Thoughts

Official Birthday Photo

Today’s my birthday, and I’m spending the day with friends cramming in the fun, including shooting guns in the canyon and eating out.

As I was making my party invite on Facebook, I realized I needed an awesome photo. I had the thought of making a satirical cover image typical of 80’s style action novels and movie posters. I thought about it in my mind and quickly whipped up this image and had it posted on the invite.

And because I want more people to see it than those few friends on the invite, I’m posting it to my blog today. I hope you get as much of a kick out of it as I had making it.

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And because the resolution of the web is low, here’s a vertical crop so you can see more detail.Cox_BCox41Bday-135b-composite-2-900b

Well, I hope you all are having a great day today too. And until next time, America.

Kendra Lowe Featured on Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s Blog

My friend Kendra Lowe is featured today on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir blog. The opening photo is the image I created for her, to be used in exactly this way, for musical bios and write-ups.

It’s quite an honor for her to be featured by the choir, as it is world-famous. Founded in 1947, it is a 360-member, all-volunteer choir, part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Called “America’s Choir” by President Ronald Reagan, the choir is completely self-funded, recording albums for support.

Kendra has performed with the Choir before, and on June 24, 2014 Kendra will accompany David Archuleta for a worldwide live Facebook chat.

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Kendra is a good friend of mine and a great musician. She’s a full time composer, arranger, and performer, and she plays multiple instruments like the piano, banjo, and violin exceptionally well. She has perfect pitch, she performed with the Utah Symphony at age 6, was the Assistant Executive Director of Utah’s Stadium of Fire show, toured with David Archuleta (of American Idol fame), and is a constant studio musician.

We really had a great time during this photo shoot and the image above is one of my favorites from the shoot. In fact, I actually posted about this shoot on my blog at the time and you can see it here, but here are some of my other favorites.

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If you need something more than the normal photograph, and instead desire some iconic images that also tell a story of who you are, then give me a call. I’d love to create something wonderful for you. 801-728-3317.

And until next time, America.

 

 

 

How I Created My New Christmas Card, A Self Group Portrait

My Christmas Card is out and in the mail. If you haven’t seen my past Christmas cards, for the last few years they’ve all been group portraits of me, but in the studio. My idea is that it’s a funny company group photo from my own Christmas party. My clients know that because of the custom work that I do, I personally see each job through from beginning to end, which also means that I wear a few different hats. The card is a growing joke, and each time I’ve done it a little better. But this time I really wanted to out-do myself!

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Clients, especially children that come in are always asking me how I shoot my group photos of myself, so I decided to share with you my process.

First I mapped out the entire shot, and decided on which images I’d need, where the various people would be positioned throughout the image. I needed depth, but didn’t want anyone in front of anyone else. I even have three people tied together with garland, all handing each other the same strand. It all has to look real and work. Each person had to be working together naturally, and that meant thinking about how the angles and lighting should be.

Once it was mapped out, I began photographing the pieces. I started with my studio/home. I needed to use open area of the front and didn’t want it covered with the cedar fence and line of trees in front. So I used a wide angle up close to get the entire home in the shot without the fence and trees you’d see from the street. This gives me the best angle on the place but causes bending on the vertical lines, that I will fix later.

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Next I photographed my folks’s tree in their home. My mom always puts together the best tree.Cox_Christmas2013-114

Then back at the studio I photographed each remaining part on my fashion gray background so that they could be extracted off the background easier. Extractions are not easy nor fast, but a solid gray background makes it easier at least.

To fit a large ladder in the studio on gray, I chose my smallest ladder, and doubled the size of the legs digitally, adjusting too for the perspective of the steps. I then photographed each version of myself, imagining where each would be positioned in the final image, but used the same step on the ladder to stand so that I’d fit in the studio shot.Cox_Christmas2013-groupEach photograph was fired with a remote that I am holding with one of my hands. For instance, in the shovel image, I’m holding the remote up against the shovel’s handle. Once I’m in position, I fire the shot. After each shot, I change clothes, set up the next image, and shoot again.

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After all the camera work, the digital work begins. I started with the individual versions of me, each extracted off the gray background and placed in the shot where they were mapped out. The ladder was also extended taller, being key to making sure all the other people were in the right spots and in proper perspective.

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Slowly the group began to grow, and the star was added in the hand on top.Cox-Christmas-2013-Card-Design-1c

Then I extracted the tree off the living room background and prepped it.

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The tree was brought in and more details were brought together.Cox-Christmas-2013-Card-Design-1d

 

Then to the background. I corrected the vertical lines, and the image was cropped to fit the final piece.Cox-Christmas-2013-Card-Design-1e

I then created snow from scratch and added it throughout, fading out the home as well for a misty look and to keep the background from being too busy and competing visually with the foreground.Cox-Christmas-2013-Card-Design-1f

The background was added to the crowd, and more details were added like sparkles on the Christmas tree’s lights.Cox-Christmas-2013-Card-Design-1g

Once the background was in, people needed to be moved slightly on the right side to work better with the background. Once they were in place, shadows were drawn in so that each person and object cast a shadow that matched the lighting from the sun behind. Each point of contact with the snow was then painted up close so as to “drop” everyone into the snow so they didn’t look like they were on top. That, along with the shadows, help give the final piece a more 3D look and not a flat, fake look. There’s much more I could do to make it look real, but a little of that fake look will help with the comedy effect.

The star was also given a nice sparkle. More snow was added around the edges to create a natural white vignette to keep the focus inside the image, and the tree’s trunk was finished as well.

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Finally, I used one of my custom edges to finish the piece, added the text, and the legend of who everyone is at the bottom. And the finishing touch as always, is adding my signature, in this case in the bottom left.

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So what’s your guess on how long it took to complete this project? All in all, it took about 23 hours including both the camera and digital designing time, and that doesn’t count working with the printer and mailing company to get it all out to each of you. Hopefully when it comes, it brings a smile to your face. If your address has changed, let me know so that I can update it for the next mailing I send out.

I hope all of you have a joyous season with family and loved ones. Merry Christmas!!

And until next time, America.

James Conee Album Cover, Stand Like A Mountain

My friend James Conlee has recorded a new single, Stand Like A Mountain, and it was just released on iTunes. Here is the photography and cover that I produced for him for this song.

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To help launch the song, James created this YouTube video which has already had over 31,000 hits! He mixes time-lapse photography of mountains with his song for a very cool mix, and notice how the northern lights hit at minute 3:35 right at the crescendo. View it out below…

And to purchase the single, you can get it on iTunes here:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/stand-like-a-mountain-single/id737895528

Make sure you check out his other single, Until also available on iTunes (or both are also on Amazon too).

Enjoy, and until next time America.

The Value of a Portrait, My Birthday Self Portrait

I just had a birthday and because it was a big monumental birthday, I thought it was a good time to create a new updated portrait.

As a photographer I believe strongly in portraits, particularly of the value they give us in years to come. Of everything we can spend money on, very few things have as much value in the future as well-made professional portraits.

I have made a living my entire life, creating and selling portraits to people, which is kind of an odd way to make a living considering that no one likes getting their picture taken, including me.

However I feel strongly that everyone should have a great portrait of themselves that they like, and it shouldn’t be one from 10 years ago either. But sometimes we as photographers put off getting our own portraits done for the same reasons our clients put it off: it feels vain, I’ll do it later, I’m getting older, I don’t have time, etc.

It wasn’t too long ago when our relatives would scrimp and save to get one or two great portraits in a lifetime. These would be heirlooms that would be passed down through generations. Now we live in an age of digital snapshot proliferation, where every device is a camera, and no image is very good – but at least we have a lot of them. Add to that the fact that everyone and their neighbor decided they too are a photographer because it’s seemingly the easiest job in the world, flooding us with tons of sub-par images shined up with plastic effects. And social media has led to the constant posting of iPhone selfless at the gym, in the mirror, duck-faced-driving selfless, and on and on. All of this devaluing the actual importance of a good, well-made professional portrait. What are we passing on to our children?

How many times do we wish we had a better portrait of someone that we loved but lost? Maybe it was a relative that passed away or maybe it was someone we cared about that is no longer in our lives.

But aside from the value of a portrait that comes later, what about the value right now to us? I think a good portrait, that is well taken and doesn’t have all the artificial retouching, is good for the soul. Why? Think of the all-to-common alternative. How do you feel about yourself when your so-called “professional” photograph is only deemed okay by the photographer after they have over-retouched everyone until they have plastic, rubber faces? What does that say about you? How do you feel when you look at it, knowing that in real life, you don’t look like that?

What’s wrong with being the age we are? What’s wrong with wrinkles that we earned through life experiences? What’s the obsession with youth, where every TV show and movie has 30 and 40 year old actors playing 20-something characters, and 20 and 30 year old actors playing teens?

Why not get a real photograph, that uses Master lighting techniques so that you look great and feel great about yourself right now, as you are, without the amateur, rubber-skin retouching? In 5, 10, and 20 years into the future, what images of yourself are you going to look back on and still love? What images are your children and grandchildren going to want copies of?

This is why, even though I too don’t like getting my picture taken, I set up my studio for a portrait. For my 40th birthday, I wanted a new portrait that said I was happy to be 40, that I own these lines and wrinkles. So I set up my studio for a black & white self portrait, fired with a remote, and used a specific and aggressive lighting style that would create the gritty look that I wanted.

I finished it with some toning and an edge, and here is the result.

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Until next time, America.

 

Tara’s Family & Graduate Portraits

My friend Tara recently received a graduate degree with honors from the University of Utah. With that big moment and also because her family was all in town, we did a mix session creating some family portraits and some graduation portraits of her as well.

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Her family was so nice and it was great getting to know them better.

After photographing the family, we focused on some individual portraits of Tara. I have photographed Tara on other occasions and I love it. She’s very photogenic but also has a great personality that really shows through and is fun to photograph. Here are some of my favorites images from the shoot.

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Cox_TDeWitt-F-198 Cox_TDeWitt-F-239I always feel it an honor to photograph families, and especially felt that way and loved having the opportunity to photograph Tara’s family at this time. I appreciate them asking me. I would also love to photograph your family as well. Give me a call if you’d like me to create something special for your family. 801-728-3317

Until next time, America.

 

Big Yellow Moon on the Rise

The other night the moon was supposed to be extra big and bright (news story) which won’t happen again for two more decades. I set out to a secluded place near my home and set up my camera on a tripod to wait for the moon rise. It was a fun and cold night. I had just got back from Texas and was used to the warm weather, and the cool spring night here in Utah made for a fun adventure.

I started out shooting the sunset, as there was about a 15 minute difference from when the sun would set and the moon would rise. I shot for HDR which means you shoot a couple exposures to capture the shadow and highlight details and then sandwich the images together in one image, but ended up just using single exposures as my final images as I feel they look much more natural and esthetically pleasing. Here’s a pano looking west to the sunset.

During twilight, I created some long 30 second exposures of the ground and scenery around me. I really love the next two images and the blue in them.

I especially love the direction of light and the high horizon in this one below.

I was using an iPhone app which pointed to where the moon would rise. I waited for it to peak above the clouds and began to shoot. I really like this image. Everything is so blue.

I pulled back for another image, showing more foreground. I could have digitally enhanced and lightened the grass and foreground, but I prefer it like it is, feeling dark and cool like night.

I zoomed in to capture the moon, but by now it was climbing fast.

The higher moon gave me a bit more light to work with, and I took one more with a lot of foreground and a high horizon, hyper-focal focusing to get as much in sharp detail as possible, especially for such a long exposure.

I really like how these turned out, but nevertheless it was just fun to be outside and enjoying the cool night, looking at the moon. I also created a few images on my iPhone just for fun. Here’s when I first arrived…

My camera and the moon while creating the last image above…

Some weeds against the night sky. I shot this while walking back to my vehicle…

And one more of weeds that I sent from my iPhone to my iPad using PhotoStream, then edited on my iPad to create a pseudo painting. I really like the colors in this a lot.

Well, that was my Big Moon Adventure. If you love photography like I do, and you understand the value of a great image that can stand the test of time, then give me a call. Now is a great time to set up your Spring appointment for your family portrait. Give me a call at 801-728-3317 to schedule a time. And feel free to browse my main website at BryCox.com.

Singer/Songwriter/Actress Katherine Nelson’s Outdoor Shoot

I’m so excited about these images and can’t wait for you all to see them! This is an outdoor commercial shoot that I did for Katherine Nelson. You may recognize Katherine as the actress that played Emma in the LDS Church film, “Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration.” That movie plays daily at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and she was also in the movie “Emma Smith: My Story.”

Katherine is also an accomplished singer/songwriter, winning all sorts of awards for both her solo work as well the work she’s done with various groups like the Nashville Tribute Band and Kenneth Cope.

For this project, she had a specific need and concept, so I chose one of my secret locations that matched what she wanted to create.

I set up all sorts of lighting equipment imaginable to take control of the scene. Lighting this scene was difficult, but it needed to be specific and controlled in order to create images that pop, while still being real and natural. The results are phenomenal! I was especially excited that a storm had gone through earlier, giving us great storm clouds to work with. I love a sky with drama!

Katherine is a fantastic model and a joy to be around. I find her easy to photograph, easy to direct, and she really had great expression. She even did her own styling and created her own clothing, accoutrements and flag for the shoot. It all worked together so well. I flipped out when I initially  saw her and the details of her outfit. It was all so perfect. I especially love her red skirt against the green grass.

We really had a fun time at this shoot. Looking back over it, two of our initial favorites were the image above and below. I love the sun shining through the clouds in the photograph above, and in the image below, the flag blowing against the awesome storm clouds with a little bit of blue peaking through, really makes this sing!

And this next portrait below is one of my all-time favorites from the entire shoot. I love the stance, the directional lighting on Katherine, and the color harmony with the dominant blue sky. The clouds have wispy pink highlights painted by the sun that has now set. This image is at twilight, and has such depth! I actually put this up on my website’s main splash page today, cropped square.

We were having so much fun that even after the sun set completely, I continued to shoot and create in the dark, using all artificial light. However I did it in such a way that it looks like real sunlight. The scene in these next images was actually dark to the eye at the time, but with the right techniques the scene glows and feels like sunset.

Then to end the shoot, I finished up with some close-ups, again with all artificial light because the sun had set at this point. The idea was to create a fake sunset but with the control of darkness, and these images are some of my favorites! (That’s one of my lights as a fake sun in the image below because it’s actually dark outside.)

You really need to see the entire shoot, but there’s not room enough on the blog, so I created a slideshow set to music. Start it up and enjoy.

It seems funny, but anytime I post a shoot like this, I get a lot of emails and phone calls asking where my images were taken. When I suggest that they hire me and I’ll photograph them there, some will admit that they just want to go to the same spot with a cheaper photographer – as if my locations are what yield great results. This is of course untrue.

Being in a great location with the right gear and a beautiful model certainly doesn’t hurt, but the real key to creating great photographs (whether it be outdoors, in sunlight, at twilight, sunset, or even after the sun has gone down) is specific control of lighting. And lighting people specifically and artistically is my unique skill.

I sometimes point to my list of awards and credentials, not to brag, but to show that when you hire ME, you’ll get something completely unique and personal, you’ll get phenomenal photography.

No matter who you are, I will make you look great, real, and natural, and generations from now people will still love your portraits and appreciate your purchase.

Now is a great time to set up your Spring appointment. I’m sure it’s time for a new family portrait, and high school seniors are getting ready to graduate. Give me a call at 801-728-3317 to schedule a time. And feel free to browse my main website at BryCox.com.

Motorcycle Road Trip To and From Boise

I was asked to judge at the Idaho State Professional Photographers Convention, and because I didn’t need any equipment at this event or really anything other than a dress suit, I decided to ride my motorcycle. It was just shy of 800 miles round trip and I took some images along the way.

Due to safety, I couldn’t look through the viewfinder, and had to shoot one handed off the cuff, framing in my mind. I had slung my professional point-and-shoot camera over one shoulder so that I could grab it when I needed. I set the exposure manually (which is one of the things I love about that camera) and would swing it up when needed, and swing it back down after the shot, never looking through the viewfinder. Coincidentally, I have not cropped any of these images. I love how they came out exactly. Each is perfectly cropped as it is, and I love that about them.

I have not sharpened or blurred any of these images in post production. They are as I shot them. What is sharp and what is blurry is natural and only accentuates the images for me. The vibration of the bike in the image below works great, and even zoomed in the ground is crystal clear, and perfectly sharp, in a motion blur kind-of way. I love the sharp lines that the road creates, juxtaposed against the vibration of the bike.

I decided to process out these next two as black and white and really like them. In the first, I love the swoop of the clouds filling the negative space created by the mirror and handlebars. And the mirror just barely touches the side of the image.

And this broken sign was just standing like this with awesome cirrus clouds behind it, waiting for me to drive by and capture it. It’s the kind of thing you only see in small towns or off the beaten path.

There is a small grove of trees on the west side of the freeway, and I had one shot at getting it — no turning back. As you drive by, you see each perfect row flash light at you from the end – bam, bam, bam, bam, and then it’s past. This image showing one of those rows with the blurry foreground is one of my favorites from the ride.

When you’re on a bike, you’re IN the scenery. You’re not observing it from within the confines of a car, or looking at it through some frame. You instead are really in it. You see the road beneath you, you smell the fields that you pass, you feel the warm and cold air pockets, and you look around at great scenes like this that surround you.

As I got closer to returning home, the awesome skies made up for the colder and colder weather. I was trying to beat a storm at my back and didn’t want to ride in the rain. I was getting cold enough. But storms bring great, dramatic skies, and great skies make for a great ride.

I love the lines of these clouds. This was to my far right side, almost over my shoulder.

Getting closer now, crossing the border back to Utah. You can see I’m much colder as the temperature was now about 50º, which is especially cold with the wind chill of riding through the air.

And one last one getting closer to my town.

During my ride, I listened to one of my favorite books on audio, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.” A book on neither Zen Buddhism nor on mechanics,   it’s a philosophical book on a man’s search for Quality, Purpose, and the search for Values. I tend to re-read it every few years or so, and this time opted for the audio version while riding. It was the perfect book for the ride to stir my thoughts during that long solitary time.

I wrote about the same book years ago after finishing it again, and I wrote this blog post (for those who follow me regularly, you may remember it). In any case, the ride was great and I’m especially excited about the images that came from it.

If you are need of great portraits for spring, something artistic and meaningful like some updated family portraits, let me know. It’s a great time to get in. 801-728-3317.

Getting caught up on blog posts…

I am so behind on my blog, but today I’m making up for it.  December kept me incredibly busy with Christmas orders and January I spoke at the national photographic convention which meant a ton of prep and time all around it.  Still, I have been flagging shoots all this time to blog about, and today I’m going through those shoots and posting them out.  So keep tuned in as there will be plenty to see.

Sorry to keep all of you waiting.  And by “all of you,” I mean all 50 Million of you that read this blog…or however many it really is. 🙂

Underwater Photography & Music Videos

I recently created a few short music videos with a new camera capable of going underwater.  I’ve had other underwater cameras in the past, but this one is my new favorite!  I can shoot in true and high-def HD and can shoot in true slow-motion too, giving a terrific and smooth slow motion, rather than a jittery slow-mo that is created from just slowing down clip shot at normal speed.

Check out this demo video I created while testing this camera last weekend on my friend’s boat.  I love the abstractness of the bubbles and water.  I shot for that quite a bit.

During this underwater shoot, I securely mounted the camera to my wrist, my chest, and even to a pole.  I tested it in sunlight, underwater, with movement, and everything else I could think of.  I’m excited because I didn’t have to edit any of the clips.  All of what you see is exactly what I created in camera — no adjustments.

About a week before I also tested it for time lapse ability and also wanted to test the mount I got for it to secure it to the outside of a vehicle.  I wanted to see how it would hold up to the wind at freeway speeds.  Here’s what I created while driving from my house to 7600 South in Salt Lake.

I am very impressed and have a bunch of new ideas for using this camera now.  I really hope to use it on high school seniors.  Years ago I created music videos from weddings and seniors, but the time involved to produce the pieces was so time consuming, that the packages became very expensive.  Now though, with this camera and with the newest editing software that I’ve also been testing, I hope to be able to create these kinds of things again for seniors and wedding couple, but in a more cost-effective way, and with even greater production value.

If you’re a high school senior and want a hip music video that you can post on your facebook page, then give me a call!  NO ONE creates images like me!  My shoots are super artistic, fun, and I know just how to make you look great!  You will LOVE your images!

Give me a call to schedule your appointment.  801-728-3317.  And feel free to browse my main website, BryCox.com and my blog at BryCox.com/blog.

 

iPhone Photos Flying into Salt Lake City

Flying into Salt Lake, the sky and the view was amazing!  Not being able to get out of my seat to grab my pro camera, I used my iPhone to get a few images out my window.  I love how the clouds helped direct the setting sun.  Light is everything, and I love what it’s doing here.  The colors and the texture of the mountains are just amazing.

Delta Airlines knows that if I don’t get my seat upgrade to first class, that I at least need a window seat on the right side.  It’s just automatic because  I love to look out at the city and the mountains as I fly home.  You can see the Draper temple in this image at the bottom.

This last image shows the Sandy area where I was picking out the homes of friends.  It’s always fun to look for familiar places as I fly in.

Well I just wanted to put these up.  I have a lot of really cool jobs to blog about this week, and will get them up as soon as I can.  But until then, browse some of my past blog entries (BryCox.com/blog) or even my my main website at BryCox.com.