Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category

Love in Friendship, photo by Kajsa Stolberg

Kajsa here and wishing John a happy birthday!  February 14th is traditionally celebrated as “Valentine’s Day,” but a little known (and more important) fact is that it’s John’s birthday too.  So while others are giving cards and flowers and chocolates, we really know that HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!’s are in order.
Speaking of Valentine’s Day though, this is a reminder to submit your photos for February’s contest. The theme is inspired by Valentine’s Day, but let’s emphasize that we want photos of things that you love or photos that represent love to you, we don’t want to limit you to hearts and the color pink!  Be creative, and enter for a chance to win one of two great prizes. Find the details HERE, have a wonderful Valentine’s Day and wish John a happy birthday when you get the chance!

Valentine's Boy celebrating his 4th B-day at friend's house (1974)

February means cold weather, chocolates, cards and Valentine’s Day, which happens to be your favorite blogger/photographer’s birthday.  So I thought to celebrate my birthday we would do another photo contest. Batdorff Photography wants your best image that emanates the spirit of Valentine’s Day with people, objects, locations, signs, or colors. So be creative, put your heart into it, and enter for a chance to win! All you need to do is submit your photo to Batdorff Photography Facebook Fan site.

The steps are simple.

1. If you aren’t already, become a fan of Batdorff Photography on Facebook.  Click on this link HERE.
2. Go to the Wall tab.  Type in your name in the box that reads “Write something” and directly under that box click on attach photo and upload your favorite contest photo.
3. Giving your image a title is always nice touch.
4. Make sure to comment on other people’s photos…but remember, this is for fun!

First place will take home a $50 gift card (treat yourself and someone special to a nice dinner, perhaps?), second place will get a $25 gift card to B&H Photo. February 14th is the cut-off date and winners will be announced on February 16th. Winners must contact Batdorff Photography with their address in order to receive prizes. First and second place winners from contests held within the last 6 months can submit, but they will not be chosen for this contest. Have fun and good luck!

Snow Angel (10 secs at f/22 32mm, ISO 100)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas this last weekend….I know I did.  Today’s blog is a little tongue and cheek but hopefully it will put a smile on your face.  I learned something new this weekend.  There’s an art to making a snow angel.  It was brought to my attention that I happen to date the self proclaimed “worlds best” snow angel maker.  Now, this was news to me, so of course I insisted on a live demonstration; or I think the actual words were “prove it!”  Well, Staci (my girlfriend) did make a heck of snow angel so I asked her to share with my readers what appeared to be a very elaborate technique..

World's Best Snow Angel Maker (15 secs at f/22 31mm, ISO 100)

First, find yourself a nice patch of totally untouched snow (avoiding ALL yellow snow).  Then, and this is key, make as few footprints as possible.   Now that you’ve picked prime snow angel real estate, and kept the human tracks to a minimum, plop yourself down to a sitting position.  Ok, ready?  ROLL back.  NO HANDS!  Just roll, until you’re flat on your back.  Now, extend your arms straight out.

Angel in the making (15 secs at f/22 31mm, ISO 100)

No holds barred here people, it’s cold alright!  But it takes a strong woman to make one of these properly, so don’t hold back!  Now, start flailing your arms and legs like you’re racing Michael Phelps in the backstroke competition.  Once you’re done, (and don’t go too far, we don’t want any patches of dirt coming through) stand up without using your hands.  Ha ha, yeah right.  Maybe if you are Michael Phelps.  But anyway, get up as gingerly as possible, trying not to fudge your wings.  Then, exit the angel EXACTLY in the same foot prints in which you approached your now beautiful work of art.

Thank you Staci for that killer description.  Now, I’m sure some of you have killer tips to the above approach so feel free to share your own technique.   Now, back to work!

p.s. if you attend my workshop in the spring I can’t guarantee we’ll be covering such serious in-depth techniques

Ornament, Kajsa Stolberg (ISO 200, 1/3s @ f2.8)

Whichever holiday you celebrate or however you say it: Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, メリクリスマス – the sentiment is the same.  We want to wish all of you happy holidays from Batdorff Photography.   Have a good one!

Image from 2010 Calendar

Still looking for the perfect gift for some of the people on your list?  Well, you’re in luck!  I’ve dropped the price of my 2010 calendar to $13.  The reduced price will come up when you check out.  You can get an extra 20% off if you enter the code HOHOHO at checkout.

Santa's Helper

I have a secret to share.  I used to hate this time of year.  I mean I would dread the very idea of the holidays.  Frankly, I was known within our family as being  “The Scrooge”.  Well, times have changed and now I get super stoked around Christmas time. However, the one thing that I still don’t look forward to is holiday shopping.  The reason is I always have a hard time thinking of what to buy people other than gadgets.   Yes, I’m a real winner at picking out cool tech gifts, but not so good at picking out wine or handbags.  So, I thought I would put my talents to work and give you some suggestions.  If you know a self proclaimed “photo geek” then keep reading!

Here we go:

Manfrotto Hot Shoe Double Bubble Level $32.95  (This is great for all levels of photographers)

Wein  HS-XL Hot Shoe Ultra Slave 79.95  (If you have a couple off camera flashes this is a wonderful way to put them to use  in the studio)

Manfrotto tripod w/ ballhead $125  (Nice value! This was Kajsa’s pick for the practical shopper.)

Gitzo Traveler Carbon Fiber 1550T $675.00 (I own this tripod and love it.  Solid, super light and sturdy as heck.)

Really Right Stuff BH-40 Ballhead $375.00 (This is my main ballhead.  It’s built like a tank and has incredible adjustments)

Western Digital  My Passport Essential 500 $119.00 (I don’t leave home without it.  This is great drive that’s been tested and dropped at 3 feet.  When I’m traveling this sucker goes with me.)

Carbonite Online Backup $54.95  (Is it super fast?  NO!  But, you can upload about 3 gigs of data per day and for many people that will be enough.  What makes Carbonite great is it’s price.  Unlimited backup for 55.00 a year is cheap and offsite back-ups are key.)

Animoto The three month business subscription cost $99.00 (I love Animoto.  I’ve used their service for about a year now and recently upgraded to their business option so that I could use the “call to action” feature.  Check it out.)

Slingshot Aw 100 69.95 (If you have a light load, want to be a little stylish this is great bag)

Epson Stylus Photo R2880 (People ask me what I use to print with at home? Well, here it is!)

Westcott PB5000 Photo Basic with background $329.50 (You want to get your feet wet with a home studio.  Well, here you go.  This system is inexpensive and perfect for a beginners.)

Tradesecrets Cards $22.00 (So you want to know how Chase Jarvis does it?  Here is a cheat sheet to some of his greatest studio shots.  I love these things! It’s like a Cliffs notes for photographers. Sorry, Miss Johnson, Pride and Prejudice interfered with my wrestling practice.)

Drobo’s new S series $799.00 box only  (Wow, huge improvements over the first Drobo.  Five drives, up to 10TB of storage and gotta love the e-stata capabilities…can you say super fast.  I need this or so I’m trying to convince myself)

Within the Frame by David duChemin $25.00 (I’ve read this book twice now.  The images are wonderful and the content is real.)

Black and White Magazine 40.00 (Simply put… a must read.)

Oh, and of course The Batdorff Photography 2010 Calendar (wink, wink.  Remember all the profits do go to charity…buy one or buy 10…I won’t stop you)

Well there you have it.  If you have any suggestions drop me a note on the blog  I would love to hear them.  Happy shopping…John

"Christmas Card Photo"

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it’s the appropriate time to be sending Christmas cards.  If you’re ambitious and want to make them then it’s a great opportunity to show off your photographs.  In my family, my Mom always takes at least one photo of my brother and me sometime during the year called “The Christmas Card photo.”  Then it’s this print that she sends with each card (if they actually get mailed…).  Okay, so we haven’t always been great about getting cards sent out for the holidays, but we still have all these photos that have accumulated over the years.  With both kids out of the house, my Mom put them together in albums for each of us to keep.  Maybe it’s a tradition that you’ve had too, or one that you’d consider beginning.  It definitely has me smiling every time I look at it.

You can have lots of fun and be very creative with your pictures with props, special scenery, or festive designs bordering your cards.  Classic winter scenes are always popular too, try them by themselves or as part of a collage.  Another great idea is to recap the year with pictures, a much more visual approach to the “family update letter.”  After you’ve decided on the picture(s) you want to use, Moo.com and Shutterfly are just two of the many sites to check out for ordering them online.

What are you doing this year for Christmas cards?  What were the best Christmas cards that you ever created?

Peace, Love and Goofiness

(Thanks John, for sharing your card from last year!)

Team Batdorff

Father’s Day shopping can be rough business. Especially if your pop has everything he already needs.  Now, I know my Dad is much like myself. We don’t need materialistic things to complete our holiday.  No, we just need a quality hug and “I love you”.  BUT, I realize Father’s Day is just a little over a week away and some kids (not mine I’m sure) feel compelled to go beyond the hug.  Yes, some of us feel obligated to dig deep into our hard earned cash to surprise our fathers with that special gift that says YOU are the world’s number one dad.   So today’s blog is for you folks who find it necessary to go against our wishes and still shower us with gifts of appreciation.  So here’s my list. I mean “the” list of suggestions.   A new iphone 3G (so I can take video of course), Epson R2880 (my r2400 is tired and old like me),  Phase One 645 (Hasselblad would be asking WAY too much) or two hours with Scott Kelby (because this Photoshop thing gets confusing). If those suggestions are too much for your budget, here are a few others that might work as well.  A Benro monopod, Gorilla pod, Streetwalker camera bag, Black Rapids double strap (for the commando photographer) and if all else fails a year subscription to any of my favorite photography magazines.   Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do  the right thing.  We dads will love you no matter what. But the truth is, sometimes a tie stinks!  I didn’t  just say  that. So babe, if your reading this, and you must buy a tie, you know dad looks great in black and green…;)