Emerald Bay Photography News and Updates

I admit - when I signed up for Facebook, I did not sit down with a nice hot cup of tea and take a leisurely half hour to read their Terms of Use. Did you, my dear pro photographer/artist/filmmaker friend? Didn't think so.

Today however (and only a day after I uploaded the first part of my portfolio to Emerald Bay Photo's custom Facebook page), a nudge from a friend prompted me to go take a closer look at the Terms of Use. I was shocked - to say the least. The verbiage has all the elements of a pro photographer's worst nightmare.

User Content Posted on the Site:

When you post User Content to the Site, you authorize and direct us to make such copies thereof as we deem necessary in order to facilitate the posting and storage of the User Content on the Site. By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute such User Content for any purpose, commercial, advertising, or otherwise, on or in connection with the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing. You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content. Facebook does not assert any ownership over your User Content; rather, as between us and you, subject to the rights granted to us in these Terms, you retain full ownership of all of your User Content and any intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights associated with your User Content.

While this all may seem like legalese to most people, to me, it's not. I've read, edited, and written enough legal contracts for the photo industry over the past 12 years that verbiage like this sends shivers down my spine (and those who know me, also know that photographer advocacy is a cause close to my heart).

Because in plain English - the second you upload an image to Facebook, they'll forever have a copy of it, and they'll also forever be able to use it. Because, as they claim, you've granted them a full and irrevocable license to your image, and they are from now on able to use it, modify it, give it away and - yes - license it to a third party. (Take a deep breath now, and ask yourself: why would they want to, and what for exactly, if there was no exchange of money?)

Naturally, Facebook has already caught a lot of flack for these terms. Founder Mark Zuckerberg justifies them like this in his response: "When a person shares information on Facebook, they first need to grant Facebook a license to use that information so that we can show it to the other people they've asked us to share it with. Without this license, we couldn't help people share that information."

Part of me understands that - another part of me cringes at the mere thought of opening myself up to yet another way my images could potentially be abused. And yet another part of me knows that it's a spectacularly difficult situation people don't usually have the bandwidth or knowledge to truly grasp, and therefore their initial reaction is to simply cry wolf.

What it really does though is highlight the complexity of copyright in the digital age. For example - you probably use Google every day, right? You search for content, images, use your Gmail, calendar etc.. But have you ever thought about what kind of license you enter into with Google for these most basic services? Have you read Google's Terms of Use? Here's what I found:

11. Content license from you

11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.

11.2 You agree that this license includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.

11.3 You understand that Google, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users, may (a) transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media; and (b) make such changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to the technical requirements of connecting networks, devices, services or media. You agree that this license shall permit Google to take these actions.

11.4 You confirm and warrant to Google that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the above license.

Hm. Sounds an awful lot like Facebook's license, no?

Taking a step back, it occurred to me that too often do we take the Internet and its vast resources for granted. When we use Facebook or Google, we don't think about the enormous amounts of time, effort, and money it takes to run these companies and sites. Or that we can access their services 24/7, from literally anywhere - FOR FREE.

For us pro photographers that means: having our websites show up in Google, or being able to upload our portfolios to Facebook (and share them with our friends, peers, clients) - which (let's be honest) gives us a whole new (and huge) channel of marketing. FOR FREE.

Should we have to trade the potential of having our images abused by a company such as Facebook or Google for the opportunity to display (and market) our services? Maybe not. We certainly have a choice. We can choose not to put our images out there, based on the rationale that if nobody can see them, nobody can abuse them. But if we don't put them out there, we also forever stay in the stone age with our businesses, doomed to having forever missed the train to the digital age. I, for one, readily acknowledge that over the past few years, the main bulk of my business has been generated by my website, its vast portfolio - and its excellent Google rating.

In his note, Zuckerberg talks about respect and trust. How do we know Facebook won't turn to the dark side one day, and start to utilize that trust (and that licensing agreement) for their own profit? We don't. We can only trust that they won't.

In the meantime however - we can be responsible digital citizens, protect our content as best as we can (by keeping your FB privacy settings restricted to only your friends, or watermarking all of the images on our website), and hope that FB does the right thing.

In the same meantime - let's not forget that we all reap the rewards of an open web of connections, such as the Internet or Facebook, to promote our businesses and help us earn a living.

Update: this post was originally published on Facebook, where it generated some interesting feedback links. I thought I should add them here to further the discussion and let other voices speak as well:

Photo Business Forum
APhotoEditor.com
Sportsshooter.com
UsePlus.com

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, Facebook, photographer advocacy, photography

Truly good food is a little bit like a symphony: Elegant. Graceful. Sophisticated. Eloquent. With bold notes and delicate undertones. Sweeping, and yet demure. It can make your head swim, your heart flutter, elevate your mood, and help you forget your everyday life.



Science has tied the chemical dopamine to food - a stimulant your brain releases upon receiving a rewarding experience. Most commonly though, dopamine is associated with love.

So do love and food replace eachother? Maybe. Doubtless however is the fact that when the two meet, something extraordinary is created. Someone who cooks with passion can spawn something far superior than someone who may be educated and skilled in the culinary arts, but is just going through the motions.



And every so often I come across someone whose cuisine is imbued with that passion, that devotion, that intoxication with food. Her name is Lisa Glickman, and she is a personal chef, right here in Bend. I met her on a food shoot last March.

I'll never forget the first time I tasted her food. It rocked my world. Steaming, home-made ravioli were filled with the most delicate and flavorful mushrooms, embraced by simple white truffle oil and delightfully crunchy pine nuts. The lamb was cooked to perfection - impossibly tender and juicy. More like butter than anything else. The red-wine poached pear with the vanilla bean creme fraiche was sweet, but at the same time light and awash with complex flavor.



I left the party that evening with a swing in my step, taste buds that would dance the conga for hours to come, and the certain knowledge that I would worship Lisa's talent for a long time. Ok - make that "all eternity".



If you ever have the pleasure to taste her food, you'll know from the first bite that you just got lucky. As for myself - did I mention that I love my job?

Labels: Bend photographer, commercial photographer Bend Oregon, food, food images, food photographer Bend OR, food photography, photography, product photography

I'm so damn lucky.

I have these incredible friends. They are a talented and generous bunch - who also happen to be awesome human beings to boot.

One of them is Adam Z.

Now - I've never actually *met* Adam. And yet, I count him as a dear friend.

Our lives first touched about 9 years ago, when he was running a powerful site about geek stuff out of his native Toronto, Canada, and I was an Online Evangelist for O'Reilly Media who was looking to partner with exactly such sites to promote our geek books. After the tech bubble imploded, and I had forged on as a freelance photographer, we worked on a couple of client projects together - him doing the design, me providing the photography.

Remote and online-only collaboration has its own challenges, but Adam turned out some incredibly creative designs for my clients, on insanely tight deadlines, and with a level of professionalism and attention to detail I had seldom experienced before. Even the pre-flight guy at the printer's wrote to me in awe that he had never seen such clean and precise files in his life before.

So I am grateful to Adam for many things. Not in the least for designing my beautiful logo years ago... as a pure courtesy.

But now he's done it again.

The other day, I was completely lost, staring at that empty expanse of pixels on my screen, that yawning horror of white I was supposed to fill with colors, shapes and prettiness, spouting out of the creative fountain of my mind. It was all supposed to form itself into a new card for my business, and a slide for the upcoming BendFilm festival (where Emerald Bay Photo is a sponsor). Except - nothing happened. The fountain was dry. No colors came to me. No shapes. No fonts. Nada.

I gnawed on my lip for a while. Then I ran in screaming desperation to Adam.

And he was there for me. With blazing speed, incredible creativity and that awe-inspiring precision, he spawned something of utter beauty, sleekness and simplicity. It was exactly what I had wanted, yearned for, but what my brain was unable to conjure up.







So this is a nod and a deep bow to my friend Adam.

THANK YOU.

Labels: design, photography

Earlier this week, I shot this beautiful home in The Highlands development of Bend:










The house is up for sale now (did you see the one-page ad in the Bulletin today?), and you can get more info and see more images right here at www.bendhighlands.com.

Labels: architectural photography, architecture, Bend photographer, interior architectural photography, photography, The Highlands

Gleaming metal. Clean lines. Sharp glass. Shadow and light, working together to create unexpected and dynamic patterns. Harmonic colors that enhance eachother, play off eachother, contrast and produce an environment of simplicity and grace.

These are the things I live for when doing architectural photography. Yes, I admit, I'm a junkie - my favorite fix being contemporary buildings.

So here's a good example I recently shot for an architect client:









Mmmmm. Mmm. Mm.

Labels: architectural photographer Bend Oregon, architectural photography, architecture, commercial photographer Bend Oregon, interior architectural photography, photography

I don't even think I need to elaborate past the headline ...





More options on how to delight your palate in the Home Cookbook section of Bend Living, out on newsstands now.

Labels: chocolate, commercial photographer Bend Oregon, food, food images, food photographer Bend OR, food photography, photography

In the world of magazine publishing, working a few months ahead of the print deadline is nothing unusual. So the results of the assignment that took me to San Francisco last July only just hit the newsstand last month.

You can check out the article "Sushi Quest in the City by the Bay" in the March/April issue of Bend Living Magazine - or, given their rather meager selection of images from that assignment, take a minute and indulge in a sort of "extended version" of the adventure...

Truth be told - at first, the idea of a quest to find the best sushi in a city, awash with some of the freshest seafood on the coast and a selection of great restaurants featuring it, seemed rather intimidating. For me personally however - as a sushi aficionado - the promise of spending 3 days reveling in raw fish approached a small slice of heaven.

Oh how very, very, wrong I would be.

Between some rigorous net research, recommendations from friends and my editor, writer Vi Ho and I settled on three restaurants to check out: Blowfish, Sudachi, and Kyoya. With swing in the step, elated tastebuds, camera gear and notepad ready in hand, we arrived at the first place, Blowfish.

Now - to make raw fish look attractive and appetizing, you sometimes really have to work hard. That goes for both the chef and the photographer. Blowfish however really had the presentation down, which made things decidedly easier for me:





Maybe it was the combination of dishes, maybe it was the sashimi - my small intestines didn't really care to make that distinction. They only knew that a short while later, they were very, very unhappy. And not being able to ignore them, so was I. Because in effect it prevented me from being able to enjoy the sushi - and any other solid food, for that matter - served up to me in the following two days.

Talk about being in a depression situation. Here I am - in one of the world's greatest seafood cities, a veritable plethora of choices tantalizing me at every turn, and kind chefs and restaurant managers serving up a seemingly endless procession of (free) dishes. And just the mere thought of tasting a piece of fish making my stomach squeamish.

Mostly I felt bad for the restaurants - they worked so hard to accommodate us and make a good impression. So I tried to be a trooper, indulged in the offered miso soup and edamame, smiled and nodded, and instead of salivating over the offerings, focused on making their food look good.

Sudachi's miso was indeed memorable - but (I was told) even more so were their unusual combinations of sashimi and exotic oils and condiments:





Kyoya shone with their exquisite presentation skills, but Vi proclaimed that their Shrimp Tempura roll was quite other-wordly too. How I wished I could have tasted it ...





After all was said and done, we returned to Bend - satisfied with our quest, and loaded with great story material. Even my intestines had arrived at a place of peace again. Alas, I'm still waiting for that subtle sushi craving to return.

Labels: commercial photographer Bend Oregon, food, food images, food photographer Bend OR, food photographer San Francisco CA, food photography, photography, sushi

Life is challenging without sugar.

Trust me. I know.
I'm going through withdrawals as we speak.

Such is the sacrifice you make when doing a little Spring cleaning on the ole carcass. But hey. I know, it's temporary only. Luscious chocolate cakes, covered with thick shiny coats of couverture and adorned with ripe sweet raspberries loom in the not-too-distant future...

In the meantime, I have to satisfy my cravings by chewing on a low-fat cheese stick - while convincing my discriminating taste buds that it's really a Snickers.

For the rest of you, there is this:



Yepp, it's a berry cobbler with home-made whipping creme - photographed on a recent shoot for Bend Living magazine's "Home Cookbook" section. For the recipe, check the May/June issue.

Labels: commercial photographer Bend Oregon, food, food images, food photographer Bend OR, food photography, photography

Freshly back from my trip to chocolate-infused Switzerland, I got the opportunity to shoot some really yummy sweet treats during an event at Balay in downtown Bend.



They were tiny delicate cups of chocolate, filled with silky mousse. And lush, juicy strawberries, dipped in dark chocolate and decorated to look like tuxedos. And did I mention the heart-shaped truffles?



And yes - after I shot them, I ate them (thank you to Sweet Tooth for letting me take some home too. They didn't last very long ...).

Being Swiss, I'm very picky about my chocolate. But this stuff rocked. And it reminded me of why I love to shoot food. Because I get to eat it afterwards.

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, chocolate, commercial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, food, food images, food photographer Bend OR, food photography, photography

For the past two years, I have been co-organizing the Bend Slideluck Potshow with Oregonian writer Matt Preusch. He brought the concept with him when he moved to Bend from Seattle, where his friend Casey Kelbaugh had casually started the gatherings in 2000.

Over those years, the Slideluck Potshow concept took off like wildfire - culminating with a piece in the New York Times today.

Slideluck Potshow in NYC - photography Michael Nagle for The New York Times

And Casey writes:

As we announced at the show, there are several Slidelucks coming up, both nationally and internationally. Alys Kenny and I will be going to Europe for a month to launch SLPS in five European cities. In each place, we will be looking for artists, volunteers, participants, and in the case of London and Berlin, spaces. If you know people in any of the cities listed below, please feel free to connect them with us as we would like to make each show as rich and diverse as possible.

March 30th: Seattle
April 14th: London (in conjunction with the VII seminar)
April 21st: Madrid
April 26th: Copenhagen
April 28th: Berlin (over April2006Berlin gallery weekend)
May 5th: Milan
May 19th: Minneapolis
June 29th: Los Angeles

Also in the works are San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, DC, Portland, Santa Fe, Milwaukee, Boston, Mexico City, Art Basel Miami and New York City public high schools. It is amazing to consider what this non-profit might be able to accomplish with proper funding. In each of these places, we are seeking to present the work of artists working in that community for that community.

Yay to our international brethren! The most recent Bend SLPS was last Friday, but for anybody interested in attending the next Slideluck Potshow in Bend in May, email me and I'll put you on the announce list.

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, photography, Slideluck Potshow

Anybody who remembers Mt. Bachelor's West Village Lodge two years ago, and for some unknown reason hasn't been back since (uhmmm - me? because I don't ski?) - get ready for a pleasant surprise:



That's right - the interior of the lodge (which previously had a bit of a strong nolstalgic 70s feel to it ...) has been completely updated. Large, modern steel beams now rule the spaces, rugged floor tiles add color and texture everywhere, and open, light areas invite to linger, rest, snack or warm up with a drink.



The formerly cramped and lackluster bar area has been completely transformed into a hip, inviting space with neon signs, Bachelor-branded chairs and lots of open room.



And in a nod to the environment and green building, modular panels out of recycled wood now protect the walls - and once they are banged up pretty good by the crowds, they can be easily replaced with new ones (as can the floor tiles).



Overall - a very cool remodel. And a fun shoot too.

Labels: architectural photographer Bend Oregon, architectural photography, architecture, Bend Oregon photographer, commercial photographer Bend Oregon, Mt. Bachelor, photography

If you've seen today's Health & Fitness section in the Bend Bulletin, you couldn't have missed the front page feature on Pilates (sorry, folks - no link to the actual story... uhmmm... it's subscription-only).

Incidentially, the pictures that accompanied the article for once weren't shot by the paper's own PJs - rather, they used the shots I had taken a few weeks back at my friend Diane's Pilates Center of Bend (she was interviewed for the article and tipped the paper off to the images).



So I thought I'd tutor anybody interested in creating similar images on how to achieve these kinds of motion effects. It takes a bit of planning ahead, but it's easy, really.

Step 1: Shoot numerous images while your model is in motion. The important part here is that you either mount your camera on a tripod, or if that isn't possible, you employ a steady handhold while shooting. You want the lines of the body to match up later.

Step 2: Open the desired images in Photoshop. I don't recommend working with more than three images at a time - unless the motion stretches across the entire image, overlaying more images can get visually confusing.



Step 3: Choose your background image (above). Go to your second image, and with the Marquee tool, select the part of the image you want to overlay. Cut and paste that as a new layer onto your background image.

Step 4: Go to Layer > Add Layer Mask and create a mask on your second image. Reduce Opacity on that layer to about 30%. Click on the mask, and with a soft black brush (at 100%) erase everything but the parts you want to showcase the motion with. Your images should now look something like this:



Step 5: Repeat with your third image. Play with the layer opacities to get the desired effect. Done!

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, photography, sports fitness photographer Bend Oregon

Last Friday, I witnessed an attempted murder.

The crime scene? Mirror Pond, Drake Park, downtown Bend, Oregon. April 14, 2006 - roughly 2pm.

The crime? The attempted drowning of a male Mallard duck by none other than a gang of fellow male Mallard ducks.







While obviously violence is no stranger to the animal world, we generally don't think of DUCKS as savage or ferocious creatures.

The attempted drowning seemed shockingly pre-meditated and coordinated, and left me frozen in astonishment, barely able to point the camera at the spectacle. I briefly looked around for a rock to throw at the party, hoping to break it up and free the poor under-duck, but no such luck.

And as I stood there, witnessing an agitated cluster of no less than 3 to 4 ducks at any time, grabbing the victims head with their bills and holding it under water, again and again - it occured to me that it's not only a dog-eat-dog world. It's also a duck-eat-duck world.

But before someone at PETA gets their panties in a knot, please note that I said "attempted" drowning.

Yes. The duck got away. Barely, I must say (in a couple of instances I thought he wasn't going to make it for sure), but he did.

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, oregon stock photography, photography

I had never even considered Google Earth as a tool to help prepare for a photo shoot - but I gotta admit, that's a DAMN GOOD IDEA.

I got tipped off to it in a recent newsletter from the AIAP, an organization I'm member of. Alan Blakely, Director of the AIAP, writes:

"There are literally hundreds of cool things you can do with Google Earth, but let me tell you how I personally use it:

1. Determine compass orientation and sun angle of exteriors.
This is HUGE! I travel extensively, and one of the hardest things to determine when planning a shoot is "best time of day". My experience has been that the people on site are rarely able to tell me accurately which direction the building faces. With Google Earth I simply enter the address of the building and "fly-in" to the location and view its orientation -- amazing! [Note: WOW. That is indeed huge. Knowing the physical orientation of any location is an amazing advantage!)

2. Determine the effect of adjacent buildings, parking lots and potential conflicting businesses on a site.
Have you ever arrived at an out-of-town location with a limited amount of shooting time and discovered that your subject was in the shadow of an adjacent structure? With Google Earth you can predict these potential problems.

3. Find nearby accommodations and services.
Another huge deal for me. I hate booking a hotel in a distant city and discovering that my subject site is on the other side of town. Google Earth allows you to find nearby lodging, restaurants, etc.

4. Find directions to and from a subject site.
I realize that this is old stuff if you use Mapquest, Yahoo Maps or Google Maps. However, seeing directions plotted out on the actual view of the area is vastly superior to any written directions. Google Earth zooms out and draws the way for you.

Now, however cool that tool may be though for larger cities - Google Earth images of Central Oregon are nothing short of SUCKIE. Point in case:



In comparison - the Google Campus rocks regarding detail:



Duely noted too that the City of Bend has a similar web-based application - but after running a few searches and not turning up even obvious stuff like Mirror Pond, Wall Street or Cooley Road, I've come to the conclusion that the thing is utterly useless (never mind that it ONLY runs in MS IE, and not in Mozilla ...).

And admittedly, Google Earth may be more useful for people who travel a lot or specialize in archictural photography, but I thought I'd throw it out there nonetheless. I'm sure creative ways to utilize Google Earth for other kinds of photography can very easily be found.

Post in the comments if you come up with anything brilliant.

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, photography, photography gear

For almost 5 years I was utterly faithful.

To my trusty Compaq Presario 7000, that is. It rewarded me with rock-solid performance, few hiccups, and a comforting hum every time I would boot it up.

But it finally came time to add another horse to the stable. Not being able to shake the suspicion that the Compaq would just lay down and die if it ever found out that I was even *thinking* of replacing it, I reached deep into my pocket and bought it a "companion" instead. Sort of the Ferrari to park next to the VW Bus to keep it company in the garage.

The culprit? Photoshop CS2. It flat out refused to run on my lame 512mb of RAM (oops - was that out loud? Those 512mb of RAM are not *lame*. Did I say lame? I meant ... moderately insufficient...).

And at the same time - whenever I was desperate enough to start it up - CS2 would give me hints and peeks at its awesome power that CS1 just couldn't deliver. The fact that I am flirting with the thought of making the leap to the 12+ megapixel Canon 5D made a computer upgrade an even more pressing issue.

So I consulted Digital Photo Pro magazine, and after some brain-storming sessions with my friend Jake, settled on a system he would build for me with the following gear:

- Chip: AMD Athlon 64 1GHz HT Dual Core Processor
- 4 gigs of RAM
- 3 Harddrives - one 74 gig, 10,000rpm drive to host the operating system and daily operations, plus two 400 gig, 7200prm drives in a RAID 1 array (meaning that they'll mirror eachother and I'll always have a backup of all the RAW and processed images that live there).
- 2 DVD burners
- ASUS A8N-VM Motherboard
- POWERCOLOR Radeon X800GT Video Card
- Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2

Since this new machine (Codename: The Beast) is now dedicated pretty much exclusively to image processing, I've networked it to my Compaq (Codename: Beauty) via a Linksys Broadband router, giving The Beast access to all the files on Beauty (and vice versa), plus the internet and all other shared devices like printers, scanners, fax etc. A KVM switch from Zonet let's me share the same monitor, keyboard and mouse between both boxes.

And how has it all worked out so far?

I would have never thought working in Photoshop could be such a boundless pleasure. For the first time, it executes commands, actions and file modifications without the hint of a delay - if I blink, I'll miss it for sure. (And that despite the fact that for some reason, only 2 gig of the 4 gig of RAM are actually operational - the next BIOS update by the motherboard manufacturer or Windows Vista will hopefully fix that though).

A recent project that took up 1.5 gigs on my CF cards was processed in roughly a quarter of the usual time - RAW conversion is now not a time issue anymore, so there really is no excuse not to always shoot RAW.

All in all - it feels like working at the computer the way it should have been (was?) intended: at the speed of thought.

And yes - it was worth every penny.

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, photography, photography gear

Last Sunday, a most glamorous event was held at Bend's Tower Theater - the 2nd annual BendFilm Oscar party.



Just like 800 miles to the South - in a mystical place called Hollywood - the people of Bend succumbed to the lure of glitz, glam, fur and shiny jewels (some fake, some not so fake) and turned out in force to show off fabulous gowns and stylish tuxedos.



After running the gaunlet of screaming fans and paparazzi on the red carpet...



... they got busy sipping champagne and saketinis and nibbling on fresh mussels and creamy gorgonzola...



... while Jon Stewart cracked jokes on the big screen.



Costumes were encouraged - and quite obviously embraced with gusto, as one can see from these examples:





A certain editor of a certain Bend glossy publication even went the extra mile and impersonated one of the night's Oscar contenders for Best Film ...



When the night was over, Oscars had been distributed, champagne was spilled, fun was had, and funds were raised for one of the worthiest causes: independent film.

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, photography

A few months ago, Grant Ellis, a freelancer writer for the Canadian Globe and Mail newspaper, interviewed me for an article about food photography, and the new tech infatuation of people whipping out their digicams before their fork at the restaurant.

Cruising around on Google today, I found the article got finally published, and it's indeed quite interesting - and at times hilarious.

I quote: I'm reminded of my own trip to China two years ago and the moment when I started taking pictures of my food. Afterward, I had trouble reasoning with myself. Why had I just taken a half-dozen photos of a bearded Shanghai crab, soon to be dismembered and devoured?

Eating I understand, but why did I feel the need to immortalize this transient, perishable subject? After all, by the power and pleasure of my consumption, I was essentially just conspiring to turn the thing into poop.

Thank you, Grant. I really needed this most inspiring mental image for my next assignment ...

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, commercial photographer Bend Oregon, food, food photographer Bend OR, food photography, photography

One of the reasons for my recent lack of blog posts was an almost one-week long trip to Seattle to see some friends.

As it sometimes happens in life, things go upside down, and our friends had their baby a bit earlier than anticipated. So I got to see (and photograph) their brandnew baby - a girl with the lovely name of Sophia Lilly - up close and personal.


Sophia, less than 24 hours old, holds her mama's finger.


Sophia on her first photo shoot.


Being born a bit early brings on the conveninence of being able to hang out in a tiny and really cozy warm see-through box for a while - although her parents were anxious to take her home.

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, photography

Found today on JWZ's blog: Digital Camera made from Scanner.

What a neat idea. Reading up on it some more (note: this is only a mirror, as the original site seems overwhelmed right now) it made me wish I had kept my old, but still working, flatbed scanner instead of donating it to the Goodwill...

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, photography, photography gear

What do you get if you combine some olympic-grade snowboarders, a world-class event and a really, really nasty blizzard?

A very cool, but cancelled event. With some unhappy snowboarders. And some serious fresh powder.

Such it was last Saturday at the Chevrolet US Snowboard Grand Prix. No less than 15 minutes after I arrived at the Superpipe (and *after* checking in at the media desk and then huffing and puffing my way up the steep and snowy hill for 10 minutes, mind you), the cool dude who had narrated the event with much gusto, informed all the other resident dudes and dudettes that - uhmm, so *totally* sorry, man - the event would be postponed until later, or at least the next day.

I fired off exactly 15 frames prior to that, obsessively trying to protect my rather water-sensitive camera from the driving snow and hoping Mother Nature would chill. No use.

I did see some rad moves by the snowboard kids, but documentation in the manner intended (with blue skies, sunshine, and actually being able to see out of my eyes) fell sadly short, to say the least. Hence, below pictures:





Yepp, they suck. I know.

Making my way back to the base then, I came to know what the term "snow blind" means. With snow crystals, sharp like tiny razors, coming at me with insane speeds, not even the combined efforts of my sunglasses, hood, and shawl were able to protect my eyes enough to actually be able to keep them open - I staggered down the hill blind, having faith in the fact that *other people* could (maybe) see me and get out of the way in time.

On Sunday, I contemplated a return to shoot the Superpipe and the Slope-style finals, but after checking the Mountain's Weather Page and Webcam and seeing nothing but snow, I ditched it in favor of another adrenaline sport - playing four solid hours of Baldur's Gate.

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, oregon stock photography, photography, sports fitness photographer Bend Oregon

This morning was 10 degrees Fahrenheit outside (that's 12 below freezing to you Celsius-people out there). Yepp, that's cold.

What was neat though, is that we got a healty dose of hoarfrost with it. So of course I tortured my camera for a bit by venturing out around the house where the subjects seemed to abound ...


Hoarfrost lets you see every tiny little snowflakelet in all its individual glory.


The garage door windows yielded some astounding patterns.


And even the icycles got a little frosty!

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, oregon stock photography, photography

It snowed yesterday. And it got *real* cold.

So what's a photographer to do? Run out at the first blink of morning with the camera, of course! So these are literally fresh off the CF card ...

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, oregon stock photography, photography

Random Image for the Day:


Mountain Bluebird - Mt. Jefferson in the background

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, oregon stock photography, photography

I'm not a birder. Really. I'm not. I just happen to live in a house that looks at the world at mid-tree level - with very large windows. And since that's where birds tend to live, I see a lot of them. So I have a mild interest in them. Especially the colorful ones.

When I first moved to Central Oregon, I actually took an informal survey of bird species that would visit my feeders year-round. I counted something like 42. Over the past 3 years now, I've come to know them all pretty well. So I notice when there's suddendly a new species around. Mostly one that doesn't belong here.

This has been the case with two new species I've come across over the past couple of weeks. One was this Blackbacked Woodpecker:



The Audubon Guide tells me that this uncommon woodpecker resides largely up North, in an area stretching from Western Alaska all the way over to the East Coast of Canada.

Then, two days ago, I saw a Redbreasted Sapsucker hanging around my feeder. It is supposed to live mainly in coastal areas, from BC down to California. Not in the High Desert of Oregon.

Now maybe those are just a couple of freak sightings - or maybe then again, they are not. Could it be that global warming has started to show its face by encouraging the redistribution of bird territories? I know it's completely hypothetical - but it's possible, isn't it?

Anyone with more info or a similarly unusual sighting, please leave a comment. I want to get to the bottom of this.

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, oregon stock photography, photography

Ok, I admit it - I have an unreasonable obsession with angles and lines. But in my chosen profession as architectural photographer, after all, angles and lines are everything. To me, it doesn't even matter if they're straight, curved, upsight down, crooked, wiggly - as long as they're exciting to look at.

Take this house, for example.



A few weeks ago, I shot this residence for a local Bend architect.



As even the untrained eye can see, the angles on this home are exquisite. The combinations of straight lines with leaned beams, cool glass with warm wood, tinted concrete with natural rock, are beautiful. And unlike 99% of homes here in the area, this one isn't elevated some 30 feet above ground to take advantage of the mountain views (which is does have in abundance) - rather, it is nestled into the ground to blend into the environment and shelter its occupants from the at times strong winds.



And despite its sizable square footage, you never feel like you're in a very large home. It's always intimate, cozy, inviting.

Very cool.

Labels: architectural photographer Bend Oregon, architectural photography, architecture, Bend Oregon photographer, commercial photographer Bend Oregon, photography

Yesterday, I went down to the Deschutes River in La Pine, near Pringle Falls, taking some shots for the Upper Deschutes River Natural Resources Coalition.

The waterlevel looked to be about 6 to 8 feet below normal, exposing the black obsidian on the river's shore, in places whitened by dried algae. An older fisherman I came cross only mutely shook his head when I asked him how the fish were biting, and shuffled off with his head hanging low.

Given what I had to work with, I decided on some close-ups - of which this one here became my favorite:



(By the way, it's all private property down there. I got permission in advance from the homeowners association to access this part of the river, so please, folks, don't go trampling around down there without asking first.)

I later talked to the president of the homeowners association, who told me that every year around this time, the powers in charge of the water supply turn off the faucet at the dam upstream, leaving only just enough water so the fish can survive. It stays that way until spring. The reason is conservation - so the farmers down-stream will have enough supply next summer to water their crops.

Now, I could launch into this long rant about how I detest the practices of the local water-management officials who seem to base their decisions purely on a commercial rationale, and with little regards towards the natural health of the river, its inhabitants and the wildlife who relies on it. But - that would do little good, now would it?

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, oregon stock photography, photography

The other day, I realized how terribly harsh life must be as photo gear in my equipment bag.

Over the past two years or so, I've done some pretty good damage to my Canon 10D, my 20-35mm wide-angle lens - and most recently - to my newly-acquired Canon Speedlite 550EX flash.

Once, my tripod-mounted camera fell onto the grantite floor of a bathroom I was shooting. It was a damn tight space, and I must have nudged the tripod with my foot. The floor was ok, of course - but my 10D had a little dent in the top, and also the small diffuser of my on-camera flash had broken (although the flash was closed at the time). Everything else worked great, the lens was fine - and overall, it was nothing short of astonishing how well the camera had held up to the crash.

Burning Man then claimed my 20-35mm wide-angle lens. I had read a lot about camera handling and maintenance in the Burning Man forums prior to my departure (including warning such as "If you have a nice camera, don't bring it"), and I had taken certain precautions, such as wrapping each item in my bag in a thick ziplock bag and only taking them out if I absolutely had to. I also ended up not changing any lenses during the entire week, because I knew that dust would inevitably get onto my sensor and screw up my shots.

But - there was no getting away from that superfine alcali-dust after all. Even if you keep your camera and lens inside of a ziplock at all times (which I pretty much did), the dust will get you. Luckily, it got to me only on the very last day. After the Burn too. I got home and upon cleaning my equipment, noticed a tiny speck of dust on the inside of my lens' front glass. It showed up in test shots as a dime-sized dark blur - and made the lens of course unusable that way. I wonder how many orders for new gear B&H gets after Burning Man ...

The third accident happened only a couple of weeks ago - I was on a shoot, and my tripod-mounted camera with the Speedlite on top fell over. And I wasn't even in the room. How it could have happened is seriously beyond me. The result of it however was that one side of the little foot that connects the flash to the camera broke off. I tried to super-glue it back on - no dice. At an event a few days ago, I ended up using lengths of gaffers tape to keep the flash on top of the camera, but the contacts were not working reliably.

So - now you might ask: Why hasn't she gotten in touch with Canon yet, and gotten these items into the shop to be repaired?. Well, I did call them. But of course all my gear is *just* beyond the warranty. So needless to say, Canon support was of very little help (they suggested sending it in or just buying new gear). And here's the sole biggest reason why I won't send anything in to them: They take WEEKS to evaluate and repair your stuff. Which working pro, I ask, can be without his/her camera or main lens for that long of a time?

Sure, you could go rent different gear to cover you for the length of the repair (Canon - disappointingly - doesn't offer a service like that). But not only are good rental places hard to find, they are also beastly expensive. None of them are in Central Oregon. Or Oregon for that matter. So take for example Gassers in San Francisco. Renting a 10D will cost you a cool $100 - per day. If you need it for say 2 weeks (the lenght of the repair) - that's $1,400. That will buy you a new camera. TCR is a bit cheaper, but not much. (Note to self - get into the camera rental market.)

So I'm stuck. I either risk losing out on jobs because my gear is in the shop, or I'll pay through the nose to be able to take on those jobs, and in the end might not make any money off that work.

For the future I think I'll look at taking out insurance on my gear. Before Burning Man I had my insurance agent work me up a quote for kicks. She wanted $500 for a year's coverage. I thought of all the nifty gear I could buy with that, and declined. Of course, my new wide-angle cost me over $400 alone. Add to that the flash, and I would have made out already.

If anybody has any bright ideas however, post them here or email them to me.

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, photography, photography gear

Recently photographed at Scanlon's Restaurant:



And yes, I got to eat it too. It was fabulous. Look for the recipe in the December edition of Bend's own Gusto Magazine and for more images here.

In other food-related news: Grant Ellis, a freelance journalist writing an trend article on the rise of amateur food photography for Canada's national newspaper, the Globe and Mail, noticed the article on food photography I wrote a while back for O'Reilly (no doubt due to its kick-ass Google rating) and interviewed me for it. I'll be posting a link to the finished piece when I get it from Grant.

And last, but not least - my favorite sushi restaurant (and one of the all-time best on the entire West Coast, in my humble opinion) Sushimotos in Sunriver has changed owners. The original chef, Ed Metcalfe, is heading back to the Bay Area to start a new sushi bar. His talents will no doubt be sorely missed by regional sushi-afficionado, but I hope to get down to his new place soon - and maybe even do some food photography for him while I'm at it.

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, commercial photographer Bend Oregon, food, food photographer Bend OR, food photography, photography

Last week, the good people at the Oregon Business Magazine sent me on an assignment into the foothills of the Ochoco Mountains, near Prineville. I was to do a portrait of Rick Steber, celebrated writer of Western novels and recent recipient of the "Best Western Novel" award for his new book Buy The Chief a Cadillac.

I ended up hanging out in his cabin for three hours. He read to me out of a couple of his books, told me about the time when his dog Strider got attacked by coyotes, and talked about all the interesting people and stories he comes across while travelling the West. It was utterly fascinating, and I was having a real cowgirl moment.

Of course, I did take his picture too:

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, photography, portrait photographer Bend Oregon

After the awards party on Saturday eve I was seriously exhausted, so I took yesterday off to recover - and hence, the pics from that event are up a day late. I hope you all still enjoy them though:


The amazingly talented Marcia Whitehead sings an aria after the screening of "Laundry and Tosca", the documentary based on her quest to become an opera singer


The BendFilm awards festivities at the Elks Lodge get started with a drink at the beautifully decorated bar


Central Oregon's own "American Idol" Katie Rush greets the guests at the door with her glowing smile


Jody Denton, head chef and owner of "Merenda" restaurant, puts the finishing touches on the dessert buffet


The evening kick-starts with the announcement of the "Indie Kids" award.


Mark Duplass accepts the award for Best Screenplay for "Puffy Chair"


The audience loved Taggart Siegel's "The Real Dirt on Farmer John" so much, they awarded him the Big Check with an almost 99% approval rating


Taggart Siegel lets Farmer John give direct thanks to BendFilm over the cell phone after the movie wins its second award of the evening for "Best Documentary"


The "Best in Show" award went to "Shakespear Behind Bars", a documentary about a band of prison convincts who put on a production of Shakespear's "The Tempest"



From singer to singer: Marcia Whitehead chats with Central Oregon "Idol" Katie Rush


A happy Taggart Siegel celebrated his win with Hanna Elias, director of "The Olive Harvest"


Winners Circle (from left): Scott Coleman Miller ("Uso Justo"), Evan Stuart ("Reality Check"), Taggart Siegel ("The Real Dirt on Farmer John"), Mark Duplass ("The Puffy Chair"), Taggart's producer, and Devor Robinson ("Police Beat")


The most sought-after piece of brass of the evening - the BendFilm trophy

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, photography

For those interested (and seriously - who isn't?), here are shots from the second day at the BendFilm festival:


At the screening of the much-anticipated documentary "The Eskimo and the Whale" by Bend filmmaker Jenn Hofman


A sold-out McMenamin's theater


Author and "Oregonian" film critic Shawn Levy discusses his new book ...


... "The Last Playboy", at DiLusso's Coffee shop


Filmmaker Taggart Siegel ("The Real Dirt on Farmer John") at home with his Bend host family


Free public transportation, provided by the "GreenEnergy" bus


Party at the "Tigerlily" boutique on Minnesota


The sponsors from Oregonlive.com at the Tigerlily party


Filmmaker Evan Stuart ("Reality Check") at the Sportsvision/Bend Living party


The jam-packed party at the Sportsvision store on Wall Street is in full swing


BendFilm founder Katie Merritt & friend at the Sportsvision/Bend Living party

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, photography

In my function as volunteer photographer for this year's BendFilm Festival, I was out there yesterday to cover the first day of the Festival.

Here are a selection of shots:

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, photography

I love it when all those silent wishes come true. Especially on my birthday.

Canon has announced the 5D, after much speculation and churning of the rumor mill.



At 12.8mp, equipped with a full frame sensor and at the fairly reasonable price of $3,300, it's not only the dream of many photographers who have been lusting after the 1Ds Mark II, but also my personal dream come true. Not having to shell out $8,000 for a full frame camera (which will render my wide-angle lenses for architectural work at their intended width), and still getting the higher resolution is quite simply perfect.

So thank you, Canon. I appreciate the fact that you've listened to your clients and come up with a nice middle-of-the-road camera that gives us pros one more reason to stick to Canon as the preferred method of capturing high-end imagery.

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, photography, photography gear

18 Days to Burning Man.
Then - 7 days completely off the grid.
Dream or Nightmare?

At first, the thought of dragging my delicate camera equipment into an area notorious for 110 degree heat, fierce lightning and sand storms, and fine alkaline "playa dust" made me shiver. Then I also realized that without a convenient wall outlet to plug my camera battery chargers into, I'd be out of business after a couple of days of shooting. Which was a bigger bummer than the heat, storms, and dust put together.

So a few weeks ago, I started researching my options. Sure, Burning Man is a place where people share - and RVs with generators and such will be plentiful, no doubt. I could probably sweet-talk someone into letting me plug into their power supply every so often. But - I really didn't like the idea of mooching of my brethren. Radical Self Reliance is the Burning Man theme after all.

Then, what else is there? With the help of a couple of gearhead colleagues (thanks Robert & Tom!), I was able to distill these options for remote power supplies for the wilderness:

1. The External Battery Pack: The Digital Camera Battery store will sell you this nifty long-lasting battery pack that can power both your camera and flash for a long, long time. It's small and has a belt clip and a cord, and is rechargable.
Price for the smallest, 40Watt unit = $320. Add to that $70 for the cable, and at least $99 for the car charger. Total = $510

Ouch. Not. Next!

2. The Solar Option: Yes - seize the power of the SUN! This is waaayy nifty - a 5 Watt solar panel charger for my Canon BP-511 camera batteries = $100. But wait - for only $25 more, I can get the 10 Watt Solar Panel. And man, for yet another $45 more, I can get the rollable 5 Watt Panel! For $260, I can even get the 10Watt rollable panel.
And then there is the cool iSun charger - so cute and small, and even lets me charge my AA batteries for the flash too. Damage = $160.

Sigh. That would be nice. But there's gotta be another option too. And, yes, of course there is. In true cheap-hipster form, this is the solution I came up with:

Canon BP-511 Camera Battery charger with AC plug: $12 (including shipping)
High-powered AA battery charger, with 8 2300mAh rechargable batteries, and an AC plug: $60
Add to that one of them portable power units that will jump your car and has an AC plug (which I can use to plug my chargers into): Freebie! (with the last set of tires I bought at Costco)
Total damage: $72



Not bad. But I suppose I've yet to see if this truly works. If not, there's always the Media Camp at Burning Man where I could charge my batteries (so I wouldn't have to sell my body to some random RV people - as was pointed out to me by a helpful fellow photographer ... ;-).

But in any case - this has been educational already, and I suppose can be considered as part of my gift back to the BM photo community. If anybody has any other ideas (or knows for sure that mine won't work, leave a comment.

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, photography, photography gear

I'm no wildlife photographer.

I'm not saying that because I don't *like* to photograph animals. Rather - quite frankly - I'm not terribly good at it. I lack the patience to sit in one spot for hours, observing, stalking and waiting for the wildlife to come along. I lack the ultra-big and fast lenses that are simply a requirement for anyone wanting to shoot wildlife seriously. And I lack the experience to be able to frame an animal in an exciting-never-before-seen-way when it does come along - I'm usually just giddily happy when I even get one in front of the lens.

Yet when wildlife insists on doing cool stuff right in front of me (aka my own backyard) and if I can go observe and photograph it at my leisure (aka from my own deck), even I can be persuaded to take the occasional animal shot.

Point in case:


About 3 months ago, I noticed that the tree with the nesting hole (roughly 70 feet from my living room window) had a new tenant - a pair of Kestrel Falcons (also often referred to as Sparrow Hawks). While they're abundant and widespread in the U.S., I felt nonetheless honored that they would choose *my* tree over others to nest in. Soon, they were busy at work too - freeing my yard of gophers and other vermin, and delighting me with their flying acrobatics.

Not long after, the nest was getting noisy. We started hearing loud and high-pitched demands of food from baby kestrels, and saw the parents working tirelessly to provide for them. The weekend before last then, I saw them for the first time - almost already at full size and plumage, three young falcons sat on the branches surrounding the nesting hole. I watched them flail around, beat their wings, but mostly just cry for more food. I figured, they'd be there for a while, so I didn't bother to take any pictures.

The very next day however, one of the youngsters took his first flight. In the beginning, I saw him make only short trips to surrounding trees. Then longer ones. Until finally, the entire brood took the plunge. That's when I decided that I should probably take my camera, put the dreaded tele-converter (I really hate those things - they make your camera slow and add grain) on my 300mm (in effect 450mm) lens, and head down to the tree. Hand-held, I was able to snap a few images of the young Kestrels as they hung out in their nesting tree, resting before the next flighing attempt.

Good thing I got that done too. The very next day, both parents and their three young were gone. I haven't seen or heard them since. But it's taught me a couple of valuable lessons - for one, my equipment sucks for taking wildlife shots. And two - I'm no wildlife photographer. I'll happily return to contemplating angles and lighting on structures again...

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, oregon stock photography, photography

There comes a time in (almost) every freelancer's life, when things start to click, start to fall into place. The past few weeks have been like that for me.

Work has been good and steady (so much as a matter of fact, that the last thing I've wanted to do after-hours is spend more time on the computer to blog), my calendar is satisfyingly covered with crazy scribbles of appointments and gigs, and there are a few very exciting new things on the horizon - which I cannot just yet brag about, but will be able to hopefully soon.

Yet today is special. A day when the Gods of the Publishing Industry are nodding and smiling down upon me. After working as a pro for 2 years now, this is the day I've gone national for the first time - with a 2-page (56 & 57) spread in the August issue of Money Magazine (Circulation: 1.9 million).



That so many eyeballs will see my images is exciting stuff. Hats off to the magazine and its fabulous editor for choosing the images they did and for reproducing them so beautifully.

So go out, buy the magazine - and be happy that Bend, Oregon didn't make the magazine's Top 100 list of "Best Places to Live". Otherwise there would be a resounding sigh so loud going through the Central Oregon home buyer community, you could hear it all the way to New York ...

Labels: architectural photographer Bend Oregon, architectural photography, Bend Oregon photographer, commercial photographer Bend Oregon, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, photography

It's time again to dig into your photo files, stop by in your kitchen for some yummy food - and join us for the next Bend Slideluck Potshow on Friday, July 8th, 6:30pm.

Robert Agli has yet again generously offered to host the Slideluck at his home (please email for directions to his house).

The theme this time is (in a nod to the fact that we have lots of wildlife/outdoor photographers in the group): WILD THINGS. But of course, good old non-themed work is just fine too.

Also - two things are new this time around:

1. Due to an utter lack of traditional slides being shown, we're abandoning the slide projector in favor of an all-digital presentation format. Tom Merrow will again be the good soul providing his digital projector. Thanks, Tom!

2. Folks - bring something else to eat but DESSERTS! Last time we had something like 8 sweet dishes and 2 main courses. So to make things easier (and this might bomb - or not): people with their last names starting with

A - I : bring an appetizer
J - Q : bring a main course
R - Z : bring a dessert

And last, but not least: For those who don't know yet, Slideluck Potshow is half slideshow and half potluck. It's an informal gathering of photographers and photo groupies to admire and discuss photography while enjoying food and drink. Pros, amateurs, and neophytes - short, all those interested in photography and supporting local photographers - are encouraged to attend.

Everyone should try to bring food or beverage (homemade food is encouraged), but the most important part of Slideluck Potshow is to your work. Without the slideshows Slideluck Potshow can't work, so don't be shy.

Here's how it works:
Each photographer will get 5 minutes (more or less) to show a digital slideshow. You can narrate, play music, mime or whatever as the pictures roll. (Projectors, computers, screen and stereo provided.)

For any other questions, please call Simone (cell: 771-6670) or Matt (382-2996), or if you want, you can RSVP to me (always appreciated ...).

Forward this to people you think might enjoy this gathering, and hope to see you all there!

Labels: photography

Great article in the New York Times today. Renowned photojournalist David Burnett explains why he prefers lugging around a 55-year-old 4-by-5-inch Graflex Speed Graphic camera to his Canon 20D digital SLR.

On the screen was a wide overhead picture of a John Kerry rally last fall in Madison, Wis., which Mr. Burnett shot with a Canon 20D digital camera, the same camera used by thousands of other professionals around the world. Not surprisingly, the picture looks like thousands of others that were shipped around the globe during the campaign.

The colors are bright. Every part of the image is crisp, so crisp that just picking the minuscule figure of Mr. Kerry out of the huge crowd takes a "Where's Waldo?" moment.

And then Mr. Burnett flipped to a photograph taken seconds later with the ancient Speed Graphic. Suddenly, the image took on a luminescent depth. The center of the image, with Mr. Kerry, was clear. Yet soon the crowd along the edges began to float into softer focus on translucent planes of color.

The effect is to direct the viewer's eye to Mr. Kerry while also conveying the scale and intensity of the crowd. In accomplishing both at the same time, the old-fashioned photograph communicates a rich sense of meaning that the digital file does not.

The digital picture pretends to display raw reality. The analog picture is a visualization of human memory.

Alert photographers might also remember the image David Burnett took of Al Gore on the campaign-trail that won him a "Eyes of History" award. It was taken with a $15 plastic Holga camera.

Labels: photography, photography gear

Photographers who have been in the business for many more moons than me will placidly smile at me for this post, for they know the feeling (and they're sooo over it) - making that very first cover.

But - it's still exciting for me. Especially if the cover is for a classy publication like Bend Living - or more precisely, the "High Desert Home" section of the June 2005 edition of Bend Living.



Shooting the house of painter Rika Peterson has been a real pleasure in more than one way - after the exhaustive selection of log and arts-and-crafts homes I've shot over the past years, Rika's clean white walls (adorned with those fabulous paintings), the straight lines, and modern furniture was like a much-needed rejuvination for my own artistic eye.

Above all though it was a challenge. Shooting a home that gets away with very little detail decoration - all the while wrestling two young, energetic Great Danes roughly the size of your average circus pony into sitting still on a sofa - was a lot harder than it sounded at first. Getting those colors (and especially the white of the walls) just right, was a whole other can of worms.

But even without the reward of the cover, the experience itself was well worth it.
For I got to work with a fantastic photo editor who chose all my favorite images (thanks, Tiffany!), I gained a new friend in Rika - *and* the hearts of Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol, the two very large, very slobbery dogs Rika calls her own.

Labels: architectural photographer Bend Oregon, photography

Another image from my Vienna file - Hofreitschule (Royal Riding School):



The interesting thing about this image is not necessarily the fact that these stunning and famous Lippizaner Stallions are being worked in what must be the world's most lavish riding hall - but how difficult it was to actually *obtain* the image.

Because you see - the facility has a strict no-photo policy. And by "strict" those Austrians really mean *strict* (the word "Nazi" creeps to mind, but I won't go there...). During the entire workout presentation, they had guards with sinister faces circulating among the crowd, yelling at you if they even sensed you were thinking about using that camera that hung around your neck. They even threatened to kick you out of the building altogether if they caught you in the act.

They claimed that the flashes of (those mostly all-automatic consumer) cameras made the horses nervous and irritable - and while I actually don't dispute that, they could have just had a no-flash policy instead of a no-photo policy. (The fact that the adjoining gift store was loaded with pretty postcards and picture books of the building and the horses probably had absolutely nothing to do with their policy either ...). After all, my 10D took a perfectly good image without flash and an almost silent shutter...

Astonishingly (and this explains the very presence of the guards), at almost any given moment during the entire 2-hour presentation, you could hear the faint clicks of shutters - mixed in with the blasting tune of Mozart's music - and see the flashes. At this point, I have to sheepishly admit to ganging up with my travel companions in keeping one eye on the guards, while we took turns sneaking our cameras out of the bag, taking a shot, and then instantly dropping it back into the bag or under the shirt.

Why? Because you see - we humans are weak. The breathtaking beauty of the hall, combined with those stunning horses doing flabbergasting things we never thought a horse could do (except in Disney movies), is simply too much for the mere mortal tourist with his camera - it simply has to be recorded. For all eternity. And of course for your friends at home to see. We are even willing to take the risk of a confrontation with one of the meanest guards anywhere just to satisfy one of our most basic urges: the irresistible need to click away.

Labels: oregon stock photography, photography, travel, travel photographer

Yes, I suffer the fate of every freelance photographer - trying to balance work life (shooting assignments, stock, and charity gigs) with the fun life (stuff I really want to shoot, but never have the time to).

For almost 9 months now, a file has been simmering away on my hard drive. It's been whispering to me "Open me! Work on me!", but I've been ignoring it, opting to focus on the work life. Lately however, that file's call has been getting louder, and I've decided to harness a few minutes every day to work on and post its pictures.

They are from my trip to Europe last September. The old world is so rich on eyecandy, so overwhelming - that you come back, your visual cortex brimming and singing with imagery. It takes a while to digest them, and the same went for that file. But I think I'm ready now.

So here's the first of what I hope will be a daily installment of fresh images from that file:



Prater, Vienna - Funride, blurred. Handshot @ F 6.7, 1/4 sec.

Vienna is famous for many things. But one of the only ones you should go to at night is the Prater - that's when the one of the oldest amusement parks in the world really comes alive. With almost 150 rides and a huge Ferris Wheel, it's an exhilirating experience, both visual and tactile.

Labels: oregon stock photography, photography, travel, travel photographer

Just happened upon this random image today and thought I'd post it:


Statue of a couple embracing, Schoenbrunn Castle, Vienna, Austria

Notably in this image is how damaging the environmental effects of chafing rain, triggered by the immense industrial and vehicle exhaust in Europe, are to the ancient and delicate outdoor artwork sprinkled all over the Old World.

This marble statue must have been gleaming white only half a century ago. Now, the black streaks tell of poisened rain and upclose, one can see the brittle surface slowly eroding away.

What a shame.

Labels: oregon stock photography, photography, travel, travel photographer

Today, I'd like to address an issue that a lot of freelance photographers face: The task of buying individual health insurance.

Like so many of my peers, I want health insurance, but cannot afford the premiums even my husbands employer wants from me (something like 250 bucks a month). So I've been on the lookout for good, affordable health insurance by a reputable company for a while now.

A few months back, a fellow freelancer warmly recommended Pacific Source, an Oregon-based company with terrific rates and a very high consumer satisfaction rating. I instantly downloaded their lenghty application, filled it out and sent it in. 3 weeks later, I get a letter of rejection.

Now, I'm one of those blessedly healthy individual who doesn't see the point of going to the doc unless something seriously traumatic happens (like I'm suddendly missing a limb, or the like - for which I *do* would like to be insured though). But apparently the fact that I was honest and told Pacific about a rotator cuff injury I sustained (and healed out) last winter while shoveling snow, was enough for them to turn me down. I was bummed.

Suddenly though, my mailbox filled with ads for health insurance for the self-employed. I didn't bother to take a closer look, until today, when a lady named Sally Hite called me and wanted to set up a meeting to "customize a quote" for me. I indulged her for a bit, telling her about my Pacific Source experience (she didn't seem to concerned with my rotator cuff problem), trying to glean as much info as possible from her through her hard sales pitch about the company she represented . She told me she worked with/for Mega Life & Health Insurance, but upon requesting she'd send me some information about the company prior to the meeting, she told me she'd rather not send anything because "most consumers don't understand the information anyway, and I'd rather not get you confused". Aha. I'm an idiot. News to me. But hey. She fussed even when I asked for a website URL.

So while still on the phone, I pulled up the company's website - where I found no information of any use, except the impression that for a national insurance company, they sure didn't splurge on web design costs. I finally hung up, and smelling the rotting fish from a mile away, went looking online for more information on the company.

Of course what I found was less than encouraging:
The Texas Dept. of Insurance had a lengthy profile of the company, complete with a history of fines Mega had incurred in the past years for "market conduct".
Selfemployedweb.com had an interesting article on deceptive practices some health insurance companies employed to get people to sign up - with Mega Life and its parent company, UICI, highlighted as an example for just such practices.

And then there was this interesting note in the article, saying how insurance companies employed associations and other similar groups to help them sell insurance. That's when I remembered that Sally had mentioned that I would need to sign up with the NASE (National Association for the Self-Employed) to be eligible for her insurance. And looky here - the NASE wants $96 just for their basic membership, with "benefits" that seem only a thinly-veiled list of companies that just love to market to the self-employed.

Add to that this fascinating thread in the Google Answers forum - and I swiftly cancelled my appointment with Sally. This little gem from a PR Newswire report in particular did it for me: Since late 2002, UICI has been beset by lawsuits alleging the company sold insurance policies through business associations without properly revealing close links to those organizations. The associations, including the National Association for the Self-Employed and the Alliance for Affordable Services, were managed by executives with direct ties to UICI.

So the moral of this rather lengthy post? Fellow freelancers out there beware - there are insurance companies on the loose with less than stellar morals, trying to take advantage of you. If you can, instead sign up with the AMSP, and get insurance through them. Of course the hang-up here is that their conditions specify you to need "three or more consecutive years of substantial publication experience" and you need two ASMP members to sponsor your application...

I'm not quite there yet, so I'm still looking for insurance. If any alert readers come up with any bright ideas, email me or post in the comments.

Labels: photographer advocacy, photography

Thanks to Luke for pointing me to the website of this Chicago-based wedding photographer. Jean-Rene Geoffrion's portfolio is a study in the art and craft of wedding photography - lots of close-ups of flowers, the cake, beautiful rings, exquisitely adorned brides' dresses etc - but with a delicate and crafty twist.

Of particular interest however is his tight integration of architecture with the photojournalistic style of shooting a wedding. When you browse through his portfolio (sorry, no direct links - the site is 100% flash-based), you feel almost like the opulent churches and sleek Chicago metro-scapes substitute a character of their very own in the wedding story.

Of course, at $6k per wedding, only the wealthy can afford him, and consequently, he has the priviledge of being able to shoot in some truly spectacular locations (all aside from the diamond-and-pearls-dripping brides...).

In any case though - even if you're not particularly into wedding photography per se, his site is worth a look just for the juxtaposition of weddings and architecture.

Labels: photography, photography gear

As read today in Dave Beckerman's New York Photography Blog:

"Tokyo - Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce an exciting new technology that makes it easier to take high-quality, sharply focused portraits. Called Face-priority AF (Autofocus), this technology is an industry first and will be initially available on the new COOLPIX 7900, the COOLPIX 5900 and the COOLPIX 7600 compact digital cameras.

Franko Furkunholder, the spokesman for Nikon has announced that they are also at work on several new features such as: rule-of-thirds, leveling, tilting, and automatic expression evaluation (AEE). This last feature will not only detect a person's face but will be able to judge whether they have the expression that you want: smile mode, pensive mode, and sexy mode are currently in beta testing.

One additional feature will be a stylus touch screen enabling on the back of the camera to allow potential subjects to sign their release on the camera itself."

Sigh.

Where is is going to stop? I mean - the face priority AF doesn't sound half-bad, but "automatic expression evaluation"? Come on...

If you're too lazy (or too blind) not to know what the hell you're looking at in your view finder, you don't deserve to even be holding a camera.

As far as collecting signatures on your screen goes - I can see the whole of the privacy-protection community rise up in protest... and justifiedly so. It's about as stupid of an idea as I've ever encountered (ever heard of ... paper?). Leave it to Nikon ...

Labels: photography, photography gear

I really need to update my blog more often.

I don't, and I get totally back-logged with stuff I've been meaning to put out there, but just didn't have the time to.

So here's a quick round-up then:

- After a successful first run, the Photographer's Slideluck Potshow is back.
The new date is Friday, May 6th, and if you want to attend, email me and I'll give you directions. The event is being hosted this time by Bend photographer Robert Agli.

In a departure from our first Slideluck though, we plan to set aside a portion of the night for pictures related to a theme. This time the theme is DROUGHT.

Now, we all know the low snowpack figures, and we've all heard warnings of a hot, dry summer. So dig up any work that speaks to the specter of scarcity and assemble it in a five minute slideshow. Or, better yet, seek out new photos.

But don't feel limited to physical representations of the theme: maybe you've had a recent stretch of social or emotional drought? Or perhaps your spiritual well has run dry? Bring work that shows that, too. Of course, good old non-themed work is fine as well.

We welcome new faces, but Robert's space is limited, so please don't roll in with a huge posse....

- I've tinkered quite a bit with my new gallery software, and must say it's pretty sleek. Of course I'm far from
being done uploading my entire portfolio, but I expect to have it all done in the next few weeks. So go browse, but don't get your panties in a knot when you hit a deadend with no images ...

Labels: photography

Whoever said product photography had to be done in a studio, with a white seamless background and a ton of 500-watt lights?

Well, when the program chair of the High Desert Museum's upcoming Sagebrush Auction asked me to photograph some items for the western-themed event, I couldn't think of a better place to shoot them than in her own house (which happens to be a gorgeous log home I previously shot for an upcoming issue of Bend Living Magazine).





The August 13 auction is the Museum's single largest fundraising event and promises fabulous food, "frontier" fun, music, and live and silent auctions, featuring dozens of unique items (like the ones above). Proceeds from the Sagebrush Rendezvous support the Museum's educational programs that serve more than 12,000 children throughout Central Oregon.

So if you're a photographer or artist and would like to donate a print or two (tax write-off, folks!) to the auction, contact me, and I'll hook you up with the right person.

Labels: commercial photographer Bend Oregon, photography, product photographer Bend Oregon

Just recently, I've written about the Lensbaby. It's a little lens with a bellows for SLR (and dSLR) cameras that brings one area into sharp focus while creatively blurring the rest of the photograph.

Fresh off the Photography Blog RSS feed though, comes the announcement of Lensbaby 2.0.

Lensbabies Launches Lensbaby 2.0 for Brighter, Sharper, Faster Selective Focus Photography

March 21, 2005, Las Vegas, NV. Today at the WPPI trade show, Lensbabies launched Lensbaby 2.0, a second-generation selective focus SLR camera lens, bringing brighter, sharper, and faster selective focus photography to professional and avid amateur photographers.

"Lensbaby 2.0 has proven to be a wonderful creative tool for demanding photographic assignments. Compared to The Original Lensbaby, Lensbaby 2.0 has a greater range of aperture settings, a much sharper 'sweet spot' of focus, and a new levitating magnetic aperture system, which makes it a snap to change apertures," said Craig Strong, the inventor of the Lensbaby and Co-CEO of Lensbabies, LLC.

Lensbaby 2.0 and The Original Lensbaby bring one area of a photo into sharp focus, with that 'sweet spot' surrounded by graduated blur, glowing highlights, and subtle prismatic color distortions. Photographers can fluidly move the sharp area around the photo by bending the flexible lens tubing.

Lensbaby 2 features an f2.0 aperture setting, plus f2.8, f4.0, f5.6 and f8.0. Lensbaby 2 is available for sale now at http://www.lensbabies.com for $150.

Sounds like an improvement, but there's still no mention of the fact that you have to move the bellows around MANUALLY - which can be somewhat of a problem for dexteriously-challenged photographers. The price point however had me shudder. $150 for a tiny plastic lens? Come on ...

Labels: photography, photography gear

Thanks to all the contributors, participants, and bringers of delicious food items, the First Ever Bend Slideluck Potshow last Friday was a resounding success!

Far more people than expected showed up (a random count put the number around 25 - when at most 15 were expected) - standing, crouching, and squishing themselves into the cozy living room at our host Matt Preusch's house to catch a glimpse of the outstanding eye candy so many contributors served up.

And they've proven once again, that we photographers really aren't solitary creatures, but rather beings who become social under the correct circumstances - such as having the possibility to talk shop with a peer, ogle someone else's work, or simply feast on free food and drink in combination with all of the above.

A few special thanks go out to these folks:
1. To Matt and Diane, who so graciously and generously hosted the event in their home. I hope no red wine was spilled ... ;-) ... and to Matt for bringing the idea down from Seattle in the first place ...
2. To Tom Merrow, without whom this event would not have been possible, for he provided the hard-to-find digital projector that allowed everyone to show their work (and in addition, he even wowed us with his beautiful work).
3. To everybody who brought food and drink. This potluck rocked! I've hardly ever been to one that furnished so much delicious and various foods.
4. And finally to Sol Neelman who let me fondle his brandnew, 2-day old Canon 1Ds Mark II, and provided the evening's most memorable quote:

Rob Kerr to Sol: "So have you broken her in yet?" (referring to Sol's new camera)
Sol (grinning) to Rob: "Yeah. I popped her cherry at a news conference yesterday."

- proving once again, that (male) photographers don't view their cameras as mere work tools, but rather as .... uhhh ... companions.

Equally surprising was also that most folks dished their images up in digital form. Which was damn lucky for me - for my old and trusty Sawyers Rotomatic 600 A slide projector of course picked this very day to croak ...

So to wrap it all up: Slideluck Potshow rules! Suggestions for next time's date and place are being taken now (email them to me). We're also looking for a fitting theme - something photographers can (but don't have to) abide by when selecting slides for their show. It can be nature-related, travel, political, whatever. Again, email me for suggestions.

Labels: photography

Are you a photographer who likes free food? Or maybe free food is your main thing but you dig photography, too.

Either way, Slideluck Potshow is for you.

Started by photographers in Seattle and now being carried across the country, Slideluck Potshow is an informal gathering of photographers to show their work in slideshow form in the context of a good old fashioned potluck. Hence the name. It's a way for photo pros, amateurs and neophytes to get together in a non-judgmental atmosphere to show their work, talk about the craft, eat, drink and then eat and drink some more.

Everyone should try to bring food or beverage (homemade food is encouraged), but the most important part is to bring your work. Without the slideshows Slideluck Potshow can't work, so don't be shy.

Interested? For more details on the how, where and when, check out the informational site I've whipped up today.

Hope to see y'all there!

Labels: photography

If I ever assumed that time could stand still somewhere, I would have thought it could be Mexico, especially Southern Mexico. With its slow lifestyle and vibrant Mayan culture, reaching back many centuries, to me, time always felt like molasses down there, trickling by at a decreased pace, turning minutes into hours and hours into afternoons.

Judging from a travel report by my friend Paulie though (who has just returned from a 4-week trip to Guatemala and Southern Mexico), times indeed have changed now.

The next day we went to the ruins outside of Palenque. Tons of people. At least outside the entrance. We never went inside. I got into a pretty serious argument with the guard at the entrance. They wanted me to pay $300 US for the privilege of being allowed to bring my tripod into the compound containing the ruins. Needless to say, this was not in my travel budget. It seems that regardless of who you are or what kind of still camera you have, it's the tripod that means you are going to make big bucks. They also had a $250 daily fee for any video camera.

What? 300 bucks to bring your tripod into the ruin compound at Palenque? Since when?



My idyllic picture of this area has been utterly crushed. In April of 1994, when I travelled through Palenque, the ruins were pretty much devoid of tourists. Sure there were a few stragglers, but that was it. I faintly remember paying a small fee to gain entrance to the park, but certainly no outlandish charge for bringing in *a tripod*.

Mexico has lost its mind.

Labels: photographer advocacy, photography, travel, travel photographer

People keep sending me links to some cool photo-related stuff, so for the alert reader interested in such things (and to make a permanent record of them for myself), I'm going to post them here:

Thanks to Bryan Bloebaum, a fabulous local photographer, for sending me the link to Lens Babies. This nifty line of "selective-focus" lenses kinda works like an old-fasioned bellows camera, but attaches to your 35mm (or digital) SLR (pretty much all mounts are available - yes, Luke, even for your Olympus). Some of you out there might argue that you can do all that the Lensbaby does with Photoshop too - and rightfully so - but for a mere $96, it's certainly a toy that's worth a closer look.

Thanks also to Jake for pointing me towards this enlightning article on taking off your UV filter.
And I quote: "Good modern lenses have very hard glass objectives, and/or scratch-resistant coatings. They make it difficult to scratch or mar a lens. With reasonable care, and perhaps a decent lens hood for physical protection if the objective is not recessed, there is almost no chance you will scratch the objective of your lens."
I have to say, I haven't had any UV filters in front of any of my lenses for years - I find them bothersome and unnecessary. And I can't say that they've incurred additional, if any, scratches at all. So fellow photographers - off with those UV filters!

Labels: photography, photography gear

For some inexplicable reason, I'm terribly fond of this image:



Or is it just me? Does anybody else like the almost painterly quality of this image? The way the chair, hat, painting, old indidan leather jacket, logs, and set of fireplace pokers come together? How the single spotlight casts this interesting light on the scene?

It was taken on a recent furniture shoot, almost as a sidenote, for no particular reason really, and just because to me, the scene seemed so saturated with Cowboy romance.

I just found out today that two images from this shoot are in consideration for the cover of the updated version of the book "Cowboy High Style".

I somehow hope it's gonna end up being this one.

Labels: architectural photographer Bend Oregon, architectural photography, Bend Oregon photographer, commercial photographer Bend Oregon, photography, product photographer Bend Oregon, product photography

I love my job.

Especially when I get to shoot assignments that take me to beautiful homes, let me meet wonderful new people - and give me a slice of education I would have never gotten otherwise.

Take for instance a recent shoot I did for a high-end reproduction maker of Molesworth furniture in Cody, Wyoming.



Molesworth who, you ask?

Yepp, I posed the same question. But in preparation for the shoot and to get a feel for the image style of the book (as my images will get featured in the updated version of the book), I read up on this interesting icon of Western style in Cowboy High Style by Elizabeth Claire Flood.

To quote the author: "Bow-legged cowboys, buffalo silhouettes, bucking horses, Indian teepees, an antlered elk - all icons that symbolize the rugged West. These, plus sensuous natural woods, vibrant leathers, and colorful woven fabrics are the raw materials of western casual elegance.

The western decorative style first became fashionable in the 1930s and 1940s, when dude ranches and lodges were among the most popular tourist destinations. Many of these retreats were outfitted by Cody, Wyoming furniture maker Thomas C. Molesworth, who worked mainly with swollen burls, rich leathers, and vibrant Chimayo weavings, to create the sturdy, streamlined furniture for which he has become famous. By adding romantic western and wildlife motifs through detailed wood carvings or paintings, Molesworth promoted a high style of furnishings that captured the spirit of the West."

Indeed. Shooting these beautiful furniture pieces, I started to really appreciate the smooth woods with their characteristic burls; the soft, supple leathers in their rich tones of red, and the intricate hand-carvings of arrows and teepees.

I'll be forever grateful for the education this job provided me - never mind that it also spoilt me for all eternity. I will never look at my furniture the same way again ...

Labels: architectural photographer Bend Oregon, architectural photography, Bend Oregon photographer, commercial photographer Bend Oregon, photography, product photographer Bend Oregon, product photography

To me, it's become a yearly ritual. A sort of pilgramage, almost.

The shrine is the snowy Start/Finish line of the Attaboy 300 World Sled Dog Championships and the deities are the slim, yet incredibly tough sled dogs.

Not that I'm a dog fanatic a la "Best in Show". Not at all.

But if you've ever seen those sled dogs run their little hearts out in the rough and cold landscape, pulling that sled and its rider (or "musher") relentlessly, over steep hills, plunging descents, and ice that cuts into their tender paws, you can't help but admire them. By the end of the day's 50-mile course they appear exhausted, with tongues hanging to the ground, their skinny chests heaving, licking their bloody paws, and patiently waiting for their bowl of fresh meat. They seem to love it. The pure joy, that wild sparkle in their eyes, tell the story better than any words ever could.

They were born to run. Watching them brings to life legends of old, of a yet unconquered West, tales of a still-remote wilderness that was only accessible by dog sled in winter. You can't help but think of Jack London, the Alaskan Yukon territory, and the Gold Rush.

These days however, the true gold are the dogs themselves. The 2004 Iditarod prize pool was $720,000, with the winner pocketing $70,000...

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, oregon stock photography, photography, sports fitness photographer Bend Oregon

And fly they did.

Twirling, spinning, hoisting, grabbing, jumping, twisting, whirling - and sometimes falling on their faces they did too.

But most prevailed, and one Ross Powers even went on to take the coveted crown in the Halfpipe competition of the Chevrolet Snowboard Grand Prix at Mt. Bachelor last Saturday with acrobatics like this:



Fourth-place holder Dillon Keir goes sideways:



Andy Finch catches serious air...



... while JJ Thomas crashes after a good run to claim 15th place.



Enthused spectators watch as Toni Turunen whirls himself into 3rd place.

Labels: photography, sports fitness photographer Bend Oregon

I've spent almost the entire past weekend on Mt. Bachelor, amidst temperatures around 16 degrees and driving snowfall. The occasion? The Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix, a rousing combination of daredevil acrobatics in the Half-pipe on Saturday, and dizzying speed demons in snowboardcross on Sunday.

A small selection of pics from Sunday's event can be found in this gallery, but the rest should be up tomorrow.

Here are a few of the best:


Jayson Hale (27) and Francois Boivin (7) catch air on one of the SBX course's jumps.


Swede Mattias Blomberg throws up his arms in victory as he narrowly beats out Montanan Michael Rosengren for first place and $10,000 in Sunday's snowboardcross finals of the Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix at Mt. Bachelor.


Mattias Blomberg gets tackled by his joyous Swedish teammate at the finish line.

Labels: photography, sports fitness photographer Bend Oregon

With the holidays over, and 2005 just getting ready to really rev up, Emerald Bay Photography is jumping into the new year with both feet. Look for these cool improvements in the present or near future:

- Emerald Bay Photography is the newest member of the prestigious AIAP - that is short for "Association of Independent Architectural Photographers". By requiring client referrals prior to acceptance of membership and making its members adhere to a strict code of ethics, the AIAP promotes good business practices and client trust in the industry. I'm delighted to have been chosen to join this elite group. A thanks goes out to the clients who supported my application.

- Look for a vastly improved facelift of my galleries in the near future. The antiquitated system of having to manually upload each and every single image to a remote server running Zope, and caption them individually, has proven to be a real burden on productivity. Thankfully, there is a software called Gallery. It's sleek php scripts and browsable thumbnails have been hailed by photographers. It will be installed, configured and should be up and running on the server (graciously hosted by Jake Ortman) within a month or two. Temporarily however, a few high-volume galleries are hosted on the Photoreflect server.

- The new business software PhotoByte will streamline and simplify Emerald Bay Photography's day-to-day operations. A big thanks goes to the great (and generou) Tom Zimboff, who has decided to make this previously proprietary software suite (selling at a steep $1200) available for free - supporting his continous quest to educate fellow photographers about the intricacies of running a photo business. His book Focus on Profit is a must-have for every photographer.

- Most of all though - look for fresh images from various local events, starting with the 2005 Chevrolet US Snowboard Grand Prix at Mt. Bachelor this weekend (weather permitting), the Attaboy 300 World Sled Dog Championships race in Central Oregon, and much more. Emerald Bay Photography will also continue to be featured in Bend Living magazine and on Bend.com, as well as writing articles on various photography issues at O'Reilly Media.

So thanks to all my clients for their business in 2004, and I hope to be able to serve you all just as well (no! better!) in 2005!

Labels: photography

There are not too many places anymore you can see a wolf up close and personal.

A hike in Yellowstone National Park may provide you with a glimpse - if you're lucky. If you're a farmer in Western Idahoe, you might have had an encounter. Plus, a variety of cheesy game farms in Montana have them, so photographers can get closeup shots of the creatures without actually having to go track them down (boooo!).

And finally there are the rescue operations, many located in the Pacific Northwest, that take in injured or sick animals - providing them with a safe place to heal up, and ultimately releasing them back into the wild. For the few unfortunate souls who are not deemed fit to fend for themselves in the great wild anymore, these rehab centers essentially become comfy retirement homes. These animals sometimes also serve double-duty in breeding programs, but mostly, they are the attractions that supply the rehab centers with the necessary tourist dollars to continue their good work.

Ultimately, centers like Wolf Haven in Tenino, Washington, and Wildlife Images in Grants Pass, Oregon, serve as the last places for the general public to experience wolves and other wild creatures up close.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Southern Oregon, and a friend suggested we'd go to Wildlife Images. Seeing wolves, bears, cougars, bobcat, eagles and an assortment of other wild animals in their small caged areas, I was reminded more than anything else of all this wild splendor lost - of how we humans, in our infinitely deluded faith in being a supreme race, wipe everything that even remotely threathens us from the face of the planet. What we don't hunt to complete extinction, we shove into remote corners of the wilderness, giving it a half-ass chance to survive, but never a full chance to thrive.

Luckily, the wolf is making a comeback, and studies have been published, highlighting the negative impact the disapperance of the wolf from the eco-system has had.

So maybe instead of wasting your money this holiday season on some meaningless toy or other useless piece of material crap, consider instead giving the gift of true joy and life and adopt a wild animal from one of the rehab centers (Wildlife Images, Wolf Haven).

Or - you can buy a print of the one of the below wolf photographs (all taken at Wildlife Images), and Emerald Bay Photography will donate 100% of the sales price to the wildlife rescue organziation of your choice.








8 x 10 Prints are $45
11 x 14 Prints are $55
11 x 17 Prints are $65

All prints are unmatted and unmounted, prices do not include shipping.

Labels: oregon stock photography, photography

I have a love-hate relationship with snow.

Growing up in frosty, urban Switzerland, I was taught to fear the havoc snow (and its companions, slush and ice) can wreak upon the roads, the public transportation system, and the busy city life in general.

And while all those components are still very much a consideration, life in La Pine on the other hand is teaching me now that snow can also bring unexpected pleasures.

Such as the first moment in the morning after a nocturnal snow storm, when the sun rises and brings the cold white expanse alive with her golden light. When the thick virgin snow blanket glitters as if millions of lazy diamonds were strewn across its velvet coat. When the weight of the snow transforms the trees in your yard, the bushes in your driveway, the long grasses along my riverbank, into new and astonishing shapes and forms. When you step out of your house and you find a new world, so completely different from the one you left yesterday, and its beauty is overwhelming.







Yes, those are things I try to remember as I trudge through the slush ...

Labels: oregon stock photography, photography

... because some of my pictures are featured in there. :-)

I photographed this splendid house in Bend for the magazine's "Home and Garden" section, and was blown away by what the owners had done to the circa 1950's house. It had gone from a mediocre house on a nice Aubrey Butte lot to a simply terrific craftsman-style home that was able to take total advantage of the awesome location.

But don't take my word for it - go read the article and see the pictures for yourselves.

Labels: architectural photographer Bend Oregon, commercial photographer Bend Oregon, photography

UPDATE: I figured out the feed problem. The new feed url is: http://emeraldbayphoto.com/blog/feed/atom.xml

Since changing my site hosting from a Canadian server to a local one (thanks, Jake!), the feed for this blog just hasn't been the same. As a matter of fact, it has ceased functioning.

I'm still getting to the bottom of this, so all you alert readers out there - come and visit the site instead of just sucking the content down to your feed readers.

To boot, most of my images are currently hosted on yet another remote server, and for some reason, that one's been down for over a day now, and I haven't gotten an explanation back from the host. Hence - 99% of all the images on this site are dead links right now. I'm working on rectifying that quickly however.

On the bright side - it seems I have finally gotten the blog archive back on track. Too bad Blogger support is so totally useless - they really haven't been able to give me any more information than what I was already able to distill out of their help site....

Any nerdy advice can be directed to me.

Labels: photography, photography gear

Should I just rename this blog "I love Epson"?

Because it's true. I do love Epson. And the reason why I love them, is that they continously make my work easier, better, and - dare I say it? - more profitable.

First, I bought their Stylus Photo 2200 printer. At first glance, the $700 price tag seemed a bit steep - but in those short 19 months I've had it, I have been able to supply my clients with high-quality portfolio and fine art prints I would have had to pay a fortune for at the photo lab. Instead, my only costs incurred were ink and paper. And the best part - for the first time ever, the printer gave me 100% control over my images. Now I was able to produce prints that exactly reflected my vision and sense of color.

The second Epson feat was the Perfection 4870 Flatbed scanner. I wrote a bit about it in a post last month, and while I maintain that the Digital ICE function could be better, I'm still very happy with the overall performance of the scanner.

Now however, Epson has come up with a gadget that is truly making my heart beat faster: the P-2000 Digital Wallet. For a while now I've been looking for a digital storage device I can take out into the field with me. The two 1-GB CF cards I have for my 10D are nice, but on an extended trip or vacation (like the one last September to Europe), even the 2 GB don't cut it. On a commercial shoot, especially if I shoot RAW, I tend to max them out as well.

So far however, all the storage devices I've encountered were either simple external hard drives with CF slots, or the kind that burns your data directly to CD. None of them offered any kind of visual assurance that what you had just downloaded was *really* on the drive or CD. That kind of uncertainty just doesn't cut it when a client has just paid you a good fee to do a shoot for them, and you end up losing the images due to a read-error on the CD or similar. Sure - a laptop would remedy that. But the thought of schlepping around an additional 7-8 pounds of gear (especially out in the field) just isn't exactly my idea of an ideal temporary storage device.

As pointed out in the very thorough review by Luminous Landscape, the P-2000 solves all of those problems: it's small enough to click into a belt, has a large 4-inch screen that lets you not only verify your download, but also look at your images in greater detail, and best of all - a really long battery life. A 40GB harddrive and a fast download time give plenty of storage and speed in the field. And at 500 bucks, it seems a small investment for that all-important peace of mind.

So it's perfect. Just what I need. It's going on my X-mas wishlist.

Labels: photography, photography gear

Yeah, I know - it's been a while.

But between work and travels up and down the West Coast, sometimes precious little time remains for creative writing (I should know - I'm soooo behind on writing an article for O'Reilly Media on digital image restoration ...).

Nonetheless, here's something that probably all folks who either already own a digital SLR or are thinking about owning one will be (and should be) interested in: The-Dust-On-Your-Sensor Issue.

For the uninitiated: the CMOS sensor is that delicate part behind your camera's mirror that digitally records the image in a dSLR. During lens changes or while working in dusty conditions, particles can slip behind the mirror and cling to the sensor. To gain access to the sensor, a function in your camera menu will lock up the mirror indefinitely.

Today, the Photography Blog posted a press release by a company named IMS (short for "Intelligent Mobile Solutions Limited"), trumpeting their new and fabulous "specially created cleaning stick for removing dust from digital SLR camera sensors". Supposedly, it works by "using a unique micro-pore swab to create a mini vacuum effect, gently lifting dust from both CCD and CMOS type sensors".

To that I say: Ha! They obviously don't know about those stubborn stuck-on oily particles!

You see - I've had my Canon 10D for roughly a year now. After the first few months of ecstatic shooting pleasure (with an utterly clean camera), I started noticing small and fuzzy dark spots appearing in my photographs. I blamed them on random dust on the lenses, and at first they were so insignificant, that I was able to simply and quickly rubberstamp them in Photoshop.

Over time however, the spots started to become a serious issue. Especially when I had a client project on a tight deadline, the luxury of removing spots from roughly 50-60 shots became a time-consuming chore I couldn't afford. I obsessively cleaned my lenses. To no avail.

Then I started hearing in forums and from fellow photographers about the one issue, camera manufacturers will rather swallow their tongues than talk about: pesky dust on the glassy sensor of your dSLR. Sure enough, it turned out, this was the very cause of the dark fuzz in my pictures. Guerilla cleaning techniques ranged from using cotton swabs with alcohol, to those little blow brushes, to the "Copperhill Technique" (see below).

I had a little blow brush, so I thought "what the hell", and very gently tried to blow-brush the dust off my sensor. The brush must have had a tiny bit of oily residue (no doubt from being handled by me) on its tip however, and it readily deposited it on my sensor. Great. Now I had a very visible oily smear on my sensor too.

Not knowing if I had scratched the sensor as well, I panicked. After all, a new sensor is rumored to run about 500 bucks.

For kicks, I emailed Canon Support for advice on how to go about resolving the problem. Sure, they got back to me within an hour - but their only lame suggestion was to have the very delicate sensor professionally examined and cleaned, i.e. send the camera in to their service center. Ha. Good one. Like I can do without my work tool for weeks on end. Besides - online horror stories abounded about sensors coming back from "cleaning" dirtier than they had been delivered. So - no.

Then, my buddy Luke suggested the Sensor Brush from Visible Dust, based on a favorable review by one of my favorite sites, Luminous Landscape. Desperate as I was, I rushed out and ordered the brush for 60 bucks (incl. shipping). Visible Dust turned out to be a very slow company for shipping, and so the brush took almost 3 weeks to arrive from Canada. (I've had gear ordered from Canada be at my doorstep within 3 days!)

Knowing the root of my problem now though, I went digging around online for a more immediate solution. And so I came across the Copperhill technique. The reviews were so glowing, I decided it would be worth the few bucks in supplies to try it out. It turned out to be the one and only (and sane) way for me to clean a sensor.

For 36 bucks (12 for the squeegee, 24 for the cleaning solution and 100 PecPads) I now had a kick-ass setup. Sure, rubbing the squeegee across the sensor was a bit unnerving at first. But I got the hang of it pretty quickly, and adhering religiously to the prescribed method yielded a scintilliating sensor - free of dust, oil, and whatever else decided to accumulate there.

The Sensor Brush turned out to be a dud though. Shipping was slow, there was no documentation included (not even an invoice!), and the brush did exactly zip. I tried it a few times, but not once did it make a noticable difference.

So for those out there with dSLRs: read the Copperhill tutorial. Sure, it's a bit long-winded, but it really works.

Either way - you're gonna have to bite the dust. Or the dust will bite you.

Labels: photography, photography gear

Two days ago, the nice lady from Fedex brought me an anxiously-awaited goody: a large box containing the Epson Perfection 4870 flatbed scanner (no, not the more expensive "Pro" version - the only difference between mine and that one is a piece of color calibration software I don't need - oh, and $150).

I decided to treat myself to this scanner due to the fact that my old and trusty Microtek Scanmaker V310 was showing signs that it was about to croak any minute - and because I had recently scored a print restoration project that was in essence going to pay for the new scanner. I needed it to perform the work, so why not go ahead and indulge myself at the same time?

To make a long story short - today, I hooked up the little beauty (installation was truly a breeze with Win XP) and did some first test scans to see if the machine was really able to live up to the hype.

For that reason I dug into an envelope and scanned an image I had been dying to digitally preserve: Geraldine Chaplin with Morgan, Paris, May 1973



I'm not exactly sure how the original 3x5 black and white print turned up in my father's photoalbum, but I do know that the kid in the picture, Morgan, is the son of an old friend of my parent's from their South Africa days, Susie (she was most likely also the photographer). Susie was a hipster chick from France who I faintly remember because she always wore these oversized sunglasses and had long blonde hair - she was rumored to have been friends with Chaplin, Picasso, and Dali in the 70s in Spain. Morgan became a successful male model in Paris in the 80s. After that though, my parents lost touch with her.

As it may be - I've always thought, despite the apparant blurr, the image has a real natural charm to it, showing Geraldine in all her youthful beauty and Morgan as a cute, playful kid.

So today, I scanned the image using a variety of the 4870's scanner options. My first try was the 16-bit black and white, which turned out like this:



I wasn't too impressed. While the image had good contrast, it seemed to have lost most of its pleasant warm tones.

Next up was 48-bit color - this one was indeed quite a bit better, preserving those warm blacks, yet lacking in contrast:



Since the image also had a few problems with scratches, dust, and even a white hair outline in the original negative, I thought this is where the much-touted Digital Ice function would come in:



As the sharpeyed reader will attest though, Digital ICE did little to really clean up the image. It only took care of the most obvious of scratches, and left blemishes like dust and the hair outline perfectly alone, which I had to spend about half an hour correcting in Photoshop. This was indeed a bit disappointing, as I also have the Digital ICE function in my Minolta Dimage Scan Elite II film scanner, and there, it truly does a great job.

This all being said though - I know this is only my very first test on the scanner, and as time goes on, I'm sure I will come to love and appreciate it. Just like I've done with every other Epson product I've ever owned ...

PS: What do you know? The envelope has also coughed up a picture of Susie. Just like I remember her...

Labels: photography, photography gear

Before I took off on my trip to Europe in September, I contemplated all the gear I'd need to take with me: camera, lenses, batteries, extra CF cards, write-able CDs for backup, filters, hoods, remote release, bags with wheels, small carry bag for day trips - but would I need a tripod? I mean - really? How many times would I shoot in situations where I'd truly need a tripod? Would the added weight and bulk be truly justified?

Now, I have to add that over the years, I've developed a rather steady hand. I've learnt to brace myself whenever possible, and use all kinds of locally available objects like tables, chairs, ledges, rocks etc. to steady myself or the camera. So when I bought a new tripod earlier this year, I went for an ultra-sturdy Bogen-Manfrotto - something that would be suitable for the architectural photography I mostly do. Ultra-sturdy however also means ultra-heavy and ultra-bulky. So that tripod was 100% out for travel.

I yearned for a small, ultra-light, carbon-fiber Gitzo - but the high cost of one of those puppies quite honestly scared me off. So - a monopod maybe? Nah. Too weird. Besides I doubt their true usefulness.

So I went to Europe, travelling light (as I like it) and without a tripod. Mostly, the weather was such that I could shoot at ISO 200 or 400 and get a sharp picture.
But indeed there were a few instances where I wished I had a tripod.

One of them was a fun-filled evening at the pool hall with my old friend Tom. Being as it is that we've known eachother for 15 years and he's been my pool teacher for equally as long, we never let an opportunity pass to play a game, whenever and whereever in the world we can manage to meet up. That evening however, I'd brought my camera with me for the first time.

After a few warm-up games, we decided to see if we could photographically capture the path of a billiard ball on the table as it travels into a pocket. We experimented with various settings, but it turned out, that the path only starts really showing up around a half-second exposure. Of course that's way too long to hold steady, so I mostly braced myself - but still, I didn't come back with one tack-sharp photograph. What's below is as good as it gets:





Moral of the story? Never travel without a tripod. Not even if you don't think you'll need one. Ever. Because there's only one certainty - that you will come across a situation when you'll see the shot of a life time, and you'll be stuck having to shoot handheld.

Now where did I leave that info about the Gitzo again?

Labels: photography, photography gear, travel, travel photographer

A friend and I are trying to organize an informal, fun little get-together of local photographers.

Here's how it could work: a theme is chosen for the night, and photographers are encouraged to bring slides on this theme and present them with a time limit of five minutes. You can have live musical accompaniment, or narrate. A portion of the night could also be set aside to show non-themed work. Meanwhile, everyone eats and drinks and is merry and a real sense of an artistic community arises.

What's required are plenty of willing participants (non-photographers with an interest in the craft are invited to attend too), a good space, a projector screen, slide projector, and laptop, and possibly a karaoke machine for the MC to run the show.

So if anybody out there reading this has a desire to try it out or know of a local photographer who might want to attend, email me!.

Labels: photography

As a kid, I spent many Sunday mornings staring at the beautiful colored-glass windows and the lofty rib vaulting of the ancient Roman Catholic church in the small town in Switzerland where I grew up.

Never mind that I wasn't a catholic. But I volunteered to go to church with my catholic friends, just so that I could sit and examine the tall gothic windows, detailed painted ceilings, and intricate wooden carvings at my leisure during mass. My protestant parents didn't mind.

And it was here that I fell in love with architecture, probably without even fully realizing it. To this day, I relish the quiet, almost magical quality of a church - the creaking of those old wooden benches, the hushed voices, the distinct smell of old, musty stone.

There's also something awe-inspiring and symbolic about the art and architecture of a church, especially an ancient European one. But I've learnt to appreciate a religious painting or sculpture for the pure artistic value of it, without letting its subject matter affect me.

So on my recent trip to Vienna I stopped off at one of the city's most commanding sights - the St. Stephan's Cathedral. The weather was dull and grey outside, so the church's interior seemed darker and gloomier than I'm sure it would have been usually.

Yet when a sudden sun burst briefly lit up the windows, the effect was wonderous:

Labels: architectural photographer Bend Oregon, architectural photography, Editorial Photography, photography, travel, travel photographer

Here's another snippet from the European travel files, as they trickle in...

The Emperor's Crypt in Vienna is truly a place of beauty as much as it is of death. The bronze coffins from the 16th and 17th century are enduring artistic masterpieces from their time, never mind their morbid suject matter. Lavishly encrusted with symbols of death and religion, they hold the remains of the 146 proud kings, queens, and noblemen that once ruled the extended Austrian kingdom. The last one was buried there in 1990.

Labels: architectural photographer Bend Oregon, architectural photography, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, photography, travel, travel photographer

I *was* going to save this image for Halloween - but as I browsed through the new pictures from my Europe trip, I found this one really struck me. So I figured, what the heck...


Crowned skull figure at corner of 16th Century crypt, Emperor's Crypt, Kapuziner Church, Vienna, Austria

I'll try and post at least one pic a day as I make my way through the approx. 1000 images, so please hang in there with me.

Labels: editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, photography, travel, travel photographer

My sister and her boyfriend have been dating and living together for nearly 20 years. Two and a half weeks ago, they finally made it legal, official, "till' death do us part".

Of course I was assigned to the task of being their wedding photographer. That I would have to fly half-way around the world for that was a just one of those things you gladly do for the happiness of your family.

The ceremony was beautiful, the dinner was delicious, and of course my sister looked absolutely gorgeous and radiant. So here are a couple of pics for the curious (more to come in the near future):

Labels: photography, portrait photographer Bend Oregon

And another great one is gone: Richard Avedon is dead.

This is really a shame. Although he was already 81 and certainly leaves an astounding photographic legacy, I think Avedon still had a lot to give.

For the uninitiated, here's a look at Avedon's work and life:

His own site
A PBS bio
Pics at the NY Met
Avedon @ Artnet
Excerpts of Avedon's book "The Sixties" at PDN

Labels: photography

I'm back from my trip. Since I'm still a bit jetlagged, and haven't completely joined the living again, y'all have to wait a wee bit longer until I'm ready to post pics and stories from the trip.

In the meantime however, I do have a special little nugget for the alert reader interested in photography: an article I wrote for O'Reilly on food photography.

The article's been well received so far - the Digital Photography Blog has included it into their lineup of useful articles on the topic, and
USA Today Online has mentioned it in conjunction with highlighting the O'Reilly Digital Media site as one of their picks for "Hot Site".

Labels: editorial photographer Bend Oregon, food, food photographer Bend OR, food photography, photography

I'm leaving for Europe - or more precisely Switzerland and Austria - tomorrow morning. I will try and post random updates whenever I get access to a computer over there - but I'm not making any promises.

It will be a whirlwind visit of friends, relatives, a wedding and a 3-day trip to Vienna - so the only thing that's guaranteed is a lot of cool eye-candy, given it doesn't rain non-stop while I'm over there.

In the meantime, here's a look at one of my home town Basel's most prominent buildings - the Rathaus (seat of the city counsil):

Labels: photography, travel, travel photographer

Who would have thought?

According to David Pogue's NYT column this week, lamp shade posts can be of surprising virtue to a photographer. I quote:

The tripod mount on the bottom of most digital cameras has exactly the same thread diameter as a typical hotel lampshade post. In a pinch, you can unscrew the lampshade and use the exposed screw on the lamp itself to steady your camera.

And no. I'm not going to wonder about how exactly he figured this one out. Draw your own conclusions.

Labels: photography, photography gear

Log homes are the stuff dreams are made of. Who wouldn't want to live in one? They symbolize ruggedness and the outdoor spirit - the very essence of the place we live in - and yet a lot of today's log homes have a definite air of sophistication about them.

One of Central Oregon's most glorious log homes has just recently been finished, and I had the chance to go out to the Crosswater Golf Community and photograph the mansion.

Take a look at the resulting images. Would *you* want to live here?

Labels: architectural photographer Bend Oregon, architectural photography, architecture, Bend Oregon photographer, commercial photographer Bend Oregon, interior architectural photography, photography

We bow our heads in grief and respect today to mourn the passing of one of photography's greatest icons: Henri Cartier-Bresson.

He proved that to be truly great, all's you really have to have is a good eye - he shot all his life with a small hand-held 35mm Leica. No fancy lighting, darkroom work or technology required. He's a hero to all of us who love his work.

For those unfamiliar with his imagery, check out some of the links below:

Portraits at the Smithonian
Photology
An NPR interview

Labels: photography

Thanks to my friend Shari for passing this one along...

A photographer for a national magazine was assigned to get photos of a great forest fire. Smoke at the scene was too thick to get any good shots, so she frantically called her home office to hire a plane.

"It will be waiting for you at the airport!" she was assured by her editor.
As soon as she got to the small, rural airport, sure enough, a plane was warming up near the runway.

She jumped in with her equipment and yelled, "Let's go! Let's go!"
The pilot swung the plane into the wind and soon they were in the air.

"Fly over the north side of the fire," said the photographer, "and make
three or four low level passes." 

"Why?" asked the pilot. 

"Because I'm going to take pictures! I'm a photographer, and
photographers take pictures!" said the photographer with great
exasperation. 

After a long pause the pilot said, "You mean you're not the instructor?"

Labels: photography

The alert reader will have noticed that I've been MIA from this blog for roughly two weeks. I have good reasons though...

First - my client's (Log Mode Construction) brandnew site has been finished and is now up in all its scintillating glory. If you're into log homes, you simply HAVE TO go check it out. And even if you're not particularly into homes or logs, you should go there anyway - 'cause I took all the pictures... ;-)

Second - some of my prints will be on exhibit at the Downtown Bend Starbucks come August 1st for an entire month. And I just got done printing, mounting, matting and framing the entire show... whoa, how much work was that!? I won't tell you what the theme of the show is - you'll just have to go and see for yourself...

Labels: architectural photographer Bend Oregon, architectural photography, photography

Last night, downtown Bend was turned into a playground for the ultra-super-hyperfit - the 25th annual Twilight Criterium, part of the Cascade Cycling Classics.

This basically means, that the entire downtown section gets shut down to make way for a 6-corner cycling race like no other - men and women (separated into classes), at one with their sleek bikes, burn up the pavement for a respective 50 and 60 minute race, cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd of several thousand.

Despite the low-light conditions and objects moving at a blinding speed (the pack created a breeze that blew up skirts and whirled dust and hay into the air), the photo opp was too good to resist. So for everybody who couldn't be there for the excitement, here are a few visuals to enjoy (to see the entire gallery, go here):

Labels: editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, photography, sports fitness photographer Bend Oregon

This is the launch of the official blog of Emerald Bay Photography.

It will function as a news page for new photographs, as well as interesting articles relating to photography. Media and photo buying professionals can use it to stay informed of new stock images, upcoming exhibits and events, and travel plans.

Labels: photography