A Different Venue

Photography as a business is not as profitable as one may think. Now don't get me wrong, I know several people who manage to make a living at Photography. The thing is, they treat it as such, meaning they set goals and objectives and back it up with a business plan. People that focused on the business side measure the payback of everything they do. Rightfully so they treat it this way, especially if it's their livelyhood.

I on the other hand, for right or wrong and at least for now, shoot with the goal of enjoying myself and trying new things. And hopefully, in the end the money earned pays for the wear and tear on some very expensive equipment.

So, with all that being said, last week a friend of mine who happens to be a band director asked me if I would stop by during a concert that he was putting on with his 6th & 7th grade bands to shot some pictures of him and the students. In return we would be able to post the pictures to a private shopping gallery where parents would be able to view and purchase prints if they so desired.

I never shot this type of venue before, so the thought of doing it was kind of exciting. But realistically, I kind of knew from a business perspective, some would think it that it might not make much sense.

But, there lies the point, the joy of photography is enjoying shooting things you want, regardless of whether it is or isn't profitable.

Besides, one never knows, these kids will likely get married in the future, right? :)

The Power of One

This past weekend was spent in Tampa, FL shooting two events for what could be one of the most dynamic companies I have come across. I'm not totally surprised, as I have found that people focused on physical fitness are often outgoing, and it was a fitness company that hired us. The company is Lifestyle Family Fitness, located in St. Petersburg, FL.

I have written much about the gym I attend in Apex, NC as it is for sure the best run gym I have ever belonged too. In addition to the impeccable locations, the personnel that they employee are quality people, from the top down.

The theme of the Awards ceremony was "The Power of One". This theme resonated through each and every speaker. I think what impressed me though is that it really is not just a theme. I say this because I have met so many people in a short period of time that are part of this organization and each and everyone of them knows that they can and do make a difference. That's true for the club they may be employed at, as well as for the members that they service.

Now sure, no company is perfect, but then again some just don't try. I for one believe that this company truly does try. And they start at "home", meaning they treat their employees well.

Here are a couple of the images from the event. You'll see from the expressions just what I mean.

(to see all the images, go to Candid Captures under "In the Spotlight")

A Hired Hand

As many know, photography is not my primary career, and to be honest, I'm not so sure I would have it any other way. Having two professions, part-time photographer and full time, umm, what is it I do? Oh, yes, a business analyst, almost forgot....

Anyway, the two, for whatever reason, sort of fit well together. And here is just one reason.

One person I have gotten to know fairly well is Don. Don worked for me for a few years as a web designer while I was Applications Manager at HP Hood. Lets just say, Don is extremely talented at what he does. Pretty much anything Don puts his mind to he can accomplish. Like everyone that was on my staff, we all came to be close.

Don recently got married, in fact it was October 11, 2008. I had the privilege of shooting his wedding. Although I was a hired photographer, Don made it clear, I was also a guest and was to enjoy all the benefits of being so.

I wonder if Don will actually realize how much that comment meant to me. The fact that someone actually wants you to be at their wedding is a privilege, but also having them want you to be part of their wedding by being the person entrusted to capture it, is yet another honor.

I was very touched.

Well this week I delivered the pictures. As always, I can't stop thinking about what they maybe thinking when reviewing the sideshow.

Don being such a wonderful person, called me to let me know what he thought.... now I can sleep.

Being the photographer at a wedding truly can mean so much more than just being a hired hand, it just takes a personal touch. This is the approach I believe every photographer should take with every corporate event or wedding they are hired for.

But I have to say, having the extra special relationship with Don & Michelle just made it all the better.

Best wishes to both of you!

A Perfect Compliment

Being a avid photographer with a camera in hand almost everywhere I go, I never had much good to say about what some consider a competitor to still captures, namely video.

It's not that I despise it or anything like that, it is more that I never really thought it was practical. After all, think of all the things you need. A video camera, tapes, a player to play it back on, a television and a whole lot of time to watch it. And god forbid you actually wanted to share the video with say your cousin seven states over. It's not like it was easy to transfer the video to the pc and upload.

Compare that with photos, with all that can be done with them with relative ease.

Times have changed though, so i have learned today. Why? Because I ordered a Flip video camera 2 days ago and today it came in.

This little thing is amazing. In fact, I have been videoing all night and playing it back on a television. Total time to do that? Oh, about 30 seconds from the time I hit STOP on the recording. Yup, 30 seconds to plug the Flip in to the tv and I was playing for a roomful of guest.

They were so impressed that I bet two sales are genereated. :)

A little plug for Phanfare

In the spirit of wanting to add stuff to this blog every couple of days and making sure it is somewhat useful information, today I figured I'd share with you one of a handful of services I use.

The service is Phanfare, a hosting service for both your photo's and video. I know, there are a ton of photo sharing sites in existence, some even do video. There's Picasa Web, Flickr and a several others, but trust me, i have tried them all and use multiple. But todays focus on my favorite, Phanfare.

Why?

Well first, because it does actually cost money to use. That's right, I actually pay to use it. Image that. But trust me, the modest annual fee is worth every penny.

What does Phanfare provide? A few things:

• unlimited hosting of your pictures and video
• no ads
• sharing
• a awesome application to mange your photos from anywhere and any computer (even if yours crashes)
  
• probably what is the best slideshow interfaces of any site i know
• applications that integrate into Facebook and Lightroom 2
• and the list goes one....

Not only is it real easy for me to post & mange pictures, it incredibly easy to share with others.

Ok, rather than me go on and on, check it out for your self at www.phanfare.com. If you would like to see some of the shots I have up there, click here.

BTW, I realize that this picture posted with this entry has nothing to do with Phanfare other than the fact that it is posted there as well. But after all, it is Breast Cancer Awareness month, so that's good enough reason. Right?

Just Ahead

Have you ever been on a road trip and you see a sign for a place that you spontaneously want to check-out? Seems like a neat idea, right? After all, the sign says that such and such is "just ahead"? Won't take much time at all, right?

Umm, wrong! Ends up that gas station, McDonalds or other place of interest that was "just ahead", turns out to be MILES upon MILES ahead.

That's exactly what happened to me yesterday. I was out for just a casual drive in an area I had never been before and I happened upon a sign for a place called "Historic Brattonsville".

Now, I happen to love history. No, i'm not a history buff, but I do appreciate the fact that it's a good idea to educate oneself on this country's history when ever possible. Not to mention, historic landmarks make for great photography.

So, after about 15 minutes, I finally make it to this place that was "just ahead".

You know, it was worth the trip. If you ever find yourself in the Rock Hill, SC area, make a pit stop. Just make sure you have a full tank of gas. :)

Bogging It

Well if you didn't notice, this is like the 3rd entry in 3 days, which is for sure a record over the last 6 months. The reason? Well, at least for now, this is going to be the place where I will post the more recent pictures I take that I actually like. Another benefit, it will force me to write a little something about it. And you know, I actually enjoy coming back and re-reading what I wrote and correct all the dam typo's. :)

This shot was taken last week on a trip to Boston. For the first time I spent a couple of nights with my brother Derek and his lovely wife Lori.

A little about this shot. It was taken on the way back from Plymouth, MA. I was actually in a bit of a rush to get back to house as I had promised to make dinner. While driving along we passed a cranberry bog that was being harvested. Now i'm not totally sure "harvested" is the term for it, but either way, it looked interesting. From a photography perspective, the time of day couldn't have been better.

I quickly pulled the car over to a safe spot. Although the car was safe, you should have seen us trying to cross the street. It was a winding road with a speed limit of something like 55mph.

Well either way, the shot was worth it.

Bodypump 66

All of us are aware of the need of including physical fitness in our weekly routine, yet the priority it places varies by individual.

For me, for that last few years anyway, physical fitness has placed pretty high. I think the reason is that I have seen the benefits it brings, which for me, is as much mentally as physically. Of course, it's so much easier to keep a routine if it's something that's as much fun as it is work. That's why it is so important to find something that works for you, something you enjoy.

What seems to work for me is a combination of an individual routine I have developed in conjunction with group fitness.

A program that was offered at my local gym is one developed by Les Mills, which offers a number of different group fitness programs. The one I have stuck with is BodyPump.

I can truly say, no other fitness routine has quite worked as well and provided such amazing results in such a short period of time. Let me just say though, it does not come without some serious commitment and work. And I mean sweat-dripping off the elbows work.

Besides the obvious physical benefits, I have also met some great people at the gym that have become some really wonderful friends. And, it just so happens that they they are instructors, thus they are constantly correcting my posture and technique so I get the most from the investment.

Now the way the program is designed, every 3 months a new release comes out that changes both the work-out routine and music. Each launch is kind of a big deal, in that the instuctors have to train pretty hard for it, so there is a little bit of excitment around it.

So, we thought it would be nice to do some photography on the night of the launch to make it a little more festive. Let me say, some of the shots were just awesome, mostly because it is a venue you just don't get to shoot very often.

Fine Dining

Those that know me know I don't make a big deal out of eating out. Sure, I enjoy going out for a well cooked meal, but more important than the food, is the experience. The laughs and conversation that come from those you dine with, especially with those you truly care about.

Last week I spent some time in Boston and with the boys. We went out to eat almost every night, and you know, we could have been at McDonald's and it would have been awesome.

Well as it has it, we ended up as The Cheesecake Factory and it was truly "fine dining".

People Appreciation

First of all, I can't believe another year has passed. What makes me realize just how quickly they go is annual events such as the HP Hood Quarter Century Club luncheon. I am pretty sure I have blogged about this before, but basically this is the annual luncheon to honor those employees who have worked or worked at HP Hood for 25 or more years.

This year marked the 6th year that I have been the official photographer for this event. There are so many things that make this event special, but first and foremost is the fact that I get to see so many people I worked with for years all in one place.

There was a rather sad moment though. The odd thing is that what I am about to share seems to have bothered me more this year, although I am sure it is something I probably should have noticed every year I attended.

A highlight of the event is placing the pictures out on a designated table of shots taken the previous year. Believe me, this is truly a highlight of the day. The very first thing that an attendee does, right after slapping on their name tag, is run (well walk, slowly) over to "the table" to look and see how many pictures they can find with them in it. Well, toward the end of the event, yet while everyone was having their dessert, I walked over to the table to look at what pictures could be handed out to those that may be in attendance but did not get a chance to pick up their picture.

As I glanced over the shots, I noticed some pictures of people and their name tags. I picked up one of the booklets for the event which has a page or two of names of folks who died during the last year. How sad it was to be holding in one hand pictures of people who's names where in that booklet.

It surely does put things into perspective. For me, it reminds me of one of the reasons I truly love photography.

World Traveler! NOT..

I am definently NOT a world traveler, but the last few years I have made my way to places that I would not have thought I would every get to.

Part of the reason I get around a little more is because I have become a little more savy with how to get a good deal on places to stay and how to get there.

To further finding tips on getting around, I joined a new site today, TripAdvisor. Here is the map of some of the places I have been.

So, where have you been?

1. Boston, MA, USA


2. Washington DC, DC, USA

• View my profile


• Create your own travel map or travel blog


• Travel Info at TripAdvisor

BodyPump

For the last year I have been a member of Lifestyle Family Fitness in Apex, NC. This is a fabulous gym with the latest fare at a gym, cardio, free weights and machines.

But the thing that really makes this gym, at least in my opinion, is the Les Mills Group Fitness program they host, of which BodyPump is one.

This is full top to bottom weight resistance training that is a 60 minute workout to music . It is awesome..... and more than anything else I have done, it delivers results!!

This pictures is a headshot taken for one of the instructors, Antoine. Now Antoine is in shape and dedicated to keeping it that way...

I hope he likes the headshot as I don't want to see him angry! :)

Yet Another First

This past weekend I attended my very first NASCAR race in Dover, DE. Now this is normally not something I would likely even think of attending unless it was very very easy too.

So, how did I end up there? Well, the company I work for sponsored the race and asked me to attend to do the photography stuff. You know, the usual type of thing, grab shots of the signage that could be used in promo material and newsletters.

Turned out though that I ended up having a wonderful time. But one thing is for sure, I probably won't ever be able to attend a race and just sit in the stands. I mean really, how can you go from having a press pass that pretty much allowed me access to anywhere on the track, including the roof when the F16's did the fly by. Heck, I even got pictures of the pilots the night before.. And no, they weren't drinking.. :), at least not as I remember it. :) I even got a shot of the mechanics. Now they WHERE drinking. :)

I have to say a special thanks to Mark Rossi of Dover Motor Sports. If it was not for him, I would not have been able to get the access to many of the shots I took. Mark, if you ever come across this blog, THANK YOU!



One frustrating thing was that I really knew no one.. I mean not even one driver. I have to say, it was slightly embarrassing.

I ended up with over 300+ usable images from the race, so, you can be sure that you will be seeing more..

Quinch Your Thirst

ya, ya, ya.... I know, it's been a long time since I posted any entries on the blog. Worse, is that since I changed my flickr account, which happens to be where all the old images where linked in from, most of the pictures that went with the text for the previous entries is now history. Someday I will spend the time and upload what is now missing.

Yesterday I spend sometime with my Canon 60mm Macro lens taking shots of some of the little critters hanging outside. Where I happened to be standing there were a lot of ants, black and red around.

Now you know ants, they don't stand still for even a second, so i had to come up with a way to slow them down, at least long enoght to get a shot.

What to do, what to do??

Not having any food handy I opted on pouring out a certain someone's Sierra Mist. Sure enough, that stopped this little red ant in it's track.

I have to say, I was very surprised at how much they like this stuff, but then again, with 39 grams of sugar, who wouldn't? Well, actually, I wouldn't.. I hate this stuff...

Now where is my Diet Coke? :)

Good'ole Local Fun

It seems to me, that some people, have a hard time with figuring out things to do, yet for others, they seem to have every moment planned.

My problem , is that I wait to the last second to make plans. Now granted, being flexible by not having a rigid schedule has it's benefits, especially when a friend would call up and invite us to Cape Cod for the weekend. Guess what, we where usually able to go because we had no other plans that were definite. But, in most cases, I have learned it is far better to have something lined up. Because if you don't, well, the weekends go by very quick.

Well, I have really changed. I am a stickler about making sure I have something lined up each and weekend. There is nothing worse than to have a weekend go by and having nothing to talk about come Monday. For me, worse still is having no pictures to look back on.

So, this leads to how much one can usually find to do their own backyard. Personally, I have found a ton to do, both when I was living in Boston and here in North Carolina too.

Take for instance First Friday, which just happens to be the first Friday of every month. On that Friday there is a Art Walk in downtown Raleigh. Now granted, there is not a lot to photograph, unless of course you are into street photography, which I am..

For this shot above I held the camera at my side and went *click*. Trust me, there was zero skill to this one, it was pure luck, but, it paid off. Ya, I took others, but this was my favorite...

I think the next few post will be things I did recently local to where I live. Perhaps it just may give you an idea of what to do this weekend...

Oh, by the way, total cost for this night? Twelve bucks for dinner, beer included! :)

Ten Pin & Team-work

I just returned from attending our HP Hood National Sales Meeting, it was my first since moving into the Sales Department from IT.

Now, there is a lot I could write here, but I will keep it with-in the bounds of photography.

There is no doubt about it, no Hood Event has likely ever been better photographed than this event, from start to finish. If you want to see for yourself heard on over to candidcaptures.com and take a peek at the "In the Spotlight" section. Click on the very first event and take a look at the well over 150 shots I have posted so far.

Every moment of the 3 days was full of either meetings or other social activities. On Tuesday we where invited to Dave & Busters for some Team Building. I have to say, this was a lot of fun. As you can see, bowling was a part of it.

Now to be honest, I LOVE to bowl, BUT, I am from New England and in New England it is more likely you bowl Candlepin, not Ten Pin. For those that are not aware, Candlepin is a small ball with tall skinny pins that resemble candles.

So, you should have seen me with this 8 or 9 lb ball... Not so graceful, we will leave it at that.. The good thing, I was able to take a bunch of really fun photos..

This one here is likely my favorite of the evening.

People Watching

I don't take my camera with me as much as I should. A great friend of mine is so good, she takes heres EVERYWHERE and has wonderful pictures to prove it. I think I just get lazy.

One of these days I am going to get myself a another Lumix as when I had my last one I seemed to make sure it was with me at all times. But then again, I would get this great shot and because it was not taken with a camera as good as one of my dSLR's I would get pissed for not making the effort..

Well last night I went out for dessert with my friend and had the camera and took several shots I was happy with..

This here was at the CheeseCake Factory, a place I normally love.. BUT, they ran out of my dessert, Black-Out cake. Actually they sent a hostess over to me to let me know it was still frozen..

O well, it still was a wonderful night!

Runway of Red

Runway of Red
Originally uploaded by :shawn:

The blog has been very much a after thought lately as work has been very busy. There is surely a pattern in the corporate world. You can count on it being very quite the last week and a half of December and it even overflows to the first week of January, as everyone is likely using up their vacation time. But, after that, it just gets nuts.

Suddenly the things that you were supposed to do by the end of the year, requested by people that you had actually began to think forgot they requested it, now start DEMANDING it.... After all, the holidays are OVER...

So, because of this, things like photography and blogging get put on the back burner....

But it is Saturday and I am scrambling to finish a presentation for Nashville and I needed to take a break... Meaning time for 2 pictures and 1 blog entry.. .

Who knows when the next one will be...

Oh, and if you are wondering if this is a SP, no, it is not... Can't you tell by the hair? Or should I say, just the presence of it? :)