Thanks for taking a picture of me Jana! You are amazing!

Followers

WHO IS BALD IS BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHY?

Well, it's me of course! Hi, I'm Scott, just an ordinary guy who loves life and all the little nuances that it brings! Simply put, I'm a father to a wonderful son, a husband to a beautiful wife, and an amateur photographer who enjoys looking at the world through a piece of glass! I took up photography a couple of years ago, after having gastric bypass surgery. Since 12/07, I have lost 180 pounds, but found a real passion for documenting life with my camera. I could say that the big names out there have inspired me, and they have, But my true inspiration comes from the people I meet everyday who share the same thoughts and zeal I have for photography. We are truly blessed with some really great photographers around Nashville. So, what are you waiting for.... ...grab a camera, snap some pics, and enjoy life to the fullest!
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Thursday, July 29, 2010

The Deer Poop Photo Walk

A couple of weeks ago, I took off for one of my weekend photo walks. One of my friends told her husband about my photo walks around town and he said, “You mean he just gets out, walks around, and takes photos?”, she said “Yeah, and you should go with him some day”. We’ll have to wait and see if he takes me up on it!

This time I hit Radnor Lake on the out skirts Nashville.  What a great little park.  The flower and fauna are gorgeous, but the most amazing thing is the deer and other animals that abound in the park!  I have never seen deer that literally just look at you like, “Here I am, let me pose for ya while you snap that shot”.  Unreal is the word!
 
Radnor Lake 7-17-10-11
 
Radnor Lake 7-17-10-6 Radnor Lake 7-17-10-10 Radnor Lake 7-17-10-5

Here’s a little history of the lake as provided by their website:

In 1913 the L&N Railroad Company purchased a thousand acres in the Overton hills south of Nashville for the purpose of constructing an earthen reservoir large enough to supply water for its steam engines and livestock at nearby Radnor Yards.


It was also intended to provide a private hunting and fishing preserve for L&N officials and their guests. But soon after construction, birds discovered the haven too and began feeding and resting there during their annual migration.


Efforts to preserve the Radnor Lake area began in 1923 when an L&N executive stopped all hunting and fishing and declared the site a "Wildlife Sanctuary" at the request of the Tennessee Ornithological Society. The beginning of Radnor Lake as we know it today was born.

 
Radnor Lake 7-17-10-9 Radnor Lake 7-17-10-12
 
Radnor Lake 7-17-10-3 Radnor Lake 7-17-10-2 Radnor Lake 7-17-10-4
 

Radnor Lake 7-17-10-7 Radnor Lake 7-17-10-8
 
Now I’m sure you are wondering about the title of this post.  As I was taking some photos of the deer, several of them walked right out on Otter Creek Road that surrounds the lake.  Here I am, city boy and all, watching the deer and not watching where I was going.  That’s right, I’m sure you know what happened, I stepped right in a big ole pile of deer poop!  You think I would have least smelt it before I stepped in it. 

As far as the husband of my friend going with me, I think this statement has all but sealed the fact that he won’t go now!

On a side note, this walk was inspired by a friend of mine who is doing a year long project called  “This week at the lake”.  If you get a chance, hop over to Malcolm's site and check out his amazing photos!

Well that’s it for today, wonder what I’ll step in next time?
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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Sweet Shot Tuesday – RJ

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Catching a photo of my son, is as hard as chasing the abominable snowman!  I mean, he’s suppose to exist, but you hardly ever see him.  I’m talking about the snowman, not RJ!  When the camera comes out, all I usually see is a blur running down the hallway being followed by the words, “really papa, really”?


Well this past week he comes to me and say, “Grab the camera, I think the professor is dead!”  The professor is a neighborhood cat that bears a strong resemblance to Professor MaGonicals cat from Harry Potter.  Any who, professor was not dead, but lounging in the sun.


RJ purple-3


As I grabbed my camera, RJ grabbed my old one, and away we went.  While he was shooting the supposedly dead cat…with the camera, I was shooting him.  This is my boy, he’s all boy, all the time and I love him dearly!


There are times when I had a cute daughter so I could do some of these dreamy shots like Florabella Luxe, or Angie , or Patti Brown, but I don’t.  So, I take what I can get, and this is him!


Triptych template


Pop on over to Sweet Shot Tuesday and check out the other entries from this weeks photographers.  I guarantee, you won’t be disappointed.  While you're at it, go ahead and submit a Sweet Shot of your own!


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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

I Heart Faces – Purple !

P

Catching a shot of my son is like pulling teeth!  I mean, he’s a good kid, but when the camera comes out, he’s as elusive as the abominable snowman. 

As he runs and hides, you hear this verbal rumbling emanating from his path…

”Really papa, really?”

                                                                                            

untitled-2-Edit-Edit-Edit

 But he’s a good kid, and I’m not going to complain at all.

So when it comes to I ♥ Faces, he’s the face I ♥. 

Just don’t tell him, because then all I’d hear is…

“…Really papa, really?”

Make sure you hop over to I ♥ Faces and check out the other entries in this weeks “purple challenge”.

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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Organizing and importing Lightroom Presets

Recently I upgraded to Lightroom 3, and have enjoyed every minute of it.  A problem I had dealt with presets.  When the upgrade took place, my presets were a mess.  Now to be honest, it was not because of the up grade, but more due to the lack of organization in my preset folder.  Every time I imported a new preset, it would place it in “User Presets”.  Not too much of a problem to start with, but when you have over 300 presets in that folder, it gets kind of crazy when searching for the one preset!


So I started searching the web, and to be honest, there’s not much there when dealing with preset organization.  Well, I started playing around a little and I think I have found a way to deal with that preset organization problem.


For purposes of today's tutorial, I have downloaded a set of presets from Sarah Ji.  I really like her stuff, very simple, but elegant!  So, a way we go!


Installing Adobe Lightroom Presets

1. Go into Lightroom and click on Edit at the top (next to File).

edit

2. Go down to Preferences and click on it.

preferences

3. There will be a new screen that pulls up. There will be six tabs at the top, click on Presets (second tab).

presets

4. Click on the box titled, Show Lightroom Presets Folder.

show presets folder

5. Double click on Lightroom and then double click on Develop Presets

adobe lightroom develop presets 

6. Create a new folder titled Sarah Ji Presets (or the name of the presets you download).

sarah ji presets

7. Copy the contents of the Sarah Ji Folder, found in your download, into the “Develop Presets” folder.

copy paste

8. You are done! If Lightroom was open when you copied your new presets, you will have to close it and restart it.

final

9. If you have any questions please feel free to email me and I will be happy to help. My email address is BIBPhotography@comcast.net.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Time Killers From The Web - July

Radnor Lake 7-17-10-11

So, I know what I’m looking at.  What are you looking at? 

Blog wise that is… 


Tennessee Photographers

Alisa Whitley Photography:  My future sister-in-law suggested I look up Alisa’s work.  From her blog - I have been interested in photography since I was eight years old. My first camera was a toy, but it used real film! I took pictures of the mailbox, the trees, and just about everything else. When I was 10, I saved up my own money and bought my very first “real” camera, a Kodak Instamatic X15. I eventually traded my Kodak Instamatic for 35mm film, then later a digital SLR. I began shooting part-time in 2000. A part time hobby has become a full time love!


Snappers Photography:  I got to shoot with Greyson a couple of weeks ago at Old Stone Fort.  While the majority of the group focused on the waterfalls, Greyson journeyed out on her own, searching for nature…and she found it!  She’s got a great eye, so check out her photo's!


Lindsey Renee Photography:  I found Lindsey on Facebook one day, and fell in ♥ with her photography!  She has an eye for catching life as it happens! 


Malcom MacGregor Photography: Another local photographer I have shot with recently.  I met Malcolm on the Shelby Street Bridge a couple of weeks ago while shooting downtown Nashville.  After searching up his blog, I was amazed.  What an inspiration her is.  In fact, he’s the one that inspired me to take an early morning walk around Radnor Lake this weekend.  If you get a chance, check out his weekly series “This Week At The Lake”.


Photo Inspiration

It’s not about me: I have been a follower of Bill Fortney for over 2 years.  This man not only inspires me, but forces me to look at the bigger picture.  Not only is this man a wonderful photographer, but also a fellow Christian who gives God all the credit and takes none for himself.  When I met Bill in person, I told him I wanted to be him when I grew up!

The Creative Mama: Talk about an inspiring site.  They just got through with a 2 week series on “The Creative Photographer”.  What an undertaking.  2 weeks of interviews with some of the most talented people I have ever read about!


Mika Beth Edwards Photography: Mika’s interview on The Creative Mama was a great read.  The way she uses the camera to capture life is truly outstanding.

Photo Education

Essential Knowledge for Photographers: Jim Zuckerman offers a lot to upcoming photographers.  His blog is full of thought provoking and useful tips.  So, what are you waiting for? Check it out.


Kent Weakly Photography: Now, here is a guy who really knows what learning is all about.  In fact, this last week I used no less that 4 of his tips.  My favorite, “How to use a plastic bag from the grocery store to protect your camera”.  How’s that for education?


Ron Martinson: Ron has been around for a while, but he just recently updated his blog, and thus got a new address.  So if you have been following Ron Martinson, you might want to check out his new feed.


I ♥ Faces Blogs

Smile Like You Mean It: It’s really nice when you see someone young make a decision where they want to be in life.  Alex describes herself as a 15 year old with a point and shoot from Wal Mart.  Does that matter?  No, her photos a phenomenal.  Way to go Alex!

Pamela Topping Photography: Another one of my I ♥ Faces finds!  Pamela has just started her blog, and she is off to a good start.  Jump on over and give her a little blog love today!

Marinda Fowler Photography: Now, if you want to find a photographer in the Indiana area, I’ve got one for ya.  Marinda does it all!  She’s a mom, a photographer, and a personal friend.  That’s right, I’ve actually met and shot with someone outside of Tennessee.  In fact, I’ve even volunteered to be Marinda’s 2nd shooter any time she does one of her gorgeous boudoir sessions.  The trouble is, I don’t think my wife would agree.  Head on ever and check out Marinda’s blog, you won’t be let down! 


Photoshop

Morgan Kervin Photography: Morgan is a find I found at the Coffee ShopMorgan has a great spirit, and is pretty good at teaching dummies like me a trick or two in Photoshop.  Lord knows I need all the help I can get!


Lightroom

Lightroom-news: A nice little resource for all that is Lightroom!


The Lightroom Queen: If you ever need to know anything about Lightroom, this is the woman to go to!  I had some problems a while back, and posted what was happening on several Lightroom Help forums.  The only person to help me out was Victoria.  So, the nest time your Lightroom is dark, ha ha, check out Victoria Brampton, The Lightroom Queen!


Last but not least

I ♥ Faces : Now, if you’ve been around a while, you know I LOVE I ♥ Faces!  Well, they’ve moved their feeds and such to a word press blog. At the moment, they are still feeding information to their old feeds, but we don’t know for how long.  And I could not stand the idea of not having my ladies from I ♥ Faces around, so update, will ya?

Well, that’s about for this month “Time Killers From The Web”, C Ya !

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Saturday, July 17, 2010

Fix It Friday #62

My favorite day of the week, Fix It Friday from I ♥ Faces


It’s been a while since I’ve edited of the photo’s, it’s seems like life gets a little crazy sometimes.  But we need to stop and do something enjoyable, and editing photographs does just that for me!


FIF 7-16 Before

The before picture is one Amy took of her little girl last week while they were visiting grandma.


Editing steps:

* Import into Lightroom 3

* Adjust exposure, correct white balance, bump up the blacks, clarity, and vibrancy.

* Crop just a little.

* Lightroom adjustment brush ~ smooth skin and brighten eyes.


* Open in Photoshop CS5 and run the following actions and added texture:

Florabella Luxe  ~ Try them all, settling on a combination of Ambrosia @ 62% and Gypsy @ 21%.

Florabella Luxe ~ Sharpen and Defog.

Patti Brown’s Supernatural Texture ~ Fantasy II - Overlay blending mode @ 62%


* Sent back to Lightroom 3 and used Nichole V’s Sun Flare Preset ~ Land Sun Flare Gentle Left.

Framing done with The Album Cafe’s  ~ Ribbon Blog It

FIF 7-16 After


Then I took the edited photo and ran it back to Photoshop CS5 and ran the following actions:

* childish david’s ~ B & W Magic Dark @ 62%.

* Florabella Luxe ~ Sharpen and Defog once again!

 

FIF 7-16 After Childish David


Make sure you drop by I ♥ Faces and check out all the other edits for this week’s Fix It Friday! 


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Friday, July 16, 2010

Loving my city!

Just really loving my town right now. 

The colors, the skyline, the people. 

Can’t ask for much.

Nightime Nashville

3 bracketed shots, merged together in CS5 HDR!

Have a great day!

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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Sweet Shot Tuesday – H2Oooh!

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“Water, water everywhere, nor any a drop to drink!”  I’ve always loved that quote.  It’s from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coolidge.  Well this weekend, I felt that way.  Not really, but I thought it was a good segue.


Once again I had the privilege of shooting with some of the most talented and friendly photographers around.  The Nashville Photography Meet-up Group had an outing at Old Stone Fort Archeological State Park.  The main focus was shooting waterfalls, but nature was all around us and other decided on shooting that.


I have admired those photos of water where the water seems to be creamy and movement is truly implied.  But when the opportunities provided themselves to me, I was either busy or just too tired to go.  Not this weekend, I went and had a blast!


Old Stone Fort-6Old Stone Fort  Old Stone Fort-2 Old Stone Fort-3 Old Stone Fort-4 Old Stone Fort-8Old Stone Fort-5  Old Stone Fort-7  

Old Stone Fort-9 Old Stone Fort-11 Old Stone Fort 1

Old Stone Fort-12

Make sure you drop by Darcy’s Blog for other Sweet Shot Tuesday photograph’s and blogs!

So, what’s your “Sweet Shot” today?

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