Dream Tomorrow, Live Today, Cherish Yesterday

Friends on Friday - Ashwin Rao

Ashwin Rao - Leica M Monochrome

Ashwin Rao has become one of my favorite shooting buddies since I made the move to Seattle. We are in a club together, and have done a number of fun shoots. He's an all around great guy, talented photographer, and also very knowledgeable about vintage glass.

When I saw his glorious images at Steve Huff's website, I wanted to share them with my readers. I particularly find his comments about "thinking in black and white" very interesting. I would have to say that I would be challenged to accomplish that.

Have a look I think you'll be impressed! Also, click on the continue link to leave a comment and to view a bonus image...

Friends on Friday - Todd Hatakeyama

Palouse image by Todd Hatakeyama

So I have mentioned that I just did another Palouse workshop, this time with friends Steve Huff and Ashwin Rao. I feel like a made another 12 friends for life. Such great guys, and such talented photogs.

One of them is Todd Hatakeyama. Unlike me, he brought his Leica kit, and I have to say he really rocked this photoshoot. I encourage you to check out his blog, and here is the post about our trip together.

Friends on Friday - Megan

Canon Rebel XSi, 50mm F/1.8, f/1.8, 1/1000, iso 400

You have seen quite a few pictures of my niece, Megan, here on the blog (click on the "models" category if you haven't). But what you don't know is that she's also an awesome photographer.

Here she shot one of her best friends while they were on vacation. Would you be proud of working out that image? I sure would. I have always encouraged her because she's just got loads of natural talent. And of course because she's a sweetie.

Let us know what you think of this one?

Friends on Friday - Jill Maguire

Seattle Great Wheel - Jill Maguire

In a previous post, I mentioned that two saturdays ago was Worldwide Photo Walk day. I wasn't able to participate due to having company for the weekend.

But I did get to speak to many photogs enjoying their day. We were heading back from Seattle on the ferry, and a group had come along! So I got to talk with many of them - they were having a great time.

One of the group was Jill Maguire. We swapped cards, and when I checked out her work I was really impressed. The above image was shot after her group returned to Seattle.  You have seen the Wheel in some of my shots, but it has never looked this good.

Here is Jill's website. Take a look around there, I believe you'll be as impressed as I was. Nice to meet you Jill!

PS: bonus image on the continue link!

Friends on Friday - John Slaytor

Lost in Transit - John Slaytor

I came across a body of work called "Lost in Transit" by Australian photographer John Slaytor. The images really blew me away.

Why?

Because he succeeded in creating something different. This is really my passion as a photographer. Because of time constraints, I don't focus on this concept all that often. But I can tell you, that is what I would like to be doing. Images like yesterday's, the abstract, these are compelling to me because everyone isn't doing them, and each one is unique, never to be recreated (even by me).

John's images though are at a much higher level, and they are getting deserved recognition.

Lost in Transit - John Slaytor

John came up with a completely unique idea - shooting through the windows of moving trains, with a super fast shutter, not knowing what he would get. That's because the train was moving and he couldn't see the subject. He made thousands of shots, over many months, and these beautiful, haunting, portraits were among them.

Due to a variety of factors, the high iso, moving subject, dirty windows, etc., the images have a dreamlike quality to them, that really adds to the story.

This is the kind of creativity and results I would like to achieve one day. I contacted John and he agreed to participate in my Friends on Friday. One of the things he told me really resonated... he said that he hoped these images would free other photographers from trying to achieve technical perfection with their gear. Specifically he said he "loathes images that are so perfect they are impenetrable."

I'll take these images, that make you "feel," any day. See the other images in this series at John's website: http://www.johnslaytor.com/commuters.html. Bravo John!

As I was finishing up this post, my mind flashed to a shot I took in June, in Glasgow. Click on the continue link if you'd like to see it. Also, please leave comments for John right here, on the continue link as well.

Friends on Friday - Nick does Pike's Place

Max's in Pike Place, by Nick Towery

As you recall from last friday's post, my wife challenged our kids to each come up with one Seattle themed shot we would frame for the family room. The kids and I spent several hours shooting. This is the one that ended up being our favorite by son Nick.

Given the throng of tourists every day at Pike's Place, I'm amazed he was able to get this shot! And oh baby, love the composition, and the processing. Nice work Nick!

Friends on Friday, Angela at the Hard Rock

My wife gave our two kids a challenge when they visited us recently. Take a picture over in Seattle that we can hang on the wall. They both totally scored! This one was taken by my daughter Angela. She did the post processing in Lightroom. I walked right by this scene and it didn't even register with me. Glad it did with her!

 

Friends on Friday - Tim Fleming

The newest member of the Pace Group photography club I belong to is Tim Fleming (www.timfleming.com).  Last month's theme was called "Any 10."  This was probably the most wide open theme we have had yet.

Tim took this opportunity to create "scanner art" and I was really impressed with it. As a photographer, you go to places and then you try to create interesting compositions of the scene.  What I really appreciate about Tim's creations is that he is completely creating the composition and subject matter from scratch.

Not only that, he's doing it upside down! He uses a high end digital scanner.  He lays the items on the scanner glass, face down of course. I won't tell you all his tricks, but suffice to say he creates some lovely images.

I find these images very lovely to view. I like all the organic elements, but especially how he arranges them. My eye wants to circle around and take it all in.

So, he's not only a talented photographer, but has this fascinating artistic side as well. Nicely done Tim! Feel free to leave a comment here regarding this art, and enjoy your visit to Tim's site where there are many more examples of both regular photography and scanner art.