RJSnowPhotography Photowalk - Downtown SLC

Julie and I are hosting our first semi-annual RJSnowPhotography Photowalk in downtown Salt Lake City around 8 or 9 am (subject to change to get us the best light) on October 25th. Save That Date!!  The downtown area is overflowing with interesting things to photograph.  Check out a set of photographs that Julie took with a "point and shoot" camera a couple of years ago while waiting to meet some girls for dessert at the Melting Pot. 

So what is a photowalk anyway?  A photowalk is an opportunity for a group of photographers to work together, have a great time, and improve their skills through collaboration!  After the photowalk, we'll assemble at a local eatery for some food and to view (I figure that we can come up with enough laptops) and discuss each others photographs.  For some weeks after that we can continue to share and discuss our photographs after post-processing.  I'll probably set up a flickr group to create a common area for us to share our photos. Details of the photowalk route and lunch location will be forthcoming but please save the date and contact either Julie or myself if you would like to attend.

Update:  Attendance to this exclusive event will be limited to 20 people so get on the list soon!

Foto Friday - Wallpaper

For those of you who get our posts via email, you may not visit our actual webpage very often. Well if you do, there's a new incentive to do so.
Free wallpapers! There is a link at the top of the site.

Once again, I took these at Temple Square a few years ago. I didn't do much editing, just a little white balance and contrast. No biggie.

This was Rob's idea and I think it's great. This picture is an example and every so often we'll add new wallpapers here. So check back!

Rob & Julie Before the 10-Year

 

On August 15th of this year we attended my (Rob) 10-Year Reunion - you can always count on a reunion to help you feel old. We had a fairly good time at the reunion.  I got to see a bunch of friends (Dee, Mel, Erica, and Wyatt and Lacey) which was really nice.  We sat next to Wyatt and Lacey and we had a really good time hanging out with them. 

I graduated from West Jordan High School TEN freaking years ago! It is sort of weird to be this old but I can't complain one bit about how my life has turned out.  I have an amazing wife, great kids, a challenging calling at church, a stimulating career (most of you probably don't consider dirt and earthquakes to be stimulating...but I do), photography, travel, and UTA.

Since we were all dressed up and going to a nice place for the reunion (Gardner Village in West Jordan), Julie and I decided to try our hand at taking some self portraits.  With a lot of teamwork, about 20 minutes, and of course our sexy subjects, we took a bunch of really good pictures.  See the complete set here (or slideshow).  I had such a good time with Julie on this photoshoot.  We have great chemistry and it is just so rewarding to share a fun hobby. Enjoy the photos!

Foto Friday - Lime

Taken with Nikon Coolpix L6 at Punta de Mita, Nayarit, Mexico on March 17, 2007. Automatic Exposure Mode, 6.3mm, 0.003 sec f/3.2, ISO 50, JPEG. Edited in Picasa 2.6.

The beach at Punta de Mita differed a lot from the beach near our condo in Bucerias.  A few more people, more rocks, birds, and boats.  As we walked onto the beach we came across these awesome tables and umbrellas!  I love the natural construction of the umbrellas, the sand, and blues in the water and sky against the vibrant lime green of the tables!  Outstanding!   I also really like the little kids playing in the background.  Very fun and free.  Thanks for that amazing vacation Julie!!!!

To continue Julie's theme from last week I chose this photo that I took with our little "point and shoot" L6 (of course it is a Nikon) and only slightly modified the exposure in Picasa 2.6.  That's all for this week.  Remember that it is more about the photographer than the camera or software. Enjoy yourself behind the lens and happy shooting!

When The Hubby's Away....

Rob's in Glenwood Springs, Colorado again for work. This is how he describes what he's doing this time. "Driving around all day looking at cliffs. Then spending a few hours writing about cliffs." Hmmmm. Pop Quiz....what is Rob's profession??? Anyone? Anyone? I'll even give bonus points if you get the exact term. Even people who have heard him explain what he is never really remembers except that it has to do with dirt. Give up? He's a Geotechnical Engineer. Whenever he tells people this, they all nod their head and pretend they know what that is. Don't be embarrassed if you're one of those people. Those people are EVERYONE. But he loves it and that's all that matters.

So anyway....

Once again I came down with the travel bug and Rob had to continually remind me that I did NOT want to go with him. Remember this post?

Not 30 minutes after he left I had two emergencies. My MSN Messenger wasn't working (I love IM-ing! I'm actually chatting with Rob right this minute!) and there was a huge spider! Okay, medium spider. But it got away!!! And isn't it weird that the house always seems darker when the man is gone?

Well, I hope you have fun with your cliffs. I love you, honey!

Someday...

Someday I hope to...

• Sleep in until 11am on Saturdays like I used to before kiddies.
• Get Lasik. I'm blind as a newborn.
• Go all over Asia and on a European river cruise.
• Have my bangs do a perfect side swoop. Two cowlicks makes this nearly impossible.
• Have a spotless kitchen for a whole day.
• Go to a ball, just so I have a reason to wear a gown and look like a princess (I know, I'm like a 4-year-old).
• See all my children married in the temple.
• Stop thinking about my to-do list.
• Have rippling calf muscles.
• Have a fenced-in backyard for Nate to play in.
• Follow promptings 100% of the time. I'm good at it unless it involves talking to or interacting with other people. My shyness kicks in.
• Buy a shirt that's not on the clearance rack. Old habits are hard to break.
• Be published.
• Have a real-looking fake tan.
• Go to bed at a normal time. After years of staying up until 12:30 doing homework, It's been hard to get to bed any earlier.
• Paint my living room. We've lived here for over two years and it still isn't done.
• Spend an entire day at an expensive spa getting the works done.
• Consistently edit and post pictures within a week of taking them.

Wow. That's a lot of "somedays". Maybe someday I need to focus more on the present.

Foto Friday - Aspiring Heavenward

I took this picture 4 years ago. I worked at the Church Office Building at the time and decided to walk around Temple Square one day after work. It was springtime, which meant all the beautiful tulips were out and the trees were bright white with blossoms. It was gorgeous! I was a little worried since it was overcast, but I think the clouds in the background ended up working really well.

To get the shot to look this way, in Lightroom I turned down the exposure and upped the fill light in order to get the detail in the clouds. Then I played with the contrast and clarity so that the Gothic architecture of the temple would stand out. I then bumped up the yellow and orange luminance so the plaque and Angel Moroni would pop.

One reason I wanted to show this photo is because I took it with our very first small digital Nikon Coolpix camera. See! No fancy SLR required! All you need is a good eye and some photo editing software (a couple of FREE ones are: Picasa and Photoshop Express).

Experiment with your camera and software and get great photographs!

Madeleine at 5 Months

 

Julie and I have been trying to take a portrait of Madeleine for the last couple of weeks.  She is a very happy baby and is just so cute.  The first two attempts were foiled due to spit-up (she does this constantly) and Nate jumping into the frame and climbing over her! On our 3rd try we had complete success!  She is the cutest little girl in the whole world.  She is just a sweet little ray of sunshine and I love her dearly.

Foto Friday - Unexpected

Taken with Nikon D40 on Alcatraz, California on January 26, 2008. Aperture Exposure Mode, 55mm, 1/80 sec f/5.6, ISO 200, Nikon Raw Format. Edited in Lightroom 2.0.

Quick post for you today.  This photo is appropriate for a quick post because really did very little to prepare the print.  I shot this photo at dusk in San Francisco Bay while heading up the hill to visit the penitentiary known as Alcatraz.  I was very taken aback by all the beauty (plants and wildlife) on the island and by the beautiful San Francisco Bay. I took this shot at dusk and I was really loving the amazing light that was just filling up the bay!  I must say that I was not expecting to take many pretty photographs on our visit to Alcatraz.

I got this silhouette shot just right by exposing for the background and not using a flash.  In post-processing I simple adjusted the black point of the photo using the curves adjustment in Lightroom 2 (it's out of beta now by the way) and ever so gently tweaking the blues to make it look like it did back on the island. 

After adding our logo and a border I exported the image as an sRBG jpeg file at a resolution of 360ppi (optimal for printing). Hope you enjoyed this quick post and be sure to enjoy yourself behind the lens!

Rob

The Dreaded "Raff"

I'm beginning to hate giraffes. For the last two weeks Nathan has developed a giraffe obsession. Why giraffes? No idea. Here's what my days have consisted of for the last 14.

1-Building dada giraffes, mama giraffes, Nathan giraffes, and Madeleine giraffes out of Legos.
2-Coloring with crayons dada giraffes, mama giraffes, Nathan giraffes, and Madeleine giraffes.
3-Drawing with colored pencils dada giraffes, mama giraffes, Nathan giraffes, and Madeleine giraffes.
4-Coloring with markers dada giraffes, mama giraffes, Nathan giraffes, and Madeleine giraffes.
5-Drawing with pens dada giraffes, mama giraffes, Nathan giraffes, and Madeleine giraffes.
6-Looking at pictures on Google Images of dada giraffes, mama giraffes, Nathan giraffes, and Madeleine giraffes.

I literally draw and color at least 30 giraffes a day. Yeah, it's starting to get a little old.