More from Thanksgiving

Haslam Thanksgiving - Sneak Peak

I had a great time photographing the entire Haslam family on Thanksgiving. You guys truly have a beautiful family! Here is a little sneak peak from today. Thanks for having me shoot your portraits!

Raegan

Another shot of Raegan from Jessica's homecoming.

Welcome Home Jessica!

Jessica had her big homecoming from Sweden today! Her Swedish accent was really cool. Jess served as a LDS missionary and spoke in sacrament meeting. I had the opportunity to photograph her and the family. It was a lot of fun. I am also grateful that I was able to capture some nice portraits of Nan! I hope everyone enjoys the photos. I can't wait to shoot your wedding Jessica ;)

Nate & Sarah

Nate & Sarah....

FLASH FROM THE PAST! I love you guys. This was such a fun day. I hope you enjoy the photography. I remember how excited I was to test out my 4-mega pixel camera ;) Let me know when you are both ready for holiday photos!

Banner Work

I have been doing more and more banner work. If any of you are interested in having me do any web banners or custom "Sigs" (signatures) that can be used on forums, blogs, etc... contact me for a price quote. I also continue to do photo touch-up's, and look forward to hearing from you.

Here is a sample I put together for Bryan. Be sure to check out his blog...

Tonight At the Machine

I spent most of tonight reading up on new stuff. I am still blown away by how much I learn in Photoshop. The different techniques, brushes that are used and the creative aspect that post processing offers to photography.

Nick sent over some food shots that made me hungry. Way to go Nick! The trouble he was having was with Grain. Unable to verify his camera settings it appeared that the graininess was coming from high ISO output, low light. Not to mention it gets worse with a 100% full zoom or crop.

Here is the example below:
original (left) Modified (right)


Click on the images for a larger preview. In this example I went in and ran my "Noise Ninja" actions. Reducing the noise helped clear up some of the graininess. I then adjusted the color, and curves. This helped with Brightness and Contrast. I then made minor adjustments by tweaking the shadow and highlights. I added several layers to also help with the noise. I then went into the background and put a very soft blur to reduce noise further. I hope seeing the examples help with your own photo corrections. It is suprising at times how the smallest of tweaks can correct a photo that some may think is bad and would otherwise be thrown out.

I also put some finishing touches on a portait I did for Adam. This ones for you "Ak". I hope you like it. I was shooting for that record label feel.

Rain, Rain, Go Away, Come Again, Another Day!

Just when I think my cold is over, I wake up to a nasty cough. I stumble to the front door half dressed to visualize my Monday morning, it is raining. It did not look to promising.

I managed to snap a few night shots of the Bountiful temple just up the street and I parked my car on the boulevard to watch the city lights. The cool air soothed my lungs and it felt good to be out.

Pulling a few of the photos off the camera I came across the picture I took of "Aunt niCOLE" and Raegan. I couldn't decide if I like the Color or B&W better? I guess I will let Nicole decide.

The Kids

I took a moment today to capture the smiles of my beautiful children. All cuddled up on the bed, I could not resist pulling out the camera and capturing the moment.

I also had Lez hold the baby so I could get some B&W's of Romney. She is already two months...WOW time fly's.

Out On Lunch

I took the time yesterday to drive some of the back roads near the new Legacy Nature Highway here in North Salt Lake. After nearly hitting a fairly large Pheasant, I got out of my car and the opportunity to shoot a few Raptors came my way.



The birds truly are impressive. I am looking forward to the winter months with the Bald Eagle migration that takes place at Farmington Bay. It was a great experience to see these majestic birds make a pit stop for several weeks last winter and I am looking forward to capturing them on some new glass. I hope by then I will also have the Canon 2x lens extension I have been wanting. We shall see.

Happy Halloween 2008!

Well I have had a chance to break in the new Canon 100-400mm L, glass. Let's just say that I am very pleased with the results! No better time than to open up with a mini photo shoot in the front yard before the kids went out "Trick-or-Treating".

Most of these shots were taken on f8 at 350-400mm. I am not to suprised to see how the clarity maintains at these distances based on the reputation this lens has. It is going to be a great lens for me and I am very excited to finally own it. I hope you all enjoy the photos. Raegan is so photogenic and is a natural when it comes to photography. She go's right into model mode. I was able to capture some shots that highlight her beautiful eyes. LOOK OUT!







Ben always strikes a pose. It amazes me how creative Ben is when it comes to role-playing his favorite character. Ben is very animated and in true Ninja form. I am not sure what Martial Art Stance he is using in these pics; but it looks very cool.






More to come...STAY TUNED!