Well November is here and it has taken a bit longer than I anticipated to put the new systems in place.  Combine that with a very busy senior portrait season, five fall weddings, and Dragon Football and it all makes for a big excuse to not update the blog!  Actually, I’ve been very excited to set aside some time in my daily routine to invest in my blog, the plan rolls into motion today.  Speaking of the plan, I want to post an image every Friday that has some aspect of fun or creativity associated with it.  We’ll start that tomorrow with an image that won me four tickets to a Pistons basketball game.  Check out the Oakland Press tomorrow (November 13) for the details!

I just want to play….

“Patience”

This is an image I created for the Football Dinner / Auction Fundraiser back in February or March of this year.  It was actually auctioned off in the live auction and generated a tidy little sum of money for the program!  I still have many people asking about the image, how to purchase it, and how it was made.  I’ve also had some interesting interpretations of what it stands for.  As varied as the interpretations are, they all catch the underlying message.  This image is a peek into the mind of a football player.  And the message is that the off season is tough.  It takes hard work, determination, and discipline to prepare for the game.  Footaball players (and coaches) live football, and prepare for football, 24/7, 365 days a year.  They live to be on the field, and sometimes, it takes everything they have to hold back.  Other times, they just close their eyes and play the game.

Here is a high level look at how this image was created:

“Patience” was created out of many individual layers in Photoshop.  There is a black border layer, a text layer, and then five or six layers that were built up to create the actual image.  It all started with a wide angle shot of the Dragon arch in mid winter.  I used a couple of PS filters to add a bit of a grunge effect to the columns and ironwork, which creates a weathered and rusted appearance.  I liked the sky that day and thought it was very  interesting due to the whispy clouds, a bit of yellow was added to the sky, columns and snow for the somewhat surreal effect.  I looked through literally hundreds of images to find a player I could place in the image who had the correct posture and was facing the right direction to make the image believable.  I placed him behind the gate, thanks to a little masking, and then pulled a football from yet another image to place on the ground in the snow next to him.  I added a filtered top layer, pulled back the opacity, and then added a bit of grain and some vignetting to finish it off.  The final image was procesed at the pro lab I use, printed as a 16 x 20 image on high gloss pearl paper, mounted on 3/16 black gatorboard, and coated for protection.  I have to admit, it’s one of my favorites and looks pretty cool when you see it in person.

I may have a few more printed in the near future.  I hope you enjoyed the post!

11 member team breaks huddle…

As I performed my daily walk upstairs to shake Paul out of bed this morning I peaked out of the stairway window, half a story above ground, to check on Mother Duck.  To my surprise and delight, I witnessed the hatching of several ducklings.  Mother Duck looked like she was riding a roller coaster, rocking back and forth, as one chick (I think that’s what you call baby ducks???) after another made their way out from underneath her.  Before long there were 11 of them, charging around her with much energy and enthusiasm.  The flurry of activity was short lived, as they resumed their positions under mama’s belly within a few minutes.  Needless to say I am relieved and excited that all eleven, the entire team, survived the first night of my encounter two weeks ago!

View from the window...

Mother Duck sets up camp…

One day a couple of weeks ago I was spraying some liquid fence around  my shrubs to keep the deer from completely decimating my landscaping.  As I approached the front door, focused on my task, I kicked up this mother duck who was roosting in a dark corner under a Japanese Maple.  Needless to say, it scared the heck out of me.  Once I regained my composure I checked out her nest; in it were 11 eggs!  It was a cool evening in the 50’s with the temperature dropping fast.  I was concerned that the eggs were left unattened too long, about an hour at that time, and that she had abandoned them.  She eventually returned and proceeded to stand guard, or sit, over the eggs for the next two weeks.  I would check on her every now and then and she was always there.  Sometimes she would face the wall just in front of her for hours, other times she would face the light.  But always, she was there, on top of her eggs, like a good mother, waiting on her babies.

Images from recent sessions…

I thought I would test my new slide show application by sharing some images from a few of my most recent portrait sessions.  For the record, this is a pretty simple to use slide show application.  You may click on the link to sign up for a free membership and create your own presentations.   I hope you enjoy the slide show!

| View Show | Create Your Own

Paint Creek Trail

Wow, do I ever love spring.  I went for a 4 miler after an early afternoon rain and it was beautiful.   The buds are transforming into a variety of flowers and leaves and they made for a great run.  Looking forward to the Crim 10 mile coming up in August.

LO Golf- Match Over

The walk back to the club house from the Bluffs hole #9.  Oakland Activities Assocition competition at Boulder Point Country Club, May 6, 2009.

Hello world!

Welcome to my new blog! 

Stay tuned for some exciting new images.  Feel free to leave your comments and check back often!