Good People, Cancer, & Livestrong

I have been blessed to work with some really great folks over the years, both in my personal and professional lives. I don’t credit myself with any special talent for attracting good people, I just seem to stumble upon them. I’m really grateful for that. People who know me have probably heard me jokingly say, “I’m the luckiest person I know”. I say it more from a sense of gratitude than boasting. It’s true though, I have been really lucky when it comes to people.

Two great people who I stumbled upon about 5 years ago are Chris and Margaret Kadlick. They aren’t typically ones for the spotlight, so my going on about them might make them a little uncomfortable. I’m gonna do it anyway.

Our Good Friend Joe’s getting a Brand New Website.

You are looking at the 3rd revision of our mock up homepage design for photographer Joe Pecararo’s new website. As with everything we’ve done with Joe, Working with Joe on the website has been great. He’s liked everything we showed him so far.

You’d think that would be a good thing, and it is, but I was starting

Don’t Try This at Home: Skate Magazine Shoot – Topside Soul Grind on Double Kink Rail

Your looking at Mark Wodja (pronounced; Voe-da). Mark is a smart guy. In fact, he’s a psych major at Boston University where he studies the mind, but apparently he’s lost his own. Don’t get me wrong, he’s quite lucid. On the surface he’s just a friendly mid-westerner like myself, which made spending half the day photographing him a real pleasure. Still, the guy must have a couple of screws loose to skate down a handrail like this one. Adding to the sheer lunacy of the drop involved, there was a brutal wind blowing directly over the rail. Gusts picked up velocity as they funneled thru the outside corridors of the adjoining apartment building. I saw my second camera, which was on top of a sturdy tripod, begin to go over a few times. (Gee, I hope my insurance carrier isn’t reading this, for several reasons come to think of it.)

The wind was much more of a problem for Mark. Getting blown off the top of that handrail would have meant

File this one under, “Can’t Leave Well Enough Alone!”

I know, I know. With all the projects we have going on at Barton’s Way Media, what am I doing re-taking pictures of my own bicycle? Ummmm errr, testing out the new lighting kit?

Jokes aside, I’ve always had trouble leaving well enough alone, and I just had to see what the shot would look like with the bike further away from the background. While I was at it, I figured I would snap a couple of very shallow depth of field close ups. Of course the next logical step is to create a collage of the shots in order to update the blog.

That’s all I got for now. It’s back to the old salt mine for me. -Jack

Beautifully Filmed Skateboard Movie

more about "Beautifully Filmed Skateboard Movie", posted with vodpod

I got my visual imaging and story telling start in what was called the “extreme” or “action” sports biz. I never liked those handles, but that’s what folks called it. Anyway, I made a lot of friends and contacts in the action sports world, so I check in on that world from time to time. This piece is an example of why I bother. It’s both amazing and beautiful, not a bad combo for any subject. Even if you aren’t into skating, you will appreciate the artistry of the folks who produced the edit and the athleticism of the young men doing the tricks. Go ahead and push the play button, you won’t be disappointed. -Jack

Continuous Cool Fluorescent Photo Lighting, “So easy, it’s Like Cheating”

Photographers have been lighting their subjects with strobes lights (flash) for a long time. Strobe done well produces truly gorgeous images, but it ain’t easy. The light from a strobe lasts a fraction of a second, so predicting the end result is tough for even the experienced photog. Before the advent of digital cameras, which allow you to see the results right away, a lot of guess work was done while shooting with strobes. I’m sure I’m not the only one who can remember a few nervous rides to the lab to see how the film turned out. Having to imagine the final result is not a problem with continuous lighting because what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WISYWIG). Continuous lights also mean you don’t have to