Travel Map

Here is my travel Map
Just when you think you have been around the block.....
You realize, you haven't seen anything at all.

Another Day

Today felt like just another day with not much to do. I went down to the Old Europe Restaurant and took out the old camera and shot some photos for the owner.
We still haven't come to an agreement as to what he is willing to pay for them.. or what I am willing to accept.. but he does want them, so I am sure we will work it out.

I am really excited for the end of March. I got a gig in Madrid Spain. Someplace I have never been!
I can't wait to shoot some photos in Spain.

The Taste of Europe Lamb Shank Challenge

There is a new restaurant here in Old Folsom called The Taste of Europe.
The new owners are very nice, they are doing a great job so far in a very tough economy, so Allen and I went down for dinner today to support them.
The owner/chef lived in Prague before and so we have sat at the bar with our laptops open showing each other photos. His name is Thomas. So, tonight as we were sitting there, the guy next to us ordered the Lamb Shank and when it came out, it was HUGGGGEEEE!!!! They told him if he finished it all, he got to ring the bell behind the bar. and sure enough, he finished the whole thing! It was a picture waiting to happen, so I snapped off a quick before and after shot.



This is one you HAVE to View on Black

The Original Image

A couple of people wanted to see what the original image of Sutter street looked like, so here it is.

I need some feed back!

Today's shot of the day is of Sutter Street here in old Folsom.
I am just not sure which one looks better.

So please comment as to which one you like better.

Sports Photography

Today Allen and I went to Sacramento to shoot some photos of the Amgen Bike tour of California.
Shooting photos of bicycles screaming by you as the crowd cheers and rings cowbells is pretty crazy. You get about 5 seconds to try and capture a shot and then you wait for the sound of the crowd again, warning you that you are about to get another 5 seconds to make magic happen.

It was a fun time, and I am glad I got the opportunity to practice some sports photography.

Photo Business

I have been beating the streets and introducing myself and my photography to Bars and Restaurants all around Folsom.
It is not my favorite part of the business. I would much rather have someone else sell it, and then just go in and do what I do.
The acceptance has been pretty good though. Some of the people I have met are just plain rude... they all but kick me out of their store. Most however have been really great.
I shot the Cellar Wine and Cheese Bar yesterday. It was really fun using the new camera and seeing what a full frame, 21 megapixel camera does.

Tomorrow night I am going to try and capture a shot in Scarlets with the bar full of people and lots of motion blur, while keeping the rest of the shot in good HDR form. That should be fun.

Saturday night the owner of the Folsom hotel asked me to come in and shoot some of the place for her website.

Sunday night Allen and I are shooting a fashion show and I expect that is going to be pretty tough. Models walking very fast in not so great lighting conditions. We are volunteering for it, so there is little to no expectation. It will be a great learning experience.

Tuesday morning I am going back to the Folsom hotel before they open and going to try and capture some shots with an empty clean bar.
I am pretty excited about how much opportunity there is here for photography.
Here are the shots from the Cellar I took yesterday.

Saturday night

Today Allen and I went to a couple of restaurants and talked to them about photography for their businesses. One of them was a place called The Cellar. The owner is pretty young and unhappy with the photos on his website, so he asked me to come back and talk to him about shooting some for him. I took a couple of shots while I was there, so I can give him something to look at when I go back.







Allen had a private gig tonight to drive the lead singer of a band and her husband and friends to and from their gig. They had a big SUV with a DVD player in it, and so I showed up at the gig and took some photos of the band. The bar was very close to our house, so I went home and processed the photos and then made a little slide show DVD and brought it back to Allen so he could show it to them on their ride home after the gig. Rock star treatment for Rock stars!
Allen said that they all freaked out when they got in the car and he rolled the video. It was a fun little project and I learned quite a bit about shooting Rock and Roll in low light. I only took one lens with me into the bar and it was a 50mm 1.8 fixed lens. I really wish a whole bunch of times that I had a wide angle, but I am glad I only had the one lens. It was really low light and having a fast lens made all the difference in the world.
Here is a collage of the shots that came out pretty decent, and HERE is a link to a slide show of the larger versions.

Home again Home again

I left for the airport at 4:00 pm and had a relaxing dinner with Don at Chili's in Terminal B. We said good bye and he headed home to Rhode Island and I headed to gate C17 to wait for my 8:40 pm flight. I did not get the upgrade to first class which was a real bummer because it would have made my knee a lot more comfortable, but I did get economy plus which is 5 more inches of legroom than a normal seat, so it wasn't to terrible. I watched some movies, fell asleep, woke up and listened to some music which was quite nice. Here are a few songs that I listened to that I think everyone should enjoy.

Bring me to Life -Evanescence
Shadow of the Day -Linkin Park
One -Mary J. Blige with U2
Leave the Pieces -The Wreckers
Loves Divine -Seal
Where'd You Go -Fort Minor
Tear Drops on my Guitar -Taylor Swift
I Can Only Imagine -Mercy Me

My plan to walk around Chicago and get some photos this afternoon was thwarted by the freight elevator incident, so I grabbed a photo of the tunnel between terminal B and C at O'hare international. I think I will be shooting that tunnel a few more times to try and capture more than I got this time, but here it is.

Pain in the Corporate Theater

Today as we were loading out, I was walking into the freight elevator and one of the local guys hit the "Close Door" Button just as I was stepping on to it. The door came straight up between my legs and tripped me into the elevator. I fell and landed smack on both knees. It was really painful. I am now waiting for 4:30 pm to take a car to the airport to fly home at 8:40 pm, and have been resting my poor knees on pillows in my hotel room. Thank goodness for a 4:00 pm late check out!

Night life in the Corporate Theater

Our projectionist told me that we should hit a hidden gem in Chicago called Reggie's Music Club. So we took a taxi over and had a great dinner and heard an amazing Blues band.
It was a great place! Thanks Jack!






This picture looks best viewed on Black

Chicago in the Winter

It is Tuesday and I am working in Chicago this week. The temperature is in the teens and it is just too cold to walk around the city. We set up the show yesterday and today and start in the morning with rehearsals at 9:00 am.
After chilling out for a little while in my hotel room, my friend Don and I walked down the street to Millennium Park and I snapped a couple of shots of the Bean and then we beat it back to the hotel before our ears fell off.

Superbowl Sunday

Well today was pretty uneventful. I procrastinated the entire day. I used the Superbowl as the first stage in procrastinating and then I just had to watch The Office. I then realized that not only had I not packed to go away for a week to Chicago, but I hadn't done laundry, or taken any photos today at all.
It is now almost 11:00 and I am 98 percent packed and I took a photo. Allen says it is lame, and I can't really disagree, but I might challenge him that when he is taking a photo a day a posting it then he might have some ground to stand on. He would then look me in the eye and tell me it is still lame. However, this is what I got.