How did I not post for over 3 months??

NO, I haven't forgotten about the blog! I Have been busy with the ghost town series, and actually managed to get some photos published in Nevada Magazine! On top of that we have been working on this series:



This all started out as a single concept shoot and has since evolved into a full blown story line. The title of the series will be "2525". We have literally been doing round table brainstorming sessions for this series. We've came up with enough material to occupy 20-30 photo shoots! My notes look more like a screenplay that a photo shoot idea list.

It starts out with this idea:
It's the year 2525, A giant solar flare caused an EMP event. (Look up Electro Magnetic Pulse weapon)This event has also caused a planetary misalignment resulting in several mega disasters that are unfolding around the globe. A religious cult that believed in the Biblical Submission of woman to man was gaining stregth before the Event. Now a great civil war has broken out and this time it's man vs Woman.
More to come on this exciting new project! (And I promise it won't take three months!)

Ghost Town Photography Tour 2011!

The route will take us from Vegas to Rhyolite, then Scotty's Junction. Stopping and the abandoned airfield in Armagosa for a few photos.

Scotty's Junction and continue to Goldfield, where I am working with the Historical Society to gain access to the Hotel and High School then up to Tonopah for a short stop and then on to Coaldale (an abandoned modern era ghost town). From there will visit Mina/Sodaville and a short loop through Candlearia and Belleville (offroad trips). There will be optional short 6 mile excursion in the desert to Silver Dyke then to Hawthorne where we will camp for the first night. The next morning we'll hit the trail for the 60 mile trip through to Aurora, Fletcher and Bodie.

From Bodie, I want to go down through the Mono Lake area and to Big Pine, then cut back East on 168 to 266 and then to Lida and on to Gold Point. we'll more than likely camp in Gold Point or nearby Stateline or Oriental (Old Camp). From the Gold Point area, we'll be taking trails across the mountains to the Rattlesnake Mine are and end up at Bonnie Claire. That will be on 267 which will take us back to Scotty's Junction and the 95 South back to Vegas.

We're making all the preps now including the addition of on board air, and an external 12gallon fuel tank. I even bought a 5 pack of TMAX 400 and VC160 film. My daughter and my 7 year old grand daughter are tagging along with me. So far the route measures out at a littleover 800 miles. I think our biggest expense is obviously going to be gas!

At any rate, we'll be leaving Vegas before sunup on June the 11th should anyone want to follow along.

Once we return from the trip, I'll be offering a photo book and DVD of the journey.

Checking out some new styles

As part of my business, I have always offered boudoir type photography. I have always been interested in pinup and surreal fantasy shoots as well. Over the past few months I have been studying the work of Joel Grimes, Dave Hill, and a few others. I have started experimenting with combinations of their lighting and processes and have been very pleased with the results. In 2011, we'll be adding the fantasy shoots to our photographic servcies menu.

This photo was shot un the studio against white seamless. The rest of the backdrop was all created in Photoshop. The painterly effect of the model was all a process of hours of work in Photoshop as well. I am sure as time goes on, we'll add more and more backdrops and further perfect our own style and process in this newly discovered style.

If you are interested in booking a shoot with us, please go to our website and visit the contact page.

Until next time,
Nick

Aviation Nation 2010

This year was my first visit to Nellis AFB since the 2001 Airshow season. At that time, the show was actually held outside of town at the Jean, NV airport. I have to say, it was a pleasure to get back to Nellis and a real treat to see some of the old favorites along side new aircraft such as the F-22.

I hope I am never tasked with picking a favorite moment of the day! The F4 was a show stealer with the high speed passes and low altitude maneuvers. It also brought a tear to my eye to see that old B Model Huey doing its part in the S&R reenactment.

As far as gear goes, I took the new 7D with me and I fell in love! The autofocus takes some work getting it where you need it to be. I used it primarily with the 100-400 f4/5-5.6 that I rented from The Lens Depot. I'd be safe saying I had about a 75% success rate with in focus shots. While I am not terribly pleased with that figure, I'll take the blame for just learning the new camera system. The 40D and 24-70 2.8L performed flawlessly as awlays.

I'll have the new shots posted on my website within a week or so! Hopefully I'll have prints available for sale in time for Christmas.

Working the Holga

Red Rock Canyon from the eye of a Holga

The photo here was shot with a fine little Holga!
I purchased the Holga about 6 months ago and let the thing set on the shelf for a while. Finally, on the urging of a friend I purchased some 120 Kodak  Portra VC160 film. All I can really say is that I have fallen in love with this combination! The Portra renders some of the most vivid colors I could imagine. The Holga, with all of its little quirks is just an absolute fun little camera! It is well known for its odd vignetting, light leaks, strange focus and Depth Of  Field among other things.

 I have now started taking it on my hikes and the 6 year old is trying to take it away from me. It does make a great kids camera, by the way. Just don't forget to take the damn lens cap off!

For those of you unfamilliar with the Holga, there is a a wonderful website at Square Frog. These guys have all the details on the Holga line. The simple little camera started its fame in Hong Kong in the very early 80's. It is a simple plastic "toy" with no real control other than minimal focusing and a bright/dim aperture control that really serves no purpose. The Holga has reached a cult like status among photographers from every genre. Even Steve Diet Goedde shoots with one occasionally! It has certainly earned a permanent spot among the other tools in my camera bag.

$35 and you can be shooting one this week. Have a look on Amazon and eBay.

Until next time!

New found love and some slight changes in direction.

It has been a while since I had time to post on here. Between trying to get a new line of work for the studio, and spending some quality time with the family, it has not left much blog time.

I've started making Sunday my outing day with my 6 year old grand daughter., Sophia. We have been hiking all over Redrock and the surrounding area. We pick a different trail system each week. That is her taking a break in Fossill Canyon. We hiked several miles and did some rock climbing to several hundred feet above the canyon floor.

It has proven to be very beneficial to me in many ways. For one, I am starting to notice a huge difference in my leg strength and physical stamina. That's a plus or a 40 year old. Secondly, I have found that these hikes provide views and locations for photography that many will never see. I've always been more of a studio photographer, but am starting to see this as a new way to add to my portfolio as well as stopping to enjoy what mother nature has to offer.

I'm going to be adding a Vegas Hikes portfolio on my website within the next few weeks with the availability to purchase metallic prints.

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 IF EX DG HSM Lens Review

  I could sum this up in one word and leave it that, but I don't think that would be fair to those that read this review. The one word I could use would be "abysmal". First off, I shoot with a Canon 40D. I did my research and found mixed reviews from shooters of all brands of cameras with this lens. I am a tried and true fan of all that Canon makes, but have also had great luck with another Sigma lens. The 28-300mm that I had was a wonderful all purpose lens. Unfortunately, this was not the case with this one.

I purchased the lens from Calumet, through Amazon. As soon as I took it out of the package, I put it on the 40D and made a few test shots in the studio. Like many, I used a print page shot at a 45 degree angle to the lens. At 5.6 there was nothing focused in the shot. Every part of the image was soft. I stepped the aperture down to f11 and f22 and used one speedotron strobe in a softbox to light the book page. Again, not a single focused point in the image. Even though I was already greatly disappointed and discouraged, I decided to do some outside shots with it to see how it performed.

As you can see in the photo, there is not a sharply focused part of the image. I was using single point AF with it placed on the eyes. Aperture was f8, 1/125 at ISO 200. Fill flash was used as well. To add to that, the bokeh at any aperture was horrendous. At wide open, f2.8, the bokeh looked like broken glass or giant pixelation.

Luckily, Amazon accepted my return of the lens and I purchased the Canon L glass replacement. My honest opinion is that I would not suggest this lens to anyone. This had to be the most horrid piece of glass I have ever had on my camera. Many reviewers state that it has taken them several returns to Sigma to get one of these lenses that worked properly. As a professional photographer, I did not have the time to waste on returns and repair. If you are serious about shooting quality photos with a Canon product, then stick with Canon lenses.