Welcome to our blog! Come here often to get insights to our creative endeavors and have fun reading about our imaging adventures. We'll keep you up-to-date on our diverse range of projects and share info about our exciting photo workshops. Enjoy!



  • Still a few seats left in my upcoming May 26 "Intermediate DSLR Photography" workshop at the Octagon Center in Ames!


  • Tag: ‘Octagon’



    Intermediate DSLR Photography Workshop – May 26

    Thursday, May 17th, 2012

    There are still a few seats available for our upcoming May 26 “Intermediate DSLR Photography” workshop at Octagon Center for the Arts in Ames! If you’re a photographer using a Digital SLR and know how to use it – but want to improve your understanding and skill of the craft that is DSLR photography – this 3-hour class is for you!

    This workshop is targeted at participants who have either taken our “Intro to DSLR Photography” class, another SLR photo workshop, or who have a firm grasp of their DSLR and it’s capabilities. This workshop moves beyond the basics of camera settings, and we’ll work hands-on on the streets of Ames to explore creative SLR techniques. Regardless of your level of skill with your DSLR, we’re pretty sure this workshop will help move your SLR photography to the next level.

    Participants should bring their camera, lenses, accessories, and a tripod if they have one (it’s okay if you don’t have a tripod, but after an afternoon of shooting with us, you’ll see why a tripod may be your most important accessory!).

    Join us for a fun afternoon of photography while firmly advancing your skill with your camera!

    iPhone Photography Adventure! (May 5 Workshop at The Octagon)

    Tuesday, April 17th, 2012

     

    Good afternoon! Here are a few more details about my upcoming iPhone Photography workshop ~ iPhone Photography Adventure! ~ May 5 at Octagon Center for the Arts in Ames! It’s the third workshop in my Spring 2012 Digital Photography Workshop Series at the Octagon. Here’s the scoop on the session!

    The iPhone has been widely heralded as the first smartphone that finally offered a credible built-in camera – or, some would rather say it’s a fabulous point-and-shoot camera with a built-in phone. Regardless of how you view it, the iPhone’s image quality - particularly that of the newer models - is competitive with, or even better than, many point-and-shoot cameras. And with so many Apps and image-sharing services such as Instagram available for the device, image capture, manipulation, and sharing with the iPhone have become amazingly fun!

    This 3-hour workshop is designed to help the iPhone user master the phone’s camera and become familiar with a suite of photography Apps that will allow you to have an absolute blast taking, manipulating, and sharing iPhone photos!

    We will begin by covering techniques of shooting the camera using professional photo techniques, and will explore a collection of the more capable available photography and image-manipulation Apps. Whether you want to create photo-realistic snapshots or creative art; whether you want sleek, modern looks, or retro/vintage grunge; whether you want to share your images online, via a mobile device, or to make prints (Gasp – yes, it’s possible!); there will be something for you in this session!

    We’ll build a portfolio of iPhone photos when we venture out to an eclectic mix of fun Ames locations to photograph a variety of subjects while discussing camera-handling techniques, composition, and lighting. With a collection of newly-created images, we’ll return to the Octagon’s North Studio to post-process and share our masterpieces – all on our iPhones.

    Participants should bring their iPhone and have an Apple ID to download Apps during the session. Note that while some of the Apps we’ll cover are free, others may cost $3.00-4.00 each depending on your imaging tastes.

    Registration materials for this workshop are available on the Octagon website, here.

    Thanks for reading! If you’re in the area and are an iPhone user, I hope you’ll join us for this fun event!

    A note about these photos: The images in the above gallery were captured with my iPhone 4s, and manipulated with an assortment of Apps that we’ll discuss and use in the May 5 class. The above images were cropped into the square format for sharing on the Instagram photo-sharing service. I happen to really like the square image format - it reminds me of the fun I used to have working with my medium format Rolleiflex film cameras, which also produced square photographs! I also happen to really like textured images with rough borders and a grungy overall look. But that’s just my style – participant workshop images won’t necessarily be square, or textured, or grungy – participants will leave the workshop with the tools to share photos that express their own artistic style!

    “Intro to DSLR Photography” workshop this Saturday at The Octagon

    Monday, April 16th, 2012

    I’ve recently added a session of my popular Intro to Digital SLR Photography Workshop to my spring workshop schedule. It’s this Saturday, April 21, 2:00-5:00pm at Octagon Center for the Arts, 427 Douglas Ave, in downtown Ames, Iowa.

    We just added this to the calendar a week or so ago, but my workshops at the Octagon fill fast so don’t hesitate to register if interested! As far as I know there are still seats available as of today! We’ve pushed the start time on this one back so those of you in Ames can enjoy your VEISHEA parade and still have time to get over to the Octagon for a fun afternoon of photography! (For those of you reading that are not from around here, Ames is a Big-12 college town, home of Iowa State University, and “VEISHEA” is a week-long annual spring festival that’s one of the university’s historic traditions).

    Who should attend? This seminar is targeted at those new to SLR photography – though experienced shooters are also welcome -  who want to understand and master their digital SLR. The session is based on the premise that you can’t get consistent and predictable results with your photography until you take control of your camera – and you can’t do that until you understand why the various settings do what they do!

    We will thoroughly explore basic (and a few advanced) camera settings that will allow you to understand those settings so that you can obtain consistent and predictable results – and no longer merely click the button and hope you got what you wanted!

    The session starts with my “10 Must-Know Controls and Settings” that every SLR photographer must learn in order to consistently get photos you want! We’ll also explore artistry in photography, a few compositional “rules,” and discuss optimal accessories and lenses that will help you grow in photography.

    A few of the specific topics we’ll cover:

    • File Formats (should I shoot jpeg? tiff? RAW? And why?)
    • Understanding exposure (ISO, shutter speeds, and f/stops and how they work together)
    • Technically correct exposures vs. artistically correct exposures
    • Your camera’s Exposure modes
    • Focus modes and when to use which
    • Understanding metering patterns
    • Composition basics
    • Understanding your histogram
    • What to, and not to, buy next as your interest in photography grows

    Is that a long list? Yes! But it’s all so fun!

    And this is a fun, fast-paced, hands-on workshop that alternates between classroom discussion and active studio shooting situations where participants will practice new skills with hands-on instruction.

    More details and registration for this workshop (as well as several other workshops I’ll be doing at the Octagon in upcoming weeks) are available here.  Advance registration is required, so if interested, reserve your spot today!

    Finally, speaking of other workshops, if you’re interested in this one, you may also want to consider my “Intermediate DSLR Photography” workshop as a “next step” – also coming up at the Octagon on May 26. Those who complete the Intro workshop or who have a solid basic understanding of their DSLR are eligible for that one. Details are here.

    Cool Lightroom 4 Presets, and my upcoming class!

    Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
     
    I posted the below on my Facebook page this morning, but I want to share this here, as well. 
     
    Below is a link to a free download of three very cool Presets for Lightroom 4, from Lightroom guru Sean McCormack over at Pixiq. As a LR power-user, I use a lot of presets, and Sean’s are excellent! I have found this set, which Sean calls the “Faded Series” to be useful for portraits, fashion, landscapes, and scenics. Versatile! Sean offers many great Lightroom and photography tips and tools on that site, so be sure to browse around if you visit to download the presets!
     
    We’ll be covering how to install and use LR presets like these, as well as a full range of LR topics, at my April 28Intro to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom” workshop at Octagon Center for the Arts.
     
    Lightroom has been my image database and primary image processing tool since its Version 1.0 was released, and the wide range of free and low-cost plugins available for it - which provide the user a great variety of tools - is one of the many reasons why I am convinced that Lightroom is invaluable to any photographer.  
     
    If you’re in the area, check out my class to learn to master it in an afternoon!
     

    Just Added: Intro to Digital SLR Photography Workshop

    Friday, April 8th, 2011

    Rapid at Bond Falls

    On Saturday, June 4, 1:00-3:30pm I’ll be offering my popular Intro to Digital SLR Photography Workshop at Octagon Center for the Arts, 427 Douglas Ave, in downtown Ames.

    Whether you’re new to SLR photography or an experienced shooter who wants to improve your technique, this fast-paced, hands-on workshop will help.  We’ll alternate between classroom discussion and several “shooting stations” where you’ll practice new skills.

    Complete details and registration for this 2.5-hour workshop are available on the Octagon website, here.  Advance registration is required, so sign up now to reserve your spot!

    Octagon Art Festival – This Sunday, Sept 26!

    Friday, September 24th, 2010

    I’m making final preparations for my last outdoor art festival of the season: The 40th Annual Octagon Art Festival – this Sunday, September 26, 10-am – 5pm in the Main Street Cultural District of Ames, Iowa.  I’ve been doing this show for years, and it’s always a fun festival with a great mix of artists.  And after a rainy week, it looks like the weather will be fabulous!  Admission to the festival is free, and there will be over 100 artists as well as live music and food vendors.  If you’re in the area, come out and join us! 

    A map of the event can be found here.

    A list of exhibiting artists is here.

    I’ll be located in Booth #93 – for those familiar with Ames, that’s on Main Street right in front of Skunk River Cycles bicycle shop.  See you Sunday!

    Got 30 seconds? Vote for Art!

    Friday, April 2nd, 2010

    The Octagon Center for the Arts, a community art center located here in the beautiful Big 12 university town of Ames, Iowa, needs your help!  It has applied for a Pepsi grant for $50,000 to help renovate the former Wheatsfield Coop grocery store space – a street-level storefront which it has long owned but which is clearly showing its age - into a gallery space for community artists.

    Your vote on the Pepsi RefreshEverything site can help! 

    As a former Octagon Board of Trustees member, I’d love to see this grant happen.  The Octagon is a vital member of the Ames Main Street Cultural District, and a fresh, renovated community gallery right on street level would be a fantastic addition to the community.

    But alas!  The Pepsi grant process works via a voting process, with only top vote-earning projects earning actual funds.  So please help – it just takes a moment and your vote may help make a tremendous different!  You don’t have to be a member of the Octagon, nor even an Ames resident; just someone who agrees that this looks like a good idea and is willing to click the “vote” button!!

    Here’s the link: http://pep.si/9wvXO6 ~ thanks for voting!


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