Chester Bullock Photography

It’s been interesting to see this guy grow up. When I first met Garrett he was 9 years old, sitting in his mother’s garage, trying to put a bike back together. He is 15 now, and will be 16 this spring. He is as tall as me now (6′2″), and a very charismatic person. People enjoy being around him. He is also a naturally gifted athlete that could do well at anything he set his mind too. Currently that is skateboarding. He is a big person, both in height and presence. I think shooting from this perspective (down on the ground) really captured that about him.

What is the point of all this? When you are taking a portrait of someone, you are trying to get the essence of who they are. Garrett, just like other teens these days, spends a lot of time in front of the computer. But his passion has always been outside. Riding a bike, shooting baskets, riding rollerblades and now skateboards. This is who he is. It’s easier for me to interpret this about him, since he is my son (well, step-son). But as a budding portrait photographer (thanks to his sister’s need for senior pictures this year), I want to know these things about my clients so that I can capture who they are. They won’t be the same person in 5 years as they are right now. That’s why I think it is so important to achieve this. And that is probably why I have been moving into the senior picture business so slowly. But I am ready, and have a couple of kids who I will be doing pictures for in the coming months. And of course, I have the big guy lined up for next year (Garrett is currently a sophomore at Lakewood High School here in Colorado).

I don’t “Favorite” very many pics in Flickr. But here is a sampling of the ones I added in 2008 that made an impression on me for some reason:

You can see all of my Flickr Faves if you so wish.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays to all. I have been seeing great pictures of holiday lights this season, and finally decided to try and take one of my own. The photo above is an HDR Exposure Blend (using Photomatix) of 7 exposures I took one morning. I also took some photos just using the ambient light and not doing the HDR thing. After reviewing these shots on the computer, I decided the white lights just aren’t very interesting. Normally we decorate the two large fir trees in front of our house with colored strings, but we opted not to this year. Rest assured, we will next year. That will give it some “life” I think. So instead, I will go out in search of other homes in our neighborhood to take pics of. I had better hurry, only a week to go before most people take their lights down.

Oh, and I should point out that the inspiration for this, besides the photos I linked to above, was a Strobist article about holiday light pictures. As is the norm with Strobist help, this article was wonderful for a rookie like me.

This black and white candid portrait of my daughter is one of those rare, elusive moments that make you feel lucky you had the camera out. Whenever you ask a young child to actually pose for a picture, there is a 50/50 chance you are going to get some sort of oddball response. But you have to keep at it, as you never know when lightning will strike. When taking photos of other families and kids, you have to put them into situations that allow them to be themselves. If you take yourself out of the equation, you are much more likely to get “the shot”. I certainly think I was able to here.

I don’t take a lot of editorial types of images. But when I drove by this building yesterday, I had to.

I don’t think that the unions are the only reason the Big 3 are having problems, but I do think they are a significant contributing factor. Unions have been corrupt enterprises for longer than I have been alive. They serve the egotistic needs of the leaders, and don’t really care for the common laborer. The notable exceptions would be when it comes to collecting dues or forcing new employees to join. I find it difficult to understand why anyone would want to be part of a union. They take part of your wages, tell you when to strike, and who to vote for. They don’t pay your full wage when you are on strike, and they don’t understand the notion of working together in a synergistic way so that everyone gets what they need. They would rather see a company go under (and all of it’s employees out of work) than do the right thing.

And then there are signs like this, which just continue to foster the bigotry and arrogance that the US is so well known for. I guarantee you that the Fluke multimeter’s that electricians love so much are not made in the US. Does that mean you can’t bring your gear bag to class (the union training also uses this parking lot)?

If you didn’t already see it, this is one example of the power of an image. Look at everything that this image brought out in me. What does it bring out in you?

Do you have a car or other item that is “your baby?” Want to have some tasteful photos made of it, or just need an image for insurance purposes? Contact me today to talk about what it is and how you want it photographed. Even though I am in Lakewood, I can travel throughout the Denver Metro Area to make a timeless image of your prized possession.

And if you are interested, take a look at my Automotive picture gallery.

One thing I am thinking of doing is setting up a mobile operation to capture, print and sell photos at summer sporting events. Baseball and softball are the youth sports I am most familiar with, and we have plenty of leagues and tournaments here in Colorado during the spring and summer. I know that in order to do this, I would need a laptop, power inverter, and good inkjet printer. I haven’t used an inkjet to make prints since I stopped using my HP Photosmart 7350 a few years back. I wasn’t serious about photography then, and the ink was drying up before I could use it all. Obviously that has changed now.

So for those of you that print at home, I would love to hear your recommendations on a good inkjet printer for this type of thing. Comment on this post, or shoot me an email.

Photo by Joanne

I am taking the rest of the week off from the blog. Happy Holidays.

The other day I lamented about how my little girl goes crazy once the camera comes out. I have figured out the secret. Put her in an environment where she is distracted, and you can get the really candid pics. Yesterday she and I went to City Park and Washington Park in Denver. Out in Lakewood, the parks just don’t have the massive, modern play structures you find at the better Denver parks. We had a great time, and she played hard as she always does. Since Washington Park is about a 15 minute drive from City Park, she had time to wind down a little bit.

Upon arriving at Washington Park (or Wash Park as the locals know it), she saw the ducks and geese in the lake. We went over to take a look, which was when I was able to snap this shot. I actually got a few good, candid portraits yesterday. She was in her own element, having a grand time. That is the secret.

I have the rest of the images from yesterday available if you want to see them.

I love my little girl. Once in a while I am able to get a good candid of her. But by and large, whenever I take the camera out, she becomes silly and “unmanageable”. Saturday was one of those days. She went to a friend’s birthday party, had her hair and nails done (yes, she is 3), and came home looking cute as a button. Unfortunately, she was really wound up. So I ask you, how (if you can) do you get a child to sit down and do a few good shots? I’m sure if it wasn’t me, she probably would have been fine. I guess next time I’ll just wait it out until she settles down.