1930s - 1940s style Lighting

Sisterly Love

Ask two sisters to hug for " a tender family moment" shot and you can get something like this reaction.

ZAPP Dancers

Some of the girls from the ZAPP dance group. http://www.zappdancers.com/

The Enigma Desktop

As a photographer I always find myself attracted to anything that catches my eye esthetically. Why have that tired old stock desktop when you can have something completely custom like this?

I came across the Enigma desktop application (http://lifehacker.com/5087956/customize-your-own-killer-enigma-desktop) at a website I highly recommend http://www.lifehacker.com/ . You can download the custom desktop application for free. Check it out.

Artistic Fence

Decorative fence top around the Excelsior Cafe in Eugene. A great little restaurant just off the University of Oregon campus.

A little Fog

A Two Light Portrait Of Courtney

Just an example of a two light portrait setup. This particular shot was done on location using only two strobes.

Black & White Photograph OF Deady Hall

Kind of a spooky fall shot of Deady Hall at the University of Oregon. The School did a nice job of repairing the building's exterior last year. I have not been inside to see what they have done to the interior if anything. The last time I was in Deady was the early 90's.

A Little Selective Color

I always toss in a couple of these types of shots with each senior package. The kids always seem to like them.

Willamette or Wu Tang Clan?

I can't remember if the quote was "Willamette Rules" or Wu Tang Clan for Life!"

Guitar Hero?

Here is an example of a one light setup. This shot was done with a 580exII flash and a radio popper. The flash was set about six feet off camera left on a light weight light stand slightly above eye level.

Villard Hall At The University of Oregon

Just a shot of Oregon's Villard Hall. They are currently doing some renovations on the back side of the building.

The Rose Gardens

A shot from the Rose Gardens in Eugene.

Local Church

I still venture out about town and shoot "for me". Architecture is always a favorite subject.

Amp Your Backlight with a Cheapo, Disposable Fog Machine

I came across this great bit on fog machines from the Stobist: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2007/10/amp-your-backlight-with-cheapo.html

Team Video (North Eugene U14 Girls)

So here is the video where we pulled all of the images together for an end of season keepsake for the kids. The video combines the regular team pictures, photo night shots, and team images.

Another Soccer Player From Photo Night

I gave each of the select images from the North Eugene U14 girl's photo shoot a few different looks in processing. This image has smoother skin tones and no vignetting compared to the image posted 10/31/2008. It does however share similar highlight and edge detail.

A Different Kind Soccer Photograph

We did a photo fun night for the North Eugene Rockers U14 soccer club this week. I had already shot the team's regular pictures, so we decided to create a different "take" on team pictures. We took our mobile studio set up on location for a evening of photos and fun. The girls got to goof around and create a little more hard edged look. We also did some shots in street clothes where they could do the hair flip fashion maven look.

Create Custom Christmas Cards

This is an example of a 5x7 folded greeting card. At just under a $1 per card that's a great deal. We also offer a number of other shapes and sizes. We offer a 6x7.5 one sided card with envelopes 50 for only $28 (that's under 60 cents per card).

Early Chritmas Season Portraits

I really liked the pouty face the little girl made. I ended up with about five versions of this image for the client to choose from. This selective color version was my wife's favorite. I don't think this is one I would hand on the wall, but it will make a nice Christmas card. I kinda think the little girl has a Norman Rockwellesk expression.

Christmas Season Already!

Now is the time to book sessions for the Christmas season! As with many other businesses, the Chritmas season slows down normal timelines in photography. The professional labs I work with are starting to send out updated delivery schedules (most labs are already adding at least one day to normal turn times).

I shot my first Christmas card session of the year yesterday. It was pretty nice weather and we were able to shoot outdoors. Fall colors will fade fast. I think we have an outdoor window of only a few more weeks.

Check out some of our new Christmas products here:
Christmas Products

A Viddler Small Flash Video

A nice little video detailing the use of small flashes and high speed synch.

A Tribute Video For Shaun Lunt

This video was put together by Shaun's good friend (and amazing photographer) James Christianson. The selection of music as well as photos is great. These types of projects are exceedingly difficult. To try to capture the essence of a person in a few fleeting minutes a Herculean task.

C2 does offer this type of service but it's not something that we actively market. The typical time constraints placed on us by the family means that we have to rearrange our entire schedule as well log a lot of late nights. Also, it is an emotionally draining effort. Producing something like this is rewarding, in spite of the emotional toll.

Shaun Lunt's Blog

I came across Shaun's work through a good friend of mine. Shaun died tragically June 6th of this year in a plane crash. His family still has his blog up with his amazing photographs. http://shaunlunt.typepad.com/

Photodex Software

I ranted about Photodex Producer last week. Even with all of its "issues", it's still one heck of a program. Here is a link to a senior slide show that I did http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewshow.html?fl=3017524&alb=140489 . The link takes you to a sharing page at Photodex (provided by them for free when you purchase the software). You might be asked to install the photodex player (an activex control), it's safe and installs quickly. Take a look at the quality of the show compared to YouTube.

It is one of the most user friendly and intuitive programs of its type I have ever used. If they could just fix the nagging little bugs it would be a world beater. As it stands right now, I would give it a 7 out of 10. I only knock it because of the continuing issues with being unstable when putting together large shows and the relatively slow speed when writing dvds.

The End-All-Do-All Canon Camera Site

The is the best site for information and reviews of Canon cameras and lens. Click the link and jump to the site http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews .

Multi Layered Treatment

Here is an example of another multi layered Photoshop treatment we are using. I like the "pop" it gives.

The Seven Ages Of Childhood

Follow the link to a pretty piece from Marathon Press on the seven ages of childhood. http://preproduced.marathonpress.com/sevenages/ . Marathon Press is one of the vendors that the studio uses for specific products. They deliver top notch products every time. I really like the educational pieces they put out.

James Burrington's Senior Pictures

Here is a show we did for James Burington from North Eugene High School's class of 2009. I had a great time shooting with James.

High Structure

Just an example of our high structure filter in photoshop. I like the effect in black and white.

Ok, A Little More Soccer

I have got soccer on the brain this week. It's coming up to playoff time in the Klassic Division. I came across this video while uploading our team video. I sent it on to all of my players. This highlight clip is for Brittani Bartok. This girls has all kinds of talent and skills.

Soccer Fundrasing Plug

Ok, it's fundraising time again. The soccer team that I sponsor is kicking off the fall fundraising season. So here is the pitch. We are doing an online magazine sale. It's a good deal and the team gets 40% of the sale price. The magazines are discounted up to 85% off the news stand price. Our team store is at http://www.magfundraising.com//GroupPage.aspx?e=1125438 .

Riding The Skyline

Just A Rant On Photodex

I have been using Photodex for quite a while. I recently went from their ProShow Gold to the top of the line Producer. I spent 7 hours putting together a last minute show for a client made up of a bunch of images from each year her son's life and music for each year. It was a large show (568 images & 20 songs). At midnight last night I was finished and set the computer to burn the show to dvd.

I was quite surprised to wake up and find that the show had completed 26% of the burning process before freezing the computer. I rebooted, and restarted Producer. This time I decided to use the collect show files command before burring. Again everything looked great. I went to the store, expecting to return to a finished DVD. No such luck. Again, the system crapped out (this time at 40% complete.

Now I am up against a deadline. I have tried everything. I created a mpeg file, only to have it come out pixelated! I swear I am going to loose my mind. I spoke with a friend that also uses Producer, and he laughed! He said he has had the same issues anytime he creates a large file. I think I am going to have to start looking for an alternative. This has been a waste of time and effort.

North Eugene Rockers Fall 2008 Introduction Show

Just finished up team pictures for the North Eugene Rockers u14 girls soccer club. We did this slideshow to embed on the openning page of the team website. We will put together a longer show for these girls at the end of thier season and include pictures from their games.

More Of James

Luke Gregg's Slide Show

Here is the slide show for Oregon City High School's Luke Gregg. His actual slide show has a different soundtrack. He wanted a more old school feel. I swapped out the music for this promo version based on feedback from my girls.

James Burrington From North Eugene

Another 2009 senior from North Eugene High School. I got to spend a couple of hours with James shooting around town. Like most of the boys I have shot, he was a little uneasy in front of the camera at first. The quality of the photographs improved dramatically once he relaxed.

Chase Jarvis Studio

Love to have a space like this!

Luke Had To Get A Few Shots With Mom

Andy Mckee - Freaking Amazing!

This guys is amazing. I wish I had half his skill! Check out his site http://www.andymckee.com/

I Cool Bit On Lighting From A Master

Adding Depth

Here we have two versions of the same photo. The bottom image is the original image and the top is the finished product. Fairly subtle processing in Photoshop results and a much more appealing photograph. The extra time spent polishing the image was well spent.

Luke & His Sweatheart

Just Struck Me As Funny

This just struck me as funny. I took this at my team's Saturday game. This is not technically a very good picture (composition, exposure, color balance, etc), but the pose is priceless. Getting in front our team's sweeper might tend to bring out the half cringe, half prayer in any young lady. I am pretty sure it left a mark!

A Nice Bit On Decorating With Portraiture

Here is a link to a pretty cool site that talks about decorating with portraiture.

http://preproduced.marathonpress.com/decor

Lacrosse Player Portrait

Tami's Photo Shoot Slide Show

Here is the YouTube version of Tami's photo session. We produce a show like this for the seniors purchasing our top package. We quality controlled the DVD on 52 inch plasma screen and she looked amazing!

The soundtrack on the other hand, I have my doubts. Tami picked the songs and as long as she loves them; that's all that counts.

Another Shot On Campus

Down From Oregon City

Luke made the road trip to Eugene from Oregon City for his senior pictures. He is planning to attend the University of Oregon next year so I thought the Oregon campus might be a fun place to shoot. It was a ton of fun spending the afternoon with Luke, his mom, and girlfriend.

Pretty Cool Video

Pretty cool bit from Chase Jarvis a Seattle based commercial photographer.

Tami In Roses & A Word On Microsoft Windows

Here is a nice shot of Tami in the Rose Gardens. I decided to use a fairly aggressive editing approach for this shot.

Now for a word on Microsoft. The studio had a major wrench thrown into the works Wednesday. I made the mistake of turning the Microsoft automatic updates "on". According to Microsoft this would keep our system "protected". Well, not so much.

Service pack III turns out to be a nightmare! It ended up deleting important registry files. In short this wonderful addition crashed our system in the worst possible manner. After a day on the phone with Dell, it turns out the damage is so severe that the only possible fix was a reformatting of the hard drive. In essence, we lost everything on our hard drive. We even called in a local computer whizz who confirmed the diagnosis. So I spent a entire day reinstalling software, not the most productive use of my time.

On the bright side. Our back up system for out client images proved invaluable. We did not lose a single client image! We back up our data to both an external hard drive as well as dvd just for a worst case scenario like this.

The lessons here are: Always back up your data & don't use auto updates!

Tami In Blue Flowers

A Little More Dramatic Processing

Tami On The Rocks

Deep In The Flowers

A Little Closer To The Water

The Smith Family

Did a nice session at the Rose Gardens. Shooting in a public space is always an adventure. We ended up trying to work around a couple of Country Fair refugees. Not dangerous, but obnoxious. After convincing them that they were not going to be part of the family portrait, they went back to the river bank to enjoy whatever it was that they were smoking. Sure didn't smell like tobacco, but they were out of our hair.

How They Roll In Belgium

Chasing Sunset - Part II from Pieter Van Impe on Vimeo.

Molli's Slideshow

A Classic Studio Pose

From The Studio

Molli opted to do a few shots under the controlled lighting conditions of the studio. She was all about the black background.

Molli In Black & White

More From The University Of Oregon Campus

There are so many cool little niches to use for portrait work on campus. This is a little wall niche just on the other side of the pioneer woman statue. Semicircular with a nice stone bench. The biggest advantage to summer shooting on campus is the lack of people in the way.

This shot used two off camera strobe heads for lighting. The main is camera right using a shot through umbrella. The fill camera left shot through a 4 ft screen. Used 80/20 lighting ratio.

Hard Edged Look

The east wall of the Knight Library provided a deeply textured backdrop. I decided to go for aggressive photoshop treatment on this image.

Another Amazing North Eugene Senior!

Molli will be starting her senior year at North Eugene High School in a couple of days. She picked the University of Oregon campus for her senior photo shoot. What a great Choice. We got some great stuff!