I took a step back

I apologize for not posting for nearly a month. I have taken a step back and also a jump forward. I am beginning a new era for my life. A significant new chapter. I am attempting to go back to college to pursue a bachelor's degree in order to get into a position to become a teacher.

For a vast majority of my life (I will be 40 this year) people around me have recognized the gift I have for sharing my knowledge. Some use words that aren't family friendly, others simply say, "you should be a teacher".

If it all goes as planned, I will attend the Art Institute of Pittsburgh beginning in May. Depending on the class load will of course determine the graduation date. I plan on majoring in Photography with a minor in web design, fashion or advertising.

On a totally different, but possibly parallel note....I found this video that I really wanted to share.

To ME, this video kind of brings together the ability as humans to find a common ground and that if we just take the time to smile, dance and laugh....we can be better stewards of this big blue marble called Earth.



Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Breathe slowly

For those of you that have shot with me, you know I love taking pictures. For those of you that haven't ever been around me during a shoot....I'm a bit funny. One of those little things that happens to me is that I stop breathing when I am behind the camera. I focus so hard on getting the right shot, the details, clothes, lighting, composition etc...that I hold my breath. Then after a few shots I remember...I actually tell myself....BREATHE DUMMY, BREATHE. By then, when I start to breathe again and give out instructions it sounds like I am hyperventilating.

When I am behind the camera, I don't care who I take pictures of. Seriously. But as life is, some people just stick out more than others. Today...either I lost, or it was take from me...the opportunity to shoot with a model that I thought had truly natural posing skills. She ROCKED the camera.

I received an email this afternoon that said she wouldn't be pursuing modeling anymore. I actually got sad as I read the short, three sentence paragraph. She was gracious in it's content, but the message is still the same and the result took my breath away.

I have never said I can make anyone famous. I don't make any promises that I can't keep and I am honest if we shoot and the images aren't quite working out or if something is really working and we need to keep going on that path. I also realize that modeling at any level isn't for everyone. But damn it sucks when you have something then it's gone.

CY....I do wish we had more time, but as life does, it moves forward with or without us. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, so much for your time we did have.

Dismal response

Maybe my pictures suck, or I didn't get the perfect shot, or it's confusing. But after a week, absolutely NO ONE has inquired about the Cheer Ltd. Dance/Cheer at Robert Morris University last week. The perfectionist in me say's the pictures suck. The business person in me says no one knows how to access the sales site and email me the image number. Of course, a big issue that causes difficulty in finding and ordering pictures is that the web sites that exist to SELL prints all want 40% of the sale. That's a big chunk of change. It's almost not worth it to sell a picture for $6 and only get a few bucks out of it. Can't replace camera gear at that rate.

I was excited about the initial response from parents when I was giving out my cards at the event. But something happened, I just don't know what it was. That is the bane of shooting on "spec". I bust my butt getting the best images I can (over 2,200 that day). I take two days editing, creating web galleries and blog posts and get zero dollars for it. Lots of people can take pictures. Lots of people can take really good pictures, especially with all the low cost digital cameras out there. But are you getting "exceptional" pictures consistently? Or is it "eh, it's acceptable". You're settling for McDonald's images when you could have a meal prepared by a chef....so to speak.

I know even I have to work hard at exceptional images and I missed several key opportunities. But this was my very first indoor cheer/dance event. What I did get was good, but I know I can do much better.

NBMS Career Day 2009

I only got choked up 6 times....maybe 7.

Not sure why, but perhaps my desires deep within are bring ignited. Maybe I have figured out how to set myself on fire....or I am just an emotional sap.

Career day 2009 was today at the middle school. I got 6th grade again this year (by request). Next year, will be 8th grade.

I wish I could show you the images that the students took, but being a professional photographer, I have to have their permission. Hopefully, their parents will read this and give me the opportunity to share the work of their kids. :)

Our sessions are 20 minutes each for 6 classes. I talk WAAAYYY too much for only 20 minutes. I was cut short 5 times I think. Once I was only 1/2 way through because of a lot of questions. Which is fine, but I wasn't able to get out all what I wanted to say for the job of being a photographer. I think I will start on next years presentation this week. I need to cull it down a bit and really focus on the business part of the business. Sure, making WOW! images is the goal, but how do you do it? What does it take to know you have made a great image? How do you market, sell and collect the money. I didn't get to cover those items in my bullet points.

I did however cover copyright and infringement. I asked if anyone created anything and what they would fee like if someone used it to make money and they not get paid? I think more than a few students got it.

All in all, I think MY performance was lacking, but hopefully the students were able to get through my gibberish to realize I am a lucky person following my dream and being able to share it with them.

Thank you NBMS staff! Thank you!

The state of Photograpy

The level of fear that is running rampant across the world is getting really really bad. Via photoattorney.com I found the War on Photography blog that has reports of photographers getting harrassed. As a photographer that often takes pictures in public places, this situation puts fear in my job and that isn't a place one wants to be.

In the winter of 2007, I was walking around my town taking pictures of various buildings and such. I was followed by one of the business owners and he questioned who I was and what I was doing.

Why can't we all get along?

Wednesday night shoot

I HAD TO EDIT THIS FOR GRAMMAR: Still not sure if it's right.

After some patience testing (i.e. my patience was tested), we finally got to shoot last night. I had put down in my calendar a 2pm shoot. But on our public chalkboard (a wall painted with chalkboard paint) in the kitchen I put down 1pm. I am pretty sure I put 1pm so I knew when to leave for the studio in order to get set up....well, I got there about noon....thinking the shoot was at 1pm. Then sometime after 1pm, I was wondering where she was so I sent a text to my model inquiring. She said she was gathering stuff and on her way. Well......me being short sighted (or ignorant) I thought she was late...like over an hour late.

Well....if you followed my Twitter feed, I sent another text like 2:15, thinking she was 1:15 late and I was ready to bug out. She said she's :20 from the studio. I waited....she got there and apologized for being late. I said she was supposed to be there at 1:00....she said 2:00.

(insert tension joke here)

She was RIGHT!

Dammit!

So she really wasn't all that late...I was just uber early and impatient. Bad time management on my part. WAAAYYYY bad.

Well, I think in my rush to get her to the studio...she had forgotten a bag with all her shoes. Back to her house she went, in the crappy slushy, snowy weather. What a trooper.

The first frame was fired off at 4:45. Ugh, WAAYYY late. She was preparred for an all nighter....what ever it took to get some shots. I was game too, but I knew I would catch hell from the home front, had I shot all night.

Weeeelllllll.........

We didn't fire the last shot until 11:49pm. Five hours of shooting w/a high key (white) background, black background, chairs, bean bag, dresses, shirts, lingerie, off camera wireless flash (Vivitar 285HV), white foam board reflectors, my DIY diffusion panel a whip and mud boots in the staircase as well as in the basement grubby dirty floor. After all was said and done we ended up with over 700 images. That much time on a shoot was fine with me, but my wife was pissed. She's still not talking to me. UGH!!

Well, I promised a shot (or three), here it is (they are). More will come when the model approves some blog and web versions. Maybe late next week. (edit: they are already up)

I wrote the above post then received permission. So here are three images form last night. The rest of the dozen are in the Tabetha web site gallery.

Loving the boots


My take on American Gothic


Wall flower

Asking for a little patience for Christmas

Late Tuesday night, Lightroom started to act a little funny. Might have been coincidence. I was tired and decided to call it a day.....night.....? The next day, the computer wouldn't work. Soooo, I am dutifully trying to get my computer back in working order so I can finish orders in time for Christmas.

Thank you.

Life makes changes

One of the facilities I have used is closing down (at it's current location).

Creative Treehouse is located in a building in Bellevue PA. Recently Bellevue (either) hired a new Code enforcement Officer(s) or they are enforcing codes that haven't been enforced. Now they are working up a storm. Because of this, the building that Creative Treehouse is currently calling home, has been put under notice and is no longer available to artists.

Granted, I have only heard one side of the story. (still) The result is that Creative Treehouse has to find a new facility. The 7,500 sq feet of shooting space....and it was a sweet space....is no longer available for artistic adventures (at it's CURRENT location).

According to Jesse, the facility administrator, they are looking at a new space, albeit smaller, in Lawrenceville, PA.

The agony of it all

Now that many photographers are in the digital age, we use computers in our cameras, computers as our darkrooms and computers to communicate. When a computer stops working, it throws our world into disarray.

I was going, going, going, all of this last weekend. I also decided to download the trial version of Lightroom 2, while I am waiting for my copy to arrive in the mail. I use Adobe's Lightroom for the vast majority of my editing. For me, it works very well.

Anyway, there are enough differences in LR2 to slow my workflow down quite a bit. It's a learning curve and is expected.

But what wasn't expected was after I imported all the images from this weekend, and organized them, my library threw up an error message of "Assertion Failed!" UGH!!

After looking for a while, it appears that this error happens a lot and there isn't really a fix. But there is a work around. You have to re create your catalog. HOPEFULLY from a working backup.

To make this a short story, I was able to rebuild my image catalog after a few days of lost work.

I will try to get some images up by Thursday night or Friday.

What the world is coming to

Qoute of the day:
"This parental paranoia is getting completely out of hand..." - Gary Crutchley

That quote was form a report that happens all to often. Reported over on FoxNews a dad taking pictures of his OWN kids on a playground was harassed by other families. Here is the link. As a photographer, it concerns me that people will automatically brand a person as bad, or suspicious if he has a camera. In this case, the police helped him. But police have been known to harass photographers all too often as well. Just do a Google search on "police harass photographer" and you will see what I mean.

In my own experience, I too have been harassed by security guards when taking pictures of my family at PPG Square in Pittsburgh PA. They say you cannot take pictures above the ground. No wide angle shots or shots looking up at their buildings. But in EVERY image of the Pittsburgh skyline, their beloved PPG building is in it. But if you are actually in the PPG square, you will be asked to stop taking pictures. It's kind of fun actually, if you know what to expect. You can mess with them, like I did when I gave the camera to my son who was probably 6 at the time. A security guard told me to not take the pictures. I said "talk to the kid, he has the camera." There was a small bit of tension at that point until he asked if he was my son and therefore under my control.....LOL

Anyway, this paranoia really has to stop. People need to get a life.

Trip summary

Beginning May 1, 2008 I spent the majority of 9 weeks among the Tamarack and Red Fir trees. I woke to the flowing waters of the Naches River in the Wenatchee National Forest not far from Chinook Pass and Mount Rainer. I also ventured to the desert region of the Columbia Basin where sand and nuclear energy co-exist among the flowing waters of the mighty Columbia River. Where wind blown tumbleweeds and sage brush become yard decorations. I was back home in state of Washington.

Goal one was to help a family member with some projects after his retirement. A secondary goal for me was to bring my kids here for their summer vacation. That second goal sadly, failed to materialize.

Of course, I brought my camera equipment to shoot when I could. I tried to save a little money, but I ended up buying some more light stands, a bike from Craigslist and a few dinners. Never resting (photographically speaking), I talked to a lot of people to see if I could take their portraits. Suffice to say, the Yakima/Naches area of Washington is a veritable vacuum of talent. There isn't much here. I even tried to get a MUA (Makeup Artist) to work a shoot, but she didn't find it important to check her messages except once a month. Maybe she was busy, maybe not, either way, it could have been communicated. A few people I wanted to shoot, one was very interested, and kept saying so, but would never commit. Wish I could have that time back. Another was so rude you would have thought I almost ran over her child in the driveway. The project I mentioned MANY MANY weeks ago, will not get done. I had planned on getting environmental portraits of employees of the two restaurants up here in the valley. I planned several poses out for specific people too. But because of their schedules and mine, it will not happen. I will put the idea in my idea book, and hopefully excecute it at another time and or place.

On the other hand, things were/are going well back in New Brighton/Pittsburgh. First, I was selected by Fe Gallery as one of 250 artists to represent Pittsburgh in a 250 year anniversary celebration/project. Secondly, the building where I was planning on putting in a second photo studio is still open and the owner wants to make sure I will be up and running when I get back or soon there after. Still, that "project" is going on seven months overdue. Also worth mentioning, one of the models I shot with in the spring wants to set up another session. She is/has worked with another local photographer because of my images he saw on her MySpace page. Finally, my MUA (well, she's not MINE, but it's the only MUA I work with), wants to shoot with me too. So things are significantly more promising in "da 'Burgh" than here in "the valley".

I did however get to spend some great times with my family here in WA. I attended a graduation, made it for mothers day, did a little golfing (pictures actually) and a family reunion coinciding with a school reunion. Most importantly, I had a great weekend with my wife when she visited for the graduation.

Regarding physical labor, I have shoveled about 7 tons of sand/gravel, screwed in 150+ pounds of 3 inch deck screws and bent more 20 penny nails than I care to admit. I have cut, chopped and loaded hundreds of feet of wood (did I say hundreds?). Painted walls, decks, railings and even myself. After I bought the CraigsList bike, I started riding it. Usually a couple of times a week. But near the end of my "tour" I was riding every day. My longest ride was 15 miles one way (up hill into the wind)(30 mile round trip). Many rides were 10-12 miles on average. Traffic wasn't a big deal, but the wind was. It always seemed to happen to blow towards me regardless of when I rode. Uphill, into the wind just really sucks.

This is not a "look what I have done" posting. It is to inform you all of my summer thus far. I haven't had an epiphany, nor have the clouds parted for the voice of God. However, I have learned a little about my family, my friends, and myself. Not since Air Force Basic Training and Tech School have I worked so hard (physically and mentally) for so long. (By the way, Basic Training is where I learned that the mind gives up sooner than the body). I hope these mini lessons can translate well to running my photography business and I eventually become very, very successful. I am coming to the conclusion that the world needs wood cutters, painters and construction workers. It also needs photographers, in which I plan to add myself to that list.

Original Fe Gallery submissions

You can leave a comment and PLEASE share the blog with others. I really need some more input.

These are the images I submitted and from these I was selected to be one of the 250 artists representing Pittsburgh during it's 250th Anniversary celebration.

Keep your head in the clouds


Drive-In Tickets


Merry Go Round 1


Watching You


Merry Go Round 2

Pittsburgh 250 update

I received another email today with a few more details about my selection in Pittsburgh's 250th celebration.

Out of the 350 artists that submitted, I was one of 250 selected. But not all of them were photographers. I don't know how many were, so I am pretty excited that I might be one of a smaller group. Included are all types of artists. Sculptors, painters, visual arts (video) etc.

I was selected as an artist/photographer, not so much that one of the images I selected was chosen. That too makes it all the more cool.

The hard part now is to select a SINGLE image that is extraordinary that will be placed into a 250 page catalog that will be marketed to all the art galleries in the country.

Whoooa! (as Joey would say)

I will get a single page and a simple text byline. (Name, zip code). The image for the catalog can be different that one of the images I submitted or it can be one of them. I can also have a totally different image that will be in the gallery for the celebration. The catalog image has to be selected and submitted via snail mail by next week. Not much time. I have all my 2008 images with me, but I have only a few 2007 images on a separate disk with me. I don't have anything older than July-07-ish....so my options will be limited to the last 12 months.

I will post some images beginning this weekend. Hopefully you can all help me select the one or two images that I will submit.

I have mentioned it before, but share my blog with others and they too can participate. I may choose your selection, or go with my gut.....I won't know until it happens. Regardless, I have to have the CD in the mail by WEDNESDAY 6/4 so they will receive it by 6/7.

I have been selected

One (or more) of my images has been selected to be in the Pittsburgh's 250 year celebration. I received the selection notice via email. My image will be on display and in a catalog with other artists that have taken images of the Pittsburgh area.

Once I have more info, I will pass it on to you.

View from the rooftop

Well, there aren't any angels singing, but the view is mighty nice.

I have several pictures to post, but have to wait for a better internet connection. It should happen this weekend. Just an FYI.

I was roofing Mon/Tue/Wed. It's an experience and I cannot say it's something I would want to do for any length of time.

Wednesday I was coming off the ladder carrying a bundle of roofing shingles. I stepped onto the ground and stepped on a support board and my ankle twisted and POPPED. I fell to the ground, and the shingles landed on my head.

Don't worry, the shingles were fine.

My ankle is bruised, swollen to about a baseball and hurts to walk. Life is good. I was also hit in the face by a shingle that caught the wind and smacked me in the lip. No blood, so it doesn't count.

Today I dug a dozen holes for a wheel chair ramp/deck. All I can say is GET A FOUR YEAR DEGREE.

I can't wait to get back shooting again.

I can smell the trees

I am back "home". Back in Washington state. For most of my summer trip I will be in the Cascade Mountains. My Internet connection is limited so my posts will be only text when I get online while up in the mountains. When I get into town, about once a week, I might be able to upload photos. So be prepared to see large posts every so often. Or several different posts (with pictures) once a week on the same day.

On the ground 3 days, I have already scouted a few sites, shoot a baseball game, chopped wood and did a birthday party. Well, let me re-phrase that"wood chopping" thing. Someone else used a chain saw to cut up the trees (3 or 4 of them) and I loaded the wood into the trucks (with help) and cleaned up the mess (with help). Still, it was pretty heavy duty physical work. NOT what I am used to doing. In all of that, I made a point to take pictures. Hopefully I can get some uploaded in the coming week.

I'm alive

Yeah, I had the bona fide flu. According to Dr. "ME". All the classic symptoms were invited. Headache, body ache, cough, chills, sweats, tired, vomiting....It was a good time I tell ya. I spent 7 of 8 days in bed. The 7th was half bed, half out. The one day I was out of bed I was on OTC meds to keep me sitting up taking pictures. SHould have been in bed instead. I am now on meds for a sinus infection. I suppose I am about 65% right now. Still get headaches and a cough that just won't go away. I also lost about 10 pounds. Maybe I can keep it off by keeping my eating habits in check.......LOL

sick, very sick

Been in bed 4 of the past 5 days.
VERY sick.

Spreads like wildfire

I once worked with a guy that was an NBC specialist in the Army. NBC is "nuclear, chemical and biological". I went through very little training regarding NBC compared to his training. He knew more than anyone would want to know about the stuff. One of the things he had said, that if there was a large scale military like, chemical or biological incident, wherever you happened to be, is to "run to the cloud". As opposed to run away from the accident. The fallout would be so horrible, that one would not want to live through it. So "running to the cloud" would ensure you wouldn't be around to see the fallout.

With that lovely preface, as I am online this past week or so. I have noticed the speed and ferocity of this current sick bug spreading across the US of A. I know, or have read about, people from California to Maine that are sick. I was sick last week and I still am not 100%. But Thursday, Friday and Saturday I was out. Today, my wife came home with something. It's only a matter of time for the kids and in-laws to get it.

One step foreward, one big stop

I headed over to the salon/studio today to start on the big room and clean up the medium sized room. I started pretty much as soon as I got there and as I was vacuuming, Melissa came up and said we wouldn't be doing any work today. Of course, I was concerned and very surprised. Apparently, when you enter a business relationship, you also get to "work" with the significant others. Her boyfriend has done a lot of the work up to now and he likes to do things just right. It's very possible that maybe "my" workmanship of hanging the ceiling tiles wouldn't be up to snuff with his work. So he impressed upon Melissa to stop work.

That really sucked. Talk about a blind side play.

So, I am at Panera read right now, waiting for my print jobs to finish at Staples. I am also getting my business cards into draft mode. Since the logo is done, all I have to do is put it on the card and the contact info then it should be done. I'll put it up here when that happens.

Things I thought I'd never say (Pt III)

I just realized that I accidentally pulled the images of Liz/First model shoot off an earlier post. I will get those restored soon. Sorry 'bout dat.

Things I thought I'd never say (Pt II)

OOOHHHH Shit! But much, much worse.

I lost a whole event's worth of images. They were not transferred over form my laptop to my external hard drive during my archive activities in December and they are now gone. Permanently.

I lost the whole 2007 Senior Bowl football game from November 3rd. There were about 1200 images of cheerleaders and football players in what was their last football/cheer game. Some will go on and play in high school, but many will never play again.

It makes me sick knowing how many images I lost because of carelessness and not following a plan of moving images from one place to another and ensuring their existence in any case of negligence or accident.

How did I figure it out? I had an order for pictures from a person who is know to spend big money. She wanted copies of everything I had taken of her grandson.

Salt in the wound.

Don't make spaghetti naked

The daughter had a few friends over this week. So today we were making some arts and crafts thingys. Of course it required hardware in the name of a hot glue gun. So I broke it out and let it heat up. But the trigger to advance the glue stick wouldn't work which required me to push on the end of the glue stick to get hot glue out.

No problem.

At least until the second to the last item to be glued. That's when I decided to try and glue my thumb. Son of a *&^*(# that hurts.

When I touched my thumb to the hot tip, the hot glue and the item stuck to my thumb. Which as a reaction, I tried to shake it off. Well, when that happened, the item flew off and landed on and stuck to my bare foot.

Son of a *&^*(# that hurts.

After it's all said and done, hot glue causes second degree burns on skin. My right thumb is bandaged up with a one inch x 1/8th inch blister.