Entries from October 2008 ↓

James, a member of fiveminutephotographer.com posted a great comment about a photographer that inspired him, Joe Bussink. Joe has been an inspiration of mine for many years now and i aspire to on day meetng the man and thanking him for all he has done for my vision and approach.

My (edited for clarity) reply is below.

“He (Joe) is the master of capturing “moments” and I too have looked at him in awe for many a year now. I was first bought to his attention when he was endorsing Aperture for Apple.

His way of thinking is superb. Although he could nail an exposure bindfolded if he had to, he is very much a fan of the equipment he uses. I heard a lecture he gave online once and he says (I’m paraphrasing) “When you shoot like I shoot you have not got the time to be in Manual. Your cameras are fantastic pieces of technology. I shoot in P for professional. I trust my gear”.

I pointed this out to this “person” I come accross on a forum once (not here of course I love you guys!) who was spouting that only amatures shoot in P. He said (and I quote) “People like me and Joe Buissink shoot in Manual, all the time”.

He was not pleased when I provided the link to the episode.

Joe gave one lesson which I adhere to every day of my life. “You want to capture great moments? You have to train yourself to find great moments and recognise them when you see them.” I now do what he does. As I walk around (even without a camera. If I see something that would make a great moment I click my fingers or say “click”. That gets the body in tune with the mind so they act as a cohesive photographic solution.

Joe is a great man who loves his job. He has had three heart attacks in the last two years and now relies on another photographer to do the “posed” photographs whilst he lurks in the background capturing moments. He says he prefers this as people come up and ask for a photo so he points them to his partner and says “He’s the photogapher, I’m just helping”

If you ever get a chance to hear him talk either in person or online, let me know because I wanna be there. “

I’d love to hear who inspires you and why? Please leave a comment below.

1/365v2 Hello, my name is Richard, originally uploaded by RXAphotos.

Once again I am going to attempt to take a self portrait every day for a year. Why? I do not know.

Today I gained three items and handed over one.

I now have a Nikon D300 camera which I am already waiting to try out on someone. I may have an interested party tomorrow afternoon. Fingers crossed. The camera is a big step up from my two D200’s and the preview monitor has to be seen to be believed.

In order to get the following I traded in one of my Nikon D200 cameras. The good news is I got the exact same amount as what I paid for it in August this year.

I got the MB-D10 battery grip for the D300 as without it my cameras feel like toys. By using rechargeable AA lithium batteries (as well as the camera’s internal battery) I can blast away at 8 fames per second.

And finally a new lens joins the others in my bag. The Sigma 10-20 4-5.6 wide angle. This is a great lens and will be used heavily at my Wedding and Trash the Dress sessions.

The following photographs were taken with the above combination on a walk around the block at home. All images are straight out of camera and not edited apart from resizing for the blog.

Today was a beautiful day to spend with a beautiful family. We spent the afternoon taking a few photos of the kids and then Mum and Dad got a go. We finished of with a few group shots before we called it quits.

Here are a couple of quick images from the shoot.

I look forward to hearing your reactions to the photos and thanks for holding my flashes kids!

On a side note these images were quickly processed with the help of Gavin Seims Lightroom Power Presets. I’ve been a fan of these for ages and have just got hold of them. He also has some Photoshop effects he has done which I will also be getting. Go check out his stuff!

If you haven’t already, come and join the RXAphotography group on Facebook to receive monthly specials.

This months special is 15% off the basic package fee for any wedding booked* in October.

* Retainer paid.

Liz and Mike were the first couple to book me as a wedding photographer so their wedding had that extra special meaning for me. It was also my first wedding with an assistant and second shooter. As you will see below I think I chose wisely.

The formals were held before the ceremony giving us plenty of time to get some nice images.

And Tim’s photo of me achieving the photo above.

A superb angle by Tim of the bride and her father entering.

My next bride and groom were in attendance and I look forward to working with them soon.

It was a great day with a lot of very happy people. The fifteen hours of shooting time went by in a flash and Tim and myself were looked after very well.

Just had this thought come to me as I was editing wedding images. If I could have a photograph session with any five people I have met, who would they be?

#1 - My ex-wife

I don’t actually have many photographs of her at all and our marriage ended before I really got into photography. I love the chance to sit her down and photograph her properly.  She has the most expressive eyes and her face lights up when she laughs like noone else I know.

#2 - My ex-girlfriend Lucy

Although I have many photographs of Lucy (much more than I do my ex-wife) I never really got the chance to do a proper shoot with her.  Again, the eyes. I reckon I could get some amazing shots.

#3 - Meagan Morris

Meagan (excuse spelling) has been a bridesmaid at two of my weddings and I would love the chance to work with her one-on-one both in a studio and on location somewhere.  Once again … the eyes.

#4 - Musician Tommy Emmanuel

Such an expressive man and musician would be amazing to work with. I have had the hounor of many moments with the great man but have never nailed him down for a photo session. One day.

#5 - My Son

My favourite photo of him was taken on the one occasion he stood still for more than ten seconds. I’d love to be able to shoot him properly.

I’d be interested to hear your lists and reasons. If you haven’t left a comment before it goes into a moderation queue before being published.