StudiØ6 Photography

Poet Eduardo C. Corral

2011-10-26T15:18:00.001-07:00

Recently did an "author portrait" session with poet Eduardo C. Corral.
Today, he received a substantial grant and award from the Mrs. Giles Whiting foundation.

http://www.whitingfoundation.org/programs/whiting_writers_awards/this_years_winners/

The portraits were for his upcoming book "Slow Lightning", published by Yale University Press.

http://yalepress.yale.edu/book.asp?isbn=9780300178937

This capture was one of his 'selected' photos, but he went for a different one for the book.
You can see his 'selected' photos here:

http://jwstovall.zenfolio.com/eduardocorral

Recent shoot with poet Eduardo C. Corral

2011-10-16T02:32:00.006-07:00

We had a great time making these photographs. Eduardo is just finishing up a
residency at Blue Mountain, and announcing his book, published by Yale University Press. The book is titled Slow Lightning.
See more of the photos here;
http://jwstovall.zenfolio.com/f771651672

Vista Grande HS Football

2011-09-11T10:25:00.002-07:00

Something woke me up yesterday...

2011-08-27T17:19:00.004-07:00

...while setting up to video record the high school football game between Vista Grande and Coolidge. I was stirred to grab my camera, and took this shot of cornerback Deon Blackshear.
'Holy crap Jay, your a photographer first....remember!!!' Yep, that part of me has been dormant for about a year now.

Although, my current project may be to do video recordings of Vista Grande's games this season, I will be making my way down to the field, to capture more of this up close action of the players. Because, if you are lucky enough to do what you love....dammit...wake up and do it !!!!

Happy Fourth

2011-07-04T21:03:00.002-07:00

2011-07-03T04:20:00.003-07:00

2011-06-09T15:49:00.001-07:00

Chris Orwig Photography Courses - Just Released!

2011-05-28T07:23:00.004-07:00

The two Lynda.com courses are called: Narrative Photography - Foundations of Portraiture & On Location in NYC
Chris' work has always inspired me. No, I don't get a kick back from Lynda.com, nor Chris. I am just passing this along.

Recent shoot with Tiffany

2011-05-06T16:24:00.004-07:00

Recent shoot with Denni

2011-04-22T21:42:00.005-07:00

...at the horse stables on Overfield Rd., next to CAC.

2011-04-08T13:23:00.000-07:00

2011-03-20T01:32:00.001-07:00

2011-03-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

2011-03-04T20:02:00.001-07:00

2011-02-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

2011-02-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

44th Annual O'odham Tash Indian Days 2011

2011-02-09T10:13:00.007-07:00

The 44th Annual O’Odham Tash Indian Days will be held February 18, 19, 20, 21. It will be at the Pinal County Fairgrounds. Just google Eleven Mile Corner...and your there. The parade will be in Coolidge, starting at 9:00am, on the 19th.

At the Domes in Casa Grande

2011-01-14T12:10:00.002-07:00

Cornerback Deon Blackshear

2011-01-02T20:09:00.005-07:00

Update: Here is a link to Deon's 2010 Highlights on YouTube.
Just delivered the DVDs, of football footage, to Eddie Blackshear for his son Deon. Deon #4, is a cornerback at Vista Grande High School, in Casa Grande, AZ. Eddie asked me to create "Highlights", and "Full Game" DVDs to submit to NCSA. It was a lot of fun. I look forward to doing more of this for local student-athletes. This type of exposure to coaches and scouts, can mean the difference between a partial scholarship to a junior college...to a full scholarship at a major university. Deon is a serious athlete with the knowledge of what it takes to be successful. Yep, this is him on an interception. I wish you the best Deon.

2010-12-26T17:31:00.001-07:00

Been a little busy lately...

2010-12-11T15:56:00.002-07:00

...and thankful for that. Busy editing high school football game footage for a local player. The finished product will be a DVD that he can send off to NCSA.
So, in the meantime, here is a revisit of an image that got a lot of post processing to originally. This version of it is touched a lot less, revealing the colors and beautiful light that was available at the time.

2010-12-01T14:58:00.001-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T03:47:00.003-07:00

Steamers Lane #52

2010-10-26T16:26:00.001-07:00

My love of Black and White

2010-10-24T05:56:00.001-07:00

pumpkin orange

2010-10-17T11:40:00.002-07:00

Team Depot Casa Grande at it again....

2010-10-09T16:33:00.003-07:00

We, (those of us that work at store #0408 in Casa Grande), were a part of the 2010 Smoke Detector Installation Program today. With our store manager Eric Carter heading it up. Eric invited associates from other stores in Arizona....and they came...from Tucson and Nogales....'Nogales Home Depot'...you rock...SM Jorge Leon should be proud!
I have posted a few of the shots we took, on my Facebook page....here.

2010-09-29T16:00:00.001-07:00

From a trip to San Juan Batista Mission, in CA.

Green Door at San Juan Batista Mission

2010-09-26T07:36:00.002-07:00

I am checking in on visiting more missions in California, over the next year.

California Summer

2010-09-20T15:28:00.009-07:00

I just spent a week with Randall and Sandi Fox, photographing several locations...Alcatraz Island, Steamers Lane in Santa Cruz, Yosemite, Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, and San Juan Batista Mission. They were the most generous and accommodating hosts that you could ever imagine. Randy and I had the greatest time shooting, then editing on laptops at his place....watching the Giants play...while Sandi toiled away at cooking and keeping peace in her home....'My, it is so beautiful outside guys....enjoy the day!'....we were busy editing shots we took. We were like two little boys at play...and I believe we not only connected with each other, but enriched each others' love of photography.

Here are a few more shots:

Check out Randys' work here.

Jay Maisel said something to Chris Orwig, that struck a chord in me

2010-09-06T13:04:00.003-07:00

“…you should never take a picture without a trigger. only take pictures when something compels you to move.”

Waiting for the Rain

2010-09-04T20:28:00.000-07:00

2010-09-02T12:17:00.001-07:00

Feeding Direction

2010-08-18T14:51:00.005-07:00

A recent essay by Owen Shifflett

...then a followup dialogue by David duChemin

2010-08-07T01:12:00.000-07:00

2010-07-30T19:29:00.001-07:00

2010-07-22T12:49:00.001-07:00

'Cerno'

2010-07-15T11:31:00.002-07:00

From the smoke series Lumen Fumus.

2010-07-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

2010-07-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers' Day

2010-06-19T14:44:00.002-07:00

Riding a bike for the first time. An ominous experience for many of us. Reflecting on this, brought back several memories, of being guided by my father. Thanks Dad!

Gekkards by artist Joey Welsh

2010-06-15T15:04:00.003-07:00

Casa Grande has an annual street fair in January. For the past few years I have made sure I visited Joey Welsh's booth. Joey is a colored pencil artist. He created creatures called 'Gekkards'. His artwork is fantastic, and the prints are top of the line.
I visit his site, Geekards.com off and on. When I checked it out today, I was pleasantly surprised by his most recent post. A class of second graders, from Kate Waller Barrett Elementary sent Joey, a packet of letters and drawings, along with some pretty tough questions. Wow, this must have been overwhelming and gratifying for him....Click here to see the post.

And I just discovered that Joey does demonstrations at schools....see it here.

Free Zack Arias Photography Workshop this weekend

2010-06-12T04:22:00.005-07:00

The first session was yesterday afternoon. The next sessions will be on Saturday and Sunday. Click here to sign up and watch the workshop.

The shot is from the 2010 Picacho Peak Civil War Reenactment.

Remembering Photographer Brian Duffy

2010-06-07T14:04:00.003-07:00

Here is a link, with a video included about his work, by NPR:

Denni at North Mtn Park

2010-05-23T17:23:00.001-07:00

The Eyes Update

2010-04-29T17:45:00.004-07:00

This is Holly, at the old Casa Grande Railroad Depot.
I just saw my eye surgeon today. Yep, we are going to have the cataract'ed lens in my right eye replaced as well, on Cinco de Mayo.
I told Dr. Aaron Peterson, that one of the things that shocked me most, after having the surgery on the left eye, is that I really now know what black looks like.

Flower Forum Contest

2010-04-17T20:49:00.005-07:00

I was asked to judge a themed contest on the Flower Forum. It is a photography contest, and I have chosen the theme Spring (ie Spring Flowers). It will run from April 19th through May 2nd. If you are interested in participating, the rules are located here. The winner of the contest will receive an 8x10 print of the above image.

Picacho Peak Civil War Reenactment 2010

2010-04-11T19:02:00.005-07:00

Wow, what wonderful weather we had for the event. Everything was green and temperatures in the 70's.

2010-03-29T13:52:00.001-07:00

Picacho Peak Wildflower Update

2010-03-15T13:44:00.003-07:00

I just spoke to my 'inside informant' at Picacho Peak State Park. She said there are a lot more blooming wildflowers than there were on my last trip there on March 11th. She did say that the wildflowers are not yet blanketing the landscape...but it will happen any day now....especially with temperatures hitting the low 80s' very soon. Thus, we have a window of a few days for an explosion of color at the park.
The shot in this post is from 2008.

Wildflowers at Picacho Peak ...not just yet...

2010-03-11T12:47:00.005-07:00

Fantastic that we have gotten rain every weekend for about the last five or six weeks!
We did get a splash of rain again last night. I stopped by Picacho Peak State Park
today, and found very...very few wildflowers in bloom...but, man it is GREEN.
Well, as temperatures rise, the blooms will be abundant.
I stated in a previous post, the Picacho Peak Civil War Reenactment will be this
weekend, March 13th and 14th. This is a 'don't miss' event. The park is closing in the beginning of June, and another event like this may not occur for some time.

Focus Fading *updated

2010-03-06T01:01:00.007-07:00

In August of '09, I was diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes. The doctors were surprised that I had not noticed it yet. They told me I would know when it needed to be dealt with. Well the time has come. Vision in my left eye is significantly cloudy now, to the point where I cannot read with it...even with glasses. Got surgery scheduled for the end of March. Thank goodness for camera auto focus, because it is wildflower season in the southwest.
*Surgery was successful, and wow, I have not seen colors so vibrant and saturated in a long time. It's like seeing in 3D. Now that the left eye is done, and just about done healing, I will have the right eye done somewhere around the beginning of May. Funny, I was relying on the right eye for a few months so much, now I definitely see the haze, desaturation, and slight yellow hue through it.

Todays' Shoot

2010-02-19T19:28:00.004-07:00

Denni and MUA Tiffany stopped by this afternoon...and we made some pictures together.

Picacho Peak Civil War Reenactment 2010

2010-02-06T02:01:00.004-07:00

Fantastic that this event will happen. Last year, this event was cancelled, due to lack of funds. I got a feeling this may happen next year....so, this one is not to be missed. I shot the reenactment in 2008, and had a lot of fun. It will on March 13th and 14th, at Picacho Peak State Park.

O'odham Tash 2010

2010-02-06T01:55:00.003-07:00

I am looking forward to the O'odham Tash events this weekend. Because there will be no powwow, I plan on shooting at the parade and other affiliated events, being held in Casa Grande.

Transition from PBase to Zenfolio

2010-01-23T10:19:00.004-07:00

Zenfolio offers my images to be seen and purchased as I would like them to be. I am in the 'baby steps' stage with Zen. Zenfolio gives me much more flexibility than PBase had to offer. At first, I will be just uploading small image files, and tweaking the appearance of the site. Soon, full sized images will be available, to be printed by Mpix.
I have a lot more content and organizaton to do on the Zenfolio site.

But, click here to see my Zenfolio page.

A Sign

2010-01-10T05:23:00.003-07:00

Just an hour after my last post, I went out into my back yard. Out of the corner of my right eye, I noticed something large and looming, on the corner of the roof. sihouetted against the morning sky was a large bird....my mind is racing...hawk, pelican, heron....yep, it was large. I swiftly and quietly went inside. Couldn't find my keys to the car, to get the point and shoot Canon. Well hell, my E-510 Olympus is right next to me. Slapped a card into it and went out back again. Set the focus point and fired away. I then discovered it was a heron. It obviously was displaced, heck this is the desert. I went out in front of the house, for another perspective, and waved the kids on the street to take a look.
A sign, yep, I believe in them. Photo Ops will not continually fly onto my roof. But they are out there, for me to capture.

A Tap on the Shoulder

2010-01-09T08:00:00.003-07:00

I finally read two of David duChemins' ebooks the other day.
The book Drawing the Eye helped to remind me of why enjoy I photography so much, and taught me a few skills that I needed to learn. A lot of my
early shooting visualization came from skills I had learned when I
painted watercolors. This book explained many of those, then pushed me to see how it can be done even better.
The Inspired Eye allowed me to relax about those times that I feel
creatively empty and uninspired. Then gave me some solid tools to
move through and past them.
I also stumbled upon a couple of articles at Photofocus.com, in the
October 2009 Archive, that enlighten me. In particular the one on Pre
-Visualization Exercises. Click on the titles of the books or article
to check them out.

So, i've been a bit distracted lately...

2009-12-27T15:40:00.002-07:00

...the server that hosted Studi06.com, switched hands. Now I want to rebuild the site with Dreamweaver. Well, I need to learn Dreamweaver. So, I am. I won a MP3 player, in a raffle. Oh damn, more new stuff to learn. So, I have been spending the last week transffering all my CDs to this new player. This little piece of plastic, can hold music from all my CDs and more, this is cool. Time to put the CDs into storage. And I got a copy of Visionmongers.
Then I get a Lastolite softbox for Christmas.....aaagghhh, more toys to learn with.
Currently, I want to invest in some Spiderlites. Flourescent constant lights...you see what you get....Yep, a very cool Christmas for sure.

Look for the Peace

2009-12-17T14:47:00.003-07:00

Into the Heavens....

2009-11-21T16:42:00.005-07:00

Some 'hot air ballooning' shots from last weekend.

'Flame ON'

'Air Perspective'

'Fun in a Basket'

'Just Touching'

Queen Creek Olive Mill & EVOO

2009-10-24T17:37:00.009-07:00

While listening to The Splendid Table, last Sunday on NPR, I heard about the anti inflammatory benefits of 'fresh' cold pressed extra virgin olive oil...an essential of the 'Mediterranean Diet'. Listen to it here. I visited the Queen Creek Olive Mill today, for the first time. Kind of hard to find. Surprised that it was just a storage building with a green lawn out front with plastic lawn chairs..tables...and umbrellas...
Once inside the building, I picked out a 500 ml bottle of extra virgin...and could not pass up grabbin a 250 ml bottle of gourmet dipping olive oil. Four cash registers were running the entire time, with a line 6 or 7 people deep each. Driving back home, I picked up a fresh baked rosemary/garlic artisan bread. So, what was dinner, yep, the bread and the dipping olive oil...

2009 Smoke Alarm Awareness Program

2009-10-11T16:36:00.008-07:00

That is Mayor Bob Jackson, and Casa Grande fire instructor Paul Zalewski, giving us a 'pep talk' of the do's, don'ts, why's, where's, when's, and how's...about the program. All the seats were filled and standing room only with volunteers.
A bunch of us from the Casa Grande Home Depot...aka Team Depot #13 and #15, volunteered to install smoke alarms, in homes located in designated 'high risk' neighborhoods, in Casa Grande. This is the third year that the CG Fire Department has put this program together. Thanks to so many local business', it was a very successful endeavor.

Super Food

2009-10-09T16:28:00.000-07:00

Desert Wanderings : Petroglyphs

2009-09-12T08:05:00.008-07:00

I will not divulge the location of these pristine petroglyphs. But, if you meet me in Casa Grande, I will take you there.

Catering by Helen

2009-09-01T14:20:00.007-07:00

Helen asked me the other day, to photograph one of her famous Tri Tip Sandwichs for her, for a poster she will have up, at her booth, on Sept 3rd. So, we got together at her place, on Sunday.
We worked on this together...to get the right look.

Knowledge Workflow

2009-08-29T01:02:00.002-07:00

Learn it, experiment with it, use it, then share it. When I share it, this not only gives back, but teaches me more about it, myself, and hopefully enriches someone else's search for knowledge and application. Knowledge is power...the power to give. Early, in my journey with photography, I stumbled upon a few photo forums that are populated by people who share their photographic knowledge freely:

Black and White Photography Forum
Just Photography Forum
The Flower Forum

There is no slamming or harsh criticism. They encouraged and taught me about photography, and filled my empty cup with how...why...when...
I still visit, and sometimes post on the forums. If I ever see anyone needing guidance, I do my best to help them...just like the others.

Listening and Learning....

2009-08-16T14:26:00.004-07:00

Just watched the Kelby Training tutorials by Joe McNally titled 'Photographing with One Light'. Again, I learned a lot and laughed as well.

Railcar Graffiti

2009-08-15T16:58:00.001-07:00

Workin on some print orders today. That makes it a good day.

Saturday Night Fun

2009-08-09T19:45:00.006-07:00

Spent the evening in Arizona City, at model Denni's boyfriends house, doing a shoot of Denni...after she had some body art done on her by Heather Francois. Heather is an incredible artist...very detailed, creative, and fast (those of you who know MUA's, contact me for her number). The 12' ceilings in Matt's house made it so much easier to work with lighting and a 10' white paper backround. Thanks Matt! We had a great time putting it all together, cuttin up, wardrobe changes, lighting changes. I would not want to be doing anything else. More shots of the shoot can be seen here.

Snail Mail

2009-08-07T09:27:00.002-07:00

Don't see road side mailboxes much anymore. Just thought I would share this one from Cordes Junction, AZ.

'Aha Moments' I

2009-08-01T20:36:00.020-07:00

Well, I thought I would start sharing some of my 'aha moments' to the blog. This one is specific to HDR and sharpening in Photoshop CS4 Camera Raw.

HDR - First, I do have to mention that a lot of the HDR work I have
seen looks, in Rich Charpentiers' words,'cartoonish', but, with the right touch, it enhances some images in a very attractive and artistic way...so here is Fridays' 'aha moment'.
I was surfing through some blogs, and noticed someone mentioned HDR and Topaz Adjust in the same sentence. I was curious, because I thought Photomatrix was how most folks do HDR. Well, Topaz Adjust is a simple and fun way to give your images an HDR look. I am having a great time with it (there are other Topaz products avaialble, and I may try them out in time). I mentioned my amazement in Adjust to Rich, who really has the whole HDR Photomatrix process down pat...he said, 'Topaz is a slick suite.' Here is a link to Richs' blog. Rick Sammon is using it as well here.

Click here to see some of my work with this new toy.

Sharpening in PSCS4 Camera RAW - I have been learning a lot from the Kelby Training Tutorials for a few months now. They have really shortened my learning curve with Photoshop, Lightroom, and photography in general dramatically...so here was todays' 'aha moment'.Watching Scott Kelbys' 'sharpening' segment in the tutorials titled 'Mastering Camera Raw in Photoshop CS4', I discovered that you can do mask sharpening in CS4s Adobe Camera Raw before you even open the image up in Photoshop....a real time saver. Check it out if you are a subscriber.

From the Prescott, AZ Photowalk

2009-08-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed the walk. Looking back at the beginning, after the 'group photo', I was gone....ahead of everyone. Yep, I was not Mr. Socializer that day...on a mission...to find the light and shadows...wandering as usual. More of what caught my attention can be seen here.
Well, the winning photo from the Prescott walk is Norman Crewz’s “The Last of a Dying Breed.” It is a excellent and very creative capture. It can be seen here.

Kelby Photowalk in Prescott

2009-07-17T02:44:00.003-07:00

I will be participating in the 'Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk' in Prescott, on the 18th. Should be a great time. I look forward to seeing some of the Flickr AZStrobists there.

Fireworks in Casa Grande

2009-07-05T17:35:00.004-07:00

From July 4th. More can be seen here.

Stjukshon a.k.a. Tucson, AZ

2009-07-01T17:23:00.005-07:00

Bam and I were on 22nd Street...headed for the south of Tucson. A familiar sculpture caught the corner of my eye. I immediately turned and stopped. I recognized this bronze sculpture. I have one just like it...but smaller at home. Wow...to see it life sized was amazing. Here is some info on Father Kino and the sculpture:

Padre Eusebio Franscisco Kino (1645-1711)
Sculptor: Julian Martinez

There are two of these life sized bronze sculptures (identical casts): One is located in Tucson, Arizona, USA, and the other in Segno, Trentino, Italia...where the artist..Julian Martinez, was born. He was commissioned to cast several smaller copies of this sculpture for charities in Tucson, AZ. My grandmother bought one, and passed it on to me.

Quote fom Fr. Charles Polzer, SJ
“Arizona was not about to overlook the anniversary, of the coming of the man, who put it on the map. The Arizona Historical Society initiated a project called "Three Statues for Three Centuries." The concept was to erect larger-than-life equestrian statues of Padre Kino in three locations: Tucson, where Padre Kino had founded Mission San Xavier del Bac; Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, Mexico, where he had died; Segno, Italy, the town of his birth. Who could be more qualified than sculptor Julián Martínez, to create these commemorative bronzes? The project was joined with a surge of interest in Mexico, to create yet another wave of recognition, that would reverberate across the oceans!”

I recently discovered there is a similar life sized bronze of Padre Kino, on horseback, at the state capitol of Arizona, in Phoenix.

Excerpt from research done by Tucson realtor Steven Barrington Long
"In the early 1600’s, Spanish Jesuit priests (padres), traveled from Mexico, to establish missions, and convert the natives to Christianity. One of the Jesuits was Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, who passed through the area (now known as Tucson, AZ), where he found a bustling Indian community nestled along the Santa Cruz River. Kino named the Indian village “San Cosme de Tucson” after “Stjukshon,” the name the Indians used. Stjukshon means “spring at the foot of the black hill or mountain” (today called “A” Mountain). Kino established the Mission San Xavier del Bac in 1699. It wasn’t completed until 1797."

Office of the Chancery

2009-06-25T12:20:00.003-07:00

Desert Wanderings

2009-06-17T13:29:00.001-07:00

Chihuly Glass Scupture Exhibit

2009-05-15T19:21:00.005-07:00

...at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. Bam and I spent the evening there on Tuesday. It is spectacular.

Senior Portraits of Holly

2009-05-09T07:21:00.003-07:00

Did a senior portrait session with Holly last weekend. Thanks to Bam for assisting. More of the shots can be seen here.

Food, Fun, and Drinks at Picazzo's

2009-04-30T23:16:00.002-07:00

Kim from Pinal County Lifestyles Magazine asked me to shoot this event, a few weeks ago, for their May edition. This was the first of these monthly events they will be doing. More shots can be seen here.

Just a shot from this morning

2009-04-23T12:14:00.002-07:00

'At the Line'

2009-04-19T12:04:00.002-07:00

Casa Grande Spring Art Sale in 'The Alley'

2009-03-20T07:58:00.004-07:00

The Casa Grande Valley Fine Arts Association is presenting this event. It will be on March 28th, from 10am to 4pm. Located off of Florence Street, between 2nd and 4th Streets. I will have a booth up, with some of my most recent work.

Portraits

2009-03-13T13:28:00.005-07:00

From this last weekend with artist Scott Stovall at the Trunk Space, and Jodi Stovall of the American Cancer Society.

O'odham Tash 2009

2009-02-16T20:22:00.005-07:00

If you have never been to a Native American Pow Wow, don't miss out on the next opportunity to go to one. What an exciting exchange of cultures. It was a very spiritual experience for the dancers and audience. Thanks to the organizers for allowing us to take pictures, during the competitions.
More shots can be seen here.

Scott Stovall featured artist at The Trunk Space

2009-02-15T05:22:00.005-07:00

My brother Scott will be the featured artist at The Trunk Space @ 1506 NW Grand Ave. in Phoenix, Arizona
Theme 'America Transparent'. This series of painted and fused glass is based on vintage mug shots. These underworld images are haunting visceral windows, showing our fellow man at his or her lowest and most vulnerable. The paintings are presented in a medium that is at once fluid, colorful and often transparent. The glass dances with light and translucence, offering new insights into these lost pieces of America's soul. March 6, 7 & 8 (which includes "First Friday" - March 6th from 6 to 10pm, Saturday - March 7th from 11am to 6pm and Sunday - March 8th from noon to 6pm).
Medium : painted and fused (Melted) glass.

Mesquite Corrals & Petroglyphs

2009-02-06T17:20:00.003-07:00

My neighbor took us to an old 'staging station' and to see some petroglyphs east of Casa Grande. Cool thing was that they were on state land. Definitely gonna go back there soon.

Maternity

2009-02-06T15:22:00.010-07:00

The weekend after the Casa Grande Street Fair, I had the opportunity to photograph the Hebda Family. Mercedes is in her third trimester, Jason is 1 1/2, and Martin did his best to maintain peace. Bam was a great help getting things set up and being a second set of eyes, for things I did not notice. More of the session can be seen here.

Casa Grande Street Fair

2009-01-12T16:00:00.002-07:00

Will be this weekend January 17th & 18th. I will finally have a booth there, with my prints for sale. I will also be promoting my portrait sessions availability. If you are in the area, stop on by and harass me some....

Take the camera everywhere!

2009-01-07T13:01:00.002-07:00

Even when you are going to the city dump. Saw these sheep grazing on my way to the Casa Grande dump, to recycle a dishwasher and cardboard...shaking my head. Did a 180 home to get the camera and long lens. Got a few shots in before I spooked the sheep.

December 2008...

2009-01-03T07:01:00.011-07:00

...was an interesting month. My main laptop died...I thought. Handed it over to someone to install another OS. It was running XP. It is now running XP with Vista enhancements, and is now my traveling/backup laptop. In the interim, I purchased another laptop with Vista and 4 gigs of ram. Downloading and installing several Vista compatible drivers for applications used on the XP...on the new one, has taken some time. Using Photoshop CS3 now, but only Lightroom 1.4.1, will save up for the 2.0 version.

Jim Foster let me try out the new Canon 5d Mark II. Man, it is definitely worth the money. This cupcake shot was taken with it at 3200iso....just wanted to see how 'noisy' it would be.
I did shoot a few videos with it. One was a bit choppy, but I believe it was because the card was not formatted, before the first shots were taken with it. It was a bit disappointing that the video does stagger(upon playback) if you take pictures with the camera while recording video...that can be remedied with some splicing. The clarity of the HD video is fantastic.

Here are a couple of shots from December as well:
A portrait of Gene.

...and one of a menorah & dreidel.

For January, i'm looking forward to doing a maternity shoot. I will also be having a booth at the Annual Casa Grande Street Fair, on the 17th and 18th.

Photography Contest Theme : Eyes

2008-10-30T18:57:00.001-07:00

I'm currently judging a photography contest on the Black & White Photography Forum. It runs through this Sunday (11.02.08) evening. Anyone can enter an image. You do not need to be a member of the forum. Here are the rules. The winner of the contest can get free web hosting for six months from Photogserver.com, provided they follow these guidelines.

2008 Copperstate Flyin

2008-10-26T17:50:00.001-07:00

I dropped by this years' flyin, at the Casa Grande Municipal Airport, today. Sure wish I had been there yesterday. I understand NOW that Saturdays are always 'the full event'. I will remember that next year.

Winning Photo

2008-10-24T22:53:00.001-07:00

This was the winning photo in the Black & White Photography Forum Contest...Themed 'Things with Lines'. I have been a participant on this forum for a few years. I now will be judging the next contest, running from Oct. 27 through Nov. 2. I get to choose the theme, and have chosen the theme 'Eyes'. Provided the Forum Rules are followed, anyone can post on the forum, and submit entries into the contest. Warning!!! The B&W Forum does allow nudity.

The Black & White Photography Forum, Just Photography Forum, and Flower Forum, have been where I have learned a vast amount of photographic skills, techniques, approaches, and met some really incredible mentors.

Canival in town

2008-10-20T05:14:00.000-07:00

...not really a carnival, just a bunch of rides and games. No sideshows or clowns. They come to Casa Grande about once or twice a year.

'ringer'
A couple of my favorite images came from one a year ago, and another, a year before that.

'together at sunset'

'fair_53'......this one found its' way into Shutterbug Magazine via Joe Farace...
Thanks Joe!

Website Rebuild

2008-09-29T15:43:00.001-07:00

I finally took the plunge, and rebuilt my website at Studi06 Photography ,with the use of Adobe Lightroom. It affords simplicity, and a slide show. If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to post them, or email them to me.
This shot is from my smoke images, located here.

Visit to St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Chuch

2008-09-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

The monastery is located just southeast of Coolidge, AZ. As visitors, you must abide by the clothing restrictions here . It was a great first visit. We cut it short when Bam just could not handle the heat in the required scarf. We will be back again in the fall....when temperatures are lower.

Prescott Photo Walk

2008-08-29T00:02:00.000-07:00

The Prescott photo walk this last Saturday was a blast. Met lots of really cool people, and got into 'the groove' shooting. I really appreciated how the organizer of the walk allowed us so much room to explore and wander.....you know I like to wander when i'm shooting.

Paul C. Buff remote triggers

2008-08-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

I have been using ebay triggers to control my flashes remotely for the last four months. They are unreliable (misfires and the flash will go off sometimes when it wants to....not FCC compliant)...very unstable on a lightstand with an umbrella attachment. But, this experience gave me a foothold into using remote strobes.

About three weeks ago, I purchased the new remote triggers and transmitter from Alien Bees. They are FCC compliant, so the flash will not go off when it wants to...only when I want it to. They have 15 channels, so if another photog is using the same equip, you got your set up...set to your channel. I purchased some Hama hot shoes, for the flashes.

Hooked everything up, and no flash. I emailed Alien Bees support back and forth....then got a phone call from Lori at AB. We discussed my issue. She said she would call me back...and did. She must have spent four hours searching for a solution. Lori told me to buy a couple of hot shoes (p/n 0065) from FlashZebra.com. because my flashes were not getting any 'juice'. I did, and received them today. Hooked everything up.....ahhhhh...I got flash!!!! aaannnnddd no misfires. This setup is sturdier and very reliable.Who needs Pocket Wizards when you got Alien Bees?