Thursday, December 31, 2009

Think Fast


Summer Breeze


Stable Dreadlocks


Mornings Light On Evenings Snowfall


Crisp Days Of January


It's 2010 In Chicago!


Well, I can hardly believe how fast this decade went past me. It's hard to believe I was sitting in my house ten years ago tonight waiting for us to lose power and heat in the middle of a Chicago winter. I was sitting here ready to watch the airplanes fall out of the sky due to Y2K mania.
There are going to be some new things coming in the months ahead on NikonSniper that should be quite interesting for your viewing pleasure. Can I tell ya? No! Not yet!
In the meantime, please make sure you get entered in the drawing for the 200 Gig Hard Drive (scroll down to read more). We are closing in fast on 2000 followers and that's really quite incredible.
Hope you continue to enjoy your visits here. Stay tuned!
NikonSniper Steve

My New Year Wish

~ Is for all to be compassionate citizens, to live in harmony with whatever…..

Seth Morris Photography | Blog It! Set 6

Mary from Seth Morris Photography sent in these absolutely gorgeous images placed in the classic photo corner Blog It! set, Set 6. Loving it!!

David Terrazas Photography

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Me & Repeat

Name: John Anthony Craig Jr.

Born: May 19, 1969

Occupation: Photographer

High light of this year: Published in two books, couple of magazines and had short story published.

Low light of the year: Forcing my ego to commit suicide, now I feel guilty....

Influences: Picasso, Bach, Ken Wilber, Gary Snyder

Hobby: Yoga

Strengths: I can do push-up, lots of them

Weakness: My wife’s smile

Height: 5’9

Weight: 158 lbs

Hair: Dark brown

Eyes: Hazel

Religious Views: Integral Spirituality

Addiction of choice: Coffee…no, no it’s red wine…no, no it’s scotch

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Krysta Dey | Holiday Card

I can not even believe HOW CUTE Krysta's Christmas card turned out!! We are now completely in love with this little boy and his dreamy eyelashes . . . sigh. Perfect pictures for this card – thank you so much Krysta for sending this in!!

Krysta wrote:
I'm just starting out my photography business and decided that there was no better way to get my name out there than with customized Christmas Cards from my family this year. I looked at a LOT of websites before deciding that the Album Cafe had the perfect templates for me!

Photo of the Week


Camera: D700
Aperture: F/ 7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/100
ISO Speed: 400
Focal Length: 50mm

Monday, December 28, 2009

Photographer’s Blog Class ~ All January 2010

You will learn:
Are you struggling with:
~ Finding business
~ Finding time to market/brand/ advertise

~ Finding time to shoot

Due to scheduling conflicts & previous one-on-one sessions I have decided to cancel the Purposeful Blogging Workshop and instead will be doing small group classes (4 people or less) or one-on-one sessions.

Prices will stay the same $55.00 for the class (be it small group or one-on-one) you choose.

Why the change? Privacy ~ Over the past year of doing the one-on-one session it has been beneficial to the photographer to be able to ask business questions that publicly they would not be comfortable sharing.

Location: 502 W. North Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Cost: $55. 00
Length of class: 3 hours, give or take
Contact: Elizabeth Craig at 724.355.9079 or by email at craigphotography@mac.com

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Downtown Indianapolis at night ... and decked out for the holidays


This post is simply an opportunity to display some images I grabbed on a recent, and relatively short (about an hour and a half), visit to downtown Indianapolis on a recent evening before Christmas. I took on several tasks/objectives: nighttime landscapes; capturing the holiday decorations; dealing with two forms of quite different forms of artificial light in the same frame (tungsten and/or fluorescent/halogen); buildings/architecture; use of a wide-angle lens for such shots (all shots except the final two were taken with a Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 lens); and, as it turned out, an impromptu task: shooting a runner on the steps of the Indiana War Memorial steps.

I bumbled the task somewhat from the get-go; I forgot to bring along my remote cable shutter release. I certainly was reminded of the advantages of that handy device while shooting all of these the traditional finger-on-shutter-button method. I started at Monument Circle, focusing on variations that included the annual monument Christmas "tree."

The street shot is looking east down Ohio Street, from near the Meridian Street intersection in front of the south end of the federal building.











Saturday, December 26, 2009

Sharon Arnoldi Photography | 20 x 20 Collage

How cute is this collage!? Sharon of Sharon Arnoldi Photography did an AMAZING job customizing our "free stuff" 20 x 20 collage, which she appropriately named "Winter Fun". Sharon said,

There are so many great uses for this template! It is really easy to customize for specific uses.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Merry Christmas To All


Well, folks, I am actually going to shut down for a few days. Your comments will be displayed but there will be a few days without new posts. They will be my first days without a post since mid February so I feel a bit like Forrest Gump near the end of the movie when he is in the running mode, back and forth across America and he finally turns around and speaks to the hundreds that are following him, saying ... "I'm pretty tired, ... I think I'll go home now."
Well, I am not quittin'. I hope to do this for the rest of my life ... but I think I will spend some time chillin' for a few days. I thank you all for your kind wishes at this season. I hope you all have a blessed Christmas with your families. May God bless you all with His mercy and grace. Wise men still seek Him today.
Catch you in a few days.
NikonSniper Steve

Didang Alvarez | Lots O Pics Business Card

Didang Alvarez sent us this awesome "Lots O Pics" business card, and I just love all the colorful and fun images! (how cute is the bird "i" in the logo!)

Meet The Family


Photo Taken by Annie O'Neill

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Fresh Flakes


Call Of The Wild


Shades Of Red


The Angels Sang


Amy Hoskins | Ooh La La!

BIG thanks to Amy Hoskins of Amy Hoskins Photography for sharing this Ooh La La album with us!! How gorgeous is this book??? Hot, hot, hot! :)

Amy says,

My clients LOVE my oh-la-la albums! The Album Cafe has been amazing for my business!

Question

~ What is the “It Quality ” that creates separations between you and other photographers in your market?

~ What has changed in the photography market in the last year?

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Steps for a memorial ... and a runner

I was intrigued Friday evening when I strolled past the Indiana World War Memorial and saw the steps being used by an athlete in training. When I saw that the steps-runner was darting in and out of a pocket of light from a nearby lamppost and that the runner's shadow flashed against the pedestal in front of the memorial, I went for my tripod ... and took some shots, the one above giving me the best shadow.

Shari Kimmey Photography | Lots O Pics Business Card

Can you believe how great Shari's business cards turned out! Great images + Lots of them + A great logo = Awesome business cards! Thanks so much for sharing these with us!

High School Rodeo


Heading Eastbound To Flagstaff


Mountain Stream