Wedding expo 2012 Getting ready #1

Zapping out a quick entry here as I get ready for the Wedding Expo tomorrow.

All the goodies are ready (for the most part) even Christie and Adam Larger than Life sized as a demo.

There's more that's not pictured, but it's all in the car and it's way too cold for now.

More to follow! Happy Friday,

Ciao Bella

22 January 2012: I needed a willing subject.

So, I turned to my cat Frankie for assistance.

I'm getting ready for the 2012 Northern Arizona Wedding Expo. A big part of my booth is the mobile studio. I know I'm going to have limited amount of real estate to work with and I want to get into the headspace of working in close quarters now.

Speedlight. Check.
Softbox. Check.
Reflector. Check.

 Subject? That's where Frankie comes in. While it may seem counter-intuitive to use a cat as a test subject/stand-in for prospective bridal clients, let's sus this out a bit shall we?

She's GORGEOUS.

She's full of personality.

 She's easily distracted (there's a lot going on at these trade shows).

 Getting her attention is a huge payoff.

 She wants to know all about the equipment.

She is incredibly photogenic.

 And you can tell quite easily when she's not happy.

In all seriousness, this was a great exercise. set up the gear quickly, dial in my settings and shoot. Once I've done those things I'm left with more time to address the needs and desires of my potential clients.

Truly looking forward to the Wedding Expo this coming Saturday. If you want tickets, let me know.

Ciao Bella,

Dano

2011: The best of.

Sorry Xanga. You were driving me crazy. I'm at blogger now.

Yeah, you’ll notice I deleted my “2011: The Best of” from Facebook. I was phoning it in and you deserve better than that. I deserve better than that.

On the last day that the courthouse was open in 2011, we filed for Divorce. The end of my marriage has been the top story for me this year. I’ve tried and succeeded in not getting too morose about it but, it has sucked. I’m super fortunate that the circumstances allow Kristen and I to remain real friends today and beyond, I mean real friends. We are still figuring it all out we just know we can’t be married.

The first significant thing I did this year was to spend a day with Conor O’merian at Petrified Forrest and Painted Desert. What a great reminder how much fun it is to get out. Spending a day with another shooter and trading ideas was an amazing wakeup call. I needed to find a group to shoot with.
.

  I had also committed to start photographing more people. If I’m going to do this as a business, I need to shoot portraits.














Desiree and Dave asked me to shoot their engagement photos. We got lots of great images that day but, there was one that truly spoke to me.

 
Then I was asked to photograph two sisters, Aimee and Emilee. These two were a joy to work with and as you’ll see we were going to work together again.


My annual trip into the Grand Canyon again left me with no pictures of Ringtailed cats. I did however, leave with a new best squirrel picture for 2011.







Then came the visual Collective. This loosely knit group of mostly 20-something harmless ne’er do wells with a common creative interest has truly given me a bit of organized challenge in my photography this year.

This submission earned me the "Executioner" award. Mostly for not quite following directions. Hey, they said "Monochrome".  Black and white infra red IS monochrome. On steroids. And sugar.

Melt Flagstaff provided endless opportunities for dragging the shutter and working the crowd.
















On labor day weekend tvC brought a full spectrum of lighting gear into the Lava Tubes. Oh yeah, they also brought 8 photographers and a model.

 I set up a Ladies Formal Portrait Shoot in my home studio. While I scheduled and therefore bit off more than I could chew, I did come up with a number of amazing photos.

 tvC's next adventure brought us to Supai Village at the  bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Great hiking, new friends and a great workshop.

I started (and finished) a pair of DIY Projects. The wholly improvised Pizza box ring light and the Senior Fotographia approved Beauty Dish. Both are working rather well, thank you.

I also started fine tuning the in home studio so that knocking out some portraits in the house was more intuitive and less of a production.

Oh by the way, don't forget the Zombies!

Fall got me back to my old friends, Landscape and Architecture.

I also began looking for art with my Iphone.

































Help-Portrait played a huge role in the end of my year. It was an experience I'll look forward to from now on.

And not simply because we got to the the effect of Ghost peppers on Matt Beaty either!

Finally, I will leave you with this: Sunrise, December 31st 2011. (Hey It may have been the last one)

Frankly, this year has left me tapped. New friends, new challenges and the core principles of my life have been the only thing that made sense out of it all. Now I need a nap. And maybe a movie.

Caio Bella,


Dano