HDR Spotting!

Yeah! I received an invitation code to HDR Spotting! I uploaded my first two contributions today and I'm hoping to see them approved and on the site here soon!

I'm so excited about this new HDR effect. I've been using it on one exposure photos which is really hard to get a smooth look with. So, my first experiments with HDR effects are going to be urban dirty versions with grit and grain.

Here are some true urban dirty portraits!

Lewis and Clark Tigers Football '09

LC Tiger Football player Kyle and his mom Tammy

Shae and Erin just before their wedding vows!

Just a monkey with an attitude!

HDR Effects

Playing around with HDR Effects in Photoshop!

I was cleaning out my 500GB HD so I could back it up to another 500GB HD and really started looking at the collection of photos from the beginning of my photography career. I am embarrassed that I actually showed some of these. Well, I am truly humbled and though I am proud of my new experimental works of art, in a few years I will probably feel the same way: "What was I thinking?" ha ha, well, it's not always about being perfect but the learning curve is way too much fun to ignore. Sharing the process is even more rewarding because then our art improves with feedback and critiques.

So, here are some of the "new" works of art. Enjoy!

Seattle Skyline from Ferry

Spokane River

Riverfront Fountain in Spokane

Dark Fountain

Fort Casey, Washington

By the time you read this, the renovation project may be finished. Fort Casey is located on Whidbey Island near the Washington State Ferry Terminal. This fort has great history and you can read more about it here: http://fortwiki.com/Fort_Casey

Activated in 1900, this fort was acquired by Washington state in 1956. Thousands of visitors come to see the old fort each year and explore dark passageways, old canons, and empty rooms.

As of the taking of this photo, restoration has been commenced to repaint the entire fort in army fatigue green. Personally, I love the weathered and worn look to the fort but the need to preserve such history is necessary.

Feel free to plan a trip to visit this historic site and bring a picnic, warm gear (the wind can be quite chilly here) and a good flashlight or two.

The Traveler's Gift, by Andy Andrews

I highly recommend this to everyone. It's about 7 gifts/attributes of a successful person. This book changed my life and re-enforces my choices in life.


1. The buck stops here. I am responsible for my past and my future.

I am who I am today- mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and financially- because of the decisions I have made. My thoughts will be constructive, never destructive. I will not dwell in the problems of the past. In times of adversity, I will not have a problem to deal with, but a choice to make. Adversity is preparation for greatness. I will accept this preparation. Why me? Why NOT me?

The buck stops here. I am responsible for my past and my future.


2. I will seek wisdom. I will be a servant to others.

I will choose my friends with care. I am who my friends are. I speak their language, and I wear their clothes. I share their opinions and their habits. From this moment forward, I will choose to associate with people whose lives and lifestyles I admire. If I associate with chickens, I will learn to scratch at the ground and squabble over crumbs. If I associate with eagles, I will learn to soar to great heights. It is my destiny to fly.
The words of a wise man are like raindrops on dry ground. They are precious and can be quickly used for immediate results. Only the blade of a grass that catches a raindrop will prosper and grow.
The person who ignores wise counsel is like the blade of grass untouched by the rain, soon to wither and die. When I counsel with just myself, I can make decisions only according to what I already know. By counseling with a wise man, I add his knowledge and experience to my own and dramatically increase my success.

I will seek wisdom.


3. I am a person of action. I seize this moment. I choose now.

I inspire others with my activity. I am a leader. A person who moves neither left nor right is destined for mediocrity. When faced with a decision, many people say they are waiting for God. but I understand, in most cases, God is waiting for me.
He has given me a healthy mind to gather and sort the information and the courage to come to a conclusion. I am not a quivering dog, indecisive and fearful. My constitution is strong and my pathway clear. Successful people make their decisions quickly and change their minds slowly. My decisions come quickly and they lead to victory.

I am a person of action. I am daring. I am courageous.


4. I have a decided heart. My destiny is assured.

I am passionate about my vision for the future. I will awaken every morning with an excitement about the new day and its opportunity for growth and change. My thoughts and actions will work in a forward motion, never sliding into the dark forest of doubt or the muddy quicksand of self-pity. I will freely give my vision for the future to others, and as they see the belief in my eyes, they will follow me.
I have a dream, it is a great dream and I will never apologize for it. Neither will I let it go, for if I did, my life would be finished. My hopes, my passions, my vision for the future are my very existence. A person without a dream never had a dream come true.

I will not wait, I have a decided heart.


5. Today, I will choose to be happy. I am the possessor of a grateful spirit.

I will greet each day with laughter. Laughter is an outward expression of enthusiasm. I laugh throughout the day. I laugh while I'm alone, and I laugh in conversation with others. People are drawn to me because I have laughter in my heart.
My smile has become my calling card. It is, after all, the most potent weapon I possess. My smile has the strength to forge bonds, break ice, and calm storms. I will use my smile constantly. My smile is the key to my emotional makeup. When I choose to smile, I become the master of my emotions. Discouragement, despair, frustration, and fear will always wither when confronted by my smile. The power of who I am is displayed when I smile.

Today, I will choose to be happy.


6. I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself.

Have you ever been so angry or upset with someone that all you could think of was that person and the horrible way you'd been treated? You think about him when you should be sleeping, and all the things you should have said or would like to say come to mind. When you could be enjoying an evening with your family, your children aren't foremost in your thoughts. That person who offended you is receiving all your energy.
Amazingly, many of these dastardly people who dare to occupy our minds with angry thoughts are actually wandering about in life without any knowledge of our feelings or any conviction that they have done anything wrong.
Forgiveness is not a reward that must be earned. It is a gift to be given. When I give forgiveness, I free my own spirit to release the anger and hatred harbored in my heart.

I will forgive those who do not ask for forgiveness. I will forgive myself.


7. I will persist without exception. I am a person of great faith.

It is a fact that great leaders -great achievers - are rarely realistic by other people's standards. Somehow, these successful people, often considered strange, pick their way through life, ignoring or not hearing negative expectations and emotions. Consequently, they accomplish one great thing after another, never having heard what cannot be done.
Circumstances are rulers of the weak. They are weapons of the wise.
A person who is depressed is spending too much time thinking about the way things are now and not enough time thinking about how he wants things to be.
Average people compare themselves with other people. That is why they are average. I compare myself to potential. I am not average. I see exhaustion as a precursor to victory.

I focus on results. I am a person of great faith. I will persist without exception.

National Parks Disability Pass

Hurricane Ridge

This came to my attention this summer as I was visiting the Olympic National Parks this summer with my family.

I am a veteran with service connected disabilities. I inquired about it, showed my VA ID card and was issued a lifetime pass to enter all national parks and sites for free!

For more information about this amazing service to all disabled citizens, go here: http://store.usgs.gov/pass/access.html

FSP and Chamber of Commerce!

Fossa Studio Photography is a proud member of the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce!

FSP Christmas Card

I've been experimenting with textures and brushes. I went a little crazy and spent the past couple of days playing around. I had several folders of snow birds from last year that I didn't know what I was going to do with. Well, I had fun and here is the result.

This project got me in the mood for Christmas!

Savor The Success!

Where to find Fossa Studio Photography

Find us Here:

www.fossastudio.com

www.myspace.com/fossastudio

http://fossastudiophotography.blogspot.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fossastudio/

Piper's Pretty Petti Shoot

Piper's Petti Photos!

This was such a fun shoot. Piper is 8 months old and every time I looked at her she would giggle and wiggle with complete joy. Maybe she laughed because I was so funny looking!

I just got my new AB800s a few hours prior and was jumping to get a chance to use them. WOW! Well, you can see for yourself what happened!

Piper is a natural model! She cooed and blew bubbles, rolled around and was very aware of where the camera was. Shelley Ruddell stopped by and helped keep her entertained. Shelley would tickle her toes and then Piper would look at me (the camera) and give the biggest smile!

This was Piper's first attempts at sitting without assistance and I'm so glad we had a soft rug underneath her because there was a lot of falling over going on. I kept her happy with a bunch of little pumpkin props, keys, and a bunch of jingle-y bracelets: she is definitely a girly-girl; that jewelry kept her entertained!

How much can a 15 year old text?

Well, apparently, a 15 year old can text over $1000 worth in a single month!!  Yeah, it came as a complete shock to me too.  Imagine my surprise when I open up my sprint letter online and it shows a bill for $1158.  Oh, she is so lucky that she was not within a five mile vicinity.  She is so D.E.D. Dead!  Well not really but her social life is.  

So I called Sprint up and tried to work something out with them.  They offered a $50 credit.  Really?  Well, my contract ended with them in September and I was just waiting to go with AT&T and the I-Phone.  I was saving money for my new photography lights for the studio,  but with this kind of pay this now or your phone will be shut off deal, I decided to go early for the phone.  So, I 'm sitting here typing this, the proud new owner of a 16GB, black, 3G I-Phone with the best protector they offered.  

Even with my statement of switching to AT&T, Sprint still wouldn't work something out.  I've been a member with them since January 2002!  Well, now I have to call them back up and work out a 50 year payment plan since I am going to make my daughter pay every cent back.  She's starting tomorrow and will canvas the entire neighborhood to clean/rake their yard, pet sit, baby sit, etc.  100 $10 jobs and she will be debt free...(to me at least) 

Ah, kids are so sweet when they are little, then they grow up and get their own minds and we lose ours.  

Vinnie's Interview

Class project we did for photo media.  Did this in two days, so it's not as good as I could make it.  Revision will be coming later this summer when I get the program to make edits.  

Take Two!

Photography:  that is something that brings to mind darkrooms, film, and classic black and white prints.  Though still taught and utilized, the program has been evolving with the new technologies of the modern world.  Students at SFCC are now expected to be comfortable with film and digital format as well as numerous complex computer programs.

Where still photography was the launch pad for such magazines such as T.I.M.E. and National Geographic, video has become the new medium to keep up with the increasingly popular use of Internet by businesses and consumers.  

Ira Gardner teaches several courses designed to give students an edge in the competitive world of keeping memories and pushing products.  The courses are fast-paced and intense.  Equipment and brief instruction are provided and students are sent on do-or-die missions…I mean assignments.  

The frustrations of trying to learn Garage Band, Final Cut, InDesign, and Dreamweaver programs in one quarter are compounded by trying to figure out how the heck that darn video camera works.  

After going through one quarter of photo media, students can now add director and producer to their resumes as well as scriptwriter.  

Through the tears and curses, deep down we are grateful for the competitive edge we have been given.  

HOOPFEST DREAMS

Each year, over fifty thousand people flock together in a little big city called Spokane. Teams from all over the nation practice all year around for the chance to be the Hoopfest Champions. From elementary students, to working adults; this is the chance to be the best.

Spokane is riddled with such teams. Many have been on the same squad for years and in the spring when the weather warms up, players from all around Spokane play pick-up games at the many public parks.

Chief Gary Park is proudly boasting of new playground equipment and a water fountain feature for children to cool of in the hot summer. Behind the playground there is a vast expanse of softball fields that host various leagues. The sounds of kids playing and strike calls are blended with the recognizable bounce of the basketball.

The intensity is noticeable, this is no recreational game; there is hardly any talking or court challenges as each team relentlessly practices for their dream to come true. Players are focused on the realization of their dream: to be the Champion.

The next time you drive by one of these parks, think of what the basketball court and that basket means to this awesome city we call home.

Got My License!!!

This is my first video using Garage Band and Final Cut Pro.  It's very amateur because I have never used these programs before.  It was for a photo media class.  If you can get over the mistakes, it's a pretty funny story!

Natural Highs

 
 Think about these one at a time before going on to the next one. It Does Make You Feel Good, especially the thought at the end. 
 
1   Falling in love.   

2 Laughing so hard your face hurts. 
                 
3 A hot shower. 

4 No lines at the supermarket .

 
5 A special glance. 
               
6 Getting mail.  

7 Taking a drive on a pretty road.

 8 Hearing your favorite song on the radio. 
 
 9 Lying in bed listening to the rain outside. 
 
10 Hot towels fresh out of the dryer. 
 
11 Chocolate milkshake (vanilla or strawberry).  

12 A bubble bath.

 13 Giggling. 

14 Chocolate of any kind!
   
15 The beach. 
   
16 Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter. 
 
17 Laughing at yourself.  

18 Looking into their eyes and knowing they Love you.
  
19 Midnight phone calls that last for hours.

 20 Running through sprinklers.
    
21 Laughing for absolutely no reason at all. 
 
22 Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.
  
23 Laughing at an inside joke with FRIENDS.
 
24 Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
  
25 Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
  
26 Your first kiss.
  
27 Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
  
28 Playing with a new puppy.
  
29 Having someone play with your hair.
  
30 Sweet dreams.
  
31 Hot chocolate.
  
32 Road trips with friends.
  
33 Swinging on swings.
  
34 Making chocolate chip cookies.
    
35 Having your friends send you homemade cookies. 

36 Holding hands with someone you care about. 
    
37 Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.

38 Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you.
  
39 Watching the sunrise.
  
40 Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.
  
41 Knowing that somebody misses you.
  
42 Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.
  
43 Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.   

 
Pass on These Natural Highs to your loved ones! and your enemies!
  
Lord, keep Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth