American Beauty Rose

Caught this little gem as i was walking through the city...Red roses make me think of the film American Beauty and the line...

Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in.

Gotham LIghts

These were just some ordinary lights during a walk in the park. But a little bit of lightroom made it into something that could be in an Edgar Allen Poe novel. I printed this pictures and must say its one that really catches my attention on the wall amongst others.

Winter Wonderland In Estes Park

Home Along The Devil's Backbone

An exhibit inspired: Remembering Ernie Crowe

For a six-week period in each of the past three years, members of the Indianapolis Photographic Society -- a group of people who indulge the craft of photography -- have displayed examples of their work in an exhibit at the Garfield Park Arts Center in Indianapolis. They've used the "Through the Lens" label to identify this annual exhibit.

The society holds its weekly meetings at the center, and in exchange for doing some promotional and public relations photography work for the center, the center gives the society members wall space in its main gallery hall to display their work each year for "Through the Lens."

Saturday, May 8, marks the opening of the society's fourth annual "Through the Lens" show, and this year's is a bit special because the society has dedicated it to one of their members, Ernest Crowe, who died -- unexpectedly, according to his obituary -- on Sept. 8, 2009. He was 61 years old.

Crowe, a retired chemical research employee of Reilly Industries, held degrees in organic chemistry (bachelor's, Purdue University) and chemistry (master's, Western Michigan). The majority of his years in photography he did so in the film medium, although in his last years he did scan many of his prints into digital images. His primary interest was nature -- the zoo, flowers and, as his obituary described it, "unique life forms."

"Through the Lens: Artistically Speaking, in Memory of Ernest Crowe" is free, runs through June 23 and is accessible during regular art center hours: Tuesday through Thursdays, 2 to 9 p.m.; Fridays, 2 to 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m. It is closed Mondays. The center is at 2432 Conservatory Drive in Garfield Park, just south of the Burrello Family Center.

For related links:

Crowe's obituary

Crowe's gallery at the Indianapolis Photographic Society website

Kellene Maynard | Black Magazine Album & Blog It!

Yippee! More goodies from Kellene over at Bella Lucia Photography!! Today she sends us some awesome samples of the Black Magazine album which she used for an engagement shoot, and some Blog It "Set 3" pics. Thanks Kellene! These are stunning as always! Kellene says,

Check out my GORGEOUS couple Ashley and Joel.. who are tying the knot this coming August!! Aren't they the cutest!! This is my first time using the Black Magazine album template and I LOVE IT! It is a great modern way to showcase my engaged couple!!

Sterling Colorado Creek

Got The Boot In Cheyenne Today

Northeast Horse Farm

My AVIS Mudder Rental by Saturn

Barb Wire Hoola Hoop

V-Blog

Seth Morris Photography | For the Guys Senior Invite

Nope, you didn't read the heading wrong . . . Mary Morris of Seth Morris Photography had awesome creative vision and saw the potential for our Guy's Senior invitation template to work great for a boys birth announcement! Love this Mary!!

Air Force

Sterling Sonic

High Plains

Something New

After five years of only shooting in RAW, last night I shot in JPEG. After twenty years of never shooting sports, I photographed a baseball game. I liked it, both of them.

Create something new, daily – updated my blog header to reflect/remind me to do just that. I debated about changing the header to Create * Connect * Grow, but I thought it would be too confusing, although, the phrase came in a strong second.

There is nothing like drawing a line between the comfort & challenge of creating something new.

The Mile High City

Well, ... here we go again. I am at O'Hare Airport in Chicago and beginning a 17 day adventure in both sales and photography. I anxiously await glimpses of snow capped mountain photos with spring happening all around. Or old barns with mountain backdrops. I only hope that I can catch wildlife candids flying by the seat of my pants on the weekends. Any advice on how to get a Black Bear to smile with his arm around you in the woods? I was told by some of my colleagues to smear peanut butter and honey all over myself and sit in the woods after dark. Thanks I get the point!
I will land in Denver this afternoon and will immediately head up to the Sterling, CO area for the evening. Tomorrow I will have several stops in Northeast Colorado and a stop in Cheyenne, WY. I have been to Colorado before but only to a very small but beautiful portion. This trip will cover roughly 2,500 miles of highways and back roads. I expect this will improve my backlog of photos from the region.
Anyway, ... I hope you enjoy the photographic results of one of our most beautiful States in spring. You might think that I would get tired of the varied mountainous landscapes and roaring rivers after a while. You might think I would start taking them for granted. Just know that I take thousands of photos that no one else sees. I generally love them all ... unless of course I blow something completely ... and that does happen more than you would think. I think mountains are nearly impossible to think as ho-hum when you are a flatlander from Illinois.
Welcome all. Keep those travel tips coming!
Let's enjoy the ride together.
NikonSniper Steve

Moment

Current Reading: Taking the Leap by Pema Chodron
Current Music: Saturday Night & Sunday Mornings by Counting Crows
Mood: Happy
Smells: Cinnamon
Sounds: Little feet running
Temperature: 46 degrees
Thoughts: Lighten-up on your path to wherever?

Laurel and Hardy

When I saw these two I thought of Stanley and Ollie. The one on the left has his eye closed just like the picture of Stanley Laurel and the one on the right looks like his got bur in his saddle. Here's another fine mess you've gotten me into, Stanley...

Photo of the Week

Tad Robinson toasts new CD

Local soul and blues singer Tad Robinson, a five-time blues music awards nominee, threw a party Friday at the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis to mark the release of his latest CD, "Back in Style."

I'd photographed Tad in February at a more intimate show at Eddy's Neighborhood Bar and Grill at Geist when the ensemble was just Tad and keyboardist Kevin Anker. But on this night, Tad had his full band -- including a two-piece horn section -- and they put on a spectacular show for the partygoers.

Lighting was not the greatest; I alternated between my Canon 50mm f/1.8 and Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8, while using ISO levels of anywhere from 1600 to 2000 (with the "nifty-fifty") to 3200 to 6400 with the Tamron. Shutters ranged between 1/80 for the slow numbers to 1/250 when I used the 50mm. A noise-reduction filter in post-processing helped remove a lot of the noise.

But as it turned out, the limited illumination availed me to exploiting some dramatic lighting, especially for images I chose to copy as black-and-white conversions, as I hope you'll agree from the examples shown here. I also shot a 7+-minute video in HD during a blues number in which Tad did a short harp solo, and his guitarist, Paul Holdman, had a prolonged solo. Problem is ... the video is 2.44 GB, and blogger won't allow uploads of any single video exceeding 100 MB, so I can't include that in the post. But it was of very high quality (even better than these stills!)

To see a more complete gallery from the stills shoot, follow this link: Tad Robinson at the Jazz Kitchen.

Win a FREE Photo Shoot

WIN A FREE PHOTO SHOOT!

Craig Photography & the Doubletree Hotel & Suites Pittsburgh City Center are offering past, present and future wedding couples the chance to win a FREE photo shoot at the newly remodeled Grand Ballroom at the Doubletree.

Winners will receive:

~A Free photo shoot compliments of Craig Photography, including all images on disc with printing rights

~A complimentary Romance Package by Doubletree including breakfast for two

~Complimentary makeup application by Ryan Makeup

~Complimentary hair design by Salon Christine

~Complimentary bouquet and boutonniere by Harold’s Flowers

~A chance to be showcased in Doubletree Hotel promotions and marketing materials

Rules:

~You must be willing to dress in your own full wedding attire. Bride must wear a wedding gown, groom must wear a black suit or tuxedo.

~You must sign a waiver allowing all vendors participating in the contest to use your images without restriction for promotional and marketing purposes.

~You must sign a waiver agreeing to be filmed and allow the filmed footage to be used in promotional and marketing materials.

To Enter:

~Send an email to craigphotography@mac.com detailing the story of you and your fiancé and why you believe you are the couple that should win. A photo of the couple must be attached to the email.

The winner will be chosen by random drawing and announced on May 21, 2010 on the Craig Photography Wedding blog and the Doubletree Facebook page.

Shoot date TBD in June, 2010

Hot Wheels

It started out as just a parked car but after a little LightRoom it came out to be this.

Kid n Play....Wheely

The beauty of being a kid. Riding down the street on your bike. When I was their age, my bike was everything to me. I look at these two and think of me and my friends who spent all our summers cruising the streets being free, wild and reckless.

Turkish Festival in Orlando 2010

Images of volcano in Iceland

If you haven't seen many photos from the Icelandic volcano, follow this link. There are some amazing shots:

Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland

Colorado Tour Of Duty

Well, I have just returned tonight from Los Angeles from a 5 day junket. Fun was had by all! I have decided to chill for a few days in preparation for a 17 day trip to the beautiful State of Colorado. I haven't been there in about 15 years but I expect the rivers are running strong with a winter thaw coming faster every day. Colorado is a landscape photographers paradise ... so I think I might wear out some cameras on the weekends while I am there. I am going to try to bring you a peek of as much of Colorado as I can capture. Maybe I will even get photos of Tim Tebow filing his car with gas.
You can see the map above for my approximate travel route through Colorado. Your suggestions and tips are most welcome as I work my way through the mountains.
If you know people from Colorado or perhaps just people who like seeing mountains, rivers and open lands ... why not invite them to come along with us!
As always I want to thank you all for your kind comments and encouragement. I will begin posting photos again on Wednesday, April 28 from Colorado, the Centennial State.
Until then ... God bless!
NikonSniper Steve

Evidence of spring

Not that you really needed visual evidence spring has arrived ...

I like to get out at least once each spring -- before the blooms on the flowering trees have been blow to smithereens -- and get shots. If I miss that, then I try to salvage my spring ritual with some shots of the outdoor spring bulbs, usually the tulips, daffodils, hyacinth or crocus in my gardens. I got my outdoor shot successfully this year, late in the afternoon of April 15, and had a gorgeous day to find what I wanted.

One of my more interesting shots was the one at the top -- taken blindly by placing the camera in the dirt at the bottom of a mound where tulips were planted, then pointed upward to catch the tulips backgrounded by the sky, enriched by a polarizing filter.

Spring's best-known weed -- the dandelion (above); below, the violet bloom on another lawn weed.