Las Vegas, WPPI - Photography Conference

I decided last minute (purchased the ticket the day before I left) to head out to Las Vegas for WPPI for a couple of days. I am starting/changing some products in my business and wanted to get my hands on them before making a final decision. I had the chance one evening (later than I wanted) to capture a few images. These are all hand held. Here are a couple that a fellow photographer, Robyn robynnavarro.net, asked me about. I will post her link when I find her card in my very organized piles of literature from the conference.

St Paul, MN Photography Walk

I went down to St Paul for about an hour walking a flexible predetermined grid of the city each day. No particular purpose except to pick one image from each day and post it. Rules: B&W, 50mm, no tripod, about an hour and stick to the grid. These are not neccessarily the best, but I thought they went together well. Working, walking and gettting to and from, then time for a rest. Thanks to Julie (Julie Michelle Photography) for coming down and joing me on one of the days, I always come away more positive after time with her.

Workshop - Photo 6-Field Session, Stillwater, MN

Another great day in Stillwater, MN for a photography workshop. We had better weather than last week so we spent more time outside. Here is an image of two of the students- Dueling Photographers, I would like to see the images created by them at that moment. Student images will be posted when I get them.

Outdoor Portrait Photography Workshop

Just finished an Outdoor Portrait Photography Workshop at west campus of Century College. After the presentation, we decided to reschedule the shoot portion of the day due to weather- rain, sleet and just plain cold. Some students decided to stay so we found some sheltered locations to keep the models dry. We ended up making a day of it, can't wait to see what everyone came up with. Sorry no images, I was too busy holding reflectors and assisting the four photographers. A huge thank you to Leslie and Dominika for powering through the weather and being such great models.Thank You and Dakujem!

Photography, Love, Marriage, Sex, and Creating Pictures.

Photography is a relationship. You with your camera, the craft and the art, shutter speeds with apertures, a scene with the light, photographer and subject and on and on. One without the other creates nothing. As in all successful relationships, the art of compromise is vital. You cannot abandon one part of the relationship while you put all of your energy into the other. You need an understanding of the craft to fully realize your vision, your composition and visa versa. We need that relationship, that marriage to create images that convey emotion and interest.  Sometimes these relationships get stale, they get boring, the same thing every time. We have not put the needed time and effort into the marriage or we have focused too much on one part of the relationship. Find something to bring that spark back. Throw a new toy to throw into the relationship, try something different. Go back to the beginning, push the buttons that got you started when the relationship first started. Shift out of auto mode and get back to hands on-manual mode, so what if you grind a few gears along the way. Remember the light, the shape, try new angles, new positions, mix it up a bit.