That Very Next Thing

David Newbould - Tennessee

2011-11-17T20:17:00.008-06:00

Got to spend some time with the awesomely talented David Newbould. A Nashville transplant, Newbould writes songs that already feel like classics. Hear for yourself at davidnewbould.com, and be sure to support his Kickstarter project here.

Check out some more...

8 Off 8th at Mercy Lounge - Let's call it Ladies Night

2011-11-12T09:36:00.014-06:00

We had a really cool night on Monday at the 8 Off 8th showcase at Mercy Lounge. Awesome sets from Charity, Nicole Boggs, Marion Grace, Sharon Lang, Theo Cas, Amanda Broadway, and Trista Mabry. Nashville is home to some real talent with these ladies, and if you ever have the chance to see one of them live, you should do it right away.

Here are just a few of the pictures from that night.

Charity

Nicole Boggs

Marion Grace

Amanda Broadway

Trista Mabry

More ahead...

You can find more images of Amanda Broadway here.
And more of Trista Mabry here.

Run With Bulls

2011-10-17T15:50:00.006-05:00

Pleased yet again to catch a show from Nashville-based Run With Bulls. Their insane blues-infused, southern rock-inspired sound manages to be neither of those things. Which is good. The entire performance teeters on the brink of complete meltdown, as if the songs could just fall apart at any moment. How it manages to stay together is what makes this a band worth watching.

The Cadillac Black

2011-10-16T14:32:00.010-05:00

The Cadillac Black is a band from Nashville, TN, and really, where else would you expect? Now that their songs "I'm Southern" and "Down to the River" are available on iTunes, you can take just one quick listen to see why Nashville is the perfect home for a band currently touring with ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd. You can read more about them and see pictures here. Also, be sure to check out their website at thecadillacblack.com.

These photos are from Nashville shows at the basement, and at
3rd and Lindsley. And in front of some dude's retro RV.

k

Jessica Campbell CD Release Show

2011-09-05T08:48:00.018-05:00

I recently had the privilege of photographing the talented Jessica Campbell at the CD release party for her new album Great Escape. It was a brilliant performance from a brilliant artist. She has a gift for making you to want to enter the world of her songs, and for this one evening the entire audience was completely transported.

Listening to the music of Jessica Campbell is like driving on a warm day with the windows down and the music up. Her music recaptures an experience, a place you've been, a moment you shared with someone, and plays it back with all of it's original vibrance. It's the way her lyrics and melody flow hand in hand to remind you of something simple and pure, that's all too easy to forget. Her voice is both light and airy in one moment, and full of depth and soul in the same breath. These are songs that are hopeful and ready to show us the beauty that surrounds us, that can be had just by taking the time to notice.

The songs on Great Escape are far from sugary, pop-music fluff. Songs like "Me Without You" or "I Stay, You Stay" express a depth of insight that can only come from true experience. Her song "Paper Thin Mirror" expresses precisely that dedication to seeing goodness in reality, not in our fantasies about reality. These are songs of faith: faith in a hopeful future, in human ability to rise above circumstances and a belief in the fundamental goodness of life. Listen to them loud, and with the windows all the way down.

You can preview her music at jessicacampbellmusic.com and pick up a copy of Great Escape on iTunes.

Come see some more:

Arizona in Stereo

2011-08-13T17:51:00.007-05:00

Coming off the heels of a whirlwind visit to Arizona. One day in Sedona, and one at the Grand Canyon. Next time, we'll plan on a month at each. Both places were incredibly beautiful. There will be a lot more to come, but I'm recovering from the lack of sleep.

The first step toward the Grand Canyon confronts you with the hard truth that there is almost no point in picking up your camera at all. It's so big and vast and incomprehensible. A flat image just won't do. This is an attempt to add depth. Still doesn't come close, but I hope you can appreciate the effort. More on it's way...

These stereographic 3-D images can be seen by crossing your eyes. Search for stereo photography or stereographic images to find more here. Keep clicking:

More stereograph images elsewhere on this site.

Kazakhstan - 13 Years Ago

2011-07-31T18:08:00.017-05:00

I spent the summer of 1998 living in Kazakhstan. I worked with university students studying English, and traveled the Trans-Siberian and Silk Road railway systems from the capital of Almaty to the Siberian city of Semipalatinsk, known both for it's Cold-War nuclear testing site and the exiled home of Dostoevsky.

There isn't enough film in the world to do justice to this place that changed my life so much. These are pictures that, for me, at least come close. Many are of people I knew, or captured a mood or feeling that seemed to embody the cities and the people. At the time, it was a place that was beautiful and tragic and hopeful all at once. I don't expect it would be the same today. So much has changed, and I would probably find it unrecognizable. In a way, I never came back from that trip, and most what you see here isn't around to go back to anymore... But to me, that's the most properly Russian experience of it I could imagine.

These were all shot on film, and I see them, collectively, as defining indicators of the direction my eye would go ever since this time. The aesthetic preferences and compositional decisions I was forming with these has stayed with me. Those senses hang with me a little like their subject matter does, defining something for me. I'm incredibly grateful for their influence...

Click to see more:

The Cadillac Black

2011-07-26T22:06:00.000-05:00

If you've never seen The Cadillac Black live, you've missed out on one of two possible experiences. If you don't get Southern Rock, you will think you just slid into a scene from Deliverance, and the raging guitars have come to drag your soul into a bayou hell. If you're from the South, however, and Lynard Skynard makes sense to you, you might think you've died and gone to a rock heaven filled with Zeus-like amplifiers and drums forged by Thor. What you can't miss either way is just how big-city their deep-South sound is. Take what (little) you like about Kid Rock and add a heavy dose of Ted Nugent, and you'll have some idea of where to begin. But I can't say there's anything quite like The Cadillac Black experience (you can't confuse them with anyone else), and once your brain recovers, you'll thank them and ask for more.

More ahead:

Stereographic Cave Images

2011-07-25T17:27:00.012-05:00

Like ducks, it's hard to take a picture of a cave that isn't boring. So in an attempt to make something from a recent tour of Cumberland Caverns, I decided that stereographic images were the way to go. After all, caves are about size and depth - wondering what's around the next corner.

If you've never seen one of these, I recommend clicking on the image to make it larger first. Then sit a comfortable distance away and begin to cross your eyes as you stare at the image. You will begin to see that the two sides move away from each other and toward each other in the middle. Relax and focus on them in a way that allows the two to converge in the middle, making what seems like a third image. Once your eyes begin to focus, you will be able to see the scene in 3-D with great detail. It takes practice for some people.

A couple more...

There are more examples here.

Empires - The Basement

2011-07-18T17:04:00.016-05:00

Gotta love The Basement for bringing out some of the best music to grace the streets of Nashville. Friday night's performance from Chicago's Empires was one of those times that make you want to send Christmas cards to the management. Both loud and raucous, they managed to achieve the coveted hipster "headbob of approval". From the energy on stage, I almost expected a mosh pit to break out. "Bang" is the appropriate title for their album, because from the first note, the place lit up and there was not a dull moment until the hike off stage and the audience request for "4 more!". Yes, in a nutshell, they kicked ass and unless you find ass-kicking distasteful, you should visit their website and find out why I was so darn impressed: weareempires.com

More after the jump -

See the rest at thatverynextthing.com.

Music in Film Showcase: The Rutledge, Nashville

2011-07-10T17:18:00.005-05:00

Two days of the Music in Film Showcase with SESAC held at The Rutledge last month. Many really fantastic artists, including Sierra Noble with Michael Logen, Nashville's The Honeymoon Thrillers, the odd and wonderful Patrick Watson (who played the entire set acoustically with only one mic), Canada's Breaking Laces, and the very talented Sean Locke. There were many more, but that's who you'll get to see here. It was two nights of great music, and really talented, gracious musicians. This is absolutely on the calendar again for next year.

Thanks for visiting, and don't forget to check out: The Rutledge, Sierra Noble, Michael Logen, The Honeymoon Thrillers, Patrick Watson, Breaking Laces, Sean Locke, and Kip Moore.

Nikki Kummerow - 3rd and Lindsley

2011-06-26T14:22:00.007-05:00

We were fortunate enough to find a brilliant way to finish out the week on Friday night. Nikki Kummerow played a great show at 3rd and Lindsley. There's no substitute for good songwriting. Decide for yourself here.

thatverynextthing.com

David Newbould - The 5 Spot

2011-06-16T17:03:00.008-05:00

We were treated to a terrific show on Tuesday night from David Newbould. His great songwriting and an energetic performance are worth checking out, and if you missed your chance before, be sure to stop by 3rd and Lindsley on Tuesday, June 21 to hear him with The Joe Ely Band. Also, be sure to visit davidnewbould.com for more.

As always, be sure to go to thatverynextthing.com to see more.

Mogwai - Exit / In

2011-06-07T17:49:00.008-05:00

Mogwai at the Exit / In, performing at the end of their tour for "Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will". Monster of a show.

You can see the rest of the images plus some other acts (including The Errors who opened the show) at: thatverynextthing.com.

Thanks for checking in.

Red Forest Hunter - Little Hamilton

2011-05-16T16:38:00.006-05:00

These are from the Red Forest Hunter show on Saturday night. You can check them out at: redforesthunter.com. Download a few free tracks from their EP.

Some Live Stuff

2011-05-13T21:34:00.005-05:00

These are from a show we went to recently. Opening was one of our favorites, Margot and the Nuclear So & So's, and after that was The Twilight Singers. Great show, hope you enjoy the pictures.

Thanks.

2011-04-30T19:18:00.005-05:00

Check out the new video from Don Gallardo and How Far West for the song "Home" off his recent release "When the Daylight Whispers Darling..." available at: dongallardo.com

Good work from the director Seth Graves. And anyone familiar will notice the little cameo appearance of my house.

Don Gallardo and How Far West - 3rd and Lindsley

2011-04-17T09:04:00.004-05:00

Great show from Don Gallardo and How Far West at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville. It was the post-CD release CD Release Party that got the big weather delay from earlier in the year. At this point, you have no excuse not to own a copy of "When the Daylight Whispers Darling..." available at http://dongallardo.com/

See more at http://thatverynextthing.com/

Don Gallardo and How Far West - The Bluebird Cafe

2011-03-21T21:23:00.006-05:00

Great show from Don Gallardo and How Far West at The Bluebird Cafe. Check out the music at: dongallardo.com

Red Forest Hunter

2011-03-13T21:20:00.005-05:00

Killer show by Red Forest Hunter at fooBAR in Nashville. Check them out here: http://redforesthunter.com/

perfect little snowflakes.

2011-02-07T21:14:00.001-06:00

Today there were billions and billions of tiny perfect snowflakes.
Here are a few of them.

the Bikes.

2010-11-12T08:51:00.003-06:00

A few of the bicycle shots from New Orleans. Couldn't resist the personality that just came through in every single one.

New Orleans Travel

2010-11-03T18:44:00.003-05:00

These are from our recent vacation to New Orleans. We stayed at the Laneaux Mansion, which was awesome, and the food was fantastic. And of course, it's a great place for photography. This is a piece of what we shot, plenty more to come....

Click for more:

Thanks for stopping by.

Halloween.

2010-10-23T19:49:00.005-05:00

This year's pumpkins... on the front porch to make the neighbors jealous.

Pictures of babies don't have to be gross.

2010-10-02T16:59:00.005-05:00

I had the great honor of photographing a lovely little girl named Ella. Despite being a little taken aback at her first experience with wind, she was quite the little trooper.

Austin Wedding - Riverwood Mansion, Nashville

2010-09-07T20:56:00.006-05:00

Thanks to Kelly & Brad for letting us be a part of their big day. The wedding was great and we had a blast covering it. The full gallery and prints are available at thatverynextthing.zenfolio.com. Check it out!

Don't forget to visit the website.

Nashville Fireworks - 2010

2010-07-05T09:00:00.003-05:00

Jon was nice enough to let me use the 70 - 200mm lens for this shoot. Compared to our first attempt at photographing the show two years ago, this is a massive improvement.

Don Gallardo and How Far West

2010-06-15T18:08:00.006-05:00

These are some photos from a recent show at The 5 Spot in East Nashville. The band is Don Gallardo and How Far West. It was a great show and the band is really worth checking out here.

See more:

Check the website for more: www.dongallardo.com.

Sr. Casagrande

2010-05-30T11:47:00.005-05:00

We recently received the distinct honor and pleasure of being allowed a few minutes to document a typical day in the life of distinguished and venerable Sr. Casagrande. What a thrill just to be in his presence. As displayed here, he is clearly quite photogenic. Though this was our first venture into celebrity photography, we were pleased with the results.

Hotel Riu Vallarta

2010-05-03T19:49:00.003-05:00

These are some images from my recent stay in Puerto Vallarta. The resort was beautiful and the staff very friendly. I was glad we were able to shoot it at night. It's very Art Deco, complete with a collection of Gustav Klimt paintings.

These pictures of the Hotel Riu Vallarta in Nuevo Vallarta were taken in March, 2010. I would recommend it to anyone.

San Sebastian - Mexico

2010-04-20T21:05:00.008-05:00

Recently the Mrs. and I took a trip south and visited an old mining town called San Sebastian in Mexico. We ate a traditional Mexican meal, I skipped the mole, and got some of the best darn coffee I have ever had. Ever. If you go down there, let me know. I'm going to need at least 57 lbs of the stuff....

You can see more on our new Zenfolio site: thatverynextthing.zenfolio.com, or, as always...

Thanks for checking out our very very tourist photos of San Sebastian, Mexico.

More genius wedding photography

2010-04-18T21:02:00.006-05:00

There are so many good pictures, it's hard to choose which to post. So here is another slideshow, and I'm not going to promise that it's the last one. Again, all thanks goes to Tennessee-based wedding photographer Shea Halliburton.

Thanks for looking.

Our Wedding - Bridal Portraits by Shea

2010-04-10T22:07:00.004-05:00

Thanks to Shea Halliburton for the great bridal portraits. We're really happy with the way they turned out, and we're glad we can finally share them.

Our Wedding - Smith-Trahern Mansion

2010-03-28T12:30:00.008-05:00

We are very excited to finally be able to present some of the pictures from our wedding. All of these photos were taken by Shea Halliburton. Shea took great pictures and was a lot of fun to work with. We had the pleasure of editing all of them, but it is a much easier process when the photographer gives you so much to work with. You can see more of her work at byshea.com.

Here is the first in a series of slideshows.

Snow Day! and more from January..

2010-03-14T10:53:00.002-05:00

So this is a little behind... We had had a lot going on in January. Here is some stuff from our big snow day and two from the Chattanooga Aquarium. We'll make up for it with a nauseating number of wedding pictures and a whole fiesta of stuff from Mexico.

Penguins ahead.

Rock City - Fairyland Caverns

2010-01-18T21:02:00.006-06:00

As part of our Chattanooga honeymoon / flu-a-thon, we decided to brave the cold and visit Rock City. Favorite part? Fairyland Caverns. Ok, that's the only part that's not out in the cold, but you can't find this stuff just anywhere either. For those unfamiliar with this land of fairy magic, Fairyland Caverns is a series of caves filled with blacklights and painted statues depicting childhood stories. Sounds nice? Judge for yourself.

As photography goes, this was tricky. To get anything at all, I had to go ISO 1600 and use my 50mm prime at f-1.4. That gave me the minimal depth of field I was looking for, and enough light to capture the scene. It was challenging to nail the focus on the intended subject while framing it the way I wanted. For example, I wanted to focus on the Farmer's Wife, with the Three Blind Mice out of focus in the foreground. Luckily, it is a very magical place, which I think helped a lot.

PS: The last image is of the dinner table at the home of Jack Sprat. You're welcome for that one.

Chattanooga Part I

2010-01-17T18:52:00.003-06:00

On a birthday/honeymoon trip to Chattanooga Jon and I were struggling with a bit of illness we found out later was H1N1 for him and a nasty head cold for myself. In order to still make the best of things and avoid the cold we paid a visit to the aquarium. It's a challenge shooting in such dark conditions, especially when you're dealing with constantly moving targets. It was quite the test.

You won't see me set my ISO over 200 very often when I'm shooting on the digital. After 10 minutes or so of blurry disappointing shots, I had a bit of a "rip the band-aid right off" moment. I made the jump straight to 1600. You just have to live with the noise sometimes, I'm just glad Jon didn't rub my nose in it.

The newly weds hit up the newly iced lake

2010-01-08T18:43:00.004-06:00

Jon and I attempted to brave 15 degree weather out at the lake. We lasted about an hour before my lens got frosty. At least I got to try out the new 60mm 2.8 lens, and oh kids, she's a beauty!

Our Halloween

2009-11-09T21:54:00.005-06:00

On the tails of a great party, we took some special Halloween pictures to commemorate Rachel's great costume as the Haunted Madam of Forrest Manor.

See more:

This certainly beats our costume from two years ago: Boris tells Sascha to bring home much monies or else.

Enjoy.

Sailing to Key West

2009-11-08T20:08:00.003-06:00

Here are some more pictures from the Voyager along with some pictures from Key West. The Voyager is a 38-foot Cabo Rico, which is normally great on the water, but we hit 35-knot winds and 10-foot seas. So obviously I didn't get a lot of photos of that part of the trip. The boat made it though, even though we had to get out the emergency tiller. Many of these pictures are from the more pleasant part of the trip, but you can see my "Deadliest Catch" sailing attire in the first picture.

More ahead:

Thanks.

Halloween "Ho-Down" Throw-Down

2009-11-08T13:07:00.006-06:00

When the ho's down, it's time to throw-down. That's what happened Halloween night. A good time was had by all, despite a visit from the Green Man.

Proceed if you dare.

Thanks for looking, just don't tell anybody.

Halloween Pumpkins

2009-10-30T21:47:00.002-05:00

This year's pumpkin carving results: The Octopus. Rachel wins. Though I like mine pretty good too.

Next year's assignment: 10 pumpkins and the Nashville skyline.

Portrait of the Voyager

2009-10-29T19:49:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures from a recent excursion on the Voyager.

There are more ahead:

Another post soon to follow.

Katie...

2009-10-05T19:06:00.004-05:00

More >

Recent Paintings

2009-08-26T21:03:00.003-05:00

These are close-ups of some of the work Rachel is currently doing. It's nearly impossible to appreciate them through a photograph, so these shots were taken close-up on some of the details. Hopefully, you'll all have the chance to see them in person soon.

See more after the jump.

Stay posted for more.

More from Rock Island, TN

2009-07-24T16:46:00.002-05:00

Still more photos to come!

Rock Island, TN: Short Hike, Long Shoot

2009-07-24T07:06:00.002-05:00

Jon and I had an interesting accidental trip to Rock Island, TN last weekend. It turned out to be a nice road trip with plenty of great photo opps. These are some photos of Rock Island itself. I'll be posting more pictures of the falls and the drive down and back later.

Stormy Weather in Nashville

2009-06-18T21:31:00.003-05:00

Here's a few shots I'm proud of, pre-editing.

I took these using the bulb setting on my Canon Xsi, my handy-dandy remote, and a wicked tripod. I'll get around to editing out those power lines and spiffing it up. There's more stormy weather forecast for Saturday so maybe I'll get another go round with the lightning.

Das Boot em PGI

2009-06-16T18:14:00.003-05:00

Guten Abend. Here are some pictures of sailing in PGI. All aboard the "Voyager". Bitte.

Tchuess.

Stereographic Images - PGI

2009-06-04T19:27:00.004-05:00

These are a set of stereographic images taken in Punta Gorda Isles, FL. Mostly in the Ponce de Leon park. To view these, simply get close and cross your eyes. The images will blur apart and a third image will begin to appear in the middle. Relax your eyes, but focus on the center image and it will eventually sharpen up and become 3-dimensional. There are other posts of steregraphic images (with tutorial links) elsewhere on this blog. Simply type 'stereographic' in the search box. As always, feedback is welcome.

Thanks for looking. Feel free to comment if you would like a tutorial or more information.

PGI - Do or Die

2009-05-31T12:46:00.004-05:00

These are some pictures of the recent Karr family reunion. We blasted through PGI bigger than Charlie. Bigger than an F-4 (if you don't know, just ask Bill Paxton). It was superbad. From sneaking an early bowl on league night to packing out Chubby's, we rolled out like Big Tymers. Here's a few to get things moving, but there'll be plenty more to come. Slammin' J sez Peace!

PGI - naaaasty

2009-05-20T18:58:00.005-05:00

There's geckos here, and Chris caught him a good 'un.

Durrrick's Throw-Down

2009-05-14T21:56:00.002-05:00

Here are some hot pics from tha Throw-Down at Durrick's. It was the hotness.

Proceed at your own risk.

Actually, there was a lot of hugging. It was a very loving, hugging, supportive (but not in a creepy way, except for right there at the end, but what happens in Spring Hill stays in Spring Hill) gathering.

It was a good time with some very lovely, huggy people.

In the woods. At night.

2009-04-24T21:08:00.004-05:00

Here's how: We used a Canon 580 EX II Flash off camera left behind a soft diffuser panel. There was another 580 EX II, triggered remotely, behind the wall, and bounced upward with a gold reflector. The background was composited in from a slightly earlier shot so that it was not completely dark. The park closes at dusk, but we're reckless and have no respect for authority.

Free Prescriptions

2009-04-22T20:10:00.003-05:00

Next in a series.

Slideshow of Rachel's Painting - Including some new stuff

2009-04-01T21:06:00.001-05:00

This is a slideshow of paintings, including some more recent work.

More from Africa

2009-03-09T17:41:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Emily for the great pictures.

Fragments and HDR

2009-03-08T21:37:00.003-05:00

We took some more pictures today at Long Hunter State Park, Nashville. I bracketed several images without a tripod. It was too windy to line up the images properly for HDR, so I approached it a different way.

The last one here is an HDR image processed in Photomatix, but made more dramatic by duplicating the layer and changing the blend mode to 'Soft Light' with reduced opacity.

From Africa

2009-03-04T18:54:00.008-06:00

Here are some of Emily's pictures from Africa.

Retouching by Jon. More to come.

Long Hunter State Park, 2.0

2009-02-06T20:32:00.002-06:00

Here are some of the images Rachel took at Long Hunter State Park. Most of these are underexposed with fill flash for a touch of surrealism. There is also a picture of a bona fide Tennessee Bald Eagle. But you have to click the link to see that.

Ok, so the eagle is small, but not for lack of trying. She ran halfway around the cove with a telephoto lens and a tripod to try and get a better shot. Maybe next time, pookie.

Rosanna's Birthday (what happens at the rager, stays at the rager)

2009-02-02T18:20:00.006-06:00

Rosanna throws the dopest ragers, and this weekend was no exception. Here she is, represent'n.

Here's Jon and Derrick, thug'n.

Rachel provided the sweet cake. She dropped the bomb on that mother.

....
....
....

Wow.

Rosanna even put broken glass in the cheese dip. To see the rest of the buck wildness, proceed.

It was krunk. Woot.

Fort Negley, Nashville

2009-01-23T21:12:00.003-06:00

These are some pictures I took a few months ago at Fort Negley. I'm just getting around to sharing them. It was cold then too, but the sky was great for shooting.

After the jump here, there are more pictures of the old fort itself.

Thanks for looking.

Winter at Long Hunter

2009-01-22T18:07:00.005-06:00

Nothing says "Outdoor Photo Day" like 30 degree weather. We decided to suck it up and go to the lake, where it was a tad colder. And windier. And wetter. Muddier, too.

Sometimes bad weather is the best weather for taking pictures.

Everything there was mud and ice, and though the ice was melting some, we could still get out to the very edge of the water.

Rachel got pretty brave and has some good shots to show for it, which we'll post later.

More to come.

It's a Birthday 'Stache Bash!

2009-01-11T21:16:00.005-06:00

We had a little get-together for Rachel's birthday.

It started off nice enough, lots of happy people, etc...

But, unfortunately, it turned into a real rager.

Well not really. But there were fake 'staches.

A good time and a hairy lip was had by all.

For those that need photo justification for this post, this was all shot with the Gary Fong Lightsphere. Not too shabby, Gary.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-29T15:46:00.002-06:00

Santa brought me the Sigma 50mm f1.4. Think of it as a gift for everyone. More to come.

For both sides

2008-12-09T20:17:00.003-06:00

This is next in a series. Thus, more to come.

More later.

Making it smaller-er

2008-12-02T19:51:00.005-06:00

These are some more samples from the work I was doing last month. Hope you enjoy.

Bad Photos of a not so photo-y post

2008-11-09T12:58:00.003-06:00

These are some pictures of a painting I've been working on Fooooor-Eeeeever! It might be finished. Key word here is Might.Photos are in the order of steps... or is that obvious?

Making it smaller....

2008-11-02T20:57:00.004-06:00

Here's something I've been playing with. Hope you enjoy.

These miniatures are made to resemble the effect of a tilt-shift lens at a wide aperture. Done in Photoshop instead.

To see someone who does it much better, go here.

-Thanks, Jon

Drumroll, please

2008-10-30T20:57:00.004-05:00

It has arrived.

The Canon 70-200mm f4 IS USM "L" series. To be continued...

...

Now don't get too scared...

2008-10-26T20:55:00.007-05:00

Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween everybody! Five pumpkins might be overkill to some people, but not us. Gettin' in the spirit, as always. Be sure to

Hey, this is mildly photo-related... I had to put it on a tripod anyway... even at ISO 800 each shot took at least a 1.3 sec exposure. (There's your tip for the day).

Hope you enjoy!

Some shots for the Fall

2008-10-22T20:33:00.005-05:00

It's a new season and we have some new pictures to get you in the holiday spirit.

There's some fill flash used here, but it's mostly natural light. We wanted to use a low ISO, so we started at 100. To blow out the background, we used a large aperture so speed was the greatest variable. We eventually bumped up the ISO, because shooting hand-held at 1/30 was causing too much blur. Woot.

Rachel was a good sport about standing still for so long in the wet grass. We are entering this in a photo contest, so wish us luck. Stay tuned for the results.

-Jon

Tis the time of year to get Victorian

2008-10-12T20:35:00.005-05:00

This year Rachel and I volunteered to be tourguides for the Gallatin Cemetary Tour. Obviously this required costumes. Apparently all of the Gallatin ghosts are very Victorian. In case you're wondering, this is why I don't have a goatee (well, not the only reason).

I wanted to keep the hat, but they wouldn't let me. Rachel processed the photo of us, and I did the others.

The Conundrum of Catching Captives on a Canon...

2008-09-27T22:12:00.006-05:00

Well I've been a rotten poster, I apologize. I've been a little distracted with some side projects lately. Now that they are completed hopefully I can get back on track! Here's a few fun photos from our trip to the zoo. See the slideshow...

Really, once you've been and gotten over pictures of the fancy animals you just spend all subsequent trips hoping for a unique photo-op. Mine seemed to favor the comical.

Some nasty critters...

2008-09-24T20:27:00.004-05:00

Went to zoo. For an interesting bit of psychology, compare my results with Rachel's.
All taken with a Canon Xsi, 28-135mm lens, available light (I know, right?).

Left behind in a parking lot somewhere

2008-09-20T10:49:00.003-05:00

Tippi Hedren, eat your heart out.

2008-09-06T21:05:00.003-05:00

To both of our fans, sorry it's been so long. I had to get my neck cut on (er.. tonsils removed). But I hope this latest installment is worth the wait. This is something special I've been working on for some time, but I just couldn't get it right. And finally, here it is. This and the two images after the jump are part of an attempt to move toward more surrealist, cinematic images. Hope you enjoy. Comments appreciated.

Life with Tonsils

2008-08-22T22:53:00.002-05:00

In honor of Jon's life before he had his tonsils removed I've put together a little slide show. Enjoy as always.

Big Body, teeny pixels?

2008-07-30T19:04:00.011-05:00

This is my newly unearthed dinosaur -- the Nikon E2N.
It's big.
It's really big...
It's like holy cow big...
It's like nearly-the-size-of-my-head big... If you tied it to me and threw me in the lake, I would drown in minutes... If someone breaks into my house, I'm not going for the baseball bat -- I'm grabbing the E2N. It's like trying to shoot with a bowling ball. It's a camera built for Hulk Hogan.
Or Godzilla...

The only drawback? The big fella's only got 1.3 Megapixels.:( Ha. Rachel's cell phone has more.

The memory card is a Flash ATA card (with a whopping 15MB). The card itself is the size of an iPod. I put a Tokina manual lens with Nikon mount on it, which worked, but I can't get the battery to stay charged long enough to take more than ten pictures at a time. At some point, I'll post some. If I can take any decent ones. Check out more massiveness: http://www.nikonweb.com/e2n/

By the way, these shots were taken with my Canon 40D. With significantly more megapixels.

-Jon

Rio, Part III: In the Favela

2008-07-23T17:11:00.006-05:00

Here are some pictures I took last month of life in the favela. These people were there to visit the medical clinic we were hosting, which was in the favela of Dende on Governor's Island. We were there for five days, with a pediatric and dental clinc, a pharmacy and an eye clinic, which is where I worked (can you say 'precisa de oculos'?) All are shot on my Canon A-1, using Ilford 400 B&W. See more ahead:

In Rio, the slogan is "BASTA", which means 'enough'. Thanks for looking.

Pano at the Lake. Good times for all.

2008-07-13T12:24:00.008-05:00

Back out to Long Hunter State Park.. we decided to try some Pano shots and here is the result. See more...

On Location: These are taken using between four and six portrait-oriented shots. The trick is to find an exposure that is in a median range for the entire scene, set the camera accordingly in Manual mode, and then leave it. When taking the shots, be sure to leave about 1/3rd of each frame overlapped by the next.

Post-Production: They were batch color-corrected in RAW format and then stiched using Adobe's Photomerge. We still did plenty of color adjusting, dodging and burning, as well as contrast enhancement using a method we learned that applies curves to the single channels rather than the image as a whole.

The first two are Rachel's and the last is mine. Thanks for looking.

Rio, Part II: Surroundings

2008-07-09T19:40:00.020-05:00

Here are some more of my pictures from Rio. This is a little different from the tourist side posted previously. They were all taken with a Canon A-1 film camera on Fuji Superia film.

Here are the eye-charts we used to help find eyeglasses for locals in the favela. And here is the cow-tongue and pork lunch.

Some Brazilian "barbed-wire".

Thanks for looking. More to follow.

You want Independence? Get a remote!

2008-07-05T15:28:00.004-05:00

In the spirit of July 4th we decided to experiment with shooting some fireworks... in the photo sense of course. After hunting down a moderate view away from boisterous crowds we set up our tripods and got to work. Follow the link to see more images and how to get them. Without much of a zoom on my Canon Xsi's stock 18-55 I ended up with some nice shots but a little more cropping in post-production. It did force into most frames the ever iconic AT&T tower which I decided to keep in most shots. I lacked a remote so I decided to take advantage of some longer shutter speeds keeping mostly between 0"5 and 2"5. The quicker speeds I used for faster barrages and slower speeds for larger less frequent explosions. The Nashville display is synced to the symphony so we had the benefit of musical queues for prepping speeds and the like. I kept my F-stop at F8 for most of the evening. Although towards the end I found F9-10 with quicker shutter speeds minimized shake and maximized the skyline. All in all a fair shooting but high hopes for next year having a better vantage point up wind from the smoke and remotes!

Bounced off-camera flash

2008-07-05T15:15:00.005-05:00

Here are some pictures I took of Rachel. I used my 580 EX II on a sync cable to bounce the flash down and toward the wall in front of her.

What I like here is that the wall I bounced off of had a gold / yellow hue, which comes out in the skin tones. There is no significant ambient light, so all the light comes from bouncing off the large wall surface behind me. I got a surprisingly soft light this way, which replaced the use of a large gold reflector.

Rio de Janiero, Brazil: Tourista

2008-06-30T18:11:00.012-05:00

Here are some pictures from my recent trip to Brazil. These are taken with a Canon A-1 on Fuji Superia film. This initial post is of the traditional 'tourist' spots: Copacabana Beach, Sugarloaf, Corcavado, and a few from a boat ride taken around the bay. I will post some other pictures later, that will be of a very different Brazil. See the rest of this series after the link:

Thanks for looking!

Tchau, obrigado! -Jon

More images at the Sanders Farm

2008-06-17T18:42:00.003-05:00

Here's a few edits from my shots at the Sanders Farm. I'll be getting some of the Grandfather Mountain images up in the next couple of days. Follow the link to the slideshow.

Sulfur Springs, Tennessee

2008-06-09T20:09:00.010-05:00

Here are some pictures taken during a recent trip to East Tennessee. Most of them are of the Sanders family farm in Sulfur Springs. My uncle was gracious enough to take us out around sunrise, and haul us up to a hill overlooking the farm. That's him in the first picture. See the slideshow:

These are taken by Jon with a Canon A-1, Fuji Superia film. Rachel took quite a few digital pictures here too, which she might post.

Super Light - Super Tight... first impressions of the Canon XSi

2008-06-01T20:49:00.009-05:00

This is probably my first real run with the new Canon XSi. If you've used the older XTi or even the 40D this is an easy transition. I've yet to find anything that makes the extra $600 for the 40D worthwhile. But it's early so who knows. The first thing you'll notice is the XSi is surprisingly light. This makes it easy to use one handed when you're lugging around your camera bag... or a large strawberry slush from Sonic. Not to mention when you've got an added flash unit. You know... whatever. The smaller body makes some controls more manageable letting you make faster f-stop adjustments without endlessly searching with your thumb. Once I get a little more use with it I'll post more. My first overall impression - it's a nice addition to the Canon family and I just love it.

Rio through Holga

2008-05-31T21:08:00.000-05:00

This is a verrrry long slideshow of pictures I took last year in Brazil. They were all taken with a Holga 120.

And here is the rest of it.

Some edits from our 8th Ave shoot

2008-05-31T11:38:00.010-05:00

Here's a variety of photos from a shoot we did off 8th Ave. Here we have images from the Canon 40D Digital SLR, Canon T70 shooting Ilford 100 B&W film as well as Fuji Astia 200 Slide film.

Stereophotography

2008-05-30T22:33:00.013-05:00

These are 3-D Stereograph images. View more images and learn how to see them by following the link...

In order to see the 3-D image, stare at the image and cross your eyes. As the images become blurry, a third image should start to appear in the middle. Relax your gaze and the third image should start to come into focus. Enjoy, but don't hurt yourself.

Thanks to Neil Creek for the tutorial, which can also be found at Digital Photography School.

All shot with a Canon 40D, flash on a stand to the side.

Thanks for viewing!

Polaroid Daylab

2008-05-30T22:22:00.002-05:00

This is Rachel working on a photo project with a Polariod Daylab. Right before it crapped out.

With two sheets left in the developing tray, the flash stopped working. After spending an entire day trying to fix it, I decided to vent my frustration by documenting it. If you want to see some examples of what a Daylab can do, check out this site.

Daylab repair I

2008-05-30T22:12:00.006-05:00

Part one: Warranty-voiding repair...

The first problem is how to take it apart... The special screw that opens it up has a top secret hiding spot behind this "DO NOT OPEN" sticker.

Proceed at your own risk. This releases the back. You’ll notice two screws that hold the front of the head in place. Remove those before moving to the smaller screws that attach the base of the head to the post that holds it all together.

Before trying to take it all apart, look down and unscrew the white box on the inside from the base. This white box holds the flash, color filters, and test lamp.

Now that the head is off, set it to the side. To get to the control board, you have to lift the lower part of the head off of the base.

Here’s the trick: Guaranteed to void your warranty:

Flip it over and look up into the base. There are two circular spots where the plastic has been heat-welded together. The part to the left of the screwdriver head is the base, and the part in front of the screwdriver head is the post attached to the head. You have to separate those pieces of plastic and push the head post inward. You can see at the tip of my finger where the plastic heat-weld has split, and where the post has been pushed down.

When you flip it back over, you are able to then lift the lower part of the head up and away from the base. Take it up and all the way over the back post. Here is a closeup of the head post once it’s removed, and a picture of the base once the head post has been removed.

Daylab Repair II

2008-05-30T21:53:00.004-05:00

Part two: How it works...

This white box holds both the flash and the test lamp. This translucent white piece is a diffuser.

Lifting it out, you can see the two lights. The flash is this small xenon flash tube on the left.

The three colored blades are attached to the sliders on the front of the head. Adjusting the sliders moves the colored blades in and out of the white box.

Looking at the white box from the other side, you can see how the test lamp is on one side of the blades and the flash is on the other. When the test lamp is on, it is unaffected by the color blades. When the flash fires, however, the light from the flash has to pass through the blades before hitting the diffuser. Therefore, the amount of color adjustment made with the sliders affects how much of that particular color blade stands in front of the flash. This is why the image darkens when the color is significantly increased.