Brian Bastinelli Photography

#617 The Move Is Underway...

2010-03-26T12:50:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Well The move to the new format and blog has begun. It's not completely ready yet but its ready enough to do a soft opening.

Currently the blog is located at www.brianbastinelli.net That is due to a domain ownership issue that I am currently going through with Bludomain.

I will post more about that after the issue is resolved. Which I hope to be soon. I would like to have my main address remain www.brianbastinelli.com.

Stay tuned on that and I'll definitely let you know what the final address of the new site will be.

In the mean time PLEASE take a look around and give me your feedback on the new site. As I said it is hardly complete but I hope to have ti ready by early next week.

Your feedback on its functionality, look and anything else you'd like to add is really important to me so please check it out and let me know what you think.

Thanks and have a great day!!

#614 Change On The Horizon...

2010-03-16T23:40:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

After a few months of thinking about it, working on it, and thinking about it some more and then a little more working on it. I have finally started the process of creating a whole new web presence for Brian Bastinelli Photography.

The process has been started but of course is being held up by domain transfer, who would have thought that would be a problem (again)... Anyway as soon that fiasco is taken care of I'll really get moving on this and hopefully within a week or so we'll be ready for the big reveal.

In the mean time I'll continue to post and then this site will remain to redirect traffic to the new location.

Today I wanted to tell you all about a great photography workshop that my friend Bryan Allen is offering. The workshop is called Location People and it is one of the best learning and shooting experiences available for your photography dollar.

I took both Location People I and Location People II but the new class is being streamlined into a longer more intense offering called Location People.

All of the links you need to find out more are listed below as well as a few videos that will give you a feel for this great experience. Jameson Abart and Jerit Abart shot these great videos during the last Location People II workshop in Knoxville, TN.

Check them out and feel free to contact me with any questions you might have. As I said it's a great experience and Bryan is a fantastic instructor and person. If you enjoy shooting people and you like both location and lighting concepts this is for you.

Here is the info on where to register for the Location People workshop:

LOCATION PEOPLE 2010

BRYAN ALLEN PHOTOGRAPHY

THE MINDFUL EYE

Here are the videos:

Workshop Teaser Video

Workshop Feature Video

Interview with Bryan Allen Lead Instructor

Interview with Brian Bastinelli

Interview with Usha Vedula

Click on IMAGES FROM THE WORKSHOP in the lower right corner of the linked page to see some of the great images that participants created during the week.

#613 Taking Advantage Of Your Surroundings...

2010-03-15T02:19:00.003-02:00

Hi Everyone-

Today's images were shot on our recent family trip to Walt Disney World. More specifically they were shot in Disney's Animal Kingdom.

While we walked through the Dinoland section of the park I noticed this orange and green wall that seemed to go with the clothes that Cree had on that day. She was really ready to keep moving so I was only able to get one shot off while she was fully engaged with me. Then she gave me the I'm done look and walked away.

Later on in the day while we were walking around in the Asia themed area of the park I noticed a very cool wall outside of the restrooms. Conveniently for us it had a bench built in. So we stopped and played around for a few minutes and got the images of Tonya and I with Cree.

One thing that I always try to do when we are traveling or even out and about in our own area is to look for cool backgrounds and textures that I can incorporate into fun images of the family.

Have a great day!!

#612 FireRescue Cover Shot

2010-03-12T14:55:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Hope everyone had a great week. Mine was ok, and pretty long. Just got back from Las Vegas last night and you would think that after spending a week there at the WPPI photography conference I would be all amped up.

While I did learn a lot and am thankful for the experience I was really sick the whole time and didn't have any of the fun you might expect out of a Vegas trip. I never even got to play a single hand of black jack. Most days were spent in class trying stay awake, learn something and not hack up a lung. Evenings were spent trying to eat something and then heading to bed.

So today I went to the doctors again and then for x-rays to rule out pneumonia. Super. Waiting to hear back on that. And I'm starting another round of medications.

But one good thing has happened this week. One of my images shot at a fire in West Manchester Township was selected for this months cover for FireRescue Magazine.

The issue covers rural fire tactics. So the image is a good fit. FireRescue tries to create covers that give the reader a glimpse of what's inside. This image fits well because of the barns and windmill in it.

When I shoot fires I try to shoot a variety of scenes and angles. I want to tell the story of the incident. But one thing I always try to shoot are images that will fit well on the cover of the magazine. Obviously they need to be vertical bet I also like to arrange areas for the mast head (magazine title) as well as areas of dead space where text can be laid over.

This image worked pretty good in that way.

Have a great day!

#611 Breakfast With Chef Mickey...

2010-03-03T02:05:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Yesterday morning we had our last meal with any of the Disney characters, scheduled anyway.

So we went to the Contemporary Hotel and got our seats ready for Breakfast with Chef Mickey and friends.

As luck would have it we were seated at the first table inside the dining room from the characters entered the area. So we got to see them right as they came into the room. Since this was breakfast with Mickey and Friends tall the characters had on chef uniforms.

Everyone had a great time and Cree was able to get all the autographs and photos she was hoping for, and so did daddy...

Have a great day...

#610 Baby's Got A New Pair Of Shoes

2010-03-02T02:46:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Yesterday we left the Disney parks for the day and headed over to Universal and Islands of Adventure. While I tend to like Disney a bit more we had a great time.

First of all the weather was perfect. Around 70 and not a cloud in the sky. Secondly and almost as important, there was not a large crowd. At no point did we wait even ten minutes for anything,

After we arrived in the morning we headed right over to Islands of Adventure and specifically the Dr. Seuss area. It was awesome. Not only did the kids love it but we practically had the place to our selves. Most rides we actually rode alone and for a good hour there was only a handful of people in the area.

It couldn't have worked out better.

Just after lunch we had a few minutes while everyone was getting lunch cleaned up and hit the restrooms. While everyone was doing that Cree and I found an area of open shade with some cool colors on the ground or in the background. Something that was easy to do in this part of the park.

Cree recently got a new pair of shoes that are quite sparkly and light up. Well they were perfect for a little photo fun. So while we waited I found an area that I liked and we began shooting. That lasted about 10 minutes before everyone else was ready to go.

Cree had fun and we got a few cool shots.

Have a great day!

#609 A Kingdom of Magic...

2010-03-01T03:26:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

I hope you had a great weekend. Ours has been... well... magical!!!

Friday started off with some snow and worries that we might be a little late to the airport and ended with us getting into Orlando 6 hours later than expected but with the added bonus of 6, yes 6 free airline tickets amongst the three of us.

We decided to take the airline up on an offer we couldn't really refuse.

Since then we have been having a super time at the Magic Kingdom and all of the WDW parks despite Cree and I both being pretty sick.

More about the trip later but I wanted to share two images shot This past Saturday while waiting for the Electric Light Parade to start.

Have a great day!

#608 Really........Your Takin' My Pitcure?

2010-02-25T12:36:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Well the snow has begun to fall, albeit light at this point. We have about an inch of new snow on the ground and it is continuing at a pretty light rate. The wind is also picking up a bit.

So I'm not sure what we'll actually get out of this one. But for those of you to the north and east of us, good luck...lol

In today's image I shot this bison coming up over a hill from the Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley, Yellowstone National Park.

It was shot the morning after an October snowstorm moved through the area. It was very cold and pretty windy.

The wind actually worked out nice for shooting a series of "environmental portraits" of the bison crossing the area. That combined with the sun very low on the sky made it as though I set up lighting and had fans in place. Heck even the bison cooperated.

Have a great day!!

#607 Did Someone Say Snow!?!

2010-02-24T16:48:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Well its going to snow again! The weather man is saying that starting tonight we can expect another 4 to 8 inches of snow.

As a matter of fact in North Eastern PA and NJ they are saying that the conditions will create a snowicaine with lots of snow and very strong winds.

While normally I am all for it this may have some effects on upcoming travel plans. So much so that my mom, dad, sister and nephew have changed their travel plans to leave a day early just to make sure they get out.

So today I have mixed emotions. I love the winter and snow, I don't want to miss our flights, I am looking forward to better weather, I am going to miss playing in the snow... Oh well there will be more...lol

Here is a image from Yellowstone highlighting the beauty of the snow and winter, just to remind you that it's not all bad!!

#606 The Robins Are Back...

2010-02-23T14:58:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

I thought I would add a little brightness to a dreary mid winter day. As I was working in my office i noticed that there was a large number of Robins outside the window.

As I looked further I noticed about 30-40 in my front yard. Many were bathing in the pond and stream and the rest were just hanging out in the yard. So I grabbed the video and shot a few minutes of some of them cleaning of from their long journey back.

I'm a big fan of winter and snow, but these guys are always a welcome sight at this time of year.

Have a great day!

#605 Peaceful Memories

2010-02-23T02:28:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

As I mentioned yesterday I enjoy watching the Trumpeter Swans while I am in Yellowstone National Park or Grand Teton National Park.

They are graceful and peaceful and to me very calming and relaxing to watch.

In today's image I tried to create a feeling of looking back in time to a more peaceful and leisurely era. At a time in my life and I'm sure for many others where it seems like we never have a chance to take a break, this is just what I need.

Not often enough do I take the time to escape reality and get away for a few hours in nature. More times than not sitting here at the computer working on the images is about as close as I get to spending any real time with nature unless I am on a trip.

I think that I am going to change that this spring. Even if its just for an hour here or there I think it just might make all of the hustle and bustle of my everyday reality a little easier to take.

Have a great day!

#604 Trumpeter Swan

2010-02-22T15:53:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Hope you had a great weekend. I spent much of mine coordinating a transfer of data from my external storage devices to my newly purchased DroboPro storage device.

The transfer went smoothly and has greatly improved the state of my image storage. Going from 9 external drives to one was fantastic. As well it will allow me to create a much more effective back up process.

This was a long time coming and should have been competed years ago, but it's finally done! Along with the transfer I revisited my filing system and cleaned that up a bit. That will will make my work flow much smoother as well as improving the flow of back ups from now on.

Today's image was shot this past fall on the National Elk Refuge outside of Jackson, Wyoming. Although I am not big on bird photography I do enjoy watching the Trumpeter Swans that frequent this area. They are a very graceful animal.

Have a great day!

#603 A Few Seconds of Fun

2010-02-12T16:37:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Yesterday, which was day three of SNOWMAGEDDON 2010, everyone was home so we got to play a little, have a nice lunch and take a few pictures before I headed in to work for the night.

During all of that I was outside trying to expand the road and driveway back to its normal size with the snow blower. While I was outside Cree decided that it would be nice to get all "beautiful" for daddy.

So while I was gone her and Tonya painted her nails and she put on her pretty dress that I got her recently in Nashville. When I came in she very daintily showed off her beautiful dress and nails to me.

Of course I had to get a few pictures. However she wasn't really in the mood for any posed "pretty" pictures. This was more of a fun goofing off kind of day.

So here's a few from our 5 min photo session. They were all lit with natural light from the kitchen door. I was actually outside kneeling on the deck and Cree was in the house. I wasn't able to come in because I had on my fire gear which was full of snow from my little project. But it seems to have worked out ok.

Have a great day!!

#602 Seniors!!

2010-02-05T13:44:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Anxiously awaiting the snow's arrival here in PA today. They say it's a sure thing but you know how that goes. I suppose we will get some snow but more than likely not as much as I would like to see.

But looking forward, I wanted to share a video with everyone of my High School Seniors Portfolio. It is definitely time to book for these sessions. So drop me a line or ring me up if you have any questions or would like to schedule a shoot. Also for those of you who do not fit the HS senior demographic (lol) please pass along my information as sessions will begin to fill up soon!!!

Hope you enjoy the video! Have a great snowy day!!

#601 Swan Lake Storm

2010-02-03T13:24:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today's image was shot in the Swan Lake Flats area of Yellowstone National Park this past fall.

I had left the park for a few days but decided to come back and spend a little more time when word of an impending snow storm began to spread.

I lucked out a bit and the park received a fair amount of snow.

As the storms began to clear out I headed to Swan Lake Flats in hopes of seeing wolves but that didn't really pan out. I did get to watch the beautiful landscape of the area begin to wake up from the snow.

This was only a momentary laps in the storm as it turns out and later in the day we received a lot more snow.

Have a great day!

#600 Burn Notice

2010-02-02T02:30:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Back in March of '09 I got a notice that there was going to be a structural burn training held at the York County Fire Training School. I thought it would be fun to go up and catch some shots of the departments involved in the training.

Until recently I forgot that I even went up and shot these images. However I have recently started to organize and relocate some images and while I was doing so I came across the fire from that day.

Since it's been a while since I have shot anything fire department related I thought it would be a good change of pace.

Here are a few of the images that I shot that day. Hope you enjoy.

Have a Great Day!

#599 2009 Year In Review

2010-01-31T16:29:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

I know this post is a bit late but for those of you who follow the blog regularly you know that life has been a bit crazy lately and that the blog has had to take the back burner for a while.

But as the new year moves on that will definitely be changing for the better. I have some big plans for some changes this year!!

This video is a look back at 2009 and many of my most favorite images. I hope you enjoy it!

Have a great day!

#598 Carolyn and Floyd

2010-01-20T18:38:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Here is a little video created from Carolyn and Floyd's Engagement session a few months back. We had a blast shooting these image. We shot in and around Harrisburg, Pennsylvania using the train station and State Capital as back drops. As well we shot at some local parks and Carolyn and Floyd's home.

Hope you enjoy, have a great day!

#597 BB King Blues Club House Band

2010-01-19T14:05:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Another quick post today cause there are more things to do than hours to do them....

These images were shot in Nashville at the DWF party last Sunday night. The band is the BB King Blues Club house band. We were originally scheduled to be there but a 30 inch water main break out front changed that plan.

The event was moved to a different venue but the band came a long which was very cool. They were awesome!

Have a great day!!!

#596 PPA and DWF Nashville

2010-01-18T14:22:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Last week I was in Nashville for the Professional Photographers Association (PPA) convention. It was a great opportunity to learn from some top notch photographers who also have top not business and marketing skills.

I attended a two day seminar on the business side of photography that covered just about everything you need to know to really start your business on a solid foundation and grow it from there.

Ann Monteith and Carol Andrews Jenson were the instructors for that class and really did an excellent job. I some great information from the class as well as a good base line for where I need to go from here.

The third day was a marketing class that was taught by Jeff and Allison Rodgers and Carol Andrews Jenson. They were awesome. They covered just about every avenue of marketing that a photographer could utilize. They had tons of great ideas. Again I got everything I need to build upon for a good marketing plan.

On the 4th day I met up with Bryan Allen and assisted him along with Ted in shooting a stop motion tilt shift video of the Digital Wedding Forum (DWF) convention at the Lowes Hotel in downtown Nashville.

This was both a challenge and a fantastic learning experience. There is nothing like putting yourself in front of some of the best wedding and portrait photographers in the world and shooting in a way you never have before!! But it was tons of fun. We shot for 11 hours before breaking off to do a little personal shooting and partying at the DWF party.

There is a lot to tell about the week and what I learned but that will have to wait. Until then here are a few images from the DWF party.

Have a great day!

#595 Gros Ventre Moose

2010-01-07T11:53:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Greetings from very cold Nashville, TN. It is supposed to be snowing but it hasn't started as of yet. Not to worry though for me as we'll be inside all day.

Today we (Ted Van Der Linden) and I are taking a photo business class. The class is being taught by Ann Monteith and Carol Andrews. It covers the business and financial aspects of running a photography studio. Its a two day class that I have really been looking forward to.

I'll report back on that as it goes on.

In the meantime here is an image I shot of a bull moose in the Gros Ventre area of Grand Teton National Park. This guy was pretty cooperative for about 20 minutes or so.

Have a great day!

#594 Night Sky Over Gardiner Montana

2010-01-06T01:25:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Here is a quick post of an image that I shot this past October just outside of Gardiner Montana. The image was shot around 10pm.

Of course the camera was on a tripod and the exposure was somewhere between 15 and 30 seconds if I remember correctly.

The light on the clouds and mountains comes from two sources. The main source was a nearly full moon. The second was light from buildings along highway 89 north of Gardiner.

I have never had a camera before the D700 that shot high enough quality low light images to even consider doing this type of photography. Next summer and fall this will be something that I play around with when I am back out in Wyoming and Montana where there is a tad less unnatural light to deal with.

Heading to Nashville today for the PPA ImagingUSA conference and the DWF convention. I am really excited about some of the classes that I will be attending.

But I am also very excited to be working with Bryan Allen and Ted Van Der Linden on a photo project while we are there. We are going to be shooting something pretty cool at the DWF and the BB King Blues Club. I am not to sure what I can talk about and what I can't so that's it for now!!!

Have a great day!

#593 Grand Teton Moose

2010-01-04T12:36:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

I hope you all getting back into the swing of things today. We've kicked off a new year and while most of you are heading back to work, last night was my last night tour and I have next tour off so I don't head back to the FD until the 16th of January.

Sorry to rub that in but the mid winter break is not something I have taken before and I am really looking forward to it!!

I will be in Nashville for part of the time attending the ImagingUSA conference as well as the Digital Wedding Forum conference. And I'll be working on a special project with my friends Bryan Allen and Ted Van Der Linden, but more on that later!!

So check back through out the second half of the week and weekend for additional posts related to all of that.

But in the mean time here is a moose image that I shot back in October in Grand Teton National Park. It was taken in the Gros Ventr (grow vaunt) area of the park.

Have a great day!

#592 Happy New Year

2010-01-01T23:56:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

As those of you who stop by the blog often know I have been taking a much needed break from daily postings. But I am back up and running recovering from the busy schedule related to the holidays. So check back often for new posts.

At this time of transition from 2009 to 2010 I as many others take a look back at where we have been and ahead to where we might be going.

2009 was a great year. There was a lot of good things that happened. As well there were a lot of new friends made. Friends I hope to have forever.

I don't like to make resolutions because I don't ever really keep them. Instead I like to set some goals of things I would like to accomplish or things on which to improve. I have stopped setting unrealistic goals that I know I will never reach.

I have decided that I will strive to improve upon where I am at right now. It doesn't really apply to anyone thing but really to everything, being a husband, father, son, friend, firefighter, photographer etc.

My goal is to be able to look back and say ya I'm better at that than I was last year. It seems like a much more reasonable way to go about this.

I selected today's image because it reminds me of thinking of the year to come. There is a long road, you don't really know where it will take you and along that road will be some storms and uncertainty. But if you stick to it it will take you to a beautiful place. And along the way if you take time to stop and look around the whole journey is beautiful.

Thank you to everyone who is a part of my life. You all mean so much to me.

Thank you also to everyone who comes to this blog. Your comments and friendship are what keeps me and this blog going!

I hope that everyone has a great 2010 !!!

#591 Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T04:05:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

I want to take the opportunity to say Merry Christmas to everyone.

I hope your day is wonderful.

We will be sharing our day with our immediate family in the morning and then will be gathering with our extended family later in the day.

Out of all the gifts one could receive on Christmas the best is the moments shared with loved ones throughout the day. I look forward all year to spending Christmas with the family.

I hope that each and every one of you have a perfect holiday.

But let's not forget all of those who will not be at home to share the day with their families. Please take a moment to remember our military, firefighters, EMS and police who are sacrificing their day with their families to ensure yours is safe.

Thank you to all of the men and women who keep us safe everyday, your efforts do not go unnoticed.

Merry Christmas!!

#590 Cree and Kyler Say Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T15:17:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Cree and Kyler wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

This image was taken on Thanksgiving of this year.

#589 Message from Santa

2009-12-21T22:45:00.002-02:00

Here is a special message that Santa sent to Cree today. She was really funny while watching it. It was kinda of like WOW it was Santa and he knew me, but then it was like WHOA that was Santa and HE KNEW ME!!! Holy crap how does he know me....

Priceless!!

CLICK HERE FOR CREE'S MESSAGE FROM SANTA

#588 Moments In Time

2009-12-17T15:50:00.003-02:00

Here are a few more images from the trip this summer to New York City...

Most of them were taken while driving from Lower Manhattan towards Times Square.

As we drove up the road I was shooting out the window catching moments of time on the busy streets of New York.

Have a great day!

#587 Do Trains Float?

2009-12-15T01:32:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Here's something you don't see everyday unless of course you happen to ride the Staten Island Ferry regularly.

While on the ferry we spotted this barge complete with railroad tracks. Thought it was interesting.

Have a great day!

#586 Blue

2009-12-14T12:11:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

This past weekend we traveled to NYC for our annual Christmas trip. We had a great time but saw more people there than ever before.

Shopping to any degree was completely out of the question as some of the stores were so overloaded it bordered on dangerous.

Rockefeller was crowded to the point where you couldn't even get up to see the ice rink. The streets in any direction were blocked off and completely loaded with people.

We did eat at a few cool places. First was a place called Bubby's in Tribecca. It was very good. The second was Ted's Montana Grill which was not far off of Times Square.

I shot some pictures but I'm not sure how they came out at this point as it was a pretty busy weekend. But it inspired me to look back through some images that I shot this summer while we were in NYC.

Today's images is one of those. Have a great day!

#585 Taking The Step...

2009-12-11T12:59:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today's post is somewhat of a follow up to yesterday's. This image is an example of a situation where I would previously never have gotten a shot.

I was in Yellowstone National Park on Mount Washburn watching the Arnica Fire's massive thermal column. While I was at the turn out a man pulled in on a motorcycle. I looked over and was like wow, I have got to take a photograph of this guy.

Had I not gotten over my phobia of taking images of strangers I would never have walked up to this guy. But without hesitation I approached him and struck up a conversation.

In a matter of second I found out that this guy was traveling around the area by himself on his Harley. I also found out that he lived about 45 miles from me back home in Pennsylvania.

On a side note I find it amazing the amount of people that I have met while in the National Parks that live very close to me. Several years back we hiked a trail in Glacier with a couple who back home in York walked by our house every evening but we had never met.

Situations like that have happened over and over. Its funny but if you never "talk to strangers" you would never know. Last year I met a guy who was the flagger at a construction site in Yellowstone. Turns out he'd from Hanover, PA less than 30 miles from my house.

Anyway. This guy had such a unique look and was very nice. We talked for several minutes, I took several photographs and then he was on his way wanting to get to his destination before dark.

I was pretty happy with the image having not planned it and only having a minute to pull it off. The sun had just set so I put the sunset to my back and used the sky as a giant soft box to light him. He never even got off his bike.

A few years ago this would have been someone that I never would have approached. And a great opportunity missed.

Have a great day!

#584 Opening Yourself Up To Creativity

2009-12-10T14:46:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

A little over a year ago I was asked to write a series of articles for a photography website. In the end the series never got off the ground so I have a few articles in the can that I have decided to post here on my blog.

They are pretty basic and mostly just my thoughts on a particular subject.

Today's post starts off the series with an article on where I came from in portrait photography and how I opened myself up (with a lot of help) to creating interesting portraits of people.

I hope you enjoy and would love to see your feedback.

Have a great day!

Opening Up to Creativity…
Brian Bastinelli

Hi everyone. I’d like to take a few moments of your time to talk about portrait photography and some of the things I like to do while shooting this style of images.

In the past I have shot portraits of family and friends when I absolutely had to, but shied away from people I didn’t know altogether.

The thought of approaching a stranger on the street was horrifying and would cause a spontaneous onset of nausea and I would immediately reject the whole situation.

Well thanks to Craig Tanner and Bryan Allen and a host of new friends I have met at workshops, I have been broken of my affliction.

Now I can not wait for the next opportunity to shoot strangers on the street, set up a portrait shoot with a client or even shoot a wedding!

Please don’t get me wrong the feelings of terror and nausea persist. However, I’ve been able to transition those feelings to be more about my performance and if I will pull off a good shoot rather than just approaching someone in the first place.

Hopefully, that will be under control someday even though I think it’s somewhat of a good feeling before a shoot. It kind of keeps the ego in check.

Once you get over those initial feelings, you have to focus your energy on creating a great image. everyone has different opinions on what a great image is so you have to work through your own vision and style and create what you think is a great image.

It’s great to get positive feedback from others on your work but only you have to be happy with what you are creating. Unless of course you are shooting for a client, it’s generally a good thing if they’re happy as well.

In photography there are many rules. Some are technical in nature and some are more aesthetic. People will tell you that you should shoot something this way or don’t ever do that etc, etc. This has never made sense to me. Sure there are some basic guidelines you must have a firm grasp on to create and imaged that’s exposed correctly for the situation etc. But is most photography not a creative endeavor?

So why limit yourself to creating images within a box. Step out and see the unbelievable possibilities around you.

Portrait photography is a perfect forum to take this leap into creativity. Portraits, in my mind, should capture the person’s spirit.

Anyone can create an image of a person. Anyone can be trained to set up lights, sit you on a box and say look over her and say cheese. Snap, snap you’re done, NEXT! I’m sure you’ve had this portrait setting before, so you know.

I’m also confident that your favorite photograph of you is probably a candid shot of you just being you. If it’s more of a set up image then I’d be willing to bet it was created by someone who either subscribes to what I’m talking about or who really knows you.

So how can we create an image that does this? And how do we do it quickly say if we are out on the street?

Well you have to first open yourself up to others. Drop societies preconceptions and stereo types. Allow yourself to let this person into your world and let them share themselves with you.

Take a few moments to get to know them. Sometimes putting a camera in their face right off the bat will shut them down. So engage them first. Let them become comfortable with you, let them see you as a real person not just some crazy person with a camera.

I learned these lessons the hard way. As I said before shooting strangers was a major no-no for me. So as I started to break down the walls holding me back rejection was the last thing I needed. Or was it?

I though that rejection was bad. I’d approach, ask if I could shoot, they’d say no, I’d go home. But without experiencing that emotional loss I could never have adapted what I was doing.

Now, it takes time to get over that, but you learn how to deal with it and in the end you end up learning more about yourself than you can imagine.

So what are some ways that you can engage a person to open them up? First off do not patronize them. This drives me crazy. I have seen photographers just be so gushy that it just turns your stomach. We’re already dealing with nausea here, we don’t need more!

But be nice, find something that interests you about them and bring it up. Say hey I was checking out your cool hat or that’s a great car you got there. Start a conversation.

Most people think that you want something from them, money or your selling something or even that you want them to purchase the image. Paparazzi has given themselves a bad name over the last few years and people are sensitive to people approaching them with cameras, even though they probably aren’t famous and your not paparazzi.

It’s your job to make them feel comfortable with the situation. Once you do that then most people will open up and sometimes even surprise you.

Recently, I was having a bad day at a workshop. I just wasn’t feeling the assignment we had just completed and it didn’t go well. It was to the point that I was asking myself what was I even doing there. Not because of the assignment, but because of how I was dealing with it.

The very next assignment changed everything, and for that matter my life. Had the story I’m about to tell not happened I don’t know if I would have ever broke through the gate holding me back from shooting people and portraits.

I approached an older couple sitting on a bench. I walked right up and asked if I could take a photograph of them. Immediately they declined and pretty forcefully. But after blowing the last assignment I had to make something happen here.

I said ok no problem and just began talking to them. This was something that, although reluctant at first, they were willing to do. So we talked and started to learn about each other.

They asked what I was doing and I asked where they were from, small talk. But as we spoke the conversation became more in depth. We talked about love and marriage, helping those who are in need and many of the problems society faces today.

At least 25 minutes later I was still talking with them. The walls were down and we were truly enjoying each other’s company. I had learned that both were widows and that they had know each other for 50 years. This was their honeymoon as they had recently gotten married.

The time I spent with them was fantastic, I had not taken a single image but had learned so much from them.

As we wrapped up the conversation I asked one more time if I might take their picture, this time they agreed acting as if it would be an insult for me not to ask and them not to agree.

During our conversation about their recent wedding the woman had kissed her new husband. After taking two or three images I asked if she would do it again, she replied, ‘Honey, on any day of your life!’ Bam, there was the shot.

Since that day the experiences that I have had with street and portrait photography have continued to change my life. The creativity and the energy that comes from these shoots is the new fuel that keeps me going as a photographer.

And it’s all because I allowed myself (with a little help from the M.E. gang) to open up and experience what you can get from this type of photography and from people you know or those you’re about to meet.

Once the walls are down and the gates opened you can begin to concentrate on creating beautiful images of people that showcase their spirit and lives.

In the next part of this series I’ll talk about the rules for portraits that I don’t like and little things that you can do to make your images stand out. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

#583 Rest In Peace Brother Still...

2009-12-08T00:40:00.002-02:00

Today's post is tough for me to write as we lost a great man yesterday.

Bobby Still, a man who has brightened my day for the last 14 years, died yesterday afternoon at Osteopathic Hospital outside Harrisburg. He was 88 I believe...

Bobby, or Hook as he was called by many, was an institution in the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire. Not only an institution but more importantly a friend to us all.

He always brought a smile to our faces, and a warmness to our hearts. He was the grandfather of the HFD. Always stopping buy to check on us, share some laughter and for those who wanted some Atomic Fire Ball candy's. And for those who were really special maybe a Milky Way mini...

Bobby would stop by every morning for coffee, to look at the paper and to joke around, argue or tell crazy stories. On the days he didn't, which were few, we knew something must be wrong. On those days he was either under the weather or occasionally out running errands or tending to something important. But normally he was there.

He would come in, with his I've been up to something grin, toss the Atomic Fire Balls across the table at you and then get his coffee.

Normally he was greeted with some sort of banter like, "Oh Christ what the F*@% are you doing here" or "Get the hell out of here" and even an occasional Hey Bobby, what's up.

He would immediately begin to stammer and try and get out some sort of response that usually ended in a good morning or how are you.

But on some days Bobby was ready to give it back. Those were some of the funniest moments of my career. Listening to him go back and forth with whomever decided to take him on. God we would laugh and laugh.

On most occasions these arguments were over his mere presence or better yet his beloved Yankees. And really they could have been about anything really, you never knew.

One thing that you did know was that Bobby cared for the brothers and sisters of the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire as much as anyone in his family, with the exception if his wife whom he missed so deeply since she past away several years ago.

He cared about us as a whole and he cared for us individually. Always taking time to ask how we were or how was the family.

Sometimes he'd watch us roll out when a call came in and as we got ready he'd say, "I'll getchyer doors boys, I'll getchye doors" meaning he'd close the overhead bay doors so we could get out faster. Then he'd watch us roll down the street.

I never had the opportunity to fight fires literally with Bobby but I was always told he was a hell of a fireman. There is not much higher a accolade that can be bestowed upon you in the fire service and I am sure he was worthy.

Several years ago we took the time to acknowledge that fact that we cared about him too. The members of Local 428 of the International Association of Firefighters voted to make Bobby an honorary member of L428. I know this very much surprised him and also made his day. I know he was moved by the gesture and so proud of his membership.

Recently we could see that Bobby was deteriorating. Something that none of us wanted to witness but knew was inevitable. Last weekend we saw Bobby in what we felt would be the last time. Sadly that turned out to be true.

When Bobby would leave he'd say the same basic thing each day... "Be safe boys, good lord wiling, I'll see ya in the morning..."

I'll miss you Bobby, Rest In Peace Brother, Rest in Peace...

#582 The View From Clingmans Dome...

2009-12-02T12:00:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today's were also shot at GSMNP in October. They are taken from the Clingmans Dome area. This is a cool spot to go as it might be the highest point in the park that you can reach easily. You drive most of the way and then walk the last half mile or so.

It is quite a walk though on a paved path pretty much uphill. The elevation gain is pretty good. I don't know what it was but judging by the people in various states of respiratory distress its a couple of hundred feet.

The area offers some great views and even though these were shot a few hours before sunset you can begin to see how this park got its name. I really enjoyed looking at the layers and layers of mountains you can see from this point.

Have a great day!

#581

2009-12-01T12:40:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Last month we spent a few days in the Great Smoky Mountains and though we didn't do the park justice we got to travel around a see a good portion of it. At least to get the lay of the land and get some better intel for future trips.

Even though it was not an intense photo trip I was able to come away with a few images that I really like. Today's is one of those images.

I am not sure exactly what it is about this one that makes me like it but it keeps coming back as one of my favorites. I don't even know what kind of tree this is but I really liked the red berries against the deep blue sky.

#580

2009-11-30T01:58:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Our's was very nice. We got to spend a few days with my family and a few with Tonya's.

Not often do we get to see everyone in the same four day off cycle from my job at the fire department. We got to have some great food, played some games, shot some pictures and just hung out and had a great time.

We got to check out the new kids movie Planet 51. It was pretty cool. The basic story is an "alien", a US Astronaut, invades a society on another planet.

It's a funny concept. The inhabitants of "Planet 51" are by our standards what you would think of as aliens. And they are living in a world based on 1950's USA. Then an alien, our astronaut, lands in their town.

If you have kids, it's worth checking out. Also I am really looking forward to seeing Fantastic Mr. Fox. Another animated movie that looks like it will be great.

Today's image was shot in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I had seen this tree a few times and put it in the back of my mind to shoot in the morning. As luck would have it I was back in this area on a foggy morning and it was perfect for creating a cool image, or at least trying to.

I adjusted the exposure and then adjusted the tone a bit with one of my favorite actions. After that I added and blended 5 texture layers. What you see is the result.

Have a great day!

#579 Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T02:55:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

I hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving. This is one of my favorite holidays for many reasons. One of which is all of the great food. But most importantly we are spending our day with family.

We shouldn't need a special day to reflect on the many people and things that we are thankful for but don't forget to take a moment between eating and watching football to think about everyone and thing that you have to be thankful for.

Today's image is of a turkey in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Because it's home is in the park it shouldn't have to worry about becoming someones main course!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Have a great day!

#578 Capital Fleet

2009-11-25T01:22:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

A few months ago I had the opportunity to photograph the front line apparatus of the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire in front of the Pennsylvania Capital Building.

We shot on a beautiful early fall Sunday. The weather was perfect and we were not interrupted by any calls.

After shooting the entire fleet together I shot each of the apparatus alone in front of the Capital. The whole shoot took just over an hour.

This image was composited from 7 images shot vertically of the apparatus. There are two versions of the image and I'm not sure which I like better, I'd love to hear what you think....

Have a great day!

#577 Cree Week Wrap Up

2009-11-20T11:22:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today wraps up some images that I shot of Cree this week. We had a lot fun fun with this little impromptu photo session.

Today is a short post because i have a TON of photo editing to do and have to get to it!

I hope you have a great day and weekend!

#576 Cutie Pie

2009-11-18T12:09:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Last night we went to the mall to pick up Cree's Christmas dress. We decided to walk around a little bit and show Cree where Santa will sitting.

Well much to our surprise and even more to Cree's Santa was already there. When Tonya said oh look he's here Cree said "HE"S HERE!?!" and got real close to mommy.

It was pretty funny. So we walked up and talked to him for a while. Cree was completely silent while daddy and Santa had a great conversation about Christmas and Disney World and what time if year is best in Florida. Who new that Santa winters in FLA!

So in the end Cree got a coloring book and said she would like to come back. So I guess we'll try a few more times and eventually I think she'll go for a picture with him.

As soon as we walked away, just as Santa predicted, she was back to her normal self laughing at the reindeer and snowmen.

Have a great day!

#575 Cree

2009-11-17T12:00:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

We are enjoying another great fall day here in South Central Pennsylvania today. Beautiful crisp morning giving way to what appears to be another super day. I'll be spending the day raking leaves and working outside. I'm not sure how many of these days we really have left so I will be enjoying as much as possible.

So today's image was shot just before yesterdays were shot. This is one of the images taken from the precarious position I described in yesterday's post.

Cree was very happy she was getting her nails done and let me get a few cute images before the diva in her took over and wanted nothing to do with the camera...lol

Have a great day!

#574 My Angel

2009-11-16T12:25:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

I hope you all had a great weekend. I was a bit under the weather but got to spend a lot of time with my girls so it ended up being a great weekend.

And for you gamers out there I also upgraded to Play Station 3 and got Modern Warfare 2. AWESOME!!!!!!!!

On Saturday afternoon Cree was getting her nails painted by her mom and I wanted to capture a few images. Cree wasn't overly excited about that idea. So actually capturing the images was quite a task which ended with me standing on the bathroom vanity with on leg and the other across the room against the wall shooting almost straight down on the two of them who were sitting on the floor.

Cree though that was just crazy so she loosened up a bit and a few of the images came out ok. During the process though I was able to catch a few other images that were a bit more serious.

These were taken at ground level with me in the bathroom and Cree in the doorway looking in. I just replaced the vanity lights with 4 100 watt incandescent soft white bulbs so the light was very bright and soft. It was camera left and up pretty high. It made for some bright but nice light falling onto Cree's face.

The resulting images were a complete departure from what I had set out to capture. I am not really sure how to characterize her expressions in these shots but they really moved me.

I darkened them up a bit in the background and added a few sight textures to bring out the mood that had developed in these images.

I might add a some more info about how this was all accomplished later but for now I have to end the post as the sun is moving and between now and 10:15 will be shining directly into my eyes as I sit at the computer... So for now its off to rake some leaves....

Have a great day!

#573 Fresh Little Chicken!

2009-11-13T21:37:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Earlier this week our friends Chuck and Abi had a visit from the stork. Camryn Elizabeth was born on Monday the 9th.

She is just super cute!

I had the chance to stop by the hospital on Wednesday and catch a few shots. She has black hair and blue, blue eyes.

And did I mention she is super cute?

Here's a few shots from that day....

Congratulations Abi and Chuck... Oh and by the way Chuck, I can't wait until we are screening boyfriends for her and Cree... Um actually I think I can wait!

#572 Morning On The Cove

2009-11-12T12:15:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Recently I traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the first time. My experience was a bit different than I am used to. Thousands of people, traffic jams and areas that were closed at which you had to wait in long lines until they opened.

One of those areas was Cades Cove. On the morning this image was taken the Cove drive was closed longer than its normal over night hours due to fog. So we waited at the gate for about 45 minutes in a line of well over 100 cars. Not the nature experience I was hoping for here.

That being said there were little pockets of natures beauty there just waiting to be found. If you ventured just off the road often times something beautiful was waiting to be seen.

On this particular day the delay in opening the road allowed for me to pass through the area where this images was shot about an hour later than I would have. In the end It was one of my favorites from the day.

I am currently working on a larger panorama of several images stitched together from this same spot. I hope to have it done soon.

Have a great day!

#571 Will The Real HDR Please Stand Up...

2009-11-11T12:37:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today's images were shot in Great Smoky Mountains National Park a few weeks ago. One of them is an HDR image and the result of combining six different exposures. The other is a single exposure with a good deal of photoshop work to it.

Can you tell the difference? Let me know which one is which.

That being said both of these images had a ton of photoshop work done to them after they were brought to the same spot. Meaning once I did the HDR and got the two images looking roughly the same exposure wise there was a ton of additional work done. That included, local contrast increases, selective color adjustments, adding a glow, curves adjustments, color saturation adjustments and a few others steps that I know I did can cant seem to remember what they were...

Anyway I hope you have a great day!

****UPDATE****

Hi everyone-

So in the comments Nick, Barry and Jan responded to my question and one of them is correct. That would be Barry. He surmised the second image was the true HDR image and he was right.

This image was shot at 6 different exposures and combines in Photomatix and then further processed in photoshop to create the final look. Here are the 6 images used to create the HDR:

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The next image is the sooc image that i worked on in photoshop to give it a n HDR look.

#570 A Slightly Different Twist...

2009-11-10T09:22:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today I thought I would take the same images from yesterday's post and go about processing them in a different way. Same images, totally different look.

The basis for the look is a vertical blur. This is normally done in camera but I have decided to do it via photo shop. Once the image is blurred it becomes an abstract opening to door to just about any type of processing you can come up with.

The first image is pretty much just the blurred shot. The later images are all the same but processed an similar but different ways.

The nice part about this technique is that you really can't go wrong. But some will turn out better than others. I just like to experiment and let the process go where it takes me. The results are never quite the same.

Have a great day!

#569 A Fall Gem Discovered

2009-11-09T11:57:00.005-02:00

Hi everyone-

Here is South Central PA we have been enjoying the taste of a little early fall the last few days. Beautiful blue skies and temperatures in the mid to upper 70's. Very nice for the first week of November.

These conditions are just some more reasons why this is hands down my favorite time of year. Crisp cool mornings followed by pleasant warmer days followed by clear cool evenings. You can smell the smoke from wood stoves in the air and you can wear jeans and a sweatshirt all day and be just fine. Love it.

Another great part of this time of year is the fantastic color that blankets the forests and wooded areas around us. While not like Northern PA we still have a lot to see here.

That being said today's images were taken just a short drive over the Maryland border to a little gem of a park that I have not enough attention too in the past. It is called Catoctin Mountain Park. It is a small National Park and is the home to Camp David.

Obviously I have heard of the camp for years but never really new where it was. We figured it out a few years ago when traveling back and forth to see my sister while she was living in Frostburg, MD. This was not the fastest route to get there from our house but was clearly the most scenic.

Recently I spent some time in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and was a little early for the peak of fall color. But while traveling home I decided to take the route across the park and go home that way. Man was I happy I did.

I didn't have much time as I was trying to make it home in time to join my wife and daughter at a local Halloween parade. But I could not pass up the spectacular display of color and beauty in the park. I spent about 45 minutes photographing everything that I could before having to leave to make it home in time.

I can not wait to go back next year and explore more of this park on foot and without the constraints of time. One thing of note... You should always check the website before going as there are periodic closures of large areas of this small park due to increased security when dignitaries occupy Camp David.

Have a great day!

#568 A Little More Rylie...

2009-11-06T03:14:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

I was able to work up a few more images of Rylie tonight. All of the images were shot yesterday during our shoot on City Island in Harrisburg.

I decided to add a few textures and borders to some of these images. I'd love to hear your feedback on the outcome.

Have a great day!

#567 Rylie

2009-11-05T12:10:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Yesterday I had the pleasure of doing a shoot with Rylie for her 1st birthday. We had a lot of fun shooting on City Island in Harrisburg. The morning started off sunny and warm but by the shooting time came around it got cloudy, breezy and cool. But Rylie was a trooper and we had a great time.

Here's a few preview shots...

Have a great day!

#566 Another Look For Dora

2009-11-04T12:22:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today's post was shot just after we had wrapped up shooting what you saw yesterday. While we were shooting that image Josh Berardi had set up another area to shoot at. So when we were done we quickly went over to that set up and began shooting again.

I don't seem to have an image of the exact set up here But I believe it was shot with just one very large parabolic umbrella as the key light.

There was a backdrop, which was essentially a piece of fabric hung in the back ground. They picked this fabric because it complimented Dora's dress. I included a wider shot to show you how the backdrop was set up.

#565 Dora At The HP Video Studios

2009-11-03T12:31:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

I'd like to start off today's post by saying happy anniversary to my wife Tonya. We have been married for 8 years today. Tonya has truly been my best friend since the day we met. It's because of her and her unbelievable support of everything I take on that I am able to spend so much time creating the images that I post here daily. Thank you so much for your support and love, you mean the world to me! Happy Anniversary!! I love you!

Today's post is a selection of image of Dora who we shot at the HP Video Production studios in Knoxville. Jim Johnson and his crew there were great. We spent a full day shooting at his state of the art facility.

The first set of images is the result of what was probably my most complicated lighting set up of the entire week. We placed Dora in a director's chair and used a total of 5 lights to create ambient light as well as to light Dora. I'll post an image after the series of what the ambient conditions were.

So in the next image you can see kinda of what the area we were shooting in looked like in normal lighting. The area was pretty crowded with equipment. I wanted to have that as a central part of the image but not to dominate it in a busy way so that it took over. I wanted to create a nice environmental portrait of a TV or movie star on the set.

We light Dora with a beauty dish with a sock on it. It was camera right just a touch off center. The remaining four lights were used to light and create shadow in the background. Two of the lights were "hot" lights being used for some video taping. The other two were strobe heads that we placed. Both had honeycomb grids on them to focus the light where we wanted it to go.
There was on hot and one strobe on each side of Dora in the background.

It took us quite a while to get everything positioned correctly and create the look I was going for. That involved moving the lights we were setting up as well as relocating the lights that were used as props in the background to create shadows, control hot spots and create a visually pleasing arrangement in the background.

#564 Body Graffix

2009-10-30T23:23:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

So one of the things I hoped to accomplish in last weeks Location People II workshop was to push the limits of my photography. And the workshop did not disappoint on opportunities to do so. Bryan Allen and his crew delivered each and every day.

On Friday night we shot at two different locations, the Time Warp Tea Room and the Body Graffix Tattoo shop. I'll post some images from the Tea Room in the future.

So going into shooting at the shop I excited about what we might be able to do. When we got there we found we were limited in where we could shoot and in how long we could shoot. Because this was a working shop there were areas that were cleaned that we were not allowed to touch. This created a bit of difficulty in how to shoot in the small tattooing booth.

Also there were a lot of people in the area we were shooting making it tough to move around.

When we first started shooting I was using a 10-20mm lens but quickly found that it was not accomplishing what I had hoped and switched to the only other lens I had available the 50mm 1.4.

This limited me to tighter shots at closer range but I think in the end it really worked out pretty well. In these images are Ryann and Cesar as well as the tattoo artist.

Initially we used a beauty dish as the key light but because of the limitations on where we could use it we abandoned it for the ambient fluorescent light. This too was a good reason to switch to the 50 1.4 as I picked up a few stops of light.

We shot for about 15 min and wrapped up. The last 5 min of the shoot were the most productive after everyone dialed into what they should be doing and shooting. It went fast but was very cool.

Have a great weekend!

#563 Laurie

2009-10-29T01:22:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Some days are just better than others... I'm sure you know what I mean, everything goes well and just comes together when you need it to.

Well Saturday was one of those days for me. We went to a state park outside of Knoxville to shoot with some models. I was lucky enough to be able to shoot with Laurie.

Laurie was so much fun to shoot with not only because of her great personality and friendly nature but because she is the consummate professional. She has been modeling since she was 9 and has worked all over the world. And it showed.

She was patient while we decided what our shoot would be, she was understanding when we explaining our concepts and picking wardrobe and as soon as she heard that first shutter click she went to work. It was so cool to watch her work, she made it seem effortless.

Everything fell into place that day and it was due in no small part to Laurie. I could have shot with her all week!

Have a great day!

In this image the key light was the sun which was behind some cloud cover. We reflected a bit onto her face to brighten it up a touch. We used a beauty dish with a sock on it to brighten up the background and accentuate the texture of the building.

This image was shot using natural light only. The best part was standing on top of a fence post with one foot and having Ted Van Der Linden holding me up with the other. I'm sure it was a funny sight to see. I know we spent a good portion of time laughing about me almost falling off a few times.

This image was shot right at the end of the shooting day. A reflector was used to focus the waning light onto Laurie's face. and i pushed the ISO up a bit to bring in some background detail. That's happens to be a very cool grist mill.

As we walked back from the water fall we shot some images along the road. I liked this one because of the way the sun was back lighting her hair. This was light with natural light and no reflectors.

#562 The Inevitable Has Arrived...

2009-10-28T00:51:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Well the day I have been kinda not looking forward to has arrived. Today I go back to work at the FD. I have been off since the middle of September and it has been GREAT! But all good things come to an end I suppose...

So I thought this series of images would go along good with today, it's kind of how I feel. :0)

These images are of Alec Johnson, a fantastic photographer and all around amazing person. I am so glad that I finally got to meet him, learn from him, shoot with him and just hang out. I had a great time.

I'm sure he is going to be thrilled with these images (lol) but I thought the series was pretty cool. They were shot against a white backdrop and were lit with a ring flash and a big octabox.

The ring flash was the key light and was directly facing Alec at the same height as his head. The octabox was slightly camera left and higher than Alec with a downward angle to help fill in any shadow that was created by the ring light.

Then of course a few texture layers were added to add to the interesting vibe of these images.

Have a great day!

#561 Back from Knox Vegas....

2009-10-27T13:54:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Last night I arrived back from Knoxville or Knox Vegas as they like to call it. The trip was amazing! started out in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with my family and then traveled to Knoxville to attend the Bryan Allen Location People II workshop.

It was fantastic. Hands down THE best workshop experience I have ever had. Bryan worked his tail off to make sure that we not only had everything we needed, but got the most out of the week possible. As well you couldn't help but be effected by his kind nature and giving spirit.

If you ever get the opportunity to attend one of Bryan's workshops you have to do it. They are fantastic! More about them in coming posts.

Today's image was shot on our first night while we were doing some single light studio work. The image is of Vincent a fantastic model and super nice guy.

I am trying to figure out how to present the images from the work shop over the next few days but check back as there will definitely be lots more to come!

Have a great day!

Oh, here's a diagram of how the lighting was set up....

#560 Carolyn and Floyd's Big Day Is Here....

2009-10-16T10:16:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Well the big day has arrived for Carolyn and Floyd. Today I will be shooting their wedding and reception. I am really excited to shoot with them because not only are they friends but because they have such cool attitude towards the photography and have chosen such a cool venue for their reception.

We'll be shooting at the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum in Hershey, PA. This is a really cool location for a shoot and I can't wait!

So today's image was shot at the train station in Harrisburg, PA. Another very cool spot to shoot at. In this image Floyd is working his mojo on Carolyn. It was lit with a single beauty dish and ambient light. Post processing involved cleaning up unneeded details and local contrast boosting as well as a slight color bump.

Have a great day!

#559 Are You Kidding Me?

2009-10-15T12:09:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Well its raining here and my sister said they might get up to 5 inches of snow in some areas of PA today! Crazy.

Today's image was shot during Carolyn and Floyd's engagement session. For part of the day they dressed up in period attire and shot at locations that fit into the period.

This image was shot in front of the PA Capital building. Floyd came up with the idea to simulate a broken down car while on a date. I think Carolyn's expression says it all!

The image was lit with one beauty dish and ambient light.

Don't forget to check out all of the cool SKYWATCH action by clicking the link: SKYWATCH BOG
Have a great day!

#558 Two "Jet" Birds In Love...

2009-10-14T10:53:00.002-02:00

HI everyone-

Well Carolyn and Floyd's big day is only a few days away. I spoke with them yesterday and everything is running smoothly and everyone is excited for Friday to arrive.

Today's images from their engagement shoot were taken in and around Carolyn's '64 Ford Thunderbird "Jet Bird". It's a very cool car that I will feature on this blog sometime in the future.

Have a great day!

#557 Home Sweet Home...

2009-10-13T00:44:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

We'll i have finally returned home.It was a LONG 30 hour drive over 2 days but I am glad I did it and got home ahead of schedule! I was very excited to see my girls and I think they were excited to see me too...lol

I slept in with Cree yesterday and then spent the rest of the day just hanging out with her and Tonya. It was a great day.

Now starts the unpacking and photo editing. Good thing I am still off from work so I have a lot of time to start catching up.

While I was in Yellowstone I shot a lot of images of the Arnica Fire. On my first night in the park I decided to try something that I had not done before. So I set up the camera and shot a time laps sequence of the fire from the Alum Creek area of Hayden Valley.

I shot 100 images 1 second apart. The video below is a 16 second clip made up of those 100 images. This is something I think I want to play around with a bit more.

Today's images were also both shot in the Hayden Valley. I noticed that both times snow and cold temperatures were predicted the buffalo came from everywhere and gathered on the valley floor.

Since I don't think they were given a forecast I think there is something that they can sense that we can't. I'm not a biologist so I can't explain it or back it up with anything other than my observations.

With the cold temperatures that descended on the park last week slow moving and standing water began to freeze. In the first image two buffalo make their way across the frozen marshy water. Not only did they have to deal with the freezing water but the very muddy ground beneath it. Many of the buffalo struggled to get through.

As I was shooting the buffalo images the sun began to set and the wind was picking up and blowing pretty good. Out of the corner of my I I noticed several buffalo coming over a hill to my right. It was a perfect spot to shoot them. The light was right, the wind was blowing and they stopped to pose like we had worked it all out ahead of time.

After posing for a second they seemed to get a bit too interested in me and starting heading my way, in a bit of a hurry. That necessitated a hasty retreat behind the truck and then around the truck as they passed by and crossed the road.

Have a great day!

#556 Gros Ventre Moose

2009-10-09T04:48:00.000-02:00

Hi everyone-

I'm on the road again today. This morning I'll be shooting in Badlands National Park, then its off to the Wounded Knee site and down into Nebraska. I hope to stay in the Omaha area tonight.

Today's image was shot along the Gros Ventre River in Grand Teton National Park. This is a fairly reliable location for moose from year to year. But this year was a bit better than most. There were about 6 cow's and the bull in this image. I am not sure if it was the same bull as in previous years. This year he seemed a bit larger and had a much nicer rack then I remember in previous years.

Have a great day!

#555 Grand Teton Morning

2009-10-08T04:19:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today I am on the road...again. I left Choteau, MT this morning and began the journey home to PA. Originally I was going to head down to Colorado and spend a few days there. However a variety of factors have changed that plan up a bit.

Today I am heading to the Rapid City area. On Friday I am going to head to the Badlands National Park to shoot sunrise and then head to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and the Wounded Knee Massacre sight. After that I will continue down through Nebraska where there are a few locations that I am interested in stopping and shooting. More on that later.

Today's image was shot in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. I really liked the clouds on the morning this image was shot. Clouds have been something that normally are either completely absent or almost to the ground when I am there. So to have a day with cool clouds in the sky was a big thing for me.

Have a great day!

#554 Yellowstone Catch-Up...

2009-10-07T04:02:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

So If you have been checking in I am sure your pretty surprised that there is a new post today. Well, I have actually had a bit of time along with a reliable internet connection so I thought I better get some new images up.

I have arrived in Choteau, Montana and am spending a few days here visiting with my mom and family. It's been a bit nicer here weather wise than it was in Yellowstone but I think thats about to change. Sounds like very cold temps and snow will be arriving shortly.

So onto the images....

The first two are f the Arnica Fire in Yellowstone National Park. During my first week in the park this fore was the dominate park feature. It was putting off a huge amount of smoke, closing roads and generally screwing up travel and sleeping arrangements. As well the wild life viewing wasn't that great because it was warm and most of the animals hadn't gotten the memo that it was fall.

So I shot a lot of images of the fire. The first one was shot at night from the West Thumb area. This was the last time I was able to travel the road before it was closed for the rest of the week. This image shows the width of the fire in this area.

The next image was shot at the Fishing Bridge junction. I thought it was interesting/funny because of the message on the sign.

I have a ton of images of the fire, some of which I will post here late and also in a gallery that I will post a link to here.

So I also shot some other subjects in the park between figuring out how to get around detours and smoke. Because the road was closed between Norris and Madison I stayed on the east side of the park for the most part. One of the places I spent a lot of time was on Mount Washburn. There was a lot of Elk activity in the high mountain meadows. The bull in the image below was on the move and lookin' for love on the this morning.

Another area that I spent a lot of time was Canyon. Many hours were spent walking and waiting in the meadows in this area looking for the Great Gray Owls. Well it paid off as I was able to photograph one of three that I saw. I also recorded some of the calls the owl was making. I will post that audio later once I get home and figure out the best way to do that. The other two owls I saw within second of each other. One flew away and the other gave us every opportunity to shoot it but a comedy of errors commenced once the ranger asked us to move our vehicles 3 more inches off the road. Till the logs were run over, the tripods hit, the vehicles moved and cameras found the bird said these guys are idiots I'm out of here and off he flew into the night.

This owl was shot within minutes of the first and only time I saw him at this particular location. He was very skittish and kept his distance. I think it had a lot to do with the large amount of photographers looking through the woods over the previous few days.

Have a great day!

#553 Destructive Beauty

2009-10-02T03:02:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Greetings from Jackson, WY and Grad Teton National Park! I would like to apologize for the lack of content lately, I have had little or no access to the internet over the last few days.

One of the major reasons for that was a perfect storm of events and conditions which left me confined to a small portion of Yellowstone. I could have gotten to my other destinations but it would have involved hundreds of miles of driving.

Today's images highlight one of the major reasons I was unable to travel through the park. The Arnica fire created a bit of havoc in the park. Started by lightning back on September 13th and really coming to life on the 23rd this fire grew quite large and effected many park services and roads.

This prevented me from leaving the park on my scheduled day and heading into Jackson Hole WY. I will talk more about this fire in future posts.

These images were shot in the evening of the day when the fire really blew up. It was the start to very smokey and very dramatic conditions. More on this fire later...

Don't forget to check out the Skywatch Blog and see great skies from around the world.

Have a great day!

#552 A Hot Time In The City....

2009-09-18T11:42:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today's image is one more from the e-shoot with Carolyn and Floyd this past week. I wanted to try something a little different so this image was a long exposure coupled with a little light painting.

But it didn't end there I also shot a few other long exposure images of the scene and incorporated those into the final image to "fix" some problem areas.

Have a great day and a great weekend!

Here's one more...

This was shot on our way into the city for an evening of shooting. We're crossing the State Street Bridge with the Pennsylvania Capitol Building in the background...

#551 Jumping For Joy

2009-09-17T16:26:00.001-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today's post was shot on Tuesday during Carolyn and Floyd's e-shoot. We had a great time and shot at a bunch of different locations. There will be a ton of images to come from this shoot so stay tuned! Don't forget to check out the SKYWATCH BLOG and see great skies from around the world.

In the comments from the post yesterday Larry asked me to talk a little about how the image was created. So here is a bit of information on how it was created.

First off here is the SOOC image:

This is a diagram of the basic set up:

So here is the story- Over the past three years Floyd purchased and restored this vehicle. So while we were shooting he asked if I would shoot some images of him and the car. We were at the Harrisburg Train and Bus Station which is a fantastic location to shoot.

The car was parked outside of the main entrance of the building. As you can see in the images there are a lot of lights that hang under the canopy. I wanted the light that I was going to use to look natural like it might be coming from one of those lights.

To do that I used a beauty dish with a diffuser on it to soften it up a bit. I had my assistant Kayla hold it up as high as she could so it would kinda of shine down on the car. She was at about a 45 degree angle from the passenger side front corner of the car.

That was it. We took several shots and adjusted the location and intensity of the light.

Once I got the image back and on the computer I went to work created the look I wanted. It had to have a vintagey feel to it so I altered the color a bit by desaturating and warming it up slightly.

Once that was done I removed some of the background objects that I didn't like. The rest of the work was local contrast adjustments to bring out the details.

It ended up being a pretty simple image to pull off and finish.

Here is the final image (which is different than yesterday's image.)

Have a great day!

#550 Waiting...

2009-09-16T09:23:00.001-02:00

Hi everyone-

Quick post today. This was shot at the train station in Harrisburg, PA last night.

A little more on what this was about later!

Have a great day!

#549 The Fair's In Town...

2009-09-15T10:45:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Last night we spent the evening at the Great York Interstate Fair. We had a good time. We saw some live music, had a steak sandwich from the York Firefighters, checked out some animals, and road some rides.

Cree was especially excited. She had driven past the fair a few times with Tonya and was really ready to get there. Her hands down favorite was this "ride" where you get in a harness and your attached to rubber bands and you can jump and bounce and flip. She LOVED it. Although she wouldn't flip, she said she was too little for that yet.

I think the highlight for Tonya was when Cree and I were looking at the dairy cows and we were petting one on the nose and she sneezed all over me. Good times.

Have a Great Day!

#548- Itching To Go!

2009-09-14T11:15:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Well with the front end of my trip's details all worked out I am super excited to get out to Wyoming and Montana and maybe Colorado to shoot the fall color and animal activity.

We had a taste of crisp fall mornings a few days ago and I have been ready ever since.

This image was shot in Grand Teton National Park near Oxbow Bend. There are some Aspens in the area that are just brilliant yellows and oranges.

Hope you have a great day!

#547 - NEVER FORGET

2009-09-10T00:51:00.005-02:00

Well it's been 8 years since the fabric of this nations security blanket was torn. 8 years since thousand of people died horrible deaths at the hands of cowardly bastards.

8 years since our nation came together to rise from the ashes of a great disaster showing the world why we are the greatest county in the world. United we stood, brought together by great adversity and heartbreak. But we did it we propped each other up got through it and got back to business being the UNITED SATES OF AMERICA.

But now its 8 years later and the memories have started to fade for most people. There are children old enough to be learning about September 11th in school that were not alive on that day. The patriotism has faded, the flags have disappeared. And as a country we're being lulled back to sleep by time, complacency and the natural urge to put out of our mind those things that scare us or upset us the most.

Well there are thousands and thousands of people who will never forget that day. No matter how hard they try. Nothing will put the events of that day out of their minds because they either experienced it, or lost someone close to them on that day or dealt with the aftermath for months.

They cant forget no matter how hard they try. For them time and distance from those events can only offer slight comfort as the sting all to slowly wears away.

But we can not let go of the events of that day. It is that complacency, the false sense of security, the carefree lifestyles that we live that made these attacks so shocking, outrageous, and bite so hard. We never saw it coming.

America has done a lot to change the way we look at the world, change the way we protect ourselves and to hopefully prevent something from happening again.

Strong defense, STRONGER intelligence and a more proactive stance has helped to keep us safe. But to truly be safe, we can not forget. We can not be lulled back to sleep under the blanket of security that we think is there. Be vigilant, support those who want to protect our country in common sense ways and most of all NEVER FORGET WHAT THEY DID TO US, NEVER FORGET HOW YOU FELT THAT MORNING WHEN YOU WATCHED IT UNFOLD IN FRONT OF YOU.

DON'T LET THOSE LIVES LOST THAT DAY OR IN THE DAYS SINCE BE IN VAIN. Please take some time to watch these videos.

For those who we lost due to these events, Rest In Peace...I will not forget you.

#546 REST IN PEACE BROTHERS...

2009-09-09T23:30:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Tomorrow marks the anniversary of September 11, 2001. A day that we must never forget. We must NEVER forget what what was done to us on that day. And we must NEVER forget the men and women who died trying to make a difference on that day.

On Friday I will take a look back at the events of the day but today I wanted to simply dedicate this post to the 343 FDNY firefighters who valiantly and selflessly made every attempt they could to rescue the innocent civilians who had been attacked.

Rest in peace brothers, you will not be forgotten...

#545- The Capital March

2009-09-09T11:56:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Here area few more images from the march on the PA Capital we did yesterday to help defeat HB-1828 and save our pension plans.

The pressure that is being put on the Representatives is working. They cancelled yesterdays session, likely to avoid being at the Capital at the same time as us. Also our leaders are actively meeting with Representatives and staff many of who they were never previously able to get meetings with.

I was in contact with Rep. Eugene DePasquale from the 95th district (where I live) and he assured me that he is voting NO and will do what it takes to defeat the bill. He said "Please know that I will vote against House Bill 1828 in its current form. Trying to help Philadelphia should not be an excuse to attack the pensions of our police and fire fighters."

The vote was delayed due to the canceling of the session yesterday so please continue to contact your Representatives and urge them to VOTE NO on HB-1828.

You can find your representative by looking here:----> Pennsylvania General Assembly

Have a great day!

Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Association President Art Martynuska speaking on the steps of the Capital.

Pittsburgh Firefighters Local 1 president Joseph King speaking to firefighters on the Capital steps.

And oh ya, Pennsylvania STILL doesn't have a budget passed. The only State in the country to still not have a budget.

#544 VOTE NO on HB 1828

2009-09-08T15:50:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Just got back from the PA Capital and the Rally to defeat House Bill 1828. The rally was very well attended and seems to be making a difference.

Our efforts are not going unnoticed. Today's House session was mysteriously cancelled!! Representatives with all of those effected are meeting as I type this with Representatives and their staffs to defeat this bill.

PLEASE contact your representative and urge them to vote NO on HB 1828.

I will post more later as well as additional images from the rally. Here are a few to start.

Have a great day!

#543 Happy Labor Day - WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!

2009-09-07T10:52:00.006-02:00

Hi everyone-

Happy Labor Day! I am doing something a little different today and getting a bit political. I thought it would be appropriate given the day and the timing of the events that I am going to talk about...

On a day that is to celebrate the American workforce and their contributions to our society I would like to tell you about how some of those workers are going to lose pension benefits in a big way if PA House Bill 1828 is not defeated...

Please take a moment to read these excerpts from press releases and letters to Representatives. If you are in Pennsylvania please consider helping us by contacting your Representative ASAP!!

You can click on this link to find your Representative:----> FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IN PA

Here is some information on HB 1828:

HOUSE BILL 1828 AS PASSED BY THE SENATE:
AN ATTACK ON MUNICIPALITIES, THEIR EMPLOYEES AND TAXPAYERS

On Wednesday, August 26 -- after less than 2 hours of consideration -- the Pennsylvania
Senate passed an amendment to House Bill 1828. This Senate legislation, if approved by
the House and signed by the Governor, will hurt municipalities, their employees and
taxpayers across the Commonwealth – all under the guise of “pension reform.”

Here is what the so-called reforms really mean:

• A State Takeover of Many Pension Plans That Will Hurt – Not Save --
Municipalities, Employees and Taxpayers.

Section 13 of the Bill, starting at page 54, calls for the automatic and permanent
transfer of municipal pension plan systems that are under 50% funded to the
Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System (“PMRS”). PMRS will have total
control over these plans – and can send an extra bill each year to the municipality
(and thus its taxpayers) if there is a funding shortfall, even if such a shortfall is
caused by PMRS’ mis-management (see page 55).

PMRS also will set up new, significantly lower benefit plans for new hires.
These plans will include lower defined benefit plans with huge offsets for things
like Social Security benefits, and/or defined contribution plans that place an
employee’s retirement security in the hands of the ever-so-reliable stock and bond
markets (see pages 55-61).

• An End to Collective Bargaining Over Pensions.

There is a widespread mis-conception that pension under-funding is the result of
benefit improvements won in collective bargaining. Nothing could be further
from the truth.

Most municipal employees receive pension benefits based on formulas set by the
General Assembly -- such as in Act 600 for police, and in the Third Class City
Code for uniformed and non-uniformed employees alike. And people also forget
that all public employees contribute a substantial amount of their own pay to fund
their pensions.

Public employees, then, are not to blame for pension under-funding. Rather, it is
certain municipalities that for many years did not contribute adequately to their
plans, and 2 stock market crashes since 2000, that have brought us the current
crisis.

Collective bargaining on pensions has helped municipalities and their employee
representatives develop local solutions and fair contracts within the applicable
statutory structures. But if there is a PMRS takeover, there will be absolutely no collective bargaining over pensions now or in the future, even if a plan’s funding
situation improves (see pages 54, 55-56). Similarly, plans that are less than 70%
funded can never be improved until they reach 90% funding (see page 39). And
the Senate bill requires the City of Philadelphia to freeze pension benefits for
current employees and impose a third tier of lower benefits on new hires, or it
loses the right to increase its sales tax and defer pension contributions to meet its
budget preferences (see pages 73, 76, 82).

This is simply not pension reform – it is rewriting labor law to hurt employees
and their chosen representatives. New police officers will not face 80% of the
bullets of their more senior brothers and sisters. New fire fighters will not face a
lower percentage risk of a roof falling in on them when attacking a fire. New
municipal employees will not face a fraction of the case-load, or sanitation and
water calls. If anything, we will ask them to do even more. Yet under this bill,
their contribution to the same critical work that makes the Commonwealth run
suddenly and forever is worth less.

• A Rejection of the Right Solution – Increase Funding for Pensions That Will Not
Hurt Municipalities, Employees and Taxpayers. Each year, modest taxes on the
premiums of fire and casualty insurance policies written by out-of-state insurance
companies seeking to take advantage of our state’s insurance laws generate tens
of millions of dollars in state aid for municipal pensions. It is real money that
helps municipalities meet their pension obligations. Yet at no time during HB
1828’s rush through the Senate was there any discussion about increasing this tax
to help municipalities fund their plans.

Are foreign fire and casualty insurers more valuable than our own municipalities,
their employees and Pennsylvania taxpayers?

HB 1828, as amended by the Senate, is not pension reform to save Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh, and other municipalities across the Commonwealth.

It is instead a power-grab by PMRS, with the downside exposure borne just by the
affected municipalities and their taxpayers.

It is instead the effective elimination of 40 years of collective bargaining rights for public
employees.

It is instead an outrageous effort to “solve” pension under-funding that public employees
did not cause, but that they single-handedly will pay for in frozen or slashed benefits.

And it is also so very unnecessary to put municipalities, their employees and taxpayers at
risk when the Commonwealth instead could update a tax on out-of-state companies
writing insurance here.

HB 1828, as amended by the Senate, must not pass.

Here are some excerpts from press releases and letters to help you understand our fight. Thank you for taking the time to read them and for helping out your police and firefighters. We will be rallying at the Capitol in Harrisburg starting at 0930 on Tuesday please come out and support us if you can!

PA FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE PRESS RELEASE:

FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE – PENNSYLVANIA STATE LODGE
2949 N. Front St.
Harrisburg, PA 17110

PENNSYLVANIA PROFESSIONAL FIRE FIGHTERS ASSOCIATION
2048 Derry St.
Harrisburg, PA 17104

PRESS RELEASE

FOP, PPFFA: HB 1828 THREATENS FINANCIAL FUTURE OF
PA POLICE OFFICERS, FIREFIGHTERS
So-called “pension reform” being rammed through legislature
as unrelated amendment to Philadelphia sales tax bailout
State FOP president says removing local control of police pensions
nothing more than power grab

HARRISBURG (Sept. 8, 2009) – What does a Philadelphia sales tax bailout have to do with the pension plans of Pennsylvania police officers and firefighters in more than 55 municipalities? Nothing – and that’s just one of the reasons why Fraternal Order of Police, Pennsylvania State Lodge (state FOP) and Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Association (PPFA) today called on the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives to reject House Bill 1828. The state FOP, PPFA, and their members were joined today by several legislators for a press conference in the main capitol rotunda.
“Under the guise of pension reform, House Bill 1828 seeks to strip away local control of police pension plans – control that officers have spent decades fighting for fairly and winning through binding arbitration,” said state FOP Les Neri. “True pension reform is complicated and should be thoroughly and properly vetted through exhaustive public hearings that will allow the sharing of information and ideas. Ramming this through as a last-second amendment to a sales tax bailout bill is eerily reminiscent of recent past behavior by the legislature that has earned the ire of the public and voters.”
“Firefighters risk their lives everyday to keep their communities safe,” said PPFFA Art Martynuska. “They don’t do it to get rich. They do it because they love what they do. It’s unconscionable that a bill designed to bailout Philadelphia could devastate the financial futures of these brave firefighters – and their dedicated families.”
House Bill 1828 – a bill originally designed to increase the sales tax in Philadelphia by 1 percent – will put the financial future of thousands of small town police officers as well as officers in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in jeopardy. Neri and Martynuska, joined in the Capitol Rotunda by Pennsylvania police officers and firefighters, called on the legislature to do the right thing by separating these issues and restoring common sense to the process.
If passed, HB 1828 would give control of local police and fire pensions to the Pennsylvania Municipality Retirement System (PMRS), essentially stripping away rights of police, firefighters and their families. Instead of “solving” pension under-funding that public employees did not cause, this move would result in frozen or slashed benefits for officers who risk their lives to protect Pennsylvania citizens.

# # #
About the FOP
The Fraternal Order of Police was founded in Pittsburgh in 1915 by two city patrol officers, beginning the tradition of police officers representing police officers. Today the Pennsylvania Lodge has 41,000 active and retired members, and the Lodge is engaged in a broad range of activities. Charitable activities include Easter Seals and the Law Enforcement Torch Run for the Special Olympics. Visit www.pafop.org.

About the PPFFA

Then Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association was organized in 1930. There are over 10,000 active and retired emergency responders represented by the PPFFA. The PPFFA is the state affiliate of the International Association of Fire Fighters which has over 293,000 members in the United States and Canada. The PPFFA and the IAFF have advocated for fire fighter on the local, state and federal level. Visit www.ppffa.org"

HERE IS AN EXCERPT FROM A LETTER FROM THE COATSVILLE PA FIREFIGHTERS LOCAL TO THEIR REPRESENTATIVE:

"I'm contacting you today regarding HB 1828, and am asking for your support in a NO vote on concurrence of HB 1828. Your professional firefighters throughout the Commonwealth and in your district, do not want anyone gambling with our pensions! It's bad enough that we have to live with the inherent risks of the job, not to mention the things that no one would want - like job-related cancer, debilitating injuries or even death. Our pension(s), which mostly secure barely enough to survive after we retire, is one of the only things we can rely on to secure any type of future for us and our families.

There is a widespread mis-conception that pension under-funding is the result of benefit improvements won in collective bargaining. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Most municipal employees receive pension benefits based on formulas set by the General Assembly -- such as in Act 600 for police, and in the Third Class City Code for uniformed and non-uniformed employees alike. And people also forget that all public employees contribute a substantial amount of their own pay to fund their pensions.

Public employees, then, are not to blame for pension under-funding. Rather, it is certain municipalities that for many years did not contribute adequately to their plans, and 2 stock market crashes since 2000, that have brought us the current crisis.

Collective bargaining on pensions has helped municipalities and their employee representatives develop local solutions and fair contracts within the applicable statutory structures. But if there is a PMRS takeover, there will be absolutely no collective bargaining over pensions now or in the future, even if a plan’s funding situation improves (see pages 54, 55-56). Similarly, plans that are less than 70% funded can never be improved until they reach 90% funding (see page 39). And the Senate bill requires the City of Philadelphia to freeze pension benefits for current employees and impose a third tier of lower benefits on new hires, or it loses the right to increase its sales tax and defer pension contributions to meet its budget preferences (see pages 73, 76, 82).
This is simply not pension reform – it is rewriting labor law to hurt employees and their chosen representatives. New police officers will not face 80% of the bullets of their more senior brothers and sisters. New fire fighters will not face a lower percentage risk of a roof falling in on them when attacking a fire. New municipal employees will not face a fraction of the case-load, or sanitation and water calls. If anything, we will ask them to do even more. Yet under this bill, their contribution to the same critical work that makes the Commonwealth run suddenly and forever is worth less.

Increase Funding for Pensions That Will Not Hurt Municipalities, Employees and Taxpayers.
Each year, modest taxes on the premiums of fire and casualty insurance policies written by out-of-state insurance companies seeking to take advantage of our state’s insurance laws generate tens of millions of dollars in state aid for municipal pensions. It is real money that helps municipalities meet their pension obligations. Yet at no time during HB 1828’s rush through the Senate was there any discussion about increasing this tax to help municipalities fund their plans.
Are foreign fire and casualty insurers more valuable than our own municipalities, their employees and Pennsylvania taxpayers?
HB 1828, as amended by the Senate, is not pension reform to save Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and other municipalities across the Commonwealth.
It is instead a power-grab by PMRS, with the downside exposure borne just by the affected municipalities and their taxpayers.
It is instead the effective elimination of 40 years of collective bargaining rights for public employees.
It is instead an outrageous effort to "solve" pension under-funding that public employees did not cause, but that they single-handedly will pay for in frozen or slashed benefits.
And it is also so very unnecessary to put municipalities, their employees and taxpayers at risk when the Commonwealth instead could update a tax on out-of-state companies writing insurance here.

It is our hope that HB 1828, as amended by the Senate, does must not pass. Please allow local control to remain and continue to allow your firefighters, police officers and municipal workers in our communities the right to control our futures!

Thank you for your consideration on this matter!"

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THESE LETTERS. PLEASE CELEBRATE THIS LABOR DAY BY TAKING SOME TIME TO CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND URGING HIM OR HER TO DEFEATING HOUSE BILL 1828 AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE!

Have a great day!

#542- Fall is on it's way!

2009-09-04T12:37:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

We'll fall is almost here. I got a taste of a little crispness in the air this past week and I can not wait for it to arrive. I am certain it's coming after this last week when of course I got a sinus infection. Thats one of the best ways to tell a change is on it's way! (not that I like having them)

So I have been looking back through some old images while my mind wonders to past trips to Yellowstone, the Teton's and Montana t what I think is the nest time if the year.

Today's image is from Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park. I hope you enjoy it!

Take a chance to check out all the other Skywatch posts from yesterday and today by clicking here ---->SKYWATCH FRIDAY

Have a great day!

#541 2009 IAFF Media Awards

2009-09-02T19:51:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

I just received word that one of my images (shown below) has won first place in the 2009 International Association of Firefighters Media Awards.

The image is of Lt. Doug Bair of Harrisburg Fire's Squad 8. In the image he is working on overhauling a building, checking for additional hidden fire, during a multi alarm arson fire on Derry Street on September 1st of 2008.

The image is included in the awards article in this month's International Fire Fighter, the union's member publication and will be a part of the 2010 IAFF Burn Foundation Calendar.

You can purchase a calendar and support the burn foundation by following this link:---> IAFF BURN FOUNDATION

You can learn more about the foundation by going to their website here:----> IAFF BURN FOUNDATION WEBSITE

or by watching the video's here:-----> BURN FOUNDATION VIDEOS

#540- It's Moose Mon...uh Tuesday!

2009-09-01T13:14:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Over the week end I had several people who stopped by my booth ask if I had any moose images. So I thought I would post a few today.

These were shot a few years ago in Grand Teton National Park at the beaver ponds along the Moose-Wilson Road. This is a pretty sure bet location for moose in late September and early October.

Hope you enjoy them!

Also please keep my friend and great photographer and all around super guy, Wes in your thoughts and prayers today. He'll be undergoing some major surgeries today and I wish him well!

Have a great day!

#539 Yorkfest 2009

2009-08-31T12:44:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was busy but a lot of fun. I had a booth at the Yorkfest Arts Festival in York, PA this weekend.

The weekend didn't start off to great as there were torrential downpours on Friday night (set up day) and a misty, gray and humid start to Saturday.

But Sunday was absolutely beautiful. THe weather was perfect and the crowd was much larger than in past years.

So I wanted to share a few shots from my booth. You can't really see it to well but you get the idea. At the end is a short video of the booth as well.

I also would like to take a moment to thank everyone who came out to the show to say or purchase something from me. I met a lot of great people as well as reconnected to a few people I have met in previous years. That is one of the most fun parts of doing this show!

Have a great day!

#538- It's Yorkfest Arts Festival Time!!

2009-08-28T12:37:00.003-02:00

HI everyone-

Hope you had a great week! Starting tomorrow at 10AM the Yorkfest Arts Festival gets underway along the York County Heritage Rail Trail in downtown York. I'd like to invite you all to attend!

It's rain or shine and it looks like we have the chance to get a little wet tomorrow. But not to worry there are a ton of great artists as well as food and entertainment.

This year I am located at KING STREET and the Rail Trail. This is a bit further down the trail from last years spot. I am on the creek side. Just look for the huge battling elk photograph and you'll find me!

Hope to see you there! If I don't have a great weekend!

Today's image was shot this past week and I love it. We had a slot of fun shooting these images and this was one of my favorites because it captured a great moment where we went from fun to shear terror and back to fun in less than 30 seconds. It also sums up how I feel while I rush around getting all the last minute details taken care of for the show this weekend.

Have a great day!

#537 Wow, Is This Really York?

2009-08-27T08:25:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Here is a great sunset that happened after a line of storms moved through our area last week.

I was at home with Cree and Tonya had just gotten back from a meeting. We were having dinner when I noticed that the house across the street was glowing a brilliant orange color.

I quickly realized one of two things was happening, either our house was on fire, which I knew it wasn't or there was a spectacular sunset brewing. I went to the deck out back and found that the whole sky was glowing orange. So as I passed through the house I said I've got to go shoot this and off I went.

I wasn't sure where I would go as we are in a pretty built up area. But one spot came to mind that I might be able to get up high enough to shoot over the city.

The light was continually changing so I shot this first image while I was on my way just to show what it looked like in case it changed before I could get to my destination.

I got out to this new development not far from us and was able to get just high enough to shoot above the city. The sky was spectacular in any direction you looked. I was really excited because this is not the type of sunset we get around here very often. So I began shooting and continued as the light continued to change. The next two images are stitched panoramas that were either 5 vertical shots or three horizontal depending on the image.

The last image was shot at a pond with a large fountain in it. I was on my way out and thought it might make a nice shot only to realize that in my rush I had forgotten my tripod so this is about as good as it could get.

I hope you enjoyed them! I haven't been this excited to go out and shoot nature in this area in a long time.

Please don't forget to check out all of the other Skywatch posts today by following the link here:----> SKYWATCH BLOG

Have a great day!

#536

2009-08-26T09:23:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Quick post today. Here is another family shot from the shoot I did a bit earlier in the week.

Don't forget to come out to the Yorkfest Arts Festival this weekend along the Rail Trail in downtown York!

Have a great day!

#535 Fun Family Shoot...

2009-08-25T00:10:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Last night I did a shoot with some friends and their boys. We had a great time. We had been planning this for a while and it was fun to finally bring it together. The weather was perfect as well.

We shot at their house and one of my favorite locations to shoot in downtown York. Here are a few teaser shots. There are plenty more to come!

Have a great day!!

Of course we had to get a few nice shots of the family together!

But after that it was all fun, and lots of it!

Hey where'd Spiderman go?

#534 Aspen Dreams Series

2009-08-24T10:52:00.004-02:00

HI everyone-

Hope you had a great weekend. Ours was a nice slow paced few days with nothing pressing to accomplish. So we spent most of the time together as a family not doing a whole heck of a lot for a change.

One thing we did was take Cree up to meet my parents half way to their house. We had dinner and then she went home with them for a few days. She was super excited to go. Us on the other hand were happy she was so looking forward to it, as were nanny and bunk, but we were a little sad as she was like "Bye" in that OK its really time you let me go kinda way...lol

I guess we'll have years to deal with that...lol

So, today's post is another in my Aspen Dreams series of images. It was shot this past fall while in Grand Teton National Park.
I was looking through some of the images for this coming weekends Yorkfest Art Festival and I came upon some images of last fall and it really got me in the mood for this years trip.

I can only go so long then I yearn for the crisp bite of the fall morning, the clean air and skies and the sounds of elk bugling echoing through the valleys. I can not wait to get out there!!

Have a great day!

#533- On The Run...

2009-08-21T13:08:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Hope you all had a great week.

Today starts my normal 4 days off from the fire department and boy am I happy they are here. There is a ton of stuff to get done for the show next week as well as stuff around the house. But The best part of this weekend is I am off the same days as Tonya so we get a whole weekend together. It will be great to have some good family time with no real place to go!

That doesn't happen that often.

So today's image is another installment of the Bison Art series that I started earlier in the week. This image was shot last fall in Yellowstone's Hayden Valley. One of the most beautiful places in the park and the country in my opinion.

The image was initially shot at a slow shutter speed while panning with the running buffalo.

Have a great weekend!!

Oh and don't forget the Yorkfest Arts Festival in downtown York, PA next weekend. (29,30 AUG) I hope to see you there!

#532 Stormy Front

2009-08-20T12:24:00.005-02:00

Hi everyone-

Well it's Thursday and that means its time for another Skywatch post!

Today's image was shot a few years ago along Montana's Rocky Mountain Front, west of Choteau.

In October there seems to be a lot of overcast days in this area. This of course was one of them But I set out to shoot some images anyway.

As it turns out there was a bit of a storm brewing and as I headed toward the mountains it began to push over and on tho the east.

Have a great Skywatch and dont forget to check out everyone else's images by clicking the link here:---> SKYWATCH

#531- Bisonart III

2009-08-19T12:14:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today's image also started out as a photograph and was then 'painted' in Photoshop.

I decided to try a tighter crop on part of the bison's head. It seems to have turned out pretty good.

This one was a bit tougher to create though because of the amount of dark detail. It was hard to see what had been painted and what was not. So in the end what I thought would be a quicker job ended up taking just as long as the other images had.

***ON ANOTHER NOTE***

For those of you close by the York, PA area next weekend August 29th and 30th I will be displaying and selling my work at the Yorkfest Arts Festival along the Codorus Creek in downtown York. I would love to see you stop by and say hi!!

Have a great day!

#530 "Bisonart" II

2009-08-18T08:23:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Just a quick post this morning as I have to get on the road for work today.

I am continuing to experiment with this painting technique that I have come up with. I have a few more in the works so your feedback on what you think would be great.

I hope you have a great day and if you're in our area find some water to cool down in or stay inside. I don't know if I'll be lucky enough to do either but hopefully we don't have many calls today.

Have a great day!!

#529 "Bisonart"

2009-08-17T08:23:00.003-02:00

HI everyone-

Hope you all had a great weekend! I spent much of mine preparing files for printing and framing for the upcoming Yorkfest Arts Festival in just under two weeks. There is a ton to get ready, but it is always fun.

While I was going through some files I came across a few bison images that I liked but were missing something as straight photographs. So I set out to change them up a bit. I ended up "painting" them in photoshop and went from there.

I would love to hear what you think of the finished product!

Have a great day!

#528 Ending On A Bright Spot...

2009-08-14T12:59:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Thanks for all the feedback yesterday on the series of thunderstorm images. They were great fun to create and post. I thought since this week has had a series of dark images that I would end on a brighter more uplifting image of the girls.

This image was shot in the Priest Butte area just outside of town. There is a really cool old grain elevator, which you can see there and some railroad tracks and great scenery in any direction.

We shot these images around 3 in the afternoon and used a large scrim and a few reflectors to control the lighting. Post processing on this image was basically cleaning up the image, playing with local contrast, adjusting the colors and then adding the textures.

Hope you enjoy, have a great day and a better weekend!!

#527 Nothing Will Ever Be The Same...

2009-08-13T13:52:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

I am rounding out the thunderstorm shoot with Savanah and Shay today with something I think they're going to like. They're big fans of the movie Twilight, which was a big influence in this shoot, so I thought I'd up the game and make their very own Twilight poster.

In today's post there are three images. The SOOC raw image, the fully edited image and then the movie poster shot. The fully edited image took me about 3 hours to complete.

Its not that hard to create just very time consuming because of all the detail work that must go into it. I have a few presets that I have created or found that I like to use in Lightroom. Basically similar to an action in Photoshop, its a quick way to make a batch of images look the same with a file that tells the program what to make it look like. Thats probably not a great explanation.

So first I crop the iamge to what I like, then I clean it up. Remove dust, dirt, objects I don't like etc. Once that is done then I retouch the main subjects. That is the easy part.

The next step is what is time consuming. I basically do a few layers (at least) of local contrast enhancement. There is a ton of detail work to be done here so it takes a while.

Once that is done I play around with color and anything else I would like to change in the image. In this case I added lightning. Once that is done then I might have to go back and revisit some of the earlier steps again to blend the added elements nicely.

Once the editing is done I'll go back and look at it again and fix anything that doesn't look right, then I might add some textures or try to create an over all look or feel to the image. That could be another big project. but in these images it was pretty simple.

I hope that racks the surface of how these images were created.

Also today is the Skywatch Friday post so be sure to click the link and visit all the blogs for more great images involving the skies! Click here:----> SKYWATCH FRIDAY

Have a great day!

This is straight out of the camera:

This is the edited version:

And finally, the movie poster:

#526 Wonder Time

2009-08-12T15:04:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Sorry about the delay in today's post. I didn't get the chance to work up an image for today until this morning. I had an idea for how I wanted to treat the image but after a few attempts it just wasn't working out.

So it ended up taking most of the morning to figure that out. After abandoning that attempt I decided to try and give the image a bit more of a whimsical or fairy take look to it.

I thought that might work for this image as the girls were kind of looking up in wonder at the rain that was beginning to fall.

I also would like to take the opportunity to thank Bryan Allen for promoting both my work and my blog in his post today. I also would like to add that these images would not have been possible without him working with me to create them in the first place.

Thanks Bryan!

Have a great day!

#525 Portrait Drama along the Front

2009-08-11T09:56:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

I hope everyone is doing well this morning. If your in our neck of the woods...stay inside! it is hazy, hot and humid here and when I say hot were talking 90's...no time to be outside...lol I'm taking advantage of the weather to try and get a bit caught up on editing and posting today.

So on to today's image...

I am continuing with the shoot we did with Savanah and Shay along the Rocky Mountain Front west of Choteau, MT. As I said yesterday we rushed to get to this spot in time to get some shots before the sunset went away and we got clobbered with a thunderstorm.

Initially we were looking to shoot the girls with a nice sunset in the background, but as the weather rapidly developed we realized it wouldn't be the case. As a matter of fact if we didn't do something quickly we wouldn't get any more images that night period.

So initially we set out with a beauty dish as our light source and me shooting a 70-200mm 2.8 on my D700. We used pocket wizards to trigger the light.

My initial intention was to get the girls walking along a prairie road with a dramatic sunset behind them. But several factors just weren't working out. The skies were rapidly changing, the distance was to great and made the girls look way to small in the image and the light wasn't really believable.

Since I had initially been shooting from on top of a vehicle We moved the vehicle closer to keep the leading lines of the two tracks that made up the 'road'. But it just wasn't working.

After abandoning the vehicle I was shooting down at the level of the girls and things were looking a bit better. The shot was still just not looking right.

At that point Bryan suggested switching to his camera. He was shooting with a Canon 5D Mark II with a 24-105 lens. I switched over, set the lens to 24mm, got the exposure dialed in and we suddenly had a much better image.

We now had the girls as the main subject and not the sky, which was the case the original set up.

We finished out the shoot this way and I am really happy we did. Tomorrow I'll talk more about the actual set up and lighting set up.

Have a great day!

#524 Drop Back and Punt

2009-08-10T08:16:00.005-02:00

Hi everyone-

As many of you know this past July Bryan Allen joined me in Montana for some fun and shooting for just over a week. Bryan is a fantastic photographer and great friend who live in Knoxville, TN. He is an amazing people photographer and teacher. please make sure to check out his work, you will love it.

One of the fun things I had lined up was a shoot with my cousins Savanah and Shay. I only had a mild plan in mind for what we would do. Other than that I thought we would wing it and see what happened. We brought a long some props and a few changes of clothing.

Well we were out for a few hours and decided it was time to head back to town and get some dinner, a change of clothes and then head back out toward the mountains for sunset.

Well as luck would have it we were running late from a longer dinner than we had planned. So as we were driving the 20 miles out to the mountains the sunset was fast developing before us. Not necessarily a problem abut a line of thunderstorms were moving through and were really threatening to put the kabash on the whole sunset.

So we dropped back and punted. And I think it really worked out well for us. We just stopped along side the road, went out into the field and began shooting. The results were very cool.

All of the images in this series are a joint effort between Bryan and I to create the final image. As I post them I will explain more about what we did to create them.

Have a great day!

#523 Morning at Swiftcurrent Lake

2009-08-06T12:24:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today's image was shot on a beautiful July morning at Swiftcurrent lake in Glacier National Park.

In any direction that you looked there was an awesome sunrise image to be had. It wasn't terribly breezy, which is good for ay sunrise in Glacier.

This image was created by merging 12 hand held vertical shots in Photoshop. Then I played around with the color and bringing out some of the details. When printed the image will be 2 feet ish by just under 6 feet. Now to find a good wall...lol

Check out all of the great Skywatch images posted today and tomorrow by clicking the link here ----> SKYWATCH

Have a great day!

#522 Still Truckin'

2009-08-05T15:51:00.005-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today's image was shot in Choteau, MT this past July. There is a corridor of rail road tracks that run through the center of town. Along these tracks are several businesses that load and unload products to rail cars.

One of them is the grain towers. Here there are several old granaries as well as three large concrete towers. Sprinkled throughout the area are old out buildings. It makes a pretty cool setting to shoot photographs.

One night when the sun was beginning it's decent I headed down to that area as it usually lights up pretty nicely, especially against a stormy sky to the south or east.

On this particular day I got a special treat in this old farm truck. I didn't have a lot of time to shoot but was able to get several nice shot of this cool truck.

Have a great day!

#521- Glacier Is Fun, Bring The Kids...

2009-08-04T11:36:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

I hope yo all had a great weekend and Monday. Sorry I missed yesterday's post. I went up to visit with my dad who is still recovering from hip surgery but seems to be doing very well.

Today's images were shot in Glacier National Park on Logan Pass. There were a lot of mountain goats in the area and they were pretty animated, chasing each other, playing and climbing on some very steep cliffs.

It was a lot of fun to watch.

In the first image see if you can spot all the goats. There is actually one more than you will be able to count, but during this image he was hiding behind a rock.

In the second image these two kids were running and playing and just bounding through the beautiful summer day. They were a lot of fun to watch and photograph.

I hope you have a great day, thanks for stopping by!

#520 Laura- Portfolio Shoot

2009-07-31T11:10:00.003-02:00

HI everyone-

Hope you had a great week. Thanks for all of the skywatch comments yesterday. I really appreciate your feedback.

Today is going to be a quick post because I have to get out and get the grass cut before the rain comes in about an hour or so.

These images were shot of Laura last week in York. We traveled around the city and shot at a few locations. Nothing fancy, just available light and a few reflectors.

I hope you all have a great weekend!!

Oh and have a great day today!

#519- Stormy Square Butte

2009-07-30T12:30:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Thanks to all of you who emailed or commented on Facebook about my Dad. He is doing well. The hip replacement surgery went smoothly and the doctor said everything looked great. He rested fairly comforably throughout the afternoon and evening.

Today he started therapy and will continue learning to walk with the new hip today and tomorrow. He should go home on Saturday and then will continue therapy for several weeks a few days a week.

He was in good spirits and seemed to be doing quite well. Thanks again to everyone that asked about him, he was glad to hear from all of you.

Today's image was shot from a bluff south east of Fairfield, Montana called the Fairfield Bench. This was the first day of Bryan Allen's trip to Montana. He had come from some really warm weather to the low 70's and no humidity. Once we started driving toward Choteau we noticed these storms moving out of the mountains and across the prairie lands.

I figured this would be a good spot to shoot from so we headed in that direction. Well the temperature dropped to the low 60's and the wind was around 30mph gusts. It was quite a change....I said well Bryan, welcome to Montana!

There was cool images to be shot in any direction. This one was looking to the south at Square Butte, a local landmark that looked a bit ominous in the storm. I hope you enjoy...

Make sure you take the opportunity to check out all the other cool Skywatch Friday Blog posts starting at 2:30 today by clicking the link here:----> SKYWATCH FRIDAY

Have a great day!

#518 Sweet Spot

2009-07-29T09:38:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Just a quick post today. Leaving to go visit with my father and family. He is having a hip replacement today.

This image was shot this summer at the North American Indian Days on the Blackfeet Nation, MT.

As you know great light is really important for creating a good portrait. Well, at this location lighting and access with an unobstructed view are a bit tough.

But if you hit it at the right time there is a perfect spot that where the light is just right as the sun begins to set. Depending on the weather and what is going on around the area it might not last for long but when its good, its very good.

I try to get that spot every year and have been pretty successful most of the time.

Have a great day!

#517- What!?! Cree is Three!!

2009-07-28T12:43:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Well yesterday my little baby turned three! How could this have happened so fast?? Seems like only yesterday I was racing down I-83 to get to the hospital in time to see her born.

In that short amount of time she has grown so fast and so much. Each day is another amazing adventure as we watch her grow and learn.

The amount of knowledge that she pics up each day amazes me. Each day she says or asks something that totally takes me off guard, Where could she have picked that up I wonder.

I know I am not telling those of you with kids anything new, but what a fun experience this is. My best days are spent with Tonya and Cree doing whatever it is we get into.

Here are a few shots from her party this past weekend. You can check out more by going here:--->Cree's 3rd Birthday

#516 Michelle Plaza 1965-2009

2009-07-27T11:49:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

I am saddened to make today's post. Saddened because over the weekend the world tragically lost a great person, friend, mother and educator.

In an act of senseless violence Michelle was lost and in a split second worlds turned upside down.

She will be missed by everyone who had the opportunity to meet her, be her friend, or learn from her.

Tonya and I met Michelle over six years ago when she began working for us at Almost Home Child Care Center. Michelle was a fantastic addition to the center.

She quickly became part of the AH family and put her all into everything she did. Not only was she just a great person she was a wonderful educator. One of the best we've ever had.

Michelle was full of energy and was up to any challenge that came her way. She always did what she thought was best for the kids, she stood up for them, she nurtured them and most importantly, she loved them.

Michelle had decided to stay home with her kids for a while and left the center and we missed her. Cheryl, her sister continues to teach at our center and our hearts and love go out to her and her family.

Michelle left behind three boys at home.

Rest in peace, Michelle, rest in peace...