Posts

First Extra Large Print

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  My first time having a print of this size made, is now a reality and hanging on a customers wall. Now the story behind the print and how it came to be. A good friend of ours, who like local art for their home decor, had this large, odd sized frame and wanted one of my images to fill it. She didn't know exactly which one, until this one caught here eye. Now the fun of making it happen begins. But first, the image itself. This sailboat, due to medical emergency concerning the Captain, had washed ashore along a lonely stretch of our beach and was found by beach goers. Emergency assistance was summoned and he was life flighted to a local Pensacola hospital. That was pretty much all you heard from the media. The boat stayed beached for several months, changing positions several times as the tides came and went. This particular morning, was beautiful clear, cloudless skies, and I decided I wanted to capture the first warm morning light as it washed over the boat and surrounding landsca

Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone

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 Getting outside your comfort zone sometimes, can be quite the experience, both for learning and growing as a photographer. A couple weeks ago, a fellow photographer friend, (Walt Ebbert Photography) told me about a Night Shooting Seminar and wanted to know if I'd be interested. After a few minutes thought, I said sure, why not. I checked out the workshop details, and it seemed as if it was pretty much going to be a downtown night photo shoot (old buildings, night scenes, etc). It said something about a model being available, but I didn't think too much about that part.  I also learned, the instructor was pretty famous in the fashion /portrait/commercial photography world, so that was pretty cool. We arrived at the workshop and were introduced to our instructor and model for the evening and that's when I learned, it was going to be more of a model shoot amongst the old downtown area, which is way out of my wheel house. We were also going to do this night shoot without use i

The Aches and Pains of Camera Gear

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 Lets all agree, camera gear can get heavy and of course the more you accumulate the more it weighs, and well age can play a little factor, (Ok maybe a little more), as much as we don't want to admit it. So, that is what this blog is about, gear weight and how I (we) can mitigate it. It seems the obvious choice is to get lighter gear and yes, that is what I looked at first. Our choice of lenses can be the biggest weight savings, as professional 2.8 lenses can weight a whole lot more than prosumer type lenses. Along with that, Prosumer style lens usually out weigh entry level lenses most of the time. The same can be said with camera bodies, the higher end the body, the more it usually weighs. So the idea is to strike a balance with your gear. Then there are all the accessories we choose to carry, depending on the type of photography you choose, will dictate how much extra gear you will be carrying. It could be carrying just a tripod and some filters to a full blown portrait (lights/

Beached, it's Creation

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  This is the story behind one of my most popular and favorites photos and how by accident, it came to be. In the later part of 2022, our area Facebook pages became a buzz, talking about this sailboat that had washed ashore in the Navarre Beach/Pensacola Beach area. Well of course, being one of my favorite subjects to shoot, I got with fellow photographer (Walt Ebbert of Walt Ebbert Photography) and headed down to see what it was all about.  Sure enough, there she was, beached at the surf line. At that time, no one really knew how it got there, it was just too soon to know the story. It later came out, the owner was sailing off of the Navarre Beach area and suffered some type of medical emergency, incapacitating him. The seas were a bit rough at that time causing the sailboat to drift ashore. Some beach walkers found the boat and called for help, the gentleman was life flighted to a local hospital and that's where the story dissipates with not much, if any info afterwards. The sail

Gallery Request from a Local Business

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  A local Pensacola business (Lovelock Healing Arts) approached me, inquiring if I would be interested in displaying my art at their business. Of course, I said yes!  It all started at the East Hill Makers Market in Pensacola. I was set up for a beautiful day at the market, having several photos displayed for sale. About halfway through the day, a lady came into my tent and immediately loved my work. We chatted for a while like with most customers and she left the tent. A little bit later she came back, told me she owned a local business that they enjoy featuring local artists in their business. She then asked if I would be interested in being one of their featured artists and displaying up to 5-6 pieces there. Needless to say, I was taken aback, that someone enjoyed my art enough to request it being hung in their business for all their customers to enjoy. Well, as you could imagine, I jumped at the chance. We talked a little longer and worked out some of the details. I must say, even

A Little About Me

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  Hello All!!! I would like to re-start this blog by allowing you to get to know the photographer behind the images you all love. If there is one thing I've noticed as of late, people are more willing to follow your work and purchase prints from someone they can relate to and know. They want to know, who the artist is. In todays era of AI, photography can be what ever you want it to be. If you want a photo of a beautiful sunset over the mountains to hang on your wall, heck, just a few keystrokes in the right program and poof, there it is on your computer and ready to print. In some cases, the image may even be better than many photographers can produce themselves. However, that's not what most people, (looking for art), are looking for, they want an honest piece of art from a real person and not from some computer program. That's where getting to know the photographer/artist and/or meeting them in person will do. I believe, that's how more and more people will be buying

Twin Boat Houses

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 It was after Hurricane Sally and I was out scouting our local area, when I ran across these gems. They both belong to the same gentleman and I thought, Wow, how often do you come across a scene like this. Of course it was middle of the day and I knew I had to capture these damaged structures in better light. My first though was a beautiful sunset or sunrise behind them, but only being able to shoot looking south, the clouds would have to be just right to be lit up during those times. Of course, our weather was not helping my vision, as we were having continuing days of cloudless skies at the time. I was sitting at home, when I thought.....I wonder how that old weather wood would look lit up by the evenings golden sunlight. Well, that sounded like a plan, so now it was just a matter of going out for the shot. A couple days later, I headed back to the location as the conditions were still good. As luck would have it, this location is a small strip of public land next to the owners prope