Testing a you tube video

iPhone Fun

This shot was made out the window of my office with the iPhone and the Camera+ app. I also used the app to change it to B&W and adjust the contrast etc. Very cool and tons of fun.

Canon 5D MK lll - Wow

This is one of the first images I have shot with the Canon 5D Mark lll. This one was made with the 16-35 f2.8 at full frame. I have been shooting with 1.6 to 1.3 cropped sensors and to have a full frame camera is a godsend. This 5D MKlll is such a cool camera. I have the shutter noise set to silent and you can barely hear the camera go off. This shot could still be made with my 1D MKll with the 16-35 at 20.8 and looked pretty good with more of a crop but the expanse this shot gives has much more of an effect. I messed around with this image a little in LR using the adjustment brush and some of it is quite obvious, sorry. The one in print will look much better. Click on the photo for a a larger image.

Big Smelly Fish

The other day I was in Rockport to photograph a whale that had washed up on a rock beach off Penzance Rd. A constant flow of folks walked down to take a look at the giant fish. It had a really powerful smell that the kids were well aware of but most of the adults just put up with it. This woman and her dog walked around the whale with her kids answering questions from them the whole time. Ya a big smelly fish but interesting just the same.

Cape Ann Coffees Show a Great Success

This years winter show was really great. Last year I sold seven pieces right from the coffee shop. This year was not as successful but more lucrative. I only sold four from the shop but the referrals I got paid better. Awesome! People are starting to notice my work and are asking for it. I had three people call me and want work out of my book which was over the top. Again the top seller was the Waves of Jade image, with my other top seller of a Lantern on Bearskin Neck also selling.

I am in talks with a gallery in Marblehead about showing there and this should happen soon.

A Photojournalists View: What I want for Christmas

Many of you will ask why would this guy want THIS for Christmas. It's simple, I once had a skill that not everyone could do.

I want to go back to the good old days when photos ran big and it took skill to make a photo that told a story.

I want to go back to the good old days when you focused the camera yourself.

I want to go back to the good old days when the photo you made magically appeared in the developer under your fingers. It took skill to make a great print.

I want to go back to the good old days when it took skill for YOU to figure out the exposure not the camera.

I want to go back to the good old days when mom and dad were NOT allowed on the sideline taking snaps of their kids. If the camera did not do it for them they would not be there.

I want to go back to the good old days when the newspaper kept up with photo gear changes and always kept the staff well equipped.

I want to go back to the good old days when GOOD photography was appreciated. Not like today when any old crap will run.

I want to go back to the good old days when a full photo staff was cranking out tons of beautiful art to illustrate the stories writers were working on.

I want to go back to the good old days when Craig's List was not around and every newspaper had a great classified ad section.

I want to go back to the good old days when everyone paid to read the paper.

Imagine if you will, shooting a hockey game back in the 80's. No nets around the rink (hey if you got hit, you were there at your own risk). The light was like a cave, ASA 1600 was barely enough, 3200 was a better push. If you don't know what I'm talking about you own a dummy camera and can stop reading now. Follow focusing on the hockey game with a 200 2.8 was a challenge and you were blessed to come out after two rolls of film with five good shots.

Not so today when the rink is enclosed with netting and you have to shoot through milky glass and are bumping into mom and dad taking snaps of their kids. Hey, what should I set this camera on? I say, auto everything dummy and see what you get. Then they say oh I just give the photos away to the kids. Good thing, because no one will buy them. This just kills me because they are taking bread out of my kids mouths. It used to be that people would call the paper and order prints which eventually made it into my paycheck. I ask the mom or dad. What do you do for a living? They say, oh I own a store downtown. So I usually say so that's how you can afford that great gear. How about I open up a store right next to yours and give away what you sell for free! The dumbstruck looks I get would make you laugh.

Some food for thought during this Christmas season.

Oh ya, I almost forgot.

Have a wonderful MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone.

Fine Art Model Building

The other day I had a great opportunity to photograph Erik Ronnberg a master model builder in Rockport, MA. He had just finished working on a model of an Essex built scallop dragger. The vessel was originally built for the Gloucester, MA fishing fleet but scalloping never really took off in Gloucester. The detail on this model is unsurpassed. Ronnberg's father was a seaman of some note and while Erik was growing up in Rockport he was a rigger for the ships around Cape Ann. Ronnberg has all his fathers notes regarding these vessels and he used them in the building of the model. This shot shows his dad climbing the rigging to install some new line. I used my Canon 7D with the 28-80 f2.8 on macro to make the shot.

New Show at Cape Ann Coffees

My new show will be going up Nov. 2 with some new work, some old work and my best sellers. So come on by and take a look. The prices range from $75. for 14x20 to $95. for 16x24. All of the new prints are pigment prints on canvas and are coated against water and dirt.

I'm Down in Florida and Visited the Dali Museum

We had a nice trip over to St. Pete to visit the Dali Museum this morning. There are some weird images floating around in this place. The best stuff were Halisman's images of Dali. The Dali and Cat's was awesome although the print quality was not up to the standards of many folks. It was fun anyway just to look at the work of a truly twisted person.

These were all taken with the Canon G11. I hope to have them fixed up and ready to print when I get back.

Winter Show a Raving Success

My winter show at Cape Ann Coffee's was a great success! I sold seven pieces which is a new record. The top seller was a wave shot made over on the back shore with the 7d and the 300 f2.I will post it here soon. I have been experimenting with a new canvas by Breathing Color called Crystalline. It is OBA free and does not require any protective spray. It is archival for 55 years and the d-max is outstanding. I plan on making some more prints with it when I get some more ink. I also bought a trial of a thicker, heavier stretcher bar, really outstanding. That's it for now.