The 2008 Omaha Bridal Show at the Holiday Inn
September 22, 2008 | Filed Under Omaha Bridal Show, Studio News | 2 Comments
Heather did a wonderful job putting together the booth - we couldn’t of done it without Brenda (and Jordan and Kylan for renting the truck and moving the couch). Stephanie worked with me all day Saturday and Sunday and was so upbeat and cheery, she made it easy to forget how tired we all were. It’s true that shared joy is doubled joy and shared burdens are half the load. I’m so very proud of our team! I can’t forget to mention her husband Mike helped tear everything down so we finished in a little over 30 minutes.
Indeed, it was a very long weekend; full coverage Saturday wedding (be on a look out for posted images 4 weeks from now), up at 5am for the Omaha Bridal Show on Sunday, and ending the night with our friend Gary’s 50th birthday bash. But we enjoyed every bit of it!
We wanted to say thank you to everyone who stopped by and saw us at the show! We met a lot of excited brides planning their weddings for 2009 and 2010. It seems May 23 and June 13 are popular dates for next year - we felt so bad for disappointing some brides because we were already booked. We also met some other photographers like Tanya of Candid Moments Photography and Jada Scott of Capturing Candids, and old friends like Terry Cue of Images by TLC. Hopefully the show provided everyone with lots of good information and gave a little hands on experience with the personalities and styles of the vendors. We are happy to help anyway we can.
The New Canon EOS 5D Mark II is Here!
September 17, 2008 | Filed Under Articles, Studio News | 2 Comments
It’s a happy day for photographers! We’ve been waiting for years to hear this… after much speculation and thousands of internet rumors, check out the legitimate specs from this Info Sync Article…
Canon today introduced the Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR camera, the successor to the EOS 5D, introduced in 2005. Building upon the EOS 5D, Canon has coupled the creative power of a full-frame CMOS sensor in a relatively compact body (6 by 4.5 by 3 inches, 28.6 ounces), together with Full HD video capture that opens the door to a much wider range of imaging possibilities for photographers.
Among the advancements in the Canon EOS 5D Mark II is the proprietary DIGIC 4 imaging processor that powers the camera’s 14-bit analog-to-digital conversion for smoother color tones and improved gradation. The Canon EOS 5D Mark II offers a full-frame 24 x 36mm, 21.1 megapixel CMOS sensor and continuous shooting at 3.9 fps for an unlimited number of full-resolution JPEGs to the capacity of the memory card or up to 14 RAW images in a single burst when using a UDMA CF card.
The Canon EOS 5D Mark II includes a 15-point Autofocus (AF) sensor with nine selectable AF points plus six additional Assist AF points (three center AF points sensitive to f/2.8 lenses) with enhanced light source detection and AF microadjustment for greater autofocus performance.
Additionally, the Canon EOS 5D Mark II features a 3-inch VGA screen, four times the pixel count of the EOS 5D camera’s 2.5-inch screen. The new camera is equipped with a high-performance, high-magnification optical viewfinder providing 98 percent coverage.
Utilizing proprietary technology, Canon has reduced noise and expanded the sensitivity of the CMOS sensor up to ISO 25600, which is three full stops higher than the ISO 3200 limit of the original EOS 5D camera. Although the individual pixel dimensions of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II are the same as the 21.1-megapixel CMOS sensor used in the EOS 1Ds Mark III digital SLR, the new sensor incorporates an improved output amplifier and a more advanced color filter that improves light transmission while retaining the color reproduction. The Canon EOS 5D Mark II is promised to achieve the highest level of image quality of any EOS DSLR released to date.
The Canon EOS 5D Mark II features 16:9 Full HD video capture at 1920 x 1080 pixels and 30 fps as well as 4:3 standard TV quality video capture at 640 x 480 pixels and 30 fps, both capabilities appearing for the first time in a Canon SLR camera. Video capture is part of the camera’s Live View function, using the Picture Style that has been set for Live View still image shooting. The camera allows users to adjust image sharpness, contrast, color saturation and white balance, and have those settings apply to the movie image.
The Canon EOS 5D Mark II will record up to 4GB per clip or a maximum continuous movie capture time of 29 minutes and 59 seconds, whichever comes first. The camera includes a HDMI output for connection HD televisions. While recording video, the camera’s rear LCD screen can be letter-boxed by a semi-transparent border to match the aspect ratio of the movie recording size. More than 60 Canon EF lenses can be used, including everything from ultra-wide angle and fish-eye to macro and super-telephoto lenses. If this is out of your league, it’s worth noting that Nikon recently introduced its Nikon D90 DSLR with 720p video recording capability.
Furthermore, the Canon EOS 5D Mark II automatically conducts peripheral illumination correction when shooting JPEG images, a function that previously could only be accomplished through post-image processing using software. This feature evens brightness across the image field, making an image of a blue sky even toned throughout and reducing light fall-off at image edges.
Canon’s enhanced Auto Lighting Optimizer technology aims to ensure each picture’s subject is clearly visible by analyzing image brightness and automatically adjusting dark areas in images so that they appear brighter. This function is ideal in high-contrast situations such as urban landscapes captured on sunny days, where the tops of buildings are brightly lit while street level details are obscured by heavy shadows.
Recently introduced with the new EOS 50D, Canon’s “CA” Creative Full Auto setting can also be found on the Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera’s mode dial. This setting allows users to make image adjustments such as aperture or shutter speed through a navigation screen on the camera’s LCD menu, allowing them to “blur the background” or “lighten or darken the image.” These image options allow photographers to experiment with image options while still shooting in an automatic mode.
For photographers shooting RAW format images, the Canon EOS 5D Mark II offers two more manageable file size options with sRAW1 and sRAW2 recording formats. At the sRAW1 setting, resolution is 10 megapixels with a file size that is approximately 25 percent smaller than a standard 21.1-megapixel RAW image. With the sRAW2 setting, resolution is 5.2 megapixels at less than half the file size of a standard RAW image.
The Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR is scheduled for delivery by the end of November 2008. The camera will be sold in a body-only configuration for $2700, while a kit version with Canon’s EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens will be available for $3500.
2008 Omaha Bridal Show
August 26, 2008 | Filed Under Omaha Bridal Show, Studio News | Leave a Comment
Sunday, September 21, we will be at the Holiday Inn (72nd & Grover) for the Omaha Bridal Show. The activities will start at 10am and last to 4pm. We’ll be giving away another romantic dinner for two at our favorite restaurant, Lo Sole Mio. We’re excited to show off our new sample albums, and we’ll also have some door prizes with a few goodies like CDs from The Confidentials. Mark it on your calendar and if you get a chance to stop by and visit us, please do!
Wedding Season Opening
May 10, 2008 | Filed Under Omaha Wedding Photography, Studio News | Leave a Comment
We had our first wedding of the season today! It’s official. Let the craziness begin - of the schedule, that is. At the moment, we can only book 20 weddings a year and we booked all 20, so it’s Omaha wedding photography madness for the next six months. But we also spent the last year integrating a system wide workflow (updating computers, software, paper trails, etc.) to help us stay organized and efficient. If today was any indication as to what the future might hold, I think this will be an exciting and wonderful year with all our brides!
4 Prints and 4 Awards
May 3, 2008 | Filed Under Studio News | 3 Comments
The Heart of America Photographer’s Conference and Expo (HOA) was held Friday, April 11-15 at the Mid America Center in Council Bluffs. HOA is made up of the regional state affiliates of Professional Photographers of America (PPA): Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. One of the highlights at HOA is the Regional Affiliated Print Competition and Print Exhibition where photographers submit four images from the year of their best work to be critiqued amongst their peers.
I was surprised when Jeff Bauman called and asked if I heard the good news: I won a number of awards including the Les Hassel award (for best non-master print of the show - top right of Tim Wildsmith titled “The Subtleties of Character and Texture”), the Virgil Pitstick award (for the highest score of a first time entrant), a judges’ award (each of the 6 judges choose their favorite print of the entire show), two honorable mention ribbons (below), and a 3rd place trophy from PPN for the third highest combined score as a non-master. I was even more surprised when I saw the size of the actual awards - the largest is two feet tall!
Thank you all who called or emailed to congratulate me! I don’t think there’s any better way to grow as an image maker than to be immersed in a supportive community. It’s an honor, a blessing and a privilege to be in the company of some great photographers here in the Midwest. Most of all, thank you to our clients who supply the artistic inspiration by sharing moments in their lives and allow us to keep doing what we love!
Charity Events!
April 24, 2008 | Filed Under In Studio Photo Shoot, Studio News | Leave a Comment
This Friday (April 25), we are donating a complementary session and tabletop print ($250 value) to benefit the March of Dimes held at Excelsior Home & Design in Lincoln, Nebraska. The March of Dimes is an organization “dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.”
Earlier this month, we had the honor of being involved with another charity: the Fourth Annual Barristers’ Ball. The Associate Executive Director of the NSBA, Sam Clinch, said the event was a great success.
“We had over 370 lawyers attend the barristers’ ball and over $80,000 was raised for the NSBA Volunteer Lawyers Project. The proceeds will help support VLP’s community outreach legal clinics. These clinics are operational at several locations. In Omaha the clinics are held at the Latino Center of the Midlands, the Southern Sudan Community Association and the Urban League Family Resource Center. In Lincoln the Clinic is at the Lancaster County Self-Help Desk.”
ACI Conference in Cedar Falls, IA
March 4, 2008 | Filed Under Community, Studio News | Leave a Comment
Heather and I spent the weekend together with a bunch of other photographers - we had great talks with our friend Tammy from Creative Images by Tammy and met Judy and Joe of Joseph G Johnston (true masters of the craft!). It’s truly an amazing encouragement to be involved with the larger photographic community! We were grateful to hear Jeff and Julia Woods speak and share their experiences growing their studio. It’s like Henri Nouwen once said, the best teachers are those who can articulate the inner realities of their own experiences and allow their words to become a sort of road map for their students to do the same - but only with the students’ heart, mind and soul instead of the teacher’s.
I’ve been a fan of the Woods’ work for a long time; it was great to meet them both in person and discover we share more than an obvious love of the craft. We also share similar values for how it should be done, by incorporating a priority for family and relationships (even though it’s tough sometimes and we fall short more often than not), and by maintaining a view of the world that believes its foundation is built on agape Love itself (perhaps best described in 1 Cor. 13).
Local Google Business Listing Apology
February 12, 2008 | Filed Under Studio News | 1 Comment
In December of 2007, a company named Local Pull solicited me with a free month trial of their web optimization services. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way this company employs practices that Google considers unethical and a potential for blacklisting. Within two weeks, I canceled the account (yet they are now billing me for their disastrous service and aren’t returning any of my phone calls or emails). Soon, I will be filing a complaint to the BBB. Needless to say, I highly discourage anyone from doing business with Local Pull.
The damage done was with a Google Local Business Listing that included the keywords “Omaha Wedding Photographer” in the name (along with several errors) to increase our rankings. This practice unfairly manipulates the system and cheats out other photographers competing in the same market. For this I sincerely apologize to the local photographic community and assure everyone we are doing everything we can to resolve this problem.
Unfortunately, these listings are easy to put up but are extremely difficult to change or suspend. We are currently waiting for a letter (which will take 2-3 weeks) to verify the suspension. Once verified, it will take Google another 4 weeks to update their listings. We value relationships in every part of our business, and we want to own our mistakes and learn from them. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we navigate the tough and sometime dangerous waters of small business ownership.
MasterCard and Visa
January 28, 2008 | Filed Under Studio News | Leave a Comment
Thanks to the folks at Midwest Transaction Group for helping us get set up; we now have another payment option besides checks and cash. As of today, we can officially accept MasterCard and Visa. But that’s not all - within a couple weeks, it will be possible to do every transaction securely online with our new Skooks Kart Proofing System. We’re excited about this one, so we’ll keep you posted!
And the Winner is…
January 8, 2008 | Filed Under Omaha Bridal Show, Studio News | Leave a Comment
Congratulations to Bailee Becker, our winner of the Dinner for Two at Lo Sole Mio’s!
We had a great time meeting so many of you at the Bridal Show! After a lot of hard work preparing for the show, we were so glad to actually go, and meet so many new couples and hear some of their stories. We look forward to talking with many of you again in the coming weeks as you plan your weddings. We hope you guys all found some valuable information at the show!
We couldn’t have done this event without the help of our family – who gave up a solid chunk of their time hauling and setting up our booth. Or Brenda, who’s help made this whirlwind of an event fun, organized… and well, almost easy! We couldn’t have done it without you!
Here’s a snapshot of our booth. We didn’t have a chance to get great pictures, but here is one of our booth and a close up of our 4×6 promo cards.
