~ Jessica and Joel ~ January 29, 2009

Jessica and Joel Engagement Shoot

It was a fun day, looking forward to picking up my 40D and using it to capture pictures.  The subject was very special.  Two lovely people, Jessica and Joel were coming to my studio and giving me the honor of shooting some engagement photos for them.  I thought since they would be printing these on cards or invitations I would go with a white background.  Out came the arctic white 9 foot paper roll.  I grabbed two ab400’s and spotted them on my backdrop.  I used my abr800 as my main light and knew it would give me the results I wanted.  I love doing shoots of couples.  Every couple is unique and Jessica and Joel were very fun to shoot.  The smiles couples share are very special.  The looks they share, the connection they share is a pleasure to shoot.  It was a blast to put the music on, have two people in love as subjects and of course my 40d and me.  I love photography so much, it’s beyond fun and sometimes I feel a bit guilty for liking the pictures more then I think the people I am taking them for do, hee hee.  I think pictures are so special and powerful.  I love that power a photographer has when they freeze that moment in time and end up with a special moment.  It’s those moments I do this for.  I don’t care so much about the lighting, I want that moment…the technical stuff is a minor issue.  I care about capturing that once and lifetime moment.  I’ll photoshop it like a madman and fix the technical stuff if needed…but it’s impossible to get those moments back again.  Not unless I get a flux capacitor and install it in my matrix and do some back to the future stuff. 

Well, congrats to Jessica and Joel and THANKS for coming and doing the shoot.  It was FUN FUN FUN!!!  I really can’t wait for my next shoot.  This photography stuff is addictive.

2009 [ New Energy ] January 10, 2009

It’s 2009 and I feel a new energy about photography.  I am excited to do some new things this year and really push myself as a photographer.  I have been listening to the studio lighting podcasts lately and catching up on some news in the world of lighting and photography.  A few of the photographers interviewed talking about lighting and really inspired me to do some new things and gave me new ideas.  I am also going to try some composite stuff this year.  I want to try shooting instead of against a green screen, I will try and white seemless paper backdrop.  I love how it looks and have been having good success in photoshop with removing white backgrounds.  I think composite work will allow me to push some more creative ideas and hopefully give me work a new dimension.  Textures have been working their way more in to my work as well.  I love how textures look and have been layering my images with them lately in an attempt to find some new looks and ideas in my edits.  Here is an example of a white background shot that I removed and added in an image:

Holidays Are Coming :) December 15, 2008

I am excited for the Christmas holidays of 2008 to begin in just a week.  Friday is my last day of work and I look forward to time with friends and family.  I really feel good about the photography work I was able to to do in 2008.  I have to thank all of the couples that allowed me the honor of shooting their weddings.  I’d also like to thank everyone that had the chance to pose for my camera.  I really got some good images to add to my body of work.  I look forward to another year of photography work and meeting more people to work with.  I’d like to mention a few of my photographer friends that really helped me out this year.  Some just with tips, info and advice.  It’s nice having other photographers to inspire me.  Big thanks to the following photographers for their help throughout the year:  Nathan, Tammy, Rachel, Bill and Trevor.  If I missed anyone then my bad.   I really hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday.  Keep in touch please.  Happy Holidays and New Year.
-Randy

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Recent Edit of Jenni B Using CS4….loving the 64 Bit CS4 December 6, 2008

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Tried out Cs4 tonight and can say it’s very clean, crisp and FAST.  I dig the new layout and features.  I am still learning a lot….also how to get my tablet to work with it….installing plugins is a pain, as most do not work in 64 bit mode.  It’s so new that a LOT of them need to be re-written it seems.  Other then that, CS4 is awesome, I can see a ton of potential and probably won’t start really being awesome for a few months as I learn how to work it.  I shall keep CS3 close at hand in case I need to filter and plugin myself silly.  My actions work fine and brushes, so I’ll still rock with CS4.  Anyway, here is an edit, I need to go eat as I’ve been toying with CS4 all night and admit it’s sucked my life away tonite.  Here is the edit I did tonite with it.

~ Samantha Valentine ~ December 2, 2008

~ Samantha Valentine ~, originally uploaded by Randy Pond.

Recent Edit of the lovely Samantha Valentine.

Jamie and Theo Recent Edits November 29, 2008

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Jamie and Theo

Decided to re-visit the shoot with Jamie and Theo for some edits.  They are a very cool couple and had a fun time shooting them.

Recent Edits from older shoots November 29, 2008

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I always have a LOT of older images to edit and to keep my editing skills going, I sometimes go back and edit up a few.  Here are a few recent ones.

~ April and Andy Edits ~ November 5, 2008

~ More April and Andy Edits ~ October 18, 2008

~ Wedding Edits ~ October 13, 2008

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Here are some recent edits from Andy and April’s Wedding. 

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