November 26, 2008

  • GIVE-AWAY! Hands-on Guide to Creative Lighting DVD...

    Happy holidays, everybody!  Especially you Nikon shooters out there.  Why?  ...I'm going to do a little holiday give-away! 

    I was surprised to see how many people commented on my blog when I actually asked for feedback about which image you preferred a few days ago.  I didn't know I had that many readers!

    If that many people get that motiviated to take the time to comment on a little "poll" blog, I wonder what happens if I take it to the next level?  I'm going to pick one lucky blog commenter and buy them a copy of the Nikon School DVD "A Hands-on Guide to Creative Lighting" with Nikon legends Bob Krist and Joe McNally.  I watched the trailer and I have to say, if you are a Nikon shooter, this looks pretty valuable.  I may be tempted to watch it once or twice before I give it away!  I hope you don't mind.

    If you'd like to be entered in the drawing, leave a comment on THIS blog entry before the end of November.  If you don't have a Xanga account, you can still comment, just make EXTRA sure that you put in the right email address when you comment anonymously.  (Or subscribe to my blog and watch for the winer, duh...)

    This DVD is obviously centered around the (amazing) Nikon "Creative Lighting System."  So, if you're a Canon / other shoooter, beware, the technical stuff may get a little dicey.  It may either make you want to switch to Nikon, or who knows maybe it'll make you glad you're using something else.  But as long as you have a professional flash system that is capable of infra-red wireless control, you should be able to benefit from the mad skillz that Bob and Joe posess, I'm sure.

    Maybe some day in a few years I'll be raffling off private sessions on light / lighting with yours truly, who knows!

    Nikon D300  -  Nikon 17-55 2.8  -  30mm  -  f/4  -  1/90 sec.  -  ISO 200
    Kelvin WB  -  Manual Exposure  -  Spot Metering  -  Tripod  -  Cable Release
    Wireless SB800 @ left, triggerd via pop-up flash

    Nikon D300  -  Sigma 50-150 2.8  -  55mm  -  f/2.8  -  1/320 sec.  -  ISO 800
    Kelvin WB  -  Manual Exposure  -  Spot Metering
    Wireless SB800 @ right, triggerd via pop-up flash

    Nikon D300  -  Nikon 17-55 2.8  -  17mm  -  f/11  -  1 sec.  -  ISO 200
    Kelvin WB  -  Manual Exposure  -  Spot Metering  -  Tripod  -  Cable Release
    Wireless SB800 @ left, triggerd via pop-up flash

    Nikon D300  -  Nikon 17-55 2.8  -  17mm  -  f/5.6  -  1/250 sec.  -  ISO 200
    Auto WB  -  Apeture Priority  -  Center-Weighted Metering
    Wireless SB800 @ right, triggerd via pop-up flash

    www.nikonusa.com

    Leave a comment now if you want a chance to win this DVD!!!

    Take care,
    =Matt=

November 23, 2008

  • Some recent "post-wildfire" images...

    Just a few images taken after the height of wildfire destruction.  The atmosphere is always bizarre (and beautiful, and hazardous to your health...) when the Santa Ana winds die down and a thick haze lingers over the entire So Cal area...

    Nikon D300 @ 17mm

    Nikon D300 @ 50mm

    Nikon D300 @ 125mm

    The second two shots were taken in Corona, CA just up-wind of where one of the wildfires burned.  As you can see the haze is thick.  This is one area / setting in which I really hope to get a shoot together sometime...

    =Matt=

November 22, 2008

  • Which do you prefer?

    I can't decide which angle / composition is better for this detail shot.  Help my "eye" do a little research, and tell me which image YOU prefer at first glance...

    (Both images with a Nikon D300, Sigma 50-150 2.8, hand-held JPG with zero photoshop other than added grain...


    Take care,
    =Matt=

November 21, 2008

  • Just tryin' to blog regularly...

    ...Just another recent fave!

    (Rachel, making this look way too easy...)
    Nikon D300  -  Sigma 50-150 2.8  -  150mm  -  f/2.8  -  1/180 sec  -  ISO 800
    Kelvin WB  -  Manual Exposure  -  Matrix Metering  -  Minutes after sunset

    I know I've been a BAD NETWORKER lately and have not mentioned much (if at all?) that I am an AVID MEMBER of "the [b] school"  ...It is an amazing community that, in all honesty, I feel that EVERY wedding photographer can't afford NOT to be a member of.  Simply put you can learn absolutely EVERYTHING about the wedding photography business.  And even for those who have been in business for decades and already know everything, the digital age NETWORKING is going to be critical if you want to survive in this dramatically evolving business.  Of course I speak with less worry about the economy and more worry about the simple fact that "digital" has put a high-end DSLR in practically EVERYBODY's hands, and the real pros risk becoming indistinguishable from "uncle joe" who just bought a $8,000 toy and wants to try it out on his niece's wedding...  We need our images, and our "image" itself, to STAND OUT from the crowd.  We are entering an era, who knows how brief or how lengthy, of "amateur professionals" offering budget digital services as a side job.  The scary thing is, they have every legal right to do so, and some of them are pretty darn artistic.  Professionals from all arts, not just photography, are going out of business because of digital hobbyists.  ESPECIALLY if their bread-and-butter (or is it meat-and-potatoes?) work is done at less than $2000-$3000.  So we need to either join them, (get a day job at the apple store?) ...or RISE ABOVE.  Okay hold it!  I didn't mean to get THAT soapbox-ish!  What I mean to say is, you should join the [b] school, it will be the best thing you ever do for your [b]usiness...

    Anyways, I'm taking the community energy and motivation to try and plan some local get-togethers, or shoot-togethers as the case may be.  In the OC / Riverside area there are a good number of unique locations that I'd love to just shoot for fun, just to keep my eyes sharp and my mind "outside the box"...  Of course I've already got a long email list of people I'll be notifying when plans do come together for any shoots, and nobody HAS to be a member of the [b] school to be allowed to come...  In general I'm just interested in making new friends and giving people as much PRACTICE as possible!  Having attended numerous workshops over the years, and getting photography questions daily in my own inbox, I've obviously considered doing photography "workshops" of my own.  But what I've realized is that I can't do a better job than those who are already teaching.  AND, I've realized, the thing I could NOT get enough of when I was beginning was sheer EXPERIENCE...  So as a community service to all of US who are serious and determined to succeed, I simply aspire to organize as many "shoot-togethers" as possible...

    I would say "stay tuned", but it could be quite a while.  So, you know who you are, ...I'll be in touch!

    Take care,

    =Matt=

November 19, 2008

  • More misc. photos...

    Thankfully I got a few chances to venture outside a week or two ago when the weather was really beautiful.  I felt pretty rusty, but still managed to find a few landscape compositions...  I need to get out more and sharpen my nature eye!

    Nikon D300  -  Nikon 17-55 2.8  -  17mm  -  1/2 sec.  -  f/16  -  ISO 200
    Kelvin WB  -  Manual Exposure  -  Circular Polarizer  -  Graduated Neutral Density Filter  -  Tripod  -  Cable Release

    Nikon D300  -  Nikon 17-55 2.8  -  17mm  -  1.3 sec.  -  f/11  -  ISO 200
    Kelvin WB  -  Manual Exposure  -  Circular Polarizer  -  Graduated Neutral Density Filter  -  Tripod  -  Cable Release

    Nikon D300  -  Nikon 17-55 2.8  -  17mm  -  3 sec.  -  f/16  -  ISO 200
    Kelvin WB  -  Manual Exposure  -  Circular Polarizer  -  Tripod  -  Cable Release

    CLICK HERE and view a higher-resolution image!
    Nikon D300  -  Nikon 17-55 2.8  -  17mm  -  3 sec.  -  f/8  -  ISO 200
    Kelvin WB  -  Manual Exposure  -  Tripod  -  Cable Release

    Alright back to work!  Take care,
    =Matt=

November 17, 2008

  • So Cal Wildfires, Part 2...

    Nikon D300  -  Sigma 50-150 2.8  -  150mm  -  1 sec  -  f/4  -  ISO 400
    Kelvin WB @ 4350 K  -  Manual Exposure  -  Matrix Metering  -  Gorillapod  -  Cable Release

    Nikon D300  -  Nikon 17-55 2.8  -  17mm  -  30 sec  -  f/11  -  ISO 200
    Kelvin WB @ 3650 K  -  Manual Exposure  -  Matrix Metering  -  Gorillapod  -  Cable Release

    Truly tragic, scary, and beautiful in a dark way...  Images were made atop a bridge down the street from my house.

    =Matt=

November 16, 2008

  • The Hills Of Los Angeles Are Burning... (Again)

    Nikon D300  -  Sigma 50-150  -  150mm  -  1/250 sec.  -  f/5.6  -  ISO 200
    Aperture Priority  -  Kelvin WB @ 5500 K  -  Center-Weight Metering  -  Circular Polarizer

    Nikon D300  -  Sigma 50-150  -  50mm  -  1/350 sec.  -  f/8  -  ISO 200
    Aperture Priority  -  Kelvin WB @ 5500K  -  Center Weight Metering  -  Circular Polarizer


    Well, Southern California made it through September / October uneventfully, but we weren't safe just yet apparently.  The Santa Ana winds picked up over the past week and the humidity dropped down to a single digit.  Many wildfires ignited from Santa Barbara down to right around where I live, in Orange County.  Thousands of acres have burned so far, hundreds of homes have been destroyed, and dozens of people have been injured.  In some places fires burned so hot and so quickly that numerous casualties may have been suffered but there is just no way to know until the ground cools enough for people to return and search...

    The photos to come are 10x more dramatic, shocking, and tragic... 

    Take care and be safe out there, my So Cal friends,
    =Matt=

November 12, 2008

  • GORGEOUS Sunsets Lately!!!

    I am SUPER revved right now to shoot some sunsets and sunrises!  Wow, today was gorgeous!!!

    Nikon D700  -  20mm  -  Cajon Pass, CA


    Take care!
    =Matt=

    Let's hang out some time!  I love to shoot sunrise during the winter.  Any of my early-morning nature photography adventures are open-invitation. Especially if you own a tripod and know what mirror lock-up is!

November 6, 2008

  • Made a new local friend...

    I finally got to meet a good Xanga friend of mine the other day, Hoang. (Xanga link)  I gotta tell ya, few people are willing to get up at 5:00 AM and go shoot pictures with a stranger!  We had a great time shooting a post-sunrise morning at the local marsh, and the clouds were beautiful.  I'll post photos as soon as I finish my plate of work!

    For now, here's a recent wedding photo, quite inspired by Hoang actually.  He reminded me how flippin' sweet the SQUARE is.  *And* how cool the new reverse-clarity slider is in Adobe Bridge!

    THANK YOU, to Joy & Randy for being such an awesome, relaxed, (and good-looking) bride and groom, of course!

    Lately I've gotten in the bad (good?) habit of just stopping on the side of the road for wedding portrait sessions, whenever I see good light.  I mean how could you NOT pass up this tree?  BTW this shot was taken at high noon, when you're not supposed to EVER take a portrait.  Oops!

    Nikon D300  -  Nikon 17-55 2.8  -  17mm  -  f/4  -  1/250 sec  -  ISO 400  -  Manual Exposure  -  Spot Metering
    RAW capture  -  New Bridge CS3 custom picture profile "D2X MODE 1" (matches in-camera profile)

    Take care all,
    =Matt=

    Let's hang out some time!  I love to shoot sunrise during the winter.  Any of my early-morning nature photography adventures are open-invitation. 

October 30, 2008

  • First order of business: Recent weddings #1!

    Most recently, I traveled up to the (south) bay area to photograph a wedding with Eric Farewell for some awesome friends of his.  Here are a few photos really quick.  I had a blast photographing this super good-looking couple!  I'm gonna hafta break my rule of thumb and blog more than 5 photos at once.  Please forgive me!  Congratulations, Karen & Simon!

    =Matt=

    Nikon D300  -  Sigma 50-150 2.8  -  50mm  -  f/2.8  -  1/250 sec.  -  ISO 1600  -  Apeture Priority  -1/3
    NEW Bridge CS3 preset "Kodak T-MAX"  (work in progress?)

    Yeah, I love my spot metering + apeture priority!

    Favorite "dress shot" tip:  The transition from cool blue window light to warm indoor light is always pretty...
    This shot was in auto white balance, even!

    Here is the garden in which their ceremony took place.  Beautiful!  Wish we had more of this in So Cal...
    (Click HERE and view a larger version, please!)

    Lovely ladies!

    I love being an assistant / 2nd shooter, it always frees me up to take risks and gamble on more creative shots...

    I've really been loving the intersection of warm and cool light these days.  And I've always liked beautiful brides!

    Again, being free to "create".  This is what you get when you ask me to assist!

    ...Aaand, I'll let Eric rock the bamboo forest shots! 

    Nikon D300  -  Sigma 50-150 2.8  -  50mm  -  1/750 sec  -  f/4  -  ISO 400  -  Aperture priority

    And, despite all that gorgeous color, I couldn't resist a B&W version, too!  Backlighting always rocks in monochrome...


    Alright, moving backwards chronologically, another beautiful So Cal wedding is next!

    Take care all,
    =Matt=