Lindsey, Shamus a Wedding to Remember.

Saturday June 12, 2010 will be a Wedding to remember.   Not because of the Hot temperatures, or the 90 percent humidity, or  a battery pack that decided to fail.   No, that day will NOT be remembered for any of the above.    That day will be remembered for a very Quaint and Beautiful Wedding in Brunswick Maryland.    A very rustic Church in the center of the town and a very family oriented reception the the Eagles Club of Brunswick.

Please enjoy these images from Lindsey and Shamus Wedding Day.

A special Thanks should go out to:

Denim and Diamond Entertainment (DJ)Andrea and Mike Lacasse for the Music.

I am now a Proud Member of The World Photography Organisation (WPO)

Cat and Jason

Last Saturday, I was given the privilege of photographing the Wedding of Catherine (Cat Chamberlain) Now Cat Gingell and Jason Gingell.   There was allot of speculation on the what the weather was going to do, but for most of the day, the showers held off and the couple had a wonderful day.

I like to give a special thanks to the following people for making Cat’s and Jason Wedding day Special.

linganore Winecellars for a beautiful reception.

Ahmad Ibrahim with A.I. Entertainment for the great D Jay work and extra entertainment.

Web Site Rebuild in the Planning Stages

With the release of the new Apple IPad and more people investing into smart phone like the Apple IPhone, I have discovered than my web site functional and attractive is not friendly to the new browser devices hitting the streets today.  My big concern today is the ability to put my artistic skills out in front of the local public, even if its by means of a web enabled cell phone.

The Problem lies in my Studio Site.  This site is old having built this site 4 years ago, it’s also FLASH based and that’s where the rub is.   Almost all mobile devices today cannot handle web pages that have been written in FLASH.   In order for a page to display, the internal browser on the mobile device must have a copy the FLASH reader loaded.   Well there is no FLASH Reader that will load on most browser on the most popular mobile devices today, and Adobe has indicated that they have no plans at this time to develop a FLASH Reader in the immediate future.

Along come HTML 5 to the rescue.   After view some very remarkable demonstrations over the past few weeks, I decided that I move to convert my Studio Web Site to HTML 5.   But just hold on there.  This is not going to be a over night project and over that last few weeks, we have been looking at some needed changes.

Graphics and Photography is key to the display on my site and before I jump in the boiling pot of HTML 5, allot of major planning and design has to take place.

In the mean time minor improvements will continue on the current site, and even some testing of ideas and designs will surface from time to time.    But I do release the new site, there will be allot of fanfare and special promotions that will be associated with the opening of the new site.

SONY Setting a Positive Direction

Just this last Sunday, SONY announced with great fanfare a series of new Digital cameras and a replacement for the SONY Alpha a700.  First let me say that SONY really did not show any real working cameras but instead they resented mockups.   But as SONY indicated, the cameras that were presented are going to be hitting the streets sooner than one would expect.

Mainstream DSLR range to grow further
Sony officials also confirms that the current α range of consumer DSLR’s will continue to grow with the introduction of further new models using the newly-developed Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor and integrating HD video function with AVCHD format. IS this the same sensor used in the SONY Alpha a550? No, the new HD sensor and not the same as the A550 and in fact the Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor is a completely new development.

I was also informed that the A7xx will have all of the same studio functionality that the SONY Alpha a700 and Alpha a900 currently has.   I can only assume that this would include tethered shooting.    I also asked about the Sensor Size and ISO range, but was left with an answer that final determinations on those specifications have not been made yet.   But one SONY person did say that I will be shocked when the specs and a working camera do appear.   The Alpha A7XX will be a large step up from the older Alpha A700 and will be well accepted amongst high end shooters, semi pros and professionals alike.   SONY was not going to say if this camera is in what one would call professional caliber of camera.

But the same person did leave me with a tidbit that surprised me.  There is a camera that is in development that is intended to be a big step from the Alpha a900.   It was indicated to me that this camera could be considered by SONY as a professional camera and they are intending that the focus of this camera would be in that direction.   When I pressed this person about what was said, I was given the answer that we are not allowed to elaborate any more on the development of new future DSLR’s.

I spent the evening reading many of the comments and dissatisfactions from many SONY Alpha users who read the announcements from PMA and I will simply put it, if you expect that a camera company is going to put every requested feature into a camera that everyone expects you end up with a camera so complex that you end up losing the lower end photographer just learning to use the camera.   Also some comments from the SONY Style darkroom forum indicating that SONY was not listening to what is being said on that forum.  Another SONY representative did indicate that they do in fact read with great interest a lot of what is posted in the darkroom forum.  But as it was said, SONY cannot fulfill every wish that is posted.   But there is some requests that have merit and all SONY ask, please hang in there and you will be rewarded.

The first Post for 2010. (Why so Late?)

I have been silent for a month, but it was not for a lack of something to say.   The last part of December and the whole month of January has been mostly set aside for caring for my Wife as she recuperates form major foot and ankle surgery and watching over my mother when I am home from work assignments and attending of PPofA activities.   I have also cut back a sizable amount of my in-studio work just so I can give my Mother and my Wife some level of privacy.

My wife will recover and she is truly looking forward in assisting me in future assignments.   My mother on the other hand is a special person with needs and special care that come with having Dementia.   Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases, and involve language, memory, perception, emotional behavior or personality, and cognitive skills.   My mother s condition has rapidly deteriorated since she has come to live with me.  Sadly, I was informed that the rate of deterioration was to be expected.

There was a time where my mother was very much an in control type of gal and was a very social with involvement in DAR and her local Garden Club.  But with the onset of this affliction, she has become more introverted and not very willing to venture out in public, let alone go on car rides that last longer than two hours.

The only other activities that have occupied my time, was the time I spent in Nashville at the PPofA Convention and Trade Show.  This allowed me a chance to spend time with many fellow photographers and friends, and to make some new friends.    It was also a time to refresh my brain with new knowledge and talk about new marketing strategies with a few vendors.  My biggest move this year is my move to get Certified.  I will talk about that in more detail in the future.

That brings us to the second day in February of the year 2010.  My thoughts are on the coming year and the direction that I plan on taking with my Photography Studio.  I have some very concrete plans, but more on that later also.

So I have put my mark on the page for the start of the new year and will making more entries as the days and weeks pass by.

Paul

My Second October Engagement Session

When it comes to couples, I get some of the greatest.   Shamus and Lindsey are a couple who  are matched in heaven.   This twosome, was both fun and enlightening when it came to their photographic session.  The wedding is not till next spring, they both wanted to take advantage of the colors of fall for their engagement session.   Oh did I mention that this was another perfect Autumn Afternoon.

I hope you enjoy this sampling, I know I enjoyed working with them both.

Paul

October means Engagement Portraits Part 1

Meet Rich and Brianna.  They will be married in November but wanted to have a nice local engagement portrait taken in Frederick.    They both have a passion for water, so I ended the two and half hour session along Carrol Creek in downtown Frederick.

Rich on this day was suffering from some sort of head cold or allergies, but he was a trooper and did not allow this malady to interfere with fun and the photos.  Brianna, an artist her self loved allot of the local artwork that we featured in our photos.

My Birthday Gift

Oh, Did forget to announce that I had a birthday several weeks ago.   Well I was a bit too occupied with my wife in the hospital and work.   I did celebrate my Birthday with my sister, mother, and by daughter and her husband and my grandson.   It was a small and short celebration, but what capped my birthday was my mother ans sister giving me this camera.   A Canon G10.   Now you are going to ask why the Canon G10 and not a SONY.  Well when it comes to operation, the G10 is more similar to a DSLR than an average compact camera.  Emphasis is on the many setting options which make this camera ideal for the DSLR photographer to use as second camera.    SONY to date really does not have a compact camera like the Canon G10 in its lineup.

I have already taken a few images, and this camera will become a common fixture with me so be prepared to see more personal images on this blog.

Audra and James

As a photographer, my weekends are busy.    With commercial work interspersed with Weddings, Portraits and special events, I often find it a challenge to even post on my blog.   Well, Sunday Morning was such a beautiful morning, and the couple that I was photographing was such a fun couple, they made the rest of the day go very quickly.

This session was taken at one of my favorite portrait locations near Thurmont Maryland call Loys Covered Bridge and Loys Park.   The variety of photo ideas that a photographer can conceive at this location is just one reason why I like this location so much.

The couple, Audra and James are planning to get married in a few months and that they chose this location for their Engagement Portrait Session.   They both felt like the location match their personality and it showed during the portrait session.    I love doing these portrait sessions, because it allows the couple to get comfortable with me as their photographer and it give me insight as how far I can take the couple during many of the photos the day of their wedding.