Lord of the Rings

We have a big family wedding coming up this weekend! Ryan and Jenna are getting married… and our son Aidan has the distinct honor of being the ring-bearer (hence the name of this post).

In the tradition of wedding “traditions”, the ring-bearer gets to don a tuxedo like the rest of the bridal party. And since this would be Aidan’s first official “tux fitting” I had to grab the camera and record this first of many “life moments”. He has been over-the-moon excited since Ryan and Jenna sent him a practice pillow. He slowly walks the kitchen and spreads a killer smile across his face. His gait is slow and deliberate… he’s very serious about performing well and realizes the magnitude of this day (well, as much as a five year old can realize the magnitude of anything…)

As in most retail locations there was just a horrid mix of light- daylight pouring through the window, harsh fluorescents above… just a wicked nasty swirl of ickiness. But I pretty much forgot about it all, and just went to shoot some special candids. Ryan ended up meeting us at the fitting, which turned out to be really special for the boys.

Enjoy!

Sometimes you just don’t know…

Wasn’t sure about this photo when I took it…

Still not sure about it now.

I sorta like it, but I sorta think it could be better.

Happens a lot when taking pictures. I throw it out there for your judgement… thumbs up, or thumbs down.

Unleash da’ Hound…

So the latest addition to our family has indeed earned her nickname “Silly Lilly”…

She scoots, sprints, careens, crashes and simply runs through the house… leaving a wake of mischief behind her :).

Grabbed my camera to catch her antics for posterity. Enjoy!

Make a Wish…

I’ve noticed as I’ve gotten older its more difficult to recognize and appreciate some of those smaller things in life that we shouldn’t overlook.

Enter my son Aidan. Aidan at 5 years of age is already what I call a  “life poet.” My definition of a life poet is simple, someone who lives in the moment, and seriously pulls joy and wonder into seemingly mundane things. Hence, the image of this dandelion.

Aidan cannot pass a flower without smelling it, he cannot look at clouds without telling me what animal he sees, and he cannot, he absolutely cannot pass a dandelion without picking it, and blowing its seeds into the air and making a wish. This has rubbed off on me… When I see one, I don’t see a “weed” begging for some Roundup… I see a “wish maker”, I see his brown eyes intently focused, and his brain furiously thinking about the right wish he wants to make. He always closes his eyes tightly, then opens, puffs his cheeks and tries his hardest to ensure every seed takes off. Makes me giggle just thinking about it.

So, I’ve taken to photographing dandelions when I find them… in various states of disarray. This lucky guy was in Bodega Bay, California embedded in a concrete walkway, it had lost the top half of its seeds, probably blew away in a strong wind, or perhaps another little boy wandered by, made his own wish, and then blew a gusty breath to send its delicate parts adrift into the air, hoping a secret wish would come true.

Ford Grille

A quick shot with a 70-200mm f2.8 with a Canon (shudder!) 500d Macro lens threaded on the end. This has become one of my favorite ways to do quick macro shots without having to set up a tripod, extension tubes, etc. Its a real pain-in-da-butt though to ensure focus is tack sharp and where you wanna be… I’ve learned my feet are the best method of focusing- slight step in, slight step out… carefully watch the subject and see if I got focus. Then rip some frames and cross your fingers that one or two are tack sharp.

I also have to offer a tip-of-the-ole hat to the guys that dedicate themselves to restoring these machines. I think like any passion its more a labor of love to breath new life into these cars.

Bodega Bay Harbor

This was a quick 5 frame snap made with an HDR in mind. Started playing with the image (almost like I always do… while I so enjoy shooting, the techie/geek in me really loves messing around in post-production).

Why HDR? Its debatable really… I found the glitter on the water to be blowing out a bit in one frame, so I bracketed thinking I would get everything compresses real nice.

Why Black and White? No other reason than I liked it better than the color version. Used NIK’s Silver Efex Pro to switch it over to B&W. Its simply awesome.

That was it. “Nancy” is the name of the boat… so if you know anyone named that, they might really enjoy the image 🙂

Iconic Mustang

Always liked that Ford Mustang Logo.  And when its raining, your attention turns to small details, often overlooked.

Loved how the rain drops puddled around the words… and added a bit of drama to the overall image. Used a Canon 500D Macro lens affixed to a 70-200mm f2.8 lens. Simple shot, no tripod required.

The Tree Continued…

Not sure which composition I like better… yesterdays or todays. What I do know is I love this scene…

I like the wide view of the vines, slightly curved on this sweeping hill and the movement the clouds in the sky suggest is happening… I like the dark rich blue framed by the whote puffy clouds, and yet there is a hint of grey… coming rain maybe… I like how the sun was brighter on the right of the frame than the left.

Not sure which one you like better? The vertical or the landscape… I guess it comes down to personal taste.

Thinking about doing this shot on canvas for The Gallery. Think the texture would really enhance the finished product.

Enjoy!

I’ve Been Dreaming of a Tree… and Napa delivered!

The past few years I have been haunted by a tree. I’ve had a vision of a tree, silhouetted, at the top of a hill against an amazing, dramatic sky… Everywhere I go, I look for this shot. It’s driven me to drive up roads in Vermont, down Valley’s in the Southwest… and I’ve searched and searched.

I had the pleasure of shooting with Richard Small a photographer from Santa Rosa (who I met and shot with in Moab last year) again last week. While we were visiting a vineyard in Napa Valley, Richard mentioned some rolling hills… and a tree. I don’t think he finished his sentence before I was in my car, peeling up dust and heading down the road. Pulling off to the side of the road and walking the area a bit, I knew I had a magic moment. While it mihgt not be the tree shot of my dreams, it would surely stoke the fires… The vines ran directly toward the tree and the sky was changing rapidly as clouds came and went across a vivid deep blue sky.

I ended up shooting over a hundred images of this scene. Vertical, landscape, zoomed in, zoomed out. I walked tot he left, to the right, up the hill a bit, and across the street to stand on a bluff. I knew I had to capture this scene in a bunch of different ways. This is the first of many finishes, and I love it… It hasn’t satiated the “tree dream” but I can rest, and pause, and look at this one, knowing its a very special shot.

Enjoy!

Russell Brown, WineMaster

Had the distinct pleasure of meeting Russell Brown during the DLWS Napa adventure. For those of you not familiar with Russell, he’s the Senior Creative Director at Adobe Systems and is heavily involved in the graphic design and development arena. He is also a total blast to photograph. Russell came prepared to get into “character.” He asked a couple of us to shoot him in the vineyard we were visiting… So I broke out a flash and a Lumiquest LTP softbox (a McNally favorite) and went to TTL town.

Russell is just plan awesome to have in front of the lens. He lends drama where there is none, and very quickly transforms himself from “mad” scientist to elder winemaster with ease. For this portrait I wanted to bring out the drama in the clouds building behind him, as well as include enough of the vineyard “environment” to show where he was and paint a “story” around the image.

I call this the “Wine Spectator” cover shot. 🙂 Enjoy.