Christmas cover...

The holidays are here and Christmas pictures are starting to pop up in newspapers and magazines. Here is the most recent cover of Quick with one of my photos. It was a fun shoot, doing a little naughty Santa style theme. The girls were supposed to be spiking the holiday punch. The pics go with a feature on fun holiday gift ideas...

No flash wedding...

I normally don't book more than one wedding per month, but I had a friend getting married. He was my photo assistant for several years, and he's a real nice guy. He needed a photographer, and of course I was going to say yes!

The cool thing about his wedding was the great lighting in the church. There was actually enough decent, even lighting that I was able to shoot most of my pics without flash! I'm a big flash guy, so this was special for me. It gave me a chance to blend in with the crowd more - just a few quiet snaps vs. a popping flash. It was nice that there wasn't a constant flashing to draw attention to me. I was able to get some real nice "fly on the wall" type images.

The other bonus is that it forced me to take more shallow depth of field pics, since I didn't want to push the ISO too high. This gave me the opportunity to really isolate my subjects, bringing more focus to their subtle gestures and emotions. It was definitely a plus!

Here's a good example, where I caught one of the brothers holding flowers as he waited for the bride and a bridesmaid. It's just a quiet little moment that I think would've been spoiled with a bunch of flash and a giant DOF...

A sweet deal...

Not directly photo-related, but with video, graphic design and photo so closely related these days:

Hershey's is looking for Film Makers, Animators & Graphic Designers to create commercials for its new "Making the World a Sweeter Place" ad campaign.

$1,500 will go to the creator of the best video ad, $450 to the creator of the best print. A total of $6,000 will be earned in this campaign.

Sign up to Zooppa to get the creative brief and materials for this competition:

http://zooppa.com/signup

Zooppa is a platform that connects independent film makers, graphic designers, animators & advertising creatives with major brands looking for user-generated advertising.

Zooppa members have supplemented their income with over $500,000 in awards since 2007.

Cabe Booth...

As many of you already knew, I did a lot of PR and marketing work this year for the annual Rhett Miller charity concert - benefitting CF research. I also donated a few of my limited edition prints and acquired a couple other charitable donations - including an awesome commissioned painting by Cabe Booth.

However, I didn't get to actually attend the show this year, due to my Disney trip. I didn't get to hear the bands perform. I didn't get to see all the people enjoying the evening. I never got to see my photos sitting at the silent auction table. I never got to see Cabe's artwork in person.

Luckily, Cabe sent me a photo he took of his painting. Not quite the same as seeing it live, but still pretty cool. The painting was done from one of my photos, so it is special to me. I've always been a huge fan of Cabe's work, and love everything he does! I hope the high bidder has already hung this piece in their home/office/wherever and is enjoying it right now...

It is hard to tell from the small picture, but this is painted on wood and the edges are torn and roughed up. It is somewhere between three and four feet wide and tall.

Where have you been?!?

You may be wondering why I dropped off the face of the earth recently. Well, I got swamped with shoots when I got back from Disney World. Plus, I haven't had anything really important to say or share on the blog in the last few days. I'll post some cool pics from some recent shoots sometime soon. But not now... I'm off to yet another shoot.

Wonderful wedding...

Yes, I shoot a small number of weddings each year. I can't help it. Maybe I'm a romantic, but I love getting caught up in the moment, capturing all the joy and excitement. Last night, I shot the most awesome wedding ever. It was a mixture of western and eastern traditions, and it was a blast! Lots of dancing and singing, laughing and smiling.

There was a big entrance, where all the guests danced and chanted as they led the bride and groom into the reception hall. I got a ton of great still photos of the event. However, the music, movement and excitement were so great that I had to switch over to video for a few seconds (eight seconds to be exact). Doesn't this look like fun?!?

Stock photos are everywhere...

I don't shoot stock, and I rarely sell stock (mainly, because I don't actively promote my catalog of images), but occasionally I will get a call from someone who knew I had an archived image and wants to license it. It can wind up being a nice little payment that I didn't expect, and it makes me wonder if I shouldn't be actively promoting my work for stock sales.

It wouldn't be hard to build up a variety of images for sale, either. I remember a photographer giving a lecture about finding good stock shot opportunities on all of his commissioned shoots. He'd be hired to shoot a subject at a certain location, then spot something else and shoot it before or after the primary shoot.

Here's a good example... I was in an office building yesterday, hired to shoot a lawyer for their website and brochures. As I'm waiting for her to come in the conference room, I look out the window. From the 20th story, I see an interesting view of downtown Dallas traffic during a wet, cold morning. I snap some pics. All of a sudden, I have images of a busy city highway that can be sold as stock. I was just sitting and waiting at the time, so why not make the most of it?

Or, on the plane home from Disney World... I look out the window and see an interesting shot that may be marketable. Done. I had nothing else to do, so why not take a picture that could potentially be sold. It could wind up being sold over and over, if the image is popular enough!

So, why not start actively offering my images as stock? Maybe I should. If I keep looking for little shots that can be taken during my downtime, it would be easy to find a bunch of potentially profitable shots.

We Built This City...

I had a blog going last night, trying to keep my promise of doing a blog post every day in November. Then, suddenly... everything fell apart. Pretty much everyone in my family got sick yesterday, except me. I was forced to abandon the blog and tend to a variety of vomit coming at me from all directions. Yes, it WAS gross!!!

Why do I mention this? Well, as a professional photographer, you still have real life happening all around you. Since the blog isn't essential to my survival, it wasn't a priority. If it was an important client's pics that HAD to be turned out last night... well, I would've probably been running back and forth between the studio and the bedrooms and bathrooms all night long. As a professional freelance photog, you have to balance your clients and real life. Sometimes, it isn't so easy.

OK, so back to blogging. I've missed two days out of thirty now. Not too bad I guess, especially considering that six of them were spent on vacation. And, besides dealing with a sick family (and a giant pile of nasty bed sheets to wash), I still had an early morning shoot, prep for an evening shoot and several clients needing to finalize upcoming shoot details with. It has been non-stop.

What does all this have to do with the Jefferson Starship song "We Built This City", which is today's blog title? Nothing. But this does:

lakewood-dallas.blackwhiteread.com/view/articles/16222

It's a cool little video I shot for BlackWhiteRead.com about a choir performance at Woodrow Wilson High School. The event was pretty fun, especially the Princeton Tigertones. The high school rendition of "We Built This City", on the other hand, was not the highlight of the evening...

Maybe I just have something against the song, because the kids sound fine. If only they'd chosen something like "London Calling" or "Anarchy In The UK". Is that too wild for a high school choir? Hey, I heard the grocery store music system playing Ozzy Osborne the other day (which was very odd), so why not some Sex Pistols in the school choir?????

Disney photographers...

This is one of the many Disney World photographers. I think his name was Tim. I also took a picture of a female Disney photog who was super nice, but I'll save her pic for another Disney post...

So, why am I blogging about Tim and his associates? Well, if I were a young, single person trying to find steady work as a photographer in this day and age, I might just consider trying this out for a bit. It seemed kind of fun.

They aren't like your average high school student working a summer job. They are real photogs. I talked with one last year, and he said some of them shoot the special events/corporate conferences that are booked at Disney. Some of them shoot the weddings and receptions on site. I'm sure they also handle some of the Disney PR photos and other misc shoots needed.

If I were young, single and wanted to get some real world experience under my belt, what better way to hone my photo skills than in sunny Florida? I'm well past that now, but who knows... they may have some pretty good paying upper level positions in the photo dept. I could apply today and never have to leave! Oh, who am I kidding. I could never work for a mouse, even if he is adorable.

Jason vs. film...

OK, so this post may be a bit silly, but I am on vacation, so... I just thought it was fun to see the giant film canister that you could climb through and slide down. It is inside a "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" playground at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Part of me misses shooting film, but digital has so many more advantages. However, I don't think it would be quite as fun to climb on a giant compact flash card. This is one area that film surely wins out!

More than just a photographer...

I pulled double duty for the annual CF Concert Series held at The Granada Theater in Dallas, TX, this year. This is the second year that I not only donated some of my rock and roll prints to help raise money for the charity, but I also handled all the PR for the event.

I'm excited, because my photos raised a LOT of money for the charity. Plus, I did a pretty good job at handling all the press and PR for the event, with tons of newspaper, blog, radio and television coverage happening. Not that I'd want to give up photography as a career, but I could probably do promotions and marketing to pay the bills, if I had to - based on the media coverage and attendance this year and last year...

Here is some video of the VIP portion of the event. More video coming from Stan Rouleau in the coming days:

CF Benefit Concert- Rhett Miller VIP Show from Reflect Films on Vimeo.

Jason vs. Epcot Center...

OK, so Disney World's Epcot Center would have been an easy one to beat, had I really been trying hard to get some fun photos. It is filled with picturesque scenery and hundreds (if not thousands) of great, picture-perfect moments. How could you not leave Epcot without a ton of wonderful, family-friendly vacation pics?

Believe it or not, I didn't really shoot many, though. I don't plan to sell any stock pics of Disney World. I don't have any specific magazine or newspapers that need Disney pics, either. So, I turned off my professional photographer mode, took it easy and kept the camera in my bag for most of the day. I got a few family pictures here and there, and that was it.

There were two things that caught my eye, however. One was the Giant ball that houses the Spaceship Earth ride. My babies kept staring up at it. They were in awe. Their fascination made me take a step back and try to examine it from a very simple, innocent perspective. I found that when I deconstructed it into basic shapes and balanced it against the clear, blue sky, it almost turned into abstract art.

The other thing that got my attention as a photographer was the Living Seas building. It was filled with colorful sea creatures. They weren't the easiest things to shoot, but it was fun trying. This one was especially fun to look at and photograph...

I don't mind that I skipped a million picture moments today. I had more fun just walking around with the family. My mind was still analyzing all the different photo opportunities, though. I kept seeing spots, objects, things, etc. that would be fun to photograph. I don't know how to turn that off completely. It's just in my blood, I guess.

Disney animals...

Since I'm on vacation for the next few days, I won't be talking too much about work. However, I will still blog about photography. I eat, sleep, breathe, dream and constantly think about photography, so even my days off are filled with photos.

I like Disney World's Animal Kingdom and Epcot Center. They both have some really cool opportunities to see and photograph animals up close. And, it's not like shooting at a zoo, where the animals are surrounded by concrete. Disney makes a decent attempt to have the animals appear like they are in a natural environment.

I'm back at Disney today, so I thought I'd share a couple photos I took here a few years back. Hopefully, I will get something just as interesting during this visit. I wish I had my gorilla pics from last year's trip to Animal Kingdom that I could share right now. They were pretty neat, too. Maybe, I'll dig those up and post them when I get back home along with whatever I get here in the next couple days...

Southern Revival...

I received a last-minute assignment to shoot a church revival for a publication. I wound up getting some cool stuff that the magazine didn't need (they had me focusing on a specific person at the event, with no need of anything else), so I thought I'd share the extra stuff here:

Now THIS is fashion!!!

I'm totally stealing these links from a photo forum that I frequent, because it is just that cool:

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/11/11/fashion/

and

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/11/11/style/

Seriously... this is the best fashion photography I have seen in a million years. The best part is they are using a photography technique from the 1800's. No digital cameras here... I've always wanted to make tintypes, but the process is just too involved - as you can see by the second link.

Light Impressions...

Light Impressions is always so expensive, half the stuff I want is usually back-ordered and their shipping takes forever. But I keep using them, because I haven't found anyone with a better product, yet. Their print storage boxes and archival items are the very best. Their mat board and mounting tape is wonderful. I will keep putting up with the high prices and long wait times for now... unless you can suggest another company with similar product quality?

www.lightimpressionsdirect.com

Single light tutorial...

Watching this video from youtube is a good way to understand the basics of lighting. I've always believed that simple is better, and I often use one or two lights at most.

Top Dogs, Top Photogs...

Pick up this book now!!!

www.topdogspets.com

My friend David Woo, along with Richard Pruitt, photographed celebrities and legends with their pets. They recently published the book Top Dogs And Their Pets (ISBN 978-0-9841086-0-2 if you have trouble finding it).

I met both photogs at The Dallas Morning News when I started shooting for them about ten years ago. David has been very supportive of my work and has hooked me up with a lot of great clients over the years. He's been an essential part of my success as a professional photographer.

The Crash That Took Me...

You've got one more day to see The Crash That Took Me cover and feature story on news stands. A new issue of Quick comes out Thursday, so grab one now! If you aren't familiar with this Dallas band, you should be. They are pretty good!

We did the shoot during the last days of the State Fair of Texas. It was drizzling that night, but the umbrellas add a coolness to the cover, I think...

Jason Janik vs. Art and Beer...

Let me first say that I almost NEVER drink alcohol. I'm not against it, I just don't really care for it. With that being said, you can tell that I'm a little off... a little buzzed during my interview in this video. That's the last time I accept a free beer sampler at dinner!

www.kera.org/blogs/culture/2009/11/07/

Portfolio Review: Opening Night from Cindy Chaffin on Vimeo.

But, my rambling, wandering, drunk prose isn't the point of this video. Nope, KERA's Art&Seek was covering a really cool art show that I had the pleasure of judging. It was fun seeing all the art up on the walls. It was even more fun seeing some of these artists enjoying their very first art opening.

On a side note, I totally need a haircut, right? After seeing this video, I made an appointment for Wednesday.

Canon 5DmkII vs. Halloween...

I've shot some good video with the Canon 5DmkII already, but most of it has been interviews. The camera is stationary, sitting on a tripod, so follow focus and camera shake aren't an issue. I think this is the first professional video I've done (I'm not counting my home videos of the boys or test videos that I wasn't paid to do) that required the 5DmkII to capture so much action.

It was obviously a lot harder to keep up with running, screaming kids than recording a sitting subject for an interview. However, I think I did OK...

http://lakehighlands-dallas.blackwhiteread.com/view/articles/15671

Texas Sales tax???

How about this handy little search feature, when trying to figure out if your client should be paying sales tax or not:

http://ecpa.cpa.state.tx.us/staxpayersearch/SlsTxpyrSearch.jsp

If they aren't even listed in the database and are based out of Texas, they have no way to avoid paying state sales tax on your photo shoot. If they ARE listed, they need to meet one of the other qualifiers, as well - like the photos will be incorporated into their product, which they will be selling.

Collect sales tax and pay it into the state every January. As a professional photographer, you are required to by law!

Battle of the bugs...

First off, I messed up yesterday. I was trying to do this "blog every day during November" thing, but I missed yesterday. I had a long Friday away from the computer, then I had the art show opening to attend, then we got home and put the boys to bed. The oldest boy asked if we could all lay down together, and I did. Next thing I know, I wake up in bed with two snoozing babies and it is 1am. No point in trying to blog for Friday, because I just missed it.

It was worth it, though. I had a busy afternoon, a great art show opening that I attended with my wife and my friend John, and I got to snuggle up with two of my three favorite boys. Anyway, I'm hoping that is the ONLY day I miss. Let's see if I can keep it that way...

To get back on track, I'll probably post some cool pics from a recent client shoot or talk about an upcoming shoot with a new client. But for now, I thought I'd share this odd shot I took on a recent day off:

I was sitting on the back patio watching my boys play in the back yard. I see a wasp or hornet or something nasty fly over my head, towards the back door. Then I see it stop near a spider web. I didn't think he was going to get stuck, but he sure did. Immediately after, a spider comes out and they begin to fight.

Luckily, I had my camera pretty much ready to go, since I had left it set up from a shoot the previous night. I threw on some extension rings and got in close - a little too close for comfort, really. I shot some of the action, and this is what I got.

Now, I am well aware that I'm NOT on the level of a National Geographic nature shooter. This is not the best insect picture around. Heck, I don't even know enough about the specific bugs/insects/whatever to tell you much about them. I am a lifestyle shooter. People hire me to shoot people. I do that well - not creepy, stingy things.

It's more about the fact that I never expected to see a possible fight to the death between a wasp-looking thing and a spider. And the fact that I was brave enough to put on a 50mm and some extension rings to shoot this duel from no more than a couple inches away.

For the camera nerds, it was shot at iso 2500 on my Canon 5DmkII, 1/100th sec, f8, with bounce flash under my patio cover. And, for the PETA fans, I saved the flying insect. The spider retreated after a while, I think in hopes that the stuck insect would tire itself out trying to escape the web. I unstuck it and untangled it using a twig, then set it free. Don't ask me why...

Come to the Kettle...

Come to the Kettle Art Gallery in Deep Ellum Friday night (from 7pm to 10pm), November 6, 2009. A reception for a juried show will be taking place, and I was one of the jury members. It was exciting, getting a chance to pick the final artwork from all the talented artists that submitted. We chose about 55 pieces to show from a pool of about 400. It was hard work!

This is a short press release regarding the event:

Well the Jury has spoken and there were plenty of entries to choose from. Out of 420 images, 55 were accepted into our first ever show of this kind. This show will be exceptional w/ plenty of new talent and some you already know and love including ;

Willhelmina Adams, David Alpuche, Sabrina Ashee, Julianne Agular, Nathan Beach, Jonathan Brooks, Shari Caldwell, Rita Childress, Dan Colcer, Lauren Darrouzet, Oscar Duran, Jonathan Fontenot, Essie P. Graham, Charles A. Gray, Violeta Gutierrez, Luke Harnden, Michael Haskins, Nary Huval, James Emory Bridges (Jimbeau), Jenice Johnson, Veronique Jonas, Natalia V. Jones, Jeff Kiec, Joseph Lambert, Ray LeBoeuf, Levi Leddy, Tom Leininger, Frank Lopez, Jeane McIntosh, William Messimer, Edward Montes, Carolyn Nelson, Jalon Nichols, Richard Patterson, Ramona and Dennis Placke, Rob Polivka, Pat Ramseur, Guy Reynolds, David Rodriquez, Clint Scism, Tyler Sharp, Diane Sikes, Cara Michelle Smith, Tammy Tholen, Andrew Tolentino, Susana Vasquez and Ross von Rosenberg..

This show runs through Saturday, November 28.

Please Note: the date for this show has been moved to Friday the 6th due to scheduling conflicts. Nomad Arts, have their Art of Skateboarding' exhibit on Saturday the 7th. Many Kettle Crew artists also participate in this annual benefit exhibit for the Scottish Rite Hospital.

Jury: The jury for this exhibit is
Anne Bothwell - Director, KERA's Art & Seek
Jason Janik - Photographer
Sarah Jane Semrad - Executive Director, La Reunion TX and President, Art Conspiracy
Lucia Simek - co-founder of Dallas' arts and culture blog, Renegade Bus
Charles Dee Mitchell - Art Critic


The jury will deem a set of artists as 'Best in Show' and those artists will be acknowledged at the reception on November 6.

Vicente, circa 2006...

This is Vicente. He has worked at the State Fair for a LOOOOONG time. It's been a while since I talked to him last, but he is always a welcome smile at the State Fair of Texas crafts building. I took this quick portrait back in 2006, when I was covering the fair for a national publication called American Profile.

I just had a Canon 20D and my 540 flash on me at the time, so it was a pretty simple shoot... nothing fancy or complicated. And it was shot with my 20mm f2.8, camera settings were 1/40 sec and f4.9 according to the data saved with the image file.

I took a lot of pictures that year, including my first portrait of Bill Bragg, the voice of Big Tex. After sending off the images to my editor, I didn't do a thing with the pics. They just sat on a disc, filed away for the last three years.

I've thought about this photo of Vicente for a long time. I don't know why, maybe because he's such a colorful character. I never did anything with it, because I never cared for the glare on his glasses. I've even thought about retaking it every year since then, but never have. I think I will do a proper portrait next State Fair season. Vicente deserves it! For now, you can enjoy him as is. Next year, he'll look even better, sans glare.

Dinosaurs, from a different view...

For those of you who know where this image was taken, you know this is quite a different view from normal. Yup, I was given a cherry picker and raised up a couple stories, so I could get a fun dino shot for my client. It was fun being eye to eye with a T-Rex dinosaur!

Art Con 5...

I am participating in this year's Art Con event:

www.artconspiracy.org/ac3.html

Leica, anyone?!?

Seriously, who wouldn't want to try this out?

http://s.leica-camera.com

I'm not sure I could bring myself to spend $23k for a body and $5k per lens, but the camera system seems pretty sweet!

Artistic accident...

Is this my latest work of fine art, depicting my innermost thoughts and feelings, carefully composed to take the viewer on an emotional ride of contrast and color? Nope. I accidentally took a picture while adjusting the camera settings at a photo shoot tonight. I thought it looked pretty cool, though. What an interesting accident!

Bridezillas? No thanks...

I was out at a nightclub shoot and a camera crew was following around this obnoxious couple. I talked to one of the guys and found out they were filming an episode of Bridezillas. I am so glad that I don't have to work for that show. It must be such a beating, being around all that negativity. The people on Bridezillas often seem so annoying, mean, whiny, nasty, etc. I wouldn't want to film that kind of stuff all day. It would be too depressing.

My wife and I used to watch the first season or so, back when they actually documented the real struggles and stress of planning a wedding. However, we stopped watching when it turned into a sort of Jerry Springer fest...

Yet another reason to NOT become a photojournalist...

The newspaper industry doesn't look too hot at the moment:

finance.yahoo.com/news/Newspaper-circulation-drop

Mario Lopez...

Someone said November was national Post a Blog a Day Month. Whether that's true or not, I'll try my best to do it. We'll see how far I actually get. To start things out, I'll post a link to my picture of Saved By The Bell actor Mario Lopez:

blog.quickdfw.com