Missing Keys? / Seminar Follow-up

Missing keys?

If you’re missing a set of keys and have been to the Montrose beach boardwalk in Chicago, perhaps they are yours.

Seminar Follow-up

Ed Pierce’s “Captivated By The Light” seminar was on Sunday and despite the negative reviews Danialle and I thought it was entertaining for $19. There was a lot of convenient product placement of both Ed’s and his sponser’s products during the seminar, but I didn’t think it was obnoxious. Ed also used several prerecorded video segments throughout the presentation. What would you expect for $19? Hell, I even let Ed take another $49 from my wallet to purchase one of his patented (he made this quite clear) 14″ Pocket Digital Calibration Targets.

After the seminar, several of us Chicagoland Strobists grabbed some food and beer at Taylor Brewing Company in Oak Brook.

Lightning Bolts

Signage above a vacant storefront. I would LOVE to adopt these neon lightning bolts and proudly display them on my living room wall.

Seminar (Infomercial?)

The Mrs. and I will be attending Ed Pierce’s “Captivated by the Light” seminar this weekend. I learned of the seminar while listening to a photography podcast. One of the guests had mentioned it and said it was pretty good and two other guests were going to be attending future dates. So I checked the location list of the tour and Chicago had two venues open for registration. Moments later I received an email from WHCC (online photo lab) containing a $30 off coupon code for the seminar. Great timing, huh? It was going to cost just $19 for a 4-hour gig and a 4-hour DVD, so I thought why not and registered.

Weeks later, and after getting about 20 more people to register, reviews of the seminar were not favorable, many attendees claimed it was too much of an “infomercial”. I guess I should have expected such being that tickets were so cheap. Unfortunately tickets are not refundable, but supposedly there is a money back guarantee. Hopefully I can get my money back if it sucks.

On the bright side, about 20 of us Chicago Strobists will be in attendance and plan to make better use of our time if required. Ha ha!

Jennifer

Last Saturday, I assisted Danialle with some maternity shots of her friend Jennifer. This was my first encounter with maternity photography and I had a blast. Jennifer was fantastic.

Below is an image from that shoot.

Current

Part of an elevator electrical system photographed during the shoot with Lance. You can see it in the background of the this image.

I love the colors and the oxidation. The electrical tape wrapped around the center cable is a nice touch.

Justin McGrath

Last weekend I photographed electronic musician Justin McGrath. Thanks to Justin for enduring freezing temperatures for these outside shots. I photographed him until I literally lost my sense of touch – which didn’t take long.

Check out his recently released 7 Track EP titled ‘The NIght That Laid Still’. You can listen to the album here.

www.justinmcgrath.com

Customer Service – Strobist Style

photo by Danialle Foy 

Last weekend my wife and I had the pleasure of attending the first Chicagoland Strobist meet-up. You may be asking yourself, “What the heck is Strobist?” Basically, these meet-ups are a collection of photographers ranging from hobbyist to professional who get together and experiment with off-camera lighting. This meet-up was held at the Microsoft Midwest District offices.

We were about 25 minutes late and all the photographers were still standing around waiting for the models to finish with make-up. Once we were all set-up, Danialle and I decided to get the party started. I became a volunteer fill-in model for Danialle to fire away at. In a matter of seconds, a handful of photogs came over and wanted a go at me.

It was a great to meet everyone who were just a crazy about off-camera lighting as I was. I’m already looking forward to the next meet-up.