2009 July - Lucid Light Photography

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July31st

Finn: 6 Months Old!

Posted in: Childhood, People, Portraits

A knitter friend of mine managed to birth the cutest baby boy…next to mine of course…ever. I can safely say that editing photos of such a cute little person make the work fly right by! I cranked these out in one sitting.

We had a nice cloudy morning, so these are all natural light. I had my flash on at 1/32 power and pointed up to (attempt to) grab baby’s attention and put some catch lights in, but the light itself is all natural.

Here’s some favorites, the full flickr set is here. (20 pictures)

I’m always looking to photograph kids…when did you have your kids’ pictures done last? *eyebrow waggle*
July26th

Wedding: Ben & Molly

Posted in: Wedding

My 2nd wedding of the season was Ben & Molly’s back in early June. These two were about as cool as they come. Totally unique wedding full of personal touches, good music (their wedding song was Nothing Else Matters of pre-suck Metallica fame) and a sweet family full of photographers!

Photographers reading this might be thinking “ugh, that must have been awful…like 10 second shooters”. Nope. Photographers, I’ve found…in my very short career doing this…stay way out of the “official” photogs way. It’s those Uncle Bobs with the point and shoots that you have to worry about! These guys were great and it was fun to talk gear with them in between shooting.

Anyway, Ben rented some fun lenses for me and the guests to play with. I fell totally in love with the wide-angle. I believe it was a 10-20mm? I forget and I’m too lazy to look but it was something like that. A Sigma. I totally hogged it all day, sorry other photog guests.

It was a beautiful day, beautiful location (in Woods Hole, MA…on the Cape) and very relaxed.

All day Ben and I nerdily awaited the sunset for some Strobist-esque shots (we’re both fans of the blog) and while it wasn’t as colorful as I’d have liked, we got some of my absolute favorite shots…when my craptastic Poverty Wizard V2′s would fire, anyway. (I just got the V4s…more on that later.)

Here’s an example of where my flash was, behind a shoot-through umbrella:

Congratulations Ben & Molly, thanks for having me! You guys were a blast!

EDIT: Duane (Ben’s Dad) was kind enough to send me the lens info on that wide-angle, it was a Tokina 11-16 F2.8 ATX DX PRO. It was a fun lens. Duane also sent a bunch of pics of my husband and I working, which are so cool! Thanks, Duane!! Duane is also a very talented photographer, check out his portfolio here.
July24th

Show: Accu Billiards July 17th, 2009

Posted in: Bands & Concerts

Here’s some favorites from the Accu show last weekend. Unfortunately for Smite The Righteous I’m was 4 beers past being able to not suck, so they only had a dozen keepers and they’re not all that great. Sorry, guys!

TERROR RISING [myspace link]

Full flickr set here.

WITHERED SUN [myspace link]

Full flickr set here. Scroll down for this show, there’s a lot of WS shows in the same set.

SMITE THE RIGHTEOUS [myspace link]

Full flickr set here. (Contains other shows, scroll down for this show.)

Woodchipper Demise [myspace link] also played but I didn’t shoot them because there was a hired photographer there. However it turned out I couldn’t just be there and not shoot and only lasted through their set and half of Terror Rising’s before I ran out to the car for my camera.
July20th

Mashpee Wampanoag Pow Wow 2009

Posted in: People, Photojournalism

FINALLY getting caught up on photos. I figure I better use this wedding-free month and this weekend’s photo shoots as motivation before I was even further behind on personal work!

I didn’t get to shoot nearly as much as I’d have liked again this year because without an official photopass (something I hope to get next year) the security guards (who are mostly not Wampanoag and have no idea what dances are ok to shoot and what dances are off limits) were harassing me every time my camera touched my face. I knew which dances were OK and could have shot anyway but I wasn’t in a debating mood, nor did I want to run and get my cousins to tell off these guys every 10 minutes. Oh well.

I did shoot the Goomba’s dance without harassment though. They were tough because their regalia is SO TALL it was hard to get a shot without background distraction AND get all of them in the frame! The Goomba’s, from what I remember being told, are Wampanoag natives that migrated to Bermuda. If anyone knows more, I’d love the info…google didn’t help much. Cousins that may be reading this?

These guys were amazing to watch and all the little ones were adorable.

Fortunately the security couldn’t tell me not to shoot my family so I did lots of that!

This was Aiden’s first pow-wow, too. Daddy took him for a spin around the dance circle.

Next year I’ll get that pass if it kills me, although I can tell you if you’ve never been to a Pow Wow, no photos will do it justice! Chances are you have a native tribe nearby, check it out!
July15th

A year gone by.

Posted in: Blogging

I got my first DSLR on June 30th, 2008. I took this picture with it at the restaurant we went to after I picked it up.

2 weeks later something else life-changing happened…it was even better than getting my first DSLR, on July 15th, 2008…I had this little guy:

Which brings us to today: Aiden’s 1st birthday!

Thanks for being keeping mommy supplied with a perfect subject through that first year of learning.
July14th

Tonight’s Sunset

Posted in: City, Landscape
July14th

Blog Giveaway!!

Posted in: Giveaways & Contests

If you didn’t notice already, this blog has been sponsored by UPrinting! Well they’ve offered to include us in their Online Poster Printing Canvas Print Giveaway! They want to give someone a free 16×20″ Rolled Canvas Print of a favorite summer photo to one of you!

This is one of my favorite summer photos:

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post describing what photo you’d like to have printed on a 16×20 canvas! Winners will be announced on July 31st, 2009!

I can’t wait to hear about your favorite summer photo! Be sure to pick a HIGH RESOLUTION photo, otherwise it won’t print that large! Your photo should be 300dpi.

About Online Poster Printing
Online Poster Printing specializes in printing high-quality posters using premium materials. We offer a money back guarantee on all our products, such as photo canvas prints, vinyl banners, wall stickers, and rolled or mounted poster prints.

Disclaimers:

Giveaway is open to US/CAN residents. Shipping of prizes is not included and must be paid by winner. Online Poster Printing reserves the right not to print obscene or offensive materials.

All designs submitted in the form of a giveaway may be used by Online Poster Printing for online marketing and promotional uses. The designs will be used solely as examples and will not be printed or commercially distributed.
July7th

Fun with the home studio.

Posted in: Childhood, Portraits, Self Portraits, Studio

Shut myself up in my home studio today. It’s more like a “crap in a bag I set up in whatever room is the cleanest” studio, but it does the job.

My two missions for the day were to get a black and white for The Hideout’s 20′s, 30′s and 40′s challenge and a nice picture of the kids. I also wanted a new headshot of myself for work purposes but my hair is ick right now. I have my moments of shallowness.

The selfie:

The kids:

Light was one Canon 430EX II shot through a brolly umbrella to camera right.
July7th

Links & a New Layout!

Posted in: Blogging, Links
Time to unload the links again! But first, you may notice the site looks a little different. I needed a change. I’m planning to do some more things to it so if you surf over here to find a steaming pile of broken code, chances are I broke something and am busy nagging Adam to help me fix it.

Now for the links!
- The Pioneer Woman shows you how to slim someone down digitally…I dislike this idea being a big advocate of loving your body, but if it’ll make your clients happy…go for it!
- Speaking of loving your body, Operation Beautiful is taking off from this blog and inspired me so much I’ve started a flickr group to corral all the photos popping up on Flickr.
- Tips for photographic products for effective sales here. Great for you etsy shopkeepers out there!
- For The Hideout members especially (who are doing reflection photos this month!) here’s a list of effective photographs featuring reflections!
- Vandelay Design has 60 Photoshop tutes on touching up photos.
- Math end of Hyperfocal Distance mystify you? Me too. DPS explains.
- This Pioneer Woman post should be plastered on my bathroom mirror. It’s all about noticing arms, legs, feet and hands in composition.
- In case you’re either a wipper-snapper or living on the moon, you may have heard that Kodak is discontinuing Kodachrome…the color film loved by film photogs worldwide. Here is Photojojo’s tribute and guide to this legendary film which I am sad to say, I have never used.
- You MAC people will get a kick out of this frame.
- Tired of watching the ceiling while waiting for Lightroom to export? Speed it up!
- Beyond Photo Tips shows why symmetry is a beautiful thing.
- Forced Perspective, the subject of many a “Check out these amazing photos” email forward, is pretty damn cool.
- DPS has 8 family portrait tips here.
- Strobist has assigned food photography for the next boot camp assignment, get some tips there or here.
- Childhood fears recreated in photographs: one of those things you wish you thought of.
- Don’t have Photoshop? It’s insanely expensive so many people don’t! GIMP is a free program with lots of photoshop features. DPS gives you an intro to GIMP to get you started!
- Ever had your flash and lightstand kiss the pavement after a gust of wind? I have. DIY Photography has a brilliant idea…using a frisbee!
- Scott Kelby reveals what’s in his 3rd installment of the ever-awesome Digital Photography Book series.
- It’s getting hot and steamy for lots of the world (well, not here in Seattle Boston) so here’s how to protect your camera in the muggy weather.
- Taking off on David Hobby’s trick to slinging a strobe stand over his should, DIY Photography shows how to sling a whole set up over your shoulder.
- I tell lens shoppers all the time how amazing the 90 dollar 50mm 1.8 lens is and no one seems to believe me. Here’s an article on the wonders of the nifty fifty!
- The Cute Kid contest somehow got my email and has been bombing my inbox ever since, however today they sent me something useful. A “top” child photographer talks about her tricks for getting the shot.
- IN THE OHIO AREA?? In or know a band or models that would like free shots? Michelle Black and some of The Hideout gang are hosting a group shoot on July 26th! It’s free and I can attest to all those photographers being totally awesome people.
July5th

Wedding: Chris & Terri

Posted in: Wedding

Ah, the most terrifying experience of any newb photog’s life…shooting a much better photographer’s wedding. Oh none of you have done that? I recommend it, I no longer even twitch over upcoming gigs. If you’ve never gone through photos and made yourself sick over every little decision you made behind the lens, you truly haven’t lived.

Terror and contemplations of how I got myself into this aside, Chris & Terri had the most amazing wedding. The sky rumbled but never rained and gave us flawless light for the formals, everything went smoothly and I got to watch my friend shed some (very manly) tears and marry the love of his life. And did I mention open bar and karaoke? That part was pretty cool too.

Here’s some favorites!

Congratulations Chris & Terri, <3!