This week is a doozy. "Businessman trapped in rope web." And what a web it is. Seriously, people, make better stock photography. This stuff is just ridiculous. On second thought, keep making awful stock, cuz I do enjoy my weekly laugh.
Freelensing, while potentially harmful to your camera, can yield some unpredictable and amazing results.
Sometimes You Gotta Freelens
Freelensing. What is it? Should I do it? Is it safe (not entirely, so read through before trying)? Will it make me insanely rich? Answers to those questions and more...
Read MoreAnother Retouch Post
In my continued series called, "Elliott threatens to finally, eventually, put together some retouching tutorials, but not today," I present a before and after retouch shot. This was a pretty deep dive, even for me, and will likely be one of the shots I use to demonstrate a few techniques. And let me know what kinds of things you'd like to learn and I'll feature tutorials by popular demand!
Gratuitous Product Shot
Today's post is an entirely gratuitous product shot and retouch from a year or so back. This is partly because I ran out of time to post anything super thoughtful, and also partly because it's gorgeous (in my sincerely humble opinion. :p ).
WTStock - Week of 2/27
Sometimes the best part of a terrible stock photo is the title. Today we have "the man with the parcel." Original available here.
Secret Spot
Something I grapple with a bit is whether or not to give away my favorite shooting locations when asked. So, may I propose a trade?
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Old Stuff
I found a extremely old profile of mine on a photo site where I uploaded a bunch of stuff I shot 15 years ago.
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Let's get Fit
Something I've been trying to build my portfolio out with is fitness and active lifestyle photography. This is Colorado, after all. This particular shot was taken with my friend Lua in a mad rush as the sun was going down - we didn't even have a place to shoot at the time. But I knew what I wanted and was happy enough to drive like a bit of a maniac to get that shot. And Lua was somebody who could be trusted to bring the right color top and shoes to make the shot pop. All in all, what I'm trying to say is that this was one of the least organized shoots I've ever pulled off and yet good things can still happen. If you wanna work with me on some active lifestyle shots, holler at me and let's make it happen! And I promise to plan better for it.
Also, I've been thinking about throwing together some (mainly retouching) tutorials. If there's anything you'd like me to share in particular, let me know.
WTStock - Week of 2/12
The bowels of stock photography websites are rife with unimaginably awful stuff. I don't know what search term led to this result, but I'm guessing it was something as innocuous as "penalty kick". Go figure. Enjoy this week's amazingly bad photography!
Sand has encroached on houses in Waldport, OR for decades, causing constant headaches for owners.
When the Beach Gets a Bit Too Close
I'll admit I haven't been shooting as much lately as I'd like (nor have I gotten started yet on a tutorial series I've been planning out), so in the meantime I've been going back into the archives for interesting stuff to post, and I came across a small series I shot down in Waldport, Oregon several years back documenting the constant battle homeowners in Bayshore have had battling encroaching sand. It's been an issue for decades. For periods the sand retreats and all seems normal, but every so often winds, tides and storms bring the sand up to the doorstep.
Sometimes the houses get buried. Sometimes they risk falling into the bay. It really makes you question what sort of qualifications the building development team had when this neighborhood was being planned. I haven't been back in several years, so I don't know what the current state is, but I will never forget seeing all these houses literally drowning in sand.