One a day challenge, getting back to it.

After a conversation with my friend and fellow photographer Nate Allred, ( http://treasurephoto.net )  I decided to get back onboard with my one photo a day challenge.  I must admit, the challenge is much more difficult than I originally thought it would be, but I did love doing it, and it is a great way to sharpen my skills, and stay on top of my game.  I was playing with my camera this afternoon, and noticed some interesting shadows caused by the window blinds on my 12 string guitar.  I thought that would make a great black and white photo.

This next part gets a little technical for the non photographers, Sorry.
 
I wanted it to have a heavy grain texture to the print, something that looks like the old Kodak tri-X 1600 film, so I set my Nikon D60 to the ISO setting of Hi-1.  This is an ISO equal to 3200.  In a color photograph, this setting creates an unusable photograph because the noise levels are so increadibly high that the image looks nasty.  However, in a black and white photo, instead of noise, it looks like film grain, which is at times beautiful in a photograph.  Earlier this week, fellow photographer Scott Bourne said "grain is the brushstrokes of photography."  And I couldn't agree more.
I wanted to maintain as little depth of field as possible, so with that high of an ISO, it required a shutter speed of 1/4000 sec and an aperture of  f 7.1.  After shooting it, I took it into lightroom and added a little contrast, otherwise it is right out of the camera like that.  I do love shooting black and white.  I have ever since I first printed my own pictures in a darkroom.  I hope you enjoy this print.  Please feel free to write a note below, and let me know what you think.  I love to get feedback, good or bad.

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.

Golf Club Photo

I have been working a lot lately on uploading new photos to my stock libraries, and I thought I would post one of my newest ones here.  It is a simple shot of a golf club and a golf ball.  I took it on a white background, all lit with florescent "cool lights".  I like using these type of lights for product work where the subject doesn't move because you can see exactly what you are getting with the light, this makes it a little easier to use than strobes.  The one down side to constant light, is you usually have longer exposures, so a moving subject doesn't work very well.  With this photo, the exposure was 1 full second at f 22 at ISO 100.  I used such a large aperture so that the entire club and ball would be sharp.

Heres a shot of my setup to photograph this.

Joshua Tree National Monument

Yesterday I went to Joshua Tree National Monument with a dozen of the best wedding photographers in southern California.  We had a great time hiking around and photographing one of the most beautiful parks in California.  I had the chance to socialize and send the day goofing off and doing what I enjoy with several photographers whom I truly admire and look up to.  The weather was absolutely wonderful, however it did get a little cold in the evening and wouldn't you know it, I wore shorts and forgot a jacket.  We all ended up having a great time exploring, and we didn't even have to call search and rescue.   I ended up with a few photos which I think turned out pretty good.  Take a look at these ones and let me know what you think of them.  Feel free to leave a comment below.  Thank you Joe for putting this together

This Photo is of some old mining equipment we came across.  

A couple closeups of Joshua trees.  Believe it or not, these were both shot in mid-day sun!

We found this old farm truck out on the desert.  I guess he didn't have AAA Auto Club.

This is a shot looking up a wind mill with the water pump it drove in the foreground.  It took a VERY small aperture of f22 to get this much depth of field.  

A closeup of the spines at the end of the joshua trees leaves.  Last time my friend Becker was here, he put one of these spines into his head drawing lots of blood.  He survived yesterday injury free!

Most of the cacti were just beginning to bloom, but I did manage to find one full bloom.  I am sure that by first of next week, the cacti should be in full bloom.

A portrait of world famous wedding photographer Joe Photo.

Sunset on the desert.  A beautiful ending to a wonderful day.

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.

Olivias Sweet 16 Party

Last weekend I had the opportunity to shoot a sweet sixteen party in Redondo Beach CA for Olivia.  We had a great time and got some great shots for her.  Here are a couple of my favorites.

#29 Palms

I know most of the country is shoveling out of a rather rough winter, so I thought I would take a picture which shows a traditional Southern California winter.  The weather is a little cool today, only in the mid 70s for the day.  But I can't complain.

f11 1/400 second  ISO 400  Nikkor 18-135 lens at 38mm.  Adjusted in Lightroom.

I thought just for fun I would post a different version of a similar picture.  I played around with this one in Adobe Lightroom a bit and ended up with a cool dreamy infared looking black and white version.  Comment below to let me know which you like better.  Thanks.

#28 Disneyland

Carrie and I spent the day Sunday at Disneyland.  We had a great time with her friend Shelly, her fiancee Brad, and her family.  Of course I drug my camera along and got a few pictures of the day.  This is my favorite time to attend the park, the crouds are low, and its not too hot.  By the end of the evening, my wife was freezing, and here I am walking around in shorts and flipflops.  We topped off the evening at Cafe Orleans, where I enjoyed a cup of their wonderful Gumbo, a Monte Cristo sandwich, and the most wonderful Beignets I've had since I was in New Orleans.  Not the most healthy of dinners, but it was wonderfully delicious.   It was just a wonderful day, spent with a wonderful woman, and fortunately for me, she's my wife.