hey, the blog has been fun but I can’t find time to keep on blogging and working and facebooking, and there’s more action/activity/interest on FB so for now the blog will be going dormant.
But fear not – we’re still working hard making beautiful pictures! Check us out on FB!
I don’t get many free weekends so with a free one we decided to take a mini-vacation and camped at Gettysburg and did some of the tourist things in the area. I’ve visited the Battlefield 3 other times in my life but this was the first time I’d be here long enough to actually look around at my leisure, walk some of the grounds, etc.
My wife wanted to go on one of the Ghost Walks that are all over the place and since I’d seen some program on the ghosts of gettysburg on TLC a good while back I was into it. I was kinda surprised that she wanted to go let alone it was her idea!
During the hour plus walk around the alleys and such of Gettysburg we heard all sorts of stories – less scary than I thought they’d be but the tour had kids on it and I guess I wasn thinking Ichabod Crane kinds headless horseman stories like my Uncle told ’round the campfire when I was a kid. These were more the history of a building or location and then paranormal activity that’s been seen, heard or photographed there. So naturally I asked about the photographing of ghosts and got an explanation of how its done, what a ghostie might look like on film (or well, you know) and where/when is a good time to ‘capture’ ghosts.
OK, lets go to Devils Den out on the battlefield, at night (the park is open till 10 pm) and see what we see! OK, this is kinda freaking out my wife now. It didn’t help that we talked with some locals about ghosts (our dog Toby was with us and lots of people would stop to chat and pet him) and heard lots of real, firsthand stories.
The instructions were to shoot at dusk or later, with flash, several shots in a row and then compare the images to see if there’s anything in one that is not in the others. I took around 80 images at Devil’s Den and did indeed get some odd things in some of the images.
What are ‘orbs’? Here’s a series of three images taken one right after the other. One has lots of orbs, the second one or two in the background and the third, none.
You can see lots of lightning bugs in the images (i’ve never seen so many lightning bugs in my life as on this trip). So what are the orbs? The ghost walk guide says orbs are ghosts. Hmm….maybe. As a photographer that has taken well over half a million photographs in my life and take thousands a week, I must say I’ve never ever seen such orbs in any image I’ve ever taken – and that includes night shots with seniors and brides around the area.
I’m very familiar with my equipment and it’s top of the line Canon stuff, so it’s designed not to show weird refelctions or have internal reflections and flare and the like. And since these orbs are not in every picture, I’d have to say that rules out the quipment as the source of the orbs.
My gut feeling is they’re some type of insect that is catching the light just so. I’ve not been able to verify this or disprove it. I will be taking pics all summer around the area to see if I can figure it out one way or another.
But if they are bugs (or dust or water vapor), then can you explain what showed up in these pictures?
So what is that large orb that ‘sat down’ next to my son William? Here’s an enlargement of it:
Some super sized drop of water or a gigantic bug?
Out of the 80 pics I took about 10 have orbs in them and only this one has a ‘super orb’ in it. Some areas I took pics at (just to the right of this at about 90 degrees) show no orbs at all – not a one. Pics with Wills in them showed orbs more than pics with my daughter, wife, dog or strangers. Is he more sensitive? Are spirits drawn more to a young male than women?
While at Devils Den I had a conversation with a young couple that were dressed in period clothing that were out walking before going home after work. The guy was very much into ghost hunting and they had just come up a path nearby and heard a horse walking and snorting – and saw no horse. This is in the dark mind you, so anyone out riding a horse (and pleasure horses rarely snort) would be taking their life in their hands with low hanging branches, tourists, cars not to mention the terrain in this area (very rocky and uneven).
Are there ghosts? Are these pictures of them? I’m more curious than ever now!
If you’re a member of the high scholl Class of ’11 then tomorrow night, Tuesday May 25th, at 7PM you want to be at Tusca Pizza in Brighton Township.
We’re thowing a Premiere Party with our reps, giveaways, speacial deals, discounts and of course Free Pizza!
So come on over to the Party and see what we’ve got new for Seniors this year, same some money and have some fun!
And check out our new Senior Website!
For those graduating this year we have some cool new invitations for you to choose from, or we can custom desing something just for you!
We can do invitations for anyone – but you must have permission for us to reproduce your images (the photographer owns the copyright). If we did your senior pictures then it’s not a problem and you get a discount too! Watch your mailbox for more info.
Mindy and I are part way through our week long adventure at the Triangle Institute of Professional Photography and so far it’s been outstanding! It’s better than a trip to Disneyworld – unless mayne you’re a kid. Mindy’s doing pretty well being away from her son, Landon, for the first time in his life.
We’ll have more to share when we get back on all the new ideas and techniques we’re learning!
It’s like I’m in college all over again! See, back then I was on the newspaper and after taking photos I’d spend a few hours in the darkroom making prints. It was great fun.
Digital has been phenomenal in many ways and photoshop is often called a ‘digital darkroom’. I suppose that’s true, but there is something magical to using a chemical darkroom and seeing a blank piece of paper come alive with your image.
If you’ve been following the blog you know that a few weeks ago we got a large format, lab quality printer, a Canon imagePrograf 6100. It’s absolutely amazing!
So far I’ve printed a few things as a test, to get the color right, the workflow, learning how to cut prints two feet wide and 3 feet long and the like. It’s like being back in college and watching the image appear on the blank paper. It’s a lot more fun that I thought it would be. I’m young again!
One of the cool things this printer can do is to print on all sorts of things – photo paper is just the beginning, and there’s 15 kinds of that, plus art and rag, banner materials (indoor and out), film that can be lit from behind and lots more. Like canvas.
If you’ve been to the Studio or seen one of our displays then you’ve seen our canvas gallery wraps. I love them. It makes a photo into a work of art, something special. It’s a fresh, exciting alternative to a matted framed under glass image. Well, thanks to the new printer we can now make Canvas Gallery Wraps in-house!
This means we can offer faster turnaround, lower costs, better quality control and a wider array of sizes. I’m really excited with what we’ve got to offer you this year.
It’s almost as much fun as it was back in college – the only thing missing is taking a coed into the darkroom to see what develops!
Did you know we send out a newsletter? And you can subscribe, for free, to this wonderful thing? Yes, you really can! Here, take a look at at the latest newsletter.
If you’d like to join our mailing list we’d love to have you! Click here to sign up.
January certainly felt busy and indeed it was – business is up 20% over last January! I guess the word is out about us. I’ve been dropping some hints that we’ve got lots of New Stuff happening at the studio and it’s time to pull back the curtain!
We are now carrying Stylart and Carlson Craft Invitations and Bridal Accessories. I’m really excited about all the fun, creative items we have for you now!
A Quick Look at our Seven Oaks Bridal Show booth display.
StylArt are photo-based invitations that are just awesome and they also offer Holiday Cards, but I’m not ready to talk Christmas just yet.
Carlson Craft is the largest invitation business and have been around since 1948. In addition to wedding invitations, they have shower invites, thank you cards, save the date items and graduation cards, birth announcements and more.
One of the most exciting things is what’s in that little teal and gray book lying on the table in the picture above. It’s full of all the ‘details’ I shoot at weddings – champagne flutes, cake cutters, guest books, unity candles, aisle runners, flower girl baskets and ring bearer pillows, garters and a WHOLE LOT more!
We also this past week got a large format printer, a Canon ipF6100 that will allow us to offer all sorts of new products once I read the manuals…yes, manuals. There are 2 for set up, 2 on specs, and then more on disk. It’s a 24″ wide printer and can do regular prints, canvas, fine art papers, banners for inside and outside use and more. I expect a steep learning curve but the results will be well worth it!
With the addition of another Canon 5D2 our wedding coverage for this year will be better than ever! Mindy will now be second-shooting with state of the art, top of the line camera and L-lenses. Last year I moved to all full frame bodies and migrated to L-prime lenses and it has really improved the look of our images, both at weddings and with potraiture, particulary the senior work we do. Using the best lenses and cameras available does indeed make for better art and I can hardly wait for our next wedding!
This past Sunday was the Times Bridal Fair at Seven Oaks Country Club and it was a big success! Mindy and I love talking to the brides to be. We (ok, Mindy) overhauled the look of our booth and wow, it looked Fantastic! Here’s a quickie shot of it before the show opened at 10 am.
Our Bridal Show Booth at 7 Oaks.
I got to display my First Place award and folio (I hope that impressed some of you that were there! 
)
2010 is booking up fast – faster than the last couple of years. I really don’t like to tell anyone their date is booked and watch the disappointment on their face so if you’re thinking about choosing us (or anyone) to shoot your wedding don’t delay – reserve your date ASAP. Remember, we’re also booking 2011 at today’s prices. And all your invitations and accessories can be had at up to 20% off as well!
For those of you in the market for a wedding photographer I have some great information. Drop me an email and I’ll send you How To Choose A Wedding Photographer. We may be the best out there, but I know we’re not for everyone and may have your date booked – so then how do you go about finding the right photographer for you? I want to help because I feel your wedding memories are too important to leave to chance.
I am very excited to announce that we are now offering StylArt and Carlson Craft invitations and products!
StylArt products can incorporate your photos on your invitations for your bridal shower or wedding!
With Carlson Craft products you have a very large selection of styles from classic and traditional to trendy and edgy and everything in between. In addition we’ll also have a variety of personalized products such as napkins, cake cutters and thank you gifts for your bridal party!
Of course if you choose us as your wedding photographer you’ll receive a discount on your invitations. If you’d like more information drop me a line!
2011? Yeah, this year’s going fast and I’m not keeping up with my blog entries so I figure I’d get a jump on next year!
Wow, 14 days into the new year and it’s like Christmas around here – snowy and busy too!
I have just implemented a new system so I can keep up on my blogging and this post well, it’s not really part of the new system, it’s just a post to let you know that I’m still alive and not hibernating!
Since my last post we’ve shot 2 seniors and 2 family portraits and a wedding, plus did a bridal show at The Fez.
On the personal front I’ve had to replace the frame on my van, repair my furnace, replace a drill and a mixer in the kitchen and I’m still putzing with a computer that just died the week of Christmas. And shovel snow just about every day!
I will get caught up on postings soon – I’m only behind by six seniors, two families and three weddings, posting wise. So check back and I promise to catch up!
