Multnomah Falls

Multnomah Falls, about a half hour's drive East of Portland, Oregon.
This set of falls was referenced in a book I had read lately, The Shack
Just about what i had pictured in mind only much larger.
Wow.

Recap

As most road trips go there are great days when everything is smooth and easy and the sun shines on you, there are then the days that seem like work. Yesterday was that day of work. The drive time was only 10 hours but it seemed to take weeks. The clouds were thick and low, or maybe I was in a higher elevation, for a majority of the drive it was spitty almost rainy and the sun never did appear. The roads through the mountain passes were wet the temperature was low in the 30's. Winding mountain passes, freezing temps, and rain ya it was never racking.
After all was done i never once reached for my camera so today the post is a recap to bring you current.
From Austin Texas west to Southern California, up to Portland rather south of. I have just about 2600 miles in so far and 5 days down.
I hope that today brings much more excitement and joy, and more images from this trip.
home is just around the next pass. And i cant wait to see my family there

drive time

Stop and smell the roses

It was brought to my attention yesterday that I have a great opportunity in life. I am on the road exploring the southern US and West Coast. For One week Me and the crew are on the way to Seattle. I have enough time to slow down but i feel i have to go. Yesterday on my way to Southern California I found that my next stop was really only 2 hours away and at noon that's not a long way to go. So I took a detour.

The Grand Canyon was only an hour north of the highway I was on so why not.
Once I arrived at the the Big Gorge I knew that stopping was truly a Must. You don't know until you see it for yourself but wow it was more them worth the stop


I know the phrase all too well, I know it but don't live it. This week really needs to be about smelling the roses.

Sun Set in Santa Fe

This set of pictures would best describe the area of Santa Fe to me, WOW what a gorgeous place. The black and white are south of town and the sunset is west. The b/w vs the bright color is just a small contrast of the emotions I have experienced while on the road to Seattle.

Road Trip

One from the road.
As many know, I am on my way north to Seattle. Taking the opportunity along the way to snap a few pictures and share them with you.
Stay tuned this week as I post one a day or more.

For Fun or Work

Not long ago I had the great opportunity to do a Virtual Tour on a home for some friends of mine. They were going to be selling their home, so hiring a professional for the photo shoot and Virtual tour was a must.

With little to no hesitation they called you know who. I was so excited and really wanted to do this for several reasons, one I knew their house would show really well -- because of the decor and the architecture of the house -- and I knew it would look good on screen. With the right touch, the pictures would stand as a great set of images to use later down the road to show off on my website or as a portfolio piece. Secondly, I wanted to have fun with the house. It was for close friends and I loved the house. They were very insistent on paying something, but I wanted nothing for it. That is not so uncommon for me to do, I mean it's fun for me. Right?

This is what brings me here.

The question I was recently asked was how do you draw a line between fun and work? My quick answer was "money"! Of course I laughed when I said it, but it made me think. What is the line between fun and work?

The first truth is that any time I grab my camera for any reason it's work. The second truth is that any time I grab my camera for any reason it's fun. From the click of the shutter to the processed image ready for delivery, it has taken time, energy and talent. All of which comes at a price to me now more then ever. I know the importance of energy thanks to my daughter and how limited time is when I want to spend more with my wife.

I would have to say that I would draw the line at this: I really like what I do for a living.
I will have to change my thoughts of being a photographer for fun and understand it's now what I do for full time work. So work is what you need to do, and fun is how you need to think about work.

The home has since sold, and the family has started a new project. But for me, my desire to shoot well decorated homes stays.

HDR or not

color -vs-black and white

All of the work I do keeps me in color, but there are days i just want to push something through that's black and white, it brings something to the table that's missing.

When I look at this stairway I flash back to the old books on Architecture, and my mind says this is suppose to be in black and white. However what sells a house is the stained floors, the wood steps and the metal rail all the way to the top, i doesn't hurt that the blue sky and green tree is in the window either
As we move back into the style of yesterday there is more and more of this appearing. And i enjoy seeing this.
I am thinking about this but what do you think?

what you dont see

I spend a lot of time looking for the right picture in any house i photograph, it is important to me and even more important to the sale of the house which is why i am there to begin with.
The down side is that sometimes I spend just as much time looking at what will not look good in a picture.
In this home i looked at what not to shoot.

WHAT? are you serious, that house is ready to sell, open house time!

another home

i like this, the fire place the stone the piano in the other room, way over there. this is as of this week the largest square foot home i have shot. but not the last, i can believe that.
I found that the best way to light the house was to not light it at all, the cloudy day, and the lights did it all. one picture, correct exposure and here it is, the white balance was set for tungsten light so the outside light turned a little blue.

Lilys,

I have seen many a place as of today, some bring the opportunity for images like this. Clear blue skies and a promise of flowers.

Sweet Baby Lily

For Many that know Lily is our little ball of joy, she is now 6 months old and is a trooper. I was working on pictures for a project when i ran across this picture of our daughter. She had to endure the length of time it took to get this picture. She is quit the trooper.
ENJOY

social media images

The growing need for professional head shots, but more then head shots is the new social media images
with the growing use of online activity (and as you read this you are taking part in that media) the growing need for these fun, sometimes silly, but most likely "you" pictures also grows. tonight i had a blast with some friends of mine as I captured a few images for his buisness. The head shot and general use picture turned out great. The best picture of the night goes to his quick wit and great since of humor, as he was asked to give me something you would like to see as a fun out of the box picture, he grabbed his sons 1956 Mercury car (year old son and a peddle car) pulled it up around him like a life saver.
All to say they need to be fun, and they need to be you.

After moving back to Austin, my wife made a statement, much like this " now that were here we need to do more Austin things".
I forgot what Austin really brings to the table. The great out doors! what a sight. This series of photographs were taken down at Red Bud Isle. This most beautiful park is just west of the down town area. HOW GREAT IS THAT.

And yes by the way i was working.
what a rough life.



I have seen a lot of the concrete city and a lot of the new construction in the city in the last few weeks. Looks good don't get me wrong but boy it is spreading like a wild fire. I just hope that areas like this do not get over-run with "city growth"

just needs paint

I just got word that the owner believes it "just needs a fresh coat of paint" for some reason i think they missed something.
The greatest part of being a real-estate shooter in Austin is that I get to see all kinds of properties.
If you Follow the link below you can see all of the pictures of the fraternity house. And the professional cleaning crew did come through. To bad the boys did not get the hint.

this property will sell fast.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION


http://vt.realtour.biz/?P=61632

Staging your home

In the world of real-estate, it is very important to pay attention to the appearance of the home. Professional home staggers are worth there weight in gold (well if gold still held its value)
Staging can make the difference when its time to sell. First by using there eye to either fill a space, or by removing the clutter from a space, and next to make sure the space is used properly, Maybe just moving furniture around.

I am not a professional home stagger, but as a professional real-estate photographer I do get to see the inside of many homes. This picture for example shows how big of a difference it makes to just have a picture hanging on the wall. When i first got to this assignment there was nothing hanging on the wall. I took this shot knowing that i would have to crop out some of the wall. no big deal, the space shows very well with out the wall in it. However while i was there the home owner just hung a piece of art on the wall. ( His wife had the real piece in the car to get it re framed ).
Take a look and see what it can do.