Dogs & Snow in Brooklyn

I took the doggies out today for their morning walk and once they caught a glimpse of the snow, they went absolutely bananas! Yes, that's right. Bananas! As my wife likes to say, they were running around like wild banshees! Paz and Figgins sure love snow and we've been getting quite a bit of it in Brooklyn! Thankfully, people were staying off the roads so we had quite a bit of area to play! Just another day in Brooklyn for the Hsieh canines!

Mom's work on the left, snow covered cars on the right and Paz sneaking her head into the frame in the lower right

Figgins loves to jump into and out of large piles of snow. I think it's her favorite thing in the world besides sleeping and eating, of course.

I don't know, I just like :)

Figgy, again, doing what she does best

During the next series of photos, I promise that no animals were hurt and that they really do love each other! Figgy just tends to play a little aggressively that's all. When she was a puppy, we used to call her "Monster" and she's mostly grown out of it...kinda :) By the way, I shot these all from the hip without looking through the viewfinder. In this case, I call this technique, the "Dog Cam" perspective =)

I love when accidents like this happen and it makes your pictures look and feel so much more artistic :)

Happy Friday everyone! 

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Behind the Scenes

Special thanks to Amanda from A. Staats Photography for taking some behind the scenes photos of me in action from Lindsey & Chris' amazing wedding!!! Naturally, I absolutely failed to take pictures of Amanda doing her thing :( Sorry! 

Have you ever wondered what you look like when you're doing something you love? Passionate and absolutely ridiculous? Yup, that's me! =)

This was the setup

This was the resulting shot

This was the setup

This was the resulting shot

This was the setup

This was the resulting shot

Small towns = not too worried about heavy traffic

This was the resulting shot

Sometimes, I give myself too much credit for being funny :)

This was the resulting shot

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New York City

For all of your photographers out there, how often do you just go out and shoot? Shoot for fun? Shoot to challenge yourself? Shoot to document your current life? Shoot for experience? I will go out on a limb and assume that your answer is probably not enough, right? Well, I currently live in Brooklyn and I am a photographer. What excuse do I need to go out and shoot? Admittedly, I have definitely not gone out to photograph enough while I have been out here and I need to take advantage of my time here as much as possible! So, here's my challenge to you: at least twice a month, go out and take pictures with no real agenda, no real goal, just explore with your camera and I promise you that you will become a much better photographer after just a few outings. Go out and shoot! =)

Recently, I walked around New York City and this is what I saw...

In Plain Sight.

When's the last time you've noticed a pay phone?

On Broadway

Where else can you see The Addams Family and then learn about Scientology next door?

Sometimes, waiting in line for hours doesn't suit everyone

Flags + colors + people = Times Square

Is there anything more iconic than a sea of NYC taxi cabs?

American flags are everywhere in the city...all you gotta do is look up and you'll find one somewhere!

It amazes me that traffic accidents don't happen more often with the way taxi drivers are out here

Ice Skating at Rockefeller Center

Really enjoy how the shadows create a dramatic sun-kissed effect

I totally laughed aloud when I saw this. I think the people around me thought I was crazy!

Street vendors add to the diversity and fun of walking around this city

One of the coolest store entrances ever.

One of my favorite photos from my outing =)

Snow, Ice, Water, Sun and a beautiful sky

Brisa and I visited my sister in NYC in 2001 and I went ice skating for the first time ever at this rink in Central Park. It took me 45 minutes to get around the rink once with Brisa essentially holding me up the whole time...still don't know how we didn't fall!

Even through the craziness of the city, you can still find tranquility

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Week 12: Household Items

A funny thing happens in photography or I assume in any creative environment where you set out to do one thing, achieve it, but then you realize that you like something WAY better that is essentially the same setup but from a different perspective. Well that happened to me for my week 12 of my 52 Weeks of Awesomeness project. The theme is household items and because I love to eat, I also really enjoy cooking and so I wanted to illustrate the power of the fire from the stovetop that heats our cookware therefore enabling us to eat. Well, here is my original idea...

Photog Info:

Natural Light

ISO 4000

SS 1/80

f/1.4

Canon 5DII

Sigma 50 f/1.4

Lightroom 3 Beta



Yes, yes we do have Cat and Dog salt and pepper shakers. What do you expect? I live with two veterinarians. Anyways, after taking that shot, I stood up and saw the water bubbling in the pan and I loved all the shapes and lines! This is why I really really enjoy photography. Give two people the same equipment and ask them to photograph an object and you'll more than likely see two distinctly different pictures because everyone sees things uniquely =) That's why the Week 7: Perspectives project is super awesome! One object shot at 5 different angles/differences shows you the awesomeness of photography!

Which one do you like better?

Photog Info:

Natural Light

ISO 4000

SS 1/200

f/1.4

Canon 5DII

Sigma 50 f/1.4

Lightroom 3 Beta

For those of you interested in participating, PLEASE do! I would LOVE to see your pictures! So please comment and leave a link to your blog/photo gallery!

Here is the full list of 52 Weeks of Awesomeness!

Week 1 Free for All
Week 2 Introduction of yourself
Week 3 Show us your Hometown
Week 4 Water
Week 5 Sports (anything related, teams, players, equipment, etc,)
Week 6 Botanical
Week 7 ONE object shot at 5 different angels/distances
Week 8 One for the road (signs, streets, traffic, etc.)
Week 9 Objects that tell something about you
Week 10 Things that make your life easier
Week 11 Your favorite color
Week 12 Household items
Week 13 Foods
Week 14 Something Slimy
Week 15 Sun (sunlight, sunset, sunrise, etc)
Week 16 Emotions
Week 17 Something old
Week 18 What you do outside the world of photography
Week 19 Weather
Week 20 Emotional attachment (heirloom/special gift, ect.)
Week 21 Pets
Week 22 Things you couldn't live without
Week 23 Habits
Week 24 Fire (candle, fireplace, etc.)
Week 25 Scrapbooking (stash, room, lo's, etc)
Week 26 Textures
Week 27 Hands
Week 28 Shoes
Week 29 Favorite Jewerly
Week 30 Generations
Week 31 Hot
Week 32 Fill the Frame (close ups)
Week 33 A week in our lives
Week 34 Faith (what you believe)
Week 35 Dance (body in motion)
Week 36 Family & Friends
Week 37 SOOC...from that to this...before & afters
Week 38 Patriotic
Week 39 Object: straight up shots and then straight down shots
Week 40 Nighttime
Week 41 Something that gives you the feeling of warmth or cold
Week 42 Pictures of words
Week 43 Chores I hate
Week 44 Animals
Week 45 Music
Week 46 Reflections/Shadows
Week 47 Flowers
Week 48 Sleep
Week 49 Action Shots
Week 50 Wheels
Week 51 Wrapping (gifts, baby, foods, etc.)
Week 52 Guilty pleasures

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Lindsey & Chris - Love in Scott City, Kansas

Back in May of 2009, I had the distinct honor and pleasure of photographing Lindsey & Chris' engagement session (click me!) and I totally remembered how they were all about taking pictures. Seriously, our typical 1.5 hour session lasted nearly 3 hours because they were so much fun and they were willing to do anything I asked of them! Well, fast forward 8 months and you'll be happy to know that they have not changed one bit! My first wedding in 2010 was EPIC. And I don't throw that word around lightly. From the bride and groom, to the location, to the wedding party, to the families, to the ceremony to the rockin Kansas sunset and to the energetic and super fun reception, it was perfect!

We planned out their day together and so we afforded ourselves a TON of time for portraits and it was simply awesome! Lindsey was super calm and excited throughout the day because she had everything exquisitely planned and so she was just excited to enjoy her awesome day!

The ladies started out at the hair salon while the gentlemen were clay shooting in the morning. Quite the contradiction, right? I love when couples make the day their own, you know? How often do you get an opportunity to hang out with so many of your family and friends? Might as well enjoy yourselves! :)

Thank you to both the Shellenberger and Koochel families for being incredibly welcoming and generous with their time. I felt like part of the gang from the minute I walked in to the rehearsal! Also, I MUST give a shout-out to the freakin awesome wedding party! Gorgeous? Check. Super fun? Check. Willing to do whatever I asked them to do? Double check. You all made my job sooooo much easier!

And a HUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEE thank you goes out to Amanda from A. Staats Photography who was literally a godsend! Not only did she take amazing photos, she also helped me stay extremely organized and on task! I could not have done this wedding without her and as you'll see below, she totally rocked it! If you are looking for a photographer in the Manhattan, KS area, definitely check out her work!

Congratulations again to Lindsey and Chris! It was honestly an honor and privilege to be asked to photograph your wedding and I wish you many many blessings as you begin your life together as one.

CAUTION: I have posted tons of photos and be sure to check out their slideshow at the end! It is 6 minutes long, but completely worth it! Trust me! To view all of Lindsey and Chris' wedding pictures, check out their online gallery: Lindsey & Chris - Love!

The bride getting ready

I love it when all the bridesmaid go to watch the bride get ready. 

hello gorgeous!

While the girls were getting more beautiful, Chris and the guys were blowing off some steam...

The sky in Western Kansas is unbelievable

Chris = groom = STUD

Back to the ladies...after the hair salon, they went to Lindsey's parents' house to finish getting ready

Did I mention that Lindsey is a super planner?

The Dress

First Look

Thanks to Amanda for taking this awesome shot!

How cute are these two? Don't they just make you smile? :)

Boom.

Get in snuggly close!

A little love for the wedding party

Fabulous shot from Amanda!

Love the look that the father gives his daughter as he walks her down the aisle

After the ceremony, we headed to an open field and took advantage of another amazing Kansas sunset

Love love love this shot by Amanda!

Told you they were fun!

Perfect

Onto the reception where their cake was beautiful and of course, black and white!

During the reception, I show a slideshow of a few images from the day and Amanda took this great photo of the newlyweds and their moms' reactions!

First dance

Then the real craziness began and this group knew how to PAR-TY!

A perfect ending to a perfect day =)

Now, check out the slideshow of their entire day! (To view it in HD - you may need to wait a few minutes for it to load before it'll start playing, click here: Lindsey & Chris - Story of Love)

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