digital

Here are a couple shots we took in Firenze (Florence).  Generally, Italian police don’t like photos so you have to be a little sneaky about it!  There are several different types of police with varying responsibilities in Italy but I won’t begin to try to explain what I only barely understand myself…  The two men pictured at the top are with the Polizia Municipiale (municipal or city police), and the man in the navy blue uniform below is with the Carabinieri (national or military police).

Joel always has fun shooting photos of people in Italy.  And the people are definitely a large part of what makes Italy so great!  Here’s a link with some of his favorite people shots from this trip.

A reminder- coming up June 11th, we’re doing another Digital Photo Basics Workshop through Flagstaff Cultural Partners.  Part of the fee is a donation to a great organization!  Please contact us or visit the website for more info!

Ciao!

Take a workshop with a friend and share 40 percent off! This summer, for our two local shooting workshops, Light Painting in Northern Arizona (June 17-19) and Creative Black & White Part I (August 12-14), we’re offering 40% off the fee for the second person.  For example, you and your friend sign up for the black and white workshop and we charge $495 for one of you and $297 for the other.  You split the savings with your buddy and you can each save about 100 dollars!

It’s a great deal so sign up soon!

We leave for Italy in 1 week- we arrive several days early to scout our favorite locations and find some new ones…  as well as get a little extra food and wine before the group arrives!

Ciao!

Living at a high elevation like Flagstaff (7,000 ft/2,100 m) can sometimes mean strange weather…  like the 8 inches of fresh snow we woke up to this morning!  I took this image out the back door of our house.

Instead of complaining, we should thank Mother Nature for being so generous- we definitely need the moisture.  It’s been a relatively dry winter and this is beautiful!  Besides, with temperatures near 60 on Monday, the snow will not last long.

We’re about a month away from leaving for Tuscany. Today has been a good day to gather the necessary books and maps we need for the trip.  Now it’s time to pull out the check lists…

Ciao!

We spent the past weekend shooting some great images with our Desert Spring in the Canyons of the East Valley workshop.  We light painted, we shot sunrises and sunset, and all of our participants got some amazing images! Although a little tired by the end, I think we all had a lot of fun.

Here are some images from the weekend.  The one at night was at the end of our light painting excursion- I “light painted” our participants over a long exposure.

Joel and I recently went to a Major League Baseball Spring Training game in Phoenix, part of the Cactus League.  What a great opportunity for photos!  I used my little “point and shoot” and put it on the sports setting (which sets a fast shutter speed).

Because we both love baseball, we figured it didn’t matter what teams we saw play.  So we chose a game based primarily on the size of the stadium.  In a small stadium, not only are the tickets typically cheaper, but it’s a more intimate feel.  You can get close to the players (as you can see) and really feel like you’re part of the game!

We went with some friends and their two young boys. One of the boys had a player throw him a fouled ground ball.  After the game, they were able to get autographs…  that’s just how great Spring Training is!

We spent a few days camping in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix scouting our favorite locations for our upcoming workshop and even found some new ones! The weather was beautiful, around 80 most days and upper 40s at night…  perfect!  After getting up for sunrise several days in a row, it was nice to sleep in today. Though I admit, the sunrise was always beautiful!

Here are a couple desert images, the Superstition Mountains at sunrise and a backlit cholla cactus.  We also visited a small “western-style” ghost town for tourists that had a lot of fun-to-shoot old mining equipment and cars.  This image is part of an old rusted car.

Hope to see you in a workshop in the future!  We also have room in our Digital Photo Basics March 19th!  Contact us with questions…

Ciao…

We’ve finalized our workshop schedule for Winter and Spring 2011 and we expect to have a lot of fun!

January 22- Digital Photo Basics in Scottsdale

January 28-30- Where are those Photos?  Managing your Digital Life with Lightroom (Flagstaff)

February 12- Digital Photo Basics in Flagstaff

March 19- Digital Photo Basics in Scottsdale

March 25-27- Desert Spring in the Canyons of the East Valley (near Phoenix, AZ)

May 14-21- Villages of Tuscany, Italy

September 17-24- Villages of Provence, France

For more information about any of these workshops, please contact us or click the link above for full descriptions!

Join us November 10th for a special evening where Joel will take you on a tour of Italy.  He’ll show some of his favorite images on the big screen.  During the presentation, Joel will share stories and techniques behind the images providing useful tips on how to take your own stunning travel photos.  Time will be allowed for a Question and Answer period after the presentation.

Location:  Scottsdale, AZ
Date:  November 10th, 2010

$10 per person for reservations made by Nov 1st ($15 per person after that or at the door).
Light refreshments will be served.  Advance reservations are required.
Proceeds from this event benefit the Arizona Art Alliance and the Sonoran Arts League.

Contact us now to secure your place
Payment by check only
For more info, visit the website.

Click here for a sneak preview of some of the Images of Italy

Ciao!  Hope to see you there…

As a last minute surprise birthday present to me, Joel made reservations for us at Bryce Canyon.  I highly recommend it for those of you who have never been- it’s a beautiful park and we definitely plan to go back!  Here are a couple of my snapshots from our visit.

The first morning after we arrived, we went out to shoot sunrise and made friends with a herd of pronghorn after our shoot.  In the afternoon, the rocks were lit up with the threat of rain in the sky in the background- we got lucky and stayed dry!  In the last shot- we relaxed with a cup of wine while watching sunset over the canyon!

We’re scheduling new workshops and will be sending out updates soon!

Ciao for now…

Last week, the weather was crazy for us here in Flagstaff!   Several tornadoes hit west and north of Flagstaff.  In the town of Belmont, there was quite a bit of damage, but miraculously, no one was hurt.  Here’s what it looked like at our studio the morning the tornadoes hit…  the rare fog was beautiful, little did we know what was happening elsewhere.