Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Each morning, I have the opportunity to drive by the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in South Jordan. Since it is dark when I leave, I get to see this building with the lights on as the sun comes up. One morning I decided to bring my camera and tripod and sit and wait for some great shots.

And, here they are...


Each one of these is a differnt shot. They are not the same shot processed differently.


This one (above) has a Lomo effect applied to it. I love how it brings out the blue sky.


I thought this one would look cool with some textures applied to it to make it look old.


Finally, this one was actually 3 pictures merged for an HDR effect. I love how it brings out lots of highlights and colors that the normal shot doesn't show. That is exactly why they call it "High Dynamic Range".

Which ring picture is your favorite?

I had the opportunity to do a quick little photo shoot for someone who received a VERY special gift for Valentines Day! I would like to ask a favor of all you wonderful readers. Let me know which one is your favorite and why.

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I should call "Jared The Galleria of Jewelers" to see if they want to pay me for advertising for them in this last picture! LOL.

HDR, Tilt-Shift and Family Blog is Locked

Well, I finally did it. I locked my family blog. If you want an invite, send me an e-mail or leave a message.

Just for fun, I had some time last night to play with some of my pictures in Photoshop. Here is a picture I took while in Seattle:

It is taken from the Space Needle. I applied a "Tilt-Shift" technique to it so that it looks like a model city. Pretty cool huh?


I really like this one. I took this on a hike up a canyon.

Last year, I had the opportunity to go to Chicago. We had many opportunities to ride the trains while we were there. One night, I had my camera and I shot a whole bunch of pictures on the trains and waiting for trains.


I thought this one turned out pretty cool. Looks like a station on my little model train set. It isn't. It is a real train station.


This is my family's cabin. Pretty cool isn't it? We visit it every once in a while. It needs a little work, but there are lots of memories here!

OK, one last Photoshopped picture:


It is the Salt Lake Temple. I applied some HDR effects to this one and did some tone mapping.

Let me know what you think!

HDR - High Dynamic Range Photos

Today I decided to try my hand at some HDR (High Dynamic Range) photos. I think HDR can bring out some VERY interesting effects on some picutres. For those of you who don't know, HDR basically involves taking three pictures of the same scene (on a tripod without moving the camera) and changing the exposire. I use AEB +/-2 and then combined the pictures. There was also some tone adjustment done on these pictures.


I took this picture this morning as the sun was coming up.


This is a picture of my living room. The effects make the pictures look a little surreal.

I would love to hear your comments about these pictures and the HDR style of post processing.

A.K. Photo Shoot - Daybreak, Snow, Kids, San Gelato Cafe

I had a fun photoshoot at Daybreak yesterday. First, I would like to give special thanks to San Gelato Cafe for allowing me to use their beautiful fireplace and leather chairs. They don't want this to become a destination for photographers, but I was given special permission for this photo shoot. You really have to visit them and try their delicious gelatos. I had mint chocolate chip and it was awesome!




San Gelatos Cafe really has some very warm and inviting architecture and interior designs, not to mention the good food.

Now on to the photo shoot...


These two cuties are only 11 months apart. At first glance they almost look like twins. I have to admit, that I am partial to the red hair too! I love how they are holding hands.


What a cute smile! After we finished at San Gelatos Cafe, we headed over to Daybreak Lake to get some fun snow pictures. The little guy had a lot of fun throwing snow balls at his mom!


She is so photogenic with her serious look. Click on the picture above to see more pictures of her in my Flickr account. The black & white pictures really look awesome with her serious look.

First Music Video

Here is my first attempt at a music video for a client. Let me know what you think.

Photo Shoot