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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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Westcott Lighting Products |
I have been hearing some great things about Westcott lighting products. Personally I am not one to use or want a ton of studio lighting gear. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Alien Bees (I have two!) The problem with them is the are not readily portable. The soft boxes take some time to set up and can be a hassle if you are in a hurry. A good soft box will set up and take down very quickly. I have a circular softbox from Alien Bees and it takes a good 10 minutes to set up. Westcott was at Photoshop world and they looked very quick and easy to use.
A second thing I am intrigued with is their Constant Fluorescent Spider lights which can be used for both Video and Stills. The beauty of these guys is that they are COOL, (not the blazing burning hot of the Lowel Rifas).
I will be doing some test with their products shortly, and hope to include them on the photography lighting DVD.
Westcott Lighting Products
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Iron Bowl | Alabama vs Auburn |
If you want to watch a great rivalry game today, this is it. I lived in Alabama for the last 9 Iron Bowls and this is about as crazy as it gets. Alabama is Number 1 in the nation right now, Auburn has won the last 6 matches, and even though Auburn is having a bad season, this has all the ingredients for an upset. The game is in Tuscaloosa and surprisingly, Alabama has NEVER beat Auburn in Tuscaloosa.
Why did Alabama have to get so good as soon as I left?
ROLL TIDE!! |
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Black Rapid Camera Strap |
If you are sick you your camera strap, you might want to look into getting a Black Rapid. It has an unusual swivel design that lets you swing the camera up to your eye very quickly without it grabbing your neck or shirt. They run about $50, but if you shoot often, it is an investment well spent.
Check out their videos on their website for more information:
Black Rapid Strap
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Happy Thanksgiving | What I am Thankful For |
I think this is a pretty good Thanksgiving tradition and exercise, making a list of "What I am Thankful For"
1. My Health!! Im very grateful to have a such a healthy body and know I have been really blessed with a good mind.
2. All my loved ones. Family and friends, too many to list.
3. Im really REALLY thankful for my job and what I do, I think I have the best job in the world, at least for me. I have never been more happy doing anything else that I can remember for a living.
4. When it comes to Photography gear, I am just about the most spoiled person I know of. I struggle to think of a lens I want. (But that 5DII is lookin pretty good too!)
5. Im thankful for my Mac Book Pro, the new one with all the yummy software I have on it, not the crappy lemon one I had earlier this year. Yes, Macs ARE awesome. I also have a brand new PC that I went out and bought just because I needed a PC program, it runs Windows Vista and its truly sucky. If you are considering one for yourself or your loved one for Christmas, do it, the extra expense is worth it.
6. My Prius...one of the top 10 decisions of my life, and I will probably be driving a hybrid that gets 50 MPG or better for the rest of my life. It has been a great car for me. Even though gas prices are so low, I have never felt the pinch at the pump.
7. A place to live and food to eat!
What are you most thankful for?
I wish you all a very happy thanksgiving!
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Canon 50D vs Canon 40D |
Ive had a chance to really get to know the 50D over the past month, and I am still getting emails asking me to compare them and to make a recommendation. For the extra $350 you would spend on the Canon 50D, these are the most important things to consider:
- 15.1 mega pixels (5 Million more than the 40D)
- Amazing LCD screen (3 times the resolution)
- Advanced Live view Features
- Lens Profiles (this is a new menu feature that recognizes lens and corrects distortion IN camera)
- Back Screen Interface (you can change you settings using the back monitor)
- Expanded ISO (6400 and 12800)
- Digic 4 Processor, which does an amazing job of cleaning up noise.
- In Camera Micro Adjustments (you can micro adjust the entire camera or individual lenses in camera)
- HDMI output for High Def Slideshows.
So, that said..the 50D is totally worth the investment, but if that $350 is too much, the 40D is still a fantastic camera.
Both Training videos are available on my store here:
Michael's Crash Course DVD Training Videos |
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Michael Update |
I just thought I would write a personal update to let everyone know what I am up to. Im just finishing some of the final touches on the marketing materials for the Canon 50D DVD and the Photoshop DVD. The disk manufacturers are working on both, sometimes there are kinks, and I am waiting to hear back from them but so far so good. Ive also been spending a lot of time with programmers working on Jabookee.com and making it so much better than it is now. When the new upgrades are installed, I will make a post, but I am so excited for it.
Ive been in Utah for the last few weeks, but Im getting ready to hit the road again soon.Ive been dating more here in Utah and have had some very weird experiences, but nothing serious. Ive been wanting to take a trip out to Tennessee for a shooting course (not photography) and will also go down to Arizona to visit friends. I really really need a break, Ive been working like crazy for the last 6 months and I feel a little worn out. Nothing a week or two off wont fix.
I am really happy though, I spend most of my waking hours working on current and new video projects, and the best part of it is I am my own boss, I work when I want to and no one is telling me what to do, unfortunately, I am very driven and find myself working more now than I ever have, but at least I am loving what I do.
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Casio Elixim EX-F1 |
| Not many photographers know about this little guy, but WOW....I am tempted to get it just for its slow motion capabilities. It can take 60 full resolution images in a second and then in movie mode, it can record 300, 600 or 1,200 frames per second! You tube is full of some very cool slow motion videos taken with this camera. |
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Bolt |
| I loved it! I think this is a perfect family movie. Take your kids! |
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Twilight |
Caught Twilight tonight. Disclaimer: I have not read any of the books, and didnt even know the characters names. All I knew was that it was a teenage vampire love story, so my expectations were pretty empty.
I very much enjoyed it, and no it wasn't because I was one of three men in the theater (the rest were mostly teenage girls and their moms). I thought it was a good movie and recommend seeing it, even if you have no clue (like me) about the books.
I appreciate movies that are able to generate tension, even through this was more of a forbidden- this- shouldnt- be- happening- type- of- tension, which really isnt broken.
I guess really REALLY pale people need love too. |
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Freddie Matara Leather Wristbands |
For those of you who have known me for years, believe me when I tell you that, I, just like you, had never would have guessed that I was capable of giving fashion accessory advice, let alone some REALLY great fashion accessory advice.
About a month ago I felt I needed a big HUGE leather wrist band, like the vikings or Conan type warriors would wear, just to mix it up a little.
I quickly discovered that the kind I had imagined, are not available anywhere. Sure, there were these little dinky ones about an inch wide, and they just didnt do it for me.
Then I found this guy on Ebay, his name is Freddie Matara, he makes custom leather wrist bands for movie stars and musicians. They looked really nice so I decided to try him out. Freddie makes each one custom to fit and can even design them with your specific features in mind (yes he makes wallets, belts and watch bands for both men and women).
This is mine, its 3" wide and I just love it! |
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