Over Thanksgiving break I ended up staying in Winona working for the University. So far it has been really really quiet around here and I am really missing my friends.

I am not really looking forward to having to go back to school so soon but it has been a joy just to relax for a while. Thanksgiving dinner was filling even though I could not spend it with most of my family. I am still thankful for everything that I have and I couldn’t wish for anything more. I think I am going to go to bed early again tonight so that I can see another pretty sunrise like this one that was taken this morning. Best part about waking up to the sunrise is you have a lot more of your day to spend slacking off or napping.

Here is another picture from this last summer. I purchased a cheap Canon 80-200 lens for 80 bucks at Walmart and found it to perform like a champ. The lens was not the fastest or most accurate at focusing but the optics are fantastic for the price. This picture was taken in the middle of a summer sun shower. The backlight makes for an amazing quality of light and it highlights only some of the leaves in the background. In the full size version you can see raindrops streaking across the frame.

I cant wait for Spring to be back…

I am happy to announce that the winter months are finally upon us. That means more time to edit images and update content on this webspace. Last Christmas I shot this image and I really love it so I wanted to share with you. It is amazing to me that you can give a professional photographer a little point and shoot camera and within reason they can still produce wonderfully beautiful images that an amateur could not have taken. At the last wedding I shot I noticed that the Digital Rebel XT was one of the favored cameras among the crowd and that is the same camera I started my professional digital photography career with. There are a lot of factors that go into a good photograph and to be honest equipment plays a lesser role.

Last Saturday I helped put on a fun program for Winona State University called The Bowling Extravaganza. The University rented out an entire bowling alley and hosted a private event for all of the students that attend the University. I brought my camera with to capture some of the action and to play with my flash and some of the cool features.

The 580EX has a neat stroboscopic function where it can create short and fast bursts of light to create a kind of time lapse stop action effect all in one picture. When using this feature you want to make sure that you use a slow shutter speed with a steady camera and a fast moving subject.

I am still trying to learn the best combinations to make the correct exposure in certain situations. When I am successful I will be sure to post my results. I don’t know what kind of applications this would have other than showing bullet paths in mid air or showing the movement of a basketball player going up for a basket. Actually that is pretty sweet.

I am looking forward to my time off for Thanksgiving Break this next week. I could really use the time to recoup some lost energy.

I am pretty excited to go to Wisconsin this weekend to visit my Grandma for her Birthday. She is turning 75 this year and I am proud to be her grandson. I think that she will really appreciate it. I think family is one of the most important things in life. Social support is once of the best things you can have in life as the human was not intended to be a solitary being.

Anyway I wanted to share this picture of Kayden. He is one of the cutest kids that I have ever seen much less photographed. I really have taken a liking to photographing people and doing portraiture. With spring just around the corner I am really ramping up for Senior Portrait Season. Thanks for stopping by!