May 31, 2008
First. Starting tomorrow, there will be an archive in the left bar. I will archive every 25 posts so that loading the current blog doesn't take forever.
Second. The second scariest experience of my life: i spent the day with a
bunch of girls. we went to see the new Sex and the City movie. You think
that's scary? After the movie we're all getting out of the car (because
its Boulder and we carpooled to save the environment), and i put my camera
and my water bottle on the back of the car so i can roll up the window
(manual windows? on a Dodge Neon?) i successfully roll up the window and
shut the door. Without waiting a second, she goes driving off! My D300,
battery pack, and 100mm F2.8 are SWINGING off the spoiler (spoiler? on a
Dodge NEON?!). I grabbed on and was forced to let go as she accelerated
down the parking lot. s.h.i.t.
i am whistling and yelling and
screaming as i run after my camera which is getting farther and farther
away, swinging wildly from the spoiler on a dodge neon. there were a
couple things going through my head at this point.
- How can she possibly not hear me?! I have the loudest mouth-only (no hands) whistle in Boulder.
- Can my camera survive a fall from a car at 35 mph?
- is there anyone in downtown Boulder who can NOT see my balls?
- running in a kilt is possible the most freeing experience I have ever had.
Finally, when she stops at a stop sign to turn onto the real road i think i might have her. nope. not. even. close. she zooms out onto the road, makes a sharp left turn and i am in the middle of the median finally getting to my senses. I call my girlfriend (because i do not have the driver's number) and say something to the effect of, "tell her to stop! She has my F***ing $5,000 camera!" she says "oh shit" and calls the driver, who is 3 blocks away and stops. My camera is still in one piece and managed to hold on despite all the crazy driving and swinging. The lesson?:
- Dodge neon's have no reason to even think about having a spoiler, but they can easily outrun an 18 year-old out of shape photographer.
- NEVER put your camera/profession/life on someone's car without getting their phone number
- Wear underwear when running kilted.
- The rubber on the bottom side of your "Nikon" strap has some serious grip to it.
Third. A colorful rain picture for you from the day after I graduated.
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
May 30, 2008
----
Both shot on D300, Neutral +2 saturation between 200 (left) and 1000(right) ISO.
So, sitting at the airport yesterday lamenting the fact that my 70-300mm zoom was sitting at home, i see two little kids come up to the boarding area with their mom and dad. They grab some snackage (like any boys should) and proceed to sit at the monster window next to me. i am thinking "Great. Kids suck," when they both simultaneously whip out pairs of little blue binoculars and sit ooohing and aaahing over the planes landing and taking off on the nearest runway. i was instantly reminded of the way my little brother and i did the exact same thing on our first joint plane ride. I whipped out my camera, popped my 50mm lens on and started snapping away. To my surprise the parents either did not notice (unlikely, the D300 makes a lot of noise) or didn't care that some stranger was taking pictures of their kids (i shot around 30 pictures total) :-)
Second. After having their fill of airplanes, the two kids went back to mom and dad. brother the older went and annoyed dad, while brother the younger shot off to mom. It was story time. The only reason i pulled out the camera again was because i found the situation rather amusing. Mom and junior are sitting in a crowded airport both totally and blissfully unaware of all the weird stuff that was going on around them. behind the woman who is out of focus (my mom), there is a group of three OLD people in their 70s chatting. of course, old people chatting is really old people yelling at eachother to repeat what was just said. over and over and over again. to the other side there is an obese woman trying desperately to sit down, but she just cant fit into one of the regular seat without some serious squeezing and wiggling. Closer to me, there is a metalhead kid rocking out and whisper-screaming to his music. All the while mom and brother the younger are reading their Highlights of Spring magazine. It was a very peaceful and innocent hour of waiting and people watching... i really should do that more often.
More tomorrow on pictures from my 8
day break from blogging.
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
May 28, 2008
So, it is offical. I am a horrible blogger. :-)
I accept that, and I am willing to work harder to change it.
First up today: On my last real day of school i walked around and did the unthinkable. i shot all my images with sepia on camera. anybody know why? i have no clue. apparently i was feeling sepia-y and guess what, i'm still alive and i got some decent images. nothing really worth writing home about, hardly anything worth blogging about, but the image below is one that i feel captured the whole mood of that last day of classes.
Shot with sepia toning +2 on D300 at 18mm and somewhere around 2000 ISO.
i do not believe it is really much of a powerful image for anyone except the seniors who spent all day signing yearbooks and trying to rekindle old or dying or dead friendships to end the day and high school on good terms.
Second. After hauling in some serious cash for graduation (apparently it is a big deal to graduate high school) i broke down and bought an item for me and an item for my photography-life. For me, it came down to an iPod Touch, 8gb. Why you ask? because it is so much damn fun! i can do a lot of things with it that i usually need to haul out my computer for, and i have wanted one for forever. it allows me to access my email, the internet, my music, and all my portfolios from my pocket. Eventually i am sure i will use it for the neat "iCal" feature, but these days i really do not have much to do.... The Photo-related item is a 250gb USB powered portable harddrive, because i take a lot of pictures. i mean a LOT of pictures, and i like to be able to have all of them with me. i have had a dual backup drive system at home for quite a while, but now i can have a third backup, and i can stick the drive in my backpack and carry around pictures from 2005 - the present. My system is nowhere near as paraniod or complicated as Scott Kelby's, but 4 copies of each picture is decent (1 on my backup drive at home, 1 on the new 250gb, 1 on my web server, 1 on my dad's backup drive, and the images from the last 4 or 5 months on my laptop's harddrive.)
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
May 20, 2008
First. i'm sorry i have been such a slacker! i started this blog to force myself to write, and i have been avoiding it. shame on me.
Second. Black and white film is sooooooooooo much better than digital color shots converted to black and white. Sure, there are more than a few good shots out there that were made on digital and then photoshopped into black and white masterpieces, but you just cannot beat the contrast and grain combo that you get on ISO 400 high-contrast black and white film. i spent an hour going through my old black and white images the other day, and there really is no comparing the two. in addition to the fact that the prints and scans are simply much better than digital, shooting film (usually) makes the photographer think at least a little harder about the picture that he or she is making. i figure i spend 3x or 4x more time thinking about a picture when i am shooting film, just because i know that if i do not get it right, i cannot look at my LCD, figure out what it needs, and reshoot it. if you mess it up on film, you may never get the picture. Also, i think grain looks good on black and white, so even if you are going crazy and shooting ISO 1600, the images will have more power than if you shot it on digital at four times that ISO because the contrast and the grain combine in a way that i find rather addicting.
maybe i'll get off my high digital horse and shoot some good old fashioned film :-)
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
May 16, 2008
First. i spent the majority of my day today handing out yearbooks at school. i am really pleased with how they turned out. the thing is basically one big resume for me, as there are only 10 'real' pages (pages with staff-pictures and copy) that don't have at least one of my pictures on them. :-)
Second. i did a group shot with six senior girls and it was a BLAST! They showed up and just wanted to have fun, so we took a huge amount of pictures. 297, to be precise. all manner of different poses and lighting conditions presented themselves and the seven of us just enjoyed ourselves.
The picture below is one of my favorites.
shot on D300, neutral PC +1 color and saturation, ISO 100.
Third. i am soooooooooooooooooo done with highschool, yet i still have 5 math assignments and a final, and a physics final to finish. grar.
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
May 13, 2008
First. Welcome to my 20th post. Yay!
Second. I am starting a series of excersizes that i am calling 10 minute masterpieces. My goal here is to give myself only 10 minutes to create an image that is cool, compelling or at least interesting. last night at 8:50pm, very shortly after my last post, i did my first. true to my own form, i went 20 minutes over budget. shame on me! for my first, it isn't bad. a mosaic of 21 images of a hookah (water pipe) that i bought yesterday.
21 images shot on a D300 at +3 saturation and +3 contrast. 1000 ISO.
My goal is to be down to an real 10 minute masterpiece by my third try. if i can just shave 10 minutes off each of the next two, i will make it :-)
That's it for now, thanks for reading!
-Matt
May 12, 2008
First. A happy mothers day to mothers the world around. I was busy with my family yesterday, and did not get a chance to post. Shame on me!
Second. I just discovered Photoshop User TV (link), which is hosted by the (in)famous Scott Kelby, and two of his cohorts. if you're a photoshop person, and you don't already know about it, check it out!
Third. i have been without my cameras for a few days now, and i am finally starting to get that itch again. this wednesday i have a group of six people scheduled for a shoot for their graduation party invite. i really should get into those posing books that i borrowed, because if i have trouble posing one person, a group of six will be a true challenge :-)
as a matter of fact, i think i will go read into that.
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
May 8, 2008
First. Today I helped finish the 12 page black and white spring insert that gets distributed with the yearbook. that marked my final contribution to any and all publications at FHS, and the official time of my checkout from using brainpower at school. as of 2:28pm May 8th, i will use minimal brain-power to slide through my last week of highschool. i have 1 final, in precalculus. my college is not requiring final grades, so it doesnt matter if i even pass the damn thing. i am sure i will study for it just for the sake of studying for my last highschool test.... unless i have something, i mean anything, better to do. ;-)
i digress.
with the last day of photographing for the publications comes the last day i need to haul my huge (19.5 lbs without computer) pack of photo gear around. tomorrow I will have my computer, my little canon powershot and some pens and pencils. simple, easy on the back, and easy on the eye. i realize how rediculous i appear in that backpack.... its kind of fun :-)
Second. my yearbook adviser, whose name is Jay Stott, by the way (link) who also happens to be a photographer, lent me a couple books on posing models. i have made it a fair chunk into Posing Portrait Photography by Jeff Smith, and while i do not think much of his writing style, there are some excellent points, most of them quite simple. i love learning about photography, which is probably a good thing, as i am going to college for it...
Third. I downloaded the VoIP program called SKYPE recently, and it is very impressive. My dad worked for a telecommunications company for a while, and even their pro VoIP software cannot compare to this sweet free program. just downlaod, sign up and talk to anyone with skype for free. i am also paying $3.00 a month for the ability to call landlines, so i can save my cell phone bill :-) the sweet part is, since my dad also downloaded skype, while i am in Germany, or in college, i will be able to call home for FREE, using the internet. super-long distance for free = happy parents.
That's all for today, thanks for reading!
-Matt
May 7, 2008
Below is my "Goodbye Column" for the Royal Banner.
So.... The seniors are graduating, the juniors are drooling over the coveted balcony (which you will not be able to throw stuff off of), the sophomores are dreading all the work they will get next year, and the freshmen are rejoicing the fact that they are almost not freshmen anymore. That was a run-on sentence, and it is OK because I am first and foremost a photographer. You will notice (unless you have been living in a cave, or something) that I take a lot of pictures. I also wear kilts. It is all part of who I am, which is something I have learned a lot about during my stay at Fairview. It has been a good 4 years. We have had fun, we have had lots and lots of homework, and we have laughed and cried a LOT. We have been on an incredible journey together, and now we are parting ways. I will be going off to college, some of my friends are coming with me, but most are forging their own paths. Some, I may never see again. Not all of us know where we are going, but I think you will agree we know we are on our way (yes, I was also a photographer for the Yearbook). The picture next to this column is symbolic of all of us, each on our own now, forging our paths to the rest of our wonderful lives. Romantic, isn't it? :-)
Photo: Matt Beaty.
May 6, 2008
First.
One of the models who expressed interest in working with me is the lovely Shanae, a senior at Fairview high school who i happen to see every day in math class. She apparently has designs to become a pro model at some point, and i say she is quite well suited for it; she is tall, comfortable in front of a camera, attractive and much much more (call now and get special deal!). i really enjoyed working with her, and i came up with some fairly good images. during the shoot i noticed a few things.
- i am useless without my glasses. i purchased a 100mm f2.8 E series lens today for a whopping $75.00, a screamin deal for any lens. however, it takes me a while to get good focus because i have to rely on the D300's little "in focus dot" that tells you when you're in focus.
- i am completely addicted to off-camera flash. i suspect this is for several reasons: all the famous photogs who have blogs use it extensively, i just finished a 2 month project on it, and it looks really freakin' cool!
- self-posing models are amazing. Shanae really knew how to look good, and i only gave her very minimal direction (stand here, look at the camera, look sexy). i really need to learn how to be comfortable posing people... but so far in my encounters with models, i have not been looking for anything very specific, so i have not known what to ask for... i'm sure there's a book about it somewhere.....
well, enough with words. take a look at the Picture of the Day:
Shot on D300, neutral PC +1 saturation, strobe on a stand on camera left. ISO 100.
And that was the interesting part of my day. Oh, i also learned one of my journalism advisers reads this blog regularly... i was surpised and quite flattered, mainly because i have no idea how many people read this. i suspect at least 5.....
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
May 5, 2008
So, i am finally mellowing out and trying to figure out what i want to shoot for myself, without thinking about what the yearbook and Royal Banner need. There are few models who have expressed interest in working with me, so i suppose its time to get off my kilted butt and see what they want :-)
If only life was like that all the time. Ah well.
The Picture of the Day was actually shot on May 2, but since I used a little photoshop to get it where i like it (contrast and brightness adjustments), it had to wait until today to go up.
Shot on D300 at 18mm, Neutral PC +2 saturation. IS0 100. Two strobes, one bounced off the ceiling, and one off the wall on camera right.
May 2, 2008
Picture Of The Day:
shot on D300, Contrast +3, cloudy WB, ISO 500, avaiable light from a HUGE window. 28mm F2.8 manual focus fixed lens. As shot except for cropping.
i bought Joe McNally's book The Moment it Clicks, and it is all it is chalked up to be, and more. Every photographer whose blog i have read rants and raves about Joe McNally, and he deserves it. his style of combining writing, teaching and photography puts many others to shame. admittedly, he has a lot of lighting gear that most people do not or cannot afford, but the images he makes are fabulous, and his tips on how to make images like his are simple and easy to understand.
Second.
I've been recruited to shoot a few performances at Nissi's club in
Lafayette on May the 6th. The stars will be Fairview High school
Performance Class students, giving their all for their final performances.
the party starts around 7:00 or 7:30pm and will likely go until 10:00pm. i
am hoping to get a pair of strobes set up on stage. one above and one
below. it should be interesting to use the big strobes that Fairview's
photography department purchased at my request. i am planning to shoot
them hard (no soft boxes) but with the barn doors.
Third.
i really like the photo and journalism departments at Fairview, but since
i am leaving in 3 weeks to graduate, i think i am entited to give my
opinions. there are a few students who really want to study photography. i
am one, there have been others before me, and there will be more after i
graduate. these students need someone who has ACTUALLY been out and about
and done photography in the real world. now, i am NOT badmouthing the
instructors in either department; i have learned a lot from them, but i
really do wish that there was somebody who could take students on photo
safaris... somewhere, and teach tricks of the trade that i/we do not
already know! maybe out to a football game. teach how to stop action. when
you should an should not use the flash, about leaving space for the
subject to move into. perhaps organize a shoot with a student who wants to
do modeling. learn how to use off-camera lighting, learn how to work a
softbox, learn what different white blances do to skin tones... things
like that. Admittedly, learning some of those things on my own was fun,
but it would have been much faster and likely less painful if i had known
someone who could give me some of their time and just teach me. bitch
bitch, moan moan, i know, but is it really that much to ask? that's the
reason i'd like to teach photography... somewhere, sometime, because my
photography teacher has been trial and error, which works fine,
but it takes a long time.
End-Rant :-)
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
May 1, 2008
First.
it turns out i am not done shooting for the Royal Banner (my school paper). yesterday the adviser called a meeting for the photographers and i knew i was being recruited again. it is not a big deal, but it means that i need to re-engage in school at least once a day... something i probably should be doing anyway ;-)
Second.
the past couple of days i have been shooting a lot of flowers, and i
realizing it is not something i excel at. so, my next project is going to
be macro photography, likely with a large emphasis on flowers and insects
(if they would sit still long enough).
Third.
i love rain, and instead of raining like it should in May, it has been
snowing all morning! bored during my off-periods, i was out in the snow
using a new diffuser for my pop up flash on my camera, and i got water all
over my gear. i really should find a way to waterproof my gear so that i
dont have to worry about it while shooting in the rain. i have a couple of
ideas on how to make something, i just need to sit down and make it...
Fourth.
I hate websense. If i promise to not look at porn at school, will it go
away? ;-)
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
April 30, 2008
First. there are 13 days left that i have to go to school and actually sit in classes. i am guessing these will be the longest 13 school days of my life, which on one hand is probably a good thing, because i will not have much time with my friends of the class of 2008 after we graduate; i am going to Germany for 3 weeks starting June 1.
Second. on the the thought of Germany, i need to find a publication that might have use for a gazillion pictures from my trip. i would prefer an organization that is willing to pay for said pictures, but all i really want is for them to be published... by the time i leave i will have an external usb-powered hard drive, because otherwise there is no way i will have storage space enough for three weeks of pictures. i will probably have all the good pictures sorted out by the time i get back into the States, because what else would i do with a 14 hour plane ride?
i am going to have to figure out a way to capture the experience in a way that shows i am not just your average joe photographer. i hope the trip will be fun, but i am positive it will also be a challenge, both photographically and linguistically. the german language is not terribly difficult, but i have the vocabulary of a 1st grader...
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
12:08am April 29, 2008
First. FINALLY, my portfolios have been updated and are waiting not-so-patiently to be viewed. click here to view.
in the list of updated material is the completed off-camera-strobe project. i finally got off my kilted butt and grabbed my gear and finished the thing. i am pleased with it, and i hope you are too :-)
Second. Apparently i got over my photographer's block.
i took a bunch
of
sweet pictures today, but one that was NOT in my usual style was this:
this girl is notoriously hard to photograph, so i decided to spend some
time with her to see what i could get. i like the picture, because it
feels more.... real to me, or perhaps raw, than many i have taken
recently.
Third. Sleep is good, and i have spent all my creative energies today.
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
April 27, 2008
First. The problem with being a photographer is that there are so many other photographers out there. what's more, the majority of those photographers make images that are worth looking at! the only bad photographers i have met are only bad photographers part time. that is to say, they are only bad when they lack inspiration or motivation.
right now, i am a bad photographer.
actually, right now i am not a photographer at all, because i haven't picked up my camera to seriously take a picture in days, and my total lack of inspiration is driving me mad.
Second. i was right about the headphones. the jobs made by SONY are way way way better. in sound and in comfort for sure, and i am sure i will find out about durability. while i was out shopping at Sports Authority, i came across the rack holding headphones, and these superior sony "sport clip-on headphones" were on sale for $10. that's $5 less than i paid for the junky pair made by JVC. i guess you dont always get what you pay for in this world...
Third. the new Harold and Kumar movie is absolutely hilarious. worth every penny of the $7.50 that i paid, and i'd see it again. maybe not a movie for my parents, but people my age will likely enjoy it.
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
April 26, 2008
First. i purchased a pair of JVC earbud/headphones because i cannot wear my big bad headphones until my ear calms down after being pierced. i am not particularly impressed with them. so, because i have a nice couple of days to myself, i will likely go down to circuit city and buy a nice pair made by SONY to compare them to. i have probably been through 15-20 pairs of headphones so far in my life, and i show no signs of slowing down :-). i am very picky about the sound that i hear, i live to be comfortable (thus, the kilt), and i lead a fairly active life. if a pair of headphones cannot keep up, or they arent comfy, or they dont have a good balanced sound, i throw them in my spare-headphone drawer and i buy a new pair. this will likely lead to a REVIEW section of this blog where i can let you know exactly how i feel about things like headphones. if you want to know anything about photography gear, i would point you to Ken Rockwell, because he is VERY knowledgable about both of the brands that i consider for major photography: Nikon and Canon.
Second. David duChemin is one of the sponsors of an event called "Lumen Dei Photo Workshop and Tour" (info here) and i REALLY want to go on an adventure like that. heck, it doesnt even have to be to somewhere exotic (the workshop goes to India), i just want to spend some time with somebody who has "made it" in the real photography world. i would love to learn from somebody who really knows that they are doing. i suppose that's one of the reasons i am going to Northern Arizona University to study Photography and Marketing, but the setting in which these guys get to learn, out in the field with their cameras, is something that really appeals to me. Mr. duChemin does do mentoring, but he charges for it: $300 a month or a one-time payment of $3,000. i dont have that kind of money laying around, and i think making people pay for mentorship is a little... capitolizing of him. whatever happened to the days where people could share their craft with one another just out of their goodwill? ah well...
Third. I am curious, if you have any comments, please feel free to drop me an email: matt AT vaultphotos DOT COM
Thanks for Reading!
-Matt
April 24, 2008
First. Today i finished my last contribution to the Royal Banner. it feels good, and at the same time i am quite sad. it's interesting, how addicted i have become to doing something all the time. for most of the year i have been working for either the yearbook or the paper, and lots of the time i have been working for both. now the yearbook is finished, i am done with the banner, and the i am only working on a couple spreads for the spring insert (which is handed out with the yearbook). i shall have to find something to do with my time ;-).
Second. I am nearly finished with my portfolio-update process. all that remains is to wrap up my off-camera-strobing project with a final 3 images, then i can update the website and do my presentation for my photo4 class at school. my problem seems to be getting motivated to shoot those last 3 pictures... i should probably do a journalistic-portfolio, but the pain involved in going through all the images i have had published is something i really do not want to think about just yet. maybe over the summer. come to think of it, the yearbook is really a journalistic portfolio for me, seeing as i took a humongous number of the pictures in it.
Third. A 5-day weekend starts tomorrow for me, and i have very few plans for it. i expect to sit around the house and eat massive quantities of food, maybe go rock climbing, and basically relax. i am one of those "work hard, and play hard" people. i worked hard for 3.5 quarters of the year, so now i plan to relax for the last eighth.
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
April 22, 2008
First. Today was actually a couple firsts for me. my first real group shoot, as well as my first shoot in the unadulterated and very bright midafternoon sun. i got off really easy on handling the group picture part; i had a director who positioned the models, told me which angles she wanted, and basically took care of all the non-photography parts of the shoot. that was absolutely amazing. the harsh sunlight part was much more challenging. my models spent a lot of time squinting because we could not put them facing away from the sun... i do not know why. i pulled out my strobe and using it in conjunction with the flash on my camera, managed to fill in the shadows a little bit. by staying stopped down to f14 or so i was able to give the shadows some detail without blowing out my highlights. it was (for the most part) a decent compromise. the car that was set up as our big prop was an amazing hot rod:
i think the models really enjoyed being able to sit on and in a car that was around during the period of time that they were supposed to be representing (the Prom theme for this year is the Roaring '20s).
i would like to do a shoot much like this one with some really big strobes that could actually fill in the shadows most of the way without making the picture look too fake. someday soon i plan on doing just that. :-) until then, i am stuck with the equipment i own, which is not really all that bad. i believe making do with what i have is a huge part of the challenge that makes photography so interesting. it was definetly a great learning experience, and the pictures will be in the middle of The Royal Banner's Prom issue that comes out May 2.
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
April 21, 2008
First. My first day being 18 was fantastic. After opening a new bank account, i went to work and made some money, went to get my ear pierced (pictures coming soon), went out to lunch with some of my friends, hung out with the girlfriend, did dinner with the parents, and ended up at the Hookah House on the Hill. A day with my friends, free from the demands of editors and deadlines and mathematics was exactly what i needed.
Second. i have officially started my portfolio-editing process. over the next few weeks i will take the best images from 2008 so far and insert them into my portfolios on vaultphotos.com. i will also be removing my "wedding portfolio," because i dont believe the majority of the images are very strong. The good ones from that portfolio will get moved into the portraiture section. i will make sure to let the whole world know when everything is said and done.
Third. if anyone has any tips on shooting formal/business portraits, i'd love to hear 'em. BRFD (Boulder Rural Fire Department) has hired me to reshoot all their formal mugshots. my budget is well sized, so i had them buy a 4-light flourescent studio w/ a backdrop. i expect it will be fairly easy, but any tips are more than welcome.
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
April 20, 2008 Today was crazy.
The iconic 4/20 celebration involved most of Boulder's youth getting stoned. Although i did not take the opportunity to go see the smoke out at 4:20pm at CU, i did spend the morning with some of my friends who celebrate "sticking it to the man" by smoking weed. It was an interesting experience, especially because i am well known for staying well away from that sort of thing. it gave me a chance to expand my horizons and learn some things.
Second. A fire was started around Canyon and 7th streets. it got pretty big and i am fairly sure most of the cops from Boulder spent their afternoon helping the firefighters rather than patrolling the smoke-out. i noticed it driving near the Boulder Public Library, and after i got a call saying my employer, BRFD (Boulder Rural Fire Department), had been toned to the fire, i went up to see what there was to see. When shooting for BRFD, i wear my uniform shirt that says "Matt Beaty, Tech Specialist," a BRFD hat, and pants. Most of the time people cooperate with me, but today i encountered a police officer who simply refused to be nice at all. i ended up speaking with her sergent, who was much more polite and told me where the Command Post had been set up. After making contact with Command, i basically just hung around and took pictures of the firefighters in their wildland gear. Even i am not allowed near areas whwere the fire is so unpredictable; several times i heard the phrase, "We have not established ANY safe zones." i got a few images worth looking at, and like the other fires i've shot, did not see any of photographers from the official Media. I tell you, those guys are damn sneaky.
Third. After leaving the fire, i drove back to north boulder for my friend
Andrew Harvison's Eagle Scout ceremony. i have worked for his family
before as a photographer and i took several good pictures of the ceremony
today. i find myself becoming more and more comfortable with the
redicuously high ISO's that are often required in situations i often find
myself in. For instance, i am in the back of a church. there are a few
incandescent ceiling-fan-lights, and the blinds are drawn on all the
windows. Where i earlier would have fiddled with shutter speeds around
1/30 or 1/15 of a second, i calmly boosted my ISO to 2500 and with my
Tamron telephoto shot at 1/80 or 1/100 second at f5.6 with ease. Granted,
when i zoomed all the way in to the 300mm range of the lens i got some
bur, but i was very satisfied with how the images turned out.
Overall, it was a pretty good day. i'm tired, but it was good.
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
Evening of April 19, 2008
First. The wedding was pretty cool. I hadn't seen my cousin Krista in a while and it was cool to see her on her special day. As far as pictures went, i believe i got out of it just about what i put in. Three of the pictures I took were somewhere close to my standards, although only one is an image that i feel proud of:
This was one of the flower arrangements at the reception, shot with the only lens i brought today, my new (old) nikkor 28mm manual focus f2.8. i learned that taking pictures of moving (or stationary) people is much more difficult with a manual focus lens, especially because i seem to have misplaced my glasses.... ah well. it was a good time, the food was good and it was a blast to see two families unite and talk and enjoy eachother. it was not like in the movies ;-)
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
Morning of April 19, 2008
First. My cousin Krista is getting married today, so i'll be dragging along a camera to unofficially take pictures at her wedding. with any luck i'll be able to add some better images to my "wedding portfolio" which is rather lacking at the moment. More later after i've looked through the pictures.
Second. My birthday is on Monday, which was conveniently chosen as the day that seniors at fairview high do not attend class! i will be off enjoying myself with my friends and family and basically taking a mental health day to appreciate being me :-)
Third. i will likely begin the portfolio-editing process again after april
24, so if you have any suggestions regarding my portfolios, please let me
know!
Thanks for reading!
-Matt
So, I am starting this little blog because, well, i figure i might as well have an outlet for the struggles and successes that i encounter during my many photographic adventures. I have recently been reading a couple of photographers' websites and they have really inspired me to share what happens with me and my mistakes. This is where i will write what does and does not work, as well as anything photography related. Knowing me, i will probably also go off on tangents here and there, but if you're reading this, i suppose you probably don't mind much ;-).
First. Ken Rockwell and David duChemin are both fantastic photographers who really give it to ya straight with their websites. Mr. Rockwell writes fantastic reviews on gear and also has a large library of articles he has written on making great photographs. Mr. duChemin writes a fascinating blog in addition to really seeming interested in hepling those of us less-experienced photographers to get our feet in the doors of the professional world.
Second. I have been having "great success" recently with all of my photographic ventures! i continue to impress myself (and others, occasionally) by turning out some pretty darn cool pictures. Currently, i am on the final stretch of a project i have creatively titled "off-camera-strobing" which, surprisingly, is exactly what it sounds like. Using my Sb600 external strobe, i light the subject of the photography while allowing the ambient light to really take on some vivid colors. Most of the images in this project are fairly dark, and i will post the project in it's entirity (12 images) when it is finished sometime in the next 2 weeks!
Third. I have encountered a fantastic photographer by the name of Jade Davies, who does wonders with a very simple editing program called Picasa and turns "ordinary" pictures into very unique images. Jade has joined the ranks of the artists represented by Vault Photography (my business) and has her 50-image portfolio hosted there. Welcome to the team!
--i will likely find a way to edit this site to make it a little more
pretty, but it will still stay quite simple, since i'm a simple kind of
guy ;-)
Thanks for Reading!
-Matt Beaty