New Website Started

Hooray! I worked out some issues I was having with my DreamWeaver, and finally got most of my website updated. I am never happy with the site, so it's never finished. I like the new look and hope you will too. Here's a screenshot of the new home page. In case you haven't checked it out, it's at http://ballyhoophotography.com and you should go there. Drop me a line if you have any thoughts on the new look. I want a clean, simple, yet elegant look to the site. I don't like when people have music start automatically, so don't expect that.

Finally, pictures posted

Okay, so about 3 weeks ago, I mentioned the shoot downtown. I had the opportunity to shoot the Pioneer Courthouse Square Festival of Flowers and had a blast despite the overcast day.

I did take advantage of the dry day, and rode my motorcycle into town. I found parking on the street on the second block on which I looked, which was sweet! This was during June, which is one of the more unpredictable weather months here in the great Northwest. If you are going to be outside for a spell in June, bring your umbrella, and sunglasses. I didn't take photos of the tomatoes that were on sale that day, as the plants themselves aren't that pretty until they start producing fruit. I'm not a hater, but when a tomato plant is surrounded by sunflowers and wildflowers, they just don't grab me by the lens.

So, on to the pictures. Enjoy.

Holy Smoke!

I was flipping through my calendar today and realized that I haven't posted to this blog in over a month. It's been a good month - very busy - so I'm not that sad that I've been slow to post. I am trying to get better about doing a weekly blog with some interesting topics.
Last week, there were some events downtown that I was able to take some publicity shots for. I put all of them on my external drive, so I will have to get them and will post a couple of images... The Pioneer Courthouse Square had their "Urban Meadow" themed display in the park, which was what I photographed. It was a lovely layout of wildflowers and other plants (including tomatoes YUM!). The whole thing was laid out in paths and rows with a tunnel of sticks down the middle. I busted out my lensbaby 3g for some shots from the 11th floor of one of the close-by buildings. I've never used the Lensbaby for distant shots. I was thrilled by the results.

Coming soon - Pictures from the Pioneer Courthouse Square Urban Meadow.

Back to Work

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

No, I didn't turn into Jack Nicholson channeling Stephen King in The Shining. Just whining a little.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to take some portraits for a law firm downtown. What a great bunch of people! I'm not just saying that to suck up or to pad my chances of going back if one of them happens to read it. They were just a great group. From the time I said hi to the office manager, to the time that I packed up and got out of their hair I was treated very kindly. Here is one of my favorite shots from the day.

It won't make it to their website, but I love the shot. This is just one of those shots that I got for me on the day. Most of the other shots are pretty standard with a bit of personality.

Funny, I haven't posted to my blog in about 3 weeks, then I post twice today. My website has been updated a bit, and I finished doing most of the research that I needed to do. Only a 15 hour day today, but I got tons done, new business card, updated site, two blogs, plans and purchases for tomorrow's shoot, picked up some bike parts for my mountain bike. I think I have earned a nice long sleep tonight.

Working from home

Here is a little glimpse into my life. I have a job this weekend for an event at the Clackamas Town Center Macy's for Mother's Day Portraits. While I am really excited about this, I am FREAKING OUT about getting all my ducks lined up. I think I have everything ready to go, but there is always that little thing that refreshes the challenge.
I didn't feel like working in my office today, so I am editing photos and typing correspondence from my couch (recliner) and listening to music.
I was doing some research on the net, and looked over to see my dog, Neo, in his favorite position - spread eagled on the couch with his head on a pillow. I figured that I needed a picture of that. I have lots of pictures of the mutt doing his thing, but I just watched a show about some photographers, and was reminded of the Marilyn Monroe photos when I saw Neo. Obviously, Norma Jean was more beautiful and more elegant, but what can you do?
One of my favorite things about working from home (I don't drive to my Portland studio unless I need to) is that I get to hang with my pets and give Neo more attention. He's finally coming out of his slump after losing his sister, Daisy. I like to think that I am also doing my part for the environment by not driving the 20 some odd miles to the studio in my truck.
This isn't the most elegant lighting. I didn't want him to move while I set up my stands and strobes to light him with some pizazz. He's one of those dogs that if I'm up and moving around, he has to follow to see what I'm doing. Maybe I'm getting food or going outside for something. I had to sneak to my camera bag to get my camera and strobe, and was lucky that he only woke up and didn't move.

Guess what's coming back into season!!!

Here in Sandy, turn your clocks back 20 years to find it just a little outside Portland,we have still been getting snow for the last few weeks as we are at 1,000 feet. We had a beautiful weekend a few weeks ago, but I don't remember when that was. Anyway, here we are past the middle of February April and it doesn't seem like Summer will ever arrive.
(Keep in mind that during the summer, my whining post will be about how it's too hot - you know the drill.)
So, I needed a few things and decided to drive through the 40 degree rain to get to my big box favorite place to wander around on a fine cold, rainy spring day. It's a good way to get in trouble see what's new. I walked back into one of the refrigerator caves to pick up my 50 lb bag of salad, and smelled something yummy. It took me a minute to think about the clear box of red orbs sitting in front of me. Then I was struck by a need for strawberries. I am a somewhat conscientious shopper, and like to buy products that are at least relatively local. While I cringed, expecting to see "Chile" as the country of origin, I found that the strawberries were grown and processed in Califor nie aye. Hooray! I can buy the strawberries because like 90% of Portland area citizens these are from California. American strawberries!! Woo Hoo!
What else could I do beside eat some of these "noms"... and take some pictures. Instead of editing work photos, or maybe marketing my services, or cleaning, or hanging out with my dog, I took a gigabyte few photos. I have peppered them throughout this post. I hope you enjoy the shots as much as I enjoyed taking them. There WERE strawberries injured during the production of these photos.

Photography as a career?

Andy Warhol once said that "Art is a boy's name".


Brilliant.


So now, I ask the question with a qualifier -"what is art, and who decides that something is art?"


I spend hours scouring the net for inspiration. It's amazing what you can find out there and is generally uninspiring. I thought one day about American art and the major museums. MoMA came to mind. Some items are wonderful and others make me reconsider calling myself an artist. I visited the Seattle Art Museum for their Roman exhibit and scratched my head at some of the "art" they had on display. Their normal displays were awesome, and the ancient Roman stuff was worth the money, but some of the displays in the main museum wonder why ANYONE would be interested. I guess everyone has their opinions, but really????


Like most photographers, I catch myself saying "Anyone could shoot that. It's only art because Richard Avedon shot it." To be fair, I sometimes see shots that are so simple that anyone could have shot them, but the photographer did something to put their spin on it, making the simple shot absolutely beautiful. This is where I find that I am truly inspired by other photographers.
If you are looking for inspiration in life, look around you and see what you had overlooked before. Why do you get out of bed? I get out of bed because I can learn something new every day by looking around. Mind you, I have those days where I ask my self what the hell I was thinking quitting the 9 to 5 gig that I had to pursue professional photography as my bread and butter!?!?!
That's when my lovely significant other bonks me on the head and reminds me that my boss rocks and I get to deal with new people and new challenges all the time. No other job has made me so mad in the past, but none has been so rewarding either. My boss can be a jerk, but he is usually pretty laid back and has great taste in music and beer. What more can you ask?