jP Photography

Noise

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:43:24 -0800

Every once in a while you produce something that you to become more attached to each time you look at it. That hadn't happened to me in a long time, before yesterday. Then, I put this sucker together.

I like it partially because it turned out almost exactly as I envisioned it when I pressed the shutter (also a rarity, at least for me). As always, I welcome your comments/critiques/questions...

Walk This Way

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:11:36 -0800

Despite being so busy, I got out to shoot at one point last week when the sky began to break and everything warmed to the sun a little bit. I'll have a lot to post from this shoot; maybe it'll keep me posting more regularly...

Time Begins on Opening Day

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:13:31 -0800

Came across this guy as I was putting an order together and decided to play around a bit. This was an image I never posted from my Seattle trip last May so I pulled it into Photoshop and started going a bit nuts. I haven't been playing in PS nearly enough lately. Need to get back to creating...

Can't wait for baseball season to start. As much as I love the snow, I'm ready for spring...

Santino in Motion

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:47:55 -0800

I had a photo assignment last night to shoot the Great Falls High boys basketball team play host to the Billings Senior Broncs. The second I sat down on the baseline, Santino Williams drove into the lane and put up a shot between a couple Broncs defenders. Of course, none of my camera settings were set yet and because the dial had switched to Bulb, I got this fantastically blurry image of Santino in motion.

Naturally, it was my favorite shot.

Although I haven't been posting regularly recently, I have still been shooting quite a bit. The difference is that I've been shooting mostely Tribune assignments and mostly sports. Before long I'll put up some of my favorites from the past month or so.

Foggy Peak & Sale at jP Designs

Tue, 9 Feb 2010 11:12:17 -0800

Bam! How do you feel about posts two days in a row?

Erica and I took a trip out to Missoula this weekend for Matty's birthday, among other things. I have no idea what mountains these are, but I hopped out at one point along Highway 200 and started firing away. Still don't think it tops my original Highway 200 pano, but I like how it turned out.

For those interested in purchasing prints, I have a sale going on right now. You can order prints by following this link.
Once there, you can use promo code LGPRINT0210 to receive 15% off prints 16x20 or larger.
Use promo code LGPRINTFRAME0210 to receive 30% off prints 16x20 or larger that are ordered with frames.

Silver Bullet Stadium

Mon, 8 Feb 2010 09:48:38 -0800

I've got a pretty crazy week starting now, but I wanted to get this one up before I got too deep in work. Coors Field coming at you from Denver, CO...

The Winding Road

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:02:19 -0800

Another from Colorado, though you probably wouldn't know it. In addition to everything else that's going on (and occupying my time/focus) right now, I just got a new setup and am busy reorganizing all my files, etc. (fun stuff).

More to come, of course. So, stay tuned. I'll get back to a more regular stream eventually...

Great Falls Chargers

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:32:08 -0800

Not all the content is in yet, but as of yesterday, greatfallschargers.org was live! As of today, it's live with updated graphics.

This year the two AA Legion baseball teams in town decided to merge and form the Chargers (formerly the Electrics and Stallions). This summer there will be two A teams that will be called the Electrics and Stallions. I am very happy to be coaching the pitchers for those two A teams.

So, with baseball, classes at the COT, this new blog that's on its way, and everything else, I'm pretty damn busy. Hopefully I'll post again soon, but in the meantime, be sure to check out the Chargers website...

Colorado Rockies

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:38:56 -0800

You can kind of see them peeking through the clouds there.

I've been so damn busy lately that I had to force myself to sit down and work on a photograph. To keep me sane. There will be more of these from the Colorado trip to come and probably more details and hopefully a few more shouts out from Ty, TL37, and maybe others...

As for now, I need to hit the sack. Classes start tomorrow at the college...

What Up Santa?

Wed, 6 Jan 2010 21:35:17 -0800

Yikes. A lot has happened since my last post. Which means I've been neglecting the blog (sorry all).

Let's start with December 12. Help-Portrait in Great Falls (and accross the world). Thanks much to my mom for scoping out the families I ended up shooting and to Leslie Kirkpatrick for helping organize the event. I'd post the images, but one of the requirements of Help-Portrait is that these images are never posted in a portfolio (which is a brilliant way to cut the photog's ego out of it). For those of you out there who shoot portraits, if you didn't participate this year, I definitely suggest doing so next year. It was an incredibly rewarding experience.

December 18. My mom's brother-in-law Frank has visited the kids at Longfellow elementary the last couple years as Santa. This year he and a bunch of local businesses raised enough money so that every student in the Title I school received a hat and mittens. Frank makes a very convincing Santa (as you can see here) and he was busy all morning passing out gifts.

December 22-30. All the brothers were home for the holidays. Work took a seat on the back-burner.

December 31-January 4. A group of friends and I drove down to Denver to see Mattie Meier on New Year's Eve. I met up with Ty and a bunch of his buddies to ski at Breckenridge. I would have come home with some skiing images, but I crash too often to feel comfortable with my camera on the mountain. I'll post an image or two from the trip soon, though.

Now. Classes start the 14th at MSU-GF. This semester I'm teaching Digital Photography, and splitting Web Design and Desktop Publishing with Rhonda. And I'll be taking a video for web class. I'll be plenty busy over the next 16-ish weeks. Right now I'm finishing up all the syllabi(usses) and calendars for the classes. One of the textbooks I'm using for my Digital Photography class is Chris Orwig's 'Visual Poetry' of which I'm a huge fan so far. Those of you who have followed Chris' stuff, you know his approach to photography is very simple and almost zen-like. I love it! For all you photogs, if you haven't checked out his book, I highly recommend it.

On top of all that, I'm working out the final wrinkles on the new blog I'm putting together. More information on that to come (hopefully) within the next week.

Again, I apologize for neglecting the blog. Give me a shout out in the comments area if you've stayed loyal despite my lack of posts. You'll be my favorite...

Baller

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:07:02 -0800

Ryan's middle school basketball season is coming to a close. His team's in the city championship game today. Which means he's a badass.

I was ready to post the second image after his game a few days ago, but then I strated moving in a completely different direction (obviously) with the top and wanted to hold off until it was done.

I'm working on putting together a new blog right now (more details on that to come), but that's been consuming the majority of my time recently. I already owe hours of my life to Firefox's Firebug plugin...

Crank Up The Heat

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 23:20:33 -0800

Another from the other night. I'm a bit sleepy, so I'll just let this one speak for itself, suffice to say that it's cold in Great Falls, Montana.

----

Buy the print: Crank Up The Heat

Snowstorm Lights

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 22:34:37 -0800

It's been cold here. Really cold. Like, cold to the point that I've seen a lot of good images around recently, but it's just too cold to get out of the car and shoot them if I'm not prepared. It sucks.

This past week I've kept pretty busy running around town taking pictures of Christmas lights for the Tribune, but this week I'll hopefully be a bit more free, so I'm going to layer up, go out and see what I can come up with.

I happened across this scene tonight while I was out shooting more houses. The lovely violet you see is from the 9th street bridge in Great Falls and is visible because the snow's coming down fairly heavily. I wish I had had a couple hours to mess around and get it just right. This was as close as I got, but I can think I can get one better. The city only lights up the bridge on weekends, so hopefully we get another storm come Friday...

----

Buy the print: Snowstorm Lights

Acousticophilia

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 13:30:09 -0800

Who's your Tiger? No question: Curtis Granderson. On the field, he's fantastic; he had a 20-20-20-20 year in 2007 and would already have a couple gold gloves if it weren't for Torii Hunter. Off the field, the man's a saint. He's been more involved with the community than any Tiger in my memory and everybody loves him. Curtis is my Tiger. At least he was.

From the sounds of it, however, the Tigers are about to give up Granderson and our stud starter Edwin Jackson in the first blockbuster trade of the winter meetings. It's a three-way deal, so the Tigers would get Max Scherzer (nothing compared to Jackson), Daniel Schlereth (who?), Phil Coke (who?), and stud prospect Austin Jackson.

I realize Curtis struggled at the plate (average was down, strikeouts still up) this past year, but I don't care. He'll still put up better numbers than a rookie. Guaranteed. As far as I'm concerned, if you give up Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson, you shouldn't receive anything less than Roy Halladay. And Scherzer, Schlereth, Coke, and Austin Jackson certainly don't add up to Halladay. At least not yet.

I hope I'm dead wrong about this whole thing, but right now I'm furious with the Tigers organization. I'll forgive them if we end up in the playoffs next year. But my gut tells me we'll be fighting for third in the central.

No more Curtis. I think I'm going to cry.

On a happier note, there's recently been an addition to iTunes!

Spenser's a cappella group at the University of Michigan, Dicks & Janes, recently released their next album on iTunes. They came to me back in April-ish and asked me to put together the album artwork and cd design. That's what you see above. Acousticophilia, in case you're wondering, is arousal by sounds.

I'm not usually a huge a cappella fan, but their "Clocks/Chicago" combination is incredible. And, you can hear Spense as the lead in their rendition of Ben Folds' "You Don't Know Me."

Check it out for sure. If nothing else, it'll reassure you that something good is coming out of the state of Michigan, even if the sports teams are (sadly) lagging behind...

2010 Calendar Now Available

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 15:26:49 -0800

For the third year, now, I've put together a wall calendar of my photographs. For the first year, it's now available to purchase online!

You can place an order for one (or many) of these calendars by following this link.

In my cart, I also set up a discount for the Christmas season. So, when you place your order on the calendars or any prints, type in XMAS2009 as the promo code and you'll receive 10% off your order.

Happy holiday shopping!

Launch: The Lofts at the Johnson Hotel

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:53:56 -0800

I'm proud to announce that a project I've been working on for some time is now complete and live. Check out The Lofts at the Johnson Hotel in Graet Falls when you get a chance. They're a couple lofts that have been renovated by Russell and Spencer Woith in downtown Great Falls and the work they've done is pretty spectacular.

As for the site, I'm proud of it. But, as with anything, any feedback (positive or negative) is welcome.

Angell Hall

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:23:09 -0800

This is Angell Hall, one of the more prominent buildings on the University of Michigan campus. I'm really thankful I was carrying my camera around the first day I got there, because after Saturday, the my remaining days in Michigan were dreary (both in mood and weather).

The clouds on this afternoon, however, were perfect.

On a completely separate and unrelated note, if you haven't heard Jamie Cullum's new album, "The Pursuit," yet, you must do so. It baffles me that he hasn't received a larger audience in the U.S. Be sure to check out his "Don't Stop The Music" video, too, especially if you like explosives...

----

Buy the Print: Angell Hall

State Champs

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:49:35 -0800

It was a long, sad football weekend.

Aside from Michigan, however, it was great. CMR won the state football championship Friday night by beating the three-time defending champion Helena Capital Bruins. The guys were all ecstatic; it was really nice to see.

These were my favorites from the game.

For all you photogs out there, I have a question. When I was shooting this weekend, a lot of the images rendered with a magenta bar through the image, horizontal to the sensor. It wasn't always consistent; sometimes it would run straight through the center of the image, other times it would show up just on the sides. I thought it might be the lighting at the stadium, but when I shot with my other body (30D), the images were fine. The next morning, it shot just fine. I'm thinking I'll probably send my body in to Canon before long, but I was wondering if anyone has seen this before. Much thanks in advance for the help!

Michigan vs. Purdue, Take 4

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:02:54 -0800

This'll be my last post for a few days. I'm headed to Helena tonight for the State Championship game between CMR and Helena Capital, then to Missoula to pick up Matty, and then to Bozeman to see everyone gathered there for the Montana-Montana State game.

So I'll leave you with my favorite shot (top) from the Michigan-Purdue game a couple weeks ago and another of Brandon Minor breaking off one of his touchdown runs.

Until next week, Go Blue!

Michigan vs. Purdue, Take 3

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:59:18 -0800

Still pumping up for Michigan-Ohio State, so I have at least one more post after this from the Michigan-Purdue game a couple weeks ago.

Here you have two classic Michigan traditions on display: the "Go Blue: M Club Supports You" banner the team runs under before each home game and the winged helmets.

More tomorrow, so check back...

Rich Rod

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:28:20 -0800

Michigan's head coach Rich Rodriguez is in a tough situation this week. As if the pressure to beat Ohio State this week weren't enough, Rich Rod will have the pressure to qualify for a bowl game over his head for another week. Michigan's lost six of their last seven game and are currently sitting at five wins total, one short of qualifying for a Bowl game.

The Purdue game was actually pretty depressing in that respect. It was incredible and awesome for me, but we just blew the game. Sucked.

If Michigan beats (insert expletive here) Ohio State on Saturday, I'll be the happiest man in the world. Well, aside from Rich Rod.

Go Blue!

Painting With Light #s 20 & 21

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:31:49 -0800

I'm afraid of the dark.

Always have been. It's why I don't usually watch scary movies, no matter how juvenile the premise. There's no need to encourage the fright.

Last night that fear came to the forefront of my mind shortly after I left Circle, MT around 9:30 P.M. But it wasn't alone. Along with it was a fear that's inherited by anyone who dares drive on Montana highways at night: the fear of hitting a deer. I don't think anyone grows up in Montana without having been in a vehicle that hit a deer, seen another vehicle hit a deer, or heard a true horror story of someone who has hit a deer with devastating results. So, the fear of hitting a one is certainly warranted.

Everyone knows, I presume, that the middle of November is when hunting season is in full swing which, of course, means that the deer were everywhere. And, in Eastern Montana, that's pretty much it. When I stopped at a towney cafe in Circle, a man described the stretch of land perfectly:

"Well, it's about 60 miles of nothing until you hit Jordan and then it's 75 miles of nothing before you hit Winnett. After that it's another 50 miles or so of nothing until you get to Lewistown. So (with a chuckle), you've got a whole lot of nothing ahead of you.

That and a lot of wildlife," he added with a look of caution.

Right. The wildlife. Thanks for the reminder.

The guy was right on with his description of the space between these towns. There was absolutely nothing. Miles and miles of absolutely nothing. I've often considered getting some of those whistles you attach to your car that let out a high-pitched tone that only deer can hear, but I've never taken the time to find some. In this part of the state, though, I could have laid on the horn the entire way from town to town and I'm fairly certain nobody would have been disturbed (aside from the deer, hopefully). I didn't see a car in my lane the entire way. I passed three, maybe four cars traveling the opposite direction over a stretch of over a hundred miles. The land was entirely empty and entirely dark aside from the small stretch of land my headlights illuminated. I swear, car manufacturers need to develop new headlights specifically for eastern Montana that wrap around an entire vehicle, spreading light out in all directions. I could have used them.

You know that stereotype that creative people have overactive imaginations? Well it's true. At least in my case. I was that kid who never whined about the duration of a road trip because I had my face plastered to the car window imagining Spiderman swing from one telephone pole to the next. It was a beautiful motion from pole to pole that changed ever so slightly with the spacing of the poles or the wires' path relation to the road. Today, I still see Spiderman swinging from every telephone pole. Can't help it.

So, when it came to this assumed fear of hitting a deer, in combination with my fear of the dark and my imagination in overdrive, you can probably imagine the sort of things my brain was cooking up for me late last night. Bear in mind: this is after 14 hours of driving from Winona, MN to the middle of nowhere in eastern Montana after a night of limited sleep. Fourteen hours. And I was wired.

I ended up seeing many more deer than vehicles, and still more dead deer along the side of the road or blood-stained scenes where a collision had occured. I narrowly managed to avoid running over two different skunks (thankfully) and did run over some small unidentified creature that looked, to me, like a green-eyed teddy bear scampering across the road on all fours in front of me. I did avoid the deer, though.

Given my experience with bulb exposures and the windmills last week, I desperately wanted to pull over at some point and try a few things out. But, though stopping meant I'd be free of the deer for a while, it also meant I'd have to face the darkness.

At some point, I convinced myself to pull over and break out my camera. I was scared shitless. All I had in the car was a dinky little flashlight that you'd receive in a promotional package for some company or university, but it managed. (At this point I'd like to mention that I am not so narcissistic to think that a potential threat on my life would be so stupid as to hang out in the middle of nowhere in hopes that I, or anyone, would happen to pull off the road to take a picture. But, my imagination is already much stronger than my logic, and my adrenaline at the moment seemed to be feeding the right side of my brain, while depleating the left.) When I stepped out of the car, hastily set up my tripod and camera with my eyes and flashlight darting in all directions, and finally looked up, I saw one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. I consider myself pretty lucky that I grew up in a place where you could walk out your back door and see the stars every clear night. This, however, blew any other star-gazing experience away. It looked like a scene from one of those lame movies where a character has an enlightening moment while gazing up at the stars which, obviously computer-generated, are just too many to be real. Those scenes are still lame, but that's what the sky looked like. And it was real.

I set my tripod up with the lens pointed at the sky and set it for a long exposure. Because I apparently lack the biological makeup to brave a long exposure when surrounded by blackened emptiness, I never got a useable image of the sky. This is the part (sitting in my bright, sunlit, comfortable livingroom) where I start to feel a little ashamed.

I did, however, set the tripod up off the side of the road when I saw an oncoming truck, and played around with the suddenly additional light. What you see here are the results of my hurried experiments with the truck lights and my little flashlight.

I ended up pulling off in Winnett, MT and sleeping in the car until the sun came up this morning. I slept under a street light. With my monopod at my side, just in case.

Someday I've got to get back to Eastern MT during a clear night. I need to get a good shot with an insanely long exposure of those stars. Next time, though, I'll need company.

Michigan vs. Purdue, Take 2

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:24:28 -0800

A little tardy on these shots, but here they are. I still have a couple images from the game that I really like, but they'll have to wait till the beginning of next week. Right now I'm in Minnesota visiting teachers and a bunch of my college buddies. Tomorrow morning I'll start the long trek home.

Check out this video from the game, too. If you look at the very end of the clip, you'll see Brandon Minor hopping around right in front of some dude in a bright maize sweatshirt. You can't really tell, but that's me. Proof that I was there. The second image is one from that touchdown run.

Moonlit Windmill

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:26:06 -0800

At one point about a week ago, I was thinking about the body of work I've put together so far. I'm pretty happy with it, but I became increasingly frustrated that it's been a couple years since I produced my best work. Generally, I think my work has improved, but my favorite image is still one that I created almost two years ago.

I was thinking about this as I drove down to Billings a week ago and a photographic opportunity dropped right into my lap. There is a field of windmills around Judith Gap. It's actually really impressive; you drive over a hill and are suddenly surrounded by these gigantic structures.

When I drove through last week, there was no wind whatsoever. This was in a field of windmills. No wind. That never happens in Judith Gap (that I know of anyway). In addition to the lack of wind, the sky was clear and there was a nearly full moon.

I haven't done much work with bulb exposures, but the situation was screaming for it.

I definitely need to do more late night photography. Loved it.

----

Buy the print: Moonlit Windmill

Michigan vs. Purdue

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 13:44:47 -0800

Anyone who has shot sports will tell you that a large piece of the formula to get "the shot" is due to luck. There are a lot of things you can do to help your luck out (be prepared, get in the right position, etc.), but even the most prepared person will have a ref or another player run between him/her and the play at the worst possible time.

This weekend I was insanely lucky to even get onto the field at the Big House in the first place. I've been a Michigan fan my whole life. My dad went to undergrad there and now my little brother Spenser is a Junior there (well, here, I suppose because I'm still here). When we were growing up, our family didn't spend much time watching tv unless Michigan was on. I remember watching the Fab Five in the NCAA tournament and pretending I was Jalen Rose. And instead of Saturday morning cartoons (never was a big fan), we'd watch Michigan football. Ever since I was a kid, I've been a little put off by the color red and I've made a conscious effort to wear out my Michigan wardrobe in the week leading up to the Michigan-Ohio State game.

So, to say I was excited when I received the email stating that I'd received sideline credentials would be an understatement.

On the sidelines during the game, I was also incredibly lucky. Brandon Minor (pictured above) broke off two big touchdown runs directly at where I was positioned, once literally one play after moving down to the endzone. It helps that it was a high scoring game, but I definitely haven't gotten as lucky as I did yesterday in any other game I've shot.

Unfortunately, however, luck wasn't on the Michigan side yesterday. Due to some big miscues, a defense that just didn't show up, and a botched PAT, Michigan lost. By two.

I have many more images from the game that I'll post in the next couple weeks, but I wanted to get one up to begin with. So here it is: Brandon Minor, touchdown number one of two.

Painting With Light #s 18 & 19

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 09:30:46 -0800

Iowa's lame.

----

Buy the Prints: Painting With Light #s 18 & 19

MSU vs. South Dakota

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 21:12:54 -0800

Yanks just won. Sick as it makes me to see Nick Swisher, Johnny Damon, and ARod win a World Series, I know Papa, a lifelong Yankees fan, would be happy.

I know this post is long overdue. This game took place a couple weeks ago, but I've been insanely busy recently and haven't had a chance to post it. It's fitting, though, to post football images given the upcoming events.

Right now I'm on the road. I'm traveling out to Ann Arbor, MI to see Spense (who is a Junior there) and Ty and Molly (who are visiting). And, as of last Thursday, I managed to score myself sideline credentials to shoot the Michigan-Purdue game on Saturday.

Now, I've been a Michigan fan my entire life, but I've never seen a football game at the Big House, let alone seen one from the sidelines, so to try to describe my excitement would be insuperably difficult. I am very happy to say that the next football images I post will be of players donned in Maize and Blue.

No guarantees as to when I'll be able to post those images, but keep checking back. I'll likely have something up by next week.

Mountains Behind Belgrade

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:53:40 -0800

I know I keep pushing the post off, but I promise that the next post will be of the Bobcat game a couple weeks ago.

I just had to get this one up, though. When I was in Bozeman a couple weeks ago, it ended up taking me about five to six hours longer to get home than expected. I'm not a big computer games guy. Never have been. But the first deviation from my trek home was this fantastic game called Nazi Zombies. I'd played it before (Eric Davey, this is your cue to leave a comment...), but that Sunday when I got up, I really got into it. Awesome, awesome, terribly addictive game. Damn good thing I don't have an Xbox.

The second thing that pushed my schedule off was the scene above. I saw the mountains in the distance just before Belgrade and basically took the Belgrade exit and drove for a long time. Oh, and if anybody knows the name of this mountain range behind Belgrade, please help me out. I sort of picked my way through the backroads and eventually ended up pretty close to the snow-covered peak you see here. It ate up a ton of time, but I walked away with some pretty incredible images; this was one of my favorites. I didn't get a chance to process it until today, but I'm excited about it. There'll definitely be more from this series on the way.

But only after my Bobcat's post. Probably.

Kenny's Downtown

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:44:15 -0800

Though I've gotten some great photographic opportunities recently, a lot of what has kept me so busy lately has been design related.

Kenny's Downtown is one such example. Mr. Volk recently took over a convenience store on 5th Street North in Great Falls formerly known as Keith's Downtown. If you're in Great Falls and haven't done so already, head on down to Kenny's Downtown (#7 5th St. N.) and check it out. He'll have beer and wine down there before too long, as well.

Kenny needed a new logo, so I hooked him up with what you see above. We're still waiting for the weather to break so that Kelly's Signs (they do a damn good job, by the way, if anyone out there is looking for signage) can put up the vinyl, but it's on the way.

I'm also working on a website for some downtown condos not more than a block from Kenny's Downtown. I pulled an all-nighter last night putting most of the site together, so I'll probably get something about that up here before too long. And yes, I promise the Bobcat images from a couple weeks ago are on their way...

CMR vs. Billings West

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:04:35 -0800

Today I sat down with the longtime friend and Tribune prep sports writer Mike Towne to discuss this week's football schedule. I'll be appearing in the Friday edition of the Trib as the sports department's "guest picker" in their weekly pick the winner matchup among sportswriters. This was a great week to get because I got to pick Michigan over Illinois and the Lions over the dismal Rams in what should be as good as chance for them to get a win as any this season. And, tempted as I was to pick against Montana as a response to Bobby Hauck's absurd treatment of the Kaimen reporters, I caved and picked the Grizzlies.

Unfortunately, this week also features the final game of the high school season and the crosstown game between my old school Great Falls High (1-8) and CMR (8-1) who pounded Billings West last week, as displayed above. It was a sad moment, but I picked CMR. Fact of the matter is that CMR is pretty darn good while GFH is, well, they're 1-8.

I'll be shooting at the game Friday night, so for those of you far from Montana who really don't give a damn about high school football in Great Falls, you'll be getting an update next weekend sometime.

The top and bottom images might be my two favorite sports images I've captured so far. The movement on the top was completely unintentional. I was caught with my pants at half mast with my settings all off when CMR first came out onto the field, but I love it. As for the bottom one, I love that you can see the patch of grass flying off his foot. Don't know why, but that makes the shot for me.

I still have images to post from the Bobcat game a couple weeks ago, but those will come soon. I'm working on a couple of other projects that'll be up before too long, as well.

Flag

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:06:41 -0800

This is entirely unrelated to the photo, but Matty, Dad, and I went to the Ben Folds concert last night in Missoula. Incredible. Any of you in Missoula who were not there really missed a fantastic show.

It's hard to compare his show to Mraz's. They have such different performance styles. The stage was just him and a piano, but he rocked it. And I've never screamed obscenities so loudly in my life.

But, nervous as I was about my camera, I decided against taking photos at the event. Instead, what we have here is an image from this past weekend's game in Bozeman. I have a string of images ready to post from the game, but wanted to give this one its own stage. The game actually wasn't littered with flags the way the Dixie State game had been, but I couldn't resist snapping this shot.

Have another Trib assignment this afternoon, so check back for something on that soon-ish.

Jeffrey Paul, Tribune Photographer

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:26:30 -0800

As of yesterday, I'm shooting part-time for the Great Falls Tribune. So, for those of you in the Funk, this morning you may have seen my first official Trib photo as the dominant element on the first page of the sports section. I'm pumped...

This was my favorite image from the day. I spiced it up a bit more for the blog than is allowed for the paper, but I like it here.

Many thanks to Ryan Hall for showing me the ropes last night. You can see more images that he and I took by following this link: Trib Photo Gallery

mMeier.com Launch

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:02:31 -0800

My dear friend, fellow designer, and master of all things vector Matthew Meier just launched over at mMeier.com! For those of you who follow comments, he's the one who posts all the sarcastic one word comments. He put the design for this puppy together recently and I helped him out with the backend web stuff.

Mattie and I go back a ways as far as web presences go. We each had satirical (and poorly designed) sites up in high school, so I'm happy to be linking to him once again, though in a more professional manner this time around.

Definitely swing by and check out some of his stuff (design and photography) and send him an email to let him know how badass he is (or to give him work, that's ok too).

----

Visit Mattie's new site: mMeier.com!

Visit Mattie's FanPage on Facebook!

Email the schmuck!

The Heavens

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:48:36 -0800

Got back from Bozeman just a while ago. Great, great weekend.

I have a ton of new stuff from the trip. There'll be some shots from the game before too long, and I got lost in the mountains behind Belgrade on the way home today, but I wanted to get something quick and dirty up as soon as I got back.

I shot this on the way down on Friday. The clouds, obviously, were pretty incredible. I was torn in the processing between the two. Feel free to weigh in on your preference (HDR on the first, Lightroom on the second, by the way).

I have a lot of stuff going on right now (which is always great), so I'll have a lot to post in the next couple weeks. Stay tuned...

----

Buy the prints: The Heavens

Foul Fly

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:55:21 -0800

The thought of baseball season makes me a bit sick right now. I know, I know, the Tigers-Twins playoff game was one of those instant classics, but the Tigers choked down the stretch, plain and simple. I mean, our magic number was two with four games to play. And though I thought it would, watching the Twins get spanked by the Yankees didn't make me feel much better. Yuck. (Oh, and for you guys at school, Mauer's overrated defensively. And runs like he has a stick shoved... well, you know...)

But just now I was trying to put together a portfolio of sports images and I stumbled across this guy I never finished putting together. This was my favorite image from one of my cousin Ryan's games this summer. It's a season late (Ryan just finished the football season), but better than never.

I'm heading to Bozeman tomorrow to shoot the MSU-South Dakota game this weekend and add some images to that sports portfolio. I'll probably be back to posting Sunday or Monday.

Stormy Dusk

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:37:18 -0800

Been a while since I posted, but I have a few to get up so hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things.

This was just west of Great Falls a couple weeks ago before a storm. It's been insanely cold for October here recently, which has stifled my desire to get out and shoot recently.

More to come, though. Always.

----

Buy the print: Stormy Dusk

Jason Mraz: The Gratitude Cafe Tour: Spokane, WA

Sun, 4 Oct 2009 18:11:53 -0800

This post is about a week late. But I've been busy. And sick. And busy.

Last weekend, Matty and I made the trip to Spokane's Riverfront Park for a G. Love and Special Sauce/Jason Mraz concert. It was a blast. Granted, the venue and crowd were a million times better than anything Montana can offer (that I'm aware of...), but his performance was pretty incredible. Not that I'm a frequent concert-goer, but only one concert I've seen (Something Corporate in D.C.) topped it.

For obvious reasons, I didn't want to haul a bunch of lenses around at this thing; I was there for the concert, after all, not to shoot it. I eventually decided to slap my Sigma 10-20mm on my 5D Mk II (which isn't intended for full frame sensors, as you can see in the second image where it's zoomed out to 10mm) and play with the fisheye-like distortions. We were actually much closer than these images suggest.

Originally, I wanted to preserve the color of the stage and the lights, but the noise I got for shooting at ISO 6400 seemed to lend themselves better to the B&W conversion. You can't see it in any of these images, but they had some pretty nice graphics animating in the background during a couple of his songs. Made me want to design for musicians (not a new ambition, by the way).

I have a short list of artists that I would not miss if they were playing within a few hundred miles. Mraz is off that list now, but Ben Folds is playing in Missoula in a couple weeks. Not sure yet if I'll brave taking my camera into that one, but I'm pumped all the same. So, you'll hear about it, of course...

Little Belt Pano

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:47:48 -0800

It's been a while since I posted a panorama and it's actually been a while since I put this guy together, but I was looking through some older stuff today and remembered that I meant to post this. My vantage point for this one was not that far from the Lefty Lucy post, it's just looking in the other direction.

I'll probably post another shortly about my activities this weekend, so stay tuned...

----

Buy the Print: Little Belt Pano

Morning River Fog

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:03:00 -0800

Back to photographs for the time being.

I snapped this guy on my way down to Bozeman for the MSU-Dixie State game a couple weeks ago. I left early because I knew I'd want to stop a few places along the way. The sun was just coming up when I reached Cascade and there was a heavy mist rising over the river. So, I pulled over, bolted through someone's backyard with all my stuff, got completely soaked, and walked away with this.

----

Buy the Print: Morning River Fog

Bang

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:26:22 -0800

Yeah, I'm not so sure where this one came from. It ended up a long ways from what I had in mind when I started. And though most of these guys don't turn out how I envisioned them originally, this one is further off than most.

But I like it. Wasn't sure what to call it at first. I think this fits...

----

Buy the Print: Bang

Digital Paint

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:02:31 -0800

I got so excited about the Layered Chaos piece I put together a couple weeks ago that I couldn't let myself go too long before putting another one together.

I'm not quite as thrilled about this one, but I like it well enough to post. More of this sort will likely be on the way...

----

Buy the Print: Digital Paint

CMR vs. Missoula Big Sky

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:27:24 -0800

The other opportunity I had this past weekend was to shoot another football game: the prep match between the local CMR Rustlers and Missoula Big Sky for some of the CMR parents.

I shot a couple of the CMR players' senior photos, so it was nice to get at them from a different angle on this one. The game itself was a pretty good one; close through the first half while CMR dominated the second half. Their team is among the favorites to win state this year.

I'll hopefully be shooting a couple more CMR games throughout the season, so more of these guys may be on the way...

MSU vs. Dixie State

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:28:16 -0800

I had a couple of incredible opportunities to broaden my photographic tools this weekend. One of those opportunities was the experience I had shooting on the sidelines at the Montana State - Dixie State game Saturday afternoon.

Football-wise, it wasn't the prettiest of games: a lot of penalties, fumbles, and a few interceptions. But as far as I was concerned, it was pretty incredible to be on the sidelines at a collegiate-level game.

How'd I get there? Well, I did exactly as Mike Olivella said to do in his guest blog appearance on Scott Kelby's site (thanks to Jamie for pointing that one out to me a few months ago). The MSU administration was kind enough to let me on the sidelines for a few games this year, so more will be on the way.

The saddest part of this post is that because I was shooting the MSU game, I had to miss Michigan's incredible 38-34 victory over Notre Dame. It's been far too long since UM was 2-0 to open the season...

Computer Poop

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:39:42 -0800

Man, I've missed working on HDR images. It's just so much fun; I don't know how I fell out of that for so long.

The title doesn't refer to this piece, but the state of my computer. It's pooped. Full of junk I've downloaded and needs a clean start.

So, my computer will be out of commission this weekend...

When I return, however, I'll have an arsenal of sports images to pepper you with for a while. Tomorrow I'm shooting a local high school football game and Saturday morning I'll be missing (sadly) the Michigan/Nortre Dame game to shoot on the sidelines at the Montana State game against Dixie State in Bozeman (I'll still be sporting my Maize, don't worry). First two times shooting football. I'm jacked!

See you all next week...

ready, Launch!

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 17:03:35 -0800

So, I've launched. Granted, this particular design has been active on my site for some time now, but everything is finally completed. I still have a list of tweaks that I want to make to it, but my website/portfolio is now live and operational.

I'm selling prints from my site now. I have all the images that are on my portfolio on there now but will be adding more as they are created. If anyone is interested in purchasing a particular print, please contact me and I'll get it up or direct you to it.

I'm also trying to update my Twitter and Facebook accounts more frequently. Those links are also on the site.

For my fellow photographers: I utilized two fantastic services to help bring the site together. Each of the portfolio pages is run by the SlideShow Pro software. I found SSP's Flash componenet to be pretty slick and easy to use. Also, RedCart is running the back end of my print ordering. Thus far, I've had a really good experience with their customer service and the management system. Having worked some in other ordering systems, I can say that in my experience, it's the best ordering system out there. I'd strongly recommend both services.

Like I said, a few things may still change and I'm going to do my best to update the site more often. But it's up, and I'm proud of it. So, swing by and say hello...

Layered Chaos

Sat, 5 Sep 2009 11:25:50 -0800

I know I said my next post would be about the website, but I pulled an all nighter putting this together last night, and wanted to get it out there.

It's been way, way too long since I used Photoshop for this sort of artwork: something other than photography or web design. Thing ended up just short of 3.5 gigs, and that's at 200 ppi.

In any case, I'm proud of this one. I felt like I was freeing myself creatively, which is an incredible feeling.

----

Buy the Print: Layered Chaos

Belts & Chains

Thu, 3 Sep 2009 12:30:24 -0800

I put together yet another image from Mehmke's today. I haven't had taken many opportunities to get out and shoot recently but I have such a buildup of stuff from this place, that I always have an image to construct.

Good news: the website is coming together. I'll post something tonight or tomorrow about it officially, but one of the developments with the site is that I'm selling prints through it now. So, for instance, you can purchase a print of this image by following this link. I'll try to post links to the cart area of my site for each post on here from now on for those who are interested.

Tory

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:55:59 -0800

Internet, meet Tory. Tory, internet.

I hadn't really tried HDR on a senior yet, but Tory's awesome so I thought I'd give it a go. The bottom is HDR, by the way, the rest are not.

Tory's the web editor for the Great Falls High Iniwa, the school newspaper where I got my roots as a designer.

So, to all you guys hanging out in the journalism room, enjoy this little bit of procrastination stimulus. But keep an eye out for Ballew... (oh, drop me a line in the Comments area, too...)

NO

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:48:19 -0800

I captured this on the same day as my last post. The sign reads "Private No Parking" in an alley in downtown Great Falls.

I'm in Missoula for the weekend, so if updates are sporatic or random, that's why. I'll be back to Great Falls, a semester-long Photoshop class, and regular posting on Monday.

Pipes

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:36:59 -0800

I hadn't done anything in HDR for a while before putting this guy together so I really enjoyed tinkering in Photomatix again. I captured these pipes while teaching an intermediate digital photography workshop about a month ago.

Speaking of classes, MSU-GF is back in session starting next week. I'm teaching a digital design class that focuses on Photoshop this semester, so I'll probably be posting a greater variety of work here before too long...

Emily

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:46:24 -0800

I did a senior shoot with Emily about a month ago and walked away with some of my favorite senior photos I've taken. These were a few of my favorites...

Air... in frame

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:57:51 -0800

I was looking back and realized I never posted the version of this shot where I caught the kid in frame.

New stuff is coming, I promise. In the meantime, I've got to get caught up posting the stuff I've neglected recently.

Again, more tomorrow...

Painting with Light... again

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:34:18 -0800

It'd been a while since I went out and tried to walk away with something abstract, so when the brothers and I took a trip up to Glacier at the end of July, I started shooting from the hip with slow shutter speeds again.

I don't think I'll ever get over this technique. The random results are addicting.

More coming tomorrow...

Flathead Lake

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:32:33 -0800

It's been almost a month since my last post. For that I apologize. I'm starting to get back up and rolling on my (nearly finished) website, twitter, facebook, and this blog. As the sites come together, I'll keep you posted on the latest.

This image came a few weeks ago at Flathead Lake in MT. Enjoy!

If you haven't checked it out already, I strongly suggest you drop by Chase Jarvis' blog. He had a great post today about staying creative.

More coming soon. I promise not to leave you hanging this time...

Carl's Toys

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:22:54 -0800

We're taking a break in class right now, so I thought I'd take the time to post the image I processed in class as a demo. I took the class out to Mehmke's last week and we walked away with some amazing images. The place is awesome!

Apparently Carl passed away recently. So, this one is for him.

Air

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:24:34 -0800

Just on the other side of the tunnel in my last post is the Great Falls skatepark. This was one of my favorite images from shooting there the other day. More to come...

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:22:57 -0800

Obvious name for this one.

I'm currently teaching an "Intermediate Digital Photography" workshop through MSU-GF. Yesterday we went down to Gibson Park in Great Falls which obviously included a trip through this tunnel and a few shots at the skate park. Those to come...

Logan

Tue, 7 Jul 2009 14:06:30 -0800

About a week ago I shot another Belt H.S. senior photo session, this time with Logan out on his family's ranch. What we ended up with were some of my favorite senior photos I've taken thus far.

I have a lot more stuff in the works, I just haven't had the time to post it recently. But keep checking back and I'll try to get another one up before leaving for another wedding this weekend. Stay tuned...

Senior: Megan

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:09:34 -0800

I did one of my more fun senior photo sessions last week with Megan, a senior at Belt HS. We did the session on her family's massive and beautiful ranch and had the fortune of great light. We were worried for a short while that a storm would hit, but it passed just north of us and we were left with a mostely cloudy sky with awesome clouds. These were some of my favorites from the session.

I have another shoot in a similar location tomorrow evening. I'm pumped!

Jake

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:18:30 -0800

I finally got a chance to sit down and process some more of my session with Jake and these were my favorites from the session. The shoot went really well and I think we walked away with some really good images. So, thanks Jake for being a BA.

I'll be producing a number of different things this week so I'll try my best to post them during that time. Keep checking back...

In other news, I finally gave in and got a twitter account. I was skeptical for a long time, but now think it'll be a useful piece of social networking. I'm going to try to keep it mostly business/photography/design oriented, but I know I won't be able to keep my personality out of it entirely. So, check it out at http://twitter.com/jp_designs. I'll try to post updates on prints that I'm selling online as well for those of you who are interested.

In still other news, I've been following Ethan Marcotte's blog since attending An Event Apart in Seattle last month and came across this post about the late David Foster Wallace's words. I absolutely loved the idea. I really made me at least momentarily more aware of my attitude toward the world (read: attitude toward idiotic frustrating Great Falls drivers). Definitely check it out.

Senior: Jake - sneak peek

Tue, 9 Jun 2009 19:48:52 -0800

I shot my first senior session of the year today...

Jake is a stud o-lineman for CMR's football team so we did a lot of shots in Memorial Stadium today. At first glance, this was one of my favorites.

There is more to come from this session, so check back soon. I'm teaching classes all day the next three days, so no guarantees on posts before the beginning of next week. I'll try, but no guarantees.

Lefty Lucy

Sun, 7 Jun 2009 20:15:23 -0800

For the first time in far too long, I got out today and just shot whatever I wanted, whatever came to me. When I set off, I had nothing particular in mind. I just knew the clouds looked cool (not this shot, of course, but wait for the next couple posts) and I wanted to create something.

I headed out in the direction of Ryan and Maroney dams and found my inspiration. The road's pretty beat up and all the traffic signs have been used as shooting targets from time to time. Welcome to rural Montana!

Stay tuned. I have a lot more images from my little trip this evening...

Top & Bottom

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 14:41:21 -0800

We're back to the bus.

Thanks to all those who have responded to my recent posts. I'm going to try to keep this string of posts going. I have a ton of content, but I'm going to try to make a more concentrated effort to actually get that content online. So here goes...

Who's on First?

Thu, 4 Jun 2009 09:01:30 -0800

My apologies if the images are taking forever to load. I'm jus too lazy to divy them into separate posts.

As those of you who have been following my blog have undoubtedly noticed, I've been spending a lot of time around my old Legion baseball team, the Electrics. I've gone to a number of their games now, usually camera in hand, and have come away with a few nice images. Here are some of my favorites.

I'm still pretty new at sports photography. So if there are any sports photogs out there who want to offer a critique/some advice, comments are always welcome and encouraged...

Spenser!

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 17:25:27 -0800

Much like AI, Spenser is the answer. (I know, I know, Iverson for Chauncey was the WORST trade in the history of NBA trade, but he's still the Answer... I guess)

Thanks for the two of you who participated in our little Monday night game. It was a lot of fun...

More coming. I promise.

Lovehandles

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 19:15:58 -0800

Goodness. I need to get back on my a-game as far as posting goes. This once a week schtuff needs to go...

So, just to see how many of you faithful fans are still paying attention despite my recent lack of communication, I thought I'd toss in a post intended for your interaction. So, here's the question:

Who is this chap jumping out of his birkenstocks earlier this evening (the title is a hint...)? Bonus points for those of you who can identify the activity he's participating in. Negative points for those of you who give the answers away because you witnessed the frolicking young man personally.

Positive points help you in the life-long game of gaining Jeff's affection... Ready? Go.

Electrics 2009

Fri, 29 May 2009 08:20:43 -0800

The Electrics poster I put together got off the press late yesterday and I'll be delivering them to the team today. I'm pretty excited about the way they turned out... Hopefully those of you around Great Falls will start to see these up around town in the next week-ish...

Chain-Link Fence

Mon, 18 May 2009 20:18:54 -0800

Not much to say about this one, really. It's simple but I like it. Sometimes I get so caught up in trying to create the most dynamic/interesting images that I forget about simplicity... and repetition...

Safeco Field

Sun, 10 May 2009 21:20:41 -0800

I can't seem to shake the recent baseball theme (not that I'm really trying), so here are a couple more. For those of you that don't recognize it, this is Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners.

Electrics

Fri, 8 May 2009 19:17:31 -0800

I have been very, very excited about this lately. This is the first large-scale off-camera flash assignment I've taken on, and I'm so thankful and pleased that it turned out well. Ok, a little explanation:

This is my old baseball team. Here in Montana, we don't have high school ball, unfortunately, so in the later teen years we play Legion ball from April to July. Most of my best baseball memories are from the Electrics (my first dinger, diving, the third to first to third routine Ty and I had during our one year playing together...). I miss it. Really badly.

So, getting the opportunity to blend my former love with my current love (photography) with my old team was a pleasure. I had been planning on lighting each player individually for a while when I stumbled upon a post by Zack Arias where he described a similar shoot. From that point on, it was full steam ahead and after shooting, hours of masking, and some Ps work on the sky (yep, the clouds are fake. Obviously) this is what I have to show for it.

Like I said, I'm very pleased with the way it turned out, but that doesn't mean you have to be. Any critiques/comments are welcome, as always...

6 Extra Innings...

Thu, 7 May 2009 17:31:18 -0800

I'm back from Seattle!

It was a great trip all around. I'm just now sort of getting my bearings now that I'm home, but I figured I should post.

We went to what turned out to be the best MLB game I've seen live on Sunday (best in terms of the ball being played, not in terms of personal satisfaction. That title goes to the Tigers-Yankees ALDS Game 4 a couple years ago..). The Mariners won in the 15th after rallying to tie twice. Great, great game. Junior didn't play, unfortunately, but he did turn his hat around in celebration afterwards. That's always good to see.

Here is Ichiro doing his thing...

Speaking of baseball, be sure to check back tomorrow. I've just completed one of the coolest/most fun projects I've ever done and I'll get it up here soon enough. See you then...

Le Bus

Fri, 1 May 2009 18:35:28 -0800

Le Bus. You're damn right I took French (And NO, I didn't have to check with Spenser, the brother to most recently take a French class, on the proper gender association. Nope.). In high school. And there's no way I would have made it through without all the help from Sam to keep me sane. Random shout out, but thank you Samantha...

This is the front end of the bus... obviously. Not nearly as interesting as its rear, but it's all right.

Tomorrow I leave for Seattle for "An Event Apart" (a pretty slick web conference), to see my buddy (and fellow graphic designer) Eric, and to see Junior play in Safeco. I'm finally settling down enough from my crazy busy week to get excited about it. And I am.

I'll try to post again before we leave, but if not, I'll see you all next week with some new content...

Oh, we're flying. Not bussing. Thank god...

Righty Tighty

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:09:41 -0800

Another from my recent trip between Great Falls and Missoula. I've passed by this scene many times but never stopped to photograph it. On Sunday, the clouds were just too dynamic not to stop, so I pulled over and got a string of nice images of this random school bus perched along the highway outside of Fort Shaw.

I like the final image but am unsure about the processing. Too over the top?

More of this scene to come...

Wilderness Construction II & III

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:22:15 -0800

These two are from the same scene and have the same processing as yesterday's post. I thought I'd try my hand at posting daily despite being completely swamped (just a sampling of what it'll be this summer). We'll see how long it lasts, but I'll give it a go.

Wilderness Construction

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:29:44 -0800

I made a trip out to Missoula this weekend and, once again, Highway 200 did not disappoint.

There are still a lot of things in store so stay tuned...

Buttes & Haybales

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:38:30 -0800

In my most recent classes I've spent a lot of time talking about working in Lab color and panoramas. If you've followed my blog much, you've probably recognized my love for panos, so though the semester is winding down, I had to fit it in.

Instead of doing a flat out demo, for this particular project, I showed the class how to stitch (read: let Photoshop stitch) together panos and I let them guide me through the post processing based on what they've learned in the class. I was thrilled to try a few things from my students during the process that hadn't occured to me originally and I think we came up with a nice image in the end.

Post processing aside, it's not my favorite pano I've done, but it's nice enough. As always, any comments or critiques are welcome.

Keep checking in on the blog from time to time. I have a couple really exciting images coming together where I basically jumped head first into off-camera flash (and the results are much better than my last attemps. I promise).

Trunks

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:52:38 -0800

Thanks to all those who have been dropping by some of my students' blogs and leaving comments (see my last post).

When I started out on this puppy I thought I'd be converting it to B&W for sure due to an obvious lack of color. After messing around in Lab for a bit, I managed to bring out some more color from the bark, which I liked. So I left it.

Good? Bad? Thoughts?

Lab Experiments

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:44:05 -0800

In the digital photography class I'm teaching this semester we're easing our way into Lab color in Photoshop. I hadn't messed around in Lab for a while so I decided to attack a particularly bland image in Lab to see what I could come up with. I posted the before and after images so you can see the progression.

Speaking of my class, Richard was gracious enough to provide my students with extended trials to use in my class. Blogging and following blogs have been concepts I've been pushing all semester and having the opportunity to have extended trials has been a worthwhile experience and one that they all seem to be enjoying.

If you have a moment, please drop by some of their blogs and offer some encouragment or a critique:

http://pepperroot.pixyblog.com/

http://rjlee.pixyblog.com/

http://kathy.pixyblog.com

http://firebird.pixyblog.com/

http://cmaye.pixyblog.com/

http://kanfinson.pixyblog.com/

http://qweenbeenora.pixyblog.com/

http://jackiedeesphotography.pixyblog.com/

http://pigswithlipstick.pixyblog.com/

frankylee Design & Photography

http://tara.pixyblog.com/

Duncan Anderson's Photoblog

Windmill

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 11:44:49 -0800

I haven't posted any non-portraits on here for a while, but I have a couple of things I've been working on that I'll probably get up here soon.

Megan's home for spring break (yippee!) so we went out to her grandma's ranch yesterday for a few shots. This was probably my favorite of the day.

Unfortunately, the sky's not so blue here anymore. It's been blizzarding since I woke this morning and is showing no signs of stopping. Typical Montana spring... meh.

Caitlin, Tim, & Evie

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:49:47 -0800

Here are some more of my favorites from my session with Caitlin, Tim, and their daughter Evie that I shot a couple weekends ago. Caitlin and Tim made my job incredibly easy; they seemed to feel really comfortable in front of the camera and I think it really shows in the images. Adding Evie into the mix sure didn't hurt our chances of getting great images either...

Thanks again, you guys, for letting me do your shoot!

The Bakke Family Continued...

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:28:46 -0800

Like I said before, shooting the Bakke family was a blast. Despite the cold wind we managed to walk away with a number of fun images. Thanks again to all of you!

Caitlin & Tim

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:02:49 -0800

Saturday I did an engagement shoot of the couple you see here, Caitlin & Tim. Caitlin and her sister Morgan were the closest things I had to sisters growing up so this shoot meant a lot to me personally.

Like my last post, I'll post a string of images from this shoot in the next couple weeks, but for now, here's a sneak peek.

The Bakke Family

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 11:25:04 -0800

I did my first family shoot yesterday. There's nothing like jumping in head first with a group of eight people, five dogs, and two horses. It was a blast!

I'll post more from this session in the coming week, but here's a sneak peek. Thanks much to the Bakke family!

Sometimes it Snows...

Mon, 9 Mar 2009 22:01:29 -0800

It's been cold here lately. Starting to get a little annoying...

My apologies for not updating more regularly. I have a lot of images to post, just trying to find time to post them. More coming soon, I promise!

Clouds

Mon, 2 Mar 2009 22:26:55 -0800

I like clouds.

Painting With Light II

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:14:36 -0800

Another abstract piece messing around with the available light.

Stars and Stripes

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:43:51 -0800

Sorry for the absence lately. I've been crazy busy with a number of projects and, the last couple days, just having fun. My buddy Al came out to visit lately and we had a blast - even got out to ski a bit.

I have some images from the last week, but first I figured I'd get something up from my D.C. trip about a month ago (no, I wasn't there for inauguration, but I wish we could have stayed). So, here you are.

I was very torn about the processing of this guy. I like the color version but I like the toned B&W as well. Your preference?

Brothas from the same Motha

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:32:19 -0800

A couple more shots from my first wave of experimintation with off-camera flash. The morning definitely didn't go as planned. It was bitter, bitter cold out, a wind chill that only Great Falls could provide (that's right, the "windy" city's got nothin' on North-Central Montana!), and I didn't really figure out what the hell I was doing until then sun was up and we were all losing feeling in our extremities. Learning can be a pain in the ass.

But this is what I ended up with. The brothers were good enough to go along with anything and everything I wanted to try and were obviously animated enough to get their personalities across in a couple image. THanks guys!

Oh, and Spenser is the ya-hoo on the left in each of these images. For the record.

Test Shot Dummy

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:08:27 -0800

Matty's been on my case to get him a copy of this image for his facebook profile for a while, so I thought I'd post it on here as well.

Cindy Cieluch was kind enough to loan me her pocket wizards over Christmas so I could play around with off-camera flash. So, I took the brothers out one morning to see what we could come up with. In the end there were a couple nice images that might make their way on here eventually, but, at little brother's request, here's Matty.

First Friday Show in Missoula

Tue, 3 Feb 2009 22:25:07 -0800

I'm having a show this weekend in Missoula! This is my first gallery of my work since college (which was a requirement so doesn't really count) and I'm pretty jacked about it. This is the postcard I designed that was sent out for the show.

Thinking back on my preparations for the show I had at Saint Marys about nine months ago, I can't help but be a little proud of how much my work has evolved over that time. I've thrown myself into HDR, learned a ton (and still am) about lighting, and have worked with a number of fantastic photographers who have been willing to share their time and knowledge. I've definitely been very fortunate.

So, if any of you out there will be in Missoula on Friday, please stop by Computer Central at 136 E. Broadway and check me out (oh, and let me know if you saw this post on the blog). I'm leaving tomorrow after my class and probably won't be posting until next week some time.

Ty & Molly

Mon, 2 Feb 2009 23:04:23 -0800

This is way overdue, but at the beginning of the month, Megan and I took a trip out to D.C. to visit my older brother Tyler. While we were there, I did a shoot of Ty and his girlfriend Molly. To see more of the shoot, follow this link to a slideshow.

More D.C. images to come...

Motion

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:23:49 -0800

My older brother Tyler claims he's a photographer of motion. This is a random he snapped when I had looked away during my shoot of Ty and Molly. Yeah, photographer of motion. Right.

Thanks again for all the kind words regarding my grandfather's recent passing...

Goodnight Papa

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:50:22 -0800

Papa passed away last night.

Like a true Irishman, he fought to the end, pleasantly surprising many of us by the way he willed his life to extend years, months, and finally a couple weeks longer than we all anticipated.

Thank you to all my friends who have already sent your condolences; it really means a lot.

Frozen Falls III

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:53:59 -0800

The last of my photos from this shoot (at least of the ones I've processed thus far).

Always something more coming...

Frozen Falls II

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:58:46 -0800

My second of three from the shoot at dusk of Black Eagle Falls a few weeks ago.

Ty and Molly: don't worry, I'm about ready to post the rest of your shoot...

Frozen Falls

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:38:12 -0800

I'm a big lover of anticipation. I arrange my playlists so that I don't hear my favorite song 'til last, on Christmas I want to be the last one to open my gifts, and when I eat, I always save the best bite for last.

So, I've been sitting on this one for a while, but I figured I should post it before it no longer applied to the season.

There was an article in the paper today about how the global warming debate is raging since December and January held record lows. It was 68 degrees out today. That has got to be a record on the other end, hasn't it?

There are a couple more from this series, but this is my favorite. I guess I was worried about sitting on it for too long...

The Flahertys

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:59:17 -0800

Back to my friends who got married at the beginning of the month. Here are the rest of my day after shots. And you can click here for a slideshow of a few more images.

Again, a ton of thanks goes out to Cindy Cieluch who allowed me to tag along during the shoot. I've learned a ton from the few times we've worked together already so thank you so much!

Always more coming...

The Nieces & Nephews

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:11:47 -0800

I know I'm bouncing all over the timeline of the last three weeks here, but I have to get 'em all in, so I'm starting at the beginning of the year.

Julie has a total of ten nieces and nephews and they were all in the wedding. I took my camera along to the rehearsal dinner with the intention of shooting a lot of images of the wedding party, but the kids ended up stealing the show. Yep, they're all pretty much adorable.

Check out a slideshow of more images here...

The D.C. Couple

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:33:52 -0800

I'm home!

Megan and I got home a couple hours ago from our week-long trip out to D.C. to visit my older brother Tyler. It was an absolutely fantastic trip!

While we were out there, I did a shoot with Ty and his Mainer (Northern Maine, right?) girlfriend, Molly. This one in front of the National Cathedral was one of my favorites of the day.

More to come, for sure, but I thought I'd offer a taste for now.

Mrs. Flaherty

Sun, 4 Jan 2009 23:14:28 -0800

Wow. After a week of finishing projects and preparations for Saturday, I'm finally breathing a sigh of relaxation. Tomorrow, Megan and I go on vacation: we're headed out to D.C. to visit my older brother Tyler where I am determined to relax a bit before the start of my first semester-long photography class at MSU-GF COT.

My friends whose engagement I shot got married yesterday. The bachelor party, the rehearsal dinner, the ceremony and the reception was all a giant emotional party. One of the most touching things for me was to see how many friends showed up to our party. It was amazing to see how easily we all seemed to pick up right where we left off with friends we hadn't seen in years. So, to all of you who were there, thank you so much. I know it means a lot to Danny and Julie.

Danny and Julie were lucky enough to book the best wedding/portrait photographer in town for their wedding in Cindy Cieluch. Cindy was kind enough to let me join them in their day-after shoot today where I captured the top two images.

I have a lot of stuff I've taken over the past couple weeks that I'm itching to post, but these ones will take precedence. I'll be back to posting in about a week...