I took one of my most selling images and gave it an entirely new feel and meaning, and from the feedback it’s a sure winner.

(See Original Image: http://blog.charlesshowalter.com/2010/11/29/morro-bay-california-2/)

The next set of images are newly processed, never before seen images from me. These images were taken back in May, 2010 at Nikki Evans Mock Wedding Workshop. (Details: http://blog.charlesshowalter.com/2010/05/23/mock-wedding/)

We have a nice size backyard and plenty of objects to photograph or use. We have flowers, roses, lanterns, lights, cacti, bird houses, two canopies, a large table, two chair swings, two grills, a shed and of course the fencing. Each area of the our background presents some sort of challenge, such as lighting and /or composition. If you don’t have a large backyard and local park will also make a great place to practice. I do encourage everyone who has a backyard or a local park to get out there and photograph anything and everything. You will be amazed at the results you can achieve. After all, we are in an industry that is always changing and evolving, which means we must also do the same.

Here are the images that I shot this evening:

We have a nice size background and plenty of objects to photograph or use. We have flowers, roses, lanterns, lights, cacti, bird houses, two canopies, a large table, two chair swings, two grills, a shed and of course the fencing. Each area of the our background presents some sort of challenge, such as lighting and /or composition. The goal when backyard shooting is to not move anything, and use your brain instead. For example, if you want to photograph a flower, but you keep getting an ugly backdrop try moving five steps to the left and then five steps to the right. This changes your composition which may help you avoid that ugly backdrop. Another example, if want to photograph a flower, but half of that flower is in shadow and the other half is in direct sunlight what do you do? At this point you can begin to learn how to modify light in your favor. You can use a flash to fill in the shadows, you can use a reflector to fill in the shadows, or you can use an object to block or diffuse the direct sunlight. All are possibilities.

I do encourage everyone who has a backyard or a local park to get out there and photograph anything and everything and put use some of the examples I listed above. You will be amazed at the results you can achieve. Still to this day, I use my own background as a practice ground and I still continue to learn new things. After all, we are in an industry that is always changing and evolving, which means we must also do the same.

Following the rehearsal the invitees went to Journey’s End at Pechanga Resort and Casino for the rehearsal dinner. Unfortunately I was not an invitee. The following information was provided by one of the bridesmaid, Tonya. The dinner started with happy hour where everyone was talking, drinking, winding down, and having a great time. The dinner was self served and the food consisted of lasagna, pasta and garlic bread.

June 12th, 2010 Kristy Younker and Nik Taylor were officially Married at 3:01PM. The wedding was beautiful and the colors were fabulous, but it wouldn’t make for a special day without any mishaps. The flower girl ended up having a tough task and she handled it very well. First the ring bearer threw the rings so she had to go back, pick them up and carry them down the isle, second she had to make sure the ring bearer got down the isle, third she had to give the rings back to the bearer and lastly finally got to throw her flowers. Following the ceremony people began to get seated, get their drinks and appetizers while food was being prepared by the catering service. Everyone who stayed got their choice of carne asada or chicken tacos for dinner. I can’t further comment of the rest of the day, since I left immediately following the ceremony.

I was not one of the official photographers. This was a family wedding. Some of the information was provided by Tonya.

Shooting the event was a major challenge being limited to where I was allowed to go, battling against the hundreds possibly thousand of people and other photographers jumping in the way. Towards the end I eventually disregarded the rules and walked next the mats before I was eventually told to leave, along with the other hundred people who were standing around taking pictures of the kids.

Escalate Live 2010 had eight inspiring speakers all bringing their personal experiences to the table and sharing them with everyone.These eight speakers are: Dane Sanders, Becker, Jasmine Star, Julieanne Kost, Jerry Ghionis, Jessica Claire, David Jay and Jeremy Cowart. Each and everyone had something to offer to help you become a better person at running your photography business.

Dane Sanders: Kicked the whole event off with a speech on collaboration. When Dane talks about collaboration what he is referring to is that fact that photographers “should be for each other” or “being for each other”. Another key note in Dane presentation is that there are many benefits to photographers coming together in a community and sharing their ideas, techniques, and collaborating with one another.

Becker: Talked about the ABC’s of Success: Attitude, Branding, and Connecting. Becker motivated people to have a better attitude and shared a bit on power of a positive attitude. One of Becker’s keynotes is that a photographers attitude can make or break a client. If you go into a shoot with a positive attitude that client is more likely to refer you and remember you. Becker also explains all the hype around “branding” and what branding really is about. Branding is all about feelings. Good, bad or indifferent. Becker’s goal for everyone is to connect with your clients and other vendors and provide a positive experience for everyone.

Jasmine Star: Talked about the power of social media and how she uses it to her advantage. She also shared examples of how other companies are using social media to gain presence. An example she used was “Pink” by Victoria Secrets facebook page and how the two girls who maintain that page are real. One of J* most important points in her presentation is to be yourself. She stressed this over and over again.

Julieanne Kost: closed day one talking about Adobe Photoshop CS5. She talked about how there are two versions of bridge which she called “little bridge” and “big bridge”. She also noted that Bridge is now part of Photoshop again instead of being its own application like is was back in CS3/4. She also talked about the new content aware fill, which is absolutely amazing and she talked about the new Adobe Camera Raw 2010 and compared it with the older 2009 version. When she was talking about Lightroom 3 and how CS5 uses the same Raw Engine, I was hoping she would have dropped a release date, but teased us all and said “it will be out soon”.

Jerry Ghionis: Kicked off day two. (I missed most of Jerry’s speech because I had an important final project that I needed to get completed. From the last bits that I got, Jerry is a great speaker, and has the ability to inspire others.) Jerry flew all the way from Australia to partake in Escalate Live.

Jessica Claire: She laid it all out on the line and was real. She was direct, honest and even went beyond and shared some of her not so great images to prove a point. It doesn’t matter what you as the photographer wants, what matters is what the client wants. It’s okay to shoot some images for yourself, but ask the client what they want and connect with them.

David Jay: What an amazing speech. DJ brought everything together and put it in simple terms for everyone. Collaboration and Attitude will get you everywhere.

Jemery Cowart: Ended Escalate Live. Jeremy told some stories, shared some techniques and shared the importants of Vision. He also shared that photography is always a learning experience and that a photographer must always be willing to learn. He was honest and authentic in his speech. He’s a commercial photographer from Nashville and his work is amazing. You have to check out his Voice of Haiti project and his Help Portrait project this coming December. I have been following Jeremy and Help Portrait months before he really pushed the concept, and last December Help Portrait was a huge success.

Sorry if day two sounded a little bland. I was only listening to Escalate Live this day while I worked on finals.

If you missed the conference and would like to watch it, it will be available through a video on demand service in just a couple of weeks. The low resolution rough cut will be available June 7th and the HD fully edited version will be available June 7th. Sign up here: http://escalatelive.com/vod/

I was recently asked to do a guest blog post on Scott Kelby’s site. I had free reign to talk about anything I wanted to talk about. I took it as an opportunity to get off my arse and make something that was new and fresh for me. I decided I would do a video. I decided to do this for my wife, Meg, because she is always inspiring me to go beyond the normal stuff I create. She’s always pushing me. Sometimes it sucks because she knows just what buttons to push in me to make me think about things a bit deeper. So I took all of her button pushing and went out and made something of it.

This video is over a year old and I still continue to come back to it every once in a while to watch it. Transform is a very powerful video that can relate to all photographers and then some. Transform reminds me why I have chosen to become a photographer, the struggles that I have faced and the struggles that I will face. When Transform came out, I to was dealing with the fact that a loved one was in the hospital so this video was very emotional, uprising, and inspirational to me personally and as a photographer. Just weeks before Zack Arias released Transform I was in an emotional wreck debating whether or not photography was for me and looking at all my options. After this video I had to make some hard decisions and I decided to stick with photography because it made me happy. Today I am still perusing my dream and following Zack Arias advice of not giving up. Zack Arias Transform:

About March Field Air Museum:
March Field Air Museum, and the P-38 National Museum are adjacent to the March Air Reserve Base, Riverside, California. March Field Air Museum serves as home to over 70 historic aircraft and many inside displays relating to the history of March Field, now known as March Air Reserve Base. The main building was erected in 1993. Its style reflects the traditional hangars of earlier aviation days. The distinctive checkerboard roof can be readily seen from the Interstate 215 freeway. At the museum visitors can watch modern military aircraft as they land and take off daily. Inside the museum the visitor will find thousands of artifacts on display covering the years from 1918 to the present. Also displayed in the hangar are some rare and unusual aircraft, including a P-59 fighter, the first operational jet adopted by the U.S. Air Force over 50 years ago. The building also contains a theater in which visitors may view films about the history of March Field and U.S. military aviation, the General Curtis E. LeMay Library, a well-stocked Museum Store, a G-force Flight Simulator, and the museum offices.

Admission:
$8 Adults $5 children (5-11) children under 5 are free
For tour group rates, call 951-902-5949
Hours of Operation:
Open daily 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Tuesdays thru Sundays)
Closed Mondays and most holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Easter)
Location:
Open daily 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Tuesdays thru Sundays)
Closed Mondays and most holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Easter)

If you love animals… (I love animals): Make time for feeding times: Meal time is the best time to meet some playful Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins, sea lions, and sting rays, who you can even feed by hand—but only at designated times throughout the day. Stop by in the morning to check the day’s schedule, then give yourself some extra time to get a great spot right at the water’s edge. Meet an animal trainer in person: It’s hard to ask animal trainers about their job when they’re racing through the water on the back of Shamu. But here’s something most guests don’t know. Our Dine with Shamu programs are the only time guests get back stage access to our killer whale habitat, where whales and their trainers share an inside look at their remarkable bond and what makes it possible. Reservations are recommended as seating is limited. Bring a disposable waterproof camera: There’s wet, and there’s Shamu wet. If you’re in the Soak Zone at Shamu stadium, you’ll have a lot more fun watching kids’ reactions if you don’t have to watch out for an expensive camera. A little tip for parents? Pack a poncho—or pick one up at the gift shop. It’s a great way to keep yourself and a towel or two dry, and still get in on the fun. Feed their imagination: Look for interactive work stations and computers located throughout the park that give kids a fun way to learn about the animals they meet. Kids can test their lung power against a walrus in Wild Arctic or see how a manatee grinds its food at Manatee Rescue. Sesame Street Bay of Play: Watch your kids play at Sesame Streets Bay of Play. The three new rides require children under 48 inches to be accompanied by a Supervising Companion (a Supervising Companion is a person over 14 years of age). Hand held infants may not ride these rides. Some of the Play Area elements have no height restrictions, but the ones that do vary according to the individual characteristics of that element. Make an autograph book: Put together an autograph book with kids ahead of time, then catch the Shamu and Crew characters from 9 a.m. to noon near the front gate. Catch the show before the show: Take your seat for the Clyde and Seamore show at least 30 minutes ahead of time. Late-comers miss out on their zany pre-show antics.

Admission:
$69 for guests age 10+
$59 for guests ages 3 through 9
Free for guests 2 years old and younger

Admission Includes:
All shows, exhibits, aquariums and rides (with the exception of Skyride and Skytower*) are included with park admission. Food, dining experiences, merchandise, Behind-the-Scenes Guides tours and animal interactions are optional and an additional cost. Advanced reservations can be made online under our Experiences section. *Skyride and Skytower tickets may be purchased inside the park for $3 for one ride or $5 for two rides.

Park Hours, Ride Hours and Show Schedule
Opening and closing times vary by season.
Hours are extended during holiday periods and summer evenings (May through Labor Day).
Ride operating hours vary from normal park operating hours. Sesame Street Bay of Play opens one hour past park opening.

But shift your perspective slightly and you notice that Tuesday evening rush hour in California is Wednesday morning rush hour in Japan. Plus, you notice it’s a significant moment since September 8, 2009 at 5:09pm in the Pacific Time Zone is the same moment as September 9, 2009 at 9:09am in the East Asia Time Zone – the time zone that is 9 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.

Call me crazy, but I thought this special moment of 09.09.09+09GMT@09:09 deserved some sort of acknowledgement. So I took a leap of faith and decided to devote every free moment I of 2009 to the pursuit of an idea:

I would invite people around the world to join me at the moment of 09.09.09+09GMT@09:09 for a simultaneous photo shoot in celebration of international peace and artistic collaboration. The event would be called Worldwide Moment.

You might say an idea like this would come from someone with too much time on his hands. And you’d be right – because like many people, 2009 has been a tough year for me. It was a year filled with unemployment, underemployment, and yes, too much extra time.

I ended 2008 unemployed. And then things got worse. My house flooded on January 1st, 2009 and I turned 30
on February 12th. March came and went, and I couldn’t find a job. With every passing day my savings account was depleting and my spirits were doing the same.

But what I lacked in finances, I made up for with hope – and a belief that this Worldwide Moment idea might just get me through the year. Somehow.

*****

I was an only child born to traveling parents.

My mom has been a flight attendant for 40 years, and my dad, before he passed away in 2006, was an international businessman and overseas graduate student. So I always looked at the world as one big neighborhood.

Every day my mom meets and serves hundreds of new people from all around the world on different American Airlines flights. She has learned compassion, patience, generosity, and humility. And I’d like to think she has instilled those lessons in me. (Meanwhile, I have taught her who Pear Jam is, since they were on her flight one day and she had never heard of them before)

My dad also worked for the airlines and spent much of his time traveling as well. He preferred doing business in Japan, studying in France, and SCUBA diving in Honduras, to relaxing at home.

He also loved taking pictures.

When I was 10 years old he gave his old 1970’s 35mm Fujica SLR and a copy of the book “The Kodak Guide to 35mm Photography”.

Maybe he sensed I was interested, maybe he thought photography would be an important skill to learn, maybe he always wanted to be a professional photographer himself and was hoping to live vicariously through me. Whatever his reason for teaching me photography, it worked, and I decided to devote my life to it.

I took summer photography classes in elementary school, joined the yearbook staff in high school, and graduated college with a degree in film studies from the University of Southern California.

It’s no surprise that my work after college required me to travel – and shoot. From 2003 to 2008 I was the touring videographer and photographer for a band on Capitol Records called Mae. I documented their tours around the U.S., Canada, The U.K., and Japan. Then in 2008 I was lucky enough to become a staff videographer for the Obama presidential campaign in Pennsylvania. I documented campaign events, produced videos, and helped run the state’s website. I was honored to support a candidate whom I believed could improve international relations between the U.S. and the rest of the world.

*****
Enter 2009.

The economy has collapsed. The campaign has come to an end. The water heater in my attic has flooded the house. And I simply have no idea what I’m going to do next.

It had been a good ride for many years. But I was afraid that ride had come to and end.

After months of job searching, close-call interviews, and my frustration building day after day, I said “ENOUGH” and decided to go after Worldwide Moment.

I wouldn’t stop my job search. But I would use my free time to help build this thing. I was feeling anything but peace, and I sensed I was not alone. So I decided the best way to turn that around was to invite EVERYONE to join together for a scheduled moment of peace. It might be the only peaceful moment I, or we, feel this entire year. But it might also be the start of something great. It might be a moment where we say goodbye to fear and depression and seclusion and instability and loneliness and say hello to a better life. One of awareness and compassion and education and new communities and opportunities.

I had all the time in the world. So why not give it a shot?

I started with Twitter. It was March and we had 35 followers. I searched for photographers and invited them to join. A photographer from Denver named @TheBigKlosowski had 55,000 followers. So I asked him if he’d like to participate and help spread the word. To my amazement he said yes. I asked a photography studio in Australia, @GWPStudio, who had 50,000 followers, and they said yes. I searched WeFollow.com for “photography”, “photographers”, “peace”, etc. and invited Tweeters with those tags to participate. One by one they said yes.

A girl I’d never met from Tennessee named Brittany started a Facebook group for Worldwide Moment and amassed over 1,000 members in less than two weeks. My friend Parker volunteered to create our first web site. I signed up for Constant Contact’s email subscription services so that we could collect people’s email addresses. A friend-of-a-friend in Toronto helped design a logo. I emailed the co-founder of the iPeace network, a 20,000 person international network of peace supporters. I posted ads on Craigslist and emailed international friends and organizations such as Invisible Children, who are fighting to end the practice of using children to fight wars in Africa. Peace kept saying “yes”. We set up weekly “mini-moments” and invited people to practice by taking a photo on the same time and day of the week as the big Moment would be. My friend Chinako, 3,000 miles away in Los Angeles, helped manage our Flickr page and posted the weekly “mini-moment” results. All of a sudden we had 1,000 followers on Twitter and hundreds of Facebook group members, MySpace friends, and email addresses.

In the meantime, I had been blessed, and I don’t use that word lightly, to have found a job. It was a part-time job, but not only did this job allow me to work, from home, for a great non-profit organization based in D.C., but my job would be to help build and manage their online presence, just as I was doing for Worldwide Moment.

Then summer came and I could not believe the support Worldwide Moment was receiving. People from all over the world were getting excited.

So I stepped it up. I sent out a Tweet asking if there were any web designers out there who would like to build a new website with us. Dan Spencer of Missouri’s FlyGuy Designs was one of the designers to answer the call to arms. His portfolio fit the style I wanted. Dan and I agreed on a fair price to create a brand new website that would count and exhibit not only the number of pledged participants, but the number of countries as well. It would also allow us to write blogs, posts news, and list all our contacts and information about the event.

With the new site looking just how I wanted it I decided to aim for the stars – literally. I heard a story on NPR about a new channel launched by DISH TV that showed a 24-hour-a-day live camera feed of the Earth from a satellite 20,000 miles in orbit. My first thought was “WE HAVE TO HAVE THAT CAMERA TAKE A PICTURE FOR WORLDWIDE MOMENT.”

So I researched and found the contact information for Give The World, the company that provides photos from that satellite for consumers who are interested in a photo of Earth taken on a special day. Well, we needed it not just on a special day, but on a special Moment.

I emailed the CEO of Give The World. He said yes.

But the real “Wow” moment came in early August, about one month before the Moment was to take place. On what I felt was the ultimate of whims I emailed Yoko Ono, a major advocate for the peace movement, and wife of John Lennon. I came across her ImaginePeace.com website which asked the question “What can you do to help the peace movement?”. Well, I started Worldwide Moment to help the peace movement. So I emailed the website and asked if they’d like to participate.

A few days later I was sitting in my room checking the names and locations of people who had pledged to participate when I saw the name “Yoko Ono”. I blinked a few times and questioned whether this was a typo, someone with the same name, or maybe an auto response somehow from her website.

Then a few minutes later I received a Facebook message from a Worldwide Moment supporter who said “Yoko Ono is Tweeting about Worldwide Moment!”. I checked @YokoOno and sure enough she had mentioned our project. I was floored.

That was the game changer, as they say, because Ms. Ono had over 150,000 loyal Twitter followers at the time. Our number of supporters exploded that day. She had even mentioned us on her Facebook page and put us on the homepage of the Imagine Peace website.

At that point I felt like we were on the map and in very good shape. We just had to keep doing what we were doing and this little idea would certainly find its way.
*****

In the waning days before Worldwide Moment I could barely sleep. We were nearing 90 countries with pledged participants. A woman from Iran offered to participate. A student in Sudan and a soldier in Afghanistan did as well.

I sent out a final email to all our pledged participants and reminded them to double-check their local Worldwide Moment time. I auto-scheduled Tweets to be sent out each hour leading up to the Moment. I made sure our website was ready to receive the influx of photos and stories.

Worldwide Moment arrived for me at 8:09pm local time in Virginia. I had spent so much time preparing and organizing and inviting that I hadn’t really thought about what to photograph. In the final 5 minutes before the Moment I found myself at my desk in my room, where I had spent so much time organizing the event. I thought it would be fitting to take a photograph in the location where this idea was born. So I set up a tripod, used a black Sharpie to write “Thank You!” on a white peace of printer paper, and at 8:09pm I took a photo of myself holding the sign up at my desk.

I thought about everyone around the world at that moment. But the highest sense of emotion and sense of completion came in the minutes following. I could not move. I was so relieved and excited and filled with joy and love. I leaned into my computer and said a short prayer for everyone on the other side.

Then I started checking emails and noticed the photos and story submissions came flooding in. In the first minute we had nearly 70 submissions. By the time I went to bed that night at about 5:00AM we had received nearly 500 photos from countries all over the world. It’s now one month later and we have received 1,300 photos and stories from 70 countries who participated in Worldwide Moment.

Worldwide Moment, this little idea I imagined would help get me and us through the pivotal year of 2009 had worked. There are now live exhibits planned for San Francisco, New York, and Florida and interest from a TV show to present the photos during their upcoming broadcast.

I cannot sum up with words the feeling Worldwide Moment brings me. All I can do is invite you to view the results at our website: www.worldwidemoment.org/gallery and our Flickr page: www.flickr.com/worldwidemoment to see how it makes you feel. And what it makes you want to do.

I’d love to hear your feelings, thoughts, and ideas. And I’d love for you to join us next year.

About the Author: Brett Brownell is a photographer, filmmaker, and online organizer living in Chesapeake, Virginia. He co-founded the production company Astorya Entertainment in 2005, whose current release “Dear Jack” is a documentary about musician and Leukemia survivor Andrew McMahon. For more information about Worldwide Moment and to sign up for Worldwide Moment 2010 visit www.worldwidemoment.org. Email Brett: worldwidemoment@gmail.com or reach him via Twitter: @worldwidemoment

Do you hold your camera correctly? Do you think about your camera settings? Do you make pictures on auto pilot? (it’s okay to admit it) I know I had gone into auto pilot recently. After years of school and shooting, my camera was just an extension of my hand… I had no idea if I held my camera correctly. I never thought about it. Why? I was in auto pilot. That’s a good thing, right? I’d gotten to the point where Mr. Gatz (my principals of photography teacher) voice was no longer in my head every time I shot. I saw the light, saw the shot, fingers set the camera, and fired. My images were good…clients loved them.

Copyright © Andie Smith Photography

Then it happened…I was at a workshop, and the speaker was telling everyone how to properly hold the camera. Mmmmm….how do I hold my camera?? I go to grab my camera to see how I hold it, and the speaker stops; “Andie, what are you doing?”, “Getting my camera to make sure I hold it correctly”, “You do. I know because I’ve never corrected you”. I grabbed my camera to make sure (If you care…I do!). Then he went on about composing them focusing…mmm I know I am guilty of focusing and then recomposing…bad Andie. By the time the speaker was done with his talk (one I had heard so may time I can regurgitate it…and this was a watered down version) I was questioning myself on a lot!

Copyright © Andie Smith Photography

I made a deal with myself that night. “Self, you need to go shoot this week and slow down. Think about the basics when you shoot”. I made sure to check all my settings, including my custom picture style (kids this is how I get the bang of color in my images!). Double checked my composition, then moved my focus point with the “joystick” (because we compose then focus)…and shot. Asked myself through out the day, “if I turned this image into Mr. Gatz for a grade, what would I get?” I know if I would give it an A, he wouldn’t even give it a C! Wash, rinse and repeat through the day.

Copyright © Andie Smith Photography

MMM guess what happened?? My keep:toss (no i don’t really toss them!) ratio went up…WAY UP!!! I’m not just talking ”yeah its okay lets keep it” images either. I’m my toughest critic. Some of these images made my heart beat a little faster…some of them made me want to send the file to a lab and ask “how big can I make this?!” Don’t get me wrong I love photography, and I enjoy the images I take, but….going back to the basics made things click (yes, pun fully indented) again. Made me re-think how I was “seeing” and shooting things.

Did going back to the basics make me a better photographer? Maybe. It re-energized me, and made me re-look at images. So the moral of the story: Don’t be afraid to go back to the basics and slow down….no matter how long you have been shooting.

Copyright © Andie Smith Photography

Her non-photography skills include talking like Donald Duck and baking a mean chocolate chip cookie.
Andie’s work can be seen at www.andiesmithphotography.net and www.eight18photography.com

No video for me please!
Last September I was sitting at the Canon offices when the 5d MkII was announced. Once I saw the specs I turned to the local Pro Market Specialist, and said “Video?? Really?? Couldn’t give us more focus points? How about more frames per second?? I don’t need or want video?!?!”. (Apparently shooting with the 1Ds MkIII, had completely spoiled me.) In turn I got his famous “stare and smirk”, this is usually a good sign that I am wrong, and I needed to listen for a second. So I shut up and listened to his argument…well kinda…I remember the words “ This is the way the market is going… cameras from now on will have video.. you need to learn this”. See I kinda listened..

Did the lack of focus points keep me from ordering a new 5d? No. I ordered it right then and there. Fast forward to December 1st, I picked up my new camera, and started shooting until the battery ran out of juice. While the battery was charging, I sat down and read the manual. Yes I read the manual…its that book in the box….pull it out, take off the cellophane and read it if you haven’t. I did skip over the parts that referred to video…because I didn’t care.

Copyright © Andie Smith Photography

Sure I saw Vincent Laforet’s short film, Reverie…and was impressed (but it is Vincent…and he has a tendency to impress me). I still wasn’t turning on the video. NOPE..WON’T DO IT AND YOU CAN’T MAKE ME! If I wanted to shoot movies I would have studied that in school, and bought a video camera. I like to shoot stills, and I already know how to edit them. If I am to learn video, I have to learn to shoot it, and edit it. Like any of us have time (okay the market is a little slow and we may actually have time to learn a new trick..but do I want too? not really!). On top of that what other accessories will I need? a stedicam? microphone? Final Cut Studio? Shooting video is like opening Pandora’s box…well, more like opening my wallet.

February came around, and the said Pro Market Specialist asked if I had shot video, yet. I returned the “stare and smirk”, and replied “Nope, but I can shoot at ISO 6400!”

Copyright © Andie Smith Photography

April rolled around and the said Pro Market Specialist asked again if I had shot video yet (in front of a entire room of fellow pros). NOPE! This time not only did I get the “stare and smirk” but a “You really need to shoot video”. my reply “But why??”.. don’t worry he listed several reasons, one being able to grab stills from the video.

Copyright © Andie Smith Photography

July rolled around and I turned on the video. YES you read that right..after 7 months of protest, I shot video. I knew I would be running into the said Pro Market Specialist multiple times that month, and honestly I was running out of excuses. Sure I could shoot at ISO 6400, shoot sports (okay the 1D MkIII was easier but I could shoot hockey with the 5d mkII if needed), but the arguments from Canon were overwhelming…and I was a little tired of the “stare and smirk”. Plus I had stumbled on some great videos shot with a 5d MkII on Vimeo and SmugMug.

I started off by reading the manual again…mmm….okay, lets play. Well I found it a lot harder than I thought it would be. 1st I hate looking at live view! HATE HATE HATE IT! I found it really hard to keep the camera steady when I am not holding the camera correctly. No one gets this right the 1st time, right? oh yeah Vincent did…thats okay he has years of experience on me, and a Pulitzer Prize. I won’t give up…I’ll try again.

Scott Kelby’s Photowalk came around and I joined a bunch of photographers in downtown Dallas. I told myself I would shoot some video, no time like the present to practice. Well out of the 4 video clips I shot, one was usable. That is better than none!

If you know me at all, I am not going to give up. I am going to try again, and again, and again, and….well you get the point. What can I shoot? Oh….Dallas at night!! Great movement, and great lights…okay…who wants to go play with me? I can’t go downtown alone at night…my mother in law would kill me if I did! Three of us ended up shooting that night. OH BOY! SWEET BEANS! OMG! No I didn’t create the next Reverie, but this set of videos was better than the last. Not only was it better…it was fun! Yes…IT WAS FUN!

Dallas Lights from andie smith on Vimeo.

As a photographer it is my job to tell a story through still images. Now I can tell these stories with movement and sound!!! WOW…yeah I see the appeal…I see why every camera will now have video…I see why a certain Pro Market Specialist was hounding me for 7 months to turn the video button on. Lets just say the video bug bit me.

My mind started racing… what I could shoot next? I asked my husband if I shoot his day at work (he has a cool job!) and was denied with out a second of thought. Mmmm…thanks for being supportive. I was like a drug addict, after 48 hours of not shooting video I was twitching (don’t worry you wouldn’t notice it if I use a tripod) I came up with nothing and I didn’t have any shoots scheduled. I was desperate…so I shot my day….a very boring day no less. It was practice, and was something I don’t usually photograph.

Day #11,556 from andie smith on Vimeo.

Will I be spending time in Hawaii shooting surfers? NO! Will I be called to shoot the next award winning film? NO WAY! Will I offer my clients video along with stills? Sure, well…after some more practice. But the more I learn and the more I practice the better I get. I can now tell the story with more dimension by adding video and sound with stills. There are so many possibilities with the added HD video feature on my 5d MkII. If your camera has HD video (Canon 5d MkII, Rebel T1i, Nikon’s D90, and soon the D300s, or D5000) turn it on and play.

Do you need a steadicam, a microphone, and Final Cut Studio? Not to play and learn! I am not using any of the above…I use my regular tripod, no microphone, and imovie. Sure, I will eventually add these tools to my arsenal, but while I learn and explore this new technique, what I have works. Do I realize this is a technique I will need to know? After 7 months, of kicking and screaming, yes I do. This is going to be part of our industry. Will we go kicking and screaming?? Some of us will, just like some didn’t want to give up film for digital. Go play, have fun….turn the video on. Don’t worry you won’t be killing any radio stars.