Orchard Photography

Butterfly at the como zoo.

Orchard — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:45:44 +0000

Service and Self Sacrifice

Orchard — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:22:56 +0000

Service and Self Sacrifice. Those that have served are all part of a certain brotherhood. It’s not about the branch, but your loyalty towards one common goal: Defending everyone’s rights, even your right to act like fool.

The next time you see a vet, take a second to thank them for their service. Of course it goes unsaid that most of us are thankful. But make a point, to point and say with a sincere smile: “Thank you for protecting my freedom”.

This shot was taken in North Mankato, MN at the Fun Day’s Parade. I remember being a kid at parades and wondering about the guy that walks down the street holding the American Flag. That would be a crappy job walking a couple of miles trying to hold a flag up in the heat.

I am glad they do it, just because it should give you a rush to know that someone that you have never met before, is defending your freedom thousands of miles away.

f/9.0 ISO 320 1/500 300mm

The comming of age.

Orchard — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:40:20 +0000

Time really does start to fly once your are finally done with school and college. I work everyday with the hope that one day I will make a great impact on people’s lives. I can just sit and wonder about what paths life we will all take.

Sometimes you just have reach out and hope that your making the right decisions for yourself. I know one thing… photography is fun! Make sure you have a hobby, something that makes YOU happy.

f/5.0 ISO 200 50mm 1/50

That’s what patience is all about.

Orchard — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:40:13 +0000

Trial by fire… but the rewards are sweet. I think I was sitting in my parents backyard for at least an hour and a half one afternoon. I had my camera mounted on a tripod and it was just a matter of having enough patience to get the right shot.

There can be a lot of preparation just the get that one shot, but once you get setup it’s just a matter of patience.

f/9.0 ISO 100 1/100 Tripod

The closeup

Orchard — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:46:15 +0000

What really makes a good closeup? To me it’s about the emotion that you can convey though a picture. Shooting portraits is great. Smiling pictures are fun but the bread and butter is when you can look at a picture and get something more from it than just a fake smile.

I took this picture in a park while hand holding with my 50mm 1.4. Sanda has a great expression and you can just feel the energy. Behold the power of expression!

f/5.0 ISO 100 1/640 50mm 1.4

Chicago Church

Orchard — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:30:20 +0000

Fourth Church can be found in downtown Chicago right off of Michigan Ave. With the right light it transforms this lovely spot into a great place to take architecture photos. There are a lot intricate things to shoot.

The best part of it all is that just steps away lies a monstrous giant that contains thousands of people on Michigan Ave spending their day shopping.

If you ever get a change take a few moments to check this place out.

f/5 ISO200 1/60

For the love of a wedding.

Orchard — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 03:13:03 +0000

Come up with a good adjective to describe a favorite wedding moment. It can be your wedding, a child’s wedding or even a strangers wedding. There is definitely something magical about a wedding, especially when you are the photographer. It is being able to grab one of those take your breath away shots that makes me love to shoot at weddings.

Yeah it’s stressful and you at some point will ask yourself on how you managed to get into this position (being the photographer). It’s when all of the dust has settled and you see the magical moments that you captured that makes it all worth it.

f/1.6 ISO200 50mm 1/60

High Contrast Black and White

Orchard — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 15:57:13 +0000

I don’t have any particular niche to my photography. I enjoy shooting portraits and wedding photography, but I also enjoy taking pictures of the outdoors and nature. It is a whole different world and you get to venture out and get your head clear.

This picture was taken at Minneopa Falls State Park in MN. I always shoot in color. That way you always can turn it into a black and white. What makes this picture stand out to me is the higher contrast that I used when I processed the image. Stronger blacks give the picture a better feel for me.

f/11 ISO100 1/30

The back of the wedding party.

Orchard — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 02:08:31 +0000

This is from a wedding I shot in Sept 2009. What I like about this shot is the simplicity. The backs of the dresses are very intricate yet the image makes me feel like its a picture that could have been taken 100 years ago.

I post processed this in photoshop to give the background a gray-scale feel.

ISO 100 50mm f/4.5 1/400sec 20090919

A very tall photoshoot.

Orchard — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 01:01:56 +0000

I found that shooting my close friend Nick was pretty difficult. He is over six foot and getting to his eye level was a challenge. It was a chilly October day that we went out. My idea was to get some pictures of him in a natural sitting position on the stairs of the outdoor stadium in our hometown. I thought this shot turned out pretty good.

He has a great expression, my only regret is not making him sit in the center of the isle. Next time.

f2.8 ISO 100 50mm 20091017