V-Blog

Something New

After five years of only shooting in RAW, last night I shot in JPEG. After twenty years of never shooting sports, I photographed a baseball game. I liked it, both of them.

Create something new, daily – updated my blog header to reflect/remind me to do just that. I debated about changing the header to Create * Connect * Grow, but I thought it would be too confusing, although, the phrase came in a strong second.

There is nothing like drawing a line between the comfort & challenge of creating something new.

Moment

Current Reading: Taking the Leap by Pema Chodron
Current Music: Saturday Night & Sunday Mornings by Counting Crows
Mood: Happy
Smells: Cinnamon
Sounds: Little feet running
Temperature: 46 degrees
Thoughts: Lighten-up on your path to wherever?

Photo of the Week

Win a FREE Photo Shoot

WIN A FREE PHOTO SHOOT!

Craig Photography & the Doubletree Hotel & Suites Pittsburgh City Center are offering past, present and future wedding couples the chance to win a FREE photo shoot at the newly remodeled Grand Ballroom at the Doubletree.

Winners will receive:

~A Free photo shoot compliments of Craig Photography, including all images on disc with printing rights

~A complimentary Romance Package by Doubletree including breakfast for two

~Complimentary makeup application by Ryan Makeup

~Complimentary hair design by Salon Christine

~Complimentary bouquet and boutonniere by Harold’s Flowers

~A chance to be showcased in Doubletree Hotel promotions and marketing materials

Rules:

~You must be willing to dress in your own full wedding attire. Bride must wear a wedding gown, groom must wear a black suit or tuxedo.

~You must sign a waiver allowing all vendors participating in the contest to use your images without restriction for promotional and marketing purposes.

~You must sign a waiver agreeing to be filmed and allow the filmed footage to be used in promotional and marketing materials.

To Enter:

~Send an email to craigphotography@mac.com detailing the story of you and your fiancé and why you believe you are the couple that should win. A photo of the couple must be attached to the email.

The winner will be chosen by random drawing and announced on May 21, 2010 on the Craig Photography Wedding blog and the Doubletree Facebook page.

Shoot date TBD in June, 2010

Intimate | Elizabeth Craig

This short film asks questions of being intimate with oneself and work.



To see more of Elizabeth's work go to her website (Elizabeth Craig Intimates)

Workshop: Reschedule

The workshop on 4.25.10 will be reschedule. New dates to be announced soon ~ Sorry for the inconvenience….

Guitar & Me #3

Photo of the Week

Random Stuff & Notes From a Photo-Walk

It’s 9pm on Saturday night and I am getting ready to leave for the Photo-Walk. My wife yells out to me “don’t forget to wear your gloves”. I forgot, better yet I just didn’t want to be bothered to look for them. For the better part of this past month it has been in the mid 70’s during the day and the low 60’s at night. This night it was 40 degrees plus or minus wind chill factor. I should have listened to my wife, as always.

Two things I will never understand--First thing: why husbands don’t listen to their wives? Wives are always right and not in the yes-dear-please-don’t-badger me sort of way but in the why-the-hell-didn’t-I-listen to my wife the first time way? Yes, it's annoying but hey, a wife will keep you alive.

Second thing: why is it impossible to leave the house on time for any special occasion? Explain this to me? The family goal is to leave the house by 10am to go to Church for our niece's first holy communion. The family is up and awake at 7am…watch a little PBS Sprout, read the New York Times online and proceed to drink way too much coffee. Toss in a hot shower, yoga workout and I still have the 45 minutes with nothing to do. Then it happens. Time gets away, more like evaporates, maybe it just leaves and goes somewhere else? It’s time; not like I can control it. What is time anyway? It's not a particle, wave...maybe a vibration at best, it's a judgment call. A collective guess that we all agree on.

Sorry for the rant back to the Photo-Walk. Approximately 9:30 pm with very cold hands I walk up to a small group of people who braved the cold and were able to get off the sofa during hockey playoffs (that’s a big deal in Pittsburgh).

We take photographs and talk….

Conversation, that is my favorite thing about holding the Photo Walks. Every walk I meet somebody new, have a conversation about creativity and confidence. Conversation, creativity, confidence (the 3C’s of a working artist's career). Sounds like a nice trio of ideas; I should write a blog post about that.

Photo Walk (Reminder) Tonight @ 9:30

Feedback

What do you think about this photo? To dark, to bright, did I nail it or is off the mark? Let me know & thanks for the feedback....

Tomorrow Night ~ Photo Walk (Reminder)

Topic: Night Photography & Fireworks (after the Pirate game)
Date: April 17
Time: 9:30 ~ Fireworks around 10ish
Where: West End Overlook, Pittsburgh PA
What to bring: Camera, tripod, passion to learn and a friend.

Workshop: NOW BOOKING
You can click HERE to go straight to the registration page, or you can contact us at craigphotography@mac.com or 724.355.9079 with any questions.

All photography & artwork on this site is licensed under a creative commons licensing: Please feel free to use and distribute the photography & artwork in accordance with the licensing

Moment

Current Reading: Confessions of a Public Speaker
Current Music: All That We Let In by Inigo Girls
Mood: Still
Smells: Ginger
Sounds: Quite house
Temperature: 55 degrees
Thoughts: Serve the Muse...

Clarity Of This Present Moment

Cold and rainy in Pittsburgh today. The past days have been filled with either warm sunny days or chilly overcast skies.

Weather brings out my inter-perspective side of thought. Right now I would love to be out for a long walk with my camera and journal stealing ideas from my surroundings.

Instead I am enjoying the clarity of this present moment. That sounds all Zen-like, I probably stole that line from some book that I read but can’t remember for sure.

Photography has constraints. The medium itself is built upon constraints. This is good for a lot of reasons; builds discipline, focus, insight and lastly constraint forces thought with fresh creativity. Those are good constraints…

A pure creative experience devoid of constraints ~ that is what I am searching for.

It’s time to change the tools that I work with. Ordered a Flip cam & started experimenting with iMovie. I am setting my own constraints for this project by limiting myself to the basic recording and editing software. It will force me to have a strong focus on the narrative and the composition.

Human-centered design mixed with a multi-media project is my next side project. Short videos, documentaries and collaborations…feels like the right direction for me, for now.

Ubunta (African concept) We are only human through the humanity of others….

I pray to the Muse out loud; let this be my path.

Photo of the Week ~ Ambient Art

Educated by a Vagabond (myself)

I went to college but that’s not where I was educated.

College for me was a time of creativity and having my papers proof read, edited and typed by my girlfriend. College was a time of failing accounting class and trying to earn some money (an artist should never-ever have to take accounting, ever).

The launch of my education started about two years after college. I started traveling, (a lot) for a photography company that I was working for. Sitting on long plane rides reading a variety of biz books, curbside philosophy and random novels. Kerouac, Henry Miller and Nietzsche…these guys spoke to me. They had been the teachers that I was searching for.

Food was an educational tool. I wish I could say it was being exposed to different cultures but it was the food that was the teaching means of experiential value. Dinner in San Francisco is much different than dinner in Kentucky. And dinner from a street vendor in New York...well there’s nothing like that, anywhere.

Walking has been a good educational tool. Walking in the woods or down a city sidewalk, strolling through a small town. Go for a walk, you will learn something new.

My Father has always said to me “you go to school to learn how to think”. I agree with that. Now that I am a parent I want to expand on the words of my father.

You go to school to discover the passion and effort of how to continually think, expand and grow for the rest of your life.

Simple concepts that deliver…

Shoot N' Learn | Conect N' Grow

In episode one David & I discuss our upcoming Photo-Walk & recommend a few of the books that we have recently enjoyed.

Rework by Jason Fried & David Hansson
Linchpin By Seth Godin

Photographer's Job Description

Includes but not limited to:

Small business owner
Art director
Marketing and branding expert
Secretary and administrator
Janitor
Handy man
Tech guru
Gear head
Adverting sales
Publicist
Promotions
Research analyst
Customer service operator
Self-manager
Self-director
Self-motivator

I nearly forgot, you also take photographs, lots and lots and lots of photographs….then you get to edit lots and lots and lots of
photographs.

Moment

Current Reading: 36 Arguments for the Existence of God by Rebecca Goldstein
Current Music: Beauty Will Rise by Steven Curtis Chapman
Mood: Enlightened by the dawn
Sounds: My dog's fingernails on the hardwood floor.
Smells: Clean Spring air
Temperature: 75 degrees
Thoughts: Reading a book written by a soulful atheist & listening to music by a devoted Christian, enjoying both thoroughly….that must say something about me, not sure what?????

Currently Read Books (that haven’t been listed)
Rework by Fried & Hansson
Mandela’s Way by Richard Stengel
Common Sense by Glenn Beck
Skinny Bitch by Freedman & Barnouin
Vagabonding by Rolf Potts

Photo Walk & Workshop

Topic: Night Photography & Fireworks (after the Pirate game)
Date: April 17
Time: 9:30 ~ Fireworks around 10ish
Where: West End Overlook, Pittsburgh PA
What to bring: Camera, tripod, passion to learn and a friend.

Workshop: NOW BOOKING
You can click HERE to go straight to the registration page, or you can contact us at craigphotography@mac.com or 724.355.9079 with any questions.

All photography & artwork on this site is licensed under a creative commons licensing: Please feel free to use and distribute the photography & artwork in accordance with the licensing

Insanely Useful Photography Tips

~ Equipment is a crutch; composition cannot be bought.

~ Discovering your voice as a photographer is a path, not a destination.

~ Don’t photograph to impress their brains, photograph to touch their heart.

~ Simple beats complex every time.

~ Imperfections are real, art has flaws…

~ Inspiration is scarce, remove all distractions when shooting.

~ Respect mistakes – do not hide or cover them up. This is where you grow and are shaped as an artist.

~ Sleep

Easter

~ See you on Monday, enjoy the Easter season...