Deja Vu!

Hello, everyone. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. It's my hope that you all had reason to be thankful this year. I know I have a lot to be thankful for but like most of you there is hurt and pain that is going on in a lot of peoples lives today. I know people who have just lost someone very close to them, people who are having deep financial problems, family and marital problems. But even with all that they all have things that they are deeply thankful for. It is my hope that this Holiday Season brings joy, happiness, love, and peace to you and yours.

There are a few traditions that I follow every year and this one is no exception. Before Thanksgiving day comes to a close I always get out my VSH tape of "A Christmas Carol" staring George C. Scott and watch it all the way through. I know most of the movies dialog and find myself speaking the lines right alone with the characters of the story. I also took the time to watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas", I know all the lines from that one. And this won't be the last time this year that I watch these shows. Christmas Eve into Christmas Morning you'll find me in front of the TV enjoying these classics again. You have a standing invitation to pull up a chair and enjoy them with me.

These are some more photos taken on the movie set of the "History of Branson". Have you picked up your copy yet? Many have and the reviews and replies that have been receive have been most positive. Mike Johnson talked to me and gave me an update to his new project preparations and the pieces are all starting to come together. I am so looking forward to this new project because unlike the the "History of Branson" project, I am getting the opportunity to work with it from the beginning instead of picking it up in the middle. Man what an honor to be included into the Bear Creek Production Team. These are a great bunch of guys and gals who love their work and are committed to the production of a great product.

Well with a little good fortune we are going to be able to set up a retail selling outlet within the next few weeks. We are zeroing in to a location and hope to finalize the are plans soon. Then you will have the opportunity to pickup some of our work without having to go through the ordering process and shipping time. And if all goes as I hope our prices for our pictures will be very reasonable in deed. And there will be more than just our pictures for sale, but you will have to wait for that added announcement.

This installment of Pro Pix Tips is going to continue with our discussion of composition but is just a bit off the trail. We are going to take a quick look at the use of flashes for our lighting needs. We have had some discussion about lighting in past post but I want to touch on something that came up in one of our venues were we are using multiple flashes for our photos.

Cameras with flash capability have what is called a "sync speed" which simply means that there is a maximum speed that the shutter can be set so that the flash will fully be able to light your subject so that is captured by the sensor properly exposed. If that speed is exceeded the lighting will appear to light your subject only partly. This will appear as a very distinct line where above it the photo will be properly lit while below the line the photo will be very much under exposed. This is due to the fact that the shutter is opening and closing so quick that the flash will not fire fast enough to expose the entire photo. On the other hand if a shutter is set to a speed less than the sync speed there will be very little difference in the lighting of your subject. This is because that for the most part the light from the flash does exactly what the name implies, it flashes at a high rate of speed. So if I am only counting on the flash as my light source it will make very little difference whether I use a shutter speed of 1/200th of a second or 1/10th of a second. The exposure of the photo will not be that much different. The ambient light being produced by any other light source will be different. Why? Because unlike the light from the flash, the other light source will be continually on throughout the exposure time. Therefore, the longer the shutter is open the brighter the ambient light will be in the photo, and visa versa. So how can you control the exposure of the photo with only a flash as the light source? With your ISO and aperture settings. ISO (International Organization of Standardization, so why isn't IOS) denotes the sensitivity of the digital sensor of the camera. The higher the ISO setting the more sensitive the sensor resulting in higher exposure, and visa versa. The aperture refers to how open or closed the lens is. The more open the lens setting the more light gets to the sensor and the brighter the exposure and visa versa. Only when combining the flash with ambient light will you be using different shutter speeds to control the light. The technique of how to do that will be discussed in a future PPTs.

I started writing this post on Friday and choose to finish it Saturday. While that seemed like a great idea at the time, sometimes life has a funny way of tossing in a monkey wrench or two into things. Today has been no exception. Personal notes are getting to be a habit for me. This one is most painful. I learned late Saturday evening that I have lost a very close and personal friend. The lose, though not that unexpected, has brought great pain and grief for me. I have known them for the majority of my life and having to continue without them will be very life changing for me. Life can be very cruel. It seems to get a kick out of dealing out cards in your life and watch you try to do something with them. None of us are immune from life's cruel acts. No matter what life gains from its' escapades, the one thing you can be assured of is the presents of shatters hopes, dreams, and lives that are left lying in its' wake. Because of my lose many of those aforementioned items have suffered that fate. No matter how many bowls of rusty nails you eat for breakfast, losses like this, no matter how they come, are always devastating. A part of me has been crushed by this lose, I fear to a point of no recovery. For those who truly know me, they know I don't take losing well. But as I stated at the beginning of this post there are still those things for which I am grateful, the times I shared with this friend among them. But it's the time in the future that life has stolen that generates the hurt and pain for which there is no relief. No matter how good the memories, how kind the thoughts conveyed, it's virtually impossible to be thankful when your heart is no longer in one piece. My friend is gone but my love for them will remain unchanged forever.

Richard

Get Your DVD Right Here!!!!!!!

Hello, everyone! Thanks for stopping by. Happy Thanksgiving week to ya! It's my hope that in spite of all the negativity that may and probably is going on in your life that you are able to find several things that remain for which you are truly thankful for. Gobble Gobble!

Great photos, right? These are some taken on the set of "The History of Branson". You might see one or more of these in the movie. If you would like a copy of the new documentary movie "The History of Branson" you can order it right here. We will soon have a link to the online ordering page right here on our website but until then you can drop us a note and we will get in touch with you with all the details. The DVD sells for $19.95 plus tax and shipping if required. They will make great Christmas gifts because they are sure to bring hours of enjoyment and information to those who receive it. And let me let you in on a little secret. The video has done so well just in the past week or so that the makers of the documentary have started planning for their next project in what could be a series of releases. Go ahead and ask me how I know about this.

I know my staff reads this blog and they do because they like to find out what I'm thinking up now. I'm sure that when I post a new entry their heart go up into their throats. That has to be especially true now since we are so close to the end of the season. Well I have been working on a lot of projects that I have been talking about in this blog but due to the time limitations the work on those projects tend to be slow going. However, if you have gone into the gallery lately you will have noted that there are a few new photos that I have up loaded and there is more where those have come from.

This is a photo I got in the last day or so. With the slowing of the season I am looking forward to get more photos taken and proceeding with those projects I have been promising. So to my staff what I have been thing up is just ways to get those projects we've already discussed up online. So stop sweating bullets and get ready to finish up those things already in the pipeline so I can think up new stuff.

Don't forget about the new DVD and letting us know if you want one. Have a great day everybody!

Richard

Moooooooooo!

Hello everyone! Welcome back. This time of the year is always hectic around here. Our souvenir division is busy keeping up with bus season and of course we do have our venue with a Santa Claus setting in front of a tree. Out of respect for our Santa, I will not post any photos.

Have you caught the commercial where it shows this guy standing in front of a photo on display that he had apparently taken. He is shown taking questions from what appears to be pro photographers and one of them ask if he would disclose what aperture setting he used for taking the photo. While holding his hands in front of him indicating a distance or size he replied, "A really big one." The announcer then says that this camera make taking great pictures easy. In others word, all you need to rival the pros is this camera. WOW! I didn't catch the manufacture and I'm praying it isn't Nikon because I really don't want to switch cameras but I might seriously consider it if it was them. The things that are done to make a buck with little consideration to the potential consequences.

To shift gears a bit, I have a friend that I have the opportunity to talk to quite frequently. He's been involved with a lady for quite awhile and have plans for the future. We have talked about those plans and this lady friend of his on numerous occasions and with full disclosure these plans involve many major changes in both their lives. He's always seemed up beat and happy about the relationship until the last time or two that we've spoken. He told me that he has met another lady who has been trying to steal him away and in his words "she's doing a pretty good job of it." He told me that in just the few weeks that he's known this lady, she has made him happier than he has been over the past two years with the other lady friend. While the stress and tension that comes with the plans they are discussing explains part of the bickering going on between them, it doesn't explain the difference in the levels of happiness he's feeling. No I'm not trying to turn this blog into a soap opera and I probably would have even bothered to bring it up if I hadn't ran across a different but similar situation. There's another gentleman I know who owns a business. Now while he has made some changes in his business operation there are certain aspects of his business which he tends to hold on to like a sacred cow. The fear of losing those things or at least the fear of lessening their importance to his operation grips onto him like a leech sucking the life from this guy. His friends have tried to talk to him and he does recognize the challenges that these thing present but even though he agrees with their arguments he still holds onto the belief that continuing to worship the sacred moo moo is the lesser of the evils. That is until the past few days. It seems that a knock has come to his proverbial door of opportunity. When he checked to see what was doing the knocking he found it to be an opportunity that he had not even seen coming let alone pursued. Now while his opportunity is in it's infancy it's still has provided enough encouragement to him to allow him to question just how truly sacred those moo moos really are after all. He said something that maybe we should all hear. Fear paralyzes us so much that we become blind to other options. Because of that blinding we allow things to control us to the extent we loose our own identity and self worth. As a result we feed the fear and the vicious cycle continues. It's an observation that I think has some merit. We tend to want to stay in our comfort zones no matter how uncomfortable it is. Why? Because while it may be uncomfortable it still is familiar and we don't like the unknown. Therefore, even though it may not be in our own best interest, we pour all of our efforts into maintaining those moo moos with our blinders on and our knees knocking. The problem is that while we pursue this course of action life is slipping away and opportunities are being missed. Not just in business but in our personnel lives as well. In a way we are making investments in our future. The problem is what kind of investments are we making? Are they those which lead us to a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction or regret and remorse? These are not easy situations and many times the situations seem either so crystal clear or so trivial that we fail to see how truly important and the lone lasting effects they potentially have on our lives not only now but for years to come. Since they are not easy and the majority of the populous love easy, people will generally allow what is easiest to govern their response and many times that turns out to be a huge mistake. Generally by the time we discover how big of a mistake it truly is, we cannot do much if anything to fix it. In some cases a higher power intervenes in spite of our fears and give light so we can more clearly see our moo moos as well as other courses that offers an even better life. But we can't always count on having things dropped into our laps (unless you are our Santa Claus. That's a private joke.). Most of the time opportunities are pretty stealthy and to see them you can't have your eyes on the moo moos. Don't miss out on the lobster because you're to busy putting pickles on the burger.

Pro Pix Tips. Well we are going to quickly finish up this part of our GOBO discussion. We will continue to talk about GOBOs throughout our look at composition but for right now it is important that we introduce the more common ones and briefly describe each one. We've already talked a bit about cookie GOBOs and you can go back and read that post.

FLAG GOBOs are used to block light from spilling over into areas you don't want them ie. the background area or back onto you camera producing lens flares or light reflections on the lens. They are generally black in color and can be made of any material as long as it does not let light shine through it. Most arencommonly made of cloth, poster board, and foam core.

REFLECTOR GOBOs are used to redirect the light coming from a light source to an area of the subject which needs additional lighting but you don't want to add an additional light source. An example would be where a reflector would be used while taking a photo outside one a sunny day where the reflector would reflect some of the sunlight back onto the subject to reduce the dark shadow areas on your subjects face such as the area around the eyes to better illuminate them. Cloth, poster board, and foam core are the most common materials used to make reflectors. The colors can vary but the most common are white, which tends to give off a cool white or flash color light, silver, which tends to give off a cool white or flash color but with greater intensity, and gold, which tends to give off a warmer yellowish color. Which one you use depends of the the feeling or purpose of the photo. The difference in intensity between the light coming from the source to the subject and that coming from the reflector varies based upon the distance between the light source, reflector, and subject but a good rule of thumb is 1 to 2 f-stops.

SCRIM GOBOs are used to soften light coming from a light source by effectively changing a small light source like the sun into a much larger light source. I know, the sun is a very big thing but while it is very big and bright it still very far away and actually look more light a spot light in the sky. As a result the light from the sun (a hard light source due to it relatively small size) produces a very distinct and dark shadow. When we place a scrim gobo between the light source (in this case the sun) and the subject of our photo, the scrim actually becomes the light source because the light is passing through the whole surface area of the scrim in affect becoming a much bigger light source (depending on the size of the scrim) producing a more soft light onto our subject with much softer and less distinct shadow areas. Depending on the material the scrim is made of, a rule of thumb you can use to judge how much lower the intensity of the light will be from no scrim vs. scrim is about 2 f-stops. Cloth or silk material are mainly used with white the usual color, but don't be surprised if you see a golden colored one.

GOBOs play a very important role in our shaping of light when we use that light to capture our images. As we continue our exploring of composition we will us GOBOs a lot.

Now on a more personal note. One of my staff members and very close personal friend lost their mother late Monday evening. I have known Monty for well over 40 years. She was a good women even though we had our disagreements from time to time. She was funny, kind, and loved her children more than life its self. She cared about those around her, family or not, and was always quick to help others whenever she could. From what I know of her past, life was not always kind to her but that didn't seem to dampen her happiness and outlook on life. Over the past years she was troubled by some persistent medical issues but despite the pain and difficulties those issues produced, she never allowed them to get her down or stop her from doing what she wanted. If one was to look at all she had had happen to her, a strong case could be make that life just wasn't very fair at all with her. I personally can say I never her Monty complain about any of that. She was always quick to comfort others even when her own issues were affecting her worse. Her children were her life and she was constantly concerned about their lives, especially her grand children. But in recent years life smiled on Monty. Additions to her family came in the form of her beloved cat and a man who I believe she loved with all of her heart. Their relationship brought her the happiness and joy that I feel had been missing for most of her life. I believe in my opinion that happiest times of her life came in these last 5 or so years. It's true that I wasn't that aware of all that was going on in her life but I do know that she seamed genuinely content and happier. Life is really crazy. With all the medical issues she fought with all those years, it was a fall that took her from us. Even though her passing did not come as a surprise and one can easily make the case that she is with God, free of pain and all those issues that for so long assaulted her, our pain and sorrow of being without her presents is real and will remain with us. For us who knew her and profess our faith in Christ, we will see this wonderful women again because she knew Christ as her Saviour. And when you compare the length of eternity, our time separated from her will be short, but that doesn't lessen the sorrow and grief of our time now. I loved Monty and called her mom. My love and prayers are with her family especially for Jackie. Jackie has many of her moms wonderful traits and for that I am truly grateful to Monty. I will miss her.

Richard

"History Of Branson" Is Here!

Hello everyone! We have some news that we want to get to you that we have been waiting to give for a while now. So we are going to bump our planned discussion of GOBOs for this post and do a couple of announcements that I am so happy to make, so let's get to it shall we.

IT'S FINALLY HERE! The "History Of Branson" documentary is out on retail shelves in several different location here in the Branson area. You can go to the Bear Creek Productions website and order one or you can pick one up at one of the following locations, The Mansion Theatre, The Oak Ridge Boys Theatre, The Clay Cooper Theatre, and the White Oaks Station 248 location and the 165 location. These locations were given to me by Mike Johnson the owner of BCP within the last 24 hours of this post and so they might have some delay at putting them out on display but give it some time or visit one of the other locations. Of course you could contact us and we will see to it that you get a copy or many copies as I know they would make great Christmas gifts. Prices may vary but I know they are less than $20 and I know you will find it well worth the money. So get out and pick up your copy ASAP! And be sure to tell your friends and family about it and where to get their very own copy unless you would like to be a warm giving kind of person and pick one up for them.

Let me shift gears for a moment. Do you remember Max Baer Jr? Go ahead, I will give you a minute or two to think. Hum Hum didy Hum Hum didydidy Hum Hum La La La Hum Hum (I'm humming a tune while you're thinking. Don't recognize it? Neither do I). Times up! Can you say Jethro Bodine? Who could forget The Beverly Hillbillies? He was quite the man. Done graduated the six grade making him one of the most educated member of his family. Many of the story plots for those weekly shows centered around Jethro deciding to take up a career as something he had no education in and it was usually left up to poor Mr. Drysdale and Mrs Hathaway to help him be a success in his efforts while trying to discourage him at the same time. One such show Jethro decided to be a brain surgeon. To do this he bought himself some brain surgeon's operating clothes and a stethoscope and, voila, he was a brain surgeon. Now back in the 60's and early 70's when the show aired that was a funny story line because virtually everyone knew that it wasn't that easy and not the way it worked. Nearly 40 years later that show might not seam funny at all because that appears to be the normal mind set for many professions including photography. I wonder if any of these newbees stop to think about the liabilities in the photography business. There was a TV court case that was aired a few years back where one of these "have camera, am professional photographer" wantabees was sued by a bride because the wedding photographs she had receive were bad in her opinion. Guess what? The judge agreed with her and got a sizable judgement. It's really not as easy as it looks but I have seen so many people grab a camera and start charging for their "professional" photos of weddings and other once in a life time events and don't give it a second thought about the degree of importance those photos hold. If those photos are missed or look bad and the judge feels that it was something that a skill photographer should have done better the judgement may cost them far more than what they would make for a long time. Can you say insurance?

With this in mind we have will be introducing a new website before the end of December just for those individuals who are working hard to study their craft (not the witch kind). The definition of photographer and photography in general have become very hazy at best since digital has come onto the seen. Digital photography is still in it's infancy in my opinion and as a results a large number of Jethros have managed to incorrectly assumed that it's the camera that makes the photos good and that somehow the camera is self correcting. It's taken me several hours to correct a lighting problem we have had in several of our venues. Now I'm not a expert in photography but I do have a lot of schooling, training, and experience and with all that I still run across difficult problems that need solved in many case in less than a few second and that takes a little understanding about the profession. This will be a site where people can come to continue their efforts to learn and be better today than the were yesterday, but not as good as they will be tomorrow. We'll let you know when it's ready.

Well that's all for today. Have a great day everybody!

Richard