Working for a living. (con.)

Brandon definitely had the toughest looking job at our shoot today.  Working the lathe was hot work and at the end of the day, it showed on Brandon.  I shot a more commercially viable shot prior to this, but this definitely qualifies for the "Working for a Living" portfolio.

Great night at the Stables.

My daughter Gillian rides every week out at MacNairs stables in Raleigh.  Last night I decided to stick around and take advantage of the nice light to take a few pictures.  I usually ride my bike while she is riding the horses, but the sky provided too much of an opportunity.

Springtime in Raleigh

Walking Crash yesterday, I saw the light setting up under this tree at our nearby Roanoke Park.  I didn't have my camera with me at the time, so the dog walk was cut short and we headed back to the house.  By the time I got back, the light was gone.  Fortunately it was another beautiful morning today, so I headed back out with my camera this time.  If I carried it with me all the time, I would feel like I was having to be "ON" all the time, and I just can't do that.  Sometimes one just has to appreciate the moment for what it is.  In this particular case however, I'm going back out again tomorrow!

DC & Potomac Fog

2 years ago I ventured into downtown DC early before sunrise, parked on the mall, jumped on my bike and then tooled around photographing many of the monuments and landmarks as the sun came up.  For some reason I never did get a decent shot of the Washington monument.  So this week I thought I'd venture down again and do a similar excursion.  I had forgotten of course that the Washington monument was still being repaired from the damage caused by the earthquake last year.  Although mostly repaired, scaffolding was still 1/3 of the way up the monolith.  I decided to go down anyway early Monday to capture other sites...only to be driving through a thick fog along the Washington parkway.  Getting there I found I could no longer park along the mall as it is more restrictive than ever.  I head up towards the monument and right there was a parking space.  The fog was thick, but miraculously it only covered up the scaffolding.  I jumped out and got a quick frame before it was completely enveloped in a think soup.  Fearing I would be towed, I jumped back in the car and started heading toward the Jefferson memorial only to find myself heading out of town on to I-395.  I knew enough to know it was heading me back towards where I was staying in Alexandria, so I decided to get back on the parkway that ran south down the Potomac.  I pulled off at several spots and as luck would have it gave me ample opportunity to create some memorable images.  Both the "Dock Light" and the "Osprey Nest" are my favorites of the morning.  The lesson is that one just has to adapt to changing conditions and find what is there.  Even had time for a good cup of Joe at Starbucks in old town Alexandria.

30 Year Anniversary of NC States' 1983 Championship Run

It was the home game at Virginia that Derick Whittenberg came down on Orthel Wilsons foot and broke his ankle.   It was a potentially season ending injury for the senior guard and a severe blow to a team that was showing potential to win an ACC championship.  In the photograph below Valvano helps Whittenberg from the floor along with head trainer Jim Rebock.  Whittenberg had to sit on the sidelines as State went to Carmichael only to see State lose to Michael Jordan and the Tar Heels.

Freshman Ernie Myers and Terry Gannon took a larger role however, and coming home to Reynolds Coliseum, pandemonium broke out as State beat UNC even without Whittenberg.  More to come.

AlienSkin Blog Post

http://blog.alienskin.com/simon-griffiths-on-black-white

Our work was just featured on the Alien Skin Blog.  Go check it out.  It highlights how we use their program Exposure to create Black & White conversions.  Having been a Black & White specialist for years, it was fun to find a digital tool that gave me the kind of look I have been searching for representative of traditional black & white.

Finally the Website Reworked!

It takes a while to rework a website.  It's the start of another long process to add new portfolio material to one's primary marketing tool.   I always struggle to decide what work should stay and what should go.  Inevitably, I have to toss out images that I really like that just don't fit the mold of what I'm trying to do.   That is perhaps the biggest struggle photographers have... deciding what defines their style.  I enjoy so many aspects of photography that I tend to show different styles, hoping that what I bring to the table however is a fresh and unique interpretation of the subject.   I steer away from trends in photography.

Whether I am successful or not is up to interpretation.  I don't toot my own horn, but I have to get out and show what I enjoy doing.  

Please check out the new website at:

http://www.simong.com