cookies and milk

i just love shots like this. it's why i've included it as my title image on my blog. it's artistic and unique. love it. food works so well with getting the shot just so. it's the difference between night and day. always have a pocket full of food. i just say 'cookies and milk' and they usually come running. iso 400, 1/80, f3.5, fl=54mm.

spooky the black cat

spooky is a fantastic model. he is slightly camera shy at first but once you bring fresh catnip into the picture he goes wild like your typical cat does. i love the close up texture of his nose! he is quite comfortable chillin on the kitchen table. i shot 50 images of spooky and mostly they were not sharp enough or just plain underexposed. this camera suffers from severe shutter lag and at high iso's such as 800 even, the noise is ghastly. at 54mm i'm only able to open the aperture to 3.5. which is unacceptable. i have reached a conclusion. indoor photography is not for this camera if i want to use natural lighting. in fact it is quite maddening. this has been a great learning experience. however limits my ability. and i hate feeling limited in art. iso 400, f3.5, 1/160, fl=54mm.

new fresh dog photo book from apple!

i finally recieved my present from fedex. i looooove getting packages from fedex. it's soooo exciting!! this is the project i have been working on for a while. i seem to spend an awful long time on my own projects but that's only because i want it to be just perfect. and i believe this one is. apple does a pretty good job at printing and the colors are pretty accurate. their quality is decent and the presentation is awesome. for a company that creates computers, i'm happy. i would say the total time it took from start to finish is about 9 hours. that would be ridiculous for any future client-i would cut that time down to about 3 hours. but it really depends on what they would want. i think maybe that is fair for the cost i'm still trying to figure out. there is another PHOTOGRAPHY printing lab that i will explore next time. apple makes fantastic and beautiful computers, they don't specialise in creating books. even so, i'm in love with my book. i love photographing the fur, i love the whole entire creative process with making photo books. they are so unique and valuable. and they'll last forever cause they're printed on archival paper! i will cherish 'our dogs' forever!

good morning mr turtle

i knowwww this blog ought to be postings for pets and people but i just couldn't pass up this opportunity to express my sense of shock and awe on my 6am routine morning walk with my pets. (they only pay attention to fast moving fur-such as bunnies). so in a sense it is somewhat pet related. he was hiding in the grass next to the side walk and can you imagine stumbling onto a slippery critter such as this? i ran home, snagged the camera-thinking-he's a turtle-he's a slowpoke of a fella(or gal) so i didn't hurry. 2 minutes later he's trotted about 100 feet with his ginormous reptilian paws(and claws might i add). can you get an idea of the scale (pun unavoidable) of him next to the tire? and he has retractable claws! i had no idea. so cool is that. and just look at the size of them?! what a hideous warty mess of a creature! jist wandering around the hood, lookin fer some new nesting spot. step outa the way-he's a slippery critter on a mission. iso 100, 1/500 and 1/800, f3.5, fl=54mm.

bff's in chicago

never a dull moment when leia and her gal pals hook up and visit each other in one of the best places to visit in the summer-chicago. images were taken in front of the chicago tribune and michigan ave on the river. the lighting created some sockets and pockets of light that i just don't like but they turned out pretty decent anyway. my favorite shot of them together is the authentic and candid-not posed at all goofy one on the river. leias eyes are so messed up! and the lighting and sharpness turned out great! i believe i captured the true essence of a 16 year old goofing around and behaving authentic and true. this is the aim i going for. camera still suffers from shutter lag and has a hard time focusing on the subject. maddening. but it is my best shot imho. iso 200, 1/125, f3.5, fl=54mm.

Cool and swanky chicago signs!

i love this sign. 'the redhead piano bar' i love the swank style look of it. it's retro, cool, classic and unique. never been here to experience the place. i'm sure it is divine and swell. this will be on my list of places to visit in my lifetime. yes, i walked right past it to take this image, but it was in the morning and it was of course closed.

summer in chicago family trip 2010

have been away for a few days and now it's finally time to get back to the real world. i stepped away from the computer and all emails for 5 days and the withdrawals didn't kick in until the final day. it's good to be back on track again. there was no focus on anything in particular-just behavin' like a typical tourist. so here are some random images from the start of our trip. summer in chicago is quite beautiful (and tasty!!!!!)i must say.

happy 16th birthday leia!

this is a huge milestone leia. your 16 and truly the best thing that has happened to me. just remember, i believe in you. so go chase your dreams kids! love mom.

quote of the week

i'm finally posting one of my favorite quotes from a great man from a more difficult and very different time in our history-possibly appropriate timing to post on the day after the 4th of july. 'success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.' -winston churchill. i scribbled this down on scrap paper a few years ago, and it rings true today as it did back then.

snow in july

yes, it's chilly snow images of me and the fam on the first day of july. i think these are pretty great portraits of mom, leia and your humble photog. i'm posting the rolf the cat and leia shot again simply because it works well in this little collection of oslo winter portraits. and i love it the most. the lighting conditions are perfect-overcast and very pleasing. iso 200, 1/250, f2.8 and fl=14mm(except the portrait of leia and rolf-54mm and f3.5)for some decent bokeh and creates an awesome portrait shot. a longer lens would be ideal-but this has the impact i was going for. the location of the images are at my childhood home in oslo, norway. it's calm and honestly you don't hear much of anything except the occasional magpie and finch chillin-serine and beautiful.