Flying Photographer

Check out this very cool article on veteran aviation photographer Bob Bowen.

http://www.popphoto.com/Bowen

Imagine hanging out of a plane traveling 200 mph to take a picture. I have enough problems getting sharp images standing still with both feet on the ground.

Make sure you browse through his image gallery for some truly stunning images taken from a vantage point few of us will ever see.

Confessions of a Former Wedding Photographer Pt 2

My foray into the wedding photography biz began when a friend and former co-worker, who had been freelancing as a wedding shooter for several years, decided to go full time with his own studio. This was a big undertaking and he needed to book as many wedding dates as possible, which meant occasional double bookings on a single day. Knowing my background in photography, he asked me to be his back up photographer. I already had a working knowledge of cameras, and more importantly lighting, and my friend would teach me what I needed to know about shooting weddings. My photographic aspirations were in a different direction, but with a newborn baby at home we needed the money, and thus began my career as a wedding photographer.

After a few years as the photographic equivalent of a relief pitcher, I made the big leap to my own freelance wedding business. Working 40 to 50 hours a week on my regular job and then spending up to 10 hours on my feet on a Saturday shooting weddings was not much fun. Add in time spent meeting with clients, sorting proofs and assembling wedding albums - my wedding business was not going to be long lived.

Photo Magazines Galore

Strolling through the local Barnes and Noble I made my way over to the magazine section and was struck by the sheer number of photo related magazines on the shelf. An entire four tier rack covered in photo periodicals. There are publications specializing in black and white photography, while others are devoted to Photoshop, some focus on hardware and some concentrate on technique, and there are lots and lots of general interest titles that cover a little bit of everything related to the photo world. One reason for the over flowing shelf is because they carry not only American but British magazines. If you don't see what you like among the US fare you can always check things out from the UK perspective. Staring at all those shiny covers I was left to wonder - how many copies do they actually sell of all these?

Photography From A Nat Geo Man

If you are looking for inspiration or direction for your travel photography take a peek at Jim Richardson's site.

http://www.jimrichardsonphotography.com/

Richardson, a photographer for National Geographic, offers up not only several galleries worth of eye catching photos from his work around the world but also answers frequently asked questions on shooting for the magazine. Lots of fun stuff to check out and worth a look even if your travels never extend beyond the local borders.

iPhone the most popular camera?

Check out the chart on the link below showing how pictures taken by users with iPhones are coming to dominate submissions on the Flickr photo sharing site.

http://www.popphoto.com/news/2011/04/iphone-4-set-to-become-most-popular-camera-flickr

The other four picture taking devices listed among Flickr's top 5 are "real" cameras. The iPhone certainly has the edge in convenience but I still believe people interested in quality picture taking rather than just snapshots are going to stick with DSLR cameras.

To me what is most mind boggling is the sheer quantity of submissions made to Flickr on a daily basis.

Auction of famous photos

Have a wall that you want to decorate with a few photos? If you do, and if you happen to have an extra twenty or thirty thousand dollars in your pocket, you may want to bid on one of the well known images currently up for bid by Heritage Auctions. Work by such well known photographers as Irving Penn, Ansel Adams and Edward Weston are represented, along with many others. Click on the link to the Scoop collectors site for more details.

http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=34&s=262&ai=107748

There are some very cool images being auctioned, but if you are like me you will have to stick with your own artistic output for your wall decor. And you should be able to do it for well under twenty grand.

Wedding Bell Blues (Confessions of a former wedding photographer)

Springtime and a young mans fancy turns to ... well you know. Warm weather and love can only mean wedding season is near. I know because I once dabbled in wedding photography and from April through October there were a lot of weddings taking place.

Originally I planned on making a single entry on the subject, but as I pondered my brief career in wedding photography I realized there is more than one tale to tell. It takes a certain type of personality to succeed in the wedding biz, and to be frank, I ain't that kind of guy. I first became interested in photography as a form of artistic expression and although there are many excellent photographers who are capable of producing art-like results when doing a wedding, I just didn't have the touch. Hours before beginning an assignment I'd have a knot in my stomach anticipating a long day of chasing bride, groom and various friends and family members in an effort to produce worthwhile pictures of their once in a lifetime (hopefully) event.

Overall, I believe I delivered on the promise of a pictorial album for the couple to cherish always, but I really didn't enjoy doing it. And I never experienced the thrill of a great shot, like I do when photographing for my personal work. It was a job, and at times the job was a chore. Not good, when you need to be up and smiling for 10 hours while recording the big event. Still, there were a number of memorable experiences that I plan on sharing in future entrys - stay tuned!