City Bound

Back in December I registered for yet another race. After the 2012 Chicago Marathon, I pretty much swore I would not do anything more than a 1/2. This was due to the fact that I injured my foot so bad, it literally took 3 months to recover.

So, 6 months later, the day has finally come to run.

This race is a bit special, it's the 10th Anniversary race. Both the shirt & medal are the coolest I've seen given out at any race i've run thus far.

I have to say, i remember very clearly how dramatic this race is. First, it's not all that many times when one gets to step on the field of this stadium. Running through through the tunnel and on the field was pretty awesome...

Well, we will see how I do this year.. with a 8:05 pace last year and a lot of training under my belt and basically NONE this year, I won't even come close...

Good luck to all running this one!

 

 

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One Upon an Evernote

Some people make New Years resolutions, well I made a 5/20 one. After constantly struggling to keep my office organized, I finally decided to STOP shuffling stuff around and make decisions on the spot if something needs to be kept or discarded.

I purchased a book with the title "Getting Things Done", better known to it's cult following of GTD. The basic premise is of bringing order to your life in all things. For me, the immediate need to omit the clutter. How did I start?

Well, 1st step was getting rid of of every single piece of paper on my desk, floor, cabinet and the pile found in what is known as "the basket". I litterally scanned and uploaded every single document to Evernote (more on this later), THEN, and this was the hard part, SHREDDED IT.

 

Take that, my office is now clean.......

 

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One Down

The last couple of months I've been spending some time fixing up the house. Nothing crazy really, just small things, at least in the beginning. Then all of a sudden I had an  idea to do things, most of which I'd  never dabbled in before... Like for instance, electricity, and plumbing.

You see, my house was  built in the mid 90's, and lets just say, it's a "stock house". In other words, ZERO upgrades.. Everything, and I mean everything, was contractor grade. From lighting, to plumbing. right down to the knobs on the closet doors.

Although we did a couple of upgrade type things, like put knobs on the cabinets (which made a HUGE difference), the reality was, it was still the same crappy oak stained finish.  Worse where the hideous faucets which I swear, not a one of them worked correctly. If it didn't leak from the knob, the sink was missing the drain stopper. And of course, after having spent a ton to get into the house, having a plumber come in and correct all that, well, that was out of the question.

My one regret though, was not taking advantage of the power of YouTube two years ago. You see, after watching a few of the DIY (do it yourself) videos on plumbing, I realized, "I CAN do that!!"...  So, with my new found confidence, I went out and and purchased new faucets and all the new cool tools that are needed to make the job as easy as possible.

Now, here is the lesson learned, well, actually there were much more than one, but it's the one I'll stress. You see, I took on the plumbing job AFTER I had already took on the project to redo the cabinet. And let me say, that is the wrong order of things.  After having to climb under the sing 2 dozen times with a wrench the size of a broom, i pretty much had to redo the cabinet all over again...

So, here is the first bathroom in it's finished state.. complete with a new light and all. That would be Electricity, which is another blog entry in itself.

Cost of project:  $95.00
Faucet-$35
Tubing-$12
Paint: $5
Tools: $10
Rug: $13
Lighting: $20

Boston

Having lived in several different places the last five years, Boston still is "home".

Rock Candy

Rock Candy
Originally uploaded by -shawn-

Chicago is blessed with many things. Food, Art and great sports teams. Add to that countless local musical talent such as Rock Candy. Literally every weekend you could have a lineup of musical options at some wonderful different venues both downtown and in the suburbs.

Check some this scene out!

Business Casual

Business casual
Originally uploaded by -shawn-

I very rarely every get overly excited about a car. After all, it's just transportation. Something that gets you from point A to point B. My theory has always been that money would be much better spent on things you actually spend more time in, if not at least move around in..

But, after picking up my last rental while in Boston, my thought changed a bit. Perhaps it's that I'm getting a little older. Maybe because I'm realizing I don't really spend all that much money on myself because I don't find that there are all that many things I actually need to keep me happy.

Well, thanks to the fact that National Rental, my absolute favorite rental car company, I was able to pick out the Infinity G37.

Man, this is the car I want to own!

2011-HP Hood Cook-Off

Well, despite best intentions, this blog has been incredibly neglected. Not due to lack of coming up with content, after all, it's about photography, and I take a camera everywhere I go. So, i've decided to re-commit to writing my thoughts down again with the hope that it is at least a bit more regular.

Right now I'm flying high, probably about 35,000 ft on a return trip from Boston. In the last couple months, this has been a routine and much of it has been due to the fact that there have been special events for me to shoot in New England. One of the more recent, was the 3rd Annual HP Hood Cook-Off that was held in Portland, ME.

This event is probably one of the most enjoyable for me. Why wouldn't it be? Portland is a beautiful city, especially in the fall and the theme of the event is food. Yet another great topic.

In addition to the event itself, there is never a shortage of overall good fun with those who both host and attend this event. Both before and after, we had a chance to check out so of the locale establishments, courtesy of the natives. :)

If you would like to check more pictures taken at this event feel free to Click Here.

Mile 8- Chicago Marathon

Mile 8- Chicago Marathon
Originally uploaded by -shawn-

This weekend was the 33rd running of the Chicago Marathon. Personally, I am not a runner, but as of this year, there are many people I know who are. Both those I work with and Maribel and her family.

Although I have not subscribed to this, yet, I have to say, the excitement surrounding the event is amazing. For all the years I lived in Boston, I trekked down to Copley Square but a handful of times to take in the final moments of that great cities race. But the reality is, I didn't know a single person who ran it. Thus, there really wasn't all that much excitment for me beyond that fact of that which came from the free packs of gum or new sport drinks that where being handed out as samples.

This year I attended the 33rd Annual Chicago Marathon. This Marathon is VERY different from that of Boston. First, of all, it's smaller, though not by much. Second, the race itself is confined to a very small area. There's no running 26.2 miles in almost a perfectly straight line. What that translates too is a city filled with excited spectators all during the race. Heck, you can go to Mile 8, see your favorite runner, then jump on the L and head over to mile 16 and see them again.

How cool is that?

Besides all the excitement from the race, for a photographer who likes to shoot people, its like porn. There are people EVERYWHERE doing everything.

Surprisingly, even to myself, I didn't take all that many pictures this weekend. Perhaps it's because I dabbled with video abit using Maribel's little HD Flip... Guess I better go check that out now and see what I got!

Blogpress

I wouldn't exactly call myself a hardcore blogger, but every once in a while I do like to post about photography related subjects. Even better than sitting down in front of a computer at home when I could be doing something relaxing, like say, mowing the lawn,  is the ability to be able to write and post remotely with my brand new shiny iPad.

Now i'll be the first to admit, typing with a on-screen keyboard, no matter the size, is not not normal. After all, how long would you tap your fingers on glass while focusing on a spec of dust? Because that's what it's like. Your staring, near cross-eyed, trying not to miss typing whole word (forget about typo's) while glaring at little black spec of letters. But hey, the fact that you CAN do it is worth something, right?

Oh, and what does this shot have to do with this post? Absolutely nothing! Why? Because I can!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:,Aurora,United States

Walking the Beat

Corner View
Originally uploaded by -shawn-
Maribel and I were talking the other day and she made a comment about how we don't go out and about with our camera's as much as we used too. Even though I do find myself routinely taking pictures, Maribel had a point.

On the particular weekend that this shot was taken though, we did put aside a couple of hours to enjoy the sites in downtown Naperville. Although this downtown lacks the head-turning sight of downtown Chicago, there surely is still enough to take in.

For instance, this shot here. Not only did I get a shot I really liked, but I also met the owner, who I friended on FaceBook and tagged in the picture. Not to mention, the owner happened to be a manager of Jersy Mikes, a Subways like sandwich shop. He provided me with a couple of discount coupons on my next visit.

Well that really made my day!

Eyeing the Apple

Eyeing the Apple
Originally uploaded by -shawn-

For months I have been making regular tips to the Apple store. Several of my friends had been thinking that I was looking to buy a Mac. After all, I am one of the only photographers that I know who does not already use one.

Actually, I am perfectly happy with my windows 7 PC, it's awesome really. What I have been very interested in though is the iPad .

So, this weekend I bought one, the 64gig 3G model. In fact, I am writing this entry one it. The only issue is that I was sharing it with Maribel. Let me just loud and clear, a iPad is not to be shared....

So, today we bought another one.

Mothers Day

Personally, I believe Mothers Day should be everyday, but a guy calls up and tell you that he wants to surprise his wife with a portrait session for a Mothers Day gift, you know he really loves his wife.

Here are some pictures from the Winans photo shoot.

Pig Picking

This past weekend was a first, I went to my very first pig picking. This was hosted by my cousin Joe Costgrove who lives on Atlantic Beach. Joe just turned 50 and to celebrate he threw his own party. Now normally i'm not into the whole birthday thing, but for a big one, like 50, and a pig, you just have to show up. If for nothing else, to see family I don't see very often and to take a few picutures.

So, to display this highly festive event :), I am going to attempt to do so via a slide show.

Let me know whatcha think! Oh, and be sure to click on slideshow to get a Full Screen.

Travel Bug

The last several weeks have been filled with travel. Some has been work related, some personal. From the prior posting,  you can see that Chicago was one of my more recent destinations. With that particuliar trip, I met a lot of people. There was Kristen from Ginger Root, as well as Maribels Aunt Mirna. I met up with Jake, who also works at Hood.

Out of the blue, I had the opportunity to do a small shoot at a local yoga studio, Living Yoga in Aurora, IL. There I met a cousin of Maribel, Claudine. Now, I have shot several gym related activities, including BodyFlow, which is similiar to yoga. This however was very different. Perhaps it was the studio lighting, with the many large windows. Perhaps it was the fact the those in attendance really are into hard-core yoga.
Either way, i'm very happy with the shots. If you would like to see more of them, they will soon be posted to Candid Captures

The Definition of an Artist

The last couple of weeks have been filled with travel, New York, Boston and Cincinatti. Unfortunatly, I have not really taken all that many pictures  along the way. So, in an effort to change that, on this most recent to Chicago I have managed to snap off a few.

Maribel has been meeting up at night with some old school friends that she has reconnected with via Facebook. In fact that reminds me, I need to blog about FaceBook sometime. Anyway, one of Maribels friends, Kirsten, offered to give her a haircut at her salon in Geneva, IL. The salon, Ginger Root, is a very cool place. Lots of light, plenty of chairs and a great looking staff.

Anyway, while Maribel was getting her hair done, I figured I might as well document it. In doing so, I was watching Kirsten as she interacted with Maribel. At first, I kind of thought she was running her fingers through her hair while they chatted as a way of keeping busy. Then I realized that she wasn't making small talk after all. Some of the question she was asking, which seemed at first like questions directed to someone to play catch up , where actually specific enough to find out who Maribel is as a person. I'm fully convinced Kirsten was "getting to know" Maribel in an effort to envision a style that would "fit" her personality.

 

In the end, the result was fantastic. I never thought watching someone get their hair done could be so much fun. I guess it may not have been had I been just standing around twidling my thumbs. Having a camera in hand and taking a shot all along the way really made for a wonderful experience. In the end, I feel I ended up with just a few more pretty good pictures to add to FaceBook. :)

Any Place, Any Time

Back when I first fell in love with photography I was as guilty as most everyone else in thinking that the more "stuff" you buy would end up making you a better photographer. Fortunatly, like everyone else that has half a brain, I learned that skill in NO WAY equates to more lighting, backdrops or props. In fact, I can say with a certain, the shots I've taken that are near and dear end up lacking the use of all of the above.

Case in point is the shot taken here. I took this last week in the gym for David, a friend of mine who is a Personal Trainer. David is probably one of THE most popular PT's I know. His passion for helping other become fit is as strong as mine about photographing people I know and care about.

This shot was taken in the Group Fitness room under very difficult lighting. There was no backdrop, no flash used and certainly no props. To pull this off, I only used the black-mats in the room and covered the floor with them. The lighting "effect" was done with Nik Color Efex Pro 3, a wonderful Photoshop plug-in.

Even without the Photoshop, this shot was still pretty decent. So, lesson learned, don't worry about the next purchase and focus on practice.

Spring Has Sprung

The last two weekends for me, have probably been two of the most least stressful in a while. It's not that anything external has changed, more that I was concious not to jam more than I could actually handle into two very short days.

There is one thing though that I did commit myself too. In fact, not only did I challenge myself, I challeged all my FaceBook friends with this; take more pictures. Not just snapshots, but rather pictures that reflect not only what you did over our precious weekend, but who you did it with.

So, here are a few of the shot that I took. On the right is Maribel,  and on the left is a picture of a very interesting women who worked at Urban Outfitters in Durham. We walked all through the store attempting to burn off all the calories from the sushi we had just consumed. Dam that was good!

Catch-Up

Lifes been much too busy lately, or, perhaps we just allow it to be. Recently I started to reflect a little bit on the things that I really enjoy doing and I realized how little I actually do them. Why is that anyway?

So, yesterday I spent some time looking at some photography I had shot over the last two months. Most of it, I hadn't even seen, nevermind process or post for viewing.  This weekend I'm going to fix that. I'm even at the point were I going to blog about the things I've done.

Thus, yet another commitment to myself to keep this blog up to date. If for noone else, for myself...

So working backward.

After not pulling my camera out of the bag for about a week, I pulled it out so as to take a picture of my youngest friend, Isabella. As she patiently waited for her sister to return, I grabbed this shot of her. Right after going click, I knew my focus was not perfect as I was going for the "S" and the eyes. Regardless, I like it.

Portland, ME

I remember the first time I trekked myself up to Portland, ME. It was back in the mid 90's and I was on a project that required me to do some work in the various plants we had in New England. This very well may have been one of the first trips I had made to Maine since a young kid when we used to go to York Beach for a day trip.

What struck me about Portland was just how lively it was, filled with culture and amazing places to dine. Certainly it was very different than what the average person would think of when they think of Maine.

For this trip I was once again on a business trip to do the photography for HP Hood Dairy Cook-Off which i'll write about in another entry. The night before though we spent nearly 4hrs at a wonderful restuarant in Downtown Portland, 5-5-5 is the name. If you make your way there, you must try the mussels. To die for!

To add to the whole evening, upon exiting the restaurant we were met by some very interesting by-standers who were out to have a festive evening. And as much as I wanted to venture around for more Street Photography, for me, it was time for bed!  Goodnight!

A "Hole in the Wall"

One of my favorite things to treat myself to on the weekend is going out for breakfast. And there's nothing I like more than  to find out that one place that only the locals know, for the perfect local breakfast experience. That place, at least in Melrose, MA is Ernie's.

Thanks to my good friends Jack & Eileen Billiel for taking me and my son Tyler to such a awesome place. As you can see, yes, the place is small. In fact I don't think it really fit much more than 12 people comfortably. On this particular day, it happened to be Halloween. Although I'm not personally "into" that holiday, it did add to the whole experience.

I couldn't seem to find a website for Ernies, but if you are interested in hearing what others who have stumbled upon it are saying check out some reviews.

Road Trip

Travel is something that is a regular part of my routine. Usually every three weeks or so I have a meeting to attend in one place or another. But in the fall, things get a little crazy as there is usually a conference or two to attend.

This fall I'm attending the Microsoft Sharepoint Conference under the bright lights of Las Vegas. This is a long conference, running from Sunday -Thursday. Extending it were the meeting in Boston, bring to a total of 9 days away. For me, that's a long time away from the people I care about. 

But, a good thing is that I always take my camera, which gives me something to do in my free time and to remember it all by.

Here are a few pictures of the interesting things from the conference. For one, there was this very interesting magician doing magic trips. This guy was amazing. He had everyone watching flipping out over how he pulled off his trips.

The other interesting booth was the one that had a air tunnel blowing money around. The person catching the most money won a few bucks themselves.

Today I'll be on the lookout for a few more pictures worth shots...

Business 101

If you didn't already realize this, photography is a hobby for me. No, actually, "addiction" is probably a better description. See, it's not only the fact that I carry a camera almost everywhere I go, it's that if i'm not processing the pictures I took, I'm reading about some other new gadgit that's come along.

Fortunatly, the addiction has the ability to pay for itself simply by doing what I enjoy, photographing other peoples special events. And although I don't do as many events as I wish I had time for, each and everyone that I have done, I have had a blast.

Andre & Andrea's wedding is was no exception. It wasn't too long after moving to North Carolina that we started getting inquires to shoot some weddings. What was really interesting is that Andrea found us on Flickr, a service that both Maribel and I had been using for years.

Needless to say, we were both very excited about this wedding as it was local to us and we suspected the wedding was just going to be a lot of fun. Lets just say, we were not disappointed and the images showed it. I'll never forget pulling away from the reception hall and needing to get to a gas station to something to drink because I can't remember ever being so dehydrated. We had both worked our butt's off in 90 degree weather all afternoon then ran around the hall to take all the guest shots that the bride wanted.

Like any wedding though, as great as it goes, there is always something to learn. Usually though, these lessons come as I'm combing through the days images. "I should have stopped down here", "should have used flash here", "should have caught the bra strap there". These are things I find myself telling myself. This time though my lesson was a little different as this time it had nothing to do with photography but rather with general business rules. What lesson you may wonder? Let's just say, I now know why photographer are paid in advance rather than after the fact.

Regardless, Andrea & Andre's wedding was fun and I did learn alot about shooting in a different kind of setting. A bonus was that a couple of our images were published in a wedding magazine printed here locally in Cary, North Carolina.

That made it even more worthwhile!

Breaking the Rules

Like in anything, there are always "do's" and "don't" and it seems that when it comes to photography, even the most casual photographer has a general idea of what those rules are. But again, like with most things, there is usually a way to break the rule and still end up with a great shot. In fact, I argue that you could end it with a better shot, mostly because the result will be very different from others who wouldn't even have given it a whirl.

So, you want some examples?

Rule-Use a tripod in low light

Well, often it is said that that you shouldn't shoot in low light with out a tripod. Although that's mostly true, I happen to almost never use a tripod, simply because I can't take one to the places I go with low light. So my work around is to boost the ISO (the sensitivity of the camera) on the camera to it's highest point, open my Apurature to its widest point (make sure the most amount of light comes in through the lens) and tuck my arms in tight to the my sides and then breath out and hold my breath...

Remember, with a point and shoot camera, you can do the exact same thing and get very similiar results.

Rule-Don't shoot in the brightest part of the day

Another often "rule" is to avoid shooting in the brightest part of the day. The reason is that usually this is the least flattering to your subject, especially people. Generally you will find harsh shadows on there face.

Lately I have actually been doing more shooting during this time of day. The reason is simply is that it is my lunch time and no other time really works as well to get my camera out. So, how do I get around this generally bad lighting? Well, since I can't control the light of the day, I insert a light that I can control, namely flash. As you can see from the shots here Maribel is very well lit and quite beautiful if I may say so..

So, grab your camera, turn the flash on and get out and shoot the people you care about.. And remember, DELETE the unflattering shots... :)

Just Another Guest

You probably already realized this, but the older one gets, the less likely you are to be invited to a wedding. This has nothing to do with your popularity or likability. It's just a simple fact of life. Most of us have friends that are out age. The average age that people get married is 25-35. So, if your past that, most of your friends are married (perhaps already even divorced), so thus, less weddings to attend.

I've been fortunate to have been able to attend a lot of weddings the last few years simply because I've been hired to do the photography. Now, even though most of the wedding I don't really know the bride and groom or their friends and family, I still have a blast at each and everyone. In fact, I can't think of a one in which ultimately I didn't say that I felt more like a guest than a hired hand.

In August of this year though, I was actually a bonfied invitation holding guest. Yup, I actually got to sit down during the ceremony. Let's not even go into how hard that was to do. I kept wanting to jump into the aisles and start shooting.

The wedding was for Casie & John, two of my newer friends here in Apex, NC. Let me just, Casie & John are two very special people. Both are much wiser than their years, especially when it comes to understanding people.

More outstanding though is was their ability to plan a wedding and make sure their guests (like me) have a good time. And, I have pictures to prove it. :)

This image was one of a handful of shots that I got from a very different perspective than usual. Although it would have been awesome to be their wedding photographer, it was even more so to be their guest..

Best wishes to you both, Casie & John. And thank you for being such wonderful friends.

If you would like to see all of the images from this wedding, head on over to Casie & John's Wedding

People People

From as far back as I can remember, I have always been surrounded by people. Not just family and same age friends, I mean people of all ages, color, race and background. So to me, people are people. I can honestly say, that it would be highly unusual for me to ever meet someone and give thought to anything more than struggling to make sure I remember their name. Even more true is that I am surrounded by people just like me.

So, I had a person mention to me recently that they had been going through my pictures and was impressed with how diverse my pictures are. Now at first, I was thinking my style of photography, maybe perhaps even the mix of black & white vs color processing. But then she was perfectly clear, she meant how diverse my subjects are. From the conversation, I understood that I was being extended a compliment.

Having given thought to the my encounter with this women it made me think just how much can be learned about someone from the ways they express themselves. Perhaps that's why I spend as much time looking at other peoples photography as I do my own. I'll admit, I do that so as to learn, but, I really do draw conclusions about a person by what they capture in their photography and how.

Which brings me to my last point. As much as I love all forms of photography, landscapes, food, architecture, there is nothing more I love than seeing pictures of people. Both of people I know and those I don't.

So, ask yourself, do you take enough pictures of people, which are the most important in our lives? If not, why not? If it's not lack of opportunity, then challenge yourself to change that.. If you do, you may have the result that will give people more insight into who you are.

For me, that has been a good thing.