Happy Christmas to everyone

While obviously a few years old now, I can't see not posting this picture on Christmas. Me and one of my best friends, and one of the best photogs I know, Ely.

"The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!" Luke 2:11

Happiest Christmas and a blessed New Year to everyone

via: J. Grant Brittain, "Another lame photo I shot years ago when I was good."

"J. Grant Brittain—December 13, 2008

Steve Rocco in 1987 at the beach. A cop just happened to walk by when we were shooting.
"

Yeah, real lame, JGB.

I'm a Nikon guy

and I would love a D700, either in camera-form..

..or Red Velvet.

In other Nikon news, Hitler will not be getting a D3x



..he only shoots jpg anyway.

Carpe Noctem

I was first made aware of the Sleeping Giants project on the skateboard photography forum I have been visiting and participating in for years now when the photographer behind the series posted looking for critique. Since then I have seen it linked from a number of sites including the blog of a photographer I follow from New York and the San Francisco art site Fecal Face. I have been seeing work from Brooks Reynolds on Agro (back to when it was still SkateboardPhotography.com) for some years now and clicked the link to be brought to a simple flash gallery filled with compelling images that, in my opinion, accomplish what they set out to do:

"Summer nights encompass some of the most unforgettable times of our lives.
There is a certain mystery contained in the darkness & tension.
In 48 photographs, ‘WE ARE SLEEPING GIANTS” eludes to the stories of youth, isolation &
nearly supernatural experiences during this annual epoch."



I was going to gush about Brooks's use of light and effectiveness of capturing whats really an indefinable mood, but just go look at the images. They speak for themselves.

WE ARE SLEEPING GIANTS

Over-Processed

For a while now I have been seeing photos around the internet, a lot of them band group shots, with a particular over-sharpened kind of desaturated look to them. Sometimes it works really well, other times it is wildly overdone and looks terrible, but regardless I was interested and wanted at least to know how it is done. So, with some experimenting, I figured it out. Or one of what I'm sure is many many versions of it.
For the image to try it out on, I set up a quick self-portrait in my cramped and cluttered studio apartment. To Try something else out, I threw some color-correction gels on my strobes that I recently purchased. The key light has a 1/4 CTO gel and the rim has a 1/4 CTB.


Please CLICK to see bigger.

It turned out kind of interesting. I am not completely sold on this kind of over-processed look, but it seems like people who are doing it are getting a lot more work than I am presently, so it is clearly not a bad technique to have in my toolbox, and when it's done well I think it has real potential.
So, what do you think?

Blow your mind: 5D Mark II

With the Nikon D90 in stores and the new Canon 5D Mark II shipping now, there are some extremely interesting new worlds opening to photographers as each of these DSLR bodies also shoots HD Video. As a skateboard photographer (one who hates sequences at that) I am not sure I am excited about the notion of skaters asking/telling you to just film a trick instead of shooting a photo, but having the equipment available for instances when a photo just is not going to happen may be a way for photographers to supplement their skate-related income, all while further flooding the already over-saturated skate-filmer market.

Concerns and points of interest are plentiful with this new technology, but it looks like the quality of the video is not going to be of concern what-so-ever, as is evident in this short film shot by photojournalist Vincent Laforet using the new Canon 5D Mark II. Check it out before the server gets overloaded again and have your mind blown.


View Hi-Def HERE

Blurb

http://www.blurb.com/


Just saving that address for myself. I'm thinking this would be a fairly cheap, fairly professional looking way to make a portfolio for myself.

or
http://www.viovio.com/wiki/Catalog


(Viovio photo books
Receive 25% off your next order on Viovio through December 31, 2008. Enter JPGM8 at checkout.
www.Viovio.com)