Photographers really shouldn’t be charging so little… It’s destroying the market. If you have a skill you should be paid well for it. Wether or not you consider yourself “worth it” you must understand that the service you are providing IS worth it. Photography is not cheap, anyone cannot do it, and its worth more than $x/hr. Use google, find out what other photographers are charging. If you want to be cheap, be cheap, but don’t sell yourself (and the craft) short.

New Orleans Fire Department from Zander White on Vimeo.

Another strobist experiment that came out better than expected. Just took umbrella with flash on light stand outside, position Ciera in front of flash, and stopped down enough to underexpose ambient (street lights, et cetera…).

Yesterday I took the new light kit out for a spin around town. A friend and I went to an old train depot in Mid City to find a more industrial setting and plopped the gear down right on the old tracks. Setup in about 5, snapping with a good mix of ambient/strobe in 10… What I really enjoy about strobist lighting is the speed and freedom it allows. Each light weighs ~5lbs and can be easily moved with one hand while shooting with the other.

The results are o.k., but nothing spectacular. The shots are noticeably “lit”. Like a lot of strobist/HDR work, it has a very “unnatural” feel. Our eyes/brains are familiar with natural lighting and these techniques create situations not found in nature. This is not to say this looks “bad”, but I don’t care for it. My goal will be to get familiar enough with these strobes that I can use them sparingly to fill, accentuate, replicate natural/available light.

Cardinale Wedding from Zander White on Vimeo.

It isn’t everyday a best friend gets hitched. When that day comes it is a blessing. Lauren, Doug, and Luca make a great family. This is my “pick” from the ceremony, which lasted all of 8 minutes. After the wedding we all walked to Endymion and caught the parade. From there, a limo charter bus picked up all 45 of us and dropped us off at Musée Conti Wax Museum for the reception. Spectacular!

Congratulations Y’all,

keep it up

Everywhere in the country the work week started as usual, “With a case of the Mondays.” NOT IN NEW ORLEANS… With our voices all but gone and our Who Dat!? feelin pretty good, we started our week today.

Sunday, for the first time in franchise history,  the New Orleans Saints won Superbowl XLIV.

I must say WON because it isn’t like Indy really had a chance after the “gutsiest call in NFL history.” Oh yeah, I mean that onside kick to begin the second half denying Peyton Manning a chance to touch the football. Porter’s interception was the icing, the proof Manning really CAN’T win the big one. I have given Sean Payton A LOT of guff this season and in past seasons, but Sunday was a coming out party and Sean Payton proved who he is. Like Belichick, Payton has shown he will live and die on one call: a gut feeling… Kiss that trophy!

Monday began like a bad dream, with everyone running to ESPN to make sure it really happened. The Saints actually DID win Superbowl XLIV. Then we basked in our DVRs, skipped the sub-par commercials, and re-watched the glorious game.

Tuesday was the parade. Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, Katrina evacuation, nothing has ever had this city “on the same page” as it was that night. The Bless You Boys were back, Ray Nagin was host at Gallier Hall, and everyone got a chance to share in the victory.

Yesterday was a day of rest and today its back to basics. My vocal chords and my alarm clock are both against me today. It doesn’t matter.

Who Dat…Who Dat…Who Dat Say Dey Gonna Beat Dem Saints? Thought so…

Suck it, Bengals Fans, we OWN it now, the NFL gave it to us!

It doesn’t get much better than a rainy day. Most people consider a day like this drab at best. I can’t get enough of the rain. Rain is one of my favorite times to shoot. Some people wait for a sunny day, F that, the only thing better for photos than rain is SNOW…

In other news, I got my Canon 5D back from the Canon Authorized Service Center in New Jersey today. I had sent it in because the mirror fell off last week (not a great experience during a Mardi Gras shoot). All I can say is WOW! They replaced the mirror and added mirror reinforcements. But wait, thats not all. Canon also relaced the focus screen, mode dial, CF door, and cleaned the sensor and viewfinder. My camera is at least a year and a half out of warranty but it was all FREE… My 5D got a serious makeover, which might calm the 5D Mark II twitch I have had recently.

For the last year I have been repeatedly spray painting my buddie’s rear passenger side tire. Initially it took him a while to realize, but it looks kinda cool. You can still see the remnants of the red paint from the first time…