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2013-05-16 00:53:40 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

I'm going to post this one of my son.  Believe it or not, it was MUCH harder to do the panning shot when the rider was going slower than when he was going faster.

2013-05-15 17:56:53 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

While I did not take any photos, but after sampling several flavors of cupcakes from The Cupcake Cupboard on the Freedom of the Seas, I'm happy to report to +William Beem and +Kalebra Kelby that it passed the "I really want more, this is awesome" test.  Considering I had to split every cupcake I bought with my 4 year old, too...

2013-05-01 04:39:11 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

The cruise ship we're going on has a cupcake store on it. I immediately thought of +William Beem and +Kalebra Kelby. I'll make sure to take photos. ;). http://www.royalcaribbean.com/connect/videos/show-video/a-sweet-idea-cupcake-cupboard-on-royal-caribbean-delights/

2013-04-30 16:55:45 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

I love doing the panning technique when I shoot motocross, so yesterday when we took our son out to ride his OSET, I decided to try it.  Believe it or not, when they're going slower, it's much harder to do. For me at least.  It's not just because you have to pan the camera slower, I don't know, it was just harder.

2013-04-26 16:52:26 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 11 +1s)

There are times when you're shooting, where the light isn't perfect, the conditions aren't perfect, you'd move somebody in the background since you can't necessarily move where you are, but you like the shot anyways.  This is one of those shots.  Just the look of complete concentration on my son's face, and the tongue hanging out makes me love it.

2013-04-24 16:43:53 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Messed around with Perfect B&W today. Pretty nice program, and makes it real easy to convert winter scenes into b&w.  In Colorado, especially in the suburbs, you have to be fast to get winter scenes. I took this yesterday morning. Around lunchtime, the cul-de-sac was melting, and by 2pm, the snow on the streets was all gone.  

2013-02-08 22:38:31 (4 comments, 9 reshares, 2 +1s)

For all the photographers out there, do not ever take photos like this.  http://youarenotaphotographer.com/

2013-01-22 04:38:22 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Can anyone recommend a place with decent online accounting classes? Not just lectures, but the ability to do coursework as well? Looking for basic stuff to start to more advanced.

2012-12-19 21:58:47 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

This is my scary-ass shot.  While I have shots I like better than this, I wanted to share the story. I was shooting the AMA Motocross Nationals at Thunder Valley over the summer.  We could go anywhere.  For some reason, I thought it was an awesome idea to shoot in the first narrow turn....right after the big, wide start uphill.  And to further prove my fantastic idea, I decided to stay on the side of the track instead of on the other side of the fence.

There's something very very heart stopping about seeing 30-40 450's coming right at you all vying for the same spot.  I will not be doing that again.

2012-12-12 15:35:16 (18 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

Been awhile since I've shot a concert (August, I think), but last night I was able to shoot Chris Daughtry.  I've long loved him as a singer since I enjoy his voice and songs, but wow, he made shooting EASY.  He had good facial expressions, on top of great lighting.

For this I used 2 tips from +Alan Hess.  1) I noticed when I shot on the other side, he had a horrible shadow, so I switched sides.  2) I waited until he pulled back from the microphone to lessen any chance of a shadow.

2012-12-12 15:29:16 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Quick shot from last night of Chris Daughtry.  Amazing singer to shoot since he moves around a lot and has great facial expressions.  Great to listen to as well.

2012-12-07 14:03:21 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Well, hmmm..I'm not young, and I'm not creative, so I guess I'm just screwed, right?

2012-12-07 14:00:06 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Thanks for the invite, Dave. I definitely still need a lot of Photoshop help.  I REALLY like the idea of the weekly "assignments."  Honestly, for me, that's the way I learn.  I can read something 100 times, but unless I have a need to do something with it, I immediately forget it.

2012-11-30 14:48:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

OK, we haven’t officially announced this yet, but….you can now “Rent” our individual online classes 

…and my new “Light it, Shoot it, Retouch it for Hot Shoe flash on-a-budget” is one of the first classes we have available for rent, just like you would rent a movie or TV show from online (that’s one of the shots from the class below). You get to rent it for three days (and watch as many times as you want during that three-day period) for $6.99 (that's our intro price, the regular price will be $9.99). Here's the link: http://bit.ly/11pSiyT

We’re rolling this new feature out in stages, and so only 12 or so classes are available for rental at this time, but of course more will be coming.

Now, why would we rent classes? I’m betting on the fact that you’ll watch one or two, you’ll totally dig ‘em, and then you’ll want to signup to access all our classes ... more »

2012-11-02 16:12:20 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Go go power rangers!

I can't believe power rangers are still semi-big with kids.  I remember my brother watching it like 20 years ago, when it was Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Now it's Samurai Power Rangers. Still the same cheesy monsters, but my son loves it so wanted to be one for Halloween.  Sadly I know this is the Gold Ranger, and sadly I also know his name is Antonio on the show.  I really don't want to know that information.

But I messed around in the new Perfect Effects 4 for the processing. I used some Firenza, and um...yeah...um...a contrast filter, and a border. :)

2012-10-16 16:15:58 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

It's virtually impossible to get a good photo of my son.  The almost-4-year-old mentality is to fidget, not look at you, and do almost anything else which would make a horrible photo. I've also been trying to break him of the "cheese" habit which he picked up at daycare.  After taking Jack Reznicki's kid class at Photoshop World, and watching part of his Kelby Training class about kids, I've vowed to change how I take photos of my son.  I was talking to him and trying to get him to tell me things (favorite food, etc..), and got this in a moment while he was sitting and trying to think of an answer. 

ETA: this was just at the pumpkin patch, so no reflectors, flash or anything. Just good 'ol sunlight.

2012-09-27 18:02:12 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Channeled +Kalebra Kelby today.  Had this for breakfast at Snooze Eatery.

2012-09-19 21:01:04 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Quote of the day, from none other than +Scott Kelby during The Grid blind critiques, "this shot wishes it were that shot."  Or something like that.

2012-09-17 03:43:15 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

I am not a landscape photographer. It's simple, really.  I have no desire to get up at 4am to get a sunrise shot, and I have very little desire to spend part of my evening waiting for that great light.  Yes, I have no patience, that's my downfall, really.  

In any case, we were at Winter Park Resort yesterday, going on the alpine slide (over and over and over), and I was amazed with how much the leaves had already changed colors in the mountains.  Down in Metro Denver, there's NOTHING, but in the mountains, it was gorgeous.  I took this from the lift on the way up with my little Panasonic GF3, and processed it with Perfect Effects.  I got the slide tracks in on purpose.

And I took it at 12pm, and dammit, I like it.  Besides, the lifts aren't open for sunrise or sunset. :)

2012-09-14 07:41:04 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Where are the Fox / FX shows on iTunes?
Yesterday Apple made news by announcing the new iPhone. Awesome. 
But where are the Fox / FX shows on iTunes. 
No Sons of Anarchy on iTunes... 

"Word of Fox and Apple's dispute appears to have surfaced thanks to Kurt Sutter, creator of Sons of Anarchy... Sutter posted a scathing blog post in which he said that his show was unavailable on iTunes because Apple wants all networks to remove any "identifiers" or watermarks of their logos from the files customers download. Fox refused, and now the newest seasons of its shows are not available over iTunes. Unfortunately, Sutter's blog post has since been deleted — though he does mention an "iTunes snafu" on his Twitter feed and urged fans to download the show from Amazon in the meantime."

UPDATE: Sons of Anarchy season 5 is now on iTunes

2012-09-12 23:33:54 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

Ok +Kalebra Kelby and +Steve Kalman , this one I might have to make: http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/08/peanut-butter-eclair-cake.html

2012-09-12 19:10:28 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Another sweet +Frank Doorhof deal on Photowhoa.  I've bought a bunch of things from them in the past, and they are definitely the real deal.  http://bit.ly/HFe0XC

2012-09-09 04:09:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Met up with some of my G+ Besties last night for...wait for it...Chocolate! Hahahaha!

We ate LOADS of chocolate at the wonderful Max Brenner's Chocolate Emporium, and exchanged more hugs, laughs, stories and photos than I could possibly count—it was a perfect get together!!! You guys have absolutely made this Photoshop World my most memorable one yet (and that's saying a lot!)

Now, let's see if I can tag everybody. Lol!

Oh one last thing. The CHOCO t-shirts were to commemorate our gathering and the caps and glasses were brought by the most lovely +onnie hull in order to have fun with this show's theme.

Ok. Back to the tagging.

Starting on the left and moving down is +Robin Michelini +Michelle Hedstrom +Kathy Porupski +Barb Cochran +Steve Kalman and +lynn hughes.

Coming from the end and moving up is +Janet Clark+... more »

2012-09-09 00:08:26 (34 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

I've got PSW on the brain. Sitting in Joe's Crab Shack with Leif and Peter. "Hey Jealousy" came on the speakers, and I actually looked around for +Scott Kelby and +Kalebra Kelby and the rest of Big Electric Cat before I realized I was back in Denver.

I miss everybody!!!

2012-09-07 16:25:06 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Dear +Dave Clayton and +Glyn Dewis, look who I found! What's his G+ id, he wants a tag too. :)

2012-09-07 05:40:27 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

In lieu of Midnight Madness, and remembering the awesome chocolate time spent the other day with +Kalebra Kelby, +William Beem and I headed over to the Wynn buffet for dinner with their awesome dessert table. Chocolate dipped marshmallows was my personal highlight.

2012-09-06 07:56:40 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Macbook Air for Concert Photography

+Alan Hess  & +Scott Diussa  should ask to use this photo in their slideshow for the next edition of Real World Concert Photography at #psw12  

2012-09-05 19:31:05 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

A huge congrats to +Chuck Uebele who won a category Guru award at Photoshop World and Best in Show!!

2012-09-05 03:16:29 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Hanging with +Kalebra Kelby at Max Brenner's, snacking on chocolate! Mmmm......chocolate.......

2012-09-04 00:56:03 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Last day of restaurant week at Border Grill and they have a s'more dessert with homemade marshmallows! +Kalebra Kelby

2012-09-01 21:05:46 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Thought of +Kalebra Kelby when the frozen yogurt place had iced animal crackers as a topping.

2012-08-27 01:38:10 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

We got the whole show!!!

I'm just bouncing a little bit.  Last year, I wrote a blog post talking about what a bummer the song limit was sometimes (you can see it here: http://www.ogrephotography.com/node/133).  Weird Al is one of those where you WANT to shoot the whole show because he has SO MANY costume changes.  Shooting 3 songs last year during his show was disappointing.

So imagine my glee when THIS year they told us we could shoot up close for the first 3 songs, and then anywhere else for the REST OF THE SHOW.  YEAH!!!!!!

http://www.examiner.com/article/slideshow-the-weird-al-yankovic-experience-arvada

2012-08-15 18:42:04 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Small cameras can be good!  The second time we took our son out on his OSET, I didn't know how well he'd do so I only brought my Panasonic Lumix GF3.  No issues with slow action, the only thing that drove me crazy with the original shot is that the camera lens only went to f/5.6 and the background was completely in focus.  I know it's anal, but I tossed the photo into +onOne Software Perfect Photo Suite to blur it a bit.

2012-08-02 20:02:04 (15 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

For all the random people who might see this, I'm finally thinking of getting either LASIK or PRK. I had the consultation today, and I can get either.  Has anybody gotten either one, and what's been your verdict on it?  The reason I'd consider PRK over LASIK is because I do karate and they recommend if you think you'll get hit in the eye at some point to do PRK instead. I've never gotten hit there though, but still am looking at both.

2012-08-01 17:28:33 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Want to see even more Rick Springfield photos?  Check them out here!  http://www.examiner.com/article/rick-springfield-rocks-the-hudson-gardens .  

You'll notice the rose bouquet photo has a wire in it.  That's because when I'm publishing stuff editorially, I don't take elements out in the photos.  But when I'm publishing stuff that I just want to publish, I will. 

2012-08-01 16:20:32 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Although it's been a couple of months since I've shot a concert, I got back into the game on Sunday with Rick Springfield. Yes, THAT Rick Springfield.  He still puts on a good show even though he's over 60.  My favorite shot. 

2012-07-28 22:49:15 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 15 +1s)

Just shot slopestyle today at the Colorado Freeride Festival. I'm on a very uncalibrated monitor, with Lightroom 3, and no +onOne Software, but I wanted to share this anyways since it's still a sweet shot.  Closeup of a whip in progress.

2012-07-27 04:02:49 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 4 +1s)

This was a cool story, and falls under the "damn, I wish I had thought of that" category.  http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/26/travel/friends-summer-photo-tradition/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

2012-07-26 04:36:33 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Here's a video I recently recorded for Wacom, a little cartoon bear drawn and painted in ArtRage Studio, along with some thoughts on getting started in digital art.

2012-07-26 03:03:50 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Extraordinarily underwhelmed so far with #MountainLion, and wishing I didn't waste my money on it.  The dictation stuff sucks.  I mean, it gets words ok, but sends everything to the Apple servers and doesn't type as you're talking.  Both of those are kind of lame.  Then the Notes application...It seems there's a bug right now since it's all over the forums where if you were syncing Notes with your mail account that wasn't an icloud account, none of them are showing up.

I'm sure there's other issues, but so far I haven't really seen anything that impresses me.

2012-07-20 10:18:44 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

This is a phenomenal post about social media marketing. Having watched some of those training courses +William Beem mentions, he hits the nail right on the head. http://aweber.com/t/AkKqg

2012-07-18 16:56:08 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Orlando news station admits on air they "lifted" a photo from Facebook.  Steller... http://orlandolocal.com/is-wkmg-stealing-your-photos/

2012-07-17 16:12:39 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

I've started writing about Action Sports in general for +Examiner.com .  Hard to do since they don't have a lot of Getty photos available for use, and since it's more general, I don't have a lot of my own stuff, but I'm dealing. :)

http://www.examiner.com/article/dew-tour-features-mega-2-0-event

2012-07-09 03:45:32 (13 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

Insano: The World's Tallest Water Slide

The Insano is the highest water slide in in the world at 41 meters, a record listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Height equivalent to a 14-floor building.

As a consequence of the elevation and slope, this water slide provides a very fast descent - taking between four and five seconds - at a speed of 105 km / h. Because of these characteristics, the Insano is considered the most extreme of this type of equipment on the planet. At the end of the track, the Insano Provides you with a relaxed dive into the swimming pool.  +I Can't Believe It 

#icantbelieveit   

Insano - The biggest waterslide of the world - Brazil - Ceará - Fortaleza 

2012-07-06 21:48:46 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

This is a really good article. It's a problem that's existed in magazines for a very long time, but it's not going away anytime soon, and continues to get worse, as long as magazines are determined to change face and body shapes. 

2012-07-03 16:12:13 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Wow  for those who don't know, fellow photographer +Trey Ratcliff has a website called Flatbooks which sells cool photography ebooks.  My friend and also fellow photographer +William Beem just got his book on the site available for purchase, all about Aperture!  You can also get a special bonus video as well. Check out http://williambeem.com/sic-ppwwa !

2012-06-29 20:15:53 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Go save on Kelby Training this weekend!  Where else can you see videos by all the Photoshop Guys, Dave Black, Joe McNally, Frank Doorhof, Joel Grimes, and many more of the top photographers?  Normally a 1 year subscription is $199, but this weekend only with the code KTSKB712, it's $149. PLUS if you're a NAPP member, you save an extra $20 bringing that down to $129.  You just can't go wrong with as much training as they've got!  

http://bit.ly/N36UOR

2012-06-26 18:39:33 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

For all my Colorado people, don't forget you can scuba dive IN Arvada on the 4th of July!  http://www.examiner.com/article/scuba-dive-arvada-and-stay-cool-on-the-4th

2012-06-26 15:50:01 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

This is seriously I think the first ever "please vote for this" thing I've ever posted.  A very very good friend of mine runs a company called Weinerwraps which makes coats for dachshunds.  It's run by him and his parents, and the very definition of a small business.  It'd be great if they could get considered for this grant, but they need 250 votes total to even get consideration. Please vote if you can!  https://www.missionsmallbusiness.com/  is the voting link, but his site is http://www.weinerwraps.com/ if you want to check it out. 

2012-06-22 14:48:18 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

My fun find of the day, ever wonder how they smoothed the ice before the Zamboni came along?  Wonder no more!  http://www.shorpy.com/node/13157