PCJBR Rodeo

Its hard to believe that it was about thirteen years ago that I entered the world of professional photography when I took a job shooting rodeos for my friend Mark Oakie's brother Alan.  I enjoyed my weekends on the high school rodeo circuit shooting rodeos all across the state of Utah.  I got the opportunity to push my skills and abilities as a photographer to their very limits every weekend.  And this was back in the days of film, no LCD screen on the back of the camera to check and make sure you got the shot.  You had to know your exposure and how to get the shot every time without being able to see the pictures until they got back from the lab a week later.  I spent about two years shooting for Alan, and I loved it, but I had moved on to weddings and portraits, and left rodeos behind for a while.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to step back into the arena and shoot another rodeo.  I must admit, I was a bit nervous.  It had been a few years since I last shot a rodeo, and I was hoping I had not lost the knack.  I was shooting the Pacific Coast Junior Bull Riders rodeo in Norco, Ca, which was part of the cities horse week festivities.  Once I got behind the chute gates, it was as if I had never left.  I felt right at home amongst the livestock and cowboys.  Once the event started, I got back into my groove in no time at all.  I ended up getting some good shots during the event, I did miss one calf rider due to my camera having a quick fit, and wouldn't you know it, he won his division, and his dad was interested in buying a print of his ride.  Its frustrating, but those things do happen.  In all, it went pretty good, and I hope to get the chance to shoot another of their events.

A young bullrider hangs on for one heck of a ride.

The bullfighter puts himself between the bull and the rider.  Either nerves of steel or a little insane, you decide.

This young bullrider looses his seat and goes over the head.

Once again the bullfighter puts himself between the bull and the rider.

New Website!!!

I have been working on a new website.  It is through a company called Showit which offers adobe flash based websites which are much easier to build than standard html sites.  I will eventually have it linked to my regular domain, but for now you can find it here.

http://thompsonphotography.showitsite.com/

Please take a look at the new site and let me know what you think.

New Cards

I have just finished a new 3.5" X 5" card to pass along to petential clients.  I like this size card because it gives a lot more room to show some of your work, and it dosn't get lost as quickly as a business card.  It is not as informative as a brochure, but much cheaper to print and gets clients to your website. I just have them printed at the local lab as a 3.5 X 5 glossy print, and on tuesdays and wednesdays, they are only 6 cents a print.  Not bad.  Let me know what you think of it.

Pamela and Vans Wedding at the Wayfarer Chapel

This weekend I was able to check a big feat off of my to do list.  I was able to shoot at the world famout Wayfarer Chapel in beautiful Palos Verdes California.  I have known of this chapel for years, and it is a wonderful location to have a wedding.  The couple were great fun to shoot, and we were able to get some wonderful shots for them.  It is located on a hillside overlooking the pacific ocean, which makes for some beautiful shots.  However once we arrived, an fog bank was moving in, and by the time the couple was ready for pictures, it had obscured our view of the ocean.  Fortunately for us, right after the ceremony there was an opening in the fog, and we were able to get some great shots for them overlooking the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean.   I hope to be able to go back there and shoot another wedding at this beautiful location.   If you would like more infromation on having a wedding at the Wayfarer Chapel, you can link to them here http://www.wayfarerschapel.org/ .

A day at the Los Angeles Zoo

I had the opportunity to go to the Los Angeles zoo last monday to shoot some stock pictures. It was a great day at the zoo, and nice to get away for the day. Here are some of my favorite shots from the day.

Crystal and Jays Wedding

I had the opportunity this weekend to shoot Crystal and Jays wedding in Norco California.  They are a great couple, and the wedding was held in the beautiful Norco Village Banquet Hall reception center.  The wedding went well, and the couple were absolutely glowing all night long. 

This kid stole the show with his break dancing.

#16 Cookies for Santa

I have been playing in the product studio for the last couple of days, shooting some shots for stock use.  I had this idea a couple of days ago after commenting on a forum thread in the b school (an online photographers community) where someone asked some questions about food photogrpahy.  I must admit, the best part was eating my subject when I was done!!!

ISO 100, f8, 1/30 sec  Lit by two 500 watt photoflood hotlights.

# 15 Ferns and Clover

I love the deep green colors here with the palm leaves against the clover groundcover behind it.  This was shot in deep shade, so I got a wonderful soft light.  I love how much depth of field I was able to get on this shot.

ISO 100  f 32  esposure 3 seconds, tripod mounted, sigma 28-80 macro lens.  In photoshop I punched up saturation, contrast, adjusted hue, and brightness.

Image #14 Shoot the Moon

One more astrophotography picture.  Jessica Tincopa, a local photogrpaher, asked me a question yesterday about shooting the moon, and I wondered how many other people had that same question, so I posted a shot I took, and the simple formula for a good exposure of the moon.
The rule is the f8 rule.  Set the camera aperture to f8, use shutterspeed nearest the reciporical of the ISO setting.  For example,  if the ISO setting is 100  use 1/100 sec  if the ISO is 200  use 1/250 second 400 ISO use 1/500  etc...  you will end up with a good exposure every time.

Hope this helps you to enjoy taking photos which include the moon in them.

#13 A try at astrophotography

I'll admit it, I am a nerd, and even worse, I am a science nerd.  I have always been interested in astronomy and have been wanting to give astrophotography a try for some time.  I noticed the clear sky and decided to give it a try.  I set up the big 400mm lens on a tripod and had a go.  I was lucky enough to catch this shot of Jupiter with four of her moons.  How cool is it to look from your planet and see not only another planet, but its moons as well.  Pretty cool.

400mm lens, f5.6, 1 sec exposure, tripod mounted ISO 3200  Color removed in photoshop to correct for chromatic abberation.

Photograph #1 in my Challenge.

This is the first of 365 photos I will post over the next year in my personal challenge to develop my creativity and skills as a photographer.  For my first shot, I decided to go to downtown Riverside California at 11:00 at night, and brave the weirdos to get a few shots of town by evening light.  My first stop was the Chinese pavillion.  I knew with the wonderful cloud cover, I wanted a long exposure to give the clouds some defenition and color.  I used an off camera flash about fifteen feet to the right of the camera, about seven feet high, set off with a radio slave.  ISO 200, Exp. 25 seconds, f11  28-105mm Sigma lens at 28mm.  Manual exp, and focus.

Jessica and Victor Trejo Wedding in Anaheim California.

I had the honor of being hired as the wedding photographer for Victor and Jessica Trejos wedding this past Saturday at St. Michael's in Anaheim California. It was a beautiful day, and a wonderful old church. The bride was beautiful, and the groom was Suave and cool. After a beautiful ceremony, the party moved over to "The Place, salon para fiestas". There was wonderful live music, food, and fun for the entire wedding party.

I would like to thank Gabriel Mora, and Jenna Armstrong for Second shooting for me. They both did a wonderful job, and are extremely talented photographers which I was fortunate to have helping me out.

Thank you to Victor and Jessica for allowing me to be a part of this wonderful day and to help record their memories of their wedding day.

Compton Photoshoot.

I have been going over my pictures from last nights album shoot in Compton, CA. I have posted a few of the shots from the shoot. This was my first time going to Compton, and I admit I was a little nervous with the reputation the city has, but all turned out well.

Portrait Photography with the Fantinos In Corona California

I finished my shoot with the Fantinos. It went quite well and we ended up with some nice pictures for their 60th anniversary. They were quite a fun couple to shoot and we had a good morning in the park.