Shallow Depth of Field

Sometimes I get questioned as to why I would spend so much more for a lens with a faster (smaller) f-stop. The answer is creative focus control.  If you want a certain image to just pop or draw the viewers attention to a specific area of the image, try using a smaller f-stop.  Sometimes you want the whole image to be seen in focus, but you run the risk of creating a snapshot and not a possible piece of art; make that decision before you click and you will be much happier with your photography.

Street Photography

I love just walking the streets and looking for what I see and trying to capture it.

Below the Depot

Not a place you really want to go alone; though I did.  I would love to go back and shoot some more HDR in these conditions as they lend themselves so well to the process, but there too many eyes looking out from behind pillars and under boxes for my safety to be ensured down there.  They were probably mostly harmless addicts and homeless, but my comfort zone shrank considerably in just a few minutes.

Merry Christmas

Black and White

To me there is just something about black and white that at the end of the day just draws me back.  If I can take away the color; the obvious catalyst in most images, and still keep your attention long enough to see the beauty in an object or plant or reflection by just showing you its contrast and form, then I believe I have accomplished something.  I trust I do every now and then... Please click the images to get a closer look.

Happy Labor Day

I remember when this meant something...

Playing with the new camera

A few weeks ago I got my new camera in after quite a wait for it to be in stock. I even had to wait for two weeks for the extra battery to become available. I got a Canon 5D Mark II to go with my almost three year old original 5D. The 21.1 megapixels are a little taxing on the editing process, but i will put up with it for the extra data :)

I have shot two paying jobs with it so far and have really enjoyed it. I have two wedding in the next 5 weeks and the extra camera with different lenses attached will be so helpful. The images are probably no better than with the 5D, but the size and cropping options are incredible.

There is nothing special about these captures; they are just some fun testing of different lighting situations and processes. Hope you like something.

Assorted Inspiration

Sometimes a subject just jumps out at you, almost begging to be photographed; other times you must have your minds eye open, ready and willing to see what may normally go unnoticed.

The Art of Life

I find the rural life in Southern Indiana to be something quite special. Whenever I pass a farm or home on my daily travels, I try to imagine the story behind it. We all have a story, a life that we live with our families and friends and sometime overlook that of others. I stopped in one day at a farm I pass quite often near my home and asked if I could walk around and shoot. I just wanted to get a little more insight into the life of the family living there, even if it was just out of curiosity. Here are a few images from the series I shot one warm afternoon. I hope you enjoy; and maybe the next time you pass a familiar location you will walk a moment in their shoes even if it is only in your minds eye.

Ghana, West Africa

Last October just outside Tema, Ghana, West Africa, we came across a small fishing community on the beach. They had their hand carved fishing boat embellished with personal and tribal carvings, a shelter from the weather crafted from palm trunks and fronds and the pots where they cleaned and prepared the catch for sale right on the beach. All this not a mile, and within view, of a hustling and bustling metropolitan area of Ghana with its banks, oil, Mercedes dealerships and suit-wearing business men. It was so different from my experiences in Kenya and Eastern Africa teaming with zebra, giraffe and gazelle, but it was still Africa; primal, sad, beautiful and life changing in so many ways.

More from Maine

A few more of the thousands of images taken during the Maine 2008 series. I was there to shoot the Black and White series but I could not help but capture some of the color while I was there.

A Fish Tail

I considered taking a picture of the rest of this huge Rainbow Trout, but I thought it best to leave it just a Fish Tail :)

Elegance in the Alley

I find that putting competing elements together can be very interesting. Here you have the beauty and the grunge, the silk and suede with the rust and run-down. The added element of the breeze just at shutter release was a nice surprise.

Midnight Minimalism

Another long exposure, night shot. Sometimes you just want to keep it simple, you see something in your mind, even with choppy water and hardly enough light to focus so you just wait for your eyes to acclimate to the dark conditions and hope you get the focus and the composure the way your visualize it. I love minimalism in photography.

Old Truck Love

Broken down, rusting away, neglected to the point of no return; and yet I am still so attracted to them I will stop the car and trudge through the tall grass of someones side yard to get a shot. I found this one in just that manner while in Maine shooting the coast series.

Maine 2008

My latest series comes from a trip I took this summer to the rocky coast of Maine. I had been working on a new technique of night, long exposure photography for some time and this was the perfect place to really exercise these.

I will post more as time goes on, but here is one of my personal favorites (and there are many) from this very special shoot. These prints will be exclusively for sale through a retailer who commissioned me to shoot some images for his new store in Kennebunkport. We are really excited about the response we will get from the series.

Come back for more images from this series.

Saturday Fly Fishing

My son-in-law David and I went fishing on the Cumberland River today. The fishing was slow, a dozen or so, but it was a nice fall day. I could not resist pulling the camera out for a few minutes. We have not had the best color this year due to a drought this summer, but it was still a nice scene though.