Michael Justus Class of 2011

I had the pleasure of meeting a very squared away young man through his incredible mother Julie.  Michael knows the world is his oyster and he is ready to jump both feet into the life he has ahead.  Michael has a distinct vision of where he desires to be and is looking forward to a prosperous future in mechanical engineering.  Well Michael my hat is off to you as you look into the future.  Had an incredible shoot with Michael doing some softer shots for Mom then on to the edge to capture some images of who Michael is.  Thanks for the awesome shoot Michael this slideshow is for you, enjoy.

The Battle at F-Stop Ridge

This was just way to funny not to post on the blog.  The Camera Store created this promo video in which a war rages on using cameras instead of guns.  Don't fire till you see the whites of their eyes.

Film what is that?

In the world we live in today as photographers the pace is mind numbing and maybe even creatively numbing.  I was just having the conversation with my mother that when weddings were shot using film solely 300 to 400 shots were common for an average wedding.  Today in the land of digital people treat a camera as if it is the latest 3000 round per minute military submachine gun and blast away at the client generating thousands of files which are either fundamentally the same or just creatively junk.  I myself have been guilty of just this turning out so many photos to be viewed and culled that it can take a considerable amount of time.  This all leads to the video below where we find a well respected photographer who is traveling the world to photograph the most influential people of the second which is just about the amount of time we have to spend on any one thing before moving on the the next.  Does this gentleman annihilate his subjects in a hail of frames to only hope that one or two might be pretty good.  No, he tests the light and manipulates the light, uses the light he is given then adds his on light.  He tests then tests again then retests to make sure the exposure is just right.  He uses Polaroids to get a glimpse of what will expose on that piece of celluloid in the end.  Then he loads his Mamiya 7II with medium format film and begins to create art not hammer away hoping for at least a good shot out of a thousand.  Each press of the shutter on a film camera represents an investment in time, money, skill, experience and creativity.  This investment means the mind stays conscious of the fact and concentrates because each actuation of the shutter counts.  Enjoy the video and take care of your personal composition.  Try to think of the shot before you actuate high speed drive and take the shutter into warp speed.  Peace!