Keeping up

I've been writing this blog to share photography tips and great places I've discovered to photograph for close to two years now. Sometimes I get a little off the beaten track but for the most part I'm hoping that there are a few folks who take the time to read what I have to say and maybe even look forward to the next installment. A week ago I heard a speaker talk about the importance of "Building a Community" and getting more people to follow your blog. So, aspiring photographer friends, please let me know what you'd like me to focus on (get it?) and how can I make this a better blog?

I made my first "tweet." Not sure where it went or if anybody noticed but I am trying to decipher the world of Twitter. I also posted a few images on Flickr. Again, it seems like a black hole to me at the moment but perhaps I'll get discovered there.... One can hope.

On a more productive note, I shot the American Society of Fundraising Professionals Award luncheon last week. It was a lighting challenge because it was such a large room and it had such a variety of lighting already. Still, I put a gel on my flash to try and prevent everything looking too yellow and I got some nice shots of some very impressive people.
Above is J. Douglas McDaniel, Director of Special Gifts for the Salvation Army, who won an the Outstanding Fundraising Professional award. Below him is a very enthusiastic  15-year old, Sara-Elizabeth Clark who was awarded Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy for all the work she has done both by raising money and bringing about an understanding of epilepsy. I found myself tearing up as I listened to the their stories of dedication, determination and selflesness. Sometimes it is an honor to be a photographer to document important events in the lives of others.

I was fortunate enough to get a couple of hours with Robert Rodriguez, Jr. the following day who showed me his gorgeous studio complete with large prints of his beautiful work and he shared with me some awesome details of his Lightroom workflow. He shared the names of some photographers to check out: Bill Atkinson, Brenda Tharp, Allison Shaw and of course, Art Wolfe. It's always great to go to great photographer's site to get inspired.

Happy shooting!

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