Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 10:31pm
Just off a good sized storm over the holiday weekend I was slightly surprised to see that it was snowing again this morning. I don’t know why I was surprised, I live in New Hampshire, it happens every year. Maybe because I had heard nothing about the possibility of snow, I mean I don’t catch the weather forecast on a regular basis but, when things like this happen there will generally be some talk amongst the natives about it.
So I get the kids on the bus and continue with my morning, making breakfast, answering emails, and getting into work mode. After a while I wander over to the slider that looks out on to the deck and beyond into our pretty atractive view. As I gaze out on the beauty of the slowly falling snow, and the snow covered world, I can’t help but stare at my gas grill. Not longingly or depressed as if I wish I could throw a steak on it, but the way you would look at anything that has just reminded you of something.
A while back I commented on a Story at LondonderryNH.net regarding a picture that kept showing up, in stories related to snow. Funny, when I went to look for one of the stories using that picture I didn’t have to go too far, because a story about the storm from this past weekend has put it to use again. All of the links above go to a different story using the same picture, I commented on one of those stories saying that I was going to make it my mission to capture a picture that could replace the one mentioned above. Not because it’s a bad picture or because it doesn’t tell the story (which it does quite well) just because I was being playful. I didn’t really intend on making it my mission I was just trying to humorously note the popularity of the picture.
Anyway if you’ve visited any of the links above, or if you’re a regular reader of LondonderryNH.net then you know which image I am refering to and why looking at my snow covered gas grill reminded me of my comment. Well it being a particularly atractive snowy Londonderry morning, I couldn’t think of any good excuses to not make good on my mission.
I don’t think any of these do as good of a job at telling a story, so they won’t be suitable replacements, but they are pretty to look at. Besides, I don’t know if I’m really ready to read a story about snow without seeing that picture.
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Friday, January 15, 2010 at 7:32pm
Here is yet another post that is overdue. A choice few pictures from this past year that I really enjoy looking at.
I know I’ve posted this picture before, but it is tied with the Boston City Skyline panorama taken at the same time as being my absolute favorite from this past year. You can read about it at the link above.
-Easily coming in second is this picture that Debbie took on the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo walk back in July. This was shot through a chainlink fence and I love the way the chainlink fence adds a subtle nearly undetectable layer of depth and texture to the photo.
- OK the rest are in no particular order, just a few others that I consider to be among my favorites of the year.
This one of Jonathan was taken one morning while waiting for the bus to come. I was eager to get out and try out a lens that I had just bought used. So I grabbed the tripod and dragged it to the bus stop to get a shot in front of the burning bush. The lens is an old school manual focus 105mm 2.8 Nikon lens that I mounted to my 7D with an adapter. I was pretty close to Jonathan when I took the shot so the result is an almost too shallow depth of field with a manual focus lens. I was probably more than just a little lucky that his eyes are so sharp, the fron half of his nose is soft and the focus already drops of significantly at his temple, that and his blue eyes definitely have a way of drawing right to the subject of the picture though.
-Here is another one that I have posted before but I just love it. We had a great day with Angela and Justin and produced a ton of great stuff at the same time. I look forward to being able to work with both of them again in the future. I believe one of the reasons I like the image so much is the sort of clasic feel it has to it. Angela just behind Justin having a slight timid look and Justin giving a pretty confident serious don’t mess with us look.
-I hope to get more just like this one throughout the coming year. One of my New Years goals is to get cracking on organizing, displaying, and getting into albums and books all of our personal pictures as well as taking more and more. This one was captured by balancing my D300 on a stone wall along side a river then running back to the Adirondack chairs in the middle of the park and sitting down before the click, It only took three tries. I believe it was in Peterburough, NH while we were on the tail end of one of our aimless weekend drives.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 8:46pm
So this past weekend was our third year in a row providing the photography coverage for the big Winter Carnival in Stratham, NH. From 8:00am on Saturday to a little after 8:oopm on Sunday we had 4 photographers team up to capture @ 10,000 pictures of about 800 athletes, well, we did stop to sleep Saturday night.
Gymnastics is one of my favorite sports, as long as I can remember I have loved watching gymnastics, and have always been respectful of the awe inspiring skill and determination the sport demands. As a spectator it is one of my favorite sports to watch. I remember as a kid watching “The Karate Kid” and afterwards I wanted to get off the couch and practice “The Crane Technique”, gymnastics always has the same effect on me, I’m just recently old enough and out of shape enough to know I shouldn’t be trying a back tuck.
So, add to this my love of photography and it’s a near perfect marriage, made even better by my ability to provide a service that includes them both, and as my friend and fellow photographer Christine mentioned this weekend, what better way to enjoy it and be a part of it than being right there on the floor photographing it? Large events like this do make for a very long weekend getting the gear prepped the night before, then up and out early in the morning, and after shooting all day we are usualy up late trying to get those images online as fast as possible for the customers, then back at it the next day. It’s definitely worth it though, some of my favorite shots are of gymnasts and I really enjoy being a part of the sport.
Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 12:16pm
When I came home Tuesday night Debbie told me that she had a surprise for me. She went into the office and came back out with a stack of thank you cards. These were all hand made by the high school graphics arts students that I had visited last month.
Each student had used an image that they had created for the cover of the card and then took the time to write a personalized thank you note on the inside of the card.
I didn’t get a chance to sit down with the cards until this morning, I wanted to make sure I had the time to appreciate each one. I can’t help but feel happy after reading all the cards, the time and effort put into each one and the creativity was excellent. I’m also excited to hear that that they enjoyed having me there and that they apreciated and put to use some of the information I passed along to them.
For the students of Mrs. Cole’s graphic arts class, thank you so much for the cards, I appreciate them very much! I couldn’t resist spreading them out on a white board, taking a picture of them, and using it as my desktop. Your images are spectacular, and I enjoyed hearing how you put some of my tips to use. I would be more than happy to visit again and share as much as I can.
Thank you to Mrs. Cole for the opportunity, I enjoyed the experience and look forward to another invitation.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 12:08pm
Well this is a little over due, but I’ll go ahead and use the holidays as an excuse. Toward the end of November we were contacted by a fellow photographer who asked if we would be interested in sharing studio space. We made a few trips to the studio, and had a few meetings with the other photographer, after a couple discussions amongst ourselves realized it was a great fit and a perfect opportunity for us so we signed on.
The actual space is @ 1400 square feet, a rectangular space that is nice and long to give tons of shooting options, and has a great feeling to it. Located in Nashua right off Main Street on the banks of the Nashua River, the studio is on the top floor of 99 Factory Street ext. The building is a rustic old mill/factory building called the Picker Building, that now caters to the artistic community, there are quite a few photographers as well as painters, jewelery makers, graphic artist, and other crafts.
Another really cool feature of the studio is the atmosphere outside the building. Along the river and around the old brick buildings there are countless areas just waiting to be used as portrait locations.
Our plan is to get settled into the studio over the next month and begin booking portrait sessions as early as the end of January. After a few hours setting up the space and coordinating with the other photographer we already feel very comfortable with the space.
If you are interested in getting some indoor portrait work done before spring breaks contact us now, we will be looking to share some discounts to break in the new studio.
Friday, January 1, 2010 at 2:20pm
We had a great time New Years eve/day. The wedding was beautiful and the time with the family was great. The wedding reception was held at the Red Lion Inn in Cohasset Massachusetts, and the place was absolutely gorgeous. Here’s one I took from the gallery.
Happy New Year!
by Keith
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