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L&H Photography ~ Our Blog
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Michelle Hedstrom, Ogre Photography: Posted on Friday, November 11, 2011 10:31 AM
Rocking Concert Photography & Extreme Sports with Guest Blogger (Ogre Photography's ~ Michelle Hedstrom) INTRODUCTION: One of the things I love most about my job is the cool people I get to meet and hang out with. Michelle Hedstrom from Colorado is one of the people I refer to when I say getting to hang out with the "Cool Kids". Michelle and I met while we were in Vegas for classes back in September. It took us no time at all to determine that we had a common interest in photographing Extreme Sports. Michelle wowed me with her sports action photography and concert images captured from the pit during live concerts. Today, Michelle has been kind enough to return the favor and share some of her Amazing images ~ Check out the link above to see more of her work, I know will be wowed. Enjoy! ~ Trish Thanks to Trish for turning the tables on me and having me take over her blog for the day! My name is Michelle Hedstrom, I run Ogre Photography, I do sports and concert photography. I've learned a lot over time, and still have more to learn, but the two biggest things I've learned are that you have to take chances and just try new things, and don't be scared to ask for something. Ever since computers came out in some form, I've been a computer geek. I loved spending time playing Atari 2600, messing around on the Apple II, and learning to program. Graduating college, I immediately started working as a programmer, and did that for 15 years before getting laid off from my current company. I had been laid off before, and always gotten another computer job, but this time felt different. I wasn't enjoying programming anymore. I started trying to figure out what else I could do. We had a Canon 20D and a few lenses (my husband went on a photography kick one time but never learned too much about it), so I spent time learning how to use the camera. I was already a NAPP and Kelby Training member, but had never spent a lot of time on those sites, so here was a great opportunity to check them out! Now the question became: what kind of photography did I want to try to specialize in? Initially I thought about wildlife and landscapes. I mean, I'm in Colorado, it's perfect for landscapes! Until I realized that I didn't have the patience for wildlife photography, and didn't want to be locked into sunrise/sunset for landscapes. Then I got a random opportunity to shoot at the Denver Broncos Training Camp. I had no idea what I was doing since I hadn't shot any sports before, but darned if I didn't just have the best time. Once I thought about it, transitioning to sports made sense for me, since I've been an athletic tomboy since I was a kid. Motocross is quickly becoming my favorite sport to shoot as well. There's so many different kids of shots and angles, and you have to be super careful to not get hit by a bike. :) Concerts came later, and I'll blame Alan Hess for that. I met him at the Vegas Photoshop World in 2010, and after talking to him, and hearing about his concert precon, I honestly was just going to take it for fun in the spring. However before attending that PSW, I decided I probably should go shoot a concert just to see what it was like. Again, I had no idea what I was doing, but not only did I have fun, but I liked some of my shots. Taking the precon kind of sealed my addiction after that. So that's where I am today. I never would've thought when I was listening to all those 80's hair bands that not only would some of them still be playing today (Warrant and Skid Row to name two), but I'd have a chance to be in the photo pit shooting some of them. And getting to shoot the National Motocross Championships? Loved it!  To finish this post, here's a couple of other things I've learned 1) You never stop learning
2) There's always someone better than you, just as there's always someone worse than you.
3) Find other people you respect, learn from them, and listen to them.4) Motocross tracks get very very muddy when they're wet, so you might want to not shoot right next to the track.
5) Hand holding a speedlite while trying to shoot motocross is extremely difficult, unless you're Dave Black.
6) It really is all about the networking - don't be scared to meet new people. Swap business cards, say hi, and follow up on Facebook, email, or where ever.
7) Don't be scared to ask for something. If they say 'no', you're no worse off than you are now. If they say 'yes', you're a step ahead.
8) Have fun with what you're doing. ======================================================== FMI: Check out Michelle's website at: |
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Jim Hannigan, L&H Photography: Posted on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 4:45 PM
How Joining Associations & Organizations Make You a Better Photographer I have always believed in education, whatever the subject: When I started my career as a photographer one of the first things I did was join Maine Professional Photographers Association. This put me in touch with seasoned photographers willing to share ideas and how they may do something because of my membership. I have been able to attend seminars hosted by some of the best photographers in the business this inspires me.I have learned so much about photography I am a different photographer now my work is better because I've had the chance to learn from so many fine artists meeting them and having a chance to talk with them I look forward to many more seminars. I will never stop learning its fun, it keeps my fresh and brings new ideas. I also have a good collection of books I refer to and of course the internet is a great resource but for me nothing beats face to face watch and learn. Ask questions meeting a well known photographer its cool, which brings me to my point. Membership in organizations will help you grow its is worth every penny you spend the connections, friendships and the education are well worth it. You will be a better artist because of it. |
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Jim Hannigan, L&H Photography: Posted on Monday, October 03, 2011 1:56 PM
The Importance of Prints Last year at the end of a photography seminar I attended, another photographer friend made the comment... "Printing pictures is becoming a thing of the past." If you don't believe that, talk to a teenager. They store all of their photos on digital devices and care very little about prints. I thought about this for a while, it bothered me because I knew this was some what true. Very few prints are made compared to the number of digital files many of us have on computers and other devices. What does this leave for the future? How will someone see my photography in 20 years? Will the devices I choose now for storing my photos still work?
What if right now all my photos had been stored on 5.25" floppy disks, which was all the rage in the 1990's not even 20 years ago. I know that there are still 5.25" floppy disks and readers out there because I researched it for this blog, but I also know they are considered obsolete. I do have a large collection of printed pictures, old ones of aunts and uncles, myself with my brothers and sisters growing up, my children, places I have been, etc. (this is a photo of my son Ryan with my Dad). The tin-type in the title above is of my great grandfather from the 1800's which I value deeply. I have many of my prints backed up on negatives, CDs & several external hard drives. I don't actually have any on floppy disks.  I have decided to print more of my personal work. I want my grand kids to be able to see them easily in 20 years. I have my digital files, but I want some prints of my photo history that can be seen for sure with out having to worry about if a device will work or did I leave my computers password handy so in 20 years my relatives will be able to look at my old photos too! |
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Trish Logan, L&H Photography: Posted on Friday, September 30, 2011 1:21 PM
 I recently attended a workshop & was asked to bring along things that inspire me. I took images from magazines and the web, copies of paintings and lots of other things. The only down side of the weekend, was that we were in a location with no cell coverage or internet. I mention this because... during my ride home, my phone started chirping away that I had messages, one of which was from my friend Alex Grace of Graceful Images. I called him back and he told me his big news that he was pursuing his dream of opening his own photography studio. I was so excited for him, because I know he had the drive to make it happen and the talent to see it through. Alex hates when I say he is young but to me he is. In my eyes he will always be that kid that pushed out of his comfort zone because he loved photography so much he couldn't imagine not moving forward with it. We met in Las Vegas in 2010 at Photoshop World and stayed friends, sharing ideas and chatting about photography throughout the year. This year we got to hang out together again at PSW. The thing that has always struck me about Alex is that he works hard to get where he wants to be, educates himself and settles for nothing less than working toward being more than just an ordinary photographer, pushing to be exceptional. Hmmm. So when I thought about what inspires me... I thought of my pal Alex and asked him to share some of his awesome action swimming photography and a bit of himself as well. Enjoy ~ Trish ============================================== Wow, my first guest post on someone else's blog! Very exciting! I'm a portrait & and commercial photographer/graphic designer from Scottsburg, IN. I met Trish at Photoshop World two years ago and she has graciously asked me to write a guest post for her blog about my swimming photography!
Capturing the Champs
I've been shooting the Scottsburg Swim Team for over three years now. I was only sixteen when I first asked Jason, the coach, if I could take some pictures of my friend Jess during practice, he responded "I don't care, just don't get in the way." I started small, just taking a few shots here and there during practice, always making sure I wasn't in the way. The one advantage I had then was the fact that I was the same age as most of these kids. I made some really close friends, and even Jason started to warm up to me. The more comfortable they (and their coach) got, the longer I stuck around. With the large amount of time I was spending with them I finally started getting some great shots. The second year my friend Brooke's mom asked if I wanted a ride to the sectional meet, I excitedly said yes. That night I got some of my best pictures so far: I was happy, but not content with those shots. They were just too far back, I needed more reach! The next year I made a deal with a fellow photographer exchanging some assisting time for use of a 70-200 2.8 lens. Now it was on! I went to the Warrior Invitational & got more of the kind of shots I was looking for: The team was thrilled with their pictures, and their huge trophies from winning both boys and girls for their one home meet. A month later the boys & girls teams took conference titles again!  Now we're all awaiting another exciting season of Scottsburg swimming! The team is wrapping up their fall sports, and are going to start conditioning next month. The coach is getting in his hunting trips before the season begins. They'll make a run at continuing their domination of the Mid-Southern Conference and I plan to be there to record it! For more information about me visit me at:
gracefulimages.net
& come add me on +Google, I'd love to meet you!
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Trish Logan: Posted on Wednesday, September 21, 2011 11:04 AM
Answering Your Questions About... GUEST BLOGGING FOR PHOTOSHOP WORLD PAL MICHELLE HEDSTROM OF OGRE PHOTOGRAPHY check her out on the web at: Glad to see that you have been reading our blog. We got a HUGE response last Friday when we shared a guest blog spot we did for Michelle Hedstrom, of Ogre Photography, a friend I met at Photoshop World in Las Vegas. Many of you requested the full blog again, which you can find at: Excited about your response, I wanted to share some additional thoughts about the experience: Michelle Hedstrom and I met as part of a Facebook group headed to PSW~Vegas, there were probably 30 or more members in the FB page. For some time prior to the PSW, we all exchanged comments, opinions and ideas on everything from illustration, graphic design, photography and Photoshop trying to figure out the best classes to take and of course always, where to eat & what to drink when we got there. (not in that order) Once we everyone met and got to know each other a bit, we talked about equipment, what we could shoot while in Vegas and on one very funny day, we even had a creative collaboration on just to how much chaos we could cause in the floor of the expo, dragging in some of the most talented, funny people I have ever met into the fun. Along with everyone else in that group, we laughed hard and smiled often during our time at PSW. From the shoot in Nelson, NV on Monday morning with a very small group then at the face to face meeting with the cool kids at the House of Blues on Monday night. We were having a BLAST as the weed started and PSW hadn't even begun. Wednesday kicked off the Photoshop World conferences where we sat with small groups of friends, breaking off after the keynote to attend our classes. Some sessions we attended with friends and some alone. We seemed to join coincidentally, however, day after day on the floor of the expo shooting at the Westcott booth and just hang out. We all talked, cameras, Photoshop, lighting, freebies and giveaways, who had what... and of course the lists of what we all wanted but couldn't afford. We looked at our friend's portfolios on iPads, iPhones, cell phones and even beautiful matted prints. We shared, we learned and we laughed. I enjoyed the friends I made that week, was glad to be a guest blogger for Michelle and hope that she will be doing the same for me very soon. I look forward to her sharing her love of concert photography and extreme action sports. I know when you see her amazing images you will be as floored as I was! Keep an eye out! Thanks again for following our blog and emailing me your questions! |
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