Pegleg Photos
I’ve put together a gallery of photos from the Pegleg trip. To pause the slideshow hover your mouse over the main photo; to resume, move the mouse away from the photo. Also, I recommend using any web browser other than Internet Explorer as the slideshow may not function properly. Mozilla Firefox is a FAR better alternative and I simply don’t have the time or patience to make it work for IE users. (you should be ashamed of yourselves for using that god-awful browser anyway!)
Click on the photo below to see the rest of the photos.
Camping at Pegleg
Just returned from a short [one night] camping trip with a couple of buddies. I’ll be posting more photos in the next day or so. Click Here for a large version of the photo above.
Oregon Sunsets - Does it get any better?
On my way home from Walla Walla I was greeted by this gorgeous sunset as I exited the gorge and entered Portland. I was speeding on the highway looking for a good place to pull over before it was gone. I finally found a good place, pulled over and caught the photo above (Well, photo”s” as it consists of 3 or 4 photos stitched together). The next night was just as beautiful. I’ve lost count on how many times I’ve seen beautiful sunsets in the last month alone. Thanks Oregon!
It’s always nice to visit family.
I was able to visit the family last weekend. Austin, my nephew, informed me that he won his baseball championship. Good job buddy!
My mother got herself a new dog, well, what she considers to be a dog. It’s a six month old Shitzu. To me, it looks like a mop! I have to admit it was pretty cute though.
Kara and Mathias
What a beautiful wedding! It was held in Walla Walla (wine country) next to a river in a gorgeous outdoor setting.
Kara and Mathias are good friends of mine and I enjoyed meeting their families. Mathias is German and was fortunate enough to have a lot of his family fly over to attend the wedding. It is clear that these two are in love and I wish them nothing but the best.
Reflections :: Shooting Highly Reflective Objects
One of the biggest challenges that a product photographer faces are reflections. The first time you shoot a highly reflective object, you quicly learn about the rule of: Angle of Incident = Angle of Reflection. Over time, you learn how to shoot at an angle that won’t catch the camera (or you) in the reflection. However, what about those times that a client requires that you shoot the product from straight on and that product is basically a mirror?
In the following tutorial I offer a few tricks that I’ve used to side-step the reflection issue. Some tricks involve lighting, others involve post work in Photoshop. I appreciate shoots like these as they challenge us to devise new ways to overcome old problems. If you have tricks of your own, contact me and I’ll post them here.
Backpacking for the Beginner
It’s back by popular demand! Each time I update my website I get requests for my backpacking writeup. So, once again, I’ve decided to put it back up on the new website.
In the same vein, I’m hoping to do a followup, maybe this summer *hint* *hint*. I’m taking a bit better care of myself these days, so maybe I’ll be able to handle a longer trip. If you have any suggestions on a good place to hike (must be over-night) please let me know!
Bye-Bye 5D Mark I
I’m selling a 5D Mark I, I’m sad to see it go, but I don’t use it much anymore and I’m in the market for some more glass.
Until the 5D came on the scene, I really had no full-frame options in the world of Canon digital SLR. The second I bought it, I knew I’d fall right back in love with shooting full frame again. I hope it provides the same enjoyment to whoever buys it!
I whipped up a quick HD video (using my 5D Mark II, of course) to show the condition it’s in. A couple of notes on the video, I was lazy and only lit it with a single modeling light from one of my strobes through a softbox, so the depth of field is a bit shallow. I’m too lazy to shoot it again with proper lighting.
Link to video (Make sure to watch in HD!)
Rule of Thirds
I often get asked what the Rule of Thirds is by those who are new to photography. It’s a simple concept and one that will make your photos ten times better. I’ve written up a short tutorial on the subject.
Baby Hudson Likes the Steelers!
I snapped this photo last weekend. A friend of mine was over and his wife laid their five month old baby (Hudson) on my Steeler blanket and the little guy fell fast asleep. It’s funny because his dad hates the Steelers (I’m clearly a huge fan), so I had to capture the moment so that I can use it as blackmail in the future.
Painted Interior Trim
There’s one thing about my Equinox that I hate and that is some of the interior bits. Chevy decided to make the interior almost completely gray. Then, they decided to paint some of the door trim and center stack (stereo, climate control center, etc.) silver. Yuck! I decided something had to be done.
Rally America coming to Portland
On Friday Rally America is coming to Portland (there will be a fan appreciation event on Thursday). They will kick off the event with a stage at Portland International Raceway on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, they will move to the Hood River Co. Fairgrounds area for the Forrest Rally stages.
If you’ve never been to a Rally race, I encourage you to go! I should be attending most events and will be covering Subaru.
Some of the expected attendees are:
Travis Pastrana, Ken Block, Dave Mirra, Tanner Foust, Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and Matthew Johnson
Did I just buy domestic?
Yes I did! Up until now, my only form of transportation was a little VW Jetta. It’s a great car, but horrible for transporting things like photo equipment.
I did a bit of research online and found that the Chevy Equinox was going for next to nothing yet had a cult following of happy consumers (minus the first year adopters). I located this one at a local dealership, took it for a test drive and instantly thought it was a good buy.
The Equinox is classified as a small SUV or more appropriately, CUV (Crossover Utility Vehicle). However, I found this to be near the top of interior and hauling capacity in its class and one of the few that offered a decently powered V6; most “cute utes” in this category were powered by four cylinder engines.
The Chevy has already hauled my photo equipment and I have to say she performed beautifully and with room to spare. I’d like to think I’m helping out the Big Three in at least some small way. Although truthfully, I purchased the best option at the best price.
Staying on task in 2009
As you can see, there have been some big changes at Shane Parker Photo. I have to admit, I got lazy and my previous site started to look like a 12 year old put it together and then let a pack of wild dogs arrange all the content – it wasn’t good.
For 2009 I am committed to relevant, photography-related content. While I will probably stray a little bit here on the blog, the site itself shall remain a representation of my work.
I would also like to note that I made this site myself. If you’re interested in the technologies and tools I used to create this site, check out the sidebar on the left. Please feel free to send any gripes you might have about the design, layout, etc. I do provide website design services, contact me for more info.
Thanks for stopping by!