I was going through some of my personal work the other day and this photo struck me. I have an actual, physical print of this photo in my studio and it really looks great on a matte paper. That got me to thinking about the photo a little bit more and I came up to these two conclusions:

#1 You should regularly print your work (with a good, consistent print lab). Seeing your work in print, whether it be an album or canvas or proof print, will make you a better photographer or as a client it will make you appreciate the “real-ness” of the moment photographed. I love seeing photographs online but I don’t think it will ever come close to the tangible feel of a fine art print that you can touch, view and connect with on a more personal and real life situation (as opposed to cyberspace). Call me old school, but that’s okay. I’ll always value printed photographs.

#2 You don’t need an incredible camera to make incredible photographs. I’m all for more megapixels, bigger LCDs, awesome films, great lenses, etc but they are not a prerequisite to making a great photograph. This photo was made with a point and shoot camera (Panasonic Lumix LX-3). It is literally straight out of the camera (I do shoot black and white in the camera a lot). Don’t get hung up on the tools, get caught up in the medium. You can create awesome art with the most basic of tools. Actually, using the point and shoot challenges me more as an artist to not rely so much on big sensors, fast lenses and computer processing.

So I hope you enjoy this happy pup. He was so content to just hang out by the phone booth while his owner went in to grab a sandwich. He smiled at everyone who walked by and epitomized the New York spirit to me, tough on the outside but really kind and warm.

I’ve had this Canon 20D forever. It has made some awesome wedding and portrait photographs, but is has pretty much sat in a camera bag for the past couple of years and really hasn’t been used much. It works perfectly and is an excellent digital camera. I was going through some gear and figuring out if I should eBay some stuff, when it occurred to me what this camera would mean to someone if I just GAVE it to them. I don’t really need the money from it, I don’t need the camera as a backup (I’ve got several), I don’t need it for a travel camera, I just don’t need the thing and I WANT IT TO BE USED to make photographs. So, I’m giving it away! You heard right, I am giving it away!
This camera might be the start of the next brilliant photojournalist, it might photograph the lives of missionaries abroad, it might be packed in a soldier’s bag on the front lines of freedom, it may end up in the hands of a child at a local art collective. Wherever it ends up, I want it to be used. I want someone to feel the same awesome feelings I do when I see the awesome photograph that was made.

What I’m giving:
-Canon 20D Digital SLR Camera
-Canon 50mm 1.8 lens
-CF memory card
-all discs, manuals, extra battery

How I’m going to give it away:
-For the next week, I’m taking ideas. From starving artists, missionaries, children, students, photo classes, farmers and the homeless…find someone you think is worthy of this camera and would put it to good use. To nominate them, simply comment below and tell us who you think we should give it to. On 2.18.10 I will pick the top 5 people/causes and then we’ll have a week of voting. The winner will be announced on 3.1.10 when I get home from a Mexico wedding.

I’ve been wanting to shoot some bridal fashion and have been working on some concepts with some wedding gown designers, stylists, etc. but we haven’t set anything in stone yet. So what happens? Instead of some awesome bridal couture, I’m stuck with Super 150s wool, Italian silk and dudes in suits. Go figure.
These frames were made for an Ethan Shane Clothier, an independent retailer in the area who is in the process of developing a new website and needed photographs. We were actually able to shoot a bit in the new studio, here in Linden, CA and then out in the orchards around town. Here are a few frames that caught my eye.

This awesome couple is from St. Louis and flew out to sunny, errrrr, rainy California for their engagement session. Their wedding will be at Mulvaney’s in Sacramento (one of the coolest venues I’ve ever worked at) and I can’t wait. Even though we had to deal with the rain and the cold (yes, that happens in California) they were both awesome subjects for my cameras and they made it happen. It was cool riding in their car from one spot to the next and seeing a bunch of bridal magazines on the back seat. I know Charlayne and her planner (Sacramento Wedding Planner: Kendra Wershing) are going to come up with some radness for the wedding day.
So we photographed around downtown Stockton and then we headed out near my studio in Linden, CA. One of my goals this year is to show more of my black and white work. I love the feeling of it and there is something so “real” about a photograph when it is “colorless”. Anyhow, I hope you don’t mind seeing more black and whites this year. Enjoy.

Have you had a chance to check out Formspring yet? It is a great place where you can ask/answer questions publicly and I’ve been having some fun with it lately. If you have questions about wedding photography, photography in general, skiing, surfing, Louis L’amour novels, etc. feel free to ask away. Its more fun if you sign up and have a username, but you can ask anonymously. Check it out and ask away.