New Sites

Check out my site at http://jarmanphoto.com and follow me there. Thanks.

Studio Lighting

I stumbled across this sight while going through my daily rss feeds. (I think someone referenced it on the Strobist discussion threads on Flickr.) It looks like a good resource for any photographer trying to figure out lighting setups.

http://www.studiolighting.net/studio-lighting-tutorials/

Myrtle Beach's Amusement Park

Here are some night shots from the amusement park here at Myrtle Beach.

Myrtle Beach Day 3

Robin and I got up for the sunrise this morning.  It was very nice on the beach, there were very few people around.  Had the opportunity to get a couple of good shots this morning.

 

Oh yeah, Lighting 102 started today.  David wants us to throw out our preconceived ideas of lighting and clear our mental plates.  He will start posting our assignments later.  Check it out at Strobist.com

Myrtle Beach Day 2

We survived our first night in Myrtle Beach.  It was very eventful.  The high winds from tropical storm Barry caused us some problems.  It broke one of the support arms on the popup camper.  So at about 12:30/1:00 in the morning we were out trying to collapse the camper in the wind and rain.  Needless to say, we are not in the camper any longer.  My wife's parents (the camper is theirs) took the camper home.  So Robin and I stayed here in Myrtle Beach.

Here are today's photos.

Catching up

So I am spending my vacation catching up on uploading photos to flickr, catching up on my blog, and just the general organizing of my digital life. 

First things, uploads to flickr.  I have been very lax in getting photos up here.  Though I am good about getting the clients (in this case friends) a CD with all the photos on it.  The photos that are going up right now are from my friends wedding.  Though Ben and Emily had hired a photographer, he was a friend of her father's and Emily didn't have a lot of confidence in him.  Since I was going to be there anyway to support them in this joyous occasion, I told them I would take some candids for them.  Well it turns out that the following photo was their favorite.

Learn how to light at Strobist.com

This blog has suffered lately.  I really need to start posting on a regular basis and start passing on valuable information.  That is on my list of things to do and to improve upon.

And lastly, organizing my digital life.  The computer that I am typing to you from will be going away on the 15th of June.  I have accepted a new position that will still focus on using my IT skills, but will allow me to expanded my skill set into web development and graphic design.  I am really looking forward to this new job.  They are really excited about me and have expressed excitement over my photography skills.  So I am cleaning up this computer and making an easily transferable backup.  (As a side note, I backup my computer on a regular basis with mozy.  This is a great, easy to use, and automatic way to backup your computer.  If you decide to sign up, please use the link I provided or use this referral code P3W5EB, we both get and extra 256MB of storage. Thanks)

Well I think that is about it right now.  Hopefully the weather here in Myrtle Beach will cooperate a little more over the next week.  Look for more in the next couple of days.

Myrtle Beach Day 1

Well we arrived here in Myrtle Beach today (after almost rear-ending a nice person who did not have brake lights that worked). 

We have gorgeous weather courtesy of tropical storm Barry.  Plenty of rain with short spurts of just wind.  Well that did not stop me from getting out and taking some pictures.  There were two surfers out enjoying the nice waves that were coming in.  Unfortunately I do not remember there names.  (I am terrible with those kinds of things).  Well here are a couple of the photos I took.  These are all naturally light with no modification other than converting from RAW to JPG.

 

Photo drought

We are having a drought here in the south.  I think last I heard we were down at least 10 inches. 

The reason I am speaking of a drought is that I have been in the midst of a photo drought.  I haven't had any real creative or unique thoughts about what to photograph here lately.  I am hoping that my vacation next week will help rejuvenate me.  Also Lighting 102 starts over at strobist. 

My latest shots were for the UT's College of Business.  Here they are:

Hopefully more will come over the next week.

Flickr: Discussing Wizwow's Assignment in Strobist.com

This looks like a fun assignment.  It should really get the creative juices flowing.  I will give it a try and post my results here. 

Link to Flickr: Discussing Wizwow's Assignment in Strobist.com

 

Here is the assignment list.

1. An image of one thing, that says only one thing about it.
2. A person who represents what you wanted to be when you were 6.
3. A kid who loves you... and I gotta see the love.
4. The thing that makes your mom your mom (or dad, or sister)? Shoot it.
5. You know your favorite song? The one you always turn the radio up on? Shoot a photograph to go on the cover of that album. I don't care if I get it... do you?
6. A bridge. From one place to another. One soul to another. One child to another. A bridge.
7. Your most hated food (for me - liver and onions) but make it look so good you are even tempted. You can have people in the shot, but not more than 12.
8. Show me a sports game in a landscape. No athletes, just the game. No sports field, just the game. No balls, no hockey sticks, no buckets of ice. Just the game as a landscape.
9. Happiness.
10. Any musical instrument, with people or not. Here's the deal though, we should feel something when seeing it, not just 'see' it.
11. Cute kitten... nawww... just kidding. Make it a place that seems abandoned, or lonely... if a place can be lonely make me feel it.
12. The one photograph you would want to sum up your photographic career today. You have been invited to show at the most prestigious show in NY and you can show only one picture. Show me that picture.

 

Check out the thread to see what others are doing.

Car shoot

I have made it through the photos and have uploaded them to flickr. 

 

This photo was taken with available light and my sigma flash to add some fill light to the tire and the spokes.

 

A front shot with light added to the grill work.  You can see the hotspot from my flash on the bumper.

Classic Cars

I did a shoot for Ross Marshall of Marshall Classic Cars.  The car I photographed was a Bentley.  We were allowed to shoot in front of a local mansion.  The area was beautiful and the car was amazing.  I hopefully will have the photos processed tonight and I will put a couple up here for you to admire.

The shoot was a unique one for me.  It was the first time I have photographed a car like this.  I tried to take as many angles as I could think of.  One problem that I experienced was not knowing how to add light to the car with my strobes.  The shoot was at 9:00 AM.  The sun was starting to peek through the clouds.  Some shots had very nice highlights on them some did not.  I'll write more as I post some of the shots.

Professional photography equipment - camera bags, camera cases - from Think Tank Photo

Link to Professional photography equipment - camera bags, camera cases - from Think Tank Photo

Think Tank Photo has posted a 2 part article on traveling with you camera and gear.  I have skimmed through it and it looks like a pretty good article with a lot of tips from other photographers.  If you are planning on flying with your equipment any time soon this would be a worthwhile read for you. 

Photoshop Insider » Video: How to set-up and use B&H Photo’s Scott Kelby Location Kit

Link to Photoshop Insider » Video: How to set-up and use B&H Photo’s Scott Kelby Location Kit

Scott has put together a great video demonstrating the use of his location light kit.  The kit can be purchased through B & H PHoto.  This video reinforces the strobist thought patterns the David Hobby has drilled into the readers of his blog.  The kit is priced at $494.95 (as of 5/9/07) which is a little on the pricey side for us starving photographers.  But you can piece it together a little bit at a time and build it up.

Way to go with the video Scott.

Scenic Wild / Wilderness Images by Guy Tal

 If you are looking for a nature photographer to inspire you, look no further than Guy Tal.  He has some amazing shots on his website. (I know I spent a lot of time looking at his photographs.)  He has an amazing eye for composition and exposure.

Link to Scenic Wild / Wilderness Images by Guy Tal

Beam Signing

I was just going through my photos and came across some from the beginning of March.  We had a beam signing ceremony for the top beam for the new building for the College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee.  It was a fun little event.  We got to sign a beam that will be with the building forever (or until they tear it down).  I was the unofficial photographer for the event and as a result of that a couple of my shots are going to be published in the College's Perspective newsletter (yeah!).  The communications coordinator for the College liked my shots better then some of the shots taken by the media relations person for the University (talk about an ego boost!).  Here is one from that shoot and there are a couple more on my flickr site.

Lighting 102

For those of you have not gone to Strobist.com and became enthralled with the amount of stuff you can light with a little strobe, you need to.  Do not pass go, go directly to Strobist.com.  David Hobby is a great photographer, but more than that he has a knack for explaining things in very understandable terms.  (Plus he uses a lot of photos, and we know that photographers are visual people).  Now on to my point.  Last summer David did a learning exercise called Lighting Boot Camp.  Well he is doing it again.  On June 4th, David is kicking off round two Lighting 102.  Last year I just watched from the sidelines and thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the submissions.  Well this summer I plan on diving in and working through this round.  I might embarass myself horribly, but I know I will learn a thing or two just attempting the exercises and seeing everyone elses work.  So if you are a budding photographer like me or a professional come and join us and have fun learning to light in new and exciting ways.

del.icio.us tags: strobist.com, strobist, off camera flash, boot camp

Way to busy

I have been way to busy lately and have found that I have been neglecting many things (like this blog).

Well I have finished up with my Commercial Photography class and it was a blast.  I haven't gotten a grade for it yet, but at this point in my life I am not to worried about a grade.  What does excite me is the fact that I learned a lot about lighting with studio lights and with portable strobes.  I feel as though my skill in this realm has grown greatly (though it still has a long, long way to go).  Hopefully over the summer I will begin to play with portrait photography and get a better grip on that aspect.  I am also debating whether or not to take a travel and nature photography class this summer. 

Over the next few weeks I hope to post more here and on my flickr site.

Learn how to light at strobist.com.

LensEnvy : Weblog

Link to LensEnvy : Weblog

I found this photo blog via Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider blog (www.scottkelby.com).  He has some amazing photographs on his site.  You can check more of his photograph's at his website http://www.markflemingphoto.com/. 

It's Been awhile

It has been awhile since I lasted posted.  Sorry about that.  I have been really busy and have not taken the time to update my blog.  I have posted some new photos to my flickr page. View larger versions at flickr.

As you can see (hopefully), my photos are getting better.  This commercial lighting class I am taking is great.  The instructor, Fred Draper, is an amazing photographer and has been able to help me understand lighting so much more.  For everyone out there who loves to take pictures, I highly recommend taking classes or going to seminars whenever you can.  There is only so much you can learn from a book.  Having someone there to help guide you and to offer suggestions while you are creating your photograph.

5 Things You Need to Know About SLR Lenses - Articles / Reviews | TheTechLounge

 

Link to 5 Things You Need to Know About SLR Lenses - Articles / Reviews | TheTechLounge

 

del.icio.us tags: photography, SLR, camera