“…I’m a Better Photographer Since….” 2012-05-15

Yesterday I had one of those feel good moments where you think, “Hey, I am making a difference in people’s lives…”, “I really do like what I do…”

I had one of my photography class participants come by the studio to look at some images (he is now a client too) and he said “My family thinks I’m a better photographer since I took your class”  – Thank you Timothy.   He then went on to show me a beautiful portrait of his daughter.  It was a fantastic window light portrait that he nailed.  His comments to me were totally unprompted and unexpected.  It was one of those moments you don’t see coming, but totally affirming when it did.  I couldn’t agree more with the writer of Proverbs when they wrote, “Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body”

The above image is from a family trip to Yosemite last summer. A shared moment of accomplishment and being together in a really cool place.

It is my hope that the photography classes I teach might elevate your photographic skills a little and you find your new pictures more pleasing.  Pictures of pets, friends, family and places we go are the stuff we use to create the narratives of our lives. Photographs are one of the most enduring ways to remember the good, bad, happy, sad and triumphant moments.

A camera and photography are tools.  To spend a lot of time struggle with a tool means you are not able to use it for what you are really wanting to in the first place.  My aim with these classes is to demystify the camera and the photo process so you can get to the important stuff.  Capturing moments and telling stories of beauty, love, compassion & accomplishment.

The original and most popular class is the 300 class.  It is one of my favorites.  Other classes have been added after multiple requests.  100 & 200 were added after “intro to…” was confused the “beginning or beginner or novice”.    I use “Intro to….” because the class runs for about 2 or 2.5 hours.   Unlike college were you get a hours, days… a semester to master concepts, we get just a couple of hours.  My goal is to boil down key concepts, introduce them to you and then turn you loose to experiment.

I will attempt to teach as many classes on the list of classes as I can.  This summer I will be teaching classes on Thursday evening and a couple of Saturdays.  I realize Saturday is the most popular for most people and often requested but it is also popular with brides scheduling  weddings, for my children and swim meets, for family visits and vacations…. So, I will teach on Saturdays when I can, but many are already booked months in advance.

Best Photography From an Event – Award – NACE 2012 2012-02-08

We are thrill to be given the “Best Photography from an Event” from Triangle NACE last night for the 2011 Beach to Battleship Triathlon.  PPD & Setup Events put on a great race & we happy to be invited to photograph it.

The Ironman distance was at first light of the sunrise.  That meant we were out in the fog, light rain and darkness at 0′dark hour, a little earlier than when I’m usually loaded with all my camera gear.  Athletes & their support people were pumped and it was lots of fun to photograph with the challenging lighting conditions.

The start locations, transition points, sponsor aid stations & athlete portraits were done the day before the race. On race day it was Iron Distance Start before  dawn, then 1/2 Iron start, T1 (transition 1 from swim to bike), Sponsor Aid Station, T2 (bike to run) & then Finishers.

Note on Groupon / Class Registration issues. 2012-01-27

Update:  12p 1-30-12

All Groupon Codes have been updated to my registrations system!  Register away!

UPDATE 5pm 1/27/2012:

All Groupon Codes Purchase prior to 4;30pm today (1/27/12)  have been uploaded into my registration system.  Groupon purchasers should now be able to register without a problem. please let me know if you find this not to be true.  The rest of the codes will be updated when the deal ends.

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If you have had an issue registering and been told you don’t have a valid code….  I’m sorry I’ve not responded immediately to your email or voice mail.  I’m working my way thru 100+ issues

Groupon issues Codes and they live in Groupon land.

Groupon codes need to be down loaded, formatted, SQL statements written to merge data fields and tables (blah blah computer stuff…)

Codes are then loaded on my Server that does registration. Once there, your registration will be easy.  Groupon differs from Living Social (who we have used in the past)  Groupon makes the codes available right away, LS waits till the end of the deal.  Uploading all the codes at once is straight forward.  uploading codes in 2′s, 5′s & 10′ is a nightmare.

I will be uploading the Groupon codes ASAP

If you have registered and it said your code isn’t valid…. you are still registered but the system see you as still needing to make a payment.  Now we just need to pair your code with your registration.  This will take a little time, but it will get sorted out.  Once done you will be all set (no addition payment needed)

Thank you for your Patience

I look forward to seeing you in Class.

Groupon Coupon – Photography / DSLR Classes @ the Studio 2012-01-23

• 1 coupon per person per class.
• Purchase one for each class you want to take.
• Sign up online with the once you have your voucher number.  (i also need to get the voucher number from Groupon, once the “deal” is finished and then upload it to my website’s registration system)  so if you are really anxious to sign up, you may need to wait to register til I get them listed in my reservation system or call me 919-416-9222
• Class Calender
• List of Classes

Toulumne River – Yosemite National Park – California 2011-12-14

The beautiful, wonderful, relaxing and amazing Toulumne River, Toulumne Meadows, Yosemite, Ca.  We spent a week there this summer with family and had a great time.  I recently had these made into canvas prints… and they look awesome.  If you are interested I can make some for your too.

Geeky, Photographer Stuff
These are HDR Panorama images.

Top image is made up of 27 Exposures
Bottom image in made up of 18 Eexposures

Assemble was done in PTGui & further polishing was done in Photoshop

Camera was Canon 1d Mark III