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Thursday, December 29, 2016

What to do..............Will I ever learn.................

I was awakened this morning by a misdialed call at 4:30.........which basically meant I wouldn't get back to sleep. Over the past four decades in the photographic business I have made some really solid photographic friends. Full time pros that make their living as photographers. Every now and then I'll have a friend ask me what kind of camera would I recommend for them....they just want to have a good camera to take some good pictures. Obviously the camera is what makes the difference in their minds. Occasionally I will make a recommendation and leave it at that. I had one individual years ago  that I made a camera recommendation to and before I knew it he had invested in a full color processing system with a printer and roll processor. He put the word out that he was going to put me out of business by producing his own portraits. Needless to say I never had anything to do with him again and he soon went broke and sold the processor for scrap. I had a teacher call me up and ask what kind of lights should she get just to play around with. I said nothing but got word that she had bought a cheap pair of "hot lights" to use in the studio she was setting up. She was going to also put me out of business. That didn't work either.

I recently had a friend ask me for advice on a camera and I gave it to him as he was a sportsman and wanted to take animal and nature shots. I relented and made a recommendation. Then came the questions on lenses. We talked about it and he bought one or two. Another question about a wide angle lens..............he wants to shoot some interior and exterior shots of some apartments and houses his son either owns or is trying to sell. I need to give myself a swift kick in the seat of the pants.

I would think that being friends he would recommend my services to his son because I helped him with the "nature camera". What he doesn't understand is how greatly offended I am that he thinks my services would either not be worth what I would want to charge or HE COULD DO IT WITH THE SAME RESULTS !!!! After all he has a "pro" camera and a case of lenses. That really says more than I want to talk about. Needless to say he is off my radar.

This attitude comes from being in the business, having the experience, the degrees, and business knowledge to deliver an excellent product at a very reasonable price. With the advent of the digital revolution the market has been flooded with individuals that are looking to be the photo heros. They know just enough to be "dangerous" and not a clue as to what they are doing. I had an insurance agent that asked for camera advice 10 years ago and I gave him some. I went in to pay my premium six months later and he was telling me that he had picked up an extra three hundred dollars shooting a wedding the past weekend. I changed agencies. Although I wasn't shooting wedding anymore, I won't support a crossover like that from someone I do business with. The same goes with friends. Either you're on the boat, and doing it full time, or your not. If you're not....leave the photography gigs to the pros. I love my job...


Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Following numbers....


I'm confused which to most people that know me comes as no surprise, let me explain. Over the last three weeks my blog has skyrocketed through the web with an amazing numbers of views. Before this month I was getting three to four hundred views a month which I thought was amazing. HOWEVER..over the last three weeks I've had over seven thousand views and the number is climbing. I don't know why this has happened. Believe me I am not complaining...just dumbstruck and confused. Why did it happen and what thoughts am I generating in my readership ? I have had a base of followers numbering the total of eight as of the first of the month but that has almost doubled in three weeks to thirteen. Do my viewers like the imagery, the writing, WHAT ???

I appreciate the readership more than I can say because I love the photographs I produce. The writing has been fun and has kept me on my toes in the vocabulary area of life. Another question I have is that with over a total number of 34,000 views of the blog which, with the increasing number of views each day,...why only the 8 followers ? I'm really confused...........but.......I think that life may be more fun that way. A new year is coming let's look forward to it together.
I appreciate your readership and 2017 is going to be a gas !

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Coming back from Victoria Canada...

Having been to Alaska and through the straits with the ice, walrus, and cold, I went up to the top of the ship just to check it out. From that point I was able to get a shot of what I would call the "Vastness" of the sea. I can't image living in such an environment yet many generations of people have done so. The cold slices through you and it doesn't take long to appreciate the challenges of the environment. If you highlight the image it will enlarge for better viewing.

It's almost Christmas and I expect to be pretty engaged with family here in Tulsa. Remember what Christmas is all about, and I hope we all make it through the holiday in good shape.
Be sure to leave Santa a couple of cookies.....be safe....

Friday, December 23, 2016

The Sigma Nu prints...

I got word from the designer I'm working with that the prints I furnished for the Oklahoma University's Sigma Nu new house won't be hung until sometime in February of next year-2017. There are a total of 14 prints that will decorate the house, all of them dealing with imagery taken here in Oklahoma. Six are architectural images and the rest are segments of graffiti that I caught on a train's boxcars parked at the Tulsa terminal. I'll get you all images as soon as I can. They will look fabulous I'm sure.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Penguins on the loose with one imposter.....

Several years ago the Tulsa Zoo wanted to raise money to put in a penguin exhibit in the zoo. To raise money for the effort they sold fiberglass Penguins and held a contest with different artists expressing themselves using the penguins as their canvas base. The results were fabulous and the birds sprung up all over town where they still remain in front of businesses and different public locations.

While out shooting for myself I came across a second hand shop that had made their own penguin. I spoke with the owner and he just said that he would have loved to buy a "real" penguin but it was out of his reach. Sooooooo........he made his own. A great piece of work with a penguin sporting a guilty look. I just couldn't leave it at that......soooooo.........my end result...

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Electric ..............

Going through some files this morning I came across this image of Jimmy Hendricks gravesite.
We were in Washington several years ago and found Jimmy's final resting place. When he made his debut in 1969/70 at the Monterrey Pop Festival he rewrote the musical landscape. I bought his first album "Electric Ladyland" and almost wore it out. I still cam remember a couple of the single songs from it and they pop up in my mind out of nowhere in most instances. "Crosstown Traffic", and "All along the Watchtower", spring up more often than not. Just a passing thought......

Monday, December 12, 2016

One amazing realization I've noticed concerning Marketing...

I hadn't thought of this factor in years but with the proliferation of people owning digital cameras, an assumption is sometimes made that "I can take the picture myself, because I have a camera". I can't tell you how many times I have heard from accounts the admission that they made the mistake of doing it themselves. Granted they got a "picture" but it didn't tell the story they were looking for. Either the lighting was bad, the color off, the cropping was wrong, or it just didn't LOOK professional.

After 44 years of producing strong imagery for clients I realize that I can't photograph for everyone. My clients want the best, strongest, really great imagery telling the story of their products and services. They want to be winners in the game of merchandising, not "also rans". This is one reason I love my job, I work with people and companies that know what they offer their clients and want to display those items in the BEST Light.

In 1972 when I started the company I had no idea where it would take me, but I have traveled throughout the U.S. and to many countries. I have worked with and met truly amazing people. I have seen deep poverty and the struggle for existence to lavish estates and opulent living. Historical locations to new beginnings and history in the making. Really great photography helped lead the way. I hope this statement isn't taken  as bragging, I try to deliver only the best imagery I can, backed by 4 decades of experience. I'm the luckiest guy in the world having such a great job.

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Wowie Zowieeeeee !!!!!!!

I really don't know why or how this is happening, but last month I had over 3800 views on my blog. I find that extremely amazing and I do appreciate your viewership. I love my job.....this is just amazing.

Marketing...........

It may seem as though it is a strange time of year to be marketing commercial photography with the holidays and all, but it is the "set up" time to get new potential clients, as well as my past clients, ready for the new year working with me. It is starting to be the time of year that scheduling compilation of Annual Reports, introduction of new products, and a "clean slate" begins for many commercial business I work with.

I really enjoy this time of year for that very reason. Last years endeavors are done and may be reviewed as to their successes and/or failures. The tweeking starts now for the marketing year of 2017. It's like a breath of fresh air coming down from the marketing mountains. I am personally delivering to new, as well as old accounts, a DVD of some images from around the world that I have photographed on assignment, some commercial images of products, as well as videos of some machines in action, to help illustrate the capabilities I have available to my accounts.

The reception has been good, and as I deliver the packages I get a card from the contact of the business so I may have a follow up letter in the mail by next week. If I can receive a ten percent reply of the people I contact it will be an overwhelming success. From past experience I know that although I may not immediately hear from the majority of the contacts I make, they will know of me, my abilities, and have the ability to contact me in the future. You ALWAYS need to look to the future.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

A successful shoot in Arkansas Sunday...

Back when my studio was in Carthage it was easy to know almost everyone. The town was 11,000 occupants and it was as though one Carthaginian died and a new one was born. Sort of a revolving door so to speak. However.....occasionally someone would move to town. The older I got the more I understood as to the "whys" but in those days I just guessed the new comers just made one too many lefts. I had been traveling a lot with commercial jobs and had eaten in my share of mid-town deli's across the U.S. I never dreamed one would show up in town. I was in Galbraiths paint getting some painting supplies for a new background and someone, I can't remember who, asked me if I had been the new Deli ? Looking all knowing I just said " what deli ?"...... It was run by some guy who had just moved his family to town and had been in the newspaper business. As a prerequisite to relocating in Carthage, there is an untold law that everyone in town will know more about you within hours of you setting foot within the city limits than you know yourself.....which can lead to some fabrication, exaggeration, and mucho speculation. I decided to check it out.

Turning right as I left the door, sounds tricky doesn't it......I saw the new sign that left no question as to the location of the store. On a white sign with black letters boldly stood the name. THE DELI
I walked in and there was a guy with a beard, about my size, a bit older wearing an apron. I introduced myself and he told me that he was Tom Candela. We shot the breeze for a minute or too and I welcomed him to town as I was scoping out all the deli meats behind the counter. A total list of sandwiches hung on the wall and I though I had died and gone to heaven. Hot Damn...I must be in Chicago.

As fate would have it Tom and his family bought a home one house away from my Moms and as the years progressed we became good friends. Their son Tony, aka "Young Anthony" became an audio whiz kid and after becoming a regional Sales manager for one of the largest Stereo companies in the nation left them and started his own company which makes custom and speciality electrical wiring kits for the automotive industry. Their daughter Allison is married and has a great family with a son who at thirteen is starting to tower over me and will soon be over 6 feet. Tom and his wife Corrine expanded the Deli to a much larger building on the square, and then after a number of very successful years, sold the deli and mover to Dallas. We kept in touch and visited once or twice, then Tom and Corrine moved closer to us locating in Bella Vista Arkansas.

We were there last Sunday celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and had a really great time.
In the late 70's our family owned a townhouse there so I was familiar with the place. However I wasn't prepared for the gigantic expansion that has taken place throughout the area. Commercially it is hopping and residentially is "The Great Expansion", primarily due to the location of Walmart and poultry producers home offices. It is absolutely incredible. As I say in Facebook concerning my Blog....Check it out....

Monday, November 28, 2016

Any window.....

I guess that being away from my blog has been somewhat beneficial from several standpoints. My readership has litterly skyrocketed and approaching 30,000 views, which I should zoom past today, but I also had a new look at a couple of old images. I photographed this window on a road trip through Arkansas not knowing where I would use it but as has always happened, leave it around long enough and magic transpires. On a cruise to Alaska I shot the wake.....the window has a new look.....

I'll get some more images to you soon..............


An update...

I'm back from the last shoot in Florida and Tennessee and had a great time. I took some time to swim in the ocean one day and I guess a land locked Okie should always have his mask on while in the water. It may have been the faint theme song to Jaws I was subconsciously hearing, but as I walked out to deeper water I put my mask on for a quick look to see where I was going. I was almost surrounded by jellyfish the deeper I got. I put myself in reverse, continually watching, as they did the same thing. I exited that area and continued the day snorkeling further down the beach.

I have always liked the water and have scuba dived in Hawaii and Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman was the deepest, about a 100 feet, and Hawaii 40 feet at the most. Hawaii was spectacular with the coral and amazing fish and I would like to return there some day. I had done some snorkeling in California in Laguna, but it really made me feel uncomfortable as the Kelp was very long and thick rising from the bottom of the ocean. Hearing the Jaws theme song which seemed pretty loud, I headed for clear water. I just didn't feel as though I should be bait, so to speak.

I'll download some images later in the week as I have to get the final prints framed and to the designer of the interior of the Sigma Nu house at O.U. I'll deliver them on Wednesday and that will complete a fun and profitable job. After we hang them I'll show them to you with interior shots of the Facility.

By Friday I should have time to post some water images.

Sunday, October 9, 2016

The dog didn't make it...

I was in Hong Kong on my way back from China in 1987, having dinner with a friend of my that owned three companies over there. They were in the clothing industry and I dropped him a call to tell him I was in town, so we had dinner overlooking Hong Kong Bay. We were generally catching up on several decades of non conversation as he was there and I was in Carthage. As the dinner progressed he told me of the plight of a photographer he had used with his company producing images for his advertising. It seemed as though this guy had an assignment to photograph a building in the downtown area and the only was he could get the shot was to photograph it from the building across the street. Inquiring about the possibilities of getting to the roof of the building and shooting, the owner of the building he wanted to shoot from told him that under NO circumstances could he get on the roof and complete the assignment.

Undaunted the photographer slipped through security and went to the roof to complete the shoot. The richest man in Hong Kong at that time owned a pink Rolls Royce, which, as luck would have it, the Rolls pulled up to the entrance of the building the photographer was shooting from. Looking down from the top of the roof the photographer saw the wife of the man step from the Rolls, reach in and grab her small dog and put on the ground. Leaning over to get a better look the photographer nudged the camera and tripod that was sitting on the edge of the roof and I think everything went suddenly into slow motion for him. The camera fell about twenty stories and scored a bullseye on the dog. I'm told he raced down the stairway, glanced to see that the dog expired and made a hasty retreat. My friend told me that he had heard that the photographer left Hong Kong for several months and was somewhat invisible for a time. He also noted that the wifes' husband was not happy that the dog didn't make it and had ordered a hit on the photographer.  Continuing, he also noted that he had heard that the photographer had returned to Hong Kong a week or so earlier and that if HE knew the photographer had returned, Mr. Big did also and that photographer was probably not among the living...

Moral.....be careful of tall buildings and small dogs...

Saturday, October 1, 2016

It almost got by me.....

I was doing some work today and I guess my mind checked out on me.....now, mid afternoon,  I realized that Morgan Studio turns 44 today. I had applied to numerous colleges and Universities after I graduated with my Masters but the Draft had ended and the college teaching positions were fading as enrollment had tanked. All of the companies I spoke with told me I was over educated for any design or photographic jobs they had. It was looking pretty dismal.....the great plan didn't work.

I was reading a book and my Dad came into the room and asked me what I was going to do. I guess I had a blank look on my face........in a few moments he said"GET A JOB'.

Carthage had three studios, Carl Taylor, Moyne Norris, and Stewards, all competing for the same dollars. They all had small studios, a dressing room, a reception area and an office. As I remember they all had Hot lights which means that strobe lights were on the horizon and not widely used. All of the cameras were twin lens or Speedgrafics which was not what I was looking for. Taylor was really the only seriously interested party I talked to but his location and all of the other issues just didn't fit what I was looking for. Plus he'd did his own color processing which with the technology was a shot in the foot.

I went to the bank for an appointment with Mills Anderson, the president. I told him of my situation, explained that I could make a living photographing people and products, but I needed a professional camera, and operating capital. I had found a location at Third and Lyon  that consisted a front room, to be my reception area. the next room had a sink so that would work for a darkroom, one more office to be the assembly room for framing, putting mats on prints, and a back room for a general employee area and a bathroom. The rent was $ 125.00 per month, utilities included. He looked at me and I signed a note for $ 5000.00. I really didn't believe it happened. I was a rookie so to speak in the business area. There aren't any business courses in the BFA program, but I needed a camera, I promptly bought an RB 67 which delivered a 2 1/4 by 2 3/4 inch negative and then looked for a space.

The issue then was what to do for a studio. I figured I could shoot in peoples homes but then realized that the outdoors had the best light. NO ONE ELSE WAS DOING THAT !!!!! A true stroke of inadvertent genius.

My first Senior portrait was Will Grey photographed at Morrow Mill, and the only senior I photographed 1972, I picked up some other portrait jobs a wedding or two and that was about it.
The next three months I could have learned how to play several musical instrument, written a novel or two, learned a new language.....I wasn't busy. I made a connection with Joplin Printing and they gave me my first big job photographing for Teledyne Neosho. From that I gained several other commercial accounts, won some awards for the imagery in the Teledyne piece and the ship of Morgan Studio took off.

Looking back over the last 44 years I have met amazing people that have opened doors for me, expanded my possibilities, and allowed me to live a life so much fuller than I ever could have imagined. The challenges have never been overwhelming although at times they seemed extremely large, but that's just part of the mix I guess.

As part of the unexplained luck that seems to have been with me for so long, showing my slide show concerning my trip to Baghdad a month before Desert Storm broke out and our retrieval of Japanese hostages, I saw a beautiful lady walk into the room. I didn't recognize her. Having been in the area so long there weren't many people that I hadn't met. To make a long story short involving the luck factor and good fortune, we got married 4 years later. We moved to Tulsa Oklahoma in 2002 so she could follow HER dream job as C.E.O. of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma. She did a fantastic job and has since retired and now occasionally assists me on commercial shoots.

I guess I've written a book with this one.................but all I can really say is that I Love My Job.
Thanks for all of your support.

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Time..

I was listening to NPR this morning and they were discussing time travel. They talked about the movie, several physicists views, authors, etc. It got me thinking though that time has traveled for all of us...and all we can do to keep a perspective of where we've been, and who were with, are the images we have in photographs. I don't recall ever looking at my images at like this, with the exception of one.

Over the years I have had the occasion to photograph individuals that unexpectantly passed on shortly after the shoots. I was exceedingly glad that we had photographed them. Looking back I can think of all the places I've been that I have images of and wondering how those areas have changed. In a recent commercial job that I alluded to earlier today, the photographs of the graffiti that will hang in the Sigma  Nu frat house on the O.U campus may have already been painted over by either the railroad or other taggers. My assumption is that they will stay as works of art only because I photographed them.

In 1988 Al Goracke and I were on the coast of the Pacific Northwest of Washington State. I was shooting with my Linholf 4 x 5 view camera and I recorded what I think was the best explanation of time I've ever seen. The coast is peppered with all sorts of driftwood ranging in the size of twigs to very large fallen trees. Because of the season and location being so far North the light was exquisite.
I set the camera up and focused it up and placed in the 4 x 5 sheet film holder in the back of the camera, and waited.....

A wave broke and I tripped the shutter. A week later I processed the film and I was startled....I got an image of time frozen, with the exception of a slight stream of water dropping off the log. I'll get it scanned and show you the image within the next couple of weeks. I have two favorite images after 44 years of professionally photographing....this was one. The other is of the LI river in China which I have on an earlier post here on the blog.

The process of seeing has been a gift we all have, we just need to learn to use it.....I love my job...

Delivery done !

Monday I drove to OKC and delivered the prints to the Designer that I worked with on the Sigma NU house at Oklahoma State. The delivery consisted of,

Three........40 in by 60 in images
Two..........30 in by 40 in images
Two .........24 in by 30 in images

Needless to say it felt good to have them off my hands and safely stored in the warehouse waiting for the completion of the house. It seems that the longer something like these large prints on canvas stay in my possession, the larger the possibility is that something will damage them. As soon as the house is done I will go down and photograph them as they are installed. YYYYEEEEE HAAWWWW !!!
I love my job.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Fast Summer....Fall's on the way...A continuing story...

Honestly I can't say where summer has gone. I've been very busy with the business but aside from that....where was summer ? Got the Koi pond in shape for the pond tour, did a bit of traveling, completed a very large job for the Sigma Nu house at Oklahoma University,  completed several other commercial jobs, purchased a new virtual reality camera that delivers an immersion tour of properties for the Real Estate industry, have been getting images from that mastered....where was summer ?

As mentioned in a previous post my granddaughter Kelly and her Dad climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa at the first of the summer. In the previous post I told you about the story of the black sapphire I received from a lady on a plane I was on, coming from a commercial job out east. To make a long story short, I gave the stone to Kelly and told her to put it on the highest point they reach on the mountain. When I got the stone I had plans of going to Tibet with a friend of mine from Canada, but he passed away before we had the opportunity, I was going to drop it there. Instead Kelly left it on Kilimanjaro which I think was just as fitting. Somewhere in this area, at the top of the mountain, the stone rests. I guess this is the end of the story of the black sapphire for me, but will probably continue
on for a couple of generations through Kelly's future family. I sure hope it does......

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Images coming soon of many different things.....

I must really apologize for my absence however it's what pays the bills. I have picked up two new accounts in Sapulpa and Oklahoma City that have kept me running. Both clients have made very large print orders of my work for decoration within projects they are working on. I love this kind of work as it is different and fun. I'll keep you posted as the work goes on and include some images next time.

Friday, July 29, 2016

Really a fun assignment...

One of the latest projects I've been working on is a video for a gentleman illustrating his involvement with Real Estate in a town near Tulsa. The video covers his 44 years in the business and it is absolutely amazing how much of that town he has been involved with. Because of his development efforts the town has grown substantially and benefitted from a sales tax base from the business locations, the job market for citizens of the town, and improvement of the school systems because of the tax base and new facilities he was able to secure. I had never thought much about the real estate market having such a long reach that extended past just the selling of property. It's been a real education....

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Been out working !

I've been extremely lucky the past several weeks with almost more work than I can control. I had three large jobs that took me to OKC and Sapulpua as well as shooting here in T Town. More work is on the way from all parties involved with inquiries coming in from other areas. I love my job !!!!

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Back to Boots....

Just another image from hometown....

Friday, July 8, 2016

I found it...

While back in the Cultural Mecca of the Ozarks several weeks ago I stumbled upon a fabled entity.
When I was in undergraduate school I was out photographing with a friend and we saw a rainbow.
I causally mentioned that I would like to see the end of one and he said that he had. I was somewhat skeptical to say the least but I let it drop. The next weekend we were out again and it was misting. He told me to stop the car and look to the right. In a field about three hundred feet away from us was the END OF THE RAINBOW !!! I was amazed to say the least. It hovered for a couple of minutes and slowly moved away and then dissipated. I was in a great mood all week.

But as I was saying....while back a couple of weeks ago I encountered this and I really feel as though this one needs to be shared. Look for the location....it still may be there. Have a great weekend.


Sunday, July 3, 2016

Red and Blue are back..

Our dragonflies are back......Actually there are 4 total but 3 are photographically challenged.

Red

The Doves are back...

For several years we have had a family of Doves nest around the house. The have had good families usually with two chicks, however, one year they had three. This year they decided to nest on top of a cabinet that we keep our garden supplies in on the covered patio. They hatched two and they have flown from the nest. We heard them cooing all summer long.
One of the Kids

Mom and Dad

Hitting the Summit

Last night my grand daughter Kelly and her Dad should have returned to the summit of Kilimanjaro and placed the Black Sapphire I referred to in a post week or so ago. The jewel was destined for Tibet but due to unforeseen circumstances, primarily my not going with Joe back in '88", I sent her with it to Africa for placement on a very high mountain. This is sort of the continuing tale of life trying to get to a location and doing the best you can. In all honesty we had the trip to Tibet in the planning stages but circumstances prevented it from happening. I heard of Kelly's trip to the mountain in Africa on the night before her Graduation from High School at a family dinner. The puzzle piece immediately fell in to place. I told the group the story and asked her if she would take the stone with her and place it on the top of the mountain, and she agreed. As soon as they get back I should have a picture of where it was placed. Mission complete. I'll post the picture when It cone to me. Stay tuned....

Saturday, July 2, 2016

An incredibly busy couple of weeks...

Well as mentioned before the Graffiti challenge went well. I took a final set of 115 images over to my client for his selection of what he needed for the Sigma Nu house on the campus of O.U.  I received one of the larges commercial orders I have ever had in the commercial arena. He ordered 4 - 24 x 36 prints, 3 - 30 x 40 prints, and 2 - 40 x 60 prints. It was a great days work. Two of the images will be printed on paper and the rest on stretched canvas.

Monday, June 13, 2016

New Graffiti

As I have mentioned before I have a client in Oklahoma City that is an Interior Designer. We have collaborated on several projects and the latest, and frankly one of the most challenging, has been photographing graffiti for an installation of two 40 x 60 prints, on linen and stretcher frames, that will but up to each other on one side. The overall dimension will then be 60 x 80 inches or 6 x 6.5 ft. HUGE !!! The reason for the two pieces as an installation is that there is no really efficient way to get the prints/work from my lab to the destination. I'll keep you posted on the final selection but I am showing you 2 of the 115 he has to choose from. I love my job...

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Couple of Southwestern images.............

We went out of town recently and I had a day to shoot for myself. I'm not really too sure how I feel about these two images but I did see them, and I did capture them....



This pile of rocks is known as a caren...

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

An old promise upheld..............

Sometime in 1988 I was flying back from a commercial job and struck up a conversation with a young lady sitting beside me. The small talk lead "to have you done much traveling ? ", and I started to tell her of my China adventures a year earlier. I told her of Joe Young, the man I met from Saskatoon Canada, that I had become friends with. He had been to Carthage with his wife and I had been to Saskatoon a couple of times. I mentioned that we were planning to go to Tibet the following year and her eyes lit up. Reaching into her purse she handed me a plastic box. I asked her what this was all about and she replied, " Please place this Black Star Sapphire on the highest point of the mountain you get to. " I said I would. As fate would have it we never made the trip.

Honestly speaking this has bothered me for years. Just one of those things that would occasionally pop up screaming "I'm still in the cupboard-I need a mountain." Last night we were having a family dinner with one of our daughters family and associated relatives because Kelly, one of my grand daughters, graduates tonight from Holland Hall. She and I are a lot alike, pretty private, motivated and somewhat fearless. I have always danced to a different drummer as has she. I remembered the Black Sapphire !!! Tonight I will give it to her to place on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. She and her Dad are climbing it together this summer.

Today she turns 18 and is preparing for the event of a lifetime. I spent my Senior summer traveling in Europe and it had an amazing effect on my life. It confirmed in me the belief that I could do anything I wanted to, as this trip will for her. Her vision of climbing a world renowned mountain with her father has got to be absolutely an amazing experience for both of them. Go get em Kelly.....pick the spot for the jewel and remember it and the experience of the trip forever.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

A favorite challenging image......

I received a call from a potential client asking me to survey a photographic problem he had. His company rebuilds printing presses and he couldn't find anyone that could properly produce an image for advertising purposes. I met with him at his plant and like so many manufacturing facilities it was problematic. The lighting left a lot to be desired, the floors were stained from grease and paint from the general manufacturing processes. The background was strewn with a multitude of presses and equipment in various states of repair. I saw it was going to be a problem. After the first viewing I said that I could produce the images he needed, but I told him that I wanted him to get Styrofoam insulation boards and build a frame for them in an "L" shape to cut out the background view.

He was O.K. with that and then I added that he would need to paint them white. He looked at me in a curious way. Bear in mind that this was before the days of Photoshop and if you wanted a clean background you have to make it happen at the time pf the photography. The walls were 16 feet high and the "L" shape was long enough to make it appear as though the press was in a "white room." In order to cover up the floor I just wet it with water so it would catch some of the press reflection and also give me a surface to bounce the light around.

He did ask at this time if I had enough lights to get the shot. I assured him I did. We shot at night so I would have a totally dark room in which to photograph. I arrived at the job and started unpacking my 4 x 5 Linholf View Camera, 4 x 5 inch film holders, tripod and extension cords, and Polaroid film and the back for the Linholf. I set up the camera and tripod, focused the camera, made the necessary adjustments to correct for parallax and depth of field, and pulled out my light. I plugged in enough extension cords to be able to walk around the machine then plugged in my one incandescent bulb. He  said "Where are your lights ?? I held out the bulb and said, "Here..."He then started to question my sanity....and really was concerned that he got the wrong guy to do the job. I asked him to turnout the lights, I then set the Polaroid in the holder, the lights went out and I turned on my incandescent bulb and walked around they press. Satisfied that I had done enough I closed the shutter on the camera and told him to turn on the lights. " Is that all you're going to do ?? he asked....."Yes", I said pulling out the Polaroid to start it procession.

One of the longest minutes of my life started then. The Polaroid is basically used to get a starting point from which to adjust camera adjustments, exposure, an multitude of items in the process. He was grumbling that there was no way it could work and that he thought he he had hired someone that could do the job but felt that he had made a big mistake. He also wasn't going to pay if I didn't come across with something he could use. I was not really comfortable...

The minute was up and I peeled back the Polaroid and I handed him the result.............
Absolutely dumbfounded !!! How'd ya do that ????  I just calmly stated that that is the reason I was was a Professional Photographer......

The image below is the result and I had them as an account for years. A truly fun shoot.


Thursday, May 5, 2016

Project delivered..

The eight prints have been framed and delivered to the designer working with the Sigma Nu house at O.U. He had only seen the images on his computer, and when he saw the enlarged 19 x 19 prints with the three inch mat and frames, he was exceptionally pleased. It was a major home run for me. The next project has been completed and we're waiting for approval from the client. It involves 6 images from western Oklahoma for a hospital. The print size on them is 20 x 24 at last word. Once again three inch mats and black museum frames.

Today I'm going out to photograph  parts of graffiti to make into two 48 x 60 inch prints on canvas that will be shown side by side making a total size 96 x 60 inch image for a residential wall. This is going to be fun ! This is also the largest total print size I've ever delivered to a client. In the seventies I had a portrait account in Springfield Missouri order a 40 x 60 canvas portrait of her 5 year old son. The print was larger than he was. Look at the blog tomorrow and I'll try to have new images posted. I love my job...

Sunday, April 17, 2016

24,000 views through Blogger - More through google !!!

Sorry I've been somewhat vacant but the schedule has been crazy. I have some really great commercial work I've been producing for accounts and the next few weeks should be just a wild. We have just returned from Sedona Az. and the Vortex's. I have mentioned them in previous posts and we went back in search of the point of potentially "no return". Searching along the river, that has thousands of "Cairns", the rocks stacked upon each other, ( the first image) I came across two that seemed to call...
so I did the obvious.......I stood between the two of them.
There was a flash of yellow light and SHAZAMMMM..
I don't remember much...but it was Far out...only in Sedona.
A great place to visit....but watch out for the Vortex's....

Looking forward to tomorrows commercial job and normal life....

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

The hanging is close....

I've printed the eight prints for the Sigma NU house on the Oklahoma University campus and am going to be hanging them in about three weeks. It should be a remarkable display. The prints are 19 inches by 19 inches, matted with a three inch mat, and framed in a simple black frame. The wall they will be on is tall so they should really stand out.

I have a possible commission coming up of a  very large print that will be on canvas. It will be the largest print I have ever produced and should be very elegant. I'll keep you posted. When I say large  - I mean large. It is initially to be about eight feet tall. As I used to say as a kid....holy moly Batman...
Keep posted it'll be confirmed in about three weeks.

Monday, March 14, 2016

A favorite building to Photograph...

I refer to this building as "The Towers". Originally it was built to be the "City Of Faith Hospital" by Oral Roberts, but it was a financial failure for him. By all accounts it was highly recommended to him not to build it due to the over abundance of medical facilities already in place in Tulsa. He did so anyway and it was never completed on the upper floors. However now it is owned by several medical entities and is an excellent medical facility specializing in hip and knee replacement. I justice the look of the building and if you compare this image to the one at the top right of my blog, it has just been remodeled with the addition of the "blue wings"
.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Spring at the river..

In the post of several days ago I published the green chairs image that I really love. Looking back over the files from the day I see that I was trying to do something with the trees the were growing behind the chairs. And to be  truthful it just didn't happen. About all I can pull from that set is the slight evidence that Spring has sprung. There is a greening of the grass and even the tree bark had some green mosses starting to color up.



As mentioned before I have crossed the million view point on the Google counter for the blog and the blog has been instrumental  in generating new business. I will print today 8-19 x 19 prints that will hang in the Sigma NU house on the OU campus that is business directly attributable to being discovered by an Interior Designer in Oklahoma City. I have another job pending with his company for a display in a Hospital Reception room also in OKC.

I love my job......

Monday, March 7, 2016

The River...

The Arkansas River flows through Tulsa on the west not too far from my studio. Kind of a funny day today, wind bellowing at 30 to 40 miles and hour, overcast and perhaps a day to go shooting. I had some preconceived ideas in mind, movement and long exposures, it just didn't happen. I became somewhat intrigued with a couple of seats on the running path and shot them in several different ways. This is the first I processed and it is as strange in feeling as it was
when I shot it. I'll post more after I work with them some more.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

New visions...

I keep images laying around that at the time I captured them have no real use other than to be available in a"what if" situation.This morning I looked at one of them after seeing a wonderful sky yesterday. I started the "what if" dialogue and so far this is where I'm at. I don't really think I'm finished with this..............time will tell.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Amazing numbers !!! 793,248

I just checked my Google + rating as to the number of views and I'm at 793, 248 views. It looks like one million views is just around the corner. I find it interesting that Blogger, a google product, counts views differently than Google as to the number of views. I guess stranger things have happened then the the counting methods between two divisions in a company.

I'm marketing to several new clients........

I have been experimenting with some different angles, no pun intended, on light and how they work with different products.  I'm referring to the source of the light in actuality. I'm refining it into a softer rounding light source that is easy to use, find, and model. Some clients of mine have posed this problem to me and I want to solve it for them and myself. It really came to me as I worked Saturday in the studio, These are the results, and

I'll have more to come as the week progresses.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Added benefit...........

I just spoke with the Interior Designer I'm working with on several projects. After a meeting with his clients in Stillwater, he had told me that they are going to need more images for the project he is working on. Hot damn......I love my job....

French Bikes.......

Outside of Paris I saw this collection of bicycles that seemed to me to be placed there just for me. I really liked the random arrangement and the muted colors. They really speak more of the European idea of transportation, simple, efficient, and non-problematic. Flashing back to my growing up years it all made sense. Hop on the bike and get to where we needed to go, usually in a pack of kids. Maybe I need to check the air in my tire on my bike and try it again.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Really busy...marketing and shooting..

Hopefully today I'll be able to finalize the DVDs I'm sending out to clients old and new. I have been working on an assignment from an interior decorator for a hospital corridor and I think he has decided on the 6 shots he'll use. It's been fun, challenging and has gotten me away from the drudgery of marketing. I enjoy putting the concepts together but the details in finalization drive me crazy. There are always a few hiccups on the marketing journey and this time has been no exception.

The image below is one of my favorites in the collection.


More news coming soon.....I love my new camera....

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Rah Rah !! Birthday..............running out of handle for notches........

OK...66 today............looked at my wheelbarrow.....and I'm out of space for notches on the handles to mark birthdays. I guess I'll just get a new wheelbarrow. That was the only major decision I'll make today.

In other areas of potential interest I've been working with my new Nikon that delivers 37 MP images and Hi-Def video. The images are fabulous in terms of color balance and spectacularly sharp. The video has given me more control over the exposure and light I can shoot in, so it's a home run also. This is the most versatile Nikon I have ever owned. However, I am keeping my D3 as it does some things this camera can't. New wheelbarrow and a larger camera case, WHAT A DEAL !!!!!!

More next week including images with the new camera.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Really busy............

The last week or so I've been putting together a marketing campaign directed to a specific number of potential accounts. It should be interesting to see how it works as it will be a five part process one part showing just one aspect of what I can do for an account. It will involve direct mailing with a follow up call once the campaign is finished. This should be interesting.

Next week I finally am going g to be able to complete a shoot I started about a year and a half ago. One of my favorite companies that I do work for has finally gotten in a part that has held up completion of a fabrication/rebuild job they have been working on. The machine has something to do with the oil business and they have completely rebuilt it. I'll feature the before and after pictures when I finish the job.