Hot Dog!

Some images are just plain fun and quirky. This image was a result of examining the possibilities. It started with the original factory image which made me wonder, what could I do with it that would be outside of the box, or outside of the bun in this case. We had just done a shoot in our studio that included hotdogs. The light went on. Hotdogs!, wouldn't it be awesome if he was assembling hotdogs. Thus the image below was created.  Sometimes it's just plain old fun to suspend reality and create something just  "a little out of the bun".  "Mouse over the image to see the original"

Piercing the Darkness

Inspiration can often come from that which we hold dear.  Being a person of faith, I was really drawn to this image. So I decided to create a dramatic visual that would contrast good and evil with light and darkness.  I added two buildings that I shot on a trip to Nashville along with a sky I shot at sunset.  I then added some dramatic lighting effects and other representations of good and evil to bring it all together into a very powerful image.  The result is an image that is not only visually appealing,  but one that really makes you ponder its implication.   "Mouse over the image to see the original"

Wild Bill!

Sometimes images come through our Post Production Department that just beg for us to do something with them. This image just happened to be one of those. The person in this image is our studio manager Bill or for this shoot, lets call him "Wild Bill". Many of us here in the studio often get wrangled into being test subjects so that the photographer can dial in his lighting and placement before the client arrives. Bill had just such an opportunity a month ago and this is  one of the "test" shots our photographer took. I took the liberty to create a scene out of the  Wild West using a landscape shot from one of our other photographers and added  other elements to complete the scene. Who says work can't be fun? It's all in how you approach it.  "Mouse over the image to see the original"

Let It Snow!

This is the latest creation for our friends at Insight Magazine. The gentleman in the snow globe is Dan Ariens, CEO and President of Ariens Co., a manufacturer of snow removal and lawn-care equipment. Of course he wasn't in a snow globe but we sure thought it would be cool if he was.

Winter Wonderland

I really enjoy photographing winter scenes. It's a time of the year when everything is quiet and still, a time when the tourists have gone and all that is left is you and the canvas before you. The image below, "Luminary Exhibition", was one of those scenes captured on a frozen winter morning. With temperatures below zero I set out to photograph a scene that I had captured years earlier using film. Now with the age of digital photography, I was able to capture it in ways I was unable to previously. By bracketing the scene using multiple exposures, I was able to shoot directly into the sun and combine those exposures using a program called Photomatix. This technique is often referred to as HDR "High Dynamic Range". The result is an image that represents a wide range of detail in the shadows and highlights of an image, giving it that painterly look. The best part of it, is seeing the result once those exposures have been blended together, adding a whole new dimension to photography.

The Mystery

I discovered this shot while strolling through a cemetery in Louisiana this spring. Looking at the image you might have thought I took this shot at night or in the evening. By rolling over the image you will see it was far from dark outside. By using some techniques and Photoshop filters, I achieved the illusion and mystery of being shot at night and also created an image that is much more interesting than if it was shot at night. As it turned out, this ended up being one of my favorite shots. With just a little imagination and know-how, you too can discover a whole new world of possibilities with your images.

Barbicide Photo Shoot

Challenges often are a step toward personal growth. If we look back in life it is easy to see how much we have developed when faced with challenges. This image was a challenge for our photographer and for me as a Photoshop artist. The goal was to make this model appear as if she was underwater. The end result is quite convincing but took many steps to get there, from setting up the shot to layering all the pieces of the puzzle together. The shot eventually ended up being used on the website for Barbicide and in the process I learned new blending techniques which have lead to the discovery of new and interesting ways to apply these. What seemed to be a real challenge actually was an opportunity for growth. The next time you are faced with what seems to be a difficult situation, remember that in the end you will come out the better for it.