Emerald Bay Photography News and Updates

Thanks to Luke for pointing me to the website of this Chicago-based wedding photographer. Jean-Rene Geoffrion's portfolio is a study in the art and craft of wedding photography - lots of close-ups of flowers, the cake, beautiful rings, exquisitely adorned brides' dresses etc - but with a delicate and crafty twist.

Of particular interest however is his tight integration of architecture with the photojournalistic style of shooting a wedding. When you browse through his portfolio (sorry, no direct links - the site is 100% flash-based), you feel almost like the opulent churches and sleek Chicago metro-scapes substitute a character of their very own in the wedding story.

Of course, at $6k per wedding, only the wealthy can afford him, and consequently, he has the priviledge of being able to shoot in some truly spectacular locations (all aside from the diamond-and-pearls-dripping brides...).

In any case though - even if you're not particularly into wedding photography per se, his site is worth a look just for the juxtaposition of weddings and architecture.

Labels: photography, photography gear

As read today in Dave Beckerman's New York Photography Blog:

"Tokyo - Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce an exciting new technology that makes it easier to take high-quality, sharply focused portraits. Called Face-priority AF (Autofocus), this technology is an industry first and will be initially available on the new COOLPIX 7900, the COOLPIX 5900 and the COOLPIX 7600 compact digital cameras.

Franko Furkunholder, the spokesman for Nikon has announced that they are also at work on several new features such as: rule-of-thirds, leveling, tilting, and automatic expression evaluation (AEE). This last feature will not only detect a person's face but will be able to judge whether they have the expression that you want: smile mode, pensive mode, and sexy mode are currently in beta testing.

One additional feature will be a stylus touch screen enabling on the back of the camera to allow potential subjects to sign their release on the camera itself."

Sigh.

Where is is going to stop? I mean - the face priority AF doesn't sound half-bad, but "automatic expression evaluation"? Come on...

If you're too lazy (or too blind) not to know what the hell you're looking at in your view finder, you don't deserve to even be holding a camera.

As far as collecting signatures on your screen goes - I can see the whole of the privacy-protection community rise up in protest... and justifiedly so. It's about as stupid of an idea as I've ever encountered (ever heard of ... paper?). Leave it to Nikon ...

Labels: photography, photography gear

I really need to update my blog more often.

I don't, and I get totally back-logged with stuff I've been meaning to put out there, but just didn't have the time to.

So here's a quick round-up then:

- After a successful first run, the Photographer's Slideluck Potshow is back.
The new date is Friday, May 6th, and if you want to attend, email me and I'll give you directions. The event is being hosted this time by Bend photographer Robert Agli.

In a departure from our first Slideluck though, we plan to set aside a portion of the night for pictures related to a theme. This time the theme is DROUGHT.

Now, we all know the low snowpack figures, and we've all heard warnings of a hot, dry summer. So dig up any work that speaks to the specter of scarcity and assemble it in a five minute slideshow. Or, better yet, seek out new photos.

But don't feel limited to physical representations of the theme: maybe you've had a recent stretch of social or emotional drought? Or perhaps your spiritual well has run dry? Bring work that shows that, too. Of course, good old non-themed work is fine as well.

We welcome new faces, but Robert's space is limited, so please don't roll in with a huge posse....

- I've tinkered quite a bit with my new gallery software, and must say it's pretty sleek. Of course I'm far from
being done uploading my entire portfolio, but I expect to have it all done in the next few weeks. So go browse, but don't get your panties in a knot when you hit a deadend with no images ...

Labels: photography

Whoever said product photography had to be done in a studio, with a white seamless background and a ton of 500-watt lights?

Well, when the program chair of the High Desert Museum's upcoming Sagebrush Auction asked me to photograph some items for the western-themed event, I couldn't think of a better place to shoot them than in her own house (which happens to be a gorgeous log home I previously shot for an upcoming issue of Bend Living Magazine).





The August 13 auction is the Museum's single largest fundraising event and promises fabulous food, "frontier" fun, music, and live and silent auctions, featuring dozens of unique items (like the ones above). Proceeds from the Sagebrush Rendezvous support the Museum's educational programs that serve more than 12,000 children throughout Central Oregon.

So if you're a photographer or artist and would like to donate a print or two (tax write-off, folks!) to the auction, contact me, and I'll hook you up with the right person.

Labels: commercial photographer Bend Oregon, photography, product photographer Bend Oregon