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Aperture 3 Presets // Take 2

2010-03-04T23:30:18Z

Since my last Aperture 3 presets were available I received some very positive responses about them. I knew it was only a matter of time before I was going to have some more to share with everyone and that time has come. As before my presets are being made available for free download. If you happen to be visiting my site for the first time don't forget to check out a previous blog post featuring my first set of Aperture 3 presets.

Valley Light - Aperture Presets

Download Valley Light Presets

These presets will bring a vintage and worn look to any photo especially if there is a some significant blues in the image.

Blown Glass - Aperture Preset

Download Blown Glass Presets

This set of presets is a heavy monochrome set. The color chosen for the preset was picked to give an image a "parchment" style look but can easily be changed to any other color.

Bow wow WOW!

2010-02-22T22:53:41Z

I visited with my sister in law this morning at her pet grooming business D'-Tail Pet grooming. Outside of family things we discussed some d'-tails about an upcoming project that we are going to be working on together. She takes dogs (mostly) and cleans them up and makes them look nice. I like to photograph things that look nice. So it only makes sense to combine our talents and offer customers a clean, cut, and shoot package. We are still working on the d'-tails of the whole thing but any folks around the Salem, Stayton or surrounding areas should contact her for more information (503-769-7868) or keep an eye on the D'-Tail Facebook Fan Page or my blog. Since I was already there and happened to have my trusty D200 and Sigma 30mm ƒ1.4 (LOVE THAT LENS!!) I couldn't resist taking a couple quick shots of the doggies she had in the window!

A quick side note... YES these photos are all "off color" but it IS on purpose. I used some custom presets that I created for Aperture 3 to add the styled look to the photos. I specifically used the preset "Fufu Berry - Pink Fufu - Fluffy" on all the images you see. Feel free to check out my post on these presets and download them as well.

Getting Warmer

2010-02-22T04:41:52Z

Today was ANOTHER beautiful day here in Oregon! It was still a tad cool but out in the sun it was wonderful! We took a walk this afternoon at Minto Brown park and enjoyed the weather. Its still a bit early to see any major changes from the warm weather but there were signs everywhere that spring is around the corner. Trees have blooms, grass is growing and flowers are popping up here and there. I decided to do something a little different with the photos on today's post. Instead of just straight photos from the walk I decided to do some before and after shots using the presets that I made for Aperture 3. Its amazing how far a photo can go from that original shot to a wonderful piece of art. If you are and Aperture user please take a look at the presets that I have created and feel free to download them.. they're FREE!! :D

Spring Is In the Air

2010-02-19T04:11:19Z

Today was GORGEOUS! We have had some off and on warmish weather but today was nice all day and I took advantage of it by getting out and shooting some photos. I had no plan other then to have my camera in front of my face over the course of the 2 hours that I was out. I picked a general direction and started driving that way until I saw something or someplace worth stopping. I made it outside of Salem and saw Mt. Jefferson off in the distance. It was such a clear day that it took no effort to see the details of the mountain. Across the road to the west was the coastal range. There was a nice little spot in between the trees where I was able to get a couple shots as well. After a short time along the side of the road I headed to a near by park that I had never visited but have known about for some time. Honestly there was not much there worth looking at so I started looking for some small details. Once I decided to walk back to the parking lot I heard some chirping coming from behind me. There were two sparrows chasing each other around the bush that I had just passed. I had about 2 seconds to get a shot.. I fired twice and walked away with one decent photo. All in all it was a great day and I look forward to spring and all that comes along with it.

Aperture 3 Presets // Take 1

2010-02-17T04:25:26Z

So about a little over a week ago Apple released Aperture 3. Aperture is the main software that I use for managing and editing my photos. It has been a LONG time in coming and I am glad that it is finally out. One of the things I was looking forward too upon the release of Aperture 3 was the ability to save different variations or "looks" in what is called a preset. Its a simple but powerful feature that had been missing in the previous versions of Aperture. Since I received my copy of Aperture I have been working away at some fun presets that I am glad to say are here and available for anyone looking to download them. I have 2 different sets with example photos listed below.

FuFu Berry - Aperture Presets

Download FuFu Berry preset

Ok, these are just some fun and colorful presets. Really just wanted to play around and have some "vintagy" looking styles that I could experiment with. The naming means NOTHING. I always found that presets were just more fun when they had a wacky name.

Island Life - Aperture Presets

Download Island Life Preset

This is a set of 5 presets that are somewhat based around the time of the day and the intensity and color of the sun. I named this set "Island Life" because I used to live on an island.. Hatteras Island off the coast of North Carolina. I have fond childhood and teenage memories growing up on and around the beach and I tried to recreate that mood with these presets.

Lost and Found (Part 5)

2010-02-02T03:49:22Z

Strobist Style Shooting

Over the next couple of weeks I am going to be posting some photos from 2009 that fell through the cracks. These images can be anything from family vacation photos to photos in the backyard or extras from a wedding. They will be the ones that just didn't make it out the door for whatever reason but need to be displayed for everyone to see.

For a couple years now I have been learning from and following a website called strobist.com. What exactly is a strobist? A loose definition is a photographer that uses small flash units off camera to light a scene or a object/person. Photography depends on light to even be created but a strobist has a bit more of a DIY attitude and tries to stretch as much light out of a small flash unit as they can as well as work with natural light. In the photos below I used anywhere from 1 to 2 flash units to produce these photos.

The Boomers! // Local Salem Band

2010-02-01T04:53:59Z

Today I helped a fellow photog light and shoot a local band. The band's name is the "The Boomers" and they are fun bunch of guys to work with. Since I was there mostly to help setup the lighting and make sure it all worked I was only behind the camera a few times but I got a handful of great shots non the less. Today was a blast and I look forward to shooting more photos of these guys and hearing their music.

Finn Stovin - Guitars/Vocals

Tom Suing - Drums/Vocals

Frank McAuley - Guitars/Keyboards/Vocals

Mark Jones - Bass/Vocals

Lost and Found (Part 4)

2010-01-31T18:02:56Z

The Pets and Animals of 2009

Throughout 2009 I photographed a variety of different things, some of which were animals. Below is a complied collection of images of those animals. Come get your fill of big round eyes!

Lost and Found (Part 3)

2010-01-31T04:22:53Z

For this lost and found I ended up going even farther back then 2009 and hitting the end of 2008. We had a snow storm in Salem which then froze over and created a frozen playground. The ice was so thick that it coated everything like a thick chocolate coating on an ice cream cone... except it was clear and didn't taste like chocolate.

Lost and Found (Part 2)

2010-01-30T04:07:06Z

This second set of photos comes from a family camping trip to Fort Stevens on the northwest tip of Oregon. Getting to walk the halls and explore the rooms of this fort was quite an experience. The textures and lighting of many of these locations really stood out. The following photos really emphasize my point.