Capture the Moment

So, I spent a couple of hours yesterday backing up files from my harddrive. I TRY to do this every month (sometimes 2x) just so, IF something happens to my laptop...like last year :( , I don't loose everything.

Now, I've always backed up to CD or DVD. I'm now looking at backing up to an array of HD's...ie, NAS (Network Attached Storage). The way I see it, I can set this up to backup automatically ALL of my pc's...as I very seldom backup my wife's laptop (and it has all the business stuff on it)

Here's a few links that I've found:
http://www.nasbackup.com/wiki/Introduction
http://freenas.org/
http://www.storagesearch.com/datalink-nasbackup-art-2.pdf
http://hubpages.com/hub/Three-cool-data-backup-ideas


Also, what about using an "online" backup solution....ie, http://www.carbonite.com/default.aspx ?

I'd like to know what you use...and how. If you want to go into details, that's great. If it's too much to put into a comment here, just shoot me an email...PLEASE

danielburkhead@yahoo.com


I'm looking forward to seeing your comments.

My wife had the idea to get some baby ducks and a baby goat to do Easter pictures for some of our family, friends, and church members.

I setup my ABs in the garage, since the sessions would take place over a course of 2-4 days (it was the end of Spring Break, and people were just getting back into town). My mother-in-law had some old wood that was reclaimed from an old barn that was torn down a year ago. I used it to make an old "looking" backdrop.
The animals were pretty good for the pictures. However, I'm sure they were terrified of the kids. Jacob HAD to get a picture with his Pluto, too.

All in all, it was a success.

Here's some shots from those sessions as well as the setup, itself.

Enjoy!

















Even the parents were scared of the ducks.  At least you'd think so. :D



The setup:

I had the pleasure to take pictures for great family here in Benton. The parents, who live in Chicago, haven't had any updated family portraits in quite a while. While I was doing some repair work at their local (Benton) home, they asked if was would be available for last-minute portraits. Of course, there were a total of 15 of them.....so taking the shots indoors, would have been a challenge...so I thought. As I approached the house, I noticed a good photo-op on their front porch/entry..IF we could do some outside. However, it worked out well. I setup my two AB400's, one with the 64" PLM and one with just a 7" reflector. The PLM was my main light (and provided great catchlights), and I basically had to shot from under the thing! The other light was about 11' - 12' high and to the rear of the subjects. Just enough power to add a bit of a kicker or hair light. Overall, it was another great learning experience and thoroughly enjoyable. Enjoy!

So, again this year was given the opportunity to take the portraits for the Father/Daughter Ball at my son's elementary school. This is an annual event sponsored by our church...it's fun and rewarding to be a part of such a great "memory-making" event.

The other photographer I shot with last year has moved to another city, so my wife was assisting me with getting everyone signed in and manning the printer (last year we had them printed at the local Target...I wasn't impressed with them, so this year, we printed them ourselves...110% better, IMO).

I was excited about using my new strobes, and they performed flawlessly. Also, this year, since I was the only shooter, I decided to change up the lighting a little. I used my 64" PLM in front of the subjects and to camera left, about 1/2 power or so. I then used my 22" beauty dish on a boom, slightly behind and above the subjects, to camera right. It was set to about 1/8 power. The look I was trying to achieve was somewhat dramatic. I think I got it.

The catch lights were awesome. There was a few with glasses, and I tried my best to NOT get a reflection in them, but still get the catch light...it was mostly a success.

Here's a setup shot and a few of our friend's pictures. ENJOY!

So, I've been wanting some studio strobes for a while now. From my wife, for Christmas, I ordered a couple of AlienBee B400 lights, a 64" PLM (very versatile), and a 22" high output beauty dish. I also ordered a set of wireless triggers from AlienBee. So far, I LOVE this stuff. I've only been able to play around with it a couple of times. But, I plan to put it to more use very soon.

Here's a few "test" shots I've taken using various light modifiers as well as the equipment I purchased:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

This week I had the pleasure to shoot family portraits for the owners of Eagle Ray Divers, in Cozumel...unfortunately, I didn't get to travel to Cozumel this time :), but we will in the future.

The family was full of energy and the whole session went smoothly. It wasn't until we were about 1/2 to 3/4 through when we started talking about SCUBA DIVING. Wouldn't you know, they own a dive shop! Looks like we'll be traveling to Cozumel next year (this year) to take some more pictures for them and us, as well as taking in some pristine scuba diving.

Now, the question is....do I take my AlienBee's? or just my Scuba gear and small strobes?

So, if you're into scuba diving...check out Eagle Ray Divers in Cozumel, Mexico.

Until next time, enjoy!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of shooting a friend's family portraits. She said she always has a hard time getting everyone together for pictures, so I was asked to show up Sunday after Church and before lunch...you know everyone will show up for lunch ;) Drake, my oldest son, assisted me by being my Voice Activated Light Stand.

I thought I'd only taken about 20 or so pictures, but ended up shooting about 70. Everyone was very cooperative and there were very few shots that were missed, in my opinion. And, to top it off....we had fun with the whole session.

Enjoy:

So my wife bought everyone matching PJs (sorry, you won't see me in my ;)) and we took our Christmas pictures in them...all matching. Nice, huh? Here's a few of the shots from that session.

Again, simply setup the studio in our living room and shot away. I did a little post processing on these, but only a little...AlienSkin Bokeh and brightness levels. Shot with two small strobes for the background and one main light strobe...all fired via Cactus remotes.

I'm hoping to get some studio strobes after the first of the year. We'll see how the money situation is.

Merry Christmas from the Burkheads!!





They kids also had their Formal shots taken ;D