Moved to Wordpress

I have officially moved to Wordpress.com.


You can find my new blog here at williamtwitty.wordpress.com

To Paint With Light

I found this creative video on YouTube featuring light painting.



As you can see, light painting can get pretty crazy. I plan to play with this method again soon. This quarter has been very busy at school, but hopefully I will find free time to paint with light once more. If you want to learn more about how to paint with light, click here to watch a tutorial.

The Mechanic

Well I updated my Flickr account. I have named this image The Mechanic. I took this shot of my father for my environmental assignment in photojournalism. This image is not the approved choice, but it is probably my favorite out of the bunch. Of course I am not done editing the image but this is the current result.

Newsweek’s Top Photo Editor Leaving

I found an article on PDN discussing layoffs and deep cuts in the magazine advertising industry.

“Newsweek’s director of photography Simon Barnett, a nine-year veteran of the magazine, says he will leave his position after the end of the year.Three other Newsweek photo staffers—deputy director of photography Susanne Miklas, photo coordinator Leah Latella, and senior photo budget administrator Peter Schleissner—lost their jobs in layoffs this week.”

It is truly terrible so many people are losing jobs in every market. A powerful blow to every company and employee. I hope this crisis is resolved soon.

Making Progress

Well unfortunately we weren’t able to attend the art festival tonight. It was just one of those moments where life and time had an argument and something had to be postponed. The good news is the deFINE Art Festival doesn’t end until the 14th so that gives us a little more time.

More good news is that I finally have my fill flash picked.

I also spoke with Mrs. Finch on my photo essay ideas but they aren’t sending off that strong of a vibe so I will continue searching for a story.

Today I plan on getting a lot done as far a planning and shooting goes. Brittany, Cooper and I will be spending the afternoon shooting (due to the beautiful weather). Also I have about three ideas for my photo essay which I need to clarify with Mrs. Finch. Later tonight we will be attending the SCAD deFINE Art Fine Arts Festival in Atlanta. I will be posting pictures later tonight of todays shoot and what I captured at the festival. For anyone needing further incentive to attend this thing, admission and food are both free!

New Banner & Template

Well I have tossed around WordPress’s list of templates and designs for a week now. I believe this template will be my permanent choice for my WordPress blog, at least until I can manage a server and all of the files on my blog and future website. I also updated the banner with my full name. I prefer this template simply because it is well organized and structured. It also resembles the template on my Blogger blog “Twitty Photography” so there isn’t much to change. Hope everyone likes the layout!

Holiday Portraits Begin!

Well tomorrow marks the first day of our Holiday Portraits! I don't know about everyone else but I am nervous as can be. This is a whole new experience and I am confident I will do my best, I just hope my best is good enough. I do know working together as a team will help everything go smoothly with everyone so as long as we maintain our efficiency as a group, we can fly through this. Let the shooting commence!

Fill Flash

Well I have had my Canon 580 EX II for about a week now and I must say I am enjoying this flash. One of our latest assignments in photojournalism is based on filling in light on a subject with our flashes. I have yet to have an image approved, but I am favoring these two photos.






I am also tossing around two ideas for my photo essay so I hope to talk to Finch tomorrow and get that taken care of. Lots to do in so little time! I wish the best of luck to all of you on your ideas!

Interview

Here is an audio interview. This stars Cooper Ricketts asking me what projects I have been working on and just a synopsis of news in the life of photographer William Twitty.

The interview can be found here.

Tamrac Ultra Pro 17

I found an article on PDN’s Gear Guide talking about Tamrac’s newest bag. The Tamrac Ultra Pro 17.
“…includes enough padded pockets, pouches and crevices to seemingly carry the gear of an entire team of photographers.”

I myself just have a Canon backpack designed for one SLR and multiple pockets for lenses, cleaning equipment, etc. The Ultra Pro can carry two SLR cameras, lenses and just about any other camera accessory while staying compact. This bag looks like a great investment.

Photo for a Sponsor

Well I went to a local skate park down the road from my home, and I took some night shots with my flash. I captured this image of young skater, Michael.



He is currently sponsored by Fickle Skateboards. After I took the shot, we exchanged contact info and his sponsors informed him they need a photo. Fickle promised to give my name credit for this shot so I provided the image. Hopefully this will help both of us in the long run.

Moving to Wordpress

Well I (as well as the rest of the class) am moving from Blogger to Wordpress. The move is currently unofficial but will be official in six days. For those looking for a more professional method of blog management, I recommend Wordpress. I will post on the day of my official switch to Wordpress and will provide links to the new blog.

Storm Chasing with Jim Reed

I found this video on YouTube starring Jim Reed, a weather photographer. He specializes in severe and unusual weather. I have always has a curiosity for chasing and photographing storms, but at the same time I don't think I will ever go to the lengths as some photographers like Reed.

Ditto

see more Epic Fails

I thought I might share a little holiday humor photo. This is quite possibly, the funniest Christmas light setup I have ever seen for a house.

Words of Wisdom and Experience

I found a video of Bruce Davidson speaking at Jackson Fine Art back in 2008.


I wish I was there to hear him speak more and talk to him. Bruce Davidson is one of my top influences in photojournalism. If I do make my career through photojournalism, I hope my photos speak to everyone as his do today.

Nat Geo: Photo of the Day

This is National Geographic's Photo of the Day. Such a simple and touching photo.

"My grandfather was born and raised on our New Zealand farm. He and my grandmother were married nearly 60 years. Preparing for a photo in the barley, my grandmother lovingly reached up to adjust his hat. This was his last harvest."

Testing Fill Flash

Ana, Amy and I went out shooting after class today. We decided to practice shooting with flash and prepare for our "Fill Flash" assignment in photojournalism. The assignment requires us to lighten a subject using a flash, without creating a harsh shadow casted to the background. It is different not using just available light on location, but I am enjoying flash. I still need more practice but I think I am getting the hang of it.






I prefer bouncing the light around much more than just a direct flash. Gives more of a natural feeling. I will be testing the flash at night soon, so I sense more awesome discoveries to follow. Practice, practice, practice!

Bullet Time

I am posting this simply to recall on the power cameras have today. This may be a video camera recording, but none the less representing the accuracy of a high speed camera. And by high speed, I mean 1 million frames per second. The video below shows a series of clips of bullets traveling through air and objects at super slow motion. I personally think this is very artistic.

Sigma At Its Widest

Sigma's website has an anouncment of their new 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM. I actually purchased a used 80-200mm Canon lens today so it feels nice to have an addition that adds variety to my shots. I would love a super wide angle lens like this Sigma lens one day. I am definitely keeping an eye on this one.

My New Flash

Well I finally purchased my new flash, the Canon 580 ExII. So far I haven't done much with it, but I can see the potential already. I purchased the flash from Showcase, but to save money in the future, I will be making most of my purchases from B&H. They have an EDU Advantage program for students and educators to save money on photography equipment. I checked and our school is on their education list so I would recommend setting up a student account on B&H's website.

Bruce Davidson

I would like to share one of my favorite images from one of my favorite photographers, Bruce Davidson.

Davidson has documented decades of American history and all of his photos tell a story. His documentation of Times of Change and The Brooklyn Gang are my all time favorite collections. Every picture speaks and tells some sort of story. These moments he captured in time are a wonderful way to look back into history. If you have ever wanted to go back in time, these photos are your ticket.

Creative

I love finding little creative and amusing photos like this.

:Enjoy_your_breakfast_ by *nocturnalMoTH on deviantART

For those of you who don't know much about DeviantArt.com, it is a website dedicated to artists uploading and expressing their work and talents. Since the website is built on art, there is a photography section to search through a list of artists from all over the world. Some are amateur and other are professional. The community is very friendly too. It is worth checking out in my opinion.

Flash Forward

I am finally getting my first flash for my Canon Rebel XS. I have my sights on the Canon 580EX II Speedlite TTL.

I have needed one for so long and I am tired of borrowing other flashes just to get buy. I recently gained money back from financial aid and now I am using that money to purchase this flash. I am very excited to start using this thing for our fill flash assignment.

Click the image for a demo reel from B&H.

Light Painting

Fabia Light by ~JogiART on deviantART

I plan on painting with light again very soon. It was one of the first things I experimented with when I first got my camera. I bet I can come up with some really creative stuff now. As soon as I get a flash for my camera, light paintings will be twice the fun for me.