I have been working on a photo book as a test, and will continue to release updated versions as I go.
This is a free download — please check it out and let me know what you think, and keep coming back to check for new updates!
You can download the in-progress iBook from the iBooks page.
Click to access the download page for my free, in-progress, iBook
Frozen Creek @ January 2012 | Canon EOS 5D Mk II & 100mm ƒ/2.8 Macro @ ISO 1000, ƒ/7.1, 1/100
I mentioned at the beginning of the year that I may start doing a B&W series. Let’s see if I can maintain it, but for now, see the first one above. It’s a close-up of a frozen ripple of water; completely abstract and organic. I created the B&W using Silver Efex Pro II and one of my default presets, which I’ve posted here before but here it is again. Next one, I’ll do something different.
The second shot is just cool… it appears to be a tiny flower trapped in ice, or “frozen in time”. I love the way the water has frozen around it; it’s almost as if the temperature plummeted instantly and froze this splash! I simply adore it.
Frozen in Time @ January 2012 | Canon EOS 5D Mk II & 100mm ƒ/2.8 Macro @ ISO 1000, ƒ/5.6, 1/80
The spread looks great and the photos printed very well. Neat!
Click on the snapshot below to open the gallery with the original bear photos, if you haven’t seen them yet.
Deer in the first snow of 2012 in Ashland, OR @ Jan 2012 | Canon EOS 5D Mk II & 70-200mm ƒ/4L IS @ ISO 640, ƒ/4, 1/320
Then a few days before Christmas, we caught a glimpse of a momma and two cubs tearing through the front yard in the late morning. Which is really unusual, as they typically are only around at night.
Then this morning, I spotted them again, down at the creek at the bottom of our property. And they weren’t running away. I had time to grab the long lens and get a few shots through the window!
Black Bear in Ashland, OR — Momma on Watch @ January 2012 | Canon EOS 5D Mk II & 400mm ƒ/4 @ ISO 640, ƒ/4, 1/80
They were up and down the canyon (it’s a small canyon, my house at the top on one side and a creek at the bottom), but I was shooting through windows and trees. They started to come up our path right to the back patio (!!) but thought better of it and turned around. I caught this shot of them bounding across the creek. The 400mm lens was too long to catch all of them in the frame at once!
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No Photo! @ September 2011 | Canon EOS 5D Mk II & 85mm ƒ/1.2L II @ ISO 160, ƒ/2, 1/100
The day before we spent a few hours bottling about 1,000 bottles of family wine.
Not a bad way to spend your weekend, I must say. Here’s a few photos (the first set is a slideshow; I’ve had issues getting it to play but I’m on a slow connection. Please let me know in the comments if it’s working or not? Thanks!)…
Filling wine bottles (slideshow). Instagram photos, reposted here.
The impossibly delicious Bosnian Čevapčiči
Slovenian Forest at Sundown @ November 2011 | Fujifilm X100 w/ fixed 23mm [@35mm] ƒ/2.0 lens @ ISO 200, ƒ/5.6, 1/26
A little wine and roasted chestnuts in Austria
Sunset Over Austrian Vineyards @ November 2011 | Fujifilm X100 w/ fixed 23mm [@35mm] ƒ/2.0 lens @ ISO 200, ƒ/2, 1/17
This morning, Alenka’s brother was fixing a hole in the roof. I climbed up for the view, and shot this using Photosynth on the iPhone. Pretty cool software (be sure to pan down; you can see the hole I’m standing in!).
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For those of you who also delve into the world of video editing, check out my latest training product; Introducing Final Cut Pro X: Learn by Video! For a limited time, you can get 20% off using the code FCPROX at checkout.
Go forth and edit!
-Joseph
]]>I hit the streets with the big camera rig over my shoulder, layers of warmth, and an assistant strapped with a bag of backup gear and the pop-up backdrop. We went down early (barely dark) and hungry, so after a quick slice of local pizza we started shooting. Right away my assistant, Tom (a local college student) spotted some friends of his, so we hit them up first. It was pretty easy to convince people to pose; no commitment, no signature, no cost (now), just let me take your photo, take this card from me (I printed up 200 cards with the website address and a little reminder of what just happened… for those too hung over the next morning to remember!), and a request to visit the site in the next day or two. I didn’t commit to any pricing (and in reality I hadn’t had time to think about it), but all I told people was that they would be able to download a facebook-sized photo for “cheap”. I ended up pricing them at $4 for a 640x480 download, which is obviously a bargain and no way to make a living, but most of my subjects were probably college students with little spare cash anyway. And this wasn’t about making money in the first place.
]]>The first question is simply “why”. Easy enough; I’m new in town and figured this would be a fun way to get to know some people, get my name as a photographer out there, and with any luck, make a little money. It’s hard to make any real money selling $4 facebook-size images, and I know that’s the only thing most people will buy, but that’s OK. It’s fun, it’s a good experience, and again, it gets my name and face out there.
I did something similar two years ago when I lived in Pasadena, except that I set up a studio on my front lawn and photographed (with parental permission of course) the kids that came trick-or-treating. However now in Ashland, where I live, no one comes knocking, so I figured I’d better bring the studio to them! Hence this idea was born.
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