Flash Flash Lights Lights

As photographers we are all trained to hate the flash, but in some situations it is necessary.

We wedding warriors are forced to make gorgeous photos in dim churches, super dark reception halls, and quite often the outdoors just do not cooperate in terms of providing wonderful light. We turn to our speedlights for assistance, unhappily, but with a few bits of insider knowledge we can take those bright and awful bursts of light and turn them into something wonderful.

Today's entry features some general information on which batteries to choose for your speedlight. I currently shoot with a Canon 580EX II, but these tips can be applied to just about any speedlight of your choice.

Recently I discovered that using a P-E4 battery pack can greatly reduce the refresh time on my speedlight. Nothing is worse than missing shots waiting on that little red light to turn on again! If you are internet savvy you can find them for around $20 online. They hold 8 batteries and greatly increase the rate at which you can get shots, and for an antsy wedding party ready to get their groove on this can be a lifesaver.

Inside your speedlight and battery pack you need some batteries, and the general consensus is that the Eneloop lithium rechargeable batteries are the best. They are a little more expensive to get started out with, but after three uses they completely pay themselves off. They retain their battery life much longer than other rechargeables. (They look really cute, too.)

I hope these tips for getting better flash refresh have been helpful, and I will have more information to come.

My Gary Fong diffuser arrived in the mail today and I am very curious to see how it holds up! It looks absolutely hilarious, but if it can give me some great lighting than I am more than happy to look like an idiot who strapped a margarine cup to my speedlight.

Now On Facebook!

I added this blog to my facebook profile so everyone can be forced to listen to my rambling. Lucky for you guys I don't update often :P

Changes!

Recently I have gone through a bunch of life changes! I feel they are all for the better, but they certainly caused a long absence.

I now have a fully functional darkroom at home, hurray! With a little luck I hope to start sharing some of my silver gelatin prints with everyone.

I am planning on overhauling my website a little bit. Right now I am having some trouble making the thumbnails show. Sometimes they work just fine, other times they are black. I feel it is time for a nice newlayout overall and will be making those changes shortly, you know, class the place up a little.

My ModFauna Etsy shop has been doing well, and with the summer months I hope to add more pieces. I will be doing a collaborative project between my photographic work and ModFauna work, so keep your eyes peeled!

Infared Fun

The look of infared is something I have always loved. In thi spiece I captured that look digitally, and textured the overall image to give it a very antique film feel. It is a digital piece, shot on my trusty DSLR.

I have recently obtained my very first Rolleiflex and I am proud to say that my roots in darkroom photography will finally start to show again! I am looking forward to sharing some really fun Rollei images with you guys in the coming months. Until then, enjoy this piece.

Work and Excitement!

I am now an employed Studio Photographer, woo hoo!

I really enjoy the position so far, and with time I will have enough confidence to start experimenting at home with studio lighting and equipment. I would like to rent a space to have my own studio one day, we'll see!

I will be posting Photo Of The Week images number 5 and 6 pretty soon! I have some fun new shots in editing right now, and I hope to share them with you soon.

Last night was a fun shoot with Hannah and Jason, so one of my photos will be from that.

I have been doing loads of shooting on the 35mm SLR, and once I have a film scanner I will start sharing them.

March Giveaway!

Since the very first giveaway was a success, I am happy to announce February's giveaway! The winner will be informed via email on March 1st.

This month there is a choice again. :D

Option #1




The Retro What? Cow

This image was taken outside of Fredericksburg, TX. My fiancee and I had a terrific stay there recently, so this month's prizes are both going to be from there. This print is a high quality, professionally printed image in 11x14 and is perfect for that bit of unexpected charm in your home.

Option #2

The Sepia Hill Country Road

This image was taken outside of Fredericksburg, TX as well. This highway is the road you take to get to Enchanted Rock State Park, and is simply one of the most scenic and beautiful drives I can remember. This print is a professionally printed 11x14 unmatted piece, ready to frame.

Also included with either option is a 50% off coupon good in any of my shops, and a credit for one free photo retouch. Please see my listing here for more details about photo retouching.

How to enter:

There are lots of ways you can enter! The more you do, the mor entries you get, and the better chance you have at taking home your prize. The first thing you need to do is follow my blog. Only blog followers will be considered for the prize! Even if you have done other things to get entered, you will not be considered until you're a follower. Following my blog is worth one entry.

Please include an email address with all comments!

Facebook:

*You can become a fan of my photo page here. - 1 entry (comment here telling me you did)
* You can make a comment on a photo I have posted on my fan page and tell me why you like it, then leave a comment here telling me that you did - 1 entry (up to 5 total)

Twitter:
*Tweet about me and post a comment here with a link to it - 1 entry (up t0 5 total)
*Tweet about my giveaway and post a comment here with a link to it - 1 entry (up to 5 total)

Etsy:
*Start a forum thread telling about my giveaway (make sure you include a link to the blog!) and post a link to it in a comment here - 3 entries (unlimited)
*Purchase anything from http://www.charmingmittens.etsy.com/ http://www.thecharmingmitten.etsy.com/ or http://www.modfauna.etsy.com/ and post a comment here with the link to your purchases- 15 entries (unlimited)

Ok! That's how you do it. Good luck! I will tally all of the entries on March 1. The winner will then be contacted and asked to select their prize and I wil have it shipped off to them that same week.

Good luck! The more you do, the better your chances!

A Photo A Week #4

Bearial traveled with the Fiance and I to Fredericksburg this weekend for our Birthday (his) + Birthday (mine) + Valentines = Birthentines Day Trip. This is at Enchanted Rock State Park in Texas and Bearial is showing his retro side.

Shot with DSLR and edited in CS4