Tag: Portraits

New Year, New Focus

A Fresh Look, Photography Meanderings

Every year I start out with, “I’m going to blog more, I’m going to shoot more and I’m going to post more”; then, reality hits and it doesn’t happen.  This year, because I want to take better care of myself mentally and not put the weight of this upon myself, I am not going to set any resolutions. However, my usual goal setting is going to happen, because I achieve more when I set goals, but they will be things that will enrich my life and not make it more stressful or things that won’t make me feel guilty if I fall through.

Another thing that is going to happen this year, is I’m going to focus my energy more in doing concerts and open myself up to doing more local band portraiture work.

Band-7

 

I also want to do more nature photography which takes me to my happy place.  I will continue to do the occasional wedding and portrait shoot; in fact I have a wedding on the books for August of 2019 and I know I will be photographing my favorite little and her family a few times this year.  I really want to focus on what drives me which is the music and being out in nature.

I want to grow my Instagram and will be focusing more on the concert side of that with my @photocreationsbydeb page.  I may create a new one for my own personal work with the natural environment, but time will tell.

The point is, I’m not going to goal myself to the degree where I beat myself up if I don’t achieve the goals.  I’m putting them out there, if they are completed, great! If not then that’s ok too and I will just work smarter on the important ones.

A Quick Look Back

In 2018 I decided to take a full vacation, somewhere other than Florida.  I went to North Caroline to spend time with girlfriends who know me better than just about anyone (and they still love me, imagine that!). I began planning early which made the excitement build.  It was such a wonderful trip with lots of mountain air to clear my head and exploring new and exciting places.

IMG_1407

I look forward to a wonderful and exciting 2019!

Happy New Year!

Camping & Superheroes

People, Photography Meanderings

 

I really have been negligent with my blog.  I can only attribute it to pure laziness.  I must get out of that mindset and really buckle down.  I tell myself it’s because I don’t have any content, which really isn’t true, I have the content, I’m just lazy.

So here goes a new post, and hopefully this will spurn me into doing more writing and shooting.

This past weekend I took a much needed break and went camping.  I got to hang out with my youngest son Tommy and we tried some night photography work, but the clouds wouldn’t cooperate so I really didn’t get much.  We hung out with a giant snake and I took photos of Tom and he of me.

I also scheduled a portrait photo shoot with one of my favorite little girls.  I really don’t take portraits of children often, because they wear me out, mentally & physically, but this little lady is so very special.  I have had the privilege of taking photographs of her since she was about six months old and have every 6 months to a year since.  She is on the cusp of turning four (December) and honestly you would think as a toddler, she would be all over the place, however around the age of two, I had her complete attention.  I alway allow her to dictate when our session is finished (and she has), but she has always given me one hundred percent.  I have asked her to pose a certain way and have shown her and she does it…..without question.  This weekend was different.  I still showed her what I was wanting, but I took it a step further and asked her how she wanted to pose; what I got was just incredible.  This child micro-moves like a model.  She also uses her eyes, and I just love that about her.  Here are a few of her photographs showing her sass and Superhero self!

A cute Super Hero

If you like what you see feel free to visit my Facebook page and give it a like!  and follow me on my Social Media sites.

Finding My Way Back

Photography Meanderings

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted something substantial.  My last post was 23 days ago and that was to explain how unmotivated I’ve been.

It’s been a rough and stressful couple of months, I had to pack and prepare for a complete move to a new place by mid May.  Not only was I stressed, but my poor cat Harpo had totally stressed out and hid for about three full days before I saw him again. He’s now at his usual place,sleeping at me feet as I write this.                                                   I finally finished unpacking last week and simply wore myself out.  I rarely left the house during the Memorial Day weekend, but this week I feel like I’m back to normal with a busy shooting schedule and my normal work week.

I’m going to try and catch you up on what’s been happening in my world.

April was an incredibly busy month with packing, portraits, events and a two-day festival, Fort Rock.

It began with me being hired to shoot Stars on Ice at Germain Arena, and I was thrilled to meet a few of the Olympic Champions.  My day began at 10am and ended around 11pm; but what an opportunity! It started with me up on a twelve foot ladder on the ice to take the promotional tour shots……this is one of my images from that adventure. I have a fear of heights and being on a ladder just totally freaks me out, let alone being on one where there is slippery ice involved.  However, I did it and I really didn’t even think much about it as I was working my camera. Amazing what you can do when you are concentrating on your craft.

Promo-2

I also photographed the dress rehearsal, warmups, the merchandise area and the entire show later in the evening.  What a wonderful day spent with incredible people.

Next, I had two mini-sessions with two beautiful ladies.  These ladies are such a pleasure to work with and they both enjoyed their “modeling” session.

Lastly at the end of April I was once again at the annual Fort Rock Festival with radio station 93xfm where I was fortunate enough to once again photograph their meet & greets and work with one of my favorite photographers Ron Dukeshire. Ron is my right and left hand partner at Fort Rock he handles the bands as I am busy in the tent with the station crew and the fans for the meet & greets.  When time allowed, I also photographed a few of the bands including  Sunday night’s headliner Soundgarden with the late Chris Cornell; RIPSound Garden-16

May is Prom season and this year was no different for me.  I worked with a cute couple I had met at Fort Rock and truly enjoyed the time I spent with them.

Prom-6

I also photographed Disney on Ice for Germain, but due to copyright restrictions I am unable to post any of them.

The last day of the month found me at Germain Arena for Brit Floyd, an incredible Pink Floyd Tribute band with an amazing light/laser show.Brit Floyd-21

All of this was accomplished while, packing my home up, moving to a new place, unpacking and editing the work to meet my dead-lines, however I have found my way back.

 

 

2016 A Year In Review

Photography Meanderings

Happy New Year!  It’s always exciting to begin a new year, that change of numbers is simply filled with excitement of what the next twelve months may bring.

I began this blog in late 2013 and wasn’t really sure where it would take me, for this next year I have titled the blog to fit more with who I am and what I am all about; Life, Love & Passion Through the Lens.  I’m so excited for this next year, not only to grow my blog and my photography business, but to amp up my personal growth. Many new things will be happening with the addition of some marketing influences in internet radio and a new marketing video will be produced in the next couple of months.  Exciting times are coming!

I have made mistakes and learned from them.  My proficiency in using the editing software I own is increasing, and I am growing as a photographer. I have increased my wedding photography presence.  I am shooting more concerts and I was able to photograph a local production of an original play.  I even had a photo photo bombed by a Clydesdale!  Enjoy!

2016 has been one of the best years, I’ve ever had, and I know my momentum will only increase and I will continue to learn and grow.

I want to share a few of the highlights from this past year……….enjoy & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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An Unveiling

Photography Meanderings

Recently I reconnected with an old friend through Facebook.  We had been friends back in our late Junior High early High School days.  He moved away and we kept in touch for a short time after; well before Facebook when letter writing was envogue.  He had moved back to the same area as an adult and joined the local Sheriff’s Department as a K9 handler.  He is currently retired and breeds/trains Malinois & German Shepherds.  He contacted me about photographing his dogs working so I took a trip up mid June to a training facility.  It was a huge field set up with obstacles and many different working dog owners.  I was allowed to be on the field with the dogs working and even though the field was full of water and mud it was a great time.  I met some incredible people and took some awesome photos.  Out of the photos I took THIS is why I was there!

Canon 70-200 f2.8

Photography Gear
Here I am with the box!
Here I am with the box!

I purchased this lens a few months ago and have had adequate opportunity to use it.  I have shot several concerts local venues and national acts, I’ve photographed a night wedding and I have taken portraits with it.  I am going to approach this with the Pro/Con format.

Pro’s

This is a sturdy lens (see con’s) with 23 elements and an all metal body which is dust & element resistant.

The lens is fast, with that f2.8 I am able to shoot in extremely low light situations;  with my Canon 6d I can successfully photograph in near darkness with little noise  at an ISO between 800 – 1600.  The wedding was a late evening outdoor wedding with very little lighting or should I say very little good lighting.  However with the help of the videographer (always make friends with the videographer!) I was able to have enough light to focus and pull some great images,  even with the ambient light as long as I had enough to focus with I was golden.

Focusing is quick and tack sharp and extremely fast with a manual override even in auto focus mode. It comes with a removable tripod collar, a hood and a beautiful carrying case.

Con’s

This lens is HEAVY.  3.28 lbs before you attach it to your camera body.  It’s not your day-to-day knock around lens that’s for sure and it requires a steady hand.  For such a large lens the telephoto is only up to 200mm on a full frame camera, so if you are looking for something to get the wildlife that’s far in the distance, this would not be the lens to grab.

This lens is not cheap.  The starting price is around $2500.00, but it is an “L” lens and it’s one of Canon’s top of the line and premier lens so is it worth the price? That’s for you to decide.

My Recommendations

I highly recommend this lens for those who are portrait or wedding photographers.  I do photograph portraits and weddings from time to time, but my most of my work is events and large venue concerts.  This lens is perfect for those dark venues, with bright lighting.  I have had some great results with this lens.

I hope this helps anyone who may be on the fence about making this large of a purchase.  Maybe if you are not sure if you want to spend the money, then  borrow the lens for a few days, see if it’s what you are looking for.  This is exactly what I did, I have a photographer friend who owns this lens and I was able to use it and well, I knew I needed to have it.

The Prize
IMG_1251 The Prize

Immortality

Photography Meanderings

As I thought about this work “immortality” I am forced to think about my own.  Being a photographer my job is to capture images for people to pass on so they can in a way, become immortal.  It’s a given we are all going to pass from this world, but we can leave incredible memories for those we leave behind.  I was reminded of this just this past week, as our area suffered an EF2 tornado.  Living in Florida, they do happen mostly out in the water and are known as ‘water spouts’, but in the past week we have had some pretty severe weather which has ignited the atmosphere with tornadic activity.  In one close by neighborhood many families had devastating loss of property; everything was blown all over the neighborhood, including photographs.  Someone in the neighborhood found the photographs and posted them on Facebook to see if they could find the owners, saying “we know these mean something to someone and want to get them to the owner”.  I am hoping the family whom the photos belonged were reunited.

These past few weeks with the death of several celebrities like actor Alan Rickman, singer songwriter, performer David Bowie and most recently Glenn Frey of the Eagles, I’ve been taking a walk down memory lane looking at the photos from years past.  As a concert photographer I know when I am photographing an artist that I am one of those who will be continuing their legacy.  In late 2013 I had the honor of photographing the late Johnny Winter in concert and in July 2014 he passed away; I may very well be one of the last people to have photographed him, I have that photo printed and in a scrap book.

2013 11 23_Southwest Florida Blues Festival_7565_edited-1
Johnny Winters

All the time I am questioned as to why I don’t offer digital images and I tell potential clients it’s because you are the legacy to your children and grandchildren, without physical photographs in hand, you may not have your story visually told.  Sure I could offer DVD’s or flash drives full of photographs, but the chances of that making it out of a disaster and found or if found not being corrupted is slim; and your life events recorded upon that digital media will be gone forever. Not to mention the fast paced change we see with the way digital media is stored, there may not be a way to view those images in the future.  I suffered this loss myself when I lost my hard drive in 2005 from hurricane Wilma, the electrical surge fried my computer and all of my youngest son’s graduation photos were on that computer……now lost forever.

So for everyone who takes photographs, no matter if you use a point & shoot, dslr or your cell phone, please make prints of your work.  It does not matter if you are shooting wildlife, your pets, your family or even those selfies.  Take those digital images and print them out and put them in an album.  I have done this, I have photos of my adult children, my cat and my adventures with wildlife.  I also have a scrap book of just about all the concerts I have photographed on a professional level along with the credentials that went with the concert.  This is to preserve my legacy as a concert photographer and the personal photos will insure, my family will be remembered long after I am gone.

 

2016 Goals

Personal, Photography Meanderings

I am not making any resolutions this year, but I do have  goals for my personal and professional life.  My first goal is to be more creative; to take the time to really see what is in front of my lens.  Another goal is to book more weddings, however I am particular and will only take those which follow my standards and vision.  A personal goal is to take more “me” time, to get out and enhance my own skills and to work to make me better.  I also want to be more active in my blog here, I put out quite a few last year, but my goal for 2016 is to blog weekly.  Writing is something I enjoy and I want to write a lot more, which will also get me out and shooting more so that I have something to blog about.  I want to read more books this year, reading is an escape and I want to go to the park or beach with a good book and get lost in it.  I also want to sit in quiet reflection to get closer to God and to simply listen for life’s answers.

Big Cypress-80

2016 will be my best year ever!

Looking Back – 2015

Photography Meanderings
Lakes Park B&W-5
Reflection

 

A Look Back

Time seems to be passing by way to quickly these days, I barely find myself catching up with one thing and it’s already on to another. I will say it has been a fabulous year and has ended with a bang.

I was able to photograph a lot of great bands and to work several large festivals, which is always fun. I have met some incredible people and have broadened my social network.  Last fall I joined a little photography Meet-Up group and fell in love with the people, many have become really good friends and we have all grown together.  We have learned and participated in numerous excursions and enjoyed each other’s company.

I have expanded my business this year to include a small home studio, it’s not perfect, but it works for me and that’s really all that matters. I have stayed busy with portraits and weddings and hope to increase that business next year.  I was told this year my wedding price is too expensive , but the potential clients who said this got exactly what they paid for by not using a professional.  I learned this is not my battle to face, because I am geared to a certain type of client and I will gladly allow the them to learn their lesson.

This year I finally purchased my dream lens; the Canon f2.8 70-200mm.  This lens is awesome for my concert/wedding and portrait photography.

The Future

I am looking for 2016 to be bigger and better than ever. I have had an invitation to go to Vietnam and photograph a resort there and will be working out the details of that potential trip and my son may go with me;  I can’t think of anyone I would rather work with more than him.  Which brings me to another note, he will be opening his first full solo photography art show on January 9, 2016 and will run through the end of February.  I’m excited for him as he is quite talented and has captured the flora and fauna of the Everglades quite well.

Another new feature for this new year is the rebranding of my business.  I unveiled a new logo and will incorporate it within my website/blog and all social media.  I have also finally changed my Facebook page web address from the former kdphotocreations to: http://www.facebook.com/photocreationsbydeb.  This was two years in the making, but at the time I had recently ordered business cards that had this address on it and needed to use them up; I received my new business cards and now I am ready to put a final note on a past element of my business.

I hope to do a lot more teaching this next year and expand on my basic digital camera workshops and add editing to the mix.  I also want to be involved with a few more communities.  I will include myself in the  need to be taught, I am constantly wanting to improve my own skills and continue to grow and simply be better.  Learning is huge for me, and there areas I struggle with, but I try to find those who can teach me.  If you are unwilling to learn and add to your craft, your craft will die a slow agonizing death, I’m not willing to allow that to happen.

Each year for the past couple of years I have adopted a new word for the year, instead of setting unreachable new year resolutions.  I have grown in leaps personally by applying these words to my life almost daily.  I began with ‘authentic’ and last year was ‘joy’, this year it will be ‘creative’ and I will do whatever I need to keep up my creativity.  I have a plan to create a wonderful show for a museum or gallery.  I will expound more on this once I am confident of the progress and talk to the powers that be in order to create this wonderful exhibit.  I will say it’s something that is extremely close to my heart and it’s going to be wonderful.

So as my eyes shift from the rearview to looking forward, I would like to wish you and yours a very Happy, Prosperous and Exciting New Year, hug your loved ones more, and enjoy time spent with those you care about.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

 

 

My Mission

Photography Meanderings

I have been seriously at this photography thing for several years now, and decided I needed to come up with a mission statement of what I am about and what I want to provide to clients.  It took me several months to think about it and to actually put pen to paper and to develop it exactly how I feel; finally I wrote it out; so here it is:

“I aspire through my photography to empower my clients to look and feel incredible, to create beautiful images, and to build lasting relationships with those who step in front of my camera.”

I feel this statement really epitomizes who I am as a human and what I want to portray as a photographer.  I realize I will not get every client who inquires about my services and I’m ok with that, because it only means they were not the client for me.  My style is easy going, yet in control of my environment and can handle the most stressful of situations.  I know how to make people feel comfortable around me and in doing so I get the responses I’m looking for through my lens. My belief is you reap what you sow and if you are comfortable, your client(s) will be as well.

You have to genuinely love people and they have to feel this about you to be completely comfortable.  I see beauty in each of my clients (male & female) and I get so excited when I know I have taken beautiful images.

I’ve seen photographers take on projects they should have never jumped into, because either they have not developed enough skills or the right attitude or they simply are not aware of what it takes to provide great customer service to the client.  I have actually seen client bashing and that is unacceptable to me.  My clients are incredible and I love each and every one of them.  I treat them with respect and give them more than they expected.  I know what it takes to be in front of a camera, it’s not easy because you expose your entire self to the world.  The photographer’s job is to capture the beauty that is truly you.  Be it bride, groom, families, or individual portrait; male or female.

To those I have had the privilege of photographing, thank you and to those who have yet stepped before my camera, I look forward to meeting you and thank you for trusting me enough to show the world your beauty.