left anything out, ask in the comments & I’ll get you an answer.

I’ve been a slacker about posting my iPhone photos. While I’ve been staying incredibly busy with my big cameras I still keep my iPhone at the ready for things that look interesting. Here are some that I’ve been holding on to.

Click to view larger and uncropped…

I was over in Seattle to photograph a wedding a few weeks ago and the day after the wedding was the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk. It’s an annual event wherein photographers the world over (900 locations) meetup and take pictures. I, along with my brother and sister in law, signed up for the walk that took place along the waterfront in Seattle.

Secondary to the sense of community that comes from such an event (as well as an excuse to get out and take pictures with the sole purpose of making art) is the fact that it’s also a contest. One winner s selected from each walk by its leader and that photo is submitted to the international contest. There are ten prizes awarded as well as one ridiculous grand prize.

I was lucky enough to have my photo chosen as the winner of our walk. It’s an unexpected honor because there were so many great photos submitted. I’m really not expecting anything beyond this (overall winners are announced Aug. 17th) because of the sheer number of entries—fingers crossed, though.

In case anyone’s curious, here’s how this photo came about.

We (my wife, my brother, and his wife) were wrapping up shooting and walking down to where the rest of the group was eating and I was straggling behind looking for things that looked interesting and I saw this wall and called to them to come back. My main idea was to try backlighting the wall and see what I could get. So I laid the flash behind the wall and pointed it up at the wall to give a nice gradient (there were a couple of times where people asked if I forgot about the flash because it was just laying there). I took some pics of my wife shaking her hair but they were blurry because I only had the one flash and had to rely on the ambient light/slow shutter to light her. There were a few interesting silhouettes but nothing outstanding.

Then my brother and his wife were done shooting and I gave their flash to my wife to hold up (high, camera left against the wall for dramatic lighting) and had the 2 of them stand up there and pose. To minimize the perspective problems caused by the wide angle lens I held the camera as high as I could and used the live view tilt screen to compose the shot. Click. By this time, with both of the flashes going off, a small crowd gathered and was watching and discussing the “professional photo shoot,” so (like I usually do when shooting in public) I grabbed a family that was watching and had them stand up there and took their picture. I then handed them a business card and they emailed me so I sent them a copy of their portrait.

My favorite part of the photo is the fact that it looks like it has a border that was added in Photoshop. But if you look where the subjects legs leave the photo, you can see that the “frame” is actually on the wall behind them. Also, the graphical nature of the photo is pleasing to the graphic designer side of my brain.

It was a lot of fun & I’m already looking forward to next year’s photowalk.

Click to see the winning photo as well as some of the other shots I took…

Click here to read part 1 where I discuss why I take pictures with my iPhone.

I get a lot of questions from people about my iPhone photos. Specifically, how do I get a certain effect or what apps did I use.

Here are the apps that I use to create my art and I’ll go through each of them and explain how i use them and what they do.

Pre Step 1: Camera (free)

I use the built-in camera app to take all of the original shots. Most of the photo apps allow you to capture the image with their app, but because I use so many apps and I’m not really sure which ones I’ll use on a particular image, I use the original camera app. I also trust it a bit more because it’s developed by Apple and they’d be in the best position to utilize wach of the camera’s features.

Step 1: Photogene ($2.99)

This is the MVP app. It’s basically a stripped down photoshop on your iPhone. Nearly every iPhone photo I post sees this app. This is my go to app for exposure adjustments, rotation/alignment fixing, cropping, contrast, saturation/desaturation, color temp adjustments, and simple borders. It also  has a vignetting feature that I’ll use on some images but there’s another app that does a better job on images with a lot of white in it. This app also offers sharpening but I rarely use it because it will introduce noise in to the image.

This app’s job is to get the photo as close to perfect as it can, so I can take it to another app for adding effects. The exception here is the border. I like to have that be the last step if I decide to use one so any vignetting or blurring won’t creep into the border.

Step 2: iRetouch ($.99)

I rarely use this app. It has numerous features, but when I do use it, it’s for the clone tool. It’s similar to Photoshop’s clone tool except that it’s tough to be precise while using your finger on the tiny screen. It does come in handy for those rare times when there’s a power line ruining an otherwise great photo.

Step 3: TiltShift ($1.99)

This is the sexiest of all the apps. It’s job is add selective focus to images. This app had some problems when it was first released, but updates have turned it into a monster. The blur comes by way of gradient, either linear or radial, the size of which is completely adjustable. The amount of blur as well as the type (gaussian or lens—the answer is always lens) are adjustable. It also offers blooming for specular highlights but it’s not terribly realistic so I just turn it off. The only thing I’d add to this app is the ability to adjust the gradient’s strength or the rate at which the mask turns from solid to transparent. Other than that, it’s perfect.

It’s so perfect that I have to restrain myself from using it on every image. Like all effects, it works best in moderation.

Step 4: Cool FX (Currently on sale for $.99)

Cool FX is an app developed by Tiffen. They are a market leader in camera filters as well as photoshop plugins. Naturally their iPhone app is very nicely done. This app offers a number of adjustable color and Black & white filters as well as the ability to add textures & grain to a photo. Once in a while I’ll use the color filters but mostly I use the vignetting which is a little hidden in the app. To use it you need to first select the basic color filter then adjust the brightness and amount down to zero. Then touch the little vignette button on the bottom middle of the screen. From there you can adjust the amount & softness of the vignette. It’s a very natural vignette, especially when compared to the vignettes I’ve found in other apps.

I just downloaded Cool FX’s cousin, Photo FX ($2.99). The main reason I got this app was for the Infrared black & white. It also has a nice vignette even though it works a little different than Cool FX’s version. It remains to be seen whether this app will be used much.

Step 4: CameraBag ($1.99)

CameraBag is the one stop shopping version of the photo apps. Rather than picking and choosing which filters to apply, it creates a simulated camera or film version in one click. This seems to be a favorite app of the master, Chase Jarvis. It’s quick, easy, and very well done.

The effects it offers are toy camera, magazine style, cinema style, mono, 1974, 1962, infrared, the ever popular polaroid, and the black sheep of the family, the horrid fisheye.

I’d say the styles I use most frequently are the holga, magazine, & cinema. For a while I stopped using this one because, due to the threats of lawsuits, they put the thick border on the sides. The polaroid filter was just changed back to the original style where the white border is thicker at the bottom so I can see myself using it once again.

Final Step: Mobile Photos ($2.99)

I use this app to upload my photos to my Flickr account. It works well and does exactly what I need it to. I’m able to add tags and place it in specific sets. In addition to uploading with this app it does a nice job of allowing me to browse Flickr.

Its own step: Pano ($2.99)

This is the only app that forces you to capture the original image with itself. This app allows you to create panoramas in the iphone. It stitches the photo live by giving you guides when taking the next photo. It works both in landscape and portrait modes.

I haven’t been able to get this one to work with the 3Gs yet. The larger resolution of the new iPhone locks up the camera after creating the panorama. The developer says it’s Apple’s issue and they’re working on a solution together. I sure hope so because this is a really nice app that works well.

Addendum: Other Tips

Macro: Before getting the new iPhone 3Gs which allows me to focus closely, I had to use a photo loupe by holding it up to the iPhone’s lens and taking the picture. It takes some practice but was worth the effort. Now that the new iPhone’s camera has macro capabilities, I don’t really use this too much.

Sizing: I try to keep the photos at a small size even though many apps will increase the photo’s resolution.

Why no zoom app? Since it’s not an optical zoom, all it’s really doing is cropping the photo and I already have apps that will do that for me.

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions about my methods as well as adding any other tips you find useful. If you have any iPhone apps you find useful that I didn’t mention here, please share. I’m always on the lookout for something new that will better my ability to create great images (especially if it’s an app that allows me to sync up a couple of off camera flashes).

A few months back I was sent a link to the website of commercial photographer, Chase Jarvis. I looked at his gallery of photos and I was in awe. Beautiful image after beautiful image. It was so easy to attribute the quality of his photos to his immense collection of gear. In other words, “I could take that photo if I had 8 Profoto lights and a collection of Nikon D3xs and as many top pro lenses as I could fit in my car. Add to that a team of assistants and companies willing to basically write a blank check for a budget and I could turn out those shots as well” But that doesn’t work here.

I found his iPhone gallery.

Gone was the excuse of the best equipment makes the best images. He was creating inspiring art on a piece of equipment that we both shared, the iPhone. A low quality 2 megapixel camera with infinite focus and no flash—basically a kid’s toy camera. Not only that, but the photos never see photoshop. Any edits are done in camera using iPhone apps from the iTunes App Store (more on this later).

Seeing these photos taught me that it’s more about having the eye/mind of a photographer than it is about having the equipment of a photographer. Granted, the iPhone has it’s limitations—lots of limitations. There’s no way to print a decent sized print without seeing pixels and low light photography is nearly impossible.

Jarvis’ reason for using the iPhone as a medium of capturing art is, “The best camera is the one that’s with you.” This makes sense to me because there have been numerous times that I thought, “That would make a great photo. If only I had my camera.” All the while my iPhone was sitting in my pocket.

The most important thing that’s happened to me as a photographer while performing this iPhone experiment was that it has taught me to keep my eyes open. To always be looking for things that are visually interesting. To always be ready to be inspired. To always be an artist. I don’t know how many of the iPhone photos I’ve posted would be in existence without undertaking this challenge; oh yes I do—none.

Not even the photo of the car on fire would have been captured. Even though taking a picture is the obvious action, I wouldn’t have had my iPhone’s camera at the ready. There simply wouldn’t have been time to get it out and get the shot while driving on the Interstate.

Another thing it’s done is force me from time to time to create a photo. There have been several times when I hit the end of the day and didn’t have anything interesting so I had to force myself to make an interesting photo. The magnet photo is a good example of this.

Hopefully you enjoy my photos as much as I do. I must thank Chase Jarvis for inspiring me to take this on and I’d like to offer the challenge to those of you who have an iPhone, or whatever you might want to use, to force yourself to create art. Even if it’s not every day, always be on the lookout for inspiration—it’s everywhere. You will be the better for it. Because it’s not about the tool, it’s about the artist.

See my iPhone photo collection here.

Check out Part 2 tomorrow, where I’ll discuss my process for creating the photos.

Sometimes it’s nice to get a break from the perfection of digital photography. There’s something cathartic about relinquishing some control to the tool you’re using. Generally I’m in total control of my shot. I set my lights how I want. I create the composition. I control the capture of the image with my camera that gives me exactly what I want. And if it doesn’t, well that is what Lightroom and Photoshop are for. In a way these “toys” allow me to turn off the desire for perfection and focus (pun not intended. really it wasn’t) on the joy of taking pictures and the anticipation of the sometimes unpredictable results.

These “toys” aren’t really toys but I call them that because I won’t ever use them as a staple of my work, and their image quality is a bit lacking, but they’re a nice way to recharge my creativity.

First up is the Kodak Duaflex II camera. This thing is about the same age as my parents. Because of it’s age it has some imperfections that I find pleasing (wish I could say the same for mom & dad—kidding). I just got this one so I’m really still learning how to best use it.

First this camera’s age has allowed some mold(?) and dust to gather in the camera and on the lenses which can add a nice texture—especially in the corners.

Next, and probably my favorite part, is the frame that the camera places around the image. I can get an effect close to this in Photoshop but the true border is just a bit better. Even though most people probably couldn’t tell the difference, I can. Plus, I know it’s real and not a digital creation. I also like it because it forces me to compose the shot in camera. If I crop the photo later I lose the border. When I was developing and printing my own 35mm film I loved leaving the border of the negative holder around the edge of the print. I guess it was proof to me that the composition was completely thought out in camera.

Last is the soft focus vignette around the edges. Because of the curved nature of the lens the center of the photo is extremely sharp, but the focus falls off sharply toward the edges. I see this being a nice feature in macro and still life shots.

I’m still not sure if I’ll leave the grime on the camera or clean it up. The dirt can really be distracting if it falls on someone’s face. Let me know what you think

Here are a few shots I took with it. Have yourself a look-see…

FOCUS

For the past month or so I’ve been on what seems like a sabbatical from life. I have almost entirely stopped watching TV and movies.

Running? Nope.

Sleep? Ha ha ha ha. I mean, nope. Well, 4 or so hours a night on average.

Computer? Yup.

Camera? Oh, yes.

I’ve always enjoyed photography. At PLU while studying graphic design I took a photography course and fell in love with it—especially the darkroom. I would spend entire days (literally) there getting a print just perfect. While my classmates were using a roll of film or two and ending up with one or two prints I was going through a half-dozen rolls and making dozens of prints. At one point my professor attempted to get me to switch major from design to photography. During the next semesters ended I was sneaking away from other classes (usually art history)and into the darkroom.  I loved the process of developing film and making prints. It was cathartic for me.

Unfortunately the darkroom isn’t really a viable option anymore. I can (mostly) however get a similar feeling on the computer. I love learning new techniques for digitally developing my photos in a way very similar to the darkroom techniques I once used. Additionally, I have a familiarity with software that I’ve developed in design that transfers over quite nicely to digital photography. Plus, digital is way cheaper and faster.

SHUTTER

Since the beginning of February I’ve been taking pictures—lots of them. When I wasn’t taking pictures I was editing or retouching them. When I wasn’t doing doing either of those I was trying to figure out how to take better pictures. Those hours have easily numbered in he hundreds.

I think it’s started to pay off. At least I hope it has. Though it’s just a start I feel like I’m on my way to building a respectable photography portfolio.

There is a very close relationship, I’ve found between design and photography. Line, composition, color, are all pieces of the visual puzzle that I’ve become familiar with and put to work in my designs. These all apply directly to photography allowing me to feel comfortable jumping from one medium to another. There is one major difference, however—light.

At first I didn’t understand my own deficiency. My compositions were interesting enough (i thought). There was a problem though. I was completely dependent on luck for my light. Whether it was sunny or cloudy I was shooting the same way and ending up with inconsistent results. Inside photos? Forget about it. Completely awful. I had no idea why.

I do now.

DEVELOP

I was light-ignorant. I’ve learned so much in the past few months about light. This was my weakness in photography (duh, it’s the main principle that’s different than design). In fact it’s now difficult to look at many of my old images without cringing, in horror that I once thought they were great photos. That’s why I’ve made a point to learn about and understand light and use it to my advantage rather than continue to allow it to be my photographic Achilles heel. While I’m not there yet I can already see a huge improvement and hopefully you can too!