not often do I come across a photographer that absolutely inspires me to start shooting again. I know I’m no where near this level but it inspires me to start shooting photos again. Here are some of his photos

Clint Davis’s Portfolio

Clint Davis’s Blog

here are a couple really cool blogs if you’re into cars and photography…

the first is Art Pants, which they describe as “a 365 day-long-daily-photography-challenge, featuring Will Roegge and Linhbergh. Each will publish one photograph a day for an entire year. Both love black coffee. And Art Pants.”

The second is Can I Beat?, which is a “group of friends with unique tastes in cars, clothing, culture and style.”

Check em out…i know these are a couple blogs that I’ll be watching.

and a couple more

enjoy

this might be my next camera

A Whole New Class of EOS.

With a host of brand new features designed to enhance every facet of the photographic process, from still images to video, the new EOS 7D represents a whole new class of camera.Made to be the tool of choice for serious photographers and semi-professionals, the EOS 7D features an all-new 18.0 Megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor and Dual DIGIC 4 Image Processors, capturing tremendous images at up to ISO 12800 and speeds of up to 8 fps. The EOS 7D has a new all cross-type 19-point AF system with improved AI Servo AF subject tracking and user-selectable AF area selection modes for sharp focus no matter the situation. The EOS 7D’s Intelligent Viewfinder, an entirely newly-designed technology, provides 100% coverage and displays user-selected AF modes as well as a spot metering circle and on demand grid lines. New iFCL Metering with 63-zone dual-layer metering system uses both focus and color information to provide accurate exposure even in difficult lighting. The EOS 7D also captures Full HD video at 30p (29.97 fps), 24p (23.976 fps) and 25p with an array of manual controls, including manual exposure during movie shooting and ISO speed selection. The EOS 7D features a magnesium alloy body that is dust- and weather-resistant and shutter durability of up to 150,000 cycles. Compatible with over 60 EF and EF-S lenses as well as with EOS System accessories, the creative opportunities – not just with stills but also with video – are beyond amazement.

Read more...

how cool is this fucking thing?

After getting us all hot-and-bothered pre-release the Olympus E-P1 Micro Four Thirds rangefinder-esque camera has now been officially revealed.

In addition to wielding a 12.3 megapixel Live MOS sensor (the same 4/3 style as found in many mini-DSLRs) the retro-styled E-P1 “Digital Pen” has a three-inch LCD, in-body image stabilization, a dust reduction system and 19 automatic scene modes. It can also record HD video in 720p/30fps and includes a HDMI TV-out for direct playback.

There will be two Micro Four Thirds lenses available along with the camera for US release in July, a 17mm 1:2.8 Pancake and a 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6. Price-wise it comes in better than expected at $749 for body only, or $799 with the 14-42mm lens. My personal choice, though, would be the body with the 17mm for $899.

would definitely be a cool walking around camera…

[Source: Gizmodo]

By Chase Jarvis

I’m taking the liberty of suggesting that you do one or more of the following today:

1. Shoot personal work. Call in some favors, get creative with no budget, and shoot something for yourself.

2. Set free that idea you’ve been holding onto. Write a blog post about it. Ask your friends what they think. Tell the world.

3. Learn about video. Don’t have a camera? Buy drip coffee for a month instead of lattes, and buy a Flip Mino video camera with the money you save. Experiment.

4. Connect with your peers. Start a blog, dig into your Facebook. Or, hell, gather your photo friends for beers and a slide show.

5. Walk around with your camera. You don’t need sunshine. Interesting weather makes interesting pictures. iPhone or one dSLR body with one lens. There is no “client”. Just take pictures.

6. Rent a piece of equipment you’ve been wanting to learn about. Or try this rental secret: pick it up on Friday after 3pm, pay for Saturday. Sunday’s are often free because the camera store is closed. Return Monday by 10am. 3 days for the price of 1.

7. Put together a book of your work. Blurb or Asuka, whatever. Affordable. Even if you don’t print 10 or 100, print 1. Put it in your studio for visitors to flip through, or leave on it your coffee table at home.

8. Do the thing on your list that you most dread doing. Call that client who hasn’t paid. Sign up for Twitter. Develop a marketing plan. Go to the ASMP meeting.

9. Remind yourself that the gear you can’t afford is not the barrier keeping you from success. Gear has very little to do with photography.

10. Read up online about the history of photography and it’s masters. Weston. Steichen. Arbus. Mapplethorpe. Adams. Doisneau. Cartier-Bresson. Avedon.

11. Admit to yourself that you don’t know about something you’ve been pretending to know about. Sit down and do the research yourself. Learn it.

12. Go sit in front of the newsstand at some mega book store. Flip through all the magazines that interest you. Go beyond photo magazines. Generally speaking they limit your imagination rather than expand it. Spend at least an hour.

13. Make a list of 5 clients you want in the next 24 months. Shoot for the moon.

14. Rent a medium format film camera and shoot two rolls of 120. Slow down. Places will process your negs and give you scans these days for pretty cheap.

15. Look through the pictures in my portfolio and appropriate an idea. Tweak the concept and go make a better picture. It’s okay. We all do it. I’m probably looking at your work right now and am grateful for the inspiration.

16. Take 100 pictures with your iPhone. Or your Samsung phone. Or your point and shoot. Whatever camera is the closest to you right this minute. The best camera is the one that’s with you.

17. Refresh your website with at least one new picture. Or dig up an old one, re-process it and make it a new one.

18. Take a picture of something wherever you are when you read this post. Share it somehow, even if it isn’t your favorite. Post it to your blog, twitter, or link it in the comments below. Email or MMS it to somebody who will appreciate it.

19. Quit your day job if you hate it and can live without it. People say it’s a bad time to start a new business or go in a new direction. On the flipside, I think it’s a great time if you’ve got a clear vision and a little cushion.

20. Concept, shoot, and edit a short film (video) in a single day. Keep it cheap. Keep it short. Use whatever camera you have access to.

21. Show somebody your portfolio or a selection of pictures. Let them tell you which ones they like, but also be sure to ask them which ones they don’t like and why. You’ll likely learn something.

22. Back up your work. It’s not that hard and it’ll probably save your arse at some point in the very near future.

some good reading and some good ideas…I’ll have to sit down sometime and do some of it

[Source: Chase Jarvis]

what an eventful weekend…ok, maybe it was just Friday night and Saturday…

Friday I got off work and went home to pick up Jill and Friday for the dog park. Hung out there as Friday played for about an hour and a half. Then I washed my car and we grabbed some quick dinner. As dinner was starting at about 8, Prison Break started as well…yes, my beloved Prison Break is back!!! but for only a few episodes before it finally comes to an end…

I had things to finish, so i just hit pause on the DVR. I quickly fixed my rig, but unfortunately, the battery died on our drill and so I had to recharge it. Oh well, back to Prison Break it was. Intense action and drama as always…i really hate that its gonna end, but it must. After Prison Break, I finished fixing the rig and then took a shower because I knew i didn’t want to in the morning for the long day ahead. After the shower, came sleep…oh how i love sleep…

5:30 AM came entirely too soon. Got up, brushed my teeth, threw on some clothes and packed up the car. Fuck…I had to get gas. Hit the gas station and McDonalds for some morning fuel (no pun intended). A quick 2 hr drive up to Burbank and I was the first one there…Robert…am I in the right place?

Quick call to Robert and I found out he was lost…took an exit off the 405 which was about 10 miles away…finally a few people showed up and we chatted and waited for Robert. Then came the trouble…

Just kidding, it was just a security guard making sure that we weren’t getting too fast and furious in the parking structure. We just told him we were waiting for some friends and that was all…

Robert finally showed up and we sat around for a bit to see if more people were gonna show up. Didn’t really look like it. So, we started the shoot with the 4 cars that were there…yes…4 cars our of 22 or so cars that said they would show up…

We did 1 set up with the 4 cars and then a couple more people showed up. Then a couple more people showed up so we did another set up with those people as well. Then we moved on to the individual shots. After all was said and done, I only took about 120 shots. Not very many. Some people suggested rig shots, but the Sun was too high and security guards were going to be too much of a hassle.

Onto the BBQ hosted by Team Sciontific (I think…i don’t remember…damn i’m getting old). All i remember is good mac n cheese and eating a hamburger in a hot dog bun. Then we headed to High End.

In the garage of High End, I pretty much nut my pants. Top Secret Supra, Twin Turbo 350Z, a dope S2000 and a rad RX-7. We hung out at the shop as we waited for the Sun to drop before we headed to Scary Dairy. It seemed like forever hanging out in the shop. At some point, I fell asleep, woke up and we were off.

Scary Dairy was the same as I remember it, with the exception of a few boards and some new graffiti. I really wish we were there at a later time, but some of the people weren’t too sure about being there after dark…Oh well…it was still fun. Since I had seen everything, I decided to shoot some HDR…

Here’s a non-HDR shot from Scary Dairy

Grabbed some food and hit the road…longest 3 hrs of my life. Thankfully, I didn’t fall asleep. Once my head hit my pillow, I was out.

Sunday was absolutely mellow…thank GOD…slept til 11…ate lunch and just chilled til we went to the dog park. Check out my post about that below.

Good weekend with good friends….thank you all

here are some HDR shots from Scary Dairy…wish we were there at a different time because most of the stuff looked the same as it did last time, but we weren’t…so here are the shots

gets weird