iPhone pics...

A lot of people have been publishing their iphone (and other brand of camera phone) pictures on the web and in print for a while now. I'm not sure that I've ever shared my iphone pics here before, though I do post them on my facebook page and email them to friends and family.

So, I ran through my phone and picked a few favs from the last year, including one from the Warped Tour concert, a wild looking sky and my oldest boy asleep with his trains...

For students and assistants...

If you are a photo student or photo assistant, you should definitely attend this event. You would be absolutely insane not to! Seriously!! Go!!!

Profoto is giving you a chance to shoot for free with their really expensive gear, in a pro photog's studio. Forget about the contest. If you win, well, that is just icing on the cake. However, the main thing you'll get is a chance to shoot with pro gear, pro models, in a pro studio, with pro help at your finger tips. These photos will be perfect for building an awesome portfolio.

A magazine, a nice guy and me...

I don't think I ever shared this pic with you. I shot it for D CEO Magazine a few months back. The photo is of Gil Stricklin, a real nice guy. His ministry helps people all across the country and other parts of the world. I actually shot him and his wife once before, years ago. I was doing a shoot for one of my corporate clients - Pilgrim's Pride - at the time. Anyway, I really enjoyed my time with Gil, and I think I came back with nice image.

It's not all Rock and Roll...

Dallas just doesn't have enough music photography to pay all the bills, plain and simple. It makes up a big chunk of my annual income, but I'd be driving a 1980's Honda Civic and eating Ramen noodles if I ONLY shot music in Dallas. We'd all like to herald the vibrant and talented scene here, and it IS amazing. However, it's not LA, NY or Nashville.

I bring this up, because you'll have to diversify in Dallas. Yes, I shoot a lot of music here in Big D, but I also shoot a lot of corporate and PR stuff. And it can be fun, because it gives me some variety. For example, I was recently commissioned to do some shots of a private school during their family day and during a community performance.

These images will most likely be used in brochures and on a website for the school. There wasn't much rock and roll, but I liked it! Was that a bad pun? Yeah, I know... I'm cheesy like that sometimes. Anyway, enjoy the non-rock side of my shooting...

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...

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!

Music, Music, Everywhere...

It has definitely been a musical week for me. So far I've photographed Fall Out Boy, Blink 182, Bowling For Soup, Boys Named Sue, Kellie Pickler and Taylor Swift. Oh, and some band I'd never heard of before (and can't recall their name off the top of my head) on Universal's label.

The music isn't about to stop either! There are some acts performing at The State Fair of Texas that I'll probably shoot and I'll be headed to Austin next weekend to get in as many of the 150 or so bands performing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Yup, it has been a musical week all right. Well, really a musical month, if you look at the other bands I've shot earlier in September. I like it that way. I like music.

How many Pulitzer Prize winners do YOU know personally?!?

I know quite a few Pulitzer Prize winners. I'm not bragging. I'm actually just using it as a segue into the following topic: Cheryl Diaz Meyer. I met her up at the News years ago and remember when she won a Pulitzer for her work covering the Iraq war.

Apparently, Apple (the computer company) thinks she is cool enough to do a profile on:

www.apple.com/pro/profiles/cherylmeyer/index.html

I tend to agree with Apple. She is pretty cool. Check out the link and learn more about one of Dallas' coolest photographers!

Burger surprise...

It was kind of funny getting this door hanger on the front door of my house the other week. I pulled it off the handle of my front door to see what kind of deals were being offered me, and I spotted a hamburger. My hamburger. Well, not mine, as in one that I cooked or ate. No, it was my photo. See it below:

OK, so it's not a photograph that will wind up in the MOMA or The Louvre. However, it was still fun/funny to see it hanging on my front door. And by the way, the food at 1st & 10 looked and smelled amazing! I plan on going sometime soon to see just how great it tastes... maybe I'll even take my coupon in there!