Ice is Cool

The ice storms that the Northeast has experienced this past week created a veritable candyland for photographers!

And for the truly dedicated (or slightly insane) photographer, even falling flat on your back (while holding the camera up to protect it) doesn't stop you from capturing truly sparkling images.

Like this one.

I had just fallen and was seeing stars after slamming my head on the ice. When I turned my head, I saw this image and took it.

Sometimes a new prespective, whether by choice or accident, can help with one's creativity....

And I have no idea why Blogger won't let me add spaces between paragraphs...

And this is totally unrelated to anything. Click here for one of the most beautiful slide show creations I have ever seen, an Irish Blessing.

Stock Photography

What exactly IS Stock Photography?

And why should you care?

Everyone in the world who has any contact with civilization has contact with Stock Photography. Virtually every brochure with a smiling face, every sign with a pretty background, a hairdresser working on a client, a group of executives in a heated discussion; most of these images are not created for the advertisement. They are purchased from a stock agency.

http://www.istockphoto.com/ and http://www.shutterstock.com/ are two companies I have some experience with, and they deal very differently from each other. iStockphoto sells subscriptions, where their clients can download 2 or 10 or 100 images a month (depending on their subscription).

Shutterstock allows 25 images per day or a max of 750 per month for a monthly fee. You can subscribe for a month, or any longer period...

The stock agency I am most familiar with is http://www.photoshelter.com/, which is designed by and run by photographers. This company sells individual images to end users, not subscriptions. Find the image you want, and don't worry about cluttering your computer system with extra photos that you have no need for.

I have recently been accepted into PhotoShelter as a contributor. The link here is to my collection, small at first, but it will grow. http://psc.photoshelter.com/user/paynecollection

When you get there, go ahead and sign up - as I post new images, you will be notified. Some new, some fun, some sassy. I photograph what I see and what I feel. Like seniors, there are no gimmicks, just real images, done in a way that pleases.

Introducing Senior Photography

This has been a delightful week.







I had the singular joy of photographing my great friend Tom and Jane VanderZee's twin seniors, and presenting the photos to them.

Tom and I have known each other since we were 12, and to be able to tell stories to his kids about those long ago days - stories that they had never heard - was so much fun... I think that Nick and Lauren have a better appreciation for their dad now.

So what's this about adding Seniors to our products?

I've seen so many Senior photographers adding gimmicks and presentation ploys to get business at the expense of providing good photography. We simply take great photos that make our clients look their very best.

No, I don't do buttons, fancy posters, big books and such. Just great photos that will bring back the pride that their parents feel each time that they look at the beautiful portrait displayed on the wall. And we don't forget the cool photos that the seniors will be proud to hand out to their friends.

More next time!

The Cardinal

In the gentle town of Sterling in Northern NY is the famous Sterling Renaissance Faire, where, as I have posted before, my son Douglass has jousted this summer with the New Riders of the Golden Age.

My purpose in attending the faire this particular day was to photograph the jousters only. I left family behind so that I could pay attention to the task at hand.

When you set on a photographic task, you are sometimes blind to other opportunities. Happily, this was NOT hte case today. Sir William Dudley had just completed outfitting his horse Marcus in his gleaming armor when the Cardinal came to visit. To the left is the result, which I call "The Blessing".

Busy Summer!

The centerpiece of Central New York's summer is the Sterling Renaissance Festival, held in the tiny village of Sterling NY, right near the shore of Lake Ontario.

My reasons for visiting were entirely family related, as my son Doug is performing as a jouster twice daily, putting his competitors in mortal peril twice daily.

This is him, having just ridden out to greet the cheering crowd as they are chanting Doug-Lass Doug-Lass. Although the ground combat is choreographed, the jousts are not. The one that wins the joust is truly the victor. Unlike other shows, the lances that these combatents use are NOT designed to break. The sword strikes are not held back. This is full contact battle, reminiscent of those days of yore...

Also at the faire are comedians, musicians, jesters and wenches, and a fair number of ruffians and scoundrels. Don Juan and Miguel, with the lovely Esmeralda, is the longest running show, now in their 20'th year of laughter, whip and swordplay.

Baltimore Pyrate Invasion

Harrrrgh, Matey's, Landlubbers and you scurvy little bilge rats!

We've just reached land after a mighty good time at Fells Point in Baltimore Harbor, site of the 3'rd anual Pyrate Invasion (and Pub Crawl).

The lovely lady to the left is Ma'am Marie, one of the best dressed ladies (and a comely wench to boot).

Those who came in costume were invited to board Baltimore's own "Clipper City" tall ship, then sail into and storm the Broad Street dock. With so many pirates in the ship, the doors could not open, so when we made the dock, we had to jump the gunwales.

Hundreds of spectators were on the dock - and we gave them quite a show - but as to storming the port, it wasn't quite the "storm " we intended. The organizers had left a space on the end of the dock for us to land on, but no path through the crowd to run. Had we "stormed" as intended, many a young lass or laddie would have met the briny deep and Davey Jones!

Photo of Casino, PPSNYS Conference

My new web site is up, www.paynefamilyphotographers.com, and I am delighted with it. Ellen Chesler of Lake Effects Web Design, www.lake-effects.net, has done a wonderful job. Please visit, and tell me how you like it!

I don't recall being so jazzed about the future of photography and life in general.

Conferences can do this to you, especially if the speakers are the great ones. The conference was the PPSNYS or Professional Photographers Society of New York State (www.ppsny.com) and was non stop info, beginning to end

Helen Yancy for example, one of the greatest teachers of Corel Painter that exists. www.helenyancy.com, and Suzette Allen, the perkiest photoshop guru of all time. Read her tutorials on www.shootsmarter.com.

When you leave their presentation, your head hurts, both because there was SO much information, and because you want to know so very much more. Their enthusiasm about their craft makes it even better.

Also, Suzette is selling her materials, in part, to finance her ministry www.shineforhim.com. Visit the site. It is far more eloquent than I.

One of the neat features of this conference was the Early Bird speakers, usually members who had expertise in a particular aspect of the business. I attended Steve Chesler's talk about intelligent marketing using the web. Wonderful Eye opener.

How do you like the photo of the Casino in Niagara Falls? This was across the street from our hotel. Cool, Huh!

The next several posts, I'm going to be recounting some of the last weddings I've done, and some of the helpful discoveries I've made. No, I haven't found anything new, just new to me. Maybe the photographers and brides who see this might take something positive from it.

Until next time!

Monroe

www.paynefamilyphotographers.com