I didnt Inhale

After violating the “No Smoking” rule inside the race grounds, Robby Gordon’s response to the reporters was “I may have smoked, but I did not inhale.”

Sorry about the cheesy line, but it was the first thing I thought of.  Canon 50D, Canon 100-400 Lens at 400mm 1/2000 of a second.

Nothing Photography

Taking a picture of nothing is a hard concept to wrap your head around.  Everything is something even if you’re staring into the dark, it is still something.  Obviously the easiest idea is to take a pitch-black image and say ok, its nothing, but to capture something that no one really would consider taking a picture of, a metaphorical nothing.  Canon 50D, Sigma 70-200mm f2.8, cropped down in a 4:5 ratio and white balance adjusted.

Food Photography

Food is certainly a bit harder than I ever thought.  My first experience was with beer in Art Direction and it was certainly the hardest thing I ever had to do.  This shoot was easier than beer by long a shot and a quick tip from a business instructor about how to make a bowl look full really helped.  Canon 50D, Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 at 1/50 of a second in natural light.

Week 10 EOC Networking

Networking has been primarily responsible for the business I have been doing and have scheduled up to this point.  I have a solid foot-hold with a number of different resources right now from the entertainment editor for the Associated Press to the Head of Media Relations at the Thomas and Mack center.  These people have become not just clients, but friends in the since that we get along well, and keep each other in the loop as to what we are working on, and what is available.  It also helps having friends with connections, as I am working on the finishing touches for Euphoria Institute to photograph all of their graduations, twice a year for each school, with 3 schools in town.  I am currently doing charity work for the Las Vegas Dachshund and Doberman Rescue which is giving me residual contacts with the people that adopt the dogs as well as those business that work with the rescue.  I have a marketing campaign launching next week that is aimed at the parents of children who play sports for the city and local organizations to provide action shots of their children while they play.  I offer all of my new clients a 25% discount for their first shoot, but I make sure that the invoice shows my regular price and an explanation of why they are getting a discount.  This has helped me ease the uncertainty of some of my clients who are un-familiar with working with me and allows me to justify my cost after working with them. 

Paparazzi shoot

I had a slightly different concept in line with this shoot.  It is typically the rich and the powerful getting hounded by photographers at every turn but what about the paparazzi themselves?  This image depicts a "paparazzi" getting ready for his day and inadvertently being caught on camera himself.  Canon 50D with Canon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens at f/8 and 1/80th of a second shutter.  ISO set at 100, captured March 12th 2011

Seeing Myself through another's eye

This photo was taken during midday in Lake Havasu City Arizona with my subject partially in the shade and the photographer (me) in full sunlight.  Shot using a Canon 50D with a Canon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 is lens at f/5.6 and 1/125th of a second shutter.  My ISO setting was at 100.  This project was interesting as I am currently going through a "Where do I belong in this industry" stage and the concept of a self portrait through someone's eye makes you wonder just how they see you.

40 Under 40 in Las Vegas

I am afraid that I have a little bit of a disadvantage at this one over my fellow classmates as I only have 8 years left until the dreaded 40 comes around.  However, what I lack in time left, I feel I have more than made up for in time well spent during the last couple of years.  I have solid contacts with the Associated Press and Getty Images.  I am building a relationship with a top executive at the Tropicana and have a good solid contact and friend in the Media Relations Office at the Thomas and Mack Center.  I also have just gotten an invite to the Michael Jordan Golf Tournament being sponsored by the Aria and I have a solid connect with the Las Vegas Wranglers Hockey team and Media relations for the Las Vegas 51's baseball team. I do not see myself owning a studio or doing fashion and portraiture to that respect, but I do have marketing in the works to target parents of children who play sports and am working on sealing a contract with Euphoria Institute to photograph all of their Graduations with residual sales from individual photos. My current business plan and budget projection is modest and shows me netting very little in the next year.  By the time I am 40 I believe it is feasible to say that I will be netting 75,000 a year provided I continue at the pace I am going. I hope to have an office manager at that point to handle the mundane tasks so I can focus on building relationships with my clients and I plan to print everything I sell on site so I can turn a larger profit from my business.   

EOC Week 8: Is She fair game?

In the terms of Photojournalism there is often times when the agency goes too far.  A person is generally considered fair game if they actively seek the spotlight and public settings.  If the person you are reporting on is not someone who is in the spotlight, and the story is not informative and news worthy, then it should be left alone.  Those who promote themselves actively and are always around a camera, have very little room to complain about someone taking their picture.  In the same since, there are those who are actors and actresses who make a living on screen, but prefer to be left alone when off of screen and their wishes should be respected so long as they are not calling attention to themselves.

Painting with light

Painting with light often requires very long shutter speeds and an excess of darkness.  Being somewhat limited in the first part of that requirement, I took this image with a Canon 50D and an 18-200mm lens at 18mm.  I wanted nothing but the painted portion of my photo showing and with my camera at the best settings possible I was only able to release the shutter for 13 seconds before it started letting in distracting background images.  My aperture was set at f/22 and ISO at 100.  Initially I wanted to write the name of the company (Off Balance Photography) but with only 13 seconds and trying to write backwards I could not get the name done in time.  I decided in the end to simplify my image and came up with the picture above.

Copyright Process for Photographers

The copyright process for photographers is relatively simple.  The moment that the image is put into creation form, ie. recorded by the camera, the image is copyrightable.  To copyright an image, the first and most important part of the process is to establish your ownership of the photograph by putting the copyright symbol, your name or DBA name, and the date.  Doing this will ensure you the instant power of protection awarded by the United States Government. The next step is nearly as important and is the registration of your work with the Copyright office either electronically or using form VA, submitting a sample of the work/s, and the accompanying fee. This is an important step when having works that are published to protect your rights.  Once you have your image copyrighted you move into a situation where you are checking up with your clients and running searches through the internet for the use of your images outside of the scope of the rights.  At this point you are able to file a Cease and Desist letter to the violator and if need be take further action to reclaim any lost revenue.

Wedding Day

Bride to Be in the pre-wedding room

This happy bride to be is waiting patiently in the bridal room for her ceremony to start with her and her fiance's two children.  I thought that this picture showed off her character perfectly as when she initially booked the wedding she was wearing blue jeans, a trucker hat, and a ratty t-shirt. Once the wedding began, she looked nothing more than the perfect idea of what a bride should look like at her wedding.

Action Sports

Las Vegas Wranglers

Las Vegas Wranglers hockey team taking to the ice at the beginning of one of their games to the roar of an appreciative group of fans.

Crime Scene

 

 

 

Crime Scene

In doing research for crime scene photos I noticed that there really is not much on the internet in regards to true crime scene photography.  The typical photo was more in line with over conceptualizing the image and making more of a fashion photo than an accurate record.  My attempt does not fit the true form of crime photography but is only hampered by my available tools.  This scene was setup in a parking lot, close to sunset using caution tape generally used in construction sites.  The out of focus scene in the background shows a chalk outline of what was a body and a pool of blood. To the upper right of the picture is a bloody knife and each object, blood, body, and knife are marked with numbers.  I took more of a photo journalistic approach by shooting at a big enough aperture to put the entire background out of focus.

Who I am

Patric

This self portrait was born on the concept of the real me.  Most people I know probably would not guess that this picture accurately expresses who I am but when talking to my wife about the idea she also said that this would fit me perfect.  This is a long exposure shot in a pitch black room with only a small flash light to add the smallest amount of light to my face.  I could tell you what it is that my wife and I were both thinking when I decided to go with this shot but I do not want my point of view distorting  your perspective.

Where are you and where are you going?

Financially where are you and where are you going is a great question.  I have spent many years struggling just to maintain my basic way life.  I have never been good with money and have always been a spender.  Perhaps it was my life experience with being homeless and my idealism that things can always be worse.  If I have money available, I will either give some to the person on the corner because I know where that person is at, or I will get something I want because I have been without and know right now I have more than I could ever need. My wife, being a saver, tries hard to put money away but our lifestyle often finds us juggling bills just to make it from paycheck to paycheck.  I currently work more hours in one week than even I can keep up with but see little return.  I am confident that soon I will be able to start putting away money for my retirement but I have a large amount equipment to get before I can fully appreciate the extra money that I would otherwise put into savings.

What is Haute Couture?

If you have any ties to fashion or photography, you have no doubt heard about Haute Couture.  It's original meaning has become blurred due to ready-to-wear companies using the term to describe their apparel throughout the world.  The original term is actually very specific and has legal protection in its country of origin, France.  The true meaning of Haute Couture is loosely translated into custom made to order for a specific client. Those companies in France that can legally describe themselves as Haute Couture design houses must first be approved by something resembling an American Chamber of Commerce.  There are a number of specific requirements that must be met each year for a firm to retain its status as a Haute Couture company.  As made to order clothing is less profitable than ready-to-wear clothing, a number of the once Haute Couture companies have abandoned the practice and no longer have that status.  The term Haute Couture has been diluted so far as to have loose meanings in art work itself now instead of just clothing, although legally, at least in France, the term is still reserved solely for made-to-order clothing.