Creative Arts Photography

Money Saving Tip

2010-01-15T11:11:00.000-08:00

If you are looking to save money on your wedding, Winchester Parks and Recreation has 6,750 sq. ft. social hall available for rent. The cost is $47 for city residents and $55 for non-city residents. It's a beautiful location and you cannot beat the price. Just think of all the photographs and album pages you can buy with what you'll save.

For more information contact Winchester Parks and Recreation at 540-662-4946.

Think "theme" when planning your boudoir session.

2009-11-17T05:48:00.000-08:00

With the holidays approaching, many of our customers are thinking about different themes for their boudoir sessions. If you are planning to surprise your significant other, you may consider a theme that relates to his or her favorite hobby or sport.

Such was the case with a recent customer whose husband loves golf. She wanted to do the sexy golf caddy theme.

Earlier this year a customer wanted to be the sexy construction helper. Other themes can relate to the holidays.

Almost anything goes. If you don't have a theme, let us help you find one or leave it to us to create images your loved one will enjoy.

Photography tip: Part 1, Understanding the Histogram

2009-11-16T04:53:00.000-08:00

The Histogram

Many of you may have noticed one of these images to the right on the back of your digital camera or in your image editing software. This is called a histogram. Understanding how to read it is one of the most accurate ways of determining correct exposure. Most digital cameras have the ability to display a histogram of your image.

One might ask, why do I need it when I can see the image on the back of the camera? This is because the image on the back of the camera is designed to represent composition, but not brightness. Relying only on the image on the camera (previewing screen) for correct brightness can be deceptive when it comes to judging how much light to use when capturing the image.

What is it?

A histogram is basically a graphical representation of the darkest areas to the lightest areas of

your image (more technically, the tonal scale). Each peak represents one tone of brightness. A standard 8 bit image is made up of 256 shades of gray where 0 is black and 255 is white and everything in between is shades of gray. There are also 256 shades of red, blue and green that represent the color tones of the image (more on this later).

To simplify this explanation, we are going to limit our discussion in part 1 to shades of gray. Let's look at the image to the right. It is made up of only three tones - black (0), gray (127), and white (255). Now compare it to the histogram below the image and notice that there are three matching peaks that represent each of these tones. The far left represents the black tone, center represents the gray tone and far right represents the white tone. This blacker tones on the left and whiter tones on the right relationship is pretty consistent among camera manufacturers.

How do we use this information?

We can use this information to tell us when our exposure is correct. Again, to keep things simple we are going to keep using our three tone image, but this time let's assume we photographed the image with too much light.

Look at the example on the left. Here we have photographed our same three tone image, but have used too much light (overexposed). Notice that the gray center panel appears more white and the black panel now appears to be dark gray. If you relied only on the preview screen you saw on the back of the camera, you may not realize that you have overexposed the image. To the untrained eye, it might appear normal.

Now examine the histogram below it. What is missing? Can you tell? Obviously one of our peaks is missing. If you guessed the one representing the white tone, you are correct. As we increased our exposure or amount of light on the image, the result shifted our peaks to the right. Remember what I said about black on the left, white on the right and gray in the middle. Our black tone is still represented in the histogram, but the overexposure has shifted the peak representing it more to the middle resulting in our black appearing more gray. The peak that originally represented our gray area has now shifted to the right into the white area.

What happened to our white? It has shifted so far to the right that it has disappeared off the histogram resulting in what is technically called tonal clipping. In digital photography, this is a really bad thing because it means that any part of the image that was white or very near white is gone forever and cannot be recovered in most cases.

For example if you were taking a photograph of your daughter in her wedding dress and overexposed it like above, all the whites and near white tones that make up the detail in the dress would be turned to a solid white mass with no detail. We will see examples of this in part 2.

Likewise, if we underexpose or do not have enough light, the peaks will shift to the left. Though you can still see all three tones in the image, the histogram reveals that the white tone that was originally on the far right has now moved to the center due to our underexposure or lack of enough light and looks more like a shade of gray. What used to be the gray tone has now shifted to the black area on the histogram and looks more like a lighter shade of black. Notice also that are three peaks are still represented, but the gray and black peaks are very close together.

The good news is there is no clipping in the image, and the image can be corrected in image editing software as long as your are willing to accept some loose of detail in the darker areas of the photograph. One might ask then, "should I shoot everything underexposed"? Yes, underexposing in digital photography is preferable to overexposing, but extreme underexposing can result loose of detail in the darker tones and digital noise that shows up as multicolored dots in the darker tones of the image. More on that in a later lesson.

Hopefully by now, you have a good understanding of the histogram and how to read it.

Next month in part 2 we will look a some real photographs and how they are represented in the histogram.

Re-certification of the Certified Professional Photographer

2009-10-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

Rodney Lee Gibbons, CPP, owner of Creative Arts Photography, in Winchester has qualified for Re-certification of the Certified Professional Photographer designation from the Professional Photographic Certification Commission.

Rodney earned this designation after meeting rigorous requirements measuring his artistic and technical competence. The Professional Photographic Certification Commission currently recognizes less than 2,000 Certified Professional Photographers.

The professional Photographic Certification Commission is the leading body for certifying imaging professionals. Certified Professional Photographers must complete a written examination, an image evaluation, and adhere to a stringent code of conduct. Certification must be renewed on a periodic bases, ensuring continuing confidence in the professionalism of Certified Professional Photographers.

Rodney is now a Certified Chaplain

2009-10-18T04:09:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, in between photographing weddings, portraits and commercial photography, I spend a lot of my spare time volunteering in the community.

I just finished a 16 hour certificate program on Local Church Chaplaincy given by the Church of God Chaplains Commission at Winchester Church of God.

As a Local Church Chaplain (LCC) I will be able to serve as a chaplain in my community. I went into the course with no presumptions on what I would do with the training, but after completion, I can see a new path has been set before me, and I am excited about what may lie ahead.

For more information on the Chaplains Commission go to www.cogchaplains.com

Photography tip: getting the right exposure

2009-09-17T06:18:00.000-07:00

Many of our customers ask us for advice on photography. I am not big on doing seminars, but thought it a good idea to start posting tips here.

Most of these tips are going to be geared to the beginning amateur or hobby photographer. Sorry pros don't be looking for me to give away any trade secrets here.

If you enjoy these tips and find them helpful, click my "followers" list to the left to let me know.

Photography Tip: Getting the right exposure

Ever wonder why some images seem so dark and other so light? It's because the camera's light reading system (light metering) assumes that everything you are photographing is mid tone gray.

What is "mid tone gray?"

Let's assume you are want to photograph a painting on a wall that consists of ten shades of gray squares with the first one totally white, the last one totally black, and the rest made of various shades of gray in between. Let's also assume that the painting is still wet and your 2 year old just finished finger painting on it and mixed all the shades of gray all together so you can't distinguish one from the other resulting in a mix of neutral gray. This mixing effect is what the light metering system in your camera theoretically attempts to do every time you take a picture.

Obviosly, the things we photograph in life are not made up of equal shades of gray, but varying shades of color and lightness. When the camera figuratively tries to mix them all together the light metering assumes the result will be neutral gray, but anyone who has mixed paint knows that if you have a gallon of white paint and mix in a thimble full of black, you are note going to get neutral gray.

When the result is not neutral gray, the light metering tries to adjust the exposure automatically to make the resulting image neutral gray. So, for example, if you are trying to photograph your friend at the beach against the pretty sunset, the camera's light metering system says to itself that I have a very bright scene here and I need to darken it to make it neutral gray in tone to get the correct exposure. The system is not smart enough to know that you want that sunset bright. The same thing happens when you photograph something really dark like a groom in a black tuxedo.

So how do we get a good exposure? This really depends on the camera. More sophisticated automatic point-and-shoot cameras have what is called "exposure compensation" or some other type of manual exposure adjustment that allows the user to manually readjust the exposure when the camera's light metering system is fooled by these dark and light situations. Increasing or decreasing this manual exposure adjustment usually corrects the problem.

But what if my camera or cell phone camera does not have manual exposure adjustments? In this case you must shoot within the limits of the camera's light metering system. First, always keep the light source to your back. Try to choose scenes that have an equal amount of light and dark tones. If you have a lot of sky in the background or something really dark, you may want to move forward or back up to include an equal amount of opposing tone. For example, put the groom in the black tuxedo against a white or light colored wall so that approximately the same amount of white wall is in the scene as black tuxedo.

Like our tips, please let us know.

New Logo

2009-09-17T06:11:00.000-07:00

After 20+ years, it was time to retire our old logo. Based on a design I created as a college project in 1986, the old logo was refined and improved many times over the years.

This year I finally decided it was time for a more modern logo. I looked at over 100 different proposals from designers at 99designs.

Above is the new logo that finally was selected.

Creative Arts' site is now mobile friendly

2009-01-11T08:41:00.000-08:00

We have setup a new website at http://winksite.mobi/rgibbons/creativearts designed to me mobile phone friendly. See the link at the bottom of the page.

Creative Arts is Now on Facebook!

2008-12-31T08:12:00.000-08:00

You can view Creative Arts Photography's Facebook page by clicking here. Become a fan, share your experiences, or contact other fans of Creative Arts.

You can also join the Creative Arts Photography discussion group by clicking here.

Tabitha Hinkle and Andrew Funk Wedding

2008-10-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

We just couldn't ask for a more beautiful day. If anyone had ever asked me, what would be the perfect shooting conditions, this would be it. Everyone was on time, photographer went perfectly and not a single thing went wrong. Oh I wish they all could be as fantastic as this one was -- right down to the spectacular sunset.

Congratulations Tabitha and Andrew.

Maternity Portraits

2008-09-24T04:10:00.000-07:00

Capturing the Beauty of Pregnancy

By Carma Haley Shoemaker
Reprinted from Pregnancy Today

Wardrobe Wonders
"With the body changes that are common during pregnancy, many women are not sure what to wear to a maternity photo

session. Keeping it simple and subtle makes for the best poses and photos."

"There is no need to run out and buy some expensive maternity gown or outfit. Most women wear their husband's dress shirt or simply a black or white lingerie robe. Simple thin clothing works well to show off the pregnancy and your belly, which is what we want."

Making Time
"Pregnancy takes the greater part of a year, and women may want to wait until the third trimester before planning maternity portraits. That way, the photographer is sure to capture the fullness of a woman's belly. Taking the portraits too soon may not offer you the results you wanted."

"There is a 'best time' to take maternity portraits. It is best to be at the very end of your pregnancy. Yes, women are bigger and have gained some weight, but this is part of the beauty of pregnancy. Capture the beauty of your big belly and be proud."

"Pregnancy is a wonderful, magical time for every woman. Just as we attempt to capture other milestone moments in our lives – a new home, a child's first day of school and other special occasions – documenting pregnancy through portraits is a wonderful way to capture the vitality and beauty of having a baby."

"Your pregnancy is a special time that should be documented professionally because it can't be redone. That's why it's so important to hire a photographer who specializes in this kind of photography, so you can ensure that your pictures reflect and capture one of the most cherished and beautiful times in a woman's life."

Read the full article at Maternity Portraits

Here at Creative Arts, we have a very private studio. My wife is always present to help with posing and adjusting clothing. We will take as much time with you as you need so you can enjoy yourself and remain comfortable throughout the session.

Bring your child for a newborn portrait within the first month of birth, and your session is free. We will even follow up with free sessions of your child throughout the child's first year as often as you like.

Congratulations Kristen and Brad Blackburn

2008-09-24T03:50:00.000-07:00

This was such a fun couple to work with, I just had to post a couple of photos.

New Website for Creative Arts

2008-08-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

After a long week of over 30 some hours in front of my computer, I have finally completed 90% of the new website.

The renovation was long overdue. This is the third redesign of my site since I published it in 1995. It's amazing how quickly a design gets out-of-date.

I want to thank my peers in the Digital Wedding Photography forum for their valuable critiques and suggestions. I was wonderfully surprised that so many were willing to help and share their insight, and i greatly appreciate it.

I decided to separate my original site into two sister sites. The original site can still be found at www.creativeartsphotography.biz and will eventually contain mostly my commercial photography services.

The new design will occupy the original www.creativefoto.com site so that I can concentrate more of our marketing efforts on weddings, portraits, boudoir photography and other photography that appeals to the female market.

Based on advice from other photographers, I have purged a lot of unnecessary information.

There is still much work to be done, but album and print orders are piling up and I need to step away from website for awhile and take a fresh look at it again in a couple of weeks.

Please email me with any errors, broken links or comments you have about the new design and the information contained herein.

Creative Arts Staying Green

2008-08-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

June 1, 2008

Creative Arts has always been proud of its efforts to go green. We recycle 90% of our paper, plastics and metal, and try to go paperless whenever we can.

After completing our garden studio we were suddenly faced with the large amount of water that would be needed to sustain the garden during dry weather. As our water bill continued to rise we sought an old solution to our new problem.

The solution was combining the rain barrel with the cistern by replacing the rain barrel with a higher capacity and less expensive stock tank. We found that by placing one at each downspout gave us a combined storage of over 300 gallons of water, and would only need a good 10 minute downpour to fill.

To make one you only need buy the stock tank and a diverter kit. A lid can be made of plywood and hinged in the middle for access. If you have more funds available, larger capacity storage tanks can be used as well, but we found that the stock tank took up the least amount of room and was a third of the price of plastic tanks designed for this purpose.

For other ideas on "going green" click here.

Success in Jamaica

2008-08-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

March 3, 2008

The way I look at life will never be the same again. I truly believe I saw the real Jamaica. One thing was consistent, whether in the Kingston ghetto or the hurricane devastated Portland Cottage outback, that no matter what their living conditions or how much they had been inconvenienced by their loses, Jamaicans were always happy and welcoming. They always found a way to make the best of life they could no matter what.

This was my first trip outside the United States. Everyone told me that I would be meeting desperate starving people. And from an American middle class point of view, they would appear exactly that way. But after living and working along side them for 10 days, I started to see their lives more from their point of view. I never got the impression that they saw themselves as desperate starving people, but more as a greatly inconvenience people. Inconvenienced by their loss of their property to hurricanes, low pay, high gas prices, lack of raw materials, and concerns over the future of their country. Despite these inconveniences, they are very happy generous people.

Our purpose there was simple. Build ten 10x15' homes in ten days. We succeeded in building twelve homes. The goal was to give ten families a start after loosing their homes in hurricane Dean, just something to build on.

I couldn't help make comparisons between American culture and Jamaican. Everywhere we went we saw homes in a constant state of construction. A person may only have enough money to by a dozen cinder blocks and a bag of cement. So they will build what they can from those materials, which usually results in a partial wall, or walk. Then when money comes available again they will build some more. We saw large homes built this way over 30 years of building a little at a time.

Many of those we were building houses for were living with relatives or in shacks not much bigger than 8x6' dwelling held together with corrugated steel and some plywood. But in spite of their outward look, indoors they had made them into a comfortable home. Some of the most humble dwellings were quite nicely decorated inside.

Something that I found interesting to me about Jamaica was that no matter how poor or rich you were, everyone had an eight-foot fence around his or her property. In the poorer areas they were made of corrugated sheets of metal, in the richer areas they were made of cinder block and concrete. The local deacon explained to me that this was to protect their property. They even felt the need to cover their graves with a concrete slab to prevent grave robbers from digging up the bodies.

Another thing interesting to me was that I would commonly see a nice house built in the middle of many small houses or what we would consider shacks or shanties. The Deacon explained to me that it was quite common for the landowner to lease sections of his yard to relatives to build their own smaller houses on.

We began our trip by leaving Winchester at 8 p.m. February 21 and had to stay at the Dulles terminal all night due to the bad weather. I flight departed 6 a.m. the next morning and we arrived in Montego Bay Airport by 4 p.m. that afternoon. See me pictured right at the Montego Bay Airport. From there we had a four hour bumpy roller coaster bus ride across the country on a route the locals treat as a mix of the Indy and Baja 500 to Kingston (thank goodness for Dramamine) finally arrived at hotel around 9 p.m.

From then on, except for Sunday, our daily routine was 6 a.m. breakfast, go to the factory to make the wall panels, and then drive to the country to assemble and set up the house. Our goal was three houses a day. If you don't know the Jamaican climate, every day was like working during a humid August day in Virginia.

My first day out I was all prepared with work clothes, tool belt and tools and ready to build houses when the Bishop who is head of the organization came to me and recruited me to be the official photographer. I was prepared for carpentry work, not photography, and only brought my little point and shoot camera. I had only expected to take a few snapshots for memories, not provide photojournalistic photography.

My first assignment was to cover the meeting of the ministerial staff with the Prime Minister of Jamaica. "Do you have anything to wear", the Bishop said. Okay, I have a suite case full of raggedy work clothes and old shoes, and one set of church wear. So I am thrust into the job of a professional photographer with a point and shoot camera, one change of good clothing, four memory cards and a bag full of AA batteries. Talk about challenging. I always claimed that a good photographer could capture good images no matter what kind of camera they were using as long as they new their equipment. I was about to prove my point or eat my words. My point and shoot Sony and I became very good friends very quickly.

After our meeting with the Prime Minister, the ministerial staff drove through Lionel Town and up to Portland Cottage to document the condition of homes they built prior to hurricane Dean. All were still standing and had been added on to by their owners. Our driver was deacon of a local church. Talk about a wild ride -- I will never complain about the aggressive drivers of Northern Virginia again. It was like riding in the Baja race. My seatbelt was the only thing that kept me from bouncing out the window. If we were not dodging potholes deep enough to disappear in, we were dodging and swerving around other drivers trying to do the same. Forget about minimum following distances. You are only following too close if can't see the other driver's tail lights.

Sunday was church day and we started off the day attending services at a local church in the suburbs of Kingston followed by a second service in the downtown ghetto area. We were treated to a welcome lunch and got my first sampling of jerk chicken and goat meat. The chicken was great, but I think goat meat will be an acquired taste for me. Speaking of goats, they are as common as dogs in this country. Most run loose but everyone seems to know whose goat is whose. I never saw any snakes since the mongooses have pretty much eaten them all. Lizards are everywhere and beware the ants. The first day I set my cold vest on the ground. When I picked it up to put it back on, I didn't realize it was covered with ants. I got several bites that I still bare the marks from before I could get them all off me. We managed to run across two fire ant colonies while building and accidentally stirred up one. Thanks to the Discovery Channel, I learned to keep my distance from these aggressive and venomous varmints.

Monday we went to visit and document the condition of the Health Clinic in the Kingston ghetto. I always said as a child that I would never let anyone take me to an American ghetto and here I was in the Kingston one -- a truly scary place. Filled with narrow streets and high walls that could be easily barricaded at the end to facilitate a robbery. As the Bishop gives me the following warnings: don't take any ID or money, leave your camera bag in the car, lock the car, and remaking constantly aware of your surroundings, it hits me where I really am. I must be out of my mind. If any of the people or places in Jamaica qualified as desperate, this would have to be it.

It wasn't until Tuesday that I finally got to rejoin the team. After missing out on work assignments I felt left out and was eager to get into the muck, mud, sweat and dirt with the rest. I managed to finally find ways to help out by making sure work areas were safe and clear of debris, setting up lighting, carrying walls, and still trying to document the events of the day and the people involved. Many of the locations we built on were foundations of previous homes littered with broken glass, nails, rocks and other debris. It was a miracle that we did not have more injuries than we did. Some locations were up or down steep hills or on very rock terrain.

Our host had a very close call while in Kingston. He was counting money in the back of their car and a passer by spotted them. They noticed that the passer by made a cell phone call, but thought nothing of it. Within minutes they found themselves surrounded and barricades be moved into place at the end of the streets. They quickly started their cars and managed to escape just in time. The Lord was really looking out for them that day.

Tuesday through Thursday we completed three houses a day, and on Thursday night we left Montego Bay about 3 a.m. We built three more houses there and by 7 p.m. picked up food to deliver to two local churches before we turned in for the night.

About the third day I took on the duty of safety officer making sure debris was moved, and the area was generally safe. Guess who had the only injury. After leaving the church we noticed that the load of food had shifted and was in danger of sliding off the truck. Since I was closest to the bus door, I got off to fix the load. Now let me set the scene for you here. It's 7 p.m., pitch dark and you can't see beyond the edge of the road, we are in the mountains and there are no road markings or guardrails. Got the picture? So I fixed the load and was climbing back out of the truck. Rather than use the tire as a step, I decided just to jump down to the ground. Big mistake. I lost my balance and tumbled backward finding nothing but air to land on. I did a backward summersault down twenty feet of steep embankment landing in a pile of broken glass and other garbage someone had thrown out.

It took my fellow passengers a few moments to realize what had happened, but a couple of them formed a human chain and hoisted me back to safety. Saturday was supposed to be our day to enjoy the resorts, but I spent it in my room bruised and bloody with my knee packed in ice. Fortunately by departure day, I was back on my feet.

But all and all, I had a wonderful time. My goal was to serve my fellow man and that's what I did. What once seemed important matters to worry over seem so unimportant now. If the Jamaicans can maintain their faith, love for life, and family relationships with what little they have -- I surely can with much more.

Despite the lack of adequate photography equipment, I manage to capture some wonderful moments with my little Sony Cybershot.

One of my favorite duties was interviewing the new homeowners. A few are pictured below.

	This is Nichol, a kindergarten teacher with four children who was moving into one of the houses we built. She leased the land from her father.
	This is Teresa, mother Teresa they call her, her and her six children will be moving into one of two houses we built in the Kingston ghetto.
	This is Helen in front of her old house with her husband and grandchildren in the background. To shy to be photographed, I had to use one of my funny words to get her to small. She couldn't wait to move into her new house.

This is Nichol, a kindergarten teacher with four children who was moving into one of the houses we built. She leased the land from her father.

This is Teresa, mother Teresa they call her, her and her six children will be moving into one of two houses we built in the Kingston ghetto.

This is Helen in front of her old house with her husband and grandchildren in the background. To shy to be photographed, I had to use one of my funny words to get her to small. She couldn't wait to move into her new house.

I want to thank Debbie Rhodes, Barbara Agregard, Verna Gibbons and Pam Hutzell for their generous contributions that helped make this trip possible.

A little note I received today from Bishop Allen:

Rodney,

I have lead more than forty mission trips and five building trips. The flexibility, ability to multi-task and remain humble and Christ like is a wonderful gift set.

I want to personally thank you for all the things that you have done to help my ministry. I am amazed at your patience and thoroughness. Of all the team members you shined. You worked so very hard building houses and did a wonderful job in a skill set that is far different than your regular work as a professional photographer. You were a tremendous asset as a lay builder and a valuable team member. While most only operated in one field you operated in two.

I appreciate your humility and willingness to do things that you are not accustomed to. My brother, you have represented Christ not only with your hard work, but also with your attitude. I would be happy to work with you and recommend you to anyone. I have heard nothing, but wonderful comments about your work last week from your teammates.

Thank you! I will be praying for you. I hope to work with you again. Until then, I remain . . .

YOUR MISSIONARY TO THE POOR,

Frank Allen
www.hopecharitable.org

Rodney will be joining a short term mission team to build homes for the poor in Jamaica

2008-08-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

February 2008

I have an opportunity to join a short-term mission team, to build homes for the poor. I will be traveling with my church, The Winchester Church of God, in February 2008, to Jamaica where we will work to build 10 simple homes. Each home is 10ft x 16ft with a tin roof and concrete foundation and floor. There are two rooms and no electricity or water. In United States standards it is a shed with hurricane strapping, but to a family without a house, it is a home.

I have felt the call from my Lord to be a part of this team. We will not only build homes for the poor, we will build relationships. The trip is not to promote religion, but to follow Christ's example of personal sacrifice to help our fellow man.

During the trip I will utilize my gifts and talents to impact lives and experience a life changing opportunity. This trip will cost about $1,300.00. Our team is trying to raise money to fund other volunteers.The trip is being organized by the Winchester Church of God and the Hope Charitable Services, International. If you would like to make a donation, make your check payable to "The Winchester Church of God", with "Homes of Hope 2008" on the memo line and mail it to Creative Arts Photography, 63 Riflemen Lane, Winchester, VA 22601. Your prayers for our safe trip and successful service will also be greatly appreciated

During this trip, the studio will remain open to provide customer service during my absence.

Rodney Lee Gibbons

For more information about Hope Charitable Services see http://www.hopecharitableservices.org
January 24, 2008 update :

On January 24 our team built one of the houses in front of the Winchester Church of God. If gave us a great trial run at assembling the house. This first run took about six hours to complete, but after a little practice, I think we can get it down to four hours.
The latest news on where we will be building the homes in Jamaica is the Kingston and Portland Cottage areas that were hit by both Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Dean in 2007. You can find a map of these locations at map.Jamaica's Poorest Still Living among the rubble of Hurricane Ivan

Hurricane Dean Hits Portland Cottage

Nov 14, 2007:

As the date draws nearer, we continue to gather more and more details about how we will be serving the needy in Jamaica. Our team will be flying to Miami where we will be joining three other teams. From there we fly to Montego Bay, Jamaica and take a three hour bus trip to Kingston. We will spend the first two days constructing the panels for the houses at the factory, then load all the parts, tools, and supplies in trucks and travel to the countryside to assemble them.

Thank you to our sponsors who have sent us over $350 to date along with their prayers and support. I continue to look forward to this trip with great excitement.

Rodney attends a seminar "Glamour, Boudoir and Pin-up Style Photography" in Dulles, VA

2008-08-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

November 11 , 2007

I attended a one day seminar on Glamour, Boudoir and Pin-Up style photography. This is part of my continuing education which earns me credits toward maintaining my certification as a Certified Professional Photographer through Professional Photographers of America.

I obtained some terrific ideas on obtaining the golden glow in skin tones that is highly popular in today's pin-up magazines as well as tips on effective use of props, sensual tasteful posing, and backgrounds.

Rodney Lee Gibbons, CPP

Rodney attends a seminar "Almost Alone with David A. Williams" in Leesburg

2008-08-21T10:23:00.000-07:00

July 24-25, 2007

I ATTENDED TWO DAYS OF PRACTICAL PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC ENHANCEMENT & EDUCATION FOR WEDDING AND PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS.

Topics that David covered included:

Detail Miniatures – story-telling images, and portraits of environments.
A renewed emphasis on freehand designing
Existing Light as the primary light source
Supplementary light sources “Love that mixed lighting”
Doing more with less – learning to think differently.
Creating a homage portrait – ( how I make my MasterWorks portraits)
What makes Aussie photographers different and David’s deposing.
Aussie weddings & his approaches.
Aussie children & his approaches.
Single light portraiture
The horizontal and the using depth – using negative space.
Visual communication.
Immediacy and expression.
Art and design influences – identifying the component construction of a style.
Fine-quality inkjet printing & Digital hand printing.
Digital practices for weddings – sorting & proofing
Digital tools you really need – e.g. use and creation of actions.

July 31, 2007

Rodney Lee Gibbons, CPP

Rodney attends Imaging USA Seminars and Workshops in San Antonio, TX

2008-08-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

January 12-16, 2007

I just returned home from an exciting four-day marathon of workshops in San Antonio sponsored by Professional Photographers of America. If any of you have been following the weather, you know a big ice storm hit San Antonio the day I left. I didn't find out my flight was cancelled until I arrived at the airport at 9 a.m., but thanks to some quick rerouting via Newark, NJ by United via Continental Airlines, I finally made it home by 2:30 a.m. the next morning.

I attended seminars on event photography, children’s portraiture, wedding photography, digital workflow, marketing, retouching, and creative artistic effects. I call it a marathon because we started our first class at 7 a.m. and finished our last at 7 p.m. Classes were scheduled so close together that I had to walk as fast as I could between the hotel and class rooms.

It's rumored that Canon will be releasing new cameras this spring that will show improvements in color and dynamic range. I am always excited to hear about that. I am already saving my dollars.

I did manage to fit in a quick visit to the Alamo while I was there, and of course, managed to sample the local food. I was also hoping to use a lot of my Spanish speaking skills, but was disappointed to find out that little if any Spanish was spoken in the tourist areas. My attempt to order breakfast in Spanish in one of the downtown cafes was met with total confusion since no one there spoke Spanish.

As a result I earned credits toward recertification as a Certified Professional Photographer, and came away with a lot of new ideas for products and marking.

Jan 18, 2007
Rodney Lee Gibbons, CPP