One of My Favorite 80's Video on YouTube

Check out this video from YouTube. Its one of my favorite from the 80's. When I hear it or watch it, it takes me down memory lane. Kinda like re-living my youth!

George Harrison, "Got My Mind Set on You"



Cheers,
JP

Real Story, not just your common media fluff

My friend Stephanie has a very real and heart-touching story about a local homeless man and his dog. If you get a chance, check out this link.

JP

Challenge Accepted

Orlando challenged me to refrain from reading, watching or viewing any of current news sources for the next 2 weeks (this includes SJ Mercury, MSNBC, Washington Post, KGO, Newsweek. We will see what happens in the next 2 weeks. The purpose is to find out if my political view is tainted by the sources I read from. Guess we will see if my political views and arguments will have changed dramatically by avoiding my usual source of political media stuff.

JP

Stephanie Lewis Photography

My good friend and fellow photographer, Stephanie, has recently posted some of her newest concert photos on her blog. She has some awesome color and B&W photos. Don't take my word, check out her site http://stephanielewisphotography.blogspot.com/.

JP

Another inspirational Pro Photographer

There have been two Pro Photographers that have recently inspired my own photography style which if you've read my posts you already know - Kevin Major Howard and Brooke Kasper. I want to add a third to that list - Anna Kuperberg. She's a featured Photographer in Feb's issue of Professional Photographer. To quote, "Kuperburg describes her appraoch to wedding photography as 'responsive'. She doesn't set out with a regimented plan for what she'll do at the wedding, which frees her to observe and capture the personalities of the wedding party and guests." And, "More than anything , thought, I look for deeply emotional moments...." The way the writer in the article describes and quotes Anna's style is very similar to my own philosophy of taking photos. Seeing her work reinforces that for me. I hope to one day bump into Anna at a photography convention or other photo event. Heck she works out of SF Bay Area so the chances of meeting her are pretty good!

Anna's work can be seen here www.kuperburg.com

-JP

Work, Work, Work....

So I'm working on two things at the same time for the last 5 hours. First I've been practicing on the voice narration on the new mic that Paul (Printroom's Marketing Director) got me for the video tutorial that some of you know I've been working on. Its been record/erase/re-record until I get something that sounds decent to go along with each video segment. Secondly I'm editing some photos from this past weekend's shoot with Ashley. Who incidentally is a gorgeous looking blonde model who also is a lawyer by day! Whats making this difficult is I want to do both projects at the same time because I'm equally inspired and motivated to do them both. Well here's what I got so far for Ashley's photos. The video I hope will be finished after one or two more reiterations within the next week. 

Stay tuned for stuff...!

JP

Dayla's Black & White Images

Side by Side Comparison Part II

Side by Side Comparison Part I

Dayla's Photos

Sometimes you don't know what kind of interesting things will happen to you at work. Last night at work, I received a call from one of my customer's at Printroom. She was understandably unhappy with the situation on her order. After spending some time trying to find out the problem, I was able to offer her some options. To make a long story short, we ended up refunding part of her order. Now the interesting part is Dayla and I got off topic talking about where she worked, what she does for a living and educational background. I told her some of my background including being a photographer. She asked me one of the most commonly asked questions I get from my customers' on my personal, photography business. "Do I know how to edit photographs?" Which, of coourse, I responded with "Depends on what type of editing." Basic editing like levels, curves, colors can take me 5-20 minutes. Doing things like masking layers, fixing blemishes and the like can take more up to 30 minutes or longer. Well Dayla forwarded me a couple of photos. I wanted to post them here to show her and my blog readers the before and after. I'm also including some Black & White versions of the file.

As always, C&C is welcome!

JP

New Direction, New Focus

After viewing Kevin Major Howard's and Brooke Kasper's website, I've had a major, new direction with my style of photography. I'm now focused on headshots. I've always been intrigued by how much a person's face reveals about themselves. The expressions, a person's eyes, scars, etc. All these things tell a story about a person. Even without a camera, every time I meet someone new I always try figure out something about him or her by what I see in their face. I am especially fascinated by the eyes. There is truth about that old adage, "The eyes are the window of the soul". Well naturally I want to capture that essence, the truth when I take photos. I am empowered more than ever to do that by concentrating my style of photography on headshots. What does this mean for my website and blog? Simply put you will see more portraits and headshots on both sites. I can only hope to aspire that my work will be viewed with same awe as when I view Kevin's or Brooke's photos.

JP

Bay Area Model Photo Shoots - Feb 7th

I found this great photographer group on meetup last week. They were hosting a model photo shoot where a group of photographers' get a chance to take photos of a model in a studio location including lighting and props. Now I've rented out a studio for some of my past model shoots. Nor am I stranger to shooting models on location. However this was a first shooting with a bunch of other photographers' at the same time. I have to admit that it was more a social event rather than just taking pictures of a model. Met a couple cool photographers. The two host, Erwin and Herb, were also very cordial and helpful. All in all, it was a great experience. I highly recommend anyone who wants to practice shooting a live model and meet other fellow photographers should try it at least once.

-JP

DPReview on the new Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 II lens

For all my Canon photographer friends,

Check out the review on the newest lens in the Canon line.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0901/09012801canon501p8review.asp

If your on a budget and can't afford one of those "L" lenses, this is a great starter lens for your new Canon DSLR. Its literally lite in weight, not to mention lite on the budget.

JP

My Model Friend, Ashton

The very attractive model on the front of my website, Ashton, was recently featured in a commercial break during the Pittsburg Steelers' playoff game. I have the pleasure of both being a personal friend and having Ashton work as a model for me on several occasions a few years back. Not only is Ashton absolutely stunning in looks[a pre-quisite for any serious model) but she has a down-to-earth personality and a great sense of humor. I wouldn't be surprised if she turns into the next Eva Longoria as she pursues her acting career in LA. Best of wishes to Ashton! You can some of my modest photos of Ashton on my main website.

JP