You probably know that I am a technophile. And you know that my tools are of utmost importance to me. So it should come as no surprise that I have acquired the new Canon 1D Mark IV camera. So far I am thrilled at the new capabilities it gives me. Ill be posting updates as it works its way more prominently into my workflow.
I had the honor once again of being hired by Facebook to be the official photographer for Facebook f8 2010. This is a gathering to promote Facebook’s platform, their tools and their business to partners from all over the world. I am grateful for the many years of partnership with Facebook, and it has been an extraordinary thrill to watch this rocket blast ever skyward.
My photographs are posted on the f8 website for all the world (or at least the 1/2 billion or so of you who are on Facebook) to see. Check them out at facebook.com/f8. And see you online!
I am working several jobs in a row over these few weeks in early March so please excuse any tardiness in responding to your phone calls, cards and letters (and fruit baskets!).
I am an Apple Aperture user, and have been ever since version 1.0 was released. Aperture is a terrific tool which is responsible in many ways for the great efficiencies I have achieved in my photo production. It allows me to work quickly and accurately, gives me a good number of editing tools, both for individual photos and en masse changes.
I currently have close to 100,000 photos in my main Aperture library on my studio computer, and I have anywhere from 10-20,000 photos on my Macbook Pro library, which includes my family pictures.
Every once in a while, though, Aperture has a hiccup that causes me trouble. Most notably, I’ve had cases where I’ve tried to move projects between computers, upgraded hard drive, or even upgraded the OS X on my computers. In these cases, I’ve had to perform surgery on my Aperture installation to avoid doing a complete rebuild of my library. Once I did try to do a complete rebuild, and my computer was tied up for almost 30 hours.
The symptoms most commonly associated with Aperture database problems are:
So, I have developed a set of tools that I regularly use to diagnose and repair my Aperture library and projects. I can help you to do this, too. If you have internet access and are running OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), I can use OS X “Screen Sharing” to access your computer and do this remotely. Most database and library repairs take less than an hour, and many can be completed in a matter of minutes.
If you’d like to hire me to do this for you, please contact me via email so that we can discuss your situation. The initial consultation is free. Up to 1 hour of repair work performed remotely over the Internet is $100. More complicated repairs will be estimated in advance.
Good luck, and happy shooting!
Steve
As a photographer, I have had the benefit of learning from some true masters of my art, both directly and indirectly. I am very fortunate for this. But I have learned not only from the masters, but from you. And you. And her. And him. And hundreds of people who have unwittingly taught me something about how to extend my vision, how to see better. Thank you to all of you. And here I present the first of many installments of photographs I’ve made of so many of you practicing your art.
Savannah celebrated her bat mitzvah yesterday along with her parents Alan and Kirsten, her sister Izzy and her brother Alan, Jr. They are a photogenic bunch, made even more so by the glorious Northern California day we were blessed with.
Please enjoy this slideshow of some of my favorite photographs from Savannah’s big day.
Sophie celebrated her bat mitzvah yesterday along with her parents Neal and Amy and her sister Ella. It was an amazing day filled with the love and appreciation of two families brought together to celebrate this simcha. Many of Neal’s family traveled to Burlingame from Thailand, and that made the day even more special.
I edited together a piece of fusion photography combining still images and some videos shot with the Canon 5D Mark II. Notable about these videos is that they were mostly shot in extremely low light, and did not use any lighting or post-production adjustments. The equivalent ISO in some of these video pieces was as high as 5,000.
Please widen your window as large as it will go so you can see this video in its whole 720P high definition glory!
I was asked to photograph ODC Dance’s annual benefit at Francis and Eleanor Coppola’s winery in Napa. It was a lovely afternoon full of wine, food, and exceptional dance performances.
Kim’s parents invited me to tell the story of Kim’s wedding to her long-time sweetheart Greg. It was a magnificent day at their family home in Hillsborough, and I was absolutely tickled to be a part of the festivities.
A special shout out to Samantha Bryer of Weir & Associates, one of my very favorite event partners. As you can see in these photographs, they have a fantastic aesthetic, and have the most delicious meals.
Megan and her family celebrated her bat mitzvah yesterday in Los Altos, California. The morning festivities included some family time, as well as the beautiful, melodic ceremony at Congregation Beth Am in the Los Altos Hills. Megan is an accomplished vocalist, in addition to being a student at a Jewish Day School, both of which combined to make this a very beautiful ceremony. Mazel tov to Megan and her family!
