Fast Food Photography

I was reading the photography blog by Roger "Mzungo" Moore this past weekend.  The guy bills himself as a photographer, explorer, adventurer, and mentor.  If you like adventure photography you might his blog.  You can check it out at http://mzungusafaris.wordpress.com/

Roger was talking about the image that comes out of the camera vs. the final image after editing and processing.  He put it this way, "the Before image is the fast food provided by the camera and the After image is cake complete with icing, after editing and processing, and ready to print."

I thought that was a great analogy.  Here's an example.

This is the "Fast Food" shot right out of the camera.  These are 4th graders and their adult chaperones marching up Sand Mountain in the Nevada desert.  Not a bad picture right out of the camera.  I like the composition.

Here is the "Cake" shot.  I added some blue to the sky in Lightroom 2 and removed the yellow utility markers and some of the foreground stones to create a cleaner image.  It's better then the "Fast Food" shot don't you think?

If you want to set yourself apart as a photographer one of the things you should do is learn all you can about the power of post processing in programs like Photoshop and Lightroom.  You will be amazed at the results you can come up with... and so will your friends and/or clients.

I hope you enjoyed todays blog.  Remember... life's short, so take lot's of pictures!

Keep shooting!

Ryan

Gordon's Photo Service in Reno Rocks!

Last night we attended the end of season party for my son's SYFL football team.  The team mom had this photo mounted and framed for the six coaches.  I took this picture at the end of our last game in Quicy, CA.

I was really impressed with how great the prints looked.  Sometimes the prints I have had done at local printers turn out like crap... for lack of a better term.  When I asked her where she had the prints made she told me Gordon's Photo Service in Reno. 

I have bought camera equipment and supplies from Gordon's, but for some reason I never thought about getting prints made there.  Based on the quality I saw last night, though, I think I'm going to start.

If you have a photo and you want a quality print I suggest you give Gordon's a try.  I have included this link to their store http://gordonsphotoservice.com/ so you can check em' out for yourself. 

It's Friday and I'm looking forward to the weekend!  Have a great one and I'll see you back here on Monday.

Keep shooting!

Ryan

Backup... or wish you had!

Last week a friend of mine told me that their hard drive crashed and they lost all of the family photos that they had taken over the past several years.  One company told him they could try and retrieve the information from the hard drive for $3,000... but there were no guarantees how successful they would be.

That's a lot of money, especially considering how easy it is to back up the information on your computer.  I own a landscape architecture firm and for years now I have taken an external hard drive to the office every Friday.  We back up all the information on our server and I store the external hard drive in a safe at my house.  This way, at the very worst, we would lose a weeks worth of work if our hard drive crashed on a Friday.  I kept the back up at a seperate location in case of fire.  This system is better then nothing... but far from ideal.

A few months ago we decided to try Carbonite, an online company that backs up your information whenever you are not on the computer.  When your computer is idle, Carbonite automatically backs up new and changed files. You don’t have to do anything! When you’re using your computer, Carbonite goes to sleep so it will never slow down your computer or internet connection.  And  get this, it only costs about $50 per year!

We have already used our Carbonite account to retrieve some plans that I accidentally deleted from our system.   It was a really simple process.  I am going to set up an account for my photography business as well.  I have heard a lot of people say good things about Carbonite... and I have definately been impressed.  You might want to look into it for yourself.  After all, $50 seems like pretty cheap insurance.

I have no affilliation with this company... I just wanted to pass along what I found.

Ryan

   

A Piece of Advice From Joe McNally

As I mentioned yesterday, I recently attended the Photoshop World Conference in Vegas.  Joe McNally, a world renowned photographer who has worked for such note worthy magazines as Life and National Geographic, gave this piece of advice.  He said that you should blog... even if no one is reading it.  It is important to "be out there, to have a voice."  Well, I have been blogging for a few months now and, sure enough, no one reads it... so, according to Joe McNally, I guess I'm doing something right.

One real benefit to blogging is that it helps the writer learn.  I blog about photography even though I do not have decades of experience like some of the bloggers I read.  What I have discovered in doing this is that it forces me to delve deeper into subjects so that I can blog about them.  The act of blogging then serves to further reinforce what I have learned.  It's the old adage that the best way to learn... is to teach.  That is what I am doing through my blog, conveying information that I have learned.  In other words, teaching. 

Try it sometime.  You might find that it works for you too.

Ryan 

What's going on?

It has been kind of a crazy week.  I am working on the first Photog Buzz class so that has me a little (a lot) preoccupied right now.  I am hoping to get downtown to Street Vibrations tomorrow and shoot some HDR photos of all the motorcycles.  I will be using Photomatix Pro to combine my exposures and I will post new shots, camera specs, and information on Monday (hopefully).  Until then.... have a great weekend and keep shooting!

If you need to get a quick Photog Fix today and this pathetic blog doesn't cut it... check out the strobist.  This guy provides a wealth of information on lighting.

Ryan

Did a Moose Just Walk Through My Picture?!

I was at the Reno Air Races this weekend with my two youngest kids when we came across the Jelly Belly plane... and they were handing out free Jelly Bellys!!  We've been to the JB factory in California so, of course, my kids wanted me to take their picture in front of the plane.  I had my 70-200mm lens so I needed to step back a little to get my kids and the plane in the shot. 

They posed, I shot, and as I did, this guy strolled between right through the scene.  No problem... I''d just wait for the guy to move on through and retake the shot.  But this guy was with some other photographers and they all stopped in front of me.  The guy who had strolled through our picture REALLY liked the Jelly Belly plane.  He took a picture of it with his camera (a professional grade Nikon) and then he took a picture with his phone. 

That was when I noticed that the guy looked kind of familiar.  He had this big ol' mustache.  Then it dawned on me!  Moose Peterson, the world renown wildlife photographer, and one of my personal photog heros, had walked through my picture.  He was heavily engaged in a conversation with the photographers he was with and I didn't want to interupt.  So I didn't say anything like, "Oh my God!  It's Moose Peterson!"  I kinda wish I had... but it's just not my style.  I did take this photo though... real stealth like.  Maybe I'll print it out and see if he'll sign it when I'm at the Photoshop World Conference in Vegas in two weeks.

Moose took some great photos at the air races.  Check them out at his website.

Hope you enjoyed the story.

Keep shooting!

Ryan

The first week!

Whew!!  That's it... I made it through the first week of this blog and I think I've at least got the basics down.  Now to refine the layout and work on providing consistent, helpful content relating to photgraphy!  I've got some big things planned so keep checking back in.  I'm also hoping to get some guest blogs going.  If you have any suggestions to make this blog more beneficial, or if you are involved in some aspect of photography and want to be a guest blogger... please let me know.
 
It's Friday and I'm heading up to the lake (Lake Tahoe) for a few hours.  I'll be spending the weekend working on the blogs and content for next week.  I hope you'll stop back by!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Ryan

Core Values of the Photog Buzz

A well defined set of core values are what helps guide any successful organization.  These are ours:

1. Everyone deserves a good camera
2. Canon and Nikon owner’s can live side by side in harmony
3. When it comes to a man’s lens... size does matter
4. Life’s short... take lots of pictures
5. It is one’s camera... not one's political affiliation... that really matters
6. Photography is fun, and should be approached as such

Please note that our values may change without notice.

Photog Addiction... It's Symptoms and Treatments

Wondering if you might have the disease... or how to treat it?

The Photog Buzz’s very own Dr. Digital has come up with the following symptoms of a photography addiction. If you show any of the following symptoms... you just might be a photog addict:

Classic Symptoms of a Photog Addiction

• you’re easy to shop for because the only thing you ever ask for is a gift card to B&H Photo;
• you have at least one camera lens that cost more than your mortgage payment;
• you do not show up in any of your family’s photo albums because you’re always the one taking pictures;
• you believe that Nikon and Canon are not only cameras... but ways of life;
• if you had to choose between your camera and your spouse, you’d choose... Uhmmm... your spouse... of course;
• you believe that... no... size really DOES matter! (have you checked out Canon’s
• you walk through a crowd and people say things like, “hey dude/babe, nice camera!”;
• you always need “just one more lens/fix”;
• you know what that little red stripe on a Canon lens means;
• when you meet people you secretly judge them based on the camera they are using;
• you have been to the Photoshop World Conference more than once.

Do you have a symptom you would like to share with Dr. Digital? Just leave us a comment. We might add it to the list.


Recommended Treatments for a Photog Addiction

Fortunately, at the Photog Buzz we do not believe there is a cure for Photog Addiction or any proven treatment. The good news is you probably won’t die from it. The bad news is you might go broke.

Ryan W. Hansen... Photographer

Ryan Hansen is an admitted photography addict.  He has been taking photos ever since he received an Argus Argoflex Seventy-five as a kid, a hand-me-down from his dad.  The advent of digital reignited his passion, opening the door to a whole new world of possiblities. 

Ryan studied photography through the New York Institute of Photography, but considers Kelby Training to have played a huge role in both his technical and compositional education.  His digital tools of choice are Canon DSLR cameras, Photoshop, Lightroom, and Photomatix.

Ryan is an active member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals and the Professional Photographers of America.  He is constantly striving to impove his photography skills, attending multiple photographic conferences each year including the Photoshop World Conference and Imaging USA.

When not pursuing his passion for photography (and sometimes even when he is) you will find Ryan goofing off with his wife and kids.  They live in Reno with a golden retriever and a cat that seems unable to catch mice.

Where's My Camera?

I love to write about photography.  In order to write about it, though, I have to get out there and experience it.  These are some of the cool events where you will find me and my camera:

• Reno Balloon Races, Reno, NV Sept 11-13, 2009
• Reno Air Races, Reno, NV Sept 18-20, 2009
• Jessie Beck Charity Golf Tournament, Sparks, NV Sept 20, 2009
• Photoshop World Conference, Las Vegas, NV  Oct 1-3, 2009
• Imaging USA, Nashvillle, TN Jan 7-12, 2010