Welcome to our Blog! We will post recent shoots, tips for photographers as well as personal ramblings. Over
the years, this blog has been such an excellent tool for keeping in contact. You are able to view our wedding and lifestyle portfolios by using the navigational menu above. Please stop by often and tell your friends too! Thanks for being here.
I read and interesting article this morning over at Chase Jarvis' Blog, focusing on Stock Photography. It got me thinking about pictures, in general.
What do you like about a picture? Is it the content, composition, shadows, highlights, emotion, perfection, noise (or lack of), the "effect", etc... ??
Think about it.
For me, sometimes it is the Imperfections that make it more pleasing and create a better visual impact.
Here is an example of one of my favorite photographs, I have made. I have a 20x30 canvas in my studio of this photograph. There are imperfections about this image (ie, the baby's head is cut off, LOL!), but I wouldn't change it for the world.
(Image captured in black and white, contrast and noise added in Post Production)
Bridget and Bryleigh left for Florida this morning to visit Bridget's father. After we dropped them off at the airport, Brayden and I played in the snow for a bit and snapped a few shots. It was snowing so hard, that we had to go into the woods a bit, to get a good portrait of him. He is such a ham.
I shot all of these except the last image with off camera flash. I handheld my SB-800 (with diffuser attached) to high camera left.
My fav = This is Bray
I used High Speed FP Flash Sync (iso 200, f2.8, 1/640) on this one, to get a shallow depth of field. I also desaturated this in post production and added a slight blur around the edge.
Off to an exciting weekend with the boys. We are going to have some fun! Have a great weekend!
btw - Happy Birthday JLB (1/29/98)... We love and miss you!
Two very important tools that I use are my iPhone and Inspiration. A friend of mine sent me a link to Strobist.com that connects the two nicely. (this article aside, if you do not have an iPhone, you are missing out!)
I love Strobist.com! It is a wonderful resource for DIY off camera lighting and simplification. It is proof that you do not need big, bulky, expensive lighting equipment with you all of the time. So if you are iPhone impaired and Strobist.com impaired, now you have no excuse, get busy! You will thank me later.
OK tying the iPhone and inspiration together. The article discusses using the iPhone to snap pictures of pictures, that inspire you (specifically the lighting) and keeping them with you on the phone to access easily. The author talks about using iPhoto to to organize and sync. I tweaked this method to use Lightroom instead (if you have questions, email me).
I think this is a great idea to have a Pocket Inspiration with you. In my home office I have a wall covered with magzine photos that inspire me. Here is a portion of my wall:
So, now when I am out browsing the magazine racks or books, I can take a snap if it inspires me and keep it with me. Give it a try. Happy Sunday!
Answering another question here. Question:Why do my images look dull once I post them to my blog or website?
Once you dive into Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop or applications similar, it is easy to be overwhelmed with the "little details" of Photo Editing. Consistency between what you see in the application vs. what you see is pretty simple.
This question came from a Photoshop User, so I will address in Photoshop CS3 Terms (this is what I use). This question also leads me to believe that there is an issue when Saving the image for web use. Here is a good way to do it:
1. Open, Edit and Resize your image to taste. 2. Goto the Edit Menu, select "Convert to Profile" and Make Sure the Destination is 'sRGB IEC61966-2.1'. If the source already says 'sRGB IEC61966-2.1', then you can click cancel. (Web Browsers render sRGB well) 3. Goto File->Save For Web & Devices. In the top right corner, you will see a little arrow. Click this and make sure that Use Document Color Profile is selected. 4. Settings as Jpeg, Optimized, High, Quality = 60 5. Save the file in directory of your choice. 6. Upload and compare.
This should look pretty consistent for you now. Using Photoshop's Save For Web feature also creates a small file size and strips metadata that is not needed for viewing.
Here is an example of right vs. wrong. This image was saved by the method above.
This was saved without the 'Document Color Profile' selected.
The difference is subtle, but the skin tones on the second image are a little pale. The top image looks just like it does when I open it in Photoshop.
Shoot N Learn - Recap (plus baby burke's first pic!)
1.21.2009
Last night was another successful Shoot n Learn gathering. Our main topic for the evening was "Connecting with your Subject". We watched a few short video clips and then traded tips, tricks, etc.. It was an excellent discussion. I truly enjoy having everyone in for these. It has been such a great way to connect, share, learn and teach. We are all winners at the end of the night.
Our attendance is both professional, aspiring amateurs and just folks that want to make better photos! I applaud all of you for wanting to mingle and step up your game. I learn something every time we get together.
There is no such thing as a "dumb" or "naive" question. I was a beginner too and remember being intimidated by professionals. Mainly because the professionals were "grumpies" and not "love cats". I strive to be a "love cat". I still have questions and love to share. The only way to learn is to ask, study and take action. Making mistakes is a great way to learn ;-)
Since a few questions were asked last night, I wanted to share here because I know more of you out there have the same questions: Question: What ISO do you use?
This depends on the situation and can be a very detailed response. ISO dictates how sensitive your digital sensor is to light. The HIGHER the number, the more sensitive it is to light. Also, the HIGHER the number means the colors, contrast, saturation, etc.. may become compromised. With the latest and greatest sensors, that decline in quality is less noticeable. So my short answer to this question is: I use the LOWEST ISO Possible for the given situation. If I am outside on a Sunny Day, I am going to shoot at my camera's lowest ISO setting of 200. If I am at a reception I am typically between 800 and 1600 ISO.
Question: How do you change your exposure on your camera?
A digital exposure has 4 ingredients: ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed, White Balance. A Digital SLR camera gives you the freedom to change each of these settings. This is what makes an SLR so special. You can control your exposure to achieve YOUR desired results. The key is understanding the relationship between these components and knowing how to change them on your camera. Shooting in MANUAL mode is the best way to learn, but it takes time and practice. I will have more on this at a later date for you.
Question: What is a Pocket Wizard?
A Pocket Wizard is a remote trigger for firing off camera flash or cameras. They are very cool and extremely useful. Their website can explain a lot better than I can. I use Plus II.
Hope this is useful to somebody out there ;-)
I can't post without a picture, so I will leave you with our first glimpse of Baby Burke: Isn't He/She Lovely ;-) ?
I have been doing some commercial photography lately and wanted to share a DVD cover that I shot for Nancy Griffin of SkinnyJeansForever.com. Nancy and I have worked together a few times, creating images for her branding and demonstration purposes.
The majority of the work we do has been in studio on white seamless paper. She will be using these images throughout her websites and newsletters demonstrating different exercises for her readers/clients.
Nancy is an amazing individual! She is Awesome at what she does and is really in tune with the body. She is an expert in Pilates and has many different training programs to offer, even for Golfers. If you are looking to tone up and get healthier, be sure to visit her site and contact her!
Something that we always evaluate is organization. Systems and Organization are keys to running a successful business.
IMHO to be organized is to keep things simple. I love USEFUL software. One of my favorite pieces of software is Backpack. What is backpack?
Backpack is a web-based service that makes organizing your information incredibly easy. Backpack lets you make pages which can contain any combination of notes, to-dos, images, files, etc. You can keep these pages to yourself or share them with colleagues, co-workers, friends, or family.
I use backpack as a mini-project management tool. I have a few template pages that are a series of note sections and to-do lists. We duplicate these pages and rename them for every project (ie shoot/wedding) we work on. It is a breeze to use and keeps us incredibly organized. We can see where we are in each project. When the project wraps, we simply email a copy of the page and then remove it from the list.
If you are looking to try something new for organization, give backpack a try! They offer a free version that allows you to create 5 pages. If you only have a few jobs at a time, this will be perfect for you.
Hey everyone! I am ready to kick off 2009 with this month's shoot n learn. I have been thinking about a lot of different things we can talk about. Lately, though the topic that has been on my mind the most is Connecting With Your Subject.
It's one thing to be technically savvy in the way we approach a photograph. Great Lighting, Correct Camera Settings, Memory Card with free space :-), Composition, Clothing, Setting, Temperature, etc.... The "tech" list goes on and on. I see many good photographs every week, however I think that these "good" photographs have the potential to be great! My photographs included, of course.
I wish I could create a great image/portrait with every snap of the shutter, but lets be real. It doesn't happen that easily. There is an ingredient that is often missing from a photograph: a connection.
I thought we could kick off the new year with discussing this essential ingredient. How are you connecting with your subjects? Whether you are creating portraits or shooting journalistically, this ingredient is VITAL.. Let's talk, share, shoot and learn and see if we can make it improve this for all of us!
Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and new faces!
Hey all! So we are mid November and I realize that I am not going to be able to have a SNL this month :( The good news is that we have been extremely busy/productive here and things are going great. I have also scheduled the next Shoot N Learn for Tuesday December 9, 2008, 6PM @ my studio. We will be SHOOTING this time! We will work in the studio, shoot, learn & have fun. Sound good? I hope to see you all there!!
In other news we have been shooting like crazy, editing, doing albums etc... Please bear with us if you are on our list.. We are getting to you soon ;-) We have experienced some growth lately and have been granted some incredible opportunities. Life is Good! I am headed to Cabo next week to shoot a wedding and am bringing along my good friend/photographer, Kenny Kim. Good Times for sure!
Home has been fun! Bryleigh will be 1 next week! I cannot believe it. She is so stinking cute! She smiles, 24/7. She is so smart and tries so hard to have a conversation. She will sit with me and just hang out for hours. She really loves her 3 older brothers too (and of course Mommy!). Each time one of us walk in a room, she lights up like a Christmas tree with Joy. She reminds me of how WE need to be. Much like the behavior of a dog that is unconditionally happy to see his owner, always! Please keep Bridget in your thoughts and prayers as she has not been feeling very well this first trimester. Hopefully she will be out of the sick days soon and be her happy self again. We love her no matter what! She is my hero for being able to maintain a household, keep the kids in line, keep ME in line all the while being sick constantly. I am the luckiest man around!
The more I think about having 5 children, the more excited I get. Each day I learn what is "Really" important and things that "Really aren't" important. Lots of fun.
OK, sorry for the tangent there. I need to blog more. I need about 24 extra hours a day. Thanks for letting me chat for a minute!
Can't post without a picture. Here is one from a recent family session.
I love the clean simple portraits and I love Black and White. I have decided to do a few signature sessions for a limited time in the studio. The first of these sessions is The White Session. We are doing the White Sessions November 13-15 here in our studio. We have set times right now, but may expand the timeframes if needed.
The goal is to create clean, simple portraits of individuals, couples & families (1-4 max) while wearing white. We are working in 20 minute mini sessions on a grey or white background. Bring along your personality :-) Happy, Mad, Sad, Goofy. The choice is yours. We will have fun!
These portraits make great gifts for those that love you!
Please follow this link to the PDF and contact us if you would like to set up a session. I look forward to seeing you here at the studio!
For all of you photographers out there using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0. In case you have not gotten the update notice, you can get version 2.1 HERE. It fixes some bugs and adds some more camera support.
We have been loving LR 2.0. The Camera Profiles are killer for Raw files! The Adjustment Brush is killer too. Photoshop will be a thing of the past soon. At least for our workflow. :-) Enjoy!
I am happy to announce the next Shoot N Learn. This month's Shoot N Learn will feature Cory Ann Ellis from South Dakota. Cory Ann is a very talented photographer specializing in Weddings and Intimates. Cory Ann has agreed to share her knowledge on shooting and marketing 'Intimates' with us. I would venture to say that this workshop is definitely geared towards the ladies in photography :-) I personally do not shoot Intimates (for obvious reasons!), but I think there is a TON of value in what Cory Ann has to share. If you are interested in Intimates photography, I can refer you to a wonderful friend of mine... Heather Lahtinen! Heather will be here as well, since she is hosting Cory Ann at her home.
We would love to have a shoot demonstration so we are looking for a model that will be comfortable posing in a Bikini Top, Jeans and/or a White dress shirt. I promise it will be very tasteful. If you know of anyone that would like to model, please shoot us an email to david@davidburkephoto.com. If we do not have a model Cory Ann has enough discussion material that we can chew on. Marketing alone is a fantastic topic to cover.
I am super excited for this month's Shoot N Learn!!! Hope to see you all here and see some new faces!
When: 10/15/08 @ 7:30 PM
Where: David Burke's Studio (633 Washington Road Pittsburgh, PA 15228)
Who: YOU
Topic: Marketing and Shooting Intimates - Cory Ann Ellis
Seth Godin writes a blog that I like to read. Seth is a very talented writer specializing in marketing. He has a great post on his blog today "Is effort a myth?". It is some good food for thought!
Hi All, I have a new Portfolio site that I am excited to share with you. I had not updated my main website in such a long time, because it was so cumbersome to update. I finally found a great solution to host my portfolio and could not be happier! It is so easy to update, so I will update often! I promise!
The actual site is hosted at http://davidburkephotographers.com but is accessible from http://davidburkephoto.com by clicking on Portfolio. I want all of my sites to be accessible from my main domain of davidburkephoto.com. It is still a work in progress, but we are getting there!
This new Portfolio will showcase my Wedding and Engagement work only. I may launch another site in the near future to showcase my other work. Since Documentary Weddings are my primary focus, they need to be separate.
Since my goal as a Wedding Photographer is to be Real, Classic & Timeless, it was important that my site be clean and simple. I did not want anything too flashy. I also decided not to use music. I always find myself turning the music off when I visit websites. What do you do? I would love to know. If you like music on sites, please do tell ;-)
I am working a lot on my brand and have a lot of things coming down the pipe so that I can continue serving my clients with the best of me. I look forward to sharing!
Last night was wonderful here at the studio. Michael and Anna Costa were here and gave a presentation on Standing Out in the Industry. It was extremely inspiring and informative. We had a great group of photographers here, thank you all for coming. We also missed the few that could not make it. (You all missed out! ;-) )
Thank you to Michael and Anna (and Pictage for sponsoring the tour!) for coming here and sharing. You two were awesome and I look forward to seeing you again soon. Your inspiration and creativity is incredible. Thank you for helping us remember why we love photography in the first place!
My buddy Ray Santana (Miami-based Wedding Photographer) recently launced a new website for the Wedding Photographer Industry, called ProPhotoHUB. Do your self a favor and bookmark his new site, so you can save time surfing the web for all of the latest and greatest equipment and news in the industry! It is so easy to sit down and get caught up for hours searching sites and forums when wanting information. Ray is taking a lot of that work off of your plate!
He is also posting interviews with top name wedding photographers. It is always a joy to read and learn from successful people!
Alright, enough reading.. Go check out ProPhotoHUB and then get back to work!
Hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner!
Lately all we seem to hear is "Change, Change, Change...." Eventually it all starts to sound like the teacher on Charlie Brown "mwua, mwua, mwua, mwua, mwua...." and our ears go numb. Change only occurs with action. Change also begins within ourselves.
Keeping this in mind, I came across this video yesterday and it really got me thinking. Regardless of your Religious beliefs, I think you should watch it. It is a two minute video that speaks volumes... Wouldn't it be something if we made a little change this Christmas season? Changing from within ourselves and teaming up with others would and could really make a difference!
I wanted to share this because I really want to make a difference in people's lives. I hope this touches you and anyone you share it with!
Liz and Tim's Wedding finally arrived on 9/6/08! We decided to work together over a year and a half ago, so needless to say we were really excited for this day to come! We did their engagement at the end of Summer '07. Fortunately we got together a few times in between there to keep in touch. That is always fun!
Everything took place down in Oakland, near the University of Pittsburgh Campus. They were married at St. Paul Cathedral and held their reception at Carnegie Music Hall. We started at the Holiday Inn where the wedding party was getting ready and then headed right over to St. Paul's. St. Paul's is Gorgeous! The lighting is great compared to most churches in the area. I was excited that I did not need to use flash for the processional, thanks to my Nikon D3. (*Techie Geek Speak ISO 3200 Color images are INSANELY gorgeous)
It was beautiful when Liz's parents walked her down the aisle and gave her away to Tim. I love these types of moments!
After the ceremony they had a parade, complete with a Saxophone Player, walking from St. Paul's to the Carnegie Museum. It was priceless. We captured so many great images at this time.
Once the reception was kicking it was an all out party all night, thanks to Jeremy Ganss. If you ever need a DJ, Jeremy seriously rocks! I asked him if I could hire him just to come to my studio and mix all day. LOL!
Thank you Liz, Tim and Family! You guys are awesome and I can't wait to see you again! Enjoy Italy!
If you have emailed us in the last 48 hours, we have not received. We are still moving hosting companies and things are taking longer than expected. If you need to reach us in the meantime, please send mail to davidburkephoto@gmail.com. We hope to be back up and running soon. Thank you for your patience.
This will be a very informative gathering on how to stand out in this business. Be sure to check out their Portfolio and Blog. I have not personally met them, but can tell they are very great people! I look forward to meeting them and seeing you all again.
Please drop me an email if you will be attending. We need to prepare ;-)
The past few months have been very trying when it comes to blogging, updating our site, emailing, etc... We have recently switched website hosting companies and are confident that the problems will be solved. We are currently still transferring things so please be patient with us during this transition. We are hoping to not lose any emails during this process. We will keep you posted once the move is complete.
I often get asked "What Camera Should I Buy?". A better question is about "What Lenses?". The big issue here is budget. Buy the best you can afford. What if you only have $300? What if you have $5,000 to spend?
I put together a quick video to help shed some light for you.
A few things I want to make note of. If you own the Nikon D40(x) or D60 be careful on purchasing lenses. They must be Nikon AF-S lenses because the Nikon D40(x) or D60 lack a focus motor. This means that if you buy the Nikon 50 1.4 AF lens and put it on your Nikon D60, you will only be able to focus in Manual Mode. The D50, D70, D80, D90, D100, D200, D300, D700, etc... can use any lens. The good news is that you can pick up a used Nikon D70 on Ebay for around $250 - $300! Just because it is older does not mean it makes bad photos.
Also Prime lenses range from $100 to Thousands of $$. Obviously the more you spend, the better the lense. However, YOU can create great images with them all!
As you all know I am a loyal Nikonian and am always excited when Nikon brings out new products. Whether the product is Professional or Amateur, Large or Small, I honestly believe in and support Nikon. My Nikon products have served me very well over the years and I have no plans to ever leave them ;-)
That being said, Nikon just released the Nikon D90 which is geared towards the Advanced Amateur. This camera looks to be incredible! One stand out feature is that it does Video too! This camera may very well make its way into our arsenal and be my go to camera for all of our family and personal shooting. It sure is a lighter load than my Nikon D3! So if you are in the market for a killer Digital SLR for a reasonable price, look no further.
This brings me to Chase Jarvis. Chase Jarvis is a Commercial Advertising photographer that is just incredible. I have yet to meet him, but look forward to it someday. His work is so out of the box and extraordinary. He is highly regarded in the commercial industry and among photographers alike. I am an admitted blog stalker of his. His work is so inspiring as well as his personality and willingness to share.
Low and Behold Chase is a Nikon Shooter. He is big time. Nikon gave Chase and his crew pre release versions of the Nikon D90 so they could put them through the ringer. That they did and what they came up with is extraordinary. I encourage you to watch the Behind the Scenes video and then view the image gallery. After doing so you will be headed to B&H Photo to make your purchase. You can thank me later!
This morning I had the pleasure meeting Riz Crescini. Riz found me on Facebook, via our common connection to Kenny Kim. How cool is that? Riz has been living in Japan for the last 9 years with his wife and 2 daughters, educating students in the English Language. He also has a ministry and is looking to incorporate Photography into it.
I always love meeting new friends and especially when we have common interests ;-) We talked shop quite a bit and learned about each other. It is neat to discover how many things we had in common. I hope that I shed some useful light for him! Riz promised to keep in touch and let me know of his progress.
Riz it was awesome meeting you. Maybe someday we will get together with Kenny Kim too! God Bless Bro.
Here he is in his Cubs Glory (Cubs are in town beating the Pirates):
I had an assignment to create a Silhouette at High Noon on a Sunny Day... I thought things through and decided to go for it in studio instead. We were Very Excited with the results! Here is the shot we chose. What do you think?
I used to think that I would not like Studio Photography. I feared being boxed in and forcing images into a cookie cutter shape. I am finding more and more, how wrong I was. I am loving the options I have. Actually shooting more studio images lately, has been a blessing for me. I am starting to see things entirely differently. This can only help my vision going forward, on all of my assignments. I am having too much fun!
Just a quick FYI. I will be out of the office until Monday August 25. I have very limited email and phone access as well. I will return calls/emails as soon as I can. Thank you!
What a great time we had last night! I think we had 16 people here, which was awesome! We had a very productive evening discussing off camera lighting.
My inspiration for wanting to touch on this subject comes from none other than Zack Arias founder of OneLightWorkshop. Zack is an incredible human being that happens to be an incredible (and giving) photographer. I took his workshop in Atlanta last year and it blew me away. The best investment I have made in my career, as far as fundamental/practical knowledge. If you have not taken his workshop, DO IT. You will not be sorry. Incidentally, he also has released a DVD of his workshop! I am eagerly awaiting my copy. Thank you for the inspiration Zack!
So last night, I had the opportunity to share a few tidbits just to get people thinking differently and not fearing their flash so much. It was so much fun setting up the shots and seeing people say 'Ahh, that is sweet!'. I am hoping that everyone shares some images that they grabbed of Kristen, Beth and me.
Thank you to all that came out to have fun and learn! Hope to see you at the next one! Here are a few of my own shots. (All shot using Nikon D3, Nikon SB-800 off camera, Pocket Wizards, 60" or 45" umbrella adjustments made in Lightroom Only and then sharpened for web)
**Update - THIS SHOOT N LEARN IS FULL - Please check back for the next one**We are having our 3rd Shoot and Learn Next Tuesday August 12, 2008 @ 6:00 PM here at our studio. The topic of discussion will be:
"Off Camera Lighting" - You have more options!
I will do a mini-presentation covering the concepts followed by us moving to the alleyway for some shooting. All you need to bring is your beautiful self and a camera! I will have the light setup and Pocket Wizards for you all to share. Please email me and let me know if you will be attending with "Shoot N Learn" in the subject line.
I am really looking forward to this one and hope to see you all here!
Here is an example of Available Light vs. On Camera Flash vs. Off Camera Flash. Thanks to Beth for modeling ;-)
My friend Dane Sanders is a photographer/entrepreneur based out of Orange County, CA. He is a wonderful soul, husband and father of 4. Recently he released his first book entitled "Fast Track Photographer" that is aimed towards the budding photographer eager to take the leap into the profession of wedding photography. I can recommend this book to Pros as well. I have only gotten through Chapter 3 so far and can tell you that it is LOADED with nuggets that make you think (yes actually use your brain) about where you are and where you want to go. Dane talks about discovering who YOU are as a photographer. It is so easy to get caught up in the commodity we sell (prints, books, files) instead of the experience and being the best YOU possible.
Dane also has the Fast Track Photographer Founder Membership that comes with all kinds of perks. I am a member and have been blessed with many friendships through this experience. If you are looking to get the ball rolling I suggest jumping on board to jump start your success.
I can't say enough good things about Dane Sanders and what he stands for. He started Simple Photo Minute, which morfed into CutFrameTV.com. CFTV is an online video community, much like YouTube, but specifically for photographers. Individuals share tips, stories, fun clips, etc.. Check it out!
I love what I do and cannot imagine doing anything else. The relationships that I have made and continue to make are absolutely incredible. I have never been in an industry quite like it. We are all in it together, so lets continue to make it a wonderful place to be!
PS - We can only accomodate 3 more people for Next Weeks Shoot N Learn, so please let me know if you want to come ASAP. :-)
I have soooo many favorite photographs (mostly of my children)! However, stepping aside from family images...
What is your favorite photograph (that you didn't make)?
If I had to pick 1 image. It would be this image from the 1960 World Series featuring the Pittsburgh Pirates and the NY Yankees.
This image was captured as Bill Mazeroski hit a Game 7, 9th inning home run to win the World Series for Pittsburgh.
This image was created by photojournalist George Silk.
Here is what I love about the image:
Real - not contrived.
Timeless - this image never gets old.
Black and White - My favorite!
Excitement - you cannot see a face or the action, however you KNOW there is joy!
This image has been on my mind this week, so I thought I would post. Angela's (our bride from last weekend) father loves this image as well. He has it framed and signed by Bill Mazeroski in his study. When I saw the image I said, "That is my favorite photograph! He said "Me too!" The funny thing is that I am not even a huge sports buff. I enjoy sports, but cannot recite stats and names like most of my friends. LOL!
So I would love to know what some of your favorite photographs are.
My second favorite image (hands down) the National Geographic Afghan Girl (captured by Steve McCurry)
This image is widely recognized and beautiful. Real. Natural. No Photoshop. Gorgeous. Love it.
**Quick Update** I was unable to schedule a Shoot N Learn for July, however we will be back in August Full Force! I am sending out an email to all on the list as well. I will put the new date and topic on here ASAP. Thanks all and I can't wait for the next one! We have some great ones lined up for the next few months.
Well, we had our official Grand Opening Gala last Thursday, July 3rd and we can honestly say that it was a huge success! First and foremost, so many people that play an important role in our lives were there to support us. We are so thankful and blessed to have all of you around us. Thank you!
Secondly we raised $500 for the Pregnancy Resource Center! We could not have achieved this without the donations from the following sponsors:
For the winners that were not present when the tickets were drawn, you will be contacted today! Congratulations!
I also want to thank Justin, Mark and Diedre for performing wonderful melodies for us throughout the evening. It was awesome.
Here are a few snaps from the evening. Thank you to my buddy Peter for being the shutter bug. ;-) Click through the images by selecting the number of the slide.
**Update** Also be sure to check out my buddy, Armin Defiesta's Blog for some more pics. He and his wife Denise made the trip from Washington DC to be here for the party! Thanks For being here!
One of my favorite lenses (Nikon 70-200 2.8 AF-S VR) had to go in for repair, so I am without it. I feel naked, not having it. LOL! I was going to purchase another copy of the lens, but then I discovered Lensrentals.com! This is such a great asset for photographers. This is a great way to "try before you buy" as well. I was going to spend $1,700 for a second lens, that would likely sit on the shelf for a long time, when I can rent the lense for 1 week (mine will be home soon) for under $100. So cool!
There are a few other places where you can rent lenses as well. I chose LensRentals.com, because they responded so quickly to me and they are in Tennessee, which means I can get it shipped faster for less money as well. It was also very easy to place the order. I will be renting another lens very soon for one of my upcoming weddings. The Nikon 200 2.8 AF-S VR. I have been wanting to shoot with it for a long time. I only shot with it once and it was so beautiful.
Kenny Kim and David Burke - Philadelphia Engagement Shoot
6.13.2008
I have the pleasure of being in Philadelphia this weekend to shoot a wedding with my buddy, Kenny Kim. Today we met Daisy and Devon and had an engagement shoot. We had an absolute blast. D & D were so great to work with and very great in front of the cameras! We shot sooo many images. It was very hot and sunny, but we really didn't even notice. I whipped up a video/slideshow of our "Good Times" (I hope Kenny permits me to use his phrase on my blog. LOL!!!)
Tuesday evening, I had the honor of hosting Heather Lahtinen. Heather is a sweet soul. Period. She is a wonderful photographer and teacher. Man can she teach or what??? I know the attendees can vouch for that!
We had a great time going over the basics of a Lightroom workflow. One attendee shouted "You are changing my life!" :-) It was awesome to see the lightbulbs going off. Heather showed us some of the new features in Lightroom 2.0 Beta. For me, I am thinking that Photoshop is going to be a thing of the past. Only to be used for Very detailed retouching (that does not happen too often). LR 2.0 is going to be THE BEST software for a photographer. Amen.
We are working on Shoot n Learn #3 and it looks like we are going to hone in on using Off Camera Lighting with One (1) Light. I attended a great workshop last fall called the OneLight Workshop and it blew me away. Zack Arias is extremely talented with lighting techniques. I am putting together a VERY condensed version that will give you a head start when using off camera lighting. Stay tuned for details. Here are a few snaps from Tuesday. We need to start videoing! Any videographers out there want to volunteer??? LOL
In an attempt to come out of Blog Slacker status, I am happy to post about Shoot and Learn #2. SandL 1 was great! We all met in Mt. Lebanon and created some available light portraits. We had some great discussions and we all made new friends. That is a success to me :-)
This time, I am super stoked to have my good friend and original photography mentor, Heather Lahtinen of weddingsbyheather.com. Heather is going to join us and lead the discussion on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom tips. Heather is a fantastic photographer and she has the talent of being a master of Post Production as well. Wait until you see her fly! We will be touching on topics, such as importing, organizing with keywords and collections, and creating presets. When you are shooting, especially high volume, it is crucial to have a tight, reproducible system on the back end. Of course we cannot cover it all, but it will give you a great feel on how powerful this Tool really is.
We hope you can join us!
Here is a fun image of Heather and I at a wedding earlier this year.
My good friend Kenny Kim was recently interviewed for F-Stop Beyond. Kenny is a fabulous photographer and more importantly, a wonderful friend. Kenny is one of the most giving people I know. If you are not familiar with him, I have no doubt that you will be eventually. Kenny has experienced a meteoric rise in his recognition as a photographer. He will soon be a household name when the Big Wigs of the industry are mentioned ;-) (Actually he already is!)
It is a wonderful interview and it gives the listener a great inside view of Kenny as a person, photographer and friend. He truly does have the heart of a servant. If you would like to listen, you can by going to Kenny's Blog or F-Stop Beyond to hear.
I am also excited because Kenny is coming to stay with my family for a few days this week. This will be his first visit to Pittsburgh, so it will be a pleasure hosting him.
We are behind on blogging some fantastic shoots. I promise they will all get here eventually. This past week has been a whirlwind of excitement. New Studio, LifExpo and our first Shoot N Learn workshop. I am about to run out and shoot the engagement session of Jill and Joe so I have to make this quick.
I thought I may get 2 or 3 folks out for the workshop, but we had 10! I was blown away. The people that came were awesome. I made some new friends and cannot wait to do it again. We are brainstorming on what we can do each time to make it super useful. We are putting together a survey to send out to see what you all think. Thanks to everyone that came out and look forward to seeing you again!
Here are a few of my snaps from the night. We did Available Light Portraits. Fun!!
My beautiful Wife, Bridget, was our model. Bray Bray made an appearance too.
(these are from my flickr page, sorry for the small size)
Hi Everyone! In effort to reach out, teach, learn, shoot and most of all have fun, I have decided to put together some Shoot & Learn workshops for anyone wanting to learn more about digital photography with a focus on documenting life. I have been wanting to put this together for quite sometime and am happy that we can now move forward.
Starting Thursday May 1, 2008 and the First Thursday of each month, I will be hosting a Shoot and Learn Workshop that will cover at least one aspect of photography. This first one is going to cover Exposure: Available Light Portraits. We will be shooting in Manual Mode :-). I will help you step out of the box and "Auto Mode"...
Click on the Picture for more info:
This is designed for users of Digital SLR cameras that want to learn how to create better images straight out of the camera. My intentions are to help you understand some fundamentals that can push you along your way. I plan on leading to the location and shooting, all the while telling you exactly what settings I am using so that you can begin with a foundation. I will then help you get set up and shooting. I will be available for assistance and to answer any questions you may have.
I absolutely LOVE what I do. I cannot imagine doing anything else. Life is so precious and I believe it is my job to capture it exactly the way God wants it to be :-) I also want to help others do the same thing.
At the very least, we will create a great community and make new friends. How cool is that?
If you are interested in coming along, please email me at david@davidburkephoto.com with Shoot and Learn in the subject line. There is no COST to you, except for your time. I promise that you will walk away with more confidence and hopefully more ideas when you approach a particular subject to shoot.
Pittsburgh Photography Classes - David Burke Photographers - Shoot and Learn
**Update. We also have an awesome announcement to make later today**
We were invited to be a part of LifeExpo this weekend down at Heinz Field. We are very excited to be there and will be shooting the entire event this weekend. TWe would love it if you would stop by and say hello.
Here is some info: Come Down to the LIFExpo at Heinz Field this Thursday May 1st through Sunday May 4th!
It’s a FREE Event where you’ll have the opportunity to: See Tunch Ilkin of the Pittsburgh Steelers for autographs on Thursday from 12-2:00 See Jennifer Antkowiak speaking on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 1:00 Experience the Steeler’s Heinz Field Coca Cola Great Hall See How You can “Go Green” Everyday right here in Pittsburgh! Go Online at the KidZui Internet Cafe as seen on WTAE’s “Plugged In” Enter Prize Drawings and Giveaways for All Ages Introduce the Kids to the Pirate Parrot, Pirate Peroggis, and Kenny Kangaroo Learn How to Lower Your Cost at the Gas Pump Bring Your Home Products and Toys to Test for Lead Content Visit the booths of many regional companies and non-profit organizations!
Visit the website at www.lifexpo.com for much more information!
And on the website, check out the Schedule of Events for more info on the Stage Schedule and Special Attractions! (All scheduled times are subject to change)
Hi all! I am sorry I have not updated in so long. We have been super busy on a number of projects here. One is HUGE and I cannot wait to share.
In the meantime, I have been shooting tons and meeting a lot of wonderful people. I will be updating the blog with some images soon, but I have to run for now.
But I can't leave you without any images, so check this out and then be sure to check my friend Heather Lahtinen's Blog for more. I shot a beautiful wedding with her on Saturday and as usual we had a wonderful time! She is awesome! This is an image I created that she posted on her blog.
And, if you get the opportunity to shoot with friends, DO IT. Enjoy It. You will grow.
Had a really fun shoot with 7 children last week. They were all so great to interact with. Our goal was to get a non-traditional group shot and individual shots of each. It is always a challenge photographing multiple people (especially children :-) ) at once, but we pulled it off nicely.
Once we got some of the group shots we just observed and took some random shots as well. Once the children were rested enough, we moved into individual portraits. I love the individual portrait time with kids!
**Shooting Tip** It is so great to be on their level and find things that we can connect with, such as cartoons, food, school, bikes, sports, etc... When I am shooting portraits of children, I talk and talk to keep that connection going. This is a very important component of my children's photography, because it breaks them from the "mold" of "say cheese" or "sit this way, do this". I love natural portaits, so this is one of my ways to achieve the best results.
Here are some images from the shoot:
Had a really fun shoot with 7 children last week. They were all so great to interact with. Our goal was to get a non-traditional group shot and individual shots of each. It is always a challenge photographing multiple people (especially children :-) ) at once, but we pulled it off nicely.
Once we got some of the group shots we just observed and took some random shots as well. Once the children were rested enough, we moved into individual portraits. I love the individual portrait time with kids!
David Burke Children's Photographer, Pittsburgh Children's Photographer
Thank you for all of the thoughts and prayers. They are working, so please keep them coming.
Bray is coming along, but he is still pretty sick. We decided to take him back to the Dr. today because he was so lethargic. He is definitely making progress and we should see him getting back in the groove by Thursday. His little voice, 'Da Da, I don't feel good...' Man it breaks your heart when you hear it!
Apple Aperture 2.1 Well my love affair with Apple Aperture has come to an end. I was LOVING Aperture. Totally LOVING it. Until they released the update for 2.1. Now I cannot keep the application running. It CONSTANTLY crashes. To the point that it is unusable. I am so heart broken. I have begun using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom again, until they get the quirks fixed in Aperture. I have faith that Apple will fix the issues, but still need to be productive with my time in front of the computer.
Has anyone else had this experience? Do any of my blog readers even use Aperture?? haha.
Al-righty folks (especially photographers) if you have not checked out Becker's the [ b ] school, you need to! the becker is a wedding photographer in Southern California that has been shooting amazing weddings for many years. He is hilarious and a fountain of knowledge. He has been published in major magazines and books on wedding photography.
The [ b ] school is going to be an online learning environment that will be unlike anything else out there. See the the [ b ] school blog for many tips and tidbits on photography.
I met him last year at Mike Colon's 4-day intensive, when we had a poker tournament the last night. I am terrible at poker, but it came down to Becker and me. Becker is also an excellent poker player (check becker's blog for his run at the World Series of Poker!), so he ended up smoking me. After the game we hung out a bit and talked shop. I then saw him again in Vegas at WPPI 07 and again this past week.
This year he was doing free headshots outside of Paris, so a few of us went out to get some shots and of course be entertained! He is a joy to watch work and interact with. Here is my headshot:
So a big thanks to [ b ] for the headshot and a note to all of you to check out the [ b ] school. He has posted about 60 mini videos that are filled with golden nuggets of information about business, photography & personality. I guarantee you will be entertained and more than likely become a student.
I just love having a daughter. She is so stinkin cute. Her face is perfectly round. I think she looks just like mommy. I can only hope! Mommy is so beautiful!
*Tech note* (and a few tips!) Window Light Right Nikkor 50 1.4
ISO 400 f-stop 2.0 shutter 1/100 WB - 5300K
When I am shooting available light, To nail my exposure I typically pick an ISO that I want to use. After that, Aperture is most important to ME so I then select that (I like large apertures 1.4 - 2.8). Then, I dial in the correct shutter speed for a good exposure (using my viewfinder meter) and finally set the correct white balance (I use my RGB histogram on my LCD for review). After a test shot or two, I am off shooting. At this point I am thinking about composition and focus-points, etc...
When recomposing your image ALWAYS be aware of what is in your viewfinder, because it can affect the overall exposure. You may need to adjust your shutter speed to compensate.
Michael Gerber, Author of The E-Myth, was recently interviewed by Tim Ferriss. It is an excellent read for you budding entrepreneurs out there. Gerber has a new book coming out on March 4 "Awakening the Entrepreneur Within". I will be picking up a copy of this book too. The E-Myth is one of my all time favorite business books. He has a way of writing that really gets your fire going for success.
One thing he touches on that is VERY VERY important is that successful entrepreneurs today, seek Meaning rather than Money. This is not to say that the entrepreneur is not interested in money, but money without meaning is too big a price to pay. I cannot agree more.
Meaning is what has driven me to continually create and improve my business and purpose. We all need money, but the meaning of making a positive difference in people's lives far outways the weight of any dollar I can ever make.
OK, so yesterday I posted a video for the out of town family members to see. Today is Officially 3 months old for Bryleigh. We love her so much. She is eating and sleeping so well. She is growing so quickly, that we already miss the things she did last week. It is amazing how quickly they grow. True miracles.
Bryleigh is developing some really cute wrinkles. I called her "Chubbers" and Bridget was like "Don't call her that!!! She is a little Girl, not a boy!" My Bad, Lack of experience with daughters I guess. Now I just call her "Cutie". Another interesting tidbit is that when Brayden, Christian and Damon were 3 months old, they could all lay on their tummies and hold their heads up. Bryleigh is still a little dainty here :-) We are going to work on that.
Brayden woke up from his nap and joined in for a few pics too. I could photograph my kids around the clock. Sometimes they just want me to play. I do play, but it is hard to resist taking pictures.
Here are a few from our little shoot. We put up our grey seamless backdrop and used window light. I processed these all with Aperture 2.0 (I am really diggin it, can't ya tell!) and added a few Film Filters (mainly Ilford B&W 100 grain) from Alien Skin Exposure 2.
It was FREEZING this afternoon, but Christian and Brayden insisted on going outside. (Brayden lasted a whole minute before going back in the house!)
Before Christian went in, I wanted to capture the coldness (notice the little moisture under his nose) and the blue skies. I set up my onelight (Nikon SB-800, Pocketwizard Plus II, Light stand and 28" umbrella) camera left to create this image.
Hi Everyone! You can now subscribe to this Blog via an rss feed reader, such as Google Reader . You can also subscribe by entering your email address and having updates sent right to you. This is a great way to keep up to date and prevent you from spending countless hours surfing your favorite blogs :) You will be notified when new posts are published instead of checking only to find out that there is nothing new.
Time is precious so subscribe to the feed. I placed the tools to do this on the right-hand sidebar ----->
We had beautiful weather on Saturday, in Pittsburgh! I met with Anne and Sean for the first time and shot some engagement photos. We had a great time and I can't wait to get to know them better!! Thanks guys and see ya in May!!!
*Photographers* - These images are straight out of camera and were processed using the new Aperture 2.0 from Apple. I am really working with this software and have to tell you that it is fantastic. I will never say a bad word about Adobe Lightroom, but this version of Aperture is a HUGE upgrade. Blazing Speed, very intuitive, plug-ins that make sense to me and of course Aperture's stellar file management. I may actually change my flow... We shall see :-) I will write a full review when my 30 day trial is up. You may want to try it yourself
Today, Apple announced Aperture 2, the successor to version 1. I tried Version 1 and 1.5 and it just was missing some key features that I really liked in Adobe Lightroom. I am excited to try this version for a few reasons:
1. It's Apple Baby! They get it right more often than not.
2. It looks to be improved as far as User Interface and Speed, not to mention key image adjustment features
3. Like I said in an earlier post, workflow is ever changing. If Aperture 2.0 has something to offer that can make my life easier, I will take advantage of it.
There was a few additional bonuses to this workshop, 1. The hotel had a pool, so Bridget, Christian, Brayden & Bryleigh joined me for a mini-vacation. 2. My good friend, Kenny Kim was accompanying Mike and Bob on this leg of their tour. We headed down Thursday so that we could hang out with Mike, Bob & Kenny to catch up and grab some dinner.
The workshop was fantastic. I love 1 day workshops. They really get the juices flowing for shooting & business. Mike and Bob are so passionate about teaching and sharing. I am happy to call them friends. I picked up a lot of new things and relearned some old things. It is like sharpening your sword... Learing and continuing to learn is awesome. If you are in one of the upcoming cities, be sure to attend!!
I met quite a few photographers that I hope to see again in the future. I am heisting some collages that Kenny Kim created and some images a few of my new friends captured. I didn't take any pictures this trip! I was on vacation....hahaha
Thanks Mike, Bob & Kenny for a great time! I also want to thank Michelle and Maureen from Graphistudio for hosting/coordinating such a great event. It was nice to talk and spend time with both of you! And to all of my new friends especially, Peter, Armin, Asim and everyone else! I hope to see you in Vegas next month.
The question 'What is your workflow like?' comes up quite a bit. I think workflow is an ever changing process that needs tweaking, every once in a while to improve efficiency. When I first started I discovered a workflow and decided to emulate it. It worked well, but it was not entirely for me. I eventually tweaked and adapted strategies from other workflows as well. Now, I have my own that works well for me. This is not the end all nor the greatest, but it works for me.
I love repetition (steps that are easily repeatable) and automation. Wherever I can batch process or script, I do. Saves TONS of time in the end. I have posted a .pdf of my workflow here if you are interested. If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a line at david@davidburkephoto.com.
Hey Peeps! We have launched a new website!!! to showcase some of our children's work. The site has a few portfolios as well as information about David and details about our sessions.
The site will be updated frequently, with new pics and information. The 'Pricing Details' link is not active but will be shortly :-).
davidburkekids.com is an extension of the David Burke Photographers brand that is dedicated to providing excellent service and imagery of David's favorite subjects... KIDS! Maternity to Seniors is what we are about. Our Galleries are named: Fresh - the freshest lives. newborns and babies.
Exploring - the toddler to youth years
Leading - seniors. moving on to be the next leaders.
Together - maternity & families. we want to capture the 'togetherness' of people, not just a portrait.
We are SUPER EXCITED to launch this site and are already booking up sessions quickly! Please drop us a line @ info@davidburkephoto.com to let us know what you think!
I just wanted to share a few of my favorite "non-wedding", "non-portrait" (in a traditional sense) photographers that I love to follow for inspiration. Each year I pick something "technical" that I want to really hone in on and improve upon. Last year it was flash on and off camera. I learned a TON and really improved the way I can light things when I have too. My hat goes off to Zack Arias and his One Light Workshop for showing me how to do a LOT with little equipment.
This brings me to my first inspiration. 1. Zack Arias - You can see his music work here www.zackarias.com. His other site, www.usedfilm.com. Besides being a stellar individual and an excellent photographer, Zack is a wonderful teacher as well. I hope to see him again soon.
2. Jeremy Cowart - Jeremy Cowart is a commercial photographer that lives in Nashville, TN. His work is beautiful and gritty at the same time.
3. Jill Greenberg - Jill the Manipulator is an incredibly talented Canadian-born photographer. Her portfolio is huge and awesome.
4. Dave Hill - Dave Hill Photo. His work is off the hook. He does some crazy photoshop magic to give the images a surreal feel. Very cool.
I have many more inspirations, but these are my current favorites. Who are some of your inspirations?
So this year I actually picked 2 "technical" areas to improve upon. 1. Custom Printing - I have a fantastic professional printer that enables me to print large images. I want to master my Black and White custom prints. This is something new that I want to offer my clients.
2. Studio Shooting - I want to continue my exploration of off-camera lighting with the intention to create unique portraiture of individuals. Simple and clean is the name of the game.
I will be sure to post my progress throughout the year.
Details: 1. Please email stories and recent photo to info@davidburkephoto.com with subject of Free Wedding Photography 2008 (Wedding can take place anywhere in the United States) 2. Couples must have date and location selected for wedding already (subject to our availability as well) 3. Package includes 8 hours wedding day coverage, 20 page 10x10 Leather Album, Online Hosting of Images, travel expenses and a DVD of High Resolution Digital Negatives (once your album is delivered) 4. Our panel of judges will go through the stories and vote. Most votes for the couple wins. 5. ENTRIES IN BY MONDAY 1/14/2008 6. WINNER ANNOUNCED MONDAY 1/28/2008
Wow this past week has gone by so quickly! We had a lot of family in over the holiday and are just now trying to get settled into our new and improved family routine. Adding Bryleigh sure has been a lot of fun! The boys are adjusting well, but they are definitely a little jealous. That is to be expected. Bryleigh sleeps like an angel, eats like a champ and does her business as she should ;-).
One of the things that I have been wanting to do as an 'artist' is take a hand at newborn photography. Newborns are soooooo adorable and I would love nothing more than to capture those details. Well, since I have a live in model, I was able to get a little natural light setup put together and give it a shot. It was great! Bryleigh was a trooper. Click on the picture to see a brief slideshow of the results.
Tech notes: All images shot with available window light. ISO set between 200 and 400. Shutter 1/80 - 1/200 sec, f2.0 - 2.8 using my 50mm lense. I used Black Velvet, an off white shaggy rug, beanbag, basket and a few blankets. One thing I learned is that a beanbag is ESSENTIAL when shooting newborns. It works perfectly.
I am very happy with the results and I cannot wait to shoot more of these. Click on the picture to see a brief slideshow of the results.
I had an incredible time at the One Light Workshop in Atlanta. I will write more about it later, but here are a few images I snapped. So much fun. So worth it. My Flickr Onelight Page.
I love to learn! This weekend I am headed to Atlanta for the One Light Workshop "People are happier when they are lit!" with Zack Arias. I hear it is a fabulous very intensive one day shop. I truly cannot wait. I am also going to get the opportunity to photograph our brand new niece, Evie White. An added bonus!
We are very close to the arrival of our own new daughter too. When we booked this trip for me, we figured that we would still be 3 weeks out from Bridget's due date and would have nothing to worry about. I have to admit, that I am a bit anxious about leaving. We both feel confident that things will be fine while I am away. The good news is there are a lot of flights between Pgh and Atlanta, so I can get home quickly. I will be praying a lot that God takes good care of my family while I am away. Can you do the same? thanks!
Zack is an incredibly talented photographer and it will be great to finally meet him. I will be sure to post images from the workshop. Have a great weekend!
Sweet, I just received word and a link to The Shores Hotel website. The Shores is a division of destinationhotels.com.They are using a number of my images for their website and brochures! I shot Corrine and Nick's wedding there back in April. It is really cool to see how someone else may use my images. I am so happy that they are using them.
A huge thanks to Corrine and Nick for allowing me to capture their wedding and share the images. Here is one of my favorites they used:
I love photography books. Specifically, coffee table books, that have lots of different photos in them. I have always loved the portraits created for The Gap ads. When I was at The Gap yesterday, I discovered this book called Individuals. It contains page after page of images they have used over the years. I love the simplicity of the setups. Most images are created in front of a simple background (white/grey) and one light (off camera) is the light source. There are plenty of images where they use available light too. The images are plain, simple, but very effective. There is also no Photochopping! (a term used when too much Photoshop enhancing is used)
Simple = Beautiful.
Another cool tip. I purchased my copy from the Gap for $35. You can get the same book through Amazon.com for $23. :-)
I am Really Pumped for the D3 because of it's "Full Frame" capability. This means that the digital sensor is the same size as a frame of 35mm film. This is wonderful news for my favorite lenses the 50 1.4 and 85 1.4, because they will actually operate at the intended focal length. That means more working room in smaller spaces and incredible depth of field capabilities!! Creatively, this will be a humongous treat.
Needless to say I will be preordering the D3. They are both slated to release in November. I am not sure if I will jump to the D300, because I still love my D200(s).
I received sad news today. Jose Gonzalez, a friend I made at the Mike Colon workshop this past February, has passed away. Jose was a great guy and a very talented photographer, as well as videographer. I enjoyed spending the week with him and getting to know him. He will be missed. Our prayers and thoughts go out to his family.
Here is a headshot I captured of him on our last day together. Godspeed Jose.
Ah, simplicity. I love to keep things simple, but somehow manage to complicate them, more often than not. I guess you call that life. Anyways, today I received some film prints/scans that I have been waiting for. I just tried a new film processing lab in Los Angeles, CA called Richard Photo Lab. I am happy to say that I am extremely happy with the prints and scans I received. Thank you guys over at Richard Photo Lab! You will be seeing more of my film, for sure!! After receiving my package today, I have made a final decision to keep shooting some high speed black and white film. It is so much fun to shoot without immediately seeing the results. You send out the film and anticipate opening the package when it arrives. How much fun is that? haha. Well, for me it is!!
I had a roll of Tmax 400 and Tmax 3200 come back today and they are gorgeous! The simplicity of the whole deal is this. Shoot, Send, Receive, Enjoy. For some reason, when you throw digital in there, you have a tendency to want perfection (this is true in my case often). This makes it easy to pass on a great image, that may not be perfect.
Anyways, without complicating things further, by writing too much... Here is a series of 3 photos I took of Brayden one early evening in June. These were shot with Kodak Tmax 400 rated at 320 f/1.4 1/250 sec. Bridget and I are going to hang this series on the wall. So cute!! (OK, so I am biased.)
Note: My trusty ole Nikon N70 bit the dust so I just purchased a Nikon N80 for a screaming deal :-) It's great that nobody wants their film cameras anymore. hahaha
When I find a good piece of software that makes my life simple, I love to tell everyone! Well, I recently found another piece of software (web based) that is my new favorite. Highrise. Highrise is from 37signals, which is a small group of guys that have the philosophy of less is more. Keep it simple. All of their offerings are so intuitive and most of all USEFUL! Highrise is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool, to help with managing your contacts.
Being a photographer, my photo tools are priceless, but the biggest part of my business is managing relationships. Before Highrise, we had a mish-mash of emails, address books, blackbooks, etc... It was really hard to manage and to find things because they were so spread out. Now, everything is in one place! Easy to find and manage. It makes it fun!!!
It was so easy to export our Mac Address Book and other contacts from email accounts, etc... It is also easy to export from Highrise and bring them in the other way.
Keeping track of tasks per client, notes, emails and schedules is a breeze. I HIGHLY Recommend trying this out. 37signals always offers a free plan for starters and upgraded plans for when your business grows. So if you are looking for a fantastic way to manage your relationships, be sure to give Highrise a try.
I never get tired of Photographing Bray Bray. He gets bored, but he does work it. I was practicing shooting my favorite Portrait Lens (Nikon 85 f/1.4 D Nikkor) wide open at 1.4. Check him out.
Every once in a while I get the urge to shoot some film and go Old School. It is fun when you shoot and just send off the film to the lab. You don't know what is going to come back. You actually have to wait! Yikes!! haha. As much as I love film and think that it is so beautiful, I could never go back to shooting it full time. Digital is just so flexible and incredible. Embracing technology is such a wonderful feeling. At any rate here are two recent film shots of the two little guys. These were taken with Kodak T-Max 3200, 85mm, 1.4, 1/125 (Techie stuff for other photographers!)
I am always looking to improve my workflow. Part of this process, includes finding tools that can help me perform all of the tasks necessary, very efficiently. I also believe that Less is More. I like simple software solutions. I do not really want to load up my machines with a ton of software that will not get used.
Staples in my workflow, that I can never do without are Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop CS3. Photoshop is a standard among professionals. Lightroom is really picking up steam to be the preferred image adjustment tool. (Apple Aperture is still out there too, but does not fit my workflow as well as Lightroom.)
Recently, I found a new piece of software that is worth a look. I was reading another photographer friend's blog Becker's Blog, when he posted about Photo Mechanic. He has been using iView for years but is now using Photo Mechanic for shear speed. He suggested downloading the demo, so I did. Holy Cow!!! Talk about Fast!! The last thing I really wanted to do was to add another software component to my flow, but I have no choice. This software ROCKS!!! I am basically using it to flag keepers, blog worthy or portfolio images. Once I have them flagged, I copy them to a new folder and then open in Lightroom for additional proof tweaking. It works just as fast with Jpeg or Raw files. I was using Lightroom totally for picking keepers, but Photo Mechanic makes it so much faster! I like to sit in front of the computer as little as possible.
I am sure this tool can do other cool things as well, but for now it is by far the fastest way to plow through thousands of images. This will also come in very handy when flagging images for slideshows at wedding receptions. Both Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Bridge have worked OK for this, but I am looking forward to using Photo Mechanic this weekend's wedding in Daytona Beach, FL!! Do yourself a favor and check it out!
I would like to introduce my good friend, Andy Peterson. We met at the Mike Colon workshop in February and then hooked up again in Las Vegas at WPPI. Andy and his wife, Andi have 4 lovely children and reside in Austin, TX. Andy has a business partner, Craig Davis (who deserves his own blog post) in Houston. Their studio is Rockin (They are NIKON shooters too!)! They are two wonderful people, photographers and businessmen. Andy has been inspirational to me and is already giving me advice on having 4 children and running the family and business. It is great to have friends in similar situations. Check him out!
Nice Headshot
If you look closely at the next image of Mr. Corey McNabb and myself, you can see Andy's hand as well. :-)
First off Great News (pt. 1), I just want to let you all know that Bray Bray is doing wonderfully! He is all better and happier than ever. He laughs more than any child I know. Everytime he giggles, it just makes me happy to be alive!
Secondly, I was away in Las Vegas for the WPPI Convention. I hooked up with some old friends and made a lot of new friends as well. We had such a blast and very little sleep. I am still trying to catch up! The funny thing about the trip is that, I had my camera, but NEVER used it!!! I only have memories and my friends' blogs to check. I was having too much fun to take any pictures... Thanks to all of my friends for making it such a great time, I feel truly blessed to know you all.
*Edited to Add* My friend Tiffany Aicklen was kind enough to send us all this hilarious shot from the SimplePhoto Booth. We broke the record for the most people in one shot. It was quite a squeeze!
We have been busy the past few weeks, I am really behind on blogging, but will catch up over the next week, I promise! Tomorrow kicks off our 2007 wedding season! We are so pumped to get rockin! It is going to be a beautiful day, so please stay tuned.
Lastly, but certainly not least.... The drumroll please.......
GREAT NEWS!!!
Check back in the Fall of 2007 for a new Baby Burke!!!
Today's featured photographer and new friend is Tomas Flint of Rochester, New York! Tomas is a very cool cat that has a brand spanking new website and Blog. After the workshop in Newport Beach, Tomas had the opportunity to take another trip to the Bahamas for some R&R. Tough Life!!! See you soon Buddy :-).
Today's featured Photographer is Chicago's Priscilla O'Sullivan. She lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter. She also just started a blog! Check it out here. She also just made the switch to Mac!! As you know we adore Apple Products! Now if she would only switch to Nikon Equipment, she would be set! haha As you can see she is well on her way to success, building her business!
Slowly but surely I am posting about all of my new friends I made at the Mike Colón workshop. Meet Corey McNabb! He is a great guy and a fabulous photographer. He resides in Asheville, NC. Corey and I met online through Mike's blog before the workshop. It was great to exchange some emails before we got there. It gave us both a chance to know someone before we arrived. hahaha
Corey recently won a bunch of awards with the WPJA. He is now a Gold Medallion Winner! Congratulations Corey!!
Hey all stop over to Mike Colòn's Blog to see some wonderful photographs captured by the attendees.
If you are a photographer, I cannot stress enough how important it is to invest into education and experiences. Workshops like this really open up many new doors and get you thinking like you never thought you could. The people you meet, learning , teaching (helping others), group interaction, fun, challenges, etc... are all priceless. You should make it a goal to attend 1 - 2 workshops a year. I would like to attend 1 per quarter. I LOVE to learn! I think when you get to a point where you think you know it all, you may as well hang it up and find something else to do. Always be open to learning. Another very rewarding aspect of workshops is that you may find in yourself that you can teach/help as well. As individuals, we all have strengths and weaknesses. It is a great feeling when you can help somebody else in an area where they may be struggling, but you may have it under control. Helping others brings me more joy than anything.
So, make it a priority to find a workshop that is a good fit for you and commit to it. You will not be disappointed.
Hello People... Thank you Heather and Joanne for a wonderful and creative learning experience! I had a blast and enjoyed my time with you and everyone else!! Thanks to Maria for being an awesome model!! Love, Bridget!!
Today, Bridget attended a wonderful workshop, thrown by two of our good friends, Heather Lahtinen and Joanne Bartone. Together, they created an experience called 'Element of Love'. EOL is a workshop that combines the talents of both of these wonderful artists, business savy, photographers. Bridget came home very energized and ready for wedding season. We are getting ready to kick off the season on March 31!! We are really looking forward to the many weddings we have scheduled.
Bridget met some great people and made some new friends. She said the workshop was filled with extremely valuable information, for the beginner, intermediate and professional. She HIGHLY recommends taking the Element of Love workshop the next time around. Joanne and Heather are very professional and passionate about what they do. They really want to elevate all photographers in all aspects of the business. I think that what they are doing is awesome! It is so nice to have a group of photographers together, sharing information and helping each other out. Gone are the days of keeping secrets from each other and being stingy with knowledge. Life is too short! Share what you know and you will end up learning a lot more than you ever imagined.
Bridget was working the Nikon like a Pro today! Didn't she do great??:
Hi all! If you are a photographer or a photo enthusiast, I am curious as to which post processing tool is your favorite. In all honesty, I am just curious as to what everyone likes. After talking to many photographers, workflow seems to be such a roadblock for many. We are so lucky to be in the digital photography age right now, because there are so many wonderful tools out there to use!
I personally use Photoshop Lightroom 1.0, however I am learning Apple Aperture. There are Pros and Cons to each one. Lightroom has speed, speed and speed, but is not ideal for file management. Aperture is AWESOME at file management and also has some very cool UI (User Interface) features. The jury is still out on which application will fit my flow the best.
So, if you use either of these tools or something else, please take the poll (over there on the right, in my sidebar ---->).
Last week I met fabulous people/photographers at the Workshop. I am going to do my best to post everyone on my blog so that you can meet them too. Today I have selected Mike Steelman and Kristin Shaparenko, both of which are in California.
Mike Steelman has businesses based around photography. One is ScriPics.com and the other is mikesteelman.com. ScriPics is what got him started. He creates images that speak to his heart and adds Bible scripture to the images that fit perfectly with the image. He is extremely talented in this area. When he first showed Bridget and I, we were blown away at the beauty and simplicity of the images. There was one in particular that really spoke to us. I told him that when we got home we were going to order the print. Being the giver that he is, on Monday a package arrived at our home with a gift from Mike. The gift was the image that we really loved, Matted and ready for framing. He also included a custom card with another fabulous image on it and very beautiful handwritten words to our family. Thank you Mike! It was great meeting you and I look forward to seeing you soon! Check out ScriPics.com to add some Light in your Lives! Here is Mike:
Kristin Shaparenko is one of Mike Colón's assistants. She was crucial to the structure of the workshop and helped in so many ways. Kristin is also a photographer. Her site is Kristin Renee. Kristin is a wonderful person and photographer (see her site and you will know what I mean). Thank you so much for your hospitality, guidance, willingness to share and just being fun! It was great hanging with you all week. I'll see you in Vegas! Kristin
I have a lot of things to catch up on but wanted to quickly post a few images from our beach session the other day. This model is Jasmine Star. She is a photographer too! She is awesome behind the camera and in front of it! (I like to be behind the camera!! haha) Check out her blog Here.
It was awesome working with All the models! Jasmine also brought her husband along on day two for some modeling. Jasmine and JD are two of the warmest people I have met. They are so great to be around! Great to photograph as well. Check them out!
I will be posting as much as I can this week, while I catch up with all of the important things to keep the ball rolling!
*TECHNICAL JARGON FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS* I am now a JPEG Shooter! I have been going back and forth for quite a while and finally took the plunge last week. I can still see myself capturing RAW when needed, but for the majority of my shooting, I am shooting JPEG. Turns out that I LOVE the straight out of the camera files I am getting with JPEG. I setup 3 of my Custom Setting Banks on the Nikon D200 and started using the K scale for White Balance. I am loving the results. It sure beats fiddling with the Raw files on the computer! I would rather be shooting! Give it a try!!
We returned from Orange County last night. I am still on West Coast time, so I cannot fall asleep! Actually, I worked a charity event for the American Heart Association this evening. It was an awesome event and the images will be published in Whirl Magazine shortly. I will keep you posted when they are published. (This is exciting news!)
Anyways, I can't even begin to tell you all how great the workshop was. I met so many great people and made friends with them all! This experience was incredible and if you are a photographer or know one, TAKE THE COLÓN EXPERIENCE! It was fulfilling on so many levels. Making friends, networking, talking shop, learning, sharing, dining, laughing, etc... We even had a Texas Hold Em Tourney the last night. (I came in second :) ).
Mike is a genuine person. If I could sum him up in one word, it would be selfless (this is also true about his wife Julie). They opened up their home and lives to 13 strangers and made us feel as if we were old friends. It was incredible. The amount of knowledge & inspiration I gained, on the first day, was worth every penny. Getting to know Mike and learning from his experience was better than I could have imagined. What even made it better was the quality of people that attended the shop!
Over the next few days I will be posting about all of the wonderful people I met and hope to continue to work with in the future. I will link to all of their sites to give you a little insight into who they are. We are all in this together. We have many things in common, but two that stand out are that we love people and love weddings!
I will also post more images from the workshop in the next few days. I am going to try and get to bed so that we can go to the early church service tomorrow morning!
Meet Mike Colón
Here are the models:
I have many more of Brittany, but this was awesome! She jumped in the pool with her dress on for us. We had a blast!
Even Bridget Modeled a bit!
A headshot of me:
My headshot was taken by Melissa Rich. She is my first introduction! Melissa is a photographer in Colorado. She started in Las Vegas but picked up and moved to Colorado and is continuing to grow her business. She does fabulous work and expect to see her teaching workshops someday! Be sure to check out her site at:Lotus Photo
