Working with a 13 month old

I am over-confident. That's the only explanation for the complete and utter failure of my attempts to get my 13 month old son to cooperate for a shoot. We tried this past weekend to get a family picture for us and for Christmas. We "hired" a friend to do the camera work for us so I could actually be in a shot. The fact that I thought I could setup the shot, hand the camera to Ben who was waiting to push the button, and get back in the shot--all while keeping my son's attention--speaks volumes to my over confidence problem. Fear not, I've joined a group to help with the problem.

I've since learned 13 month olds do not pose, do not smile on command, and certainly do not sit still. They do however turn around, crawl any direction away from the camera, and stick all props (rocks, feathers, and other objects designed to get their attention) in their mouth. Oh well. We got a few good shots. Ben was excellent and more importantly, patient. Maybe when he's a teenager (or grown) we'll get more.

Corel Painter X

This past week we shot Gracie's one year shots. Wow she's grown! It was a lot of fun working with the whole family and trying to capture her personality. I'm working on their pics now, and I'll add my favorite one or two to the blog shortly. In the meantime here's a quick sunset I snapped during a costume change. I know sunsets are overdone and cliche but here's another one. This is actually my first real attempt with Corel's Painter X. I'm no artist by any means. This subject was about as simple as it comes. I think it came out "alright." Nothing to get to excited about, but I post it here mostly to brag on Painter X. If you haven't tested this software--I highly recommend it. I've only been playing with it a couple of days and I can already see the potential. Obviously artists love it, but photographers should too. There's a lot of versatility and creative blending you can do between photorealism and painted.

Back to photography--My current personal project is now reorganizing my office. Back to pics soon (I hope). Later.

Mmmm Cake

Ok, I realize chocolate cake mix doesn't have much to do with anything other than me liking chocolate cake. I had the idea for this shot a few weeks ago while making cake. Tonight Heather and I made another cake, this time with lights and camera ready. Heather mixed the batter and held the beater while I adjusted lights and shot. I'm going for as simple a composition as possible to really focus the eye on the texture, color, and shape. Enjoy! Now I'm off to eat the leftovers from the shoot.

New Studio Blue Blog

Welcome to the new Studio Blue blog. I'm working on several personal projects currently, and this will be the place for updates and pics. The first project I'm working on is a storyboard series of film noir style shots with a modern twist. This is the first personal project I'm really tackling involving a series of images, so right now my vision seems quite daunting. I will update you with other projects in the meantime. More to come . . .