Night Shoot on Lake Erie.....

As promised from yesterday for anyone that read my short little rant, I went out last night and did a little shooting. Pressed for time I didn't stray far from home. It was already getting dark when I pulled into the small park down the street from my home. A family that was fishing for Steel Head in a small trib of the lake were just leaving with 2 nice fish, I actually hate to see that, put them back to fight another day. They aren't a very good eating fish and I hope they weren't just keeping them for the eggs.... Anyway, I get set up and take a few shots. All is good in the world, I'm finally out doing what I love to do, it's a great night, the lake is like glass, not too cold.... I could stay here all night.... A car pulls up, "Sir, the parks closed, going to have to ask you to leave...." Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr It's a private park, paid for buy our little community and our tax dollars, they have a family that gets to live on the property to kind of look after the place, so after a brief negotiation, I was able to stay for about 20 more minutes....

Finally, alone at last.... peace and tranquility return my little slice of the world for a moment and I'm doing my thing. It was dark by now so shooting required a long shutter. I also wanted to test out the noise levels in higher ISO settings so I went all the way up to ISO 800 and started shooting. I was pretty happy with the results....













Then I decided to try a couple self portrait shots since there was no one there to assist me.... Not my number one choice for a model, but when it's all you have, you make due....

Same type of deal, long shutter, high ISO only this time I also used a 580EX II flash set to 1/8th power using a shoot through umbrella to light my model (me) Then let the long exposure bring up the details in the back ground. Aside from the dorky model (me) I think the shots turned out pretty cool.














One of the hardest things about shooting alone & in the dark is that focusing can be very difficult. Especially with no modeling light to light the scene prior to the shot to what your actually focusing on. Auto focus? Forget about it.... not in total darkness.... So I would do my best to try and focus on the spot where I intended to stand and go from there. Not the most crisp shots I'll admit, but I was out shooting and enjoying myself.

So start to finish, I may have put in an hours worth of time. Even after a long day, dinner with the fam, being almost totally dark and everything else I still needed to do that night, I was able to get in this shoot. This goes for anything you enjoy doing in life, if it means that much to you and you truly enjoy doing it, you will find a way to make it happen....

Hope you enjoyed this post and I look forward to hearing your comments!

Itching to get out and shoot!

So who else is tired of sitting around the house hiding out from the cold crappy weather of another Cleveland winter? Don't get me wrong, I love the snow! I just wish we could get a month of it and then go back to the nice warm 75 - 85 degree range where I seem to flurrish.... It's nice and sunny outside right now, but I'm sure it's just a trick to get me out there and make my current cold even worse. Well not today! I'm just going to sit here and look out the window and wish I was out there doing stuff....

Ok, enough of that! Lets get out there and do something! I am going to make it a point tonight to go somewhere and take some pictures of something!

Check back tomorrow to see the results!

Bridal Show Weekend....

Thanks to everyone that attended or helped me with the Great Lakes Bridal Show this past weekend. I had a great time meeting with everyone and hope to hear from many of you in the near future.

If you didn't make it this weekend, here is a picture of the booth, maybe we'll see you at the next one!

Bridal Show Week....

Ok, so the Great Lakes Bridal Show is this weekend, Feb 6th & 7th and I will be attending for the first time. I have been putting a lot of time and effort into building what I hope will be an impressive booth.... I am going to post one teaser image here, but keep in mind, this was just the begining and the booth has come a long way since this photo was taken....

If you happen to be in the area this weekend and are looking for a wedding photographer, please stop by and see what we have to offer. If you are already booked with me or I have already shot your wedding, stop by anyway. I'd love to catch up with you!

Well, that's all for now, gotta get back to work! Look forward to seeing you at the show!

Location - Great Lakes Mall Mentor, OH

Hours - Sat 11am to 9pm & Sunday Noon to 6pm