Saturday, July 31, 2010

365 Project - Day 321 - No Gabba Gabba

Day 321




If you have young kids, the above image will neither startle nor scare you. For those not in the know, this is DJ Lance Rock, from Yo Gabba Gabba, and recently I was told (Again!) that I resemble him. Ha! To show how different DJ Lance Rock and my looks are, I plan on dressing up like Mr. Rock for Halloween. The outcome will, if nothing else, give my daughter a good laugh for the day, I just have to stay away from cameras for 24 hours. The image was taken from one of my daughters read-a-long books.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Friday, July 30, 2010

365 Project - Day 320 - Gift

Day 320




Today, was an amazing wedding with Iisha and CJ. We had a great time documenting their day with their family and friends. Congratulations Iisha and CJ, relax and enjoy your honeymoon! Thank you again for the opportunity to be a part of your wedding day. Shot of the night is a favor from the wedding.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Thursday, July 29, 2010

365 Project - Day 319 - Pollen

Day 319




Today I was scouting out the portrait session location for our Friday wedding. Loved the way these flowers looked.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

365 Project - Day 318 - Night Skies

Day 318



Tonight I wanted to capture some lighting strikes, but without a tripod and 20 minutes from the house so it wasn't happening. Once home, I grabbed the tripod and went to a nearby field, setup the camera on bulb, f8.0, and connected the shutter release. After a little testing on exposure time and camera positioning, I exposed the image above. I can't wait to get back out at night again, maybe before the strikes pass.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

365 Project - Day 317 - Shoes

Day 317




It seems as if everyday Sara outgrows a toy, book, or a pair of shoes. Good thing I'm shooting daily to catch a few moments in-between the blinks.

Monday, July 26, 2010

365 Project - Day 316 - Defrost

Day 316




Yes, it's a toaster, and yes it has a 'defrost' button. I haven't had a toaster for years, so this was a surprise. While I haven't had the chance to use the defrost button, this is just a reminder of how times change. Just as I need to upgrade my pantry to take advantage of this toasters' awesomeness, we, creatives, need to keep finding ways to add innovation to our work and how we present it. That doesn't necessarily mean buying more gear, but refining our knowledge of the gear we have and how we use it. Then taking simple steps to make our art stand out and keep our client impressed.

Funny what a new toaster make you think about.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Sunday, July 25, 2010

365 Project - Day 315 - Pines

Day 315




While out for a walk with Sara, we came across a few pine trees. She insisted that I get a few shots. I showed Sara the above image and she said..."Ummm, somethings missing, where's the tree?" Next time I will have to get the whole tree.

Enjoy...even though it's not the whole tree.

Ja mata,
Brian

Saturday, July 24, 2010

365 Project - Day 314 - Pavement

Day 314




Rainy evening...liked the way the light lit the pavement.

Friday, July 23, 2010

365 Project - Day 313 - Nothing in Akron, Ohio

Day 313




Today I was listening to the Creative Live Vision-Driven Photography with David duChemin. David spoke on finding your vision and discovering the process to develop and grow that vision. During the program today he asked what was holding 'you back from achieving your vision?' A user in the chat room mentioned that they lived in a visually bland location, Akron Ohio, and that there was nothing to photograph there. The funny part about that is I'm in Akron Ohio, and have been photographing many of the different aspects of this city for the past 300 plus days. It's all about perspective, Scott Bourne really lays it out on that post.

Here is the comment I made from that post on Skip's Photo Network
'I remember when I started really photographing nature many years back. After reading books and watching videos by John Shaw, I was jealous that he lived and traveled to amazing places to shoot and I was stuck in Akron, Ohio. For several months, I complained there was nothing great to shoot here. Then a much wiser photographer, I met while shooting in the field one day, told me the ‘More I complained the less I would appreciate the beauty’ of nature around me. And he was 100% right! That same photographer turned me on to E6 a few months later [and blue herons]. Neither Gear nor location make the photographer, it is knowledge of craft, surrounding and subject, dedication, and practice.' * Looking back on the 365, I found on Day 74 I blogged about how much nature photographer pissed me off! (Promise it's a fun read)

Doesn't matter where you live, if you take the time to look you can always find a subject.

* Here are a few more from the field, behind some houses, on  a hill. Plenty to shoot here.






Thursday, July 22, 2010

365 Project - Day 312 - Seriously, What's Poppin?

Day 312




However good your night is, adding popcorn just make it better.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

365 Project - Day 311 - Drink Up

Day 311




Tonight, I was looking at different ways to shoot a bottle of water.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

365 Project - Day 310 - Night Lights

Day 310




Tonight was the second night of the Matthew Jordan Smith Your Creative Experience Seminar, and it was hands down one of the best workshops I have been to. We all walked away with an arsenal of tips, ideas, & techniques for going forward in growing my style of shooting.

If Matthew is coming to your area soon, you really owe it to yourself to grab a seat, Yes I'm talking to all my peeps in Dallas, Tx! Not only for what you will learn and experience, but also the relationships you will have and foster with the other attendees. Does not get any better!

Thank you Matthew & Nozomi ~ Yokudekimashita yo.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Monday, July 19, 2010

365 Project - Day 309 - Matthew Jordan Smith & Greystone

Day 309




Welcome to Greystone! I know you thought the Matthew Jordan image would be first. :) We will be Greystone Hall tomorrow with Matthew Jordan Smith for the second, intensive hands-on shooting part of the Your Creative Experience workshop. The seminar was beyond what I expected! Matthew shared a lot with us and Skip Cohen gave a great intro into the program about diversifying our work to be long term fits for our clients.

Also wanted to give a shout out to all the photographers I met tonight, I didn't get everyone's cards but I wanted to give everyone I talked to some love on the blog.

Marc Braun - we will have to meet up and talk about the next photo walk.

Lee Harris - Nice meeting you Lee, can't wait to connect.

Lionel Harris - I will email you shortly and go shoot in Columbus.

Walter - Thank you for introducing yourself and I'm glad you came out to the seminar!

Big Thanks to Matthew Jordan Smith & Nozomi for sharing so much with all of us!



Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

- Your Dumpster Conquered -

A few post back, I blogged about pitfalls we face in our careers, and Conquering that climb as well. On the second post, I left the offer for anyone to send in an image of them near or on a dumpster to be posted here.

Well, I have to giving it up to my good friend Brian David Casey, a wedding and portrait photographer based in Seattle, Washington. He risked getting locked up in the funny farm to climb on a dumpster to take a photo to send to me. Here is Brian's image from him iPhone.


Here is Brian's Twitter handle: Brian David Casey ]

Thanks Brian, See you in Vegas!

Ja mata,
Brian

365 Project - Day 308 - Poster

Day 308




Today is Perla's Birthday, my awesome wife, who had put up with me taking a picture everyday for the last 307 days. And everyday I ask her...'So what do you think!?' and she give me her honest opinion, even on the days when I'm running behind in taking my picture and it's getting late. In celebration of her, tonight's image is one of Perla's gifts from my mom, a framed poster of: Ballet Folklorico de Mexico by Amalia Hernandez, Mexican Native dances and Folklore. Happy Birthday Perla! Te Amo!

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Saturday, July 17, 2010

365 Project - Day 307 - Queen Anne's Lace

Day 307




Sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses, or Queen Anne's Lace. Passed this field while driving around today and jumped out to capture the image.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Friday, July 16, 2010

365 Project - Day 306 - Immersion

Day 306




Back when I first learned Japanese,it was a real struggle. But after I stopped looking at the task as a hill to climb and more as daily routine to practice, I started to accomplish the feat. In addition, I began to slowly immerse myself in all things Japanese. From movies, to books, comics, web browsing, writing, reading, and music. Thinking about the process, takes me back to a Zack Arias blog post, with video, from almost a year ago. The post and video motivated me to really focus on improving my skills and putting myself out there with photography. It has been an amazing ride and progression since then.

Watch the video and post here: teachers everywhere Check out comment #58 for more on my struggle to learn Japanese and go to Japan.

*I wanted to give a special Congratulations to Tarsa Mar Dawson, for being selected as a finalist in Scott Bourne's Emerging photographer of the Year Grant. Tasra has worked incredibly hard over the past 300+ days of her 365 project, launching the Teen Identity brand, encouraging other photographers on their 365 journey, and re-inventing her sea of creativity website Tasra Mar.com. This 365 project that we are both doing is, in a way, like the 'total immersion' because we are shooting and reviewing images everyday. Congrats Tasra!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

365 Project - Day 305 - Last Light

Day 305




The last light of the day before it all resets and starts again.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

365 Project - Day 304 - Pages

Day 304



 The pages in-between the covers, just begging to be read. This is book, The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, is really good and was hard to put down once I got it. This copy was actually passed to be by Eric Farewell on the last leg of my flight to WPPI 2010. Thanks again Eric, and I'm heading back to Vegas for Skip's Summer School in August (Early bird signup extended to August 1st...).


Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

365 Project - Day 303 - Join the Movement!

Day 303




The movement to find a cure for MS [Multiple Sclerosis]. Tonight, we photographed the 4th Annual Dinner of Champions in Akron, Ohio.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Monday, July 12, 2010

365 Project - Day 302 - Nose + KISS-FIST

Day 302




Today, I wanted to do a portrait with Sara. I was inspired by an online magazine from the Deaf Community called KISS-FIST. KISS-FIST had a portrait issue, where people submitted images of kids, both deaf and hearing, taken by adults also deaf and hearing. It's a great gallery to browse through, I encourage you to take a look here.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Sunday, July 11, 2010

365 Project - Day 301 - Tiger Lily

Day 301




Can't go wrong with wild Tiger Lilies, awesome little flower with bold colors.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Saturday, July 10, 2010

365 Project - Day 300 - Breaking

Day 300!




Day 300, wow, only 65 days left to the challenge - unbelievable. Tonight, I wanted to try my hand at catching water as a water balloon popped. I have a ways to go before I get that exact moment. The next attempt at it will be outside, this was a messy experiment.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Friday, July 9, 2010

365 Project - Day 299 - Dumpster Conquered

Day 299




If you didn't catch my post from yesterday [Day 298], it centered around how warning signs for failing in a career can be seen just as a warning sign for falling off a dumpster. The post is a bit long, but worth a read regardless of your career. Today, I took a self-portrait on that very dumpster. This image is a visual reminder that I can overcome the obstacles of progressing in my career with a strong network of industry friends, technical knowledge, and mentors. All things readily available to us.

I encourage everyone to grab a shot on or near a dumpster [they are tough to get on]. If you want, you can send it my way and I'll post them on my blog over the next few days. Send your 3×4, 72dpi files to Brian @ Brian-Palmer . net and I will upload them along with a link to your blog or site plus twitter handle. We can start the networking here.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Thursday, July 8, 2010

365 Project - Day 298 - Falling Hazard

Day 298




Today, while looking for subject to shoot, I was thinking about 'what the first image I ever shot' was. I'll get to the reason 'why' shortly, but in the process, I saw the above sign and knew I needed to photograph it for today's image. While it's only the warning on the side of a dumpster, the significance of the sign in respects to a photography career is what caught my attention.

Falling [Failing] Hazard

     No matter where you are in your career, I'm sure you have seen warning signs about failing. Whether you are trying to make the leap from hobbyist to amateur, part-time to full-time, nature to pet photographer, or expanding your residential gallery into a stand alone studio, there are many hurdles between you and your goal.
Fear of failing [falling] is a reality, but should not prevent you from trying to achieve your goals and dreams. Every warning sign you see is to help you, not discourage you. With the right, help navigating those tricky dumpsters can be less of a daunting task.

Caution, Keep Clear!

     Simply put, other have attempted this. Some have failed, but just as many others have become successful, according to their own definition of success. Take a lesson from those who have been here before by possibly finding a mentor to learn from. Just remember having a mentor is a two way street, you have to give something back. Additionally, there are many blogs worth reading to learn from like GoingPro2010, Skip's Photo Network, Photo Focus, Chase Jarvis Blog, and Strobist to name a few. The web is full of tutorials on building you technical knowledge to advance in your career and climb your dumpster.

     For hands-on learning attend workshops and seminars to learn other ways to climb on top of your career, that you may not have explored previous. Going back to the 'why' I was thinking of 'the first image I ever shot' was because I read that suggestion on Matthew Jordan Smith' blog. This was a tip on finding your creative spark and drawing from it. Matthew is coming to Akron, Ohio, of all places, on his Your Creative Experience Tour, which will be a great opportunity to learn more about lighting, client interaction, getting published and more.

Falling stick figure

     The falling stick figure should represent you not falling alone. While it is not impossible to get back up on your own, getting through frustration or a slip with the help of friends offers more rewards. Or even better, a friend in your career who can, possible, step in and keep things running smoothly for you while you dust the dirt off.

     When I was describing this post to my wife, after I showed her the image, and she gave me that look like 'Ok, it's a dumpster sign...?!' I used the metaphor of skate boarders taking a spill off their boards. In the videos, you generally see someone with the main rider (obviously the one holding the video camera too). Then, once the rider eventually falls and breaks a leg, wrist, arm, or sprain his groin, someone is always there to help the fallen rider up and summon an ambulance. That is the kind of network we need to build around us.

     You are not in this career alone, and the sooner you start networking and building relationships with your fellow photographer the better. Conferences like Skip's Summer School, WPPI, Imaging USA, and others are great places to build networks across the country. As well as learn from Pro's who have already been in your shoes and passed similar obstacles. This 365 challenge started at Skip's Summer School 2009, with Tasra Dawson and Scott Bourne over a dinner. Because of that alone, I cannot wait to see what comes out of Summer School 2010. Seriously, $239 [until August 1st], in Vegas, incredible speaker lineup, representatives from various vendors, a lighting lab, $79 rooms, and free WIFI...that is a good deal to take advantage of.

Thanks for reading through this long post. Now, go conqueror your Dumpster!

Enjoy.

Ja mata,

Brian

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

365 Project - Day 297 - Fancy Box

Day 297




Today Scott Bourne made a blog post [rant] about gear, you can read it here. After reading the post it reminded me of what I was told when I first started shooting E6 [slide film] many years back. I knew a fashion photographer from Cleveland and told him I was interested in getting more serious about taking photographs ,he told me to remember 'a camera body is just a fancy box that opens and closed to let light in'. Excluding a few portions of the industry there really isn't a need to upgrade your DSLR body as soon as a new one comes out.

Enjoy (my Pentax k-1000).

Ja mata,
Brian

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

365 Project - Day 296 - A Wish

Day 296



Getting back to the simple aspects of nature with dandelions.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian.

Iisha & CJ Akron, OH. Engagement

You cannot help but have a fun time with good friends like Iisha and CJ. The first day for the engagement session was rained out, but the next afternoon held off just enough so that we could get the shoot in. We had our session at The Gorge Metro Park in Cuyahoga Falls, which has beautiful trails, and a small dock to shoot off of. Perla and I had an amazing time and they warmed up to the camera quickly. We cannot wait for the wedding at the end of the month.























Monday, July 5, 2010

365 Project - Day 295 - Cracks

Day 295




Cracks in dry mud make for interesting patterns.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

365 Project - Day 294 - Off!

Day 294




What you shouldn't forget when going the park to watch fireworks. Really helps keep the little blood sucking monsters away.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Saturday, July 3, 2010

365 Project - Day 293 - Ribs

Day 293




I made Baby Back Ribs this afternoon and they were Delicious! Dry rubbed the ribs, cooked in the oven for 45 mins, then to the grill for about 30 minutes while brushing on a homemade sauce. The sauce made with two bottles of Open Pit BBQ sauce, Brown Sugar, Lawry's, Sugar, and a lemon squeezed and tossed into the sizzling pot of sauce. Cooked for about 20 or so minutes. My dad used to make this sauce when I was a kid, brought back some good memories. And the ribs were killer!

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian.

Friday, July 2, 2010

365 Project - Day 292 - Journey

Day 292




So where are you headed?

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian

Thursday, July 1, 2010

365 Project - Day 291 - Chicks

Day 291




Yes, it's baby chicks. They hatched yesterday and today at Sara's school, after we picked her up I took a few images for the blog. We got to see 2 actually hatch yesterday, didn't realize they come out the shell wet and then fluffed up after a few hours.

Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian