Am I the only one who feels like they are only one egregious day at work away from just bagging the whole thing and moving to an island?  This was the view from beach at the MGM Grand this weekend.  I was down there to fight a MMA fight, not take pictures, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t squeeze a few pics in like this one.
Most fashion shots are taken with a medium zoom lens.  All I had with me was the standard 35mm.  Time to stop complaining about what you don’t have and start making the most of what you do have.  We went into the grocery store just to throw in a wild card and get away from the traditional street background.   I had a blast with it!
Random people on the street are very difficult to incorporate into fine art shots.  That is why I am always dragging my family, friends, and students around and begging them to pose for me.  Here is my dad posing in front of the monument.  Thanks dad.
The urban skyline in Pudong is photographed at a paprazzi inspired frequency.  So how do you shoot it different?  I backed way up, put on a telephoto lenses, and included the People’s Monument on this side of the river to change up skyline and add some balance.  Then, to spice it up, I printed in a yellowy black and white.  Unique?  That was the idea.

PS: I prefer the version with a moon
The urban skyline in Pudong is photographed at a paprazzi inspired frequency.  So how do you shoot it different?  I backed way up, put on a telephoto lenses, and included the People’s Monument on this side of the river to change up skyline and add some balance.  Then, to spice it up, I printed in a yellowy black and white.  Unique?  That was the idea.

PS: There is also a sans moon version.   
The sun has set on this little Shire run of photos the past six days.  Time to say goodbye for a while.  But for the last one, I wanted to shoot the extremely photogenic Green Dragon Inn along with the bridge and the Mill.  I just had a couple of teeny problems like (1) The lighting was blah (2) The construction wasn’t finished.  Guess what?  I can’t wait for six months to come back later.  It’s not like I live down the street.  And I can’t come here four days in a row at sunrise and sunset waiting for spectacular lighting.  What to do?

Time to shoot in raw, bust out Photoshop, and craft a photo art piece.  Everyone raise his or her glass to hashtag “CreateYourOwnLight.”  I know there are some haters out there who don’t like people messing with photos.  That’s cool.  I have complete respect for photojournalism and authenticity.  But the truth is, most people want awesome photos.  And most people want awesome photos at a very specific time.  And that is a huge differentiator and how I sell jonathanphotos service to clients.  “You have to have it shot August 5th no matter what—even if the lighting is blah.  Well, it is always easier with spectacular lighting.  But don’t worry, even if the lighting is blah, I can create my own light.”

Quick summary of things I did.  (1) Made a spectrum sunset and dropped it in.  (2) Added lights to the buildings.  (3) Added smoke to the chimneys.  (4) Added green grass and shrubbery to the lakeside. (5) Added mirror reflection to the lake.  (6) Removed signs of construction.
Continuing with our spring tour of Hobbiton, here is a shot of the Baggins neighbors.  So, as you walk out the door of Bag End, take a left, and walk down the road a bit, this is the lovely view the Baggins are presented with.
The Shire is so beautiful that the challenge is finding out what not to include rather than what to include in each shot.  Ken Rockwell said it best: the art of photography is the art of exclusion.  Here I used the dirt road running from bottom left across the image to the right and the three trees in the skyline to serve as my composition starting points.
Do you love Lord of the Rings?  Do you love the Hobbit?  Do you want to live in a beautiful Hobbit Hole?  Do you get the “Shire Blues?”   Then this picture is for you.
Am I the only one who feels like they are only one egregious day at work away from just bagging the whole thing and moving to an island?  This was the view from beach at the MGM Grand this weekend.  I was down there to fight a MMA fight, not take pictures, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t squeeze a few pics in like this one.
Am I the only one who feels like they are only one egregious day at work away from just bagging the whole thing and moving to an island?  This was the view from beach at the MGM Grand this weekend.  I was down there to fight a MMA fight, not take pictures, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t squeeze a few pics in like this one.
Am I the only one who feels like they are only one egregious day at work away from just bagging the whole thing and moving to an island?  This was the view from beach at the MGM Grand this weekend.  I was down there to fight a MMA fight, not take pictures, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t squeeze a few pics in like this one.
See photo in original gallery.