Yet another long break...

Ugh, so I violated the first rule of blogging, which is: no one will come to visit unless there is new content to see. I have no real excuse other than real life has been occupying most of my time.

Let's see, some recent happenings...

No Quarter recently did a kids' Christmas party for pictures with Santa.  It's the third or forth year in a row I've done this function.  I found it hard to be creative due to the line of anxious children, but that wasn't why I was there.  Each family gets a 4x6. And I had them printed in time for Christmas. Santa was accompanied by an elf this year, which was a fun touch. I won't be posting any pictures on her due to the lack of a model release.

I was also asked to do a family portrait for my assistant and her siblings as a Christmas gift to her parents and grandparents.  It was hard to get everyone at the same place and time to get it done. Ultimately I had about an hour long window to get it right. I didn't have any advance knowledge of the site we went to, so when I got there my mind was racing. Set the scene. Dial in the lights. De-fog the lenses (my fault, they were in the trunk too long). Get everyone in place. And try to catch four very strong personalities at the same time. Below is an outtake and a final copy.  Everyone liked them, which is all I can hope for.

Christmas was nice. I got enough giftcards to go towards most of a new phone. I finally got the upgrade to my iphone, the 3Gs. It had been a long time coming. I was holding off to better spend money elsewhere, but thanks to those who helped me finally get a phone with consistant service with 5 bars!

I've been practicing my Photoshop skills as of late. I don't have my to show for it, as most are tutorials that focus on a specific skill. About a year ago I bought a graphics tablet. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I never touched one before, but everything that I read and watched had the artist using one. I did some research and got a Wacom Intuos3. I got frustrated quickly with it which I thought had to do with my clumsy hands. I told myself that learning to use it would come with time, so I picked it up and have been trying to almost exclusively use it for Photoshop. I've had much better results once I turned down the sensitivity of the pen. Much more subtle and controlable now. My recent hurdle is drawing smooth lines, but that's for a different day.

I saw Avatar in 3d this past weekend. It was amazing. I was overwhelmed by all the detail that went into the presentation. I read enough about the movie beforehand to know that about 80% of the movie was digital effects, but it all seemed real and believable to me. There were so many little things, like dust and bugs and scratches that added to the feel. I won't give away the plot, but it was an average story that's been told before. The ok plot was made into a great movie by all the production that was done. I was surprised to find how much the developers used Adobe products, as discussed here. My first thought was that they were using some in house software to put it together, but they used several programs that I have and others that I'm familiar with. Granted they used it much better than I could ever imagine, but it's exciting to know I have access to programs that could do that.

So, the New Year's resolution for No Quarter will be to publish more content and to take better pictures. This will be the first full year of my assistant at my side, so together I know we can make something great. Thanks Jess! Without you it wouldn't be as fun.

A recommendation for recommendations and a silhouette

I get a lot of requests from friends for recommendations of cameras and camera gear to buy. I understand the questions. I've been using digital SLRs since the Canon DRebel came out in 2003.  Many people are confused by all the fancy terms and technical specs. Its wise to search out someone more knowledgable in a topic or someone who's opinion means something to you.

My first question to them is usually what's their budget. My next is what they want to use the equipment for. Are they looking for a pocket camera? Something with more versatility? All the bells and wistles? I can generally come up with a short list of recommendations from there. I always support the purchase of Canon products. That may turn some people off. For those who don't know, there is a brand allegance in cameras similar to Ford vs Chevy with Nikon being Canon's main competitor. You're either one or the other. Over the last couple years the market has got more diverse with competitive models from Olympus and Sony, along with more models offered from Canon and Nikon.

I have a variety of experiences with Canon equipment. Every time I go to a store (like the time I went to B&H) I play with anything on display. And I'm a constant student. I regularly pick up a bevy of different photo gear magazines. I use to subscribe to Outdoor Photographer, but stopped after about 4 years. It was a good publication, but it got too repetitive for me. I also routinely troll the forums at Fred Miranda. The site has nearly every topic covered for 35mm based photography, both film and digital. It also has some discussion on medium and large format. Most of my early technique came from lessons learned from discussion posts. I still learn techniques or find new places to visit from the posts on the boards.

For specifically Canon SLRs, I always recommend visiting The Digital Picture. The author is a Canon-only person. Each product review, whether body or lens, is deep in both the technical and performance aspects.

The bottom line is for anyone that is interested in throwing any considerable amount of money at photography gear, that will most likely only be for hobby related purposes, it is incumbant that they do their homework. A purchase should never be made on recommendation alone. Go to a store. Pick it up. Test out the functions and buttons. Does it fit your style and experience level? No sense in buying too much camera if you're not ready. Be sure to factor in the associated costs. Will the camera need a flash? More memory card due to the sensor size? Special software to get the most out of the files?  Does it fit your hand?

A quick example is a friend of mine who I newly getting into DSLR photography. He's previosly owned only point and shoot cameras. I've talked with him about camera stuff before.  He's read a lot on his own, so it was refreshing to have a highly technical conversation with him. He did some research and narrowed it down to a Canon 7D and 5D2. Currently the difference between the two models is about $1000. That's a lot for a new hobby. That doesn't include any lenses. We talked about what he planned on using it for and many of the other topics I just went over. Ultimately he decided on the 7D. I look forward to checking it out next time I see him. I haven't been able to find one in store yet and there was a lot of hype with some of its new features.

So if you see me or send a question my way, understand that I'm just one piece of the puzzle. I look into whatever product may seem like the one for you, but I'm subjective like most people, so take it with a grain of salt.

Back to No Quarter business, I've been working on a personal project with a client. She had a couple ideas which we worked on together. One of the ideas we came up with was a silhouette. We tried a bunch of different poses. Some worked, some didn't. This particular photo (seen below) was an outtake which I instantly loved, even on my tiny 2" LCD on the back of the camera. It was my first time doing a silhouette using a flash. The EXIF is a 50mm 1.8 lens, 1/160 sec., F6.3 @ 100 ISO. I used a AB800 at about 1/3 power with a large octobox pointed toward a white sheet pinned to a doorframe. In Photoshop, I adjusted the exposure, cloned out the creases in the sheet, and added a soft glow. Really, it wasn't a lot of adjustment, but it took me a while to find the look that I wanted.

My assistant called it "powerful," which is the most evocative word she's used to describe any of my pictures. I was surprised by her response. This particular shoot gave me some ideas to try out in the future in a different way.

I'll continue to post things when I can.  Real life has been busier than I expected.  In the tradition of Thanksgiving, a big "Thank You" to all my readers.  I'll continue to post and lament as long as just one of you is around.

Back in the saddle again...

I've taken an extended break from posting an entry in October.  A lot was done.  Home renovation.  Moving. Work, work, work.  After all of that, there wasn't much time or topics to get into.  Today I have some time, so I'll recount all things exciting to No Quarter in the last couple weeks.

I've been steadily working on my home.  The bathroom was in dire need of fixing, so we ripped everything down to the studs and built it back up.  Some of the wall needed fixing do to water damage.  Pipes needed to be replaced, as they were as old as the house (~55 years).  The window wasn't very functional.  There wasn't any insulation.  The list goes on.  Hopefully by this weekend the tile will be finished.  The walls are primed.  I'll be painting sometime soon.  The rest of the inside could use a fresh coat, which we'll get to in the next couple weeks.

Moving has been a chore as always.  I don't have much "stuff," but its never easy to pack up your life, move it, then try to unpack it into someone else's house where they have it set up how they like.  I'm not complaining, I just don't like disorder.  Some people who know me may laugh at that last comment, because it may seem on outward appearance that I'm messy, but I have a very specific organization technique.  My desk is always a disaster, but I know where everything is and what is a priority.  Hopefully the chaos will end shortly and I can be back to normal in that respect.

My 9-to-5 has been busy as usual.  I'm trying to wrap up everything before I move to a different position in the new year.  I hate loose ends, but things pop up every day, which have made it take longer than I like. 

I recently wrapped up the newborn job which I discussed here.  I put the photos on flickr and got a huge response.  Either the mom has a ton of friends or people love babies.  I'm sure its a mix of the two, but I'm thankful for all the positive comments that I got from them.  Here's my favorite of the bunch:

As I was editting it, I realized that it was very similar to one of me from 30 years ago.  I think I had thinner hair though.

Tech news: I upgraded to Windows 7, which runs much smoother than Vista on my desktop.  So far, I've noticed start up and home networking are quick and without and problems I had before.  The interface has some subtle additions that add to the experience.  My next big software update will be in the spring sometime when CS5 comes out.  There's a couple videos on youtube that show off some of the upcoming features that are going to make editting easier.

Gear news: Canon announced the 1DIV.  The features list makes my 1DII look like a 3 pound paperweight.  16 megapixel, 1080P HD video, up to 102400 ISO, 10 fps, and a new autofocus system.  Sexy!  As you might have read from me before, the image quality of my camera is great, but the resolution is dated.  Maybe some day.  No Quarter didn't make much of a profit this year after some needed purchases, but hopefully with some new prospects, I can buy a new body of some kind in 2010.  Due to budget constraits, this will probably be a 5DII or 7D instead.  But one can dream.

Now that Wisconsin winter is rapidly approaching, I'm trying to think of some indoor personal projects to work on.  I've asked a couple people and one that I'd really like to do is a picture inspired by Sin City.  If you never saw the movie or read the graphic novels, its a crime/detective pulp fiction storyline.  The art work, in both the novels and movie, has a noir influence.  Often the only colors used are black and white, with red, yellow, and blue used to draw attention to a certain element.  Personally, I love black/white/red, so I'm going to start with that.  If you have an idea or are interested, leave a comment and tell me what you think.  Only 6 more months till nice trips to Target in a tank top.

Excuse my dust

No Quarter has been spending its days renovating and moving. Not my favorite thing to do, but it needed to be done. I've been without my computer, so editting has been no existant. I'm hoping to have it set up by tomorrow. If everything goes according to plan, my house will be finished by the end of the month.

Thank you to those patiently waiting. And a big thank you for all the attention from my last post. My readers apparently love babies and shirtless men. My black and white of new father and son became my most view in one day. I also got my highest readership in one day with that post.

I'll update again soon.

A wedding and a newborn

So it's been over a week since I've had the time to post a new entry. I've been quite busy with real life. House stuff, work stuff, and a couple other things I've got going on. Don't take this interlude as No Quarter slowing down!

Last weekend I was honored to stand up in the wedding of my best friend. It was a nice church and reception hall. They went to St. John's military academy for pictures. It was my first time there and I was surprised how nice the property was. The bride wanted some shots in front of a church with this bold red door. Here's a shot from my phone.

Even though the resolution sucks on it, I was impressed by the color it captured. I had my camera with me, but I didn't have an oppurtunity to shoot anything during the ceremony and reception. Besides during the celebration of the event, I had a couple drinks as my assistant served as my responsible driver. Taking pictures after drinks has never worked out.  Here's one I was able to grab before the event at the groom's parents' house.  Father and son with some super harsh sun to deal with.

Watching the hired photographer and his assistant hustle made me not missing wedding photography at all. I did enjoy looking over his gear. I was surprised to find that he was using Canon 40d and 50d bodies. I was expecting a 5dII. He did have some nice glass though.

Yesterday I had a newborn photo shoot. It was my first one for a friend who is a first time mom. First, friend, first, got it? I tried to talk her into maternity pictures, but she wasn't having it. She didn't think she looked attractive despite being quite the opposite. Her son is about 2 1/2 weeks old, which is a bit older than I would have liked, but our schedules didn't mesh well until now. The whole newborn thing is a challenge for me. I found posing to be the hardest thing. So delicate, but that's my issue. With mom, dad, and my assistant on hand we got a nice variety of shots.  I have to still work on the bulk of the shots, but below is a sneak preview.

Just as a reminder, No Quarter provides all types of photography services. Check out my flickr account to see my current work and check back often as I'm always adding new pictures.