The inaugural photo of the week, I am re-running this image of my daughter, taken at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Enjoy.
On 01.09.09, In Photo of the Week, By Chester
As warm as the weather has been here in Denver, I have already been thinking about summertime and taking the boat out to the lake. Hence, this photo seemed appropriate for the photo of the week. Taken at Lake McConaughy in Nebraska last summer, we can’t wait to get out there again for another fun weekend of waterskiing and wakeboarding. Show everyone your love of summer with this print on your wall.
On 10.17.08, In Photo of the Week, Photos, By Chester
This weeks photo of the week (now available for sale) is “View Fit For A King”.
This is the view from the throne room of Schloß Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Germany (near Füssen). Crazy King Ludwig pretty much bankrupted Bavaria through his building projects. This particular castle is a modern wonder, featuring indoor plumbing, central heating and other amenities not commonly available at the time of construction (1800’s). This castle is the one that inspired Cinderella’s castle at Disneyland and for the movie. It is definitely one of the most photographed places in the world, but I think this is a pretty unique image from this impressive palace.
I took this photo in January of 2002, and it still gets comments and faves on Flickr. It looks even better hanging on a wall than it does on the computer screen. Order your copy today.
If you are interested in a download for personal printing, or a commercial rights license, please contact me directly.
On 10.03.08, In Photo of the Week, Photos, By Chester
Each Friday I will debut a new picture that I am putting up for sale (print or download) at http://photos.chesterbullock.com. The inaugural image is of my daughter, taken at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. For the first week than an image is available for purchase, it will be at a reduced price. Once a new image appears here, the prior one will revert to normal pricing (so if you like one, buy it right away).
There won’t be any specific theme, just images that I have created that I feel are worthy of someone’s interest and ownership.
If you are interested in a download for personal printing, or a commercial rights license, please contact me directly.
On 08.29.08, In Commentary, Photos, By Chester
Just the other day, Photography Director Rob Haggart wrote a blog post entitled “Here’s What I Think Of Your Pictures“. It seems to have struck a chord with a number of people, myself included. I am a flickr-holic, constantly browsing the recent uploads to see what is moving through there. Most of it is uninspiring. A lot of cutesy snapshots (not that I am above taking such images). Every once in a while though, I see an image that moves me, and I either favorite it, or sometimes go so far as to add the photographer as a contact. The timing of Rob’s post is interesting. It came right about the time I was editing the photo above. The original is in color, and the sky is horribly blown out. But because I shot it in RAW, and with the assistance of a friend and also Lightroom 2, I was able to selectively adjust the exposure of the sky, bringing out more detail. Then I went in a direction I don’t normally go.
Sepia has never done a whole lot for me. In my mind, it just made things look “antiquey”. But as I was floating over the presets in LR2, the preview of the Sepia version caught my eye. I applied it, and you see the result (after about 4 iterations of exposure correction, leveling the shoreline, etc – see the original color version). Now this photo talks to me. I am sure it is in part because that is “daddy’s little girl” in the picture. But for me, this was a rare instance where she was sitting idle, taking in the scene. None of it was staged, other than me telling her to sit on the rock so I could take some pictures. The rest was all her. I have some with her facing me, some with her back to me (such as this), but it was all her choice. The strap of her shirt falling off her shoulder, the hair, everything about it was as it happened. I didn’t do anything but take the picture. I have always said that I am more lucky than anything else – right place, right time.
I printed this image on the color laser at work, using HP Glossy Laser Photo Paper and have shown it to some people, looking for objective opinions. The reactions were all the same. This picture moved them. They all interpreted it differently, but the bottom line is that it moved them in some way. This is what Rob was looking for in his blog post. I feel fortunate that I was able to capture a moment that has moved some people. But I also know I cannot bask in the glory of this moment for long. There is no doubt that I will still get more snapshots than moving pictures. But at least I know I am capable.
[edit]My son saw the printed version of this photo last night. He said “You could sell that for a lot of money!” He has never reacted to a picture of mine like that. I know the complexities of selling a photo better than he does, but I did find that reaction to be quite interesting.[/edit]
On 08.28.08, In Photos, By Chester
As we were driving into the Bear/ Sprague Lake area on Sunday, we drove alongside Mill Creek and I noticed that it had a significantly-sized channel with a lot of boulders in it. I filed it away in the back of my mind, thinking it warranted more inspection. I think Megan noticed it too.
After we wrapped up with all the shooting at Bear Lake and Sprague Lake, we started to head out of the park. It had rained pretty good, and the roads were pretty wet. As we crossed the bridge over Mill Creek, Megan and I agreed that we should at least check the site out. I was a bit concerned because of how much it had rained. The rocks looked pretty slick. We walked all the way from where we parked down to the bridge (where I took a photo of the underside of the bridge because of George Barr and his book. I still had reservations because of the wetness of the rock, but Megan wanted to do it and was confident she could if she went barefoot.
Throwing caution to the wind, we went out into the boulder field/ creek. I wouldn’t want to try this in May/ June when the runoff is raging through there, but at this time of the year the creek was pretty tame. I found what I thought was a good rock for Megan to pose on. I got a good number of shots of her on that rock. Some laughing, some serious, but all good I think. I decided to “think outside the box” a little and moved her off to one side of the frame. That resulted in the picture above. When she saw it in camera later, she was really excited. Didn’t catch what she thought of it full size on the screen. Guess I’ll have to dig into her myspace page – I am sure it is there if she liked it.
For me though, this image could be used to convey so many thoughts. I could easily see it being some type of album cover (or something along these lines at least), or an advertisement, or just an interpretive piece for the viewer to decide what it means. For some reason this image is very powerful to me. Maybe I am reading more into it since I took the image. Definitely possible. Doesn’t matter though, I really like it.
On 08.27.08, In Photos, By Chester
Sunday we decided it would be a good day to drive up to Rocky Mountain National Park for round 2 of taking Megan’s Senior Pictures for her last year at Lakewood High School. I don’t know RMNP that well, but my mother in law did and had some good recommendations of places to go. We stayed on the east side of the park, in the Bear Lake and Sprague Lake areas. Bear Lake was packed. Luckily we found some rock star parking up front and were able to get in and out of there pretty quick. There were some good areas to take pictures at, but the background was so dramatic that it kind of overwhelmed the pictures. This was also in her first outfit of the day. I shot probably 30 or so pictures here.
We headed out of there and went down to Sprague Lake. Once again we were able to find great parking (looming thunderstorm might of had something to do with it) and immediately went to work. Megan made a quick clothing change and we got some shots in her cheerleading uniform. Probably 25 or so. Since this was the only other location we had considered, she went back to the Suburban for one more clothing change.
As you first leave the parking lot and walk towards Sprague Lake, you cross a bridge over some beaver ponds. I didn’t think about it much, instead concentrating on the opportunities that might exist around the lake. We were wrapping up being near the lake and heading back when I realized that first bridge I saw was perfect, I just needed a bigger lens (I was only using the 14-42 up to this point). I ran back to the car and got my Sigma 55-200 while Megan walked back to the bridge. The photo above is “the keeper” from that set, at least in my eyes. I think this particular outfit was the most flattering of the day, and to me, it seemed more like the Megan I know. This pic is completely unretouched, meaning it is exactly as I snapped it. I might work on the brightness or lighting a little bit, but I really like how the picture came out.
All told, I think I shot somewhere around 120 pictures in the park Sunday. Some wildlife, some Natalie, but mostly Megan. We got another good one that I’ll write about tomorrow. I think she said something last night about only liking maybe 2 of the pictures we have taken so far. Oh well. It’s a learning experience for me, and it’s free camera time for her. I am getting a book about posing, so that should help me to direct her more. We’ll be doing one more session I think, and she might bring a friend along for that one.
Common objects don’t have to be common
Boat pulley, originally uploaded by Chester Bullock.
I was walking along the lakefront in Toronto last fall, and saw a large wooden sailboat that was used for lake cruises. I am sure that a pulley of this nature is pretty common in sailing or waterfront areas. But to me it wasn’t. We are now in an age of “optimized everything”. Titanium and stainless steel are lighter and more efficient than wood. Pulley’s just aren’t made this way anymore, at least not for the industrial applications I am accustomed to seeing them in.
The boat itself was pretty interesting, but this pulley, conveniently located where I could get up close and personal, spoke volumes to me for some reason. It’s been cared for, but it also shows it has been used quite a bit. I am a “candled are for burning” kind of person. It’s nice to see a unique functional piece that actually gets used instead of just being placed for decoration.