Busy • Loads of TFCD • Lessons Learned?

Well I've been busy shooting, surfing all my resources for jobs and work and generally trying to get my stuff together. I did get some good feedback from a new found frat brother named Elton Anderson ←click there if you're curious about his excellent blog/work. Strangely enough while our styles are different...we sort of came to the same conclusions about gear and both have moved to the D700.

Happy to report...I am feeling better about my huge investment in new lenses and also looking forward to Nikon's release of the D700X. This alone is not a big deal, but what it potentially might allow me to do is two things: (1) start getting some landscape and architecture work and (2) eventually start using my DSLR to make HD movies for events.

Last week I did three TFCD's and have two more scheduled for this week. I'll post the results here. I will post an image or 2 from the last photo-shoot here now: (click the image to enlarge it)

So moving on...I like to tell things they way they are. I was working with an online magazine. I won't say their name, but will say the publisher/editor was impossible to work with. Despite me providing "peace offerings" and inviting her to lunch, things ended badly.

Now the insane part of this is what she wanted from me was never promised to her. It was something I did on my own time and sold part of the images to Women's Wear Daily. So at least I made gas money. On several tries I attempted to get the "free" pictures to her, but paying-jobs always trump anything free...so that's where my focus has been. She burned the bridge...which is kinda funny since her first name is spelled like bridgé.

I said that all to say...despite your best efforts, sometimes you cannot please a person and you'll still be accursed of doing bad things. Despite your best efforts you still do fail. But I suppose the lesson is better to fail trying than to fail at not trying at all. uhmmm...right?

New Frontiers & New Equipment

So...I've been gone a while now. Sorry, promise not to wait that long between blog entries. I've been doing lots of TFCD (Time For CD), but need to focus on getting my edge back for haute couture and editorials again. When I was living in Europe...I could see fashion concepts before I loaded the first roll of film. With the digital age...we shoot more, but think less. Yeah I know its not good. So I'm trying to get back to shooting digital the same way I shot film...with careful planning. I spent a ton of money since the last time I wrote here but there's an upside, should I decide to get out of photography I can sell everything and get most of my money back.

So to date I've gotten a D700 with battery grip (click the picture below), a 50mm 1.4G, a 105mm VR Micro F2.8 lens (girl in pink top), an 85mm 1.4 lens (its crazy sharp...see the girl with brown hair/white top), a 24-70 2.8 zoom (insanely fast/sharp), an 80-200 2.8 AF-S and finally a 70-200 VR 2.8 zoom (close-up of blond girl). I decided to get serious about what I'm doing and devote more time, focus, money and energy into trying to get more paying work. Now I have the sinking feeling like..."goodness! - I hope I made the right move". But unlike say renting a building or buying something where your money goes bye-bye for good...I do have an exit plan option.

More News: I'm the BTS Photographer for a small low-budget movie called MonsterTown. Its a funny take on the old monsters of black/white films with everyone from "The Mummy" to "Frankenstein" appearing. I can't release any photos now, but once the movie's done...you'll be the first to know.

I have more good news...which hopefully will let me recoup some of this money on equipment. I'm doing photos for two "Haunted House" attractions with the on-site printing and special graphics. Uhmmm...wish me luck cause I'm going to need to find and train help.

Finally...well, you don't know about this, but I was suppose to photograph two sisters from the UK and I had these visions of high-fashion and glamour photos. It never happened. Somehow we never connected. I am disappointed since I have put time aside just to photograph these two. But life goes on right? ciao!