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Michael [mahy-kuhl] – noun
1. A male given name. 2. A witty, charming professional wedding photographer who enjoys movies, exercise, romantic walks on the beach and large pepperoni pizzas.
Maven [may-ven] – noun
1. A connoisseur or trusted expert in a particular field who seeks to pass his knowledge onto others. 2. An intense gatherer of useful information. 3. An individual who demonstrates passion for learning and teaching a specific topic, particularly through a well connected social network.
Thank you for coming to my blog! I update it regularly, so if you ever want to know what I am up to, please come by and take a peek. Feel free to leave your comments below.
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Day 347 |
Left Idaho this morning and just got back to Az. This should be a very exciting and interesting week as I prepare to move to Maui. Im pretty sure I busted my Canon 5Dii over the weekend. I can squeeze a shot off or 2 and then I get an "Error 20" and it freezes up. I'm not too disappointed, I am certain I have over 250,000 shots on this thing, and I think it may even be under warranty through best buy.
At this rate, I should finish my 365 sometime in the next 2-3 years. |
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Day 346 |
Flew back to Arizona today, there was a huge storm and I have a friend (grown up) who likes to go out and play in the rain when it is really pouring. It felt good- like being a kid again.
1/30, f 6.3, ISO 250 Canon 5DII , Canon 24-70 2.8L , ISO 250, Michael Andrew Paintballer Pro Presets
Been super busy with a lot of projects, so many good things coming. Life has never been better and I have never been happier.
PS- A little birdie told me that the APT DVD Pre-Order will be ending tomorrow evening (and that would only happen on the day they ship if that's a hint to those of you who have pre-ordered) so if you think you are going to get it anyway, you might as well get the free Sky Cam Guide and buy within the next 24 hours.
Without any unforeseen problems, some of you will have them by Tuesday, possibly sooner! |
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Day 345 |
| Starting to miss the whole 365 project and realized I still have 20 days to go to finish. The last 40 seem to be the hardest for me. |
This was taken after a very, very long day of shooting, taken with my iPhone 4 and the weird pattern we are seeing was caused by the sun shining through a plastic door logo and then refracting on the glass of the camera lens.
We began shooting around 10am and finished around 5pm. While that may not seem like a big deal, it was for me because I was in front of the camera talking for all but an hour or so of it. I think the Business Photography Crash Course is going to an amazing DVD set. Been working on it for 2 years and we are still 6-8 weeks from finishing.
It was such a GOOD day production wise and I think my favorite part was there were so many problems (potentially deal breakers) that popped up, and one by one we just solved them and moved forward. I LOVE that feeling of just dealing with my own problems and not waiting for an excuse not to take action.
I wake up this morning and there is a giant pimple on my forehead. Not a great scenario for shooting so many lessons. No problem, go to the store, buy some make-up, put it on. To a woman, this is not a big deal, to a man...its not normal to think like that. First time I ever purchased and used make up on myself.
We start setting up the main light, and upon opening, the bulb shatters. No problem, I just so happened to have a spare in my backpack that I brought along "just in case".
Wireless Microphones start acting buggy. No problem, we come up with a quick fix and solution.
We have another issue during transfer of the files from the CF card to Adam's external drive, no problem, find a work yet another work around and make the transfer.
We didn't panic, complain, or freak out and it just feels awesome to look at the situation and solve it instead of blaming someone or putting it off another day. |
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Day 343 - Shooting Video With Minimal Gear |
Was digging through some really old images and found this from the Canon 580 Speedlite DVD. I becoming more and more a fan of having as minimal gear as possible, and attracting as little attention as possible. It seems that the more gear you have, the more unwanted attention it attracts. This set up was for the 'long exposures" video, and while one woman picked up on what I was doing (she actually came up, sat down and quietly listened without saying anything until I was finished), most passerby's ignore me completely.
Audio was fed in through a wireless mic, I used the white foam board for fill and held it place with my bag tripod cord. Slapped the camera on my tripod, used live view to compose, flipped lens switch to manual, focused on plane where I expected my head to line up, and did some tests. Once I felt I had a good set up, I shot the 5 minute clip in one take. |
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Day 342 |
| More shooting today. Somewhat of a little bit technical, working on the Lighting Crash Course DVD and have a lesson or 2 that requires a demonstration of a pool table. Learned something really cool: If you are shooting with a 5Dii, and you are on the Movie Preview set up in live view, and you turn your drive to "10 Second Timer" that sweet little RC-1 remote, the one that Canon just discontinued will be able to trigger both video record (if you have it set to "2") and take stills (if it is set on the "o"). Im guessing it works the same on the 7D and T2i, but I haven't tested it. Pocket Wizards cannot trigger the camera in live view, so this is the best way to do it, great when your camera is suspended 10 feet in the air and you cant really get to it. |
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Day 341 |
| Yes, I am determined to finish this- I really need to just buckle down on this bad boy, I only have 24 days left. :) |
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Day 340 |
| Still chipping away at the 365 project. I cant seem to get anyone to take my picture here, so I rigged this up on my Canon 7D, 70-200 2.8 IS lens, and triggered it remotely using pocket wizards with a timer, there is one in my right pocket. I used the pocket wizard to trigger the timer. |
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Day 339 - Find Some Quiet Time |
I know Ive been slacking on my 365, so close too! Just need to buckle down and finish that project. Sooooo many different projects going on. The Canon T2i Crash Course DVD is nearly completed, Ive been working non-stop on it since I got it last Tuesday. I expect to get a green light from the disk manufacturers next week, after which they will go on sale immediately.
One thing I cannot recommend higher, as a Maven, is to find some quiet time once a week to yourself to get away from all the noise, clutter, TVs, computers and just go spend some time thinking with a pad of paper and pen. I typically review my goals and plans for the next week, read, or design new products. Nearly all of the ideas I implement into my business come from these brainstorming sessions. When you have problems you are struggling with, open your mind to the universe and just listen, you will naturally have some wonderful insights and ideas come.
I would also say that if you are starting a new photography business, this is the most important thing you can do to organize and get a plan of action together. There is something about goals that they really do not matter until you write them down. |
| Image was taken on a Canon 5Dii, 1/3 Second, f22, ISO 50 with a Circular Polarizer |
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Day 338 |
| Part 2 of the 200 Kids story coming tomorrow. This was taken a few days after we arrived. |
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Day 337 |
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