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Reflections

January is a good time to reflect on last years successes and not so successes, but it's not a time to dwell on them.  We need to  move on to 2010 and just improve on what we did last year and this first month of the year is already half over.  Obviously we all need goals: some of the obvious ones are to continually improve my photographic skills,find new methods of post production, improve marketing and business practices, but some of the others are more personal oriented like better daily planning and prioritizing, more specific goal setting and so on.   So as I sit here and ponder these things I could write a long list of things to improve on.  If the list just gets overwhelming then just start prioritizing the list.  An improvement in one area is better than none.  Go out and enjoy 2010.

I thought this photograph was appropriate for the post. This photograph was taken about 20 minutes after sunset this past October at the Kokomo Reservior. 

Nikon D700;  24-70/f2.8

Winter is not that Cold

We know that winter is cold, too cold for most of us; but if you embrace the cold, and look for the opportunities that abound in every season of the year (or seasons of your life), winter is all about attitude. I will have to admit that when the sun comes out, it is better. I had a chance to spend some time this Saturday doing what I do, that is taking some photos. I did get that many that I liked but here are a couple.

 

Santa's Sack by Z92.5FM

Ken Cave Photography has been following the Young Santa Claus (Allan James) and Z92.5 around Kokomo.  The first stop was the Original Treasure Mart located on Vaile Street and the second stop was with Darlene Rice at A Lady's Place ( located at 456 East Southway Boulevard, Kokomo, IN; (765) 453-3700).  It was a lot fun as people came in to register for prizes and giveaways during each broadcast and also register for the Grand Prize Santa Sack worth over $3,000.00.  I have heard that there is a laptop computer inside this year's sack which will be given away on December 19, 2009 at the Markland Mall.  So check out Z92.5 for all the details.  My next stop will be this Friday December 11, 2009 from 5PM to 7PM at  Whiskey Creek and then on to Dan Young GM in Tipton from 10AM to Noon on December 12.  We will be taking pictures of all the kids (and any fearless adults) with the Young Santa Claus.  Below are just a few shots from the last two stops.

Here is the Young Santa with Lisa Girton, account executive with Z925FM

The Young Santa all by himself

Greg Kristi, Alex and Shelby- Owners of the Original Treasure Mart

 

Jamey Henderson, executive director of Samaritan Caregivers, stopped in and was persuaded to pose with the Young Santa

 Darlene Rice, owner of A Lady's Place

and finally- well we will never tell?

Well that's it for now-mtk....

The Good-The Bad-The INEFFICIENT TIME WASTER

Digital Photography Age-How cool! Today's digital darkroom is an array of RAW converters, cataloging software, plugins, photoshop actions, lightroom presets and other filters to streamline the digital "workflow" process. I know I have just lost most of you who do not lower yourself to such pixel depth- and who could blame you.

Needless to say, the digital darkroom is a wonder and jungle. Both streamlining the process and adding an extraordinary amount of time to you self imposed budget.

For instance, the four photographs below:

This first one was taken with a 2800K white balance. In other words, the cameral was adjusted to match the color of a tungsten light bulb because I had small tungsten neon light pointed at the shoes. As a result the stained glass widow became much cooler (bluer) which I new would happen-thought it might be a cool effect-you be the judge. So lets just develop the picture using a RAW converter, save as jpeg file and be done, but no-that's not good enough-lets waste some time seeing what else is possible after all we have such wonderful tools.

This next picture was adjusted to match the color of the sun shining on the window, so now you can see a little bit of the tungsten (yellowish) light on the shoes.

Then it was go through a list of filters and presets looking for another combination of development configurations that may produce a cool looking image.  This next image is similar to the first but has some punched up colors.

That's not enough. He is another adjustment to a sepia version. I would not have thought that it would of turned out since it had so much color in the original, which is what I was attacted to in the first place.

One more, of course there are hundreds of ways to develop a picture, but that would be a waste of time- or is it?

$500 Grand Prize

Holiday Extravaganza Open House

Come See

And 17 other Local Vendors

We will be located in

Wedding Planner Tharp and Associates' Studio

which is adjacent to

The Jefferson House of Flowers

Located at:

4300 West 100 North

Kokomo, IN 46902

Any Bride who stops in to see us and mentions this email is eligible to receive a free engagement session with the purchase of

Wedding Day Coverage

Also sign up for a free Portrait Session

Aleshia and Ryan's Wedding -October 10

Many thanks to Aleshia and Ryan for the opportunity to photograph their wedding in Rochester last month. It was a picturesque fall day. A little crisp in the air, the fall colors beginning to bloom and a clear blue sky-overall a great day for a wedding. It was easy taking pictures of a beautiful bride and great guy. We wish you both all the best for a great future together.