Steve-Z.com

I came across the web diary entries of a 21 year old kid who is going to ride around the country on a bike. His entries are pretty funny. The trip is called ‘Around the United States on a Budget’, and he basically has no money and very minimal gear. He comes off as naive, it’s kinda cute. The first entry has a detailed itinerary of his route so you can see if he is planning on sleeping on your couch and mooching your food. The Day Two entry is an entertaining sample. I think I’m going to follow this one. He’s bound to get in some trouble sooner or later!  After all he is Horny … ak.

No, I’m not back in some warm tropical locale, I’m just pretending. I still have a lot of the photos that I took on my trip to Florida yet to edit. I’m intentionally spacing out the warm weather photos. Like Homer would say, “Mmmmmmm, bikinis.” Or something like that.

I did this shoot right after watching an informational seminar on shooting in bright sunlight. Bright sun can be challenging to shoot in because it is going to create blown out highlights and dark shadows. A camera cannot record the full range of light and shadows that we can see with our eyes. So the trick to shooting out in bright sun is to plan where you want the light to blow out in the photos.

Well, yeah, you could always go under a tree in the shade somewhere. But I’ve found that pure shade can lead to photos that are kindof boring and flat.

I found that bright sun can really produce dramatic effects in your photos. I find these images intriguing where I intentionally blew out parts of the photos. Some of the other photos that I took where everything was exposed properly seem boring in comparison!

When you see Sports Illustrated type model shoots, the images are shot at the perfect light time of day, or there is a gaggle of assistants holding light blocking screens or auxiliary lighting. Sure I could have done that here, but when you are shooting weddings you don’t always get the chance to shoot when the light is perfect. A great photographer can produce solid images in any kind of light.

Another thing that I learned in some of the seminars is that I really liked a lot of the images that were blatantly (to me) manipulated in Photoshop. So I went a little crazier than normal on these photos with the color tweaking. But no, I didn’t  Photoshop her eyes to be different colors in the above photo.  That’s just how the picture came out.  We’ll see how I like my editing style three months from now. In the past when I’ve picked a strong editing style I’ve found myself changing my mind on what I like later.

More images after the page break . . . (more…)

Well it’s a Purple Martini week here on the blog. Last week I attended a business networking event with a friendlier drive at the Purple Martini in Boulder. As a matter of fact, I just remembered that I won a bar tab there . . . what the heck did I do with that coupon?

Going to all of these evnts has really solidified my belief in furthering my business through networking. After these events I take peoples’ business cards and search for them on Facebook and LinkedIn, and add them to my network. I’ve recently put some work into my LinkedIn page to get it up to date. So if you are on LinkedIn, add me! If you aren’t, you should join! An overhaul of my Facebook page will be coming along soon.

The Purple Martini nightclub hosted a Flair Bartending Comptetion at their DTC establishment and they hired yours truly to come down and document the action. I had never actually heard of Flair before, but as a juggler I was intrigued.

I even had a go with the practice plastic bottles!  I can do 3 OK, but I wouldn’t want to try it with a real one!

These guys have some pretty sick moves. They juggle the bottles, pour 4 drinks at once, bounce cherries off their limbs, and pour Go Fast from their palms …

I mention Go Fast because they were a sponsor of the event. They had their own OC Chopper at the event. It had cool tailpipe lids that were the tops from the soda cans.

The dreadlocked fellow with the menacing stare is known (creatively) as Rasta. He’s actually a pretty nice guy, but he likes to look evil in all my photos. His t-shirt says “My Daddy Flips Better Than You”. Cute!

Rasta is actually, The Man, despite the history of Rastafarianism. He took the competition, finishing off by bustin’ some moves blindfolded. Here he is warping the space-time continuum. Wicked.

The contents of this entry have been moved to my new professional photography blog.  To view this post and see the pictures please CLICK HERE.

Three weeks in Florida completely ruined me. Somehow I’ve regressed to some kind of cold weather wimp. It hasn’t been snowing in the mountains much and it’s been butt cold here in town. I miss the beach. Who is going to fly me to a tropical location to photograph their wedding or event?

BMA’s Third Annual Gala Banquet
February 8, 2008
St Julien Hotel

This event sold out the last two years, so put it on your calendar, and get your tickets early! Once a year, the BMA crew puts on their finest threads and gathers in the finest room they can find with City Council members, County Commissioners, land managers, our business members, riders, and a hip crowd to enjoy each other’s company and a tasty dinner prepared by Chef Jason, Head chef at the St Julien and BMA member. I will be there covering the event and making sure everyone stays out of trouble.  Or causing trouble, it depends on who’s there.

This year’s Auction is already shaping up nicely. The silent and live Auction will benefit the Better Trails Fund, BMA’s program to capitalize on the opportunities coming our way in the next 12 to 18 months. The items being gathered are amazing; there’s totally cool bikes and schwag in the mix. I’m going to be donating some kind of photographic work, stayed tuned for that. They’ll also have a door prize of a one night stay at the St Julien. Your favorite liquids from Oskar Blues will be available as a part of your admission; other beverages will be available at the cash bar. Tickets are $75 per person and can be securely purchased online via Paypal or in person at Rocky Mounts. Be sure to make your meal selection when you buy your ticket! A sneak peek of our auction items? Sure! Click here to take a look at the cool items they are gathering. If you have something special you would like to donate to the auction, please contact the Auction Coordinator Andria Bilich at boulderfuzz@gmail.com.

Below is a cool picture of a ranger cutting the ‘no mountain bikes’ sign off a trail that BMA opened this year.

If you read this blog then you’ve probably seen my pictures from the Integrated Alliances Holiday parties. I’ve met a lot of great contacts at these events and am continuing to be a part of their social network. I attended and photographed their January First Wednesday Networking event at Mattie’s House Of Mirrors in LoDo in Denver. It was a great event and they had tacos. Mmmmmm, tacos. Their next event that I will be attending will be in Boulder at the Purple Martini in Boulder, and is called the IA B2B Boulder to Broomfield Networking Event. In their words:

“The IA B2B Boulder-to-Broomfield event is a monthly gathering for B2B and technology professionals that like to unwind and network in a comfortable environment afterhours with interesting people that they can relate to – both in business and personally.”

So check out the IA Event Schedule and come on down and enjoy some food and beverages and get your schmooze on. I promise I won’t take any embarrassing pictures of you. Ok, well I can’t promise that. Remember last time when you had that black bean stuck in your teeth?

I’m still catching up with all of the photo shoots that I did while I was down in Florida. I’m almost through with 2007, can I get a ‘Hell Yeah’? These pictures were taken at Fort Desoto which is at the very southern tip of the St. Petersburg peninsula. This day was so damn cold. It was 45 degrees and windy. Rachel was so cold that she had to go back to the car for a while and warm up. I was OK with it, because goosebumps aren’t fun to Photoshop! Luckily there were these cool old cement pieces of fort left poking out of the sand. We did a lot of shooting hiding behind them, using them as wind breaks.

I found one thing out for sure when I was in Tampa, there is not a shortage of girls who have aspiring modeling careers. A single Craigslist ad resulted in over a dozen responses. So it worked out really well for me. I was on ‘vacation’, I had free time, and my usual strong desire to practice practice practice. And what better way to practice than taking pictures of beautiful women? I knew you’d see my point.

The purpose of today’s exercise was to see what kind of images I could get without any auxiliary lighting or reflectors. My last Strobist flash style sunset beach shoot that I did gave me some great results. I was confident that I could do the exact same thing again, but how fun would that be? I’m only really enjoying myself when I’m risking failure. Is that really true? I don’t know, I’m just making stuff up to fill in the gaps between these photos.  Anyway, I wanted to work on my shooting in pure bright sunlight.

My main goal was to create some arty black and white images, as opposed to another Sports Illustrated style swimsuit shoot. I took a lot of weird pictures. I’m not sure if I like them yet. I will post them later after I take care of more important things first. In the meantime, Rachel was anxious for some pictures for booking some gigs, so I edited these ones, which are a bit more conventional. They are still pretty contrast-y though. I probably will use a reflector next time.

While I was down in Key West I checked out the Butterfly and Nature Conservancy. It was really amazing. There is a greenhouse and it is FILLED with butterflies. They are everywhere, and you can get right up on them with your 100mm 2.8 Macro :>) And no, the first image in the slideshow is clearly not a butterfly perched on my finger so that I could get a better closeup. You aren’t allowed to handle the butterflies or else you will get scolded like a schoolboy.

I had the pleasure of shooting the wedding of my good friend Chris V and his lovely wife Kerstin last month. Chris and I know each other from the Boulder Cruiser ride, and with a dozen Cruisers in attendance, I knew this one was going to be a par-tay. I wasn’t disappointed, and it turned out to be pretty much the best time ever.

Chris and Kerstin were both brought up skiing, and wanted to make the snow a big part of the wedding. It takes some special people to plan an outdoor wedding in Breckenridge Colorado, at 9500 feet above sea level, in December! The groomsmen were prepared with their matching ski sweaters, but I was just praying that it wasn’t going to be blizzard conditions. Two hours before the ceremony we were a little worried, as it was DUMPING, and I was a bit concerned about keeping my equipment dry! When you can see snow in a photo like the one below, it’s coming down at 2 inches an hour.

By the way, how adorable are these outfits? With the matching muffs and all? I’m serious.

Fortunately, but the time the ceremony took place, the storm had calmed down to some nice light flurries. It was the perfect way to set the mood, but not be out of control. The ceremony was officiated by the less than honorable Bobalicious, who did a spectacular job. I heard several guests using the ‘best ever’ phrase. Nice work!

The reception started out normal enough, with some eating, drinking, and socializing. Cutting the cake, the first dance … all normal enough. For a while there, it was almost traditional.

That was until the toasts started. Chris’s dad gave the best toast I’ve pretty much ever felt. Thoughtful, loving, and metaphorical. Then Chris’s little brother James let loose with the funniest roast ever. I was dying laughing, as was most everyone else.

And that set the tone for a rockin’ dance party, I’m going to keep those images to ourselves to protect the guilty. But I’ll finish off the story with a picture of a bride rockin’ a hoola hoop. Bitchin’!

Below is a slideshow of some of the selected images. I’ve updated the proofing gallery to include these retouched images for purchase, so check them out again!

PERMALINK: Chris and Kerstin’s Wedding Photography Slideshow on it’s own page click here

This is really cool. I’ve seen tests before, but they have always involved questions and answers, and I’ve never taken the time to complete one. This test is as simple as looking at a picture. CLICK HERE to go check out the image.

I’ve always wondered if I was left or right brained. Because of my previous career in engineering, I’ve always assumed that I am left brained . . .

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS: uses logic, detail oriented, facts rule, words and language, present and past, math and science, can comprehend, knowing, acknowledges, order/pattern perception, knows object name, reality based, forms strategies, practical, safe.

But taking the test, it turns out that I’m right brained! Unless the test is bunk, of course.  I’ve tried and tried to view the image the opposite way but can’t, so let me know if anyone sees the test and is left brained!

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS: uses feeling, “big picture” oriented, imagination rules, symbols and images, present and future, philosophy & religion, can “get it” (i.e. meaning), believes, appreciates, spatial perception, knows object function, fantasy based, presents possibilities, impetuous, risk taking.

I’m still learning more and more about myself every day. It almost seems as though I’ve awakened the “big picture” thinking since embarking on the photography career. “Fantasy based”? You bet, wait until you see what I’ve got cooking in my mental pot. I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but I’m going to make it reality.

The Snow Bird. Usage of the word is often intended to be derogatory. After 3 weeks of mostly perfect 70 degree weather in flip flops and sand in the toes, I’m growing sympathetic. I found myself playing with the cell phone camera a little more than i usually do. I realized today that I had a decent little collection of images! So since I don’t have any of my other big posts ready yet, I figured that I’d post a quickie.

The first photo in the top left was when I was enjoying a little guitar playing around the holidays. This last year I’ve sacrificed too much happy time in the name of work. I’m going to change that in 2008. Below that is me feeling a little freaked out by my one excursion to the mall this holiday season. Yeah, I went to a mall, and it had a freakin’ carousel in it! My only excuse for going is that I procrastinated getting my presents (photos, duh) and had to do it in Tampa, where the only nearby photo lab was in the mall. Top right is me enjoying fresh grouper fish and chips and an adult beverage while escaping the heat in Key West. The hat is super cool, weaved by a tattooed, skateboarding, beach bum dude and normally sold to tourists unloading off the cruise ships. The stuff behind me is a cool rusted out old truck with a mannequin in it. I tried to capture the whole scene, but you know, it was a cell phone. Bottom right is another tough day at work, scoping locations at Fort Desoto.

I didn’t miss skiing much. Hmmm.

Hi Everyone,

I’m back in town after 3 weeks in Florida.  This past weekend was spent at the Digital Wedding Forum Convention.  What an amazing experience.  So many good lectures and great people there; there wasn’t any extra time for sleep let alone blogging.  I’m back in the office trying to catch up with a huge backlog or work.  I’ll be posting more here soon!

One of the great things about going on vacation is that you put yourself in an entirely new space. Different surroundings and activities are great ways to stimulate creativity. Sometimes I can get creatively stuck in the home office, going about my daily routines. When I’m at home I never sit around and do nothing. But while I was hanging out in the warm morning light on a deck in Key West, I found myself playing with acorns.

The contents of this post have been moved to my new professional photography blog.  To view this entry please CLICK HERE.

Happy New Year from Steve Z Photography! I rang in the New Year down in Key West, where I took some pictures of the debauchery down on Duval Street. Above is the scene in front of Sloppy Joes Bar, where we counted down and watched the Conch Drop!

Yes, the scene truly was … Sloppy.

It’s not a party until the Harley Dude puts the bra on head. And then, look out …

I found out that Key West has a prominent gay community. This bar was the scene of a bunch of transvestite cross-dressing action. I’m not sure why they couldn’t find any performers that were less frightening than these two …

The really frightening part was that this scene at Bourbon Street Pub was being covered live by CNN! It’s always amazing to me what is considered newsworthy. There was a countdown here as well, where another transvestite named Sushi rides in the red slipper as it drops.

We participated in some Mardi Gras style fun, catching beads that were being thrown down from the balcony above.  Not that I really wanted more beads, but more for the sport of trying to catch them from other people!

Fortunately there were no severe hangovers to report on my end. I don’t have time for that! I’ve taken a lot of photos in the last week so there is a lot of work to be done before I immerse myself in a photography seminar and convention this weekend. Look for lots more photos to be posted here this week!