…about being gone for a month…

On June 29, 2009 by vard

hehehe…I wish. On our way out on Thursday morning I stopped in to the studio to grab some gear and change the message machine. In my haste and excitement I looked at the wrong month on my computer calendar and said we’d be back on July 28th…hhahahhahhahahah LOL ……..don’t I wish!!!!!!!!

It was only up for about 30 hours before Mr. Andy Zourides bailed me out and stopped in to change it for me. So, if anyone was lucky enough to call last Thursday or Friday – my bad! :P Someday I’ll be able to hit the road for entire months, but it’s not this year – {crosses fingers for next year though…}

We’ll be back in the studio full swing tomorrow, Tuesday, JUNE 30th…as far as I know! :D

Rock on

Bayside Beauty

On June 27, 2009 by vard

…we’re down in Ocean City this weekend to cover a show for a local Scranton band, Bliss.  They play down here @ Seacrets a few times a year.  Last year we were only able to catch the first show in April.  Not bad at all, but a tad early in the season for this neck of the woods.  Tonight’s show, smack in the middle summer fun, should be radically different.  The guys in Bliss are awesome.  Energetic as hell and always ready to make sure the photographer is having at least as much fun as they are.  Thankfully, our hotel is the closest building to Seacrets, so getting back is pretty doable no matter how much fun I end up having on accident on purpose!  :D

Last night we cruised up to Fenwick Island quick to catch one of its storied sunsets.  The girls love it, we love it, and as long as we let them get in the water without concern for what they’re wearing or how many times they’ve changed in one day, everyone has a blast.

I spent the time working with some of the built-in Nikon CLS lighting tricks this fancy gear has.  I hardly ever use it, but I’ve been pushing myself to get better with how it works.  Holding the flash in the left hand, camera in right and trying not to loose my balance and fall in the water myself was fun for sure.  Some of these are just plain goofy, but the memories they make are worth every second of the silliness.

Rock on everyone…

Live hard or hardly live

On April 10, 2009 by vard

I guess I’d have to call this a successful day; got some rockin shots, learned A LOT…stayed alive. How can you not enjoy it, right?

I spent the morning letting Mike practice is white-water rescue technique on me again…by necessity, he’s getting quite good, which rocks. I think I attained a new personal low for core body temp this morning. But whatever…we made it and I still like kayaking…I’m pretty sure.

And I can’t think of a better way to cap an ice-water start than with a pool-water finish. I guess we can call last nights tub exercise a success too. FROM THE TUB TO THE TANK Clarissa and Theresa rocked it hard today for a few hours of “please do that again…ok, adjust that…ok, again…ummm, please don’t drown please, yes, thank you!” Shooting under water isn’t really as easy as it seems, but anything worth doing rarely is. Going SLOOOOWWWW and deliberate seemed like a good idea for a change, and it worked out nicely. From just this one shoot I came away with a mountain of ‘brain data’ to crunch on for making this easier/better/more! in future shoots. I’m looking forward to taking this up a few large notches in a pool, and then seeing what and where we can take it from there.

Kudos to EVERYONE today. Mike and Nate for a great kayaking ride. Clarissa & Theresa for knocking it outta the park. Connie for being an awesome assistant (I loved having the chance to work with you today! THANK YOU)…Jazzy and Nora for their assistantship (is that really a word?) with background stands and lights. And Erica for making sure everyone stayed alive in the pool…thanks!

…I love my job!

Sunday shoot with the girls

On April 6, 2009 by vard

…the hardest thing in the world to shoot is my own girls. The irony doesn’t escape me. Other kids listen…mine, not necessarily. I do cut them some slack as I realize they suffer the lens more than most, but that doesn’t change the challenge.

But we always try to have fun, no matter who’s listening and who’s not. Course, Jazzy’s almost always throwing it, and Nora can have her moments as well. So here’s a sample of the latest set of the Donlin Ladies. I’ll have a gallery of this shoot some time in the near future (hopefully).

Enjoy

connected and moving forward

On March 20, 2009 by vard

Wow!  What a crazy few weeks it’s been.  We really didn’t stop after surviving last season…and only barely surviving at that.  I thought more than once about throwing in the towel and figuring out life a different way.  But in the end, we’ve come out stronger and more ready and willing for the new seasons challenges.  As I make a promise to myself to work harder (but smarter) and to be a better person in my personal life, I’m also realizing that it really is up to each one of us to MAKE life what we want it to be.  So I also promise to LIVE LIFE more fully.  As cliche as it sounds, it’s still true…and it’s becoming more and more apparent that understanding this might actually be a huge step in my life…

We’re about a week away from finishing the new studio look, which is going to rock LARGE.  By the end of March it should be in shape for anyone wanting to stop in and check it out.  And, interestingly enough, my new personal adventure into a greater online presence is starting to materialize, and I’m still not sure I know what I’m doing…but hell, it’s working.  There’s a lot remaining to figure out, but what has worked so far is motivating me enough to keep plugging away until it’s ALL working the way I hope it can:

- More blogging

- More frequent updating of images/galleries

- Tweeting from shoots

- and a camera bag full of new ideas you’ll start to see in the coming days/weeks/months

- Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and now here on the blog

So here we go…I guess we can call this Studio D Ver. 2.0 – Connected, and moving forward!

Hello world!

On February 17, 2009 by vard

Hello world!  How original! ;P

So here it is…lets see if I can make this work…

Pages:«12345678