Bermuda Trip

I just got back from spending a week in Bermuda on a photo shoot with long time client Cort Furniture. This is a fun trip for their top sales people. I've been fortunate to be included in all 18 of their trips over the years. Bermuda is beautiful. It was pretty windy while we were there, but it never rained.

Ben & Courtney at Whitehall Manor

I had the honor of photographing Ben and Courtney's wedding at Whitehall Manor in Bluemont, Virginia on Friday, April 16. One of the side benefits of shooting weddings in Loudoun is the chance to run into people I have gotten to know over the years. This wedding in particular seemed to pull together a lot of familiar faces. It started to rain right as the 6:00 pm outdoor ceremony began. Fortunately Ben and Courtney had decided to do all the images of the two of them together prior to the ceremony. Not only did it seem to relax both of them doing it this way, but it turned out that decision saved the photos as well. No way we could have done anything outdoor after the ceremony. By 6:30 it was too dark and too wet. These are a few initial images. Many more to come. Double click on the image to enlarge it.

Taxing The Rich

On the news the other day, there was a report about the 50% of Americans who do not pay any federal income tax. One of the "experts" in the report remarked that he was less concerned about the 50% who do not pay any tax and more worried about the people who are making twice what they made a few years ago, but are paying taxes at a lower rate than they were a few years ago. I took that thought and plugged in some numbers. Say you made $500,000 a year three years ago and paid federal taxes at a rate of 40%. That would be $200,000 in taxes. Three years later you are now making $1 million a year, twice as much as 3 years before. Today let's say you are paying at a rate of 35%, totaling $350,000 in taxes. So three years ago you paid $200,000 and today you are paying $350,000. Yes, you are paying at a lower rate, but you are paying $150,000 more in taxes. That is a substantial increase of revenue for the federal government. In the words of Barack Obama, you would think they would be thankful; after all, they did not have to do anything. You did all the hard work, you were the one who doubled your income.

This is the slight of hand that pundits and experts use to shift the discussion in their favor. This is how they demonize the rich. And this is the same game that Obama plays. He can only save us if there is monster hiding behind a tree, so he spends his days inventing new monsters: big business, lobbyists, tea party supporters, George Bush, special interests, good tasting food, financial institutions, insurance companies, doctors, and yes . . the rich. The great unifier? Hardly. Obama, seeing himself as both savior and great leader, believes he is unifying the country against these monsters. He alone can slay them, cut them down in size, bringing equity to all. Is it possible that Obama will ultimately destroy the foundation of our country in his quest for this victory? Let's hope the will of the people, which in most cases opposes the Obama agenda, will ultimately be heard. Otherwise we are in big trouble.

Austen and Jessica's Wedding: Capitol Hill and Indigo Landing

I photographed Austen and Jessica's wedding on April 10. The wedding took place at St. Peter's on Capitol Hill and the reception was at Indigo Landing on the Potomac River. We had lots of variety in the kinds of photos: around the church, over by the Capitol, along the water. It was a beautiful day, although the sun was very, very bright, making some images difficult to shoot. All in all, a great day. Double click on images to enlarge. More images are in the Sample Wedding Gallery 2010 on my website.

Do Wealthy Liberals Use Tax Advisors?

You have probably noticed that there is a large amount of high power, extremely wealthy artists who are deeply committed to liberal causes. Many of these causes are private, supporting non-governmental organizations that largely do good things throughout the world. But it seems clear that these artists are also pushing for a larger role for the federal government in our lives. Nationalized health care, more federal money poured into charitable causes like cancer research, disaster relief, education, serving the poor. All of these are good causes, the question is whether federal funds should be looked at as the principle source of funding. Increasing federal funding on anything translates into a need for higher taxes, unless Congress reduces funding somewhere else, which never happens. So when these artists ask for more federal funding for their favorite cause, especially when that cause is something extremely expensive like health care for all, they are basically asking Congress to increase their taxes. And this has been what Obama and democrats in Congress have been saying all along . . we are going to increase taxes on the rich, including these artists.

So here is my question: do these liberal artists have tax advisors preparing their tax returns? I ask this question for this reason: most people who hire a tax advisor to prepare their returns are looking for someone who will minimize their tax obligations. By establishing foundations, investing in certain commodities, shifting money into different accounts, and then taking advantage of all the various deductions and tax breaks available, tax advisors are making sure that their client (the artist) is paying the least amount of taxes possible. But why do this if you trust the federal government with your money? If you are calling for the federal government to take more of our money in order to fund projects that you believe only the federal government is capable of managing and funding, why hold back your own funds?

I have no idea what these artists think when it comes to how much taxes they pay each year. Do they sit around and complain about it like most other people do? Do they go to great lengths to protect their money from taxation? Or are they cheerfully handing it over to the government, believing it will do the most good in the hands of Congress rather than in the hands of a charitable organization? Do these artists, and other very wealthy people, who publicly say to the government that they should be taxed more . . do they now willingly give more to the government than they are required? I'm just wondering.

Photography 101: Session 05

Flash Photography

(Macworld must be reading my mind. This session is dealing with flash photography, and right in time Macworld online posted an article dealing with the same subject. I would encourage you to read it, but I will go over some of the things they mention in my own article below.)

Probably nothing is more confusing and frustrating for photographers, even the most seasoned ones, than flash photography. When to use it, how to use it, how to make it look natural, how to get the most out of your flash . . these are the things that fill volumes of books and pack expensive seminars and workshops. All of that to say that if you are looking for quick easy ways to master flash photography, that just won't happen. You have to experiment over and over again, in different environments and conditions, mindful of what you are doing each time. There is a big gap between reading and watching how to do it versus actually going out and putting it into practice. Nothing beats practice and just playing around. The nice thing with digital and on camera monitors is that you can instantly see what is happening with each shot, making adjustments as you go. So practice. I will give you a few hints below, some which are also covered in the Macworld article I mentioned above. But you will have to go out in the field and practice using some of these techniques in order to see for yourself what works and what doesn't.

First of all, when it comes to using flash indoors, I always shoot with the camera in manual mode (as opposed to aperture or shutter priority, or auto. Manual mode gives you much more control over the shutter and the aperture. Typically I will set the aperture somewhere between the largest aperture (2.8 on most of my lenses). I want the most light possible to come through the lens. Usually the smallest aperture I will use is 5.6. I'll opt for 5.6 over the 2.8 when I am shooting group shots or if I have the ISO cranked up.

Secondly, in most cases you will want your flash to be set to "ttl" or "i-ttl". TTL stands for "through the lens". Basically your camera is determining the proper exposure based on the light coming through the lens. This includes the light coming from the flash. With TTL, your camera will moderate how much light is being emitted from the flash. Generally speaking, TTL is pretty accurate, so in most cases that is what you want to use. There are occasions where it is best to set flash to manual for more control, but for introductory purposes, leave it at TTL.

Shutter speed is where you can really change the affect of flash photography. I will typically shoot with my shutter speed set at around 60 or 90 for my longer lenses, and at about 30 or 60 with my wider angle lenses. The slower your shutter speed, the more ambient light you are allowing to affect the image; but the slower the shutter speed, the more blur you will get in your image. With flash however, you can freeze movement within that blur. Without getting too technical, the light coming from your flash unit comes with a burst that lasts something like 1/100,000 of a second. That is a lot quicker than your shutter speed of let's say 1/15 of a second. So at 1/15 of a second, your image is pulling in ambient light (and possibly blur, depending on how much movement there is), but the flash will take place during only a fraction of that 1/15 time, freezing whatever movement was taking place in that 1/100,000 timeframe.

I know this might sound confusing, which is why you need to experiment for yourself to see how just changing your shutter speed will affect your flash images. Just keep this in mind: the slower your shutter speed, the more ambient light is being used. You know how your flash images can look really dark in the background, while everything close to you is brightly lit. If you shoot with a fast shutter speed, you are relying on your flash to completely light the scene. Your flash will only light so much. By using a slower shutter speed, you are letting more ambient light affect the scene, so your background will start to show up, not because it is being lit by the flash, but because of the ambient light.

So set your camera to manual mode, set your aperture to something like f4 or f5.6, then play with your shutter speed between 1/125 all the way down to maybe 1/10 of a second. Try it with subjects that are fairly stationary versus subjects that are moving. Maybe experiment as well with your ISO as well. Try it at 200, then 400, then 800, then at 1600.

On more setting your camera might have (see you camera manual for this) for flash photography is something called "rear curtain". By default your camera is usually set with this turned off. When off, when you shoot with flash, the flash goes off at the beginning of the exposure. That 1/100,000 flash will happen during the first part of the 1/60 of a second exposure, freezing any movement before the movement takes place. With rear curtain, the flash is emitted at the end of the exposure, or at the end of the movement. For most images, this is a more natural looking effect. I keep my setting at rear curtain all the time.

Next session will go over some techniques that will help give you more natural flash lighting.

Piedmont Country Club Wedding, Haymarket Virginia

I recently photographed Brandon and Laura's wedding at the Piedmont Country Club in Haymarket. This was my first wedding at Piedmont and I have to say that I was impressed with the place. They did a nice job with their service and the venue worked pretty well for photos. For those looking for a nice spot for a wedding just outside Loudoun that probably does not come with the Loudoun prices, take a look at Piedmont.

News Alert: The Left Hates George Bush

I find this video to be pretty nauseating, but it is a reminder of the rhetoric used by the left in describing George Bush. People in the press didn't seem to have a problem with it back then. Now, with their man Obama in office, it is a different story. Now if you criticize the president, you are considered a racist or unpatriotic or an intolerant hater or a terrorist. The sentiment from the right toward Obama is pretty similar to the left's view of Bush, but pretty safe to say the right has a bit more class in their use of words (be warned there are some inappropriate words used on some of the signs in the video).