Photo Manipulation, Prison and Internet Religion.

Isn't love grand? Photo manipulation reaches new heights. Imagine you are confined to a certain location, like say… prison. But wish you could take a vacation somewhere with your significant other (and not the one you share a cell with.)

Well, now there is a company catering to this group. Thanks to Adobe Photoshop, this company is now taking prison visit photos and putting the subjects where they wished they could go.

This brings up an interesting question. As virtual reality becomes more of… well, a reality, will it's use be restricted for prisoners? I know I've played computer games where the experience was so real that I felt like I had been "immersed" in another reality. Or even the Internet allows that to a point (are prisoners allowed online?) A former creative director I worked with argued that the Internet was man's attempt to be more god-like. With the ability to "transport" to anywhere in the globe through the web, it closes gaps that used to exist before. Information is instantly accessible that once required lots of research and maybe even some traveling. I can see where this quest for "all knowing knowledge" could be perceived that way. (To counter the god-like theory, it's important to remember there is a difference between knowledge/information and wisdom.)

I constantly marvel at how the Internet has shrunk the world for me. I used to be very centralized here in South Central Pennsylvania. Now I have people I consider close friends that are all over the states, different parts of Canada, some in the UK and Europe. And they are no farther then my bedroom office.

You just never know...

I was commissioned this summer to do a project for a local business association. I'm sure many of you have seen the Cows On Parade. They were popular here in Harrisburg last summer. A local small town decided to do something similar with Planters instead of cows. After struggling with my concept, I settled on photography (because I'm not a fan of painting anymore.)



I took several strolls around the town and shot some detail macro shots of the town, trying to capture some views that people might question if they even came from New Cumberland. Almost like an "eye-spy" sort of game. I was not a fan of the planter when it was finished. I was more happy that the project was complete then the finished results.

I was shocked when I found out it was a hit. People stopped by it frequently just to check it out (it was outside my Mom's workplace, who had sponsored the planter.) Even more surprising was the auction. My planter went for $385, the highest bid planter of the day. I was honored to hear that people liked it that much.

It just goes to show how hard it can be to price an "art project". A project is only valued at what someone is willing to pay for it.

Summer of Shooting - Newark

Shortly after that shoot, I was in Newark for a shoot and had the opportunity to work with a slew of models. The volume of images produced that day was incredible. The models were fantastic and being in an actual studio setting was very exciting. The great part of that shoot was taking some sketches I've had for some time and and actually producing them. These have turned into my hotest sellers right now.

Summer of shooting - Kids

Every year, we all make our New Year's resolutions. Sometimes we stick with them, many times we don't. This year was no different for me. One resolution I've stuck with was to shoot and upload more images to iStockphoto.com. I've gotten at least a few goodies online each month this year and I've seen growth in sales.

One of my first favorites from this year was a shoot I did with my sons on a Saturday spring afternoon. We were playing around and goofing off and a great image came about.

A toast... to the winner.

On istockphoto, I had a "race" this summer with Transferred to see who would hit gold level member first. It was a close race most of the way. She's a very talented photographer and model. I was honored to be in such a close competition with her. (but she does have a smaller portfolio online, so she won easily if you go by "percentage")

So, in honor of her winning I had an idea for a still life shot. I don't usually take the time to do shots like this. I set up lighting a "set" figured out how I wanted the flakes to float... etc. It was much more then just pointing a camera and grabbing something. This is the aspect of photography that I think I like most. That picturing something in your head and translating that to a scene in front of you. I can just about imagine how a movie director feels putting together a 2 hour moving piece of art.



See rest of images from series