Apple Typo

Of all the companies, you'd think Apple would notice a typo like this.


This is one of the FAQs on the "notification of shipment" email that Apple sent me to tell me Aperture 3 is on the way.

What if I will not be available to receive my shipment?

Most of our shipments contain valuable items, so our carriers are required to obtain a signature upon delivery. However, orders delivered by DHL Global Mail/United States Postal Service do not require a signature. Please note that the carrier makes three delivery attempts before they returning your package to Apple

That is just plain silly.

Anyway. I bought Aperture 3 in hopes that it is faster and less of a resource hog than Aperture 2, which is a PIG!

I'm off to snowboard for the day! TGIF!!!

Epic clouds

We had some seriously awesome cloud cover last night. I brought my camera on the way to class (which ended up being cancelled) and took a few photos.

On my monitor they appear dark, but sufficiently light to tell there are trees and clouds. If your monitor isn't calibrated correctly, they may appear a bit darker than intended.

Thats all for now folks!

Puppy

I came home one afternoon and decided to spend some time shooting ISO 6400 (the max on my D300).

I didn't get a whole bunch worth looking at, though with my 50mm at f/1.8 I was able to shoot inside at 1/500 sec, which was really fun.

This is Sadie. With the camera on Aperture priority and spot meter she was way too bright, but minus 2/3 stop she came out just right! Both photos are straight out of camera.

Have a lovely Tuesday!

Consistency and professionalism

From this article:
 “Can an amateur take a picture as good as a professional? Sure,”... “Can they do it on demand? Can they do it again? Can they do it over and over? Can they do it when a scene isn’t that interesting?”


I think Katrin Eismann, the chairwoman of the Masters in Digital Photography program at the School of Visual Arts in New York, hits it right on the head. Being a professional isn't about how much you charge. It isn't about what gear you use or how many lenses you have or how well you know photoshop. It is about getting quality results every single time you show up to a paid shoot. 


In the quote above, Eismann is talking specifically about photojournalists, but I see no reason why her argument can't expand to every kind of creative out there. Painters, musicians, writers, photographers, glassblowers, anybody.


Imagine: You woke up on the wrong side of the bed. You didn't have milk for your cereal and your dog pooped on the carpet... again. You have 20 minutes to drive to the other side of town so you can prep for *another* engagement shoot, your third this week. You are a full 24 hours behind on editing photos for paying clients and you don't have a clue when you're going to make up the time.
Can you still show up, engage the client, and make great photographs?  If you want to call yourself a professional photographer, you don't have a choice. You don't have the luxury of having an "off-day," or a day off for that matter. Sure, you might not feel like taking pictures and you might not be really into it, but if you can't produce the great photography that your clients have come to expect... You're done. In that case, someone who can get the shot consistently will usurp you.


Anybody can get lucky once in a while and produce a masterpiece. You don't want to be that person. I know I don't. 


Of course, it happens anyway. I have days where nothing but the shutter clicks. It clicks over and over again and all my photos suck. Lucky for me, those days never happen on days where I have a paying client... at least not yet. The day it does, I'll take "professional" off my business card and replace it with "lucky". (As it turns out, my card just says "Photographer" instead of "professional" or "lucky" or "amateur")


Anyway... that's my rant for the day. Thank you to the NY Times for the fodder.

Color me undead...

Here are the rest of my picks from the shoot with Zombiekiller Girl.

Some I like in color, some in B&W, some in both. I'll leave it to you to figure out which are the repeats from my last post.

I'm psyched to get this project off the ground sometime in the next four or five weeks! All I really need now is a few models who want to rock the zombie look...

Have a fantastic Monday! I know I will.

Zombie Girl!

The shoot I did today with Sarah was pretty much a test of the look, the lighting and the general concept of things. Eventually I'll have a bunch of models lookin' like zombies, and Sarah will have some neat props (guns and knives) to set her up as the zombie killer.

Today we just played with a few poses, the makeup and the wardrobe.
One light setup - AB800 with a monster softbox.

I'll post the color shots at a later date - gotta stretch these things out at the pathetic rate that I've been shooting!

Point!

I still have nothing new - though I'll be shooting a bunch today and tomorrow - you have to wait until tomorrow to get anything fun out of me.

Chase Jarvis, however, has a seriously sick behind the scenes video showcasing how he did a couple of videos using DSLR cameras and the RED One.

Without further Ado, let me point you there!