Image & Word: Photography

Photographer's Peripatetic Life Is a Family Affair : NPR

Mon, 05 May 2008 03:54:24 GMT

A lovely story from Annie Griffiths Belt on her amazing career as a Nat Geo photographer and traveling with her kids. I have just ordered her book.

Photographer's Peripatetic Life Is a Family Affair

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Annie Griffiths Belt was one of the first female photographers to be hired at National Geographic. Courtesy of Annie Griffiths Belt

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Annie Griffiths Belt
Belt's husband, Don, poses with their children, Lily (left) and Charlie, in Jordan. ©2008 National Geographic

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Annie Griffiths Belt
An opera star applies makeup in Hong Kong. ©2008 National Geographic

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Annie Griffiths Belt
A model poses on South Beach in Miami. ©2008 National Geographic

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Annie Griffiths Belt
A man wades into a swimming hole at the top of Victoria Falls in Zambia. ©2008 National Geographic
Weekend Edition Sunday, April 27, 2008 · For National Geographic photographer Annie Griffiths Belt, the perfect packing material for cameras is — diapers.
The award-winning photojournalist and mother of two says even after her children were toilet-trained, she still made use of diapers because they fit around her camera lenses like a glove. And she has carried them to places around the globe during her 30-year career at the magazine.
One of the first female photographers hired at National Geographic, Belt documents her peripatetic life as a photographer and mother in a new book, A Camera, Two Kids, and a Camel: My Journey in Photographs.
Belt, who was hired in 1978, and her husband, Don, a writer at the magazine, decided that their children should accompany Belt on most of her photo assignments. With the help of dedicated nannies and a hefty sense of adventure, Belt took Lily and Charlie around the world in their younger years. She found that even in the most remote parts of the planet, her role as a mother opened doors.
"People wonder if I would have access in the Middle East, and whenever I've been in a culture that's divided by gender, to me it's a huge advantage." Belt says during a conversation with Liane Hansen. "There are so many male photographers out there covering the guys, but let me tell you, the girls are having a good time."
From Jordan to the Galapagos Islands and beyond, Belt's children joined in her adventures, sometimes missing school for weeks at a time. The family experienced joyful moments — and dangerous ones — along the way. There were bear encounters at Yellowstone National Park and brushes with sharks in the Galapagos, and Belt says she and her husband routinely weighed the risks of exposing their children to exotic locales.
Eventually, academic demands made it impossible for her children to go globetrotting, and Belt eventually found her career taking off in new directions. Today, in addition to her work as a National Geographic photographer, she is an author and speaker. And Lily and Charlie are now 18 and 15, respectively.
Belt says A Camera, Two Kids, and a Camel is testament to the fact that mothers, especially, can fulfill their dreams.

Photographer's Peripatetic Life Is a Family Affair : NPR

Journeys | Yosemite National Park - What Adams Saw Through His Lens - Travel - New York Times

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 02:23:59 GMT

A simply lovely write and slide show in the NYT on the master photographer and printer. Worth a read for sure. Click on the link at the bottom for the details.

Journeys | Yosemite National Park
What Adams Saw Through His Lens

Courtesy of the Cedric Wright Family
Ansel Adams, photographing in Yosemite National Park from atop his car in about 1942. Many come to the park to try to take the same photos he did.

By LOUISE STORY

Journeys | Yosemite National Park - What Adams Saw Through His Lens - Travel - New York Times

Easy like a Sunday morning Cat

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 19:31:48 GMT

So you have

been feed because it must have been at least a couple hours since you last feed
been brushed which feels really good because you are loosing your winter coat
played with your furry toy that's your favorite
even drank the remaining milk from your Dad's cereal bowl

What else is there left to do but lay on your back as the sun streams through the window and sleep the rest of the morning away. Not a bad life. Enough said, back to work.

Technorati Tags: Photography, Phil Holden, Seattle, Sun, Cats

Time for a spot of tea

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:10:59 GMT

Having given up coffee quite a few years ago and switching to tea I'm always interested in reading and viewing about my new favorite hot drink. Reuters recently posted a lovely photography spread of a number of shots of tea that is quite wonderful. I would have never ever thought I would have anything in common with both the Queen of England and Paris Hilton - go figure. Click on the picture or link for the full slide show.

A tea vendor holds an umbrella at a roadside in Mumbai July 5, 2007.
REUTERS/Sima Dubey

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?collectionId=1603&galleryName=All%20Collections#a=13

Technorati tags: Photography, Tea

RACHEL PAPO : Serial No. 3817131

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 02:43:05 GMT

I was catching up on my photo blog reading and came across this fascinating collection of photographs by Rachel Papo of the young women of Israel who are placed into military service at the tender age of 18. Taken many years after her own service its a very insightful view of the life that these women lead for 2 years. The collection is superb as it highlights their young yet their seriousness of their world. Worth a few moments of your time to check it out. Linked below.

RACHEL PAPO : Serial No. 3817131

RACHEL PAPO : Serial No. 3817131

Full moon sunrise over the Olympic Mountains

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:28:34 GMT

This week in Seattle has been very cold for us, but simply beautiful with bright sunny days. This week has also been a full moon week and this time, rather than try and shoot the exclusive moon at night I thought I would try first thing in the morning.

What is obviously different is that not only do you get the full moon, but you also get the sunrise and that lovely orange glow that last for a few minutes. For us that means that as the sun rises over the city it lights up the snow on the Olympic Mountains in the West and a perfect spot with the moon as it sets for the day. And then some kind captain also moored their large grain ship in a perfect place on the Puget Sound to add some depth to the photograph.

A lovely morning for sure and a great way to start the day.

Technorati Tags: Photography, Phil Holden, Seattle, Full Moon, Sunrise, Olympics Mountains

handy reminder tool for your photography gear

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 00:54:44 GMT

For those photographers that use Microsoft Outlook there is a very nice little tool that has just been released that allows you to select which camera gear that you need for a shoot and enter it into your calendar item. I've been playing around with it and it looks like its going to be really helpful for preparing for a trip as you can simply enter the items that you will need by selecting them and then view them on screen or print them out while you pack. Much more details here and then the download here.

Microsoft Pro Photo: Never Forget a Lens Again

Technorati Tags: Photography Gear, Outlook

Sunset Cat

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:40:36 GMT

This last week in Seattle we had some lovely weather days, especially the evenings. I will add, that the lovely weather left us this weekend as we had snow and rain which had people running for their snow chains! Anyway, back to last week as I'm still catching up on things - as usual. I wish I knew the reason why, but for whatever reason the sunsets last week were incredibly bright with lots of yellow and orange evenings as the sun left for the day. Way more than usual, sorta reminds me of those Africa sunsets. Unfortunately I wasn't in a position to be able to get out and explore, but I did grab this shot of Jester as he was taking in the sun at the top of the stairs.

Technorati Tags: Photography, Phil Holden, Seattle, Cats, Sunset

winter is here

Sat, 24 Nov 2007 17:51:20 GMT

Was it me, or did winter arrive really quick? I guess seeing as its now Thanksgiving here in the US and in much of the country snow is already falling the obvious answer is yes, but boy was that quick! I only got around to looking at this shot of a Japanese Maple taken a few weeks ago in its full fall color. Long live winter I guess!

Technorati Tags: Photography, Phil Holden, Seattle, Fall Color, Winter, Maple

A thanksgiving visual and audio treat

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 16:55:09 GMT

I was catching up reading various blogs this morning and came across this story of Photojournalist Richard Hernandez, from the the San Jose Mercury News. He has created a really cool photostory that uses an interactive photo's and audio clips to create an interactive story. This time he has created a panorama of Willow Glen, a small community in the vast San Jose city that is very unique for the area.

The photo story can be found here http://www.mercurynewsphoto.com/blog/2007/11/16/where-we-live-5/ scroll left to right and then click on the little bubbles to see the cool photo or story pop-ups.

If you want to see how it was created see the video below from the ScoblesShow. A very pleasant break on this ThanksGiving holiday here in the US.

San Jose Mercury News photojournalist uses VuVox to tell photostory | ScobleShow: Videoblog about geeks, technology, and developers

Technorati Tags: Richard Hernandez, San Jose Mercury News, VuVox, Photography

together ~ for a while

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 05:39:28 GMT

Jones, well Miss Georgia Jones if you want her full name and Jester have an interesting relationship to say the least. In the morning he is all feisty and his favorite game is to attack Jones. She often puts up a good fight, but at other times he gets her and fur goes everywhere. This is especially problematic when he attacks her when she is going potty. I mean, now of all the times when we want a bit of privacy it has to be bathroom time! It got the stage where today I had to go to the store to buy a separate litter setup to see if they can have one each. Time will tell!

And then at other times they will appear to be content to hang out together and almost like each other. The other day Amy and I were walking into the studio to find them both sleeping, all be it one up and one down, on one of their perches together. We were watching them for a while and then Jones saw us looking and its if she felt all embarrassed and had to leave and come see us. Relationships ~~~ ahh!

Technorati Tags: Photography, Seattle Art, Phil Holden, Cats

Seattle city Halloween face

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 07:47:41 GMT

I was out and about earlier and caught site of this amusing Halloween face that was 'painted' on one of the large buildings downtown this evening. I had to double take at first and then laughed at the how the WAMU tower had arranged the lights to look like a happy Halloween face. A quick capture here

Technorati Tags: Photography, Phil Holden, Halloween photography, WAMU Tower, Seattle

Kmak has a new photo blog

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:27:30 GMT

My friend KMak has a new photo blog. Its just starting out, but worth checking out and adding to your RSS list.

My Life Fotos

lunch!

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 19:18:29 GMT

I find myself feeling incredibly fortunate right now that I live so close to Pike Place markets in Seattle. I just got back from a trip there to grab some supplies to make lunch. Walking to get your supplies does change your shopping habits, or maybe should I say return them to when we didn't rely on cars so much. Rather than shop for a week or maybe two you end up shopping for two or maybe three days due to the simple fact that is all you can carry! But the obvious advantage is that everything is super fresh and I find the markets so much more friendly than a typical food store.

And what a super simple lunch I made: fresh Olive Bread, a generous layer of strong Dijon Mustard, ham, aged english cheddar and to wrap it off some yummy branston pickle. Incredibly simple and basic, but so good and to wash it down, a pint of pale ale!

My friend Mark Eskenazi would probably laugh at this photograph. You see he's a pro that specializes in food photography here in Seattle having worked with Opal, Crush and with many more local chief's and restaurants. We were having this discussion the other day about the need to have a good depth of field with lots of detail, with the whole plate visible, something that he focus's a lot on when he is working. I guess I'm not going to get any gigs soon around food photography, but then again I was just hungry!

Back to work I go, no naps for me today.

Technorati Tags: Photography, Phil Holden, Mark Eskenazi, Food Photography, Seattle, Pike Place Markets

the big man on the stairs

Sat, 08 Sep 2007 18:53:10 GMT

The big guy clearly has had a big day as there he was zonked out on the stairs, with an occasional twitch as he was in dream mode. I bet he was dreaming about those pesky birds he keeps failing to catch! He looked so peaceful that I had to grab this shot. I like the detail of the flowers in his tail and also the crack in the wall running down the stairs.

I debated about color or black & white. Still not sure! Taken with my fast 50mm.

OK, off to the farmers markets to buy supplies.

Technorati Tags: Photography, Phil Holden, Cats, Jester, Seattle

ferry across the Puget Sound

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 03:20:36 GMT

Today saw solid rain for much of the day in downtown Seattle. It was almost as if the weather decided to wake us up to the fact that winter was closer than many would like.

However this evening the rain had stopped and much of the city had cleared somewhat, with even some occasional blue sky's. I say 'much' because for a while it felt that the city was surrounded - towards the south you had those pesky storm clouds high in the sky - towards the north and west there was either very low cloud or fog that was covering both the sky and water so that you couldn't see the islands or mountains in the distance. Then all of a sudden the sun broke through, blasting rays down on the water, creating an incredible reflection and haze that you needed sun glasses to look at it. It really was a very strange light, yet beautiful as well. Then as if I had planned it along came a ferry that almost zig-zag'ed across the sound and headed into the dark clouds/fog. I especially liked the reflections from the wake as the ferry steamed through the water, glistening and sparkling in the sun.

I thought this moody shot was worth a post.

Technorati Tags: Phil Holden, Photography, Puget Sound, Ferry, Fog, Sunset

Breakfast!

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 20:14:27 GMT

This morning I got up and went out for a shoot. It was a lovely sunny morning yet a large fog bank had moved up the Puget Sound into Seattle and I was hoping to get some good moody photographs of the fog. More on that another time.

While I was working I noticed a seagull hanging out on a fence with something hanging out of its beak and I thought I would get closer to see what he/she had found. I'm not an expert on these but it looked like the gull had found some sea urchin and was proudly protecting its catch, yet at the same time struggling to figure out a way to eat it. After a while it jumped down from its perch and walked across the dock while throwing the catch up in the air trying to find a way to consume the breakfast. I'm not actually sure if it was edible or not, but I guess the gull would know!

A funny little moment for me and then I walked off to try and focus on my original task!

Technorati Tags: Photography, Phil Holden, Puget Sound, Seagull, Seattle, Sea urchin

walkin home

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 07:06:37 GMT

This evening I grabbed a quick bite to eat with a good friend. We both had a couple of long days and were both starving by the time that 8pm came around when we bumped into each other. We just went out to one of the neighborhood restaurant and after some good food and a couple of glasses of wine with some engaging conversation life seems a whole lot better!

On the way home we both noticed the moon over the sound and at the time the clouds were covering it. After saying goodbye I grabbed the camera but alias the clouds were gone and the night clear. Decided to grab a shot anyway as I liked the darkness grabbing the part of the moon that we couldn't see.

Technorati Tags: Photography, Phil Holden, Seattle, Moon, The Moon, Night

my 3 rules of camera bags

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:55:40 GMT

Anyone that has any spent anytime with photography will have learnt many things that infrequently seem to be written down in any text books. Maybe its the little things that no author or instructor deems to be relevant, but as someone that has spent much time behind the camera these are the little things that make me smile when I look back at my history. I was thinking about camera bags a couple days ago as I was sorting out some gear and looking at my vast collection. These are the three simple things that I keep coming up against;

It will always get in the frame. You are out and you find a spot that looks interesting to make some photographs. You place your bag on the floor, in what seems like an out of the way place and walk around looking at the scene. After a while you grab your camera and a lens and start to work. If you are doing your job correctly you will be moving around a bunch to find new and different ways to capture the scene. And then it happens, the original spot where you put your camera back will appear in your view finder! And if you are like me it will happen another once or twice before you are done there.
You can never have enough. You first start out in photography and you get a general camera bag, something that holds the body you first purchased. Then you add another lens or two over a period of time and you find your bag isn't big enough and off to the store you go. Then you are getting ready for a trip and think rather than take a camera bag and a computer bag why not buy one that holds both. You quickly realize that not only is the number of bags growing, but so too is their size, so you decide you need something small and light, just the camera body and maybe one or two spare lens to take on a hike. And the quest continues to find the ideal bag, which there will never be because each trip is different and hence what gear you take will also be different.
Whatever you choose, it will be wrong. You get ready for a trip and you select the camera body(s) and the lens that you think will be appropriate. Once you get that figured out you select a bag to match the gear and also the carrying method and you think you are all set. And then during the trip you really wish you had that extra lens, or that additional battery or film, or the main camera that you have breaks and wish you brought you second camera body. And then what's often worse is the time that it feels like you have taken everything apart from the kitchen sink and you find that you only use one lens!

The last point, that you will never choose correctly comes to mind when I was looking at these photographs. What would at first seem interesting wildlife shots when I was out on some trip wondering around some wilderness were in fact taken in the middle of a huge city. The trip in question was my last trip to Hong Kong. Although my schedule had me having a couple of days to explore the city, I wasn't expecting to see any wildlife and hence didn't take any long lens. I thought I had planned well, I did take quite a few lens with me, yet I wasn't ready for this as the longest I had with me was my 70-200mm and I really would have needed a 300mm or 400mm to grab the detail that I like. Tis the 3 rules!

All in all the trip was filled with surprises. I went to Hong Kong via Europe which at the time seemed logical. What wasn't so great was that I managed to get sick just as I was boarding the plane leaving Madrid. It had to be one of the worst flights in my memory and even had me in bed a couple of days once I had arrived in Hong Kong. Mind you, I did get some shots of the city even while being hauled up in my hotel room.

On the final day I was feeling better and I got to go explore and I headed out from the central terminal and took the Star Ferry to an area known as Kowloon. After leaving the initial port area with its hundred's of tourist shops I found some interesting back streets and had a lovely time wondering around different vendor stalls and watching people interact as they went on with their life's. Around one corner I came across a large well appointed park with loads of pretty flowers and trees so I headed in. After some thirty minutes I ran into this pond and it was here that I was surprised to find a large number of these tortoise hanging out on various fallen tree's. Not quite what I was expecting at all. I got to wondering if the tree's were blown down in a storm or were placed there to make a perfect habitat for the sun basking tortoise.

Oh well! It was a lovely day anyway.

Technorati Tags: Phil Holden, Photography, Hong Kong, China, Camera bags, Wildlife, Tortoise

a fine place to rest

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 21:28:18 GMT

One of favorite walks that I have been lucky to have done many times starts out in a small seaside town called Coogee in Sydney Australia. When I first arrived in Australia I actually lived in Coogee for a year or so and in many ways the town is typical of what you will find in Sydney's eastern suburb's with life very much centered around the beautiful beach.

If you ever find yourself in Coogee with a couple of hours to kill and are tired of sitting on the beach take yourself off for a beautiful walk. From the beach turn North (left assuming you are looking towards the Tasman Sea) and when the beach ends you will see a small path that heads up over the headland towards the right. Once you pick-up the path you will find that it runs right along the coastline and it will take you past Clovelly, Bronte Beach, Tamarama, Hunter Park and eventually you will reach the world famous Bondi Beach. No matter how often I do the walk, and even when I was fitter and I would run much of it, I never get tired of it and its typically on my agenda when I'm in Sydney.

In many ways the highlight of the walk is actually the cemetery that is in-between Clovelly Beach and Bronte Beach. If you want to see it on the map click here, and click on the hybrid button on the left hand side and zoom in to see detail. I have always loved cemetery's and often seek them out when I'm traveling. This one is hundreds of years old and I'm afraid in some cases needs some much needed care with a number of the pathways and tombs showing their age. Even so its still a wonderful place and I will typically stop and spend quite a while walking around looking at the hundreds of grave's. When I lived in Sydney one of my favorite times of the year to go there was in the winter, especially when a storm was blowing in and you can sit on the cliff edge as the wind and waves come crashing in, often spraying you with seawater as the waves break on the rocks below.

This grave caught my eye because of the number of Bridge family members that were grouped together from as early as 1866 to 1933. Or maybe it was the kookaburra bird that was sat at the top enjoying the view that pulled me in. Or maybe just the moody clouds in the background contrasting with the grave.

Like the title of this post says, 'a fine place to rest' be it for a few hours on your walk or for ever.

Technorati Tags: Sydney, Australia, Clovelly Beach, Bronte Beach, kookaburra, cemetery, grave, photography, Phil Holden

the simple life

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:08:21 GMT

It's funny how it's the little things that often make me smile these days. This year was the first year that I decided to plant edible stuff on my deck and experiment with growing fresh food as well as my normal shrubs and such. And last night I got to 'harvest' my first ever potatoes, seen here on top of the table in the setting sun. Boiled up these with some fresh mint and spring onions and they tasted so yummy! Made for a happy tummy and me!

Technorati Tags: photography, Phil Holden, Seattle, Sunset, Potatos

more angels

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 01:20:16 GMT

What the heck! We don't get Seafair every week and having the skies filed with more interesting planes than your average Boeing or Airbus jet seems worthy of a few more snaps from today. Taken around midday today during the Seattle Seafair air show the photograph above is of the Marine Corps Lockheed-Martin C-130T Hercules that is used by the Blue Angels to transport the support team of more than 40 crew plus all the gear needed for a show. What I love is the affectionate nick name for the C-130 - they call it Fat Albert Airlines! Too cute. Then below we have the 'usual' F/A 18 Hornets in perfect formation with their smoke trailing behind. Hard day at the office today :)

Technorati Tags: Phil Holden, photography, Seattle, Blue Angles, Seafair, F/A-18 Hornets, Lockheed-Martin C-130T Hercules, Fat Albert Airlines

Sky ride as the sun goes down

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 14:28:39 GMT

To me this has to be one of the iconic images from the modern day Seattle waterfront. Typically two people skate across the Elliott Bay skies hung from a parachute as the boat below zooms around. In the summer months this can be frequency seen all over Elliott Bay filled especially with visitors after a different perspective of the city.

Last night as I was wrapping up shooting Sean Tuckers Challenger II biplane as it practiced for today's Seafair air show I thought I would capture this scene, looking especially good as the sunsets on the bay with the mountains in the background.

Technorati Tags: Phil Holden, photography, Seattle, Seafair, Sean Tucker, Challenger II biplane, Sunset

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 03:38:00 GMT

Last night Heather, Brian and I were walking down to go have dinner at the Six Seven restaurant (not bad, great wine - excellent service) and as we were about to enter saw this biplane fly above with its smoke coming out from behind. I made a guess tonight that it might be out again, practicing for Seafair this weekend and took out the camera to try and grab some shots.

The plane actually turned out to be Sean Tucker's Challenger II biplane that can reach speed's well over 300 mph with its 400 horsepower engine as well as three additional performance planes with smoke blazing out of the rear. Sean is one of the performers at this weekend's Seafair air show and he has been performing at shows since the mid 70's. His plane and the others were certainly impressive as they darted overhead. As opposed to the Blue Angels that tend to perform in the harsh midday sun, this evening's light wasn't too bad at all with the sun getting towards setting and the light was especially nice in the white smoke.

Although Sean's biplane is far from old, being specially designed by him after he outgrew his original Pitts Special, yet as I was shooting these shots this evening I kept thinking about that old 1965 movie 'Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines' that depicts a very early air race in-between London and Paris set in 1910. I dimly recall that the movie featured some amazing flying and stunts. Now I can't get one of the songs from that movie out of my head - bugger. I'm going to have to add this to my Netflix queue and watch it again.

Technorati Tags: Phil Holden, photography, Seattle, Seafair, Sean Tucker, Team Oracle, Red, Challenger II biplane

Number 3 Angel - you are upside down

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 15:12:50 GMT

Another shot from yesterday's activities as the Blue Angels fly over Seattle's skies for Seafair. I quite like the darker blue sky contrasting with the white smoke from the F/A-18 Hornet. And the fact that the pilot is upside down of course. I'm not sure quite sure how much will be viable today for their practice runs as Seattle is covered with gray clouds that is leaking a bunch of that wet stuff - rain.

Technorati Tags: Phil Holden, photography, Seattle, Blue Angles, Seafair, F/A-18 Hornets

Blue Angels in Seattle again

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 23:17:48 GMT

It's Seafair in Seattle again this week and that means the Blue Angels are all over the skies for the next few days. Although there was a little speculation this year that they weren't going to be here because of the crash that happened in Beaufort, South Carolina earlier this year, however they are back in town again.

I first got to 'experience' them earlier this morning while trying to drive across town and getting stuck in terrible traffic that was a result of the closed i90 freeway that was shutdown because of their practice runs. However I did manage to play hooky from a busy day today and went out side and fired off a few shots as they zoomed by. Each year I think about renting a much larger lens, and true to form I didn't this year. My 400mm even with the 2.0x extender doesn't really get the detail that I would like.

The shot below was as close as I got to the fast F/A-18 Hornets jets as they zapped by.

Technorati Tags: Phil Holden, photography, Seattle, Blue Angles, Seafair, F/A-18 Hornets

Cat in the Pot

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 02:55:46 GMT

This one was too funny for me to not post quickly. Amy who works with me and her boyfriend Matt have recently moved apartments (again) and found one of their plants not doing too well with its new home. It went from outdoor living to the inside as they don't have a deck/yard and was suffering big time with its leaves falling off. So one day last week we drove over there and hauled the plant away in my truck and then up to the roof.

Well tonight I came up to the deck to make dinner and was wondering where Jones was as she wasn't downstairs. I was looking on the deck floor, in her hiding places and just couldn't see her at all. Then out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of movement in the corner and there she was looking at me with the usual 'what?' expression that is similar to when she is in other places she isn't sure if she should be, like sink.

Mr Jester was sat next to her on the floor, probably wondering why he hadn't thought about this spot. Too early to say right now if the plant makes it.

Technorati Tags: Seattle, Photography, Phil Holden, Cats, Yard, Plants

this one for Alec

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 16:33:40 GMT

A while ago my friend Alec and I were swapping emails on moon pictures and last night when I was out on the deck as dusk came in I thought it would be a perfect night to try and capture some more photographs. To be accurate it was actually one night before the 'full' moon but it was clearly sizable to make some good images.

I grabbed my 400mm lens to discover it wasn't long enough so I added the 1.4x tele-converter and that got me within reach. Seattle last night was surrounded in clouds and I always love the moon and clouds as it creates a more spooky effect to me. However I was experiencing a bit of a challenge in that if I exposed for the moon the clouds weren't visible and if I exposed for the clouds the moon was all blown out, completely over exposed. To solve this I took two exposures to make this photograph and then merged them together. What I especially like here is that the exposure for the clouds was using a slow shutter speed of 10 seconds and because the wind was moving the clouds across the sky you get to see movement in the clouds as they go left to right within the frame.

A quick post before I get on with my to-do list today. I have a couple of other images from last night that I might post another time.

Technorati Tags: Photography, The Moon, Seattle, Full Moon, Clouds, night

a beautiful day

Sun, 27 May 2007 19:25:38 GMT

Like many of my friends this time of year in Seattle I yearn for the good weather. There is something about Seattle drearily damp winter that drives most folks nuts and the quest for sun is strong come the spring. When I awoke this morning I wasn't super happy to see that Seattle was covered in clouds and a constant sprinkle of rain descending from said clouds. After the first cup of tea I went up to the roof deck to grill up breakfast and as the grill heated up I waked around my garden checking out recent growth in the plants. It's then that I started to appreciate how lovely the plants looked in the soft light that the clouds were providing and the rain drops causing such a strong contrast and saturation in the colors of the greens, reds, browns plants. I had to grab a few snaps this morning as the breakfast cooked.

This week has been interesting. I started Monday with a super sore throat that made it pretty much impossible to talk. Come Wednesday I thought I kicked it, but Thursday it was back, but worse. Gone was just the sore throat, now I had a full blown cold. Just no fun at all, I'm so cranky when I get sick, just hating life. Can't say I have slept this much in years! I'm hopeful that its finally on its way out, even managed to sneak in one photo shoot yesterday without a single sneeze :)

This morning I also dusted off my Lensbaby that I haven't used in a while. It was a little hard to find the focusing point with the wind blowing the leaves but it reminded me how much fun I have with that lens. The shot below of a strawberry tree with its mostly green leaves, but a little red tips I liked a lot.

Technorati tags: Seattle, Rain, Garden, Photography, Plants

busy bee

Mon, 14 May 2007 20:35:24 GMT

This last week seemed to fly by. I spent much of it learning out how to print and wrap canvas prints for a client that really wanted a large 20x30 print made as a special gift for Mothers Day. All in all quite the learning experience for sure, but now it feels like we know what needs to get done and can do it for future prints. Depending on the photograph the image can look stunning, in many ways more like a painting than a photograph. Both Dad, and more importantly, Mum very happy with the results. A couple of quick shots of other busy bee's that I took yesterday afternoon when I took a few hours off to plant some flowers.

Technorati tags: Bumble Bee, Seattle, Photography, Mothers Day photographs

Mathilde's favorite

Wed, 09 May 2007 06:19:49 GMT

Lisa and Mathilde came over today to look at some of the proof's from the shoot we did last weekend of them and the family in from Germany. This was Mathilde's favorite photo of herself. She is a really interesting lady that has lead a very full life and its been incredibly fun to spend some time with her.

Technorati tags: Portrait Photography, Seattle, Photography

the wing

Tue, 08 May 2007 06:21:51 GMT

Amy and I were in the studio last week setting up some lights and Melissa popped by. I had to grab some snaps of her as she chatted to Amy. I'm not sure of the right term for it, but Melissa is very facial vocal ~ she has lots of expressions and is very emotional when she speaks. Here I grabbed a shot, in-between breaths as it were, to capture something quite lovely.

Technorati tags: Portrait Photography, Photography, Seattle

spring love

Mon, 07 May 2007 04:42:55 GMT

Although today in Seattle wasn't super sunny it was clear that spring had truly arrived, based on the active birds, typically flying around in pairs as they start their mating ritual. Their vocal cords were clearly active, driving my cats nuts :)

A quick snap, not that sharp from today. Need to setup a tripod and large lens to see if I can get some detail in those little guys.

Technorati tags: Seattle, Birds, Photography

designer living

Fri, 04 May 2007 14:39:04 GMT

A while ago I got asked to shoot an interior designers home. He was pitching his place to be included in some house design magazines that you often get to see at various book stores. I ended up setting up a time that was in the middle of a sunny day and that was perfect to be able to use natural lighting from the windows that were everywhere.

His place was well fitted out. Not exactly my style at all, but I could appreciate his design and work that he had done on the layout to gather a lot if things and place them in the right spots. One thing that I found interesting was that the place was actually quite small, yet the whole layout was such that it felt much bigger than it was.

Technorati tags: Photography, Interior Design, Turner Seattle

happy birthday Teresa

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 15:03:53 GMT

It's a Sunday and more importantly, its Teresa birthday! A shot from earlier in the week, taken with a windy city in the background.

Technorati tags: Portrait Photography, Birthdays, Seattle

on the stairs

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 14:29:03 GMT

Over the last few months I have been doing lots of thinking on the business side of my photography. I'm in the process of finally finalizing my new web site and as part of that coming up with a bunch of new business offers. One of the topics has been where to shoot folks, be it in studio, on location or at their home. In the end I'm basically going to offer all three in a number of different ways giving clients a choice.

There are a number of the obvious advantages of shooting at your own home, especially if you have kids. One of which is that they are very much at home, in their own environment, with their full choice of toys ~ as this lovely lady clearly shows as she plays on the stairs.

Technorati tags: Portrait Photography, Kids Photography, Stairs, Red

a good pour

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:11:07 GMT

There is much I like about this photograph. Obvious the first is the subject. Second, the detail at the bottom of the glass as the wine swills around for the first time. Third, the color and contrast of the red wine and the black background. And then I even like the red reflection at the bottom of the glass.

But in the end I'm not happy, can't quite put my finger on exactly why. Something about the glass, although it was spotless it looks dirty because of the reflections, likewise the bottle. And I also can't make up my mind on the black background around the glass.

Anyway, I thought it was worth a post, a result of some work yesterday.

Technorati tags: Photography, Wine, Woodhouse Family Cellars, Red