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.
I was absolutely impressed driving through Montana yesterday. Hills, trees and rivers as far as you can see. Simply breathtaking. I dont even fish and it made me want to go fishing. I will be returning again sometime just to spend a week there and check it out more, truly a hidden treasure.
TTL vs ETTL | Canon Speedlite Crash Course DVD Lesson
When I started preparing the Canon 580 EX ii Speedlite DVD, I quickly realized that there were literally NO videos out there which explained the concepts of TTL and ETTL flash metering systems. I know many photographers just hear the terms TTL or ETTL and are immediately flustered. I always like to post a few lessons from each DVD I make, and I thought this would be a good one to use. Enjoy!
Had a very long and exhausting drive today, but I made it safe and sound to Layton, Utah. Its 2:30am and I am about to crash.
This is from early this morning (yesterday now). Hotels are amazing places for night photography. Just make sure that its in the wee hours (3am-4am) because then you can leave your tripod out and no one will mess with it.
f14, 5", ISO 50, Plus Paintballer Pro. :)
These last 2 shots were from the same "shoot", but because they were location and theme specific, I wouldnt feel right counting them as part of the 365 (even though I am behind)- but am posting them anyway, just for the fun of it. :)
This is me last night, in the middle of Montana, thanking my lucky stars. I almost ran out of fuel in the middle of nowhere, at midnight, in the middle of a storm, with no cell phone service. My Prius has a range of about 450-500 miles depending on the octane rating of gas Im using, how fast I am driving, etc. To make things even more confusing, the tank isnt metal, its a flexible bladder type tank that holds between 10 and 12 gallons and it changes. I try to fill the tank up when I get down to my last 100-130 or so miles just to ensure I dont run out.
Well, apparently there is a road in Montana (and Im guessing a few other places) where there isnt a gas station for a good 140+ miles in between, which is what I think for the civilized world is crazy. After not seeing a station after 70 miles I was getting worried and I pulled up into the station with about 490 on the tank and 45 miles to the next city. My GPS wasnt recognizing what appeared to be a closed station either. Initially when I saw it, I noticed that all the lights were turned off. There were a few other cars stopping, looking at it, and then driving off, so I assumed it was closed. I was bummed, but I had to try the pump anyway because I was pretty much desperate. And it turns out it was on and working! :) Ran my card like I normally did, filled up and off I went.
I think there is a little lesson there: I almost talked myself out of not trying because there was this initial appearance of failure and hopelessness, but in reality, a closer inspection proved that I was fine. The problem was in my head! Not on the road, tank or car. Had I panicked without checking it out and tried to drive to the next city, I doubt I would have made it.
I spent about an hour yesterday at Mt. Rushmore. It was much better than I was expecting, somewhat of a reverent place and spiritual experience. Mt Rushmore was essentially the idea of a man who just decided one day he wanted to build a National Monument that people all over the world would come to see. So he got the resources together to do it, and did- it was finished right around the time he died. Pretty amazing because now this is exactly what it is, a highly recognized National Monument that people all over the world are flocking to. I consider this a real life example of Field of Dreams. He built it (obviously with the help of a lot of people, including the government) and people come.
The place was absolutely PACKED and I wanted to film a short video with it over my shoulder, but there were tourists like EVERYWHERE. The same was true with shooting on Times Square, the difference being I didn't attract any unneeded attention on Times Square...at Mt Rushmore, I did. Kids would come up and start screaming, people would try to come over and see what was up, try to talk with me. Jeez people- cant a man make a photography video in peace!?! LOL- I even walked around the whole park looking for a good place to shoot and it didnt matter, like hundreds of people everywhere I went. Anyone who has been to Mt. Rushmore will know what I am talking about.
I came up with an interesting solution to filming "Michael's Top 5 Creative Photography Tips", right there at Mt Rushmore, surrounded by tourists, kids and park rangers- not a single person came over to see what I was doing. It couldn't have worked better. We have some very interesting tendencies as a culture. If you are standing talking into a camera, everyone reacts one way, if you change one little thing, they ignore you. You will see what I am talking about. Hope to post it later this afternoon / evening.
This shot wasnt intended to be a 365, it was one of the test shots I take right before I start filiming to make sure Im standing in the right spot. Of all the pictures I took at Mt. Rushmore, this just turned out to be the best. :)
The best advice I can give to you all who are doing a 365-
If you are in a jam for an idea, just get the camera out and start shooting...it will come to you, and often you wont even see it until you take a few test shots. When I started this one, I had something completely else in mind, but was happy with this.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you....North Dakota!
In all its glory! North Dakota is extremely flat and seemed quite windy. Lots and lots of open space. This is what I saw for roughly 6 hours today. Im glad I came this way, its just good to see states that you never think you would have ever seen, and may not ever see again. Looking forward to Mt Rushmore tomorrow.
A HUGE, HUGE thank you to Heather, Wendy and Brian for hopping over the border to Port Huron for our should have been Akron workshop. Another huge thank you to Heather for putting this slideshow together for me, which has was very much appreciated. You guys were awesome and like every workshop, there is nothing else I would rather be doing than meeting with happy, positive enthusiastic photographers ready to learn and share. Enjoy!
Tomorrow I start my 3 day (maybe longer) journey to Utah. Will be hitting Mt Rushmore on the way. I had a great weekend trying to rest up a little before these next few days of traveling.
This is what happens when you get me in a hotel room and I notice both mirrors (the one by the door and the one in the bathroom) easily come off the wall.
A huge thank you to Bill, Herb and Adam for an awesome workshop in Akron, Ohio. Hard to believe it was just a week and a half ago. I always feel weird about posting the slideshows as most of the attendees will be able to attest, they just dont do everything we cover justice. On the other hand, they bring back great memories of everyone Ive met and the fun time we had together. It was a pleasure meeting and working with all of you! :)
