Image in Use: Nutrition Science Information

Recapping Last Night's Mini-Clinic in SLC

We had a great time at last night's mini-photography clinic at the Salt Lake City library. With over 60 photographers in attendance, the energy in the room was exceptional.

The theme of the night was "How to Make a Great Photo" and it featured a town-hall type of format. Four panelists shared a couple of images each for the group to critique. After overcoming a bit of trouble with the setting sun entering the room, we got down to the business of sharing opinions on what worked and/or didn't work in the example photos.

I can't thank enough the photographers that participated - both on the panel and in the audience. The feedback given on the subject images was exceptional. I hope that everyone who attended gained a little bit more insight into what makes a great photo.

Special kudos go out to our panel members (Amy Howton, Ed Paz, Scott Smith and Suzanne Plant), who willingly placed their work under the spotlight of critique. They were all great sports and very helpful.

Here are the images that were offered for critique (in the order presented):


© Amy Howton


© Ed Paz


© Scott O. Smith


© Suzanne Plant


© Amy Howton


© Ed Paz


© Scott O. Smith


© Suzanne Plant

I truly enjoy hosting these free clinics every-other-month. The next one is tentatively scheduled for October 22nd and will feature food photography with Nicole Young.

Feeling a bit negative?

Today's shot of me taken by Nicole Young is a Photoshop recreation of a Kodak TRI-X black & white film negative. If you're a Mac user, try a little-known trick to see the positive of the image - press CTRL-OPTION-COMMAND 8.

Canon 5D, Vintage 135mm f/2.8 lens (with Canon mount adapter) - 1/400 second, f/2.8, ISO 800

Reminder: Free Photo Clinic in Salt Lake City this Thursday

Here's a repost of last week's post for an overly obvious reminder of Thursday's Free Photography Clinic at the Salt Lake City Library.

Thursday August 27th is the date for the next Photowalking Utah free photography Mini-Clinic at the Salt Lake City Library.

The theme of this clinic is "What Makes a Great Photo". The session will be a town-hall type format featuring four guest photographer panelists. Each of the panelist will present a couple of their images for the participants to critique. As a group we will look at the photos and discuss what works and/or doesn't work in the photograph.

The goal of the 90 minute clinic will be to give the participants (panelists and audience) the opportunity to pick up some tips on what goes into capturing and presenting a great photograph.

Here are the details:

Date: Thursday August 27th, 2009
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Location: Salt Lake City Main Library - 210 E 400 South, Conf. room #4, 4th floor
Cost: Free!

As an added bonus, we will have a swap table set up. I've been approached by some members of the group that have photography stuff that they would like to give away (namely, photography magazines). Please feel free to bring along any unused magazines or gear that you'd like to give away to a fellow photographer.

I really enjoy facilitating these events and am really excited about the format of this month's session. Please feel free to contact me (rich@leggnet.com or 801.568.1000) if I can answer any questions about the clinic.

To read the discussion about this event and announce your RSVP, head on over to the Photowalking Utah Flickr Group.

I look forward to seeing everyone on the 27th! :)

Hikers

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/400 second, f/4, ISO 200

Meet One of My New Fav Photogs - Rick Sammon

Note from Rich: I am the first to admit that I don't follow the work of too many of the famous (or semi-famous) photographers out there. So if today's introduction to Rick is old-news to you, I apologize :)

Today's post is an introduction to one of my newest favorite photographers, Rick Sammon. It hit me this morning while driving the Saab on I-15 and listening to the PhotoFocus podcast that I truly enjoy hearing Rick's photography (and life) insights.

Rick first hit my radar when Scott Bourne started the PhotoFocus podcast in April of this year. If you aren't familiar with the show, it is a simple Q&A session aired three times each month of Scott and Rick answering their listener's questions. The simple and 'folksy' way that they discuss the questions and provide answers appeals to me, and Rick's contribution is a valuable part of the show's success.

Shortly after learning of Rick through the podcast, I had the chance to get introduced to his photography writing. Rick has authored dozens of book and in most cases features his own outstanding photography in the contents. In one of his most recent books however, Digital Wedding Photography Secrets, he opted to use stock images to illustrate his points and I am flattered to say that he included several of mine. It was a 'by-chance' finding out about this that led me to purchase the book and get to know Rick's writing. His clear and well written photography advice is helpful and easy to follow. The biggest evidence to me of the quality of his writing can been seen by how many of his books can be found in the limited photography section at my local big-box chain bookstore.

I have since had the opportunity to have a few limited conversations with Rick through Twitter and email. He is just as friendly and genuine in these interactions as he is in his published work, be it podcast or book. It is because of this that I am introducing you to him today.

Here are a few ways to follow Rick Sammon online:

Twitter - @ricksammon
Blog - rickrawrulessammon.blogspot.com
Web - RickSammon.com
Podcast - PhotoFocus Podcast on iTunes
Books - Rick's Books at Amazon.com

I look forward to meeting Rick in person when he visits Utah next year for one of his workshops.

Balance

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/60 second, f/9, ISO 200

Are We Human?

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/160 second, f/7.1, ISO 100

Save the Date: "What Makes a Great Photo" Mini-Clinic

Thursday August 27th is the date for the next Photowalking Utah free photography Mini-Clinic at the Salt Lake City Library.

The theme of this clinic is "What Makes a Great Photo". The session will be a town-hall type format featuring four guest photographer panelists. Each of the panelist will present a couple of their images for the participants to critique. As a group we will look at the photos and discuss what works and/or doesn't work in the photograph.

The goal of the 90 minute clinic will be to give the participants (panelists and audience) the opportunity to pick up some tips on what goes into capturing and presenting a great photograph.

Here are the details:

Date: Thursday August 27th, 2009
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Location: Salt Lake City Main Library - 210 E 400 South, Conf. room #4, 4th floor
Cost: Free!

As an added bonus, we will have a swap table set up. I've been approached by some members of the group that have photography stuff that they would like to give away (namely, photography magazines). Please feel free to bring along any unused magazines or gear that you'd like to give away to a fellow photographer.

I really enjoy facilitating these events and am really excited about the format of this month's session. Please feel free to contact me (rich@leggnet.com or 801.568.1000) if I can answer any questions about the clinic.

To read the discussion about this event and announce your RSVP, head on over to the Photowalking Utah Flickr Group.

I look forward to seeing everyone on the 27th! :)

Fore!

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/50 second, f/4, ISO 100

Motocross Photo Shoot

I spent this morning in the shadows of the Oquirrh Mountains doing a stock photo shoot of a motocross rider. Shooting the action was a lot of fun, almost as much fun as riding James' (the motocross rider) 1974 Kawasaki out to the location from where we parked.

I don't shoot many action scenes, so today was a bit of a departure from my normal shooting. One thing I did come to realize (again) is that the Canon 5D Mark II is not the best camera for shooting in a high speed environment. The combination of its relatively slow 3.9 frame-per-second shooting combined with the rather outdated focus system made capturing the fast moving motorcycle somewhat challenging. Even photographing within these limitations though, I am pleased with the results I was able to obtain.

My setup was pretty straightforward. I paired a 70-200 f/4L with the 5D Mark II, and shot on aperture priority. The addition of the 580EX II flash on the camera helped to bring out some of the lost detail in the shadow areas.



I covered many of the logos on the motorcycle and rider with gaffer's tape, but I've still got quite a bit of cloning to do to the images in addition to my usual edits before submitting them to my iStockphoto portfolio.

Big thanks to James for being a patient and gracious model and Nicole for helping behind-the-scenes.

Cowboy Photography Clinic Clipping

Ann Torrence dropped by this clipping today that ran in a supplement of the Sanpete Messenger last month. It was an announcement about the photography clinic we taught as part of the Sanpitch Cowboy Expo.

Though the flowery introduction is a bit embarrassing, I'm sure at least my mom will enjoy reading it :)

See Elle!

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/100 second, f/5.6, ISO 100

Three Years Ago Today...

I've been buried in editing stock photos for the past couple days and look to continue to be through the weekend, so for today's blog post I thought I'd take a step back in time. Delving into my archive hard-drive to see what I shot a few years ago today, I came out with this "little" dumptruck pic taken on 08.07.06. Just like I did originally with the similar images take on this date, I decided to edit the shot to make it look like a toy truck.

Enjoy your weekend!

Canon 30D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/250 second, f/6.3, ISO 100

Judging at the Emery County Fair

Photo by Harley Pebley

About a month or so ago I received an email from one of the readers of my blog, Seth Jensen. He was asking if I would be interested in judging the photography exhibit at the Emery County Fair in Castle Dale Utah. Knowing that my good friend and fellow photographer Ann Torrence is always up for a road trip I asked if the fair would be interested in both of us co-judging to which they readily accepted.

Yesterday Ann and I, accompanied by Harley Pebley, made the 150 mile trek to Castle Dale for the judging. While the task was not a small undertaking (120+ photos were entered), the day flew by. The people we met at the fair were among the friendliest and most hospitable folks I have been around in some time.

I was very impressed not only with the amount of photos entered in this year's fair, but with the quality as well. Judging the four categories was not an easy task. In the end I am quite pleased with the selections that Ann and I made for division winners, judges' choice and best of show.

It is days like yesterday that truly help me appreciate the freedom I have in doing what I do as a full-time photographer. While yesterday was a definite learning day for me photographically, it really didn't feel like a work day. I'm very flattered to have been invited and I hope the nice people of Emery County are happy with the selections that Ann and I made.

Love is...

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/50 second, f/4, ISO 100

Senior Stock Session

I spent Saturday afternoon doing a stock photo shoot at an Assisted Living home. The best part of the day though was not creating stock photos, but rather spending time with an outstanding group of models. These wonderful seniors were some of the funnest people I have been around in a long time.

Today's image is a quick sample from the shoot. I've got some behind the scenes shots that I will share later in the week, but in the meantime I will be spending some time in front of the Mac editing the images for my stock portfolio.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/60 second, f/4, ISO 100