JP Lumansoc Photography

New Video Slideshow Products

2009-09-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I recently started playing around with creating slideshows and I thought you all would enjoy this. If are or are thinking about working with me, definitely check out this video and see if you're interested it adding it to any of your commercial, event or portrait packages.

Reclamation of Youth Day

2009-09-04T16:05:00.000-07:00

RYD for short, it is one week of man becoming boy, free from responsibility reliving his youth.

Allen & Anneliese's wedding!

2009-08-22T23:50:00.001-07:00

Here is a quick preview of Allen & Anneliese's wedding from today.

Yeah baby!

2009-08-20T01:59:00.000-07:00

I had the privilage of taking some photos of Jordan & Courtney's new baby Aaron. I have some preview pictures here.

Senior Pictures @ WWU

2009-08-04T00:23:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend's best friend needed some pictures because her family really wants some "professional" pictures. Here are a couple shots I came up with.

Mike & Dana's Wedding

2009-07-25T21:58:00.000-07:00

I just got home and downloaded all the photos. I sorted through some of them but this one stood out to me. Classic, timeless and I love having downtown Seattle in the background.

Oh Virginia

2009-07-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

Two awesome things happened this day... Free slurpies from 7-11 AND a wedding... with free cake! But seriously, Mr.Josh Moran & Ms. Katie Summers is now Mr. and Mrs.Moran!!!

Practicing for the real thing.

2009-07-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Josh & Katie's dress rehearsal. :)

Love and freedom. July 4th!

2009-07-07T15:19:00.000-07:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph Adam & Bianca's wedding! Here are a couple pictures from their wedding. Enjoy!

Outfielder

2009-06-27T21:31:00.000-07:00

I just upgraded the sound system in my car with a new Kenwood deck and a pair of Infinity Kappa speakers and they sound pretty good, I think I might upgrade the back pair soon and then possibly add a sub. :) Anyways, this is a photography blog, ahem. Because of the sound system upgrade I decided to take a little joy ride with Adam my gear guy and his brother John. As we drove around, we discovered this awesome field near Silver Lake which is about 30min out from Bellingham somewhere out where I don't get phone service from T-mobile. I took a couple frames and created these awesome shots.

Adam was heavily backlit so I pulled out my trusty 580 and hit that shadow through a tiny shoot through umbrella camera right and up a bit.

I kinda like this photo also. I'm not sure what to call it. Its worth at least 8-9 thousand words.

I have a life.

2009-06-25T23:51:00.001-07:00

Today I had dinner with Anna and then watched Transformers 2 for the 2nd time. It was awesome & everyone should watch it. I'll probably buy it on blu-ray for the flippin sweet graphics and mad battles.

You have friends, ya?

2009-06-23T16:18:00.000-07:00

I know you, and I'm sure you know at least one person that is going to be a senior in high school, thinking or about to get married sometime within the next year so check it out.

All of you know some high school senior wanting senior that wants portraits that aren't boring/bland/tasteless/mediocre/not epic/beautiful. I currently have special deals for the following schools; Sehome, Bellingham, Lynden, Shorewood, Shorecrest, King's and Woodway. So if you got a friend that is in high school or goes to those schools, tell them about me! If your friend decides to work with me, you get a free 30 minute on location portrait session with me so definitely be on the look out! If you send multiple people my way you get 1 $10 dollar gift card of your choice to starbucks or best buy for each person! I've got 15 star bucks cards and 10 best buy cards so be quick!
For those who have friends who need a awesome/skilled/fun wedding photographer, send them my way also. I got a great deal going on for one of my wedding packages. 2 photographers, 8 hours of shooting time, unlimited images, proof book, leather bound album 8x10" prints and a free hour and a half engagement session for $1800.00 If your referral works with me you receive a $50 dollar bonus referral check for referring me!
Thanks for checkin my site out and for being a fan. If you got questions about my photography or just want to hang out with me, hit me up. I love photography but I love hanging out with people even more!!!

Peace out, crew.

JPizzle of JP Lumansoc Photography
jplumansoc@gmail.com

My business.

2009-06-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

As you know, this blog is devoted to my business JP Lumansoc Photography and my general photography adventures. For those who don't know, I actually have two people that work with me Adam and Sarah. Adam is my gear and lighting guy, he used to work as a stage and lighting designer previously so his experience in lighting is helpful. The second person on my team is Sarah, she is another photographer who excels in landscape photography as well as family and children portraiture. She specializes in ambient lighting where as I tend to use flash, beyond that, we have similar styles when it comes to creativity in photography. As I said, she is my second photographer and I highly recommend that you add her to your wedding package with me. She does a wonderful job of capturing the whole story down from you getting ready, the kiss down to the very last second that you leave for your honeymoon. I also highly recommend that you check out her photography blog and follow her on twitter.

All photos below are by Sarah Burlingame. I was doing an engagement shoot last month and Sarah and Anna helped me out so I thought, since I don't have very many photos of me and Anna together I had Sarah take a couple for us and I loved them!!!

Grass field.

2009-06-22T11:28:00.000-07:00

I like them. So I went out to Lynden with some friends to take pictures in grass fields... they weren't very green but it was still fun nontheless.

Gangsters on grass.

Look at that! There's something hiding in the grass! (in an Australian accent)

Of course, no photoshoot is complete without a photo of Anna.

Smaller is better

2009-06-21T23:22:00.001-07:00

I say that because my SLR's are heavy and sometimes I don't like carrying them everywhere I go. That's why I used a Nikon D3x paired up with the 24-70mm f/2.8 and a 60mm macro. I thought'd I'd test my new camera out by doing some landscape/macro/street photography or whatever, my favorite kind where I go and explore the city and parks and country side in search for sweet patterns and textures and stuff...

For anyone that knows me, the words above was a load of bull lol. I use Canon and I take pictures of people and people only. I used a point and shoot for this and was dragged along by my room mate and a friend to go take "creative artsy" pictures. So this is what came of it. Hope you liked it! Kind of...

Senior pix? Odd humor?

2009-06-21T02:40:00.002-07:00

Nothing beats making a 17 year old girl wake up 8am in the summer to take pictures. I am a terrible person, aren't I? Oh, the things I do for photography. Anyways, I took pictures of Jerissa & Rachel. Those two are friends and nerds. Asian to boot too but thats ok because Jerissa is my little sister and I can see where she gets the nerd from. Anyways, enough talk, time for pictures!!!

As always, thanks to Anna for assisting with the flashes.

If you're a Senior at King's High School, contact me this summer, I have a special deal for all King's HS seniors.

4 hour shifts

2009-06-18T22:13:00.000-07:00

I love them, it gives me the afternoon and evening to do as I please and I was pleased to be doing a little photography at whatcom falls. Like I mentioned previously, one of the joys of having a girlfriend is always having a free model to practice new techniques on. Not that I really tried any new techniques, but I thought I'd challenge myself to shooting outdoors with some Canon 580 & 430 speedlights. Here is what I decided to create.

p.s. Love the dress? Because I do.

A little backlighting right here.

Summer of 2008 which was the last time I shot here, this is what I got. This was also the day I told Anna that I liked her. :-)

Pretty good I think, but the direct flash bugged me...

This is what I decided to do for this shoot. By the way, this is somewhere in Whatcom Falls Park.

Hope you enjoyed these photos! If you're a senior from Lynden, email me @ jplumansoc@gmail.com I have a summer special deal for all you guys right now!

I Twitter, do you?

2009-06-17T21:08:00.000-07:00

In attempts to keep up with social media and social networking and other fun stuff, I have started a twitter... But I started that like a couple months ago. Anyways, you should follow me at http://twitter.com/jplumansoc

you should also be my friend on facebook too!
http://www.facebook.com/jplumansoc

and while you're at it, we should hang out! I might even bring my camera and take pictures of you! Of course, if that's what you're into... ya know? Getting hot pix of yourself. :p

...I feel weird for not posting a picture. Is that weird? Ok, I'll post a picture, I thought this was a fun one that I took last summer when I got my first flash, wuddayathink?

I love.

2009-06-17T01:08:00.000-07:00

Before I started dating Anna, I would always take a picture of her, almost once a day. Usually not in a stalkerish way... usually. But according to her aunt, I was "photo stalker boy". Fair enough.

Since then, I haven't taken many pictures of Anna, but now that I have fun new toys and new ideas, she is always readily available to model for me! Yay for beautiful girlfriends!

Evening on the town with Jordan & Nicole

2009-06-14T01:30:00.001-07:00

Jordan & Nicole, what to say about those two. Well first off, Jordan tells the jokes, Nicole laughs lalalala long story short, those two are pretty cute with each other!

Lighting my lighting guy

2009-06-10T21:00:00.001-07:00

I decided to take some pictures of my lighting guy. hahaha. I lit him up... that sucka. LOL!

Yay for light modifiers

2009-06-10T00:46:00.000-07:00

I got a new umbrella and some more flashes so I decided to test it on my oh so lovely test subject/girlfriend, Anna.

OMG! A bottle!

2009-06-01T20:33:00.000-07:00

I am a people person, ask me to shoot landscapes or inanimate objects and I'll fall asleep before you finish your sentence because its that interesting. That's why I took a picture of a bottle.

I almost fell asleep on the floor it was so interesting...

Some of my stuff

2009-06-01T17:51:00.001-07:00

I decided to take a picture of my camera gear, check it out.

Fashionable.

2009-05-20T23:07:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on adding some nice dress photos to my portfolio and I also needed some pictures for a couple national competitions i'm doing so hopefully I can win something and get some national recognition by professional photographers of America!

I decided to go Vogue style with the high key shot. I like it.

One name, one letter. "L"

2009-05-19T02:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some pix that I took for a friend of mine who is graduating, he goes by the nickname "L" because he is just that cool. We went down to fairhaven and took some pix there.

Engagement Photos with Adam & Bianca

2009-05-16T23:40:00.000-07:00

So Adam and Bianca has been together for exactly two years and they're getting married this summer. These two were a fun couple to be with, they were a very cute, fun and playful couple and I was happy to spend time with them. Here are a couple photos from the engagement shoot.

As a side nerd note, I had two reflectors with me today, I got a chance to use both and that was alot of fun too.

A day in Seattle with my girl.

2009-05-12T19:58:00.001-07:00

For those who don't know, I'm dating a lovely girl named Anna. It's been 7 months going on 8 now and I think I like her a little bit.... ok, I love her. What's to hide?

We spent the day down in Seattle last weekend we walked up and down the piers and had lunch @Anthony's. Here are a couple pictures that I took of her.

WTR

2009-05-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago I got to go an a fun little trip with the CCF Worship Team, just a little retreat out in whidbey island. They're a pretty cool group to hang out with, all really talented music people. Here are a couple pictures from the trip, check it out. P.S. thats me above getting piled on.

Sunday Adventures

2009-05-07T15:54:00.001-07:00

Sunday was a sunny day, for the most part so I thought to myself... "We usually just have lunch after church and then watch movies all day. Lets do something outside." So I suggested to everyone at lunch that we go to Larabee to watched the sunset.

Fast forward a couple hours later.

Everyone is at the park hanging out climbing rocks along the beach while I take awesome pictures as always. I decided to bring my cyber syncs and a flash and a reflector, it was pretty cool.

Field testing the 50D in a tulip field

2009-05-07T15:40:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to the tulip fields to field test my new 50D and suffice to say the 50D was somewhat of a disappointment. There were definately some nice upgrades from the 30D such as newer focusing system, faster shooting speed and the rediculous beautiful 3" LCD screen which looks as good as the Nikon D3's if not better. What killed me is that with the extra 7 megapixels that I got out of the camera, I lost a good amount of sharpness for some reason. At 100% view it just had no sharpness unlike my 30D. What did find out though is that when I compress it down to 30D resolutions, its just as sharp. But I would expect that the camera should just be sharp already. And no, I was using the 28mm f/1.8 and 85mm f/1.8 both rediculous sharp lenses, none of the kit lens stuff.

Besides the big disappointment with the camera, the trip was really really fun. It was Anna's first time going and she loved it. (Anna is my girlfriend) We went to both locations, I forgot what their names were but it was really fun and very beautiful. We also had dinner with her parents and grandparents and that was nice too except the power was out at the restaurant for a little while. Ohh well, good food good company and pretty flowers.

65 Questions.

2009-05-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

I just did a couple interesting shoots the past 2 weeks so I'll put up posts in the next couple days so keep an eye out on my blog.

Sixty-five Questions...

First thing you wash in the shower?

-Shampoo the hair, soup the bod then wash it all off.

What color is your favorite hoodie?

-White.

Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
-Is the sky blue? Is the pope Catholic?

Do you plan outfits?

-Only when I’m dressing formally.

How are you feeling RIGHT now?

-Pumped. I am going down to Seattle to check out Passion (PassionSF, youtube/myspace him)

Whats the closest thing to you that's red?

-The Red ring around my Canon lenses. Heh.

Tell me about the last dream you remember having.

-I had a dream about hunting wild turkeys on the east coast with some people and I had some hard core face paint on buts because I was watching the hunting channel at work a while back ago.

What are you craving right now?

-Something sweet. Food sweet, not girlfriend sweet or sweet moves on snowboards.

Do you floss?

-Once or twice a week, I’ve got some Oral-B floss sitting next to my keyboard.

What comes to mind when I say cabbage?

-Lettuce. We just had a BBQ at work and this one guy kept on calling the lettuce cabbage.

Are you emotional?

-I’m not a rock but I’m not a girl.

Have you ever counted to 1,000?

-I’m too A.D.D. I couldn’t get past 52 if I tried.

Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it?

-Both. It depends on how soft it is.

Do you like your hair?

-I don’t think I care enough hahaha.

Do you like yourself?

-I’m awesome.

Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush?

-Only if he paid.

What are you listening to right now?

“Lemonade” by Passion

Are your parents strict?

They’re asian, yes.

Would you go sky diving?

-Pffh, yeah.

Do you like cottage cheese?

-Not a fan really.

Have you ever met a celebrity?

-Kanye West, Blue Scholars, Death Cab for Cutie, The Komo4 and King 5 news teams, Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Tiger Woods, and… …your mom! LOLOLOLOL.

Do you rent movies often?

-Like once a month.

Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in?

-Well there is something sparkly I’m planning to give to my girlfriend. (No I’m not proposing.)

How many countries have you visited?

-Oregon, California, Virginia, Seattle, Florida… j/k. Japan, China, Philippines, Canada, Mexico.

Have you made a prank phone call?

-I did one yesterday on the new Best Buy Sales Operator.

Ever been on a train?

-I’m an Amtrak Rewards member.

Brown or white eggs?

-As long as its sunny side up with a little salt and chives.

Do you have a cell-phone?

-The T-Mobile HTC G1 aka “google phone”. It has Android which is the best mobile OS out there right now… in case you didn’t know, your iPhone is weak and over priced compared to my phone. Except that your phone is skinnier… but I’m about functionality not looks. Ohh and mine has a real keypad, none of that touch screen keypads.

Do you use chap stick?

-Burts Bees. You should try it before you kiss someone, srsly.

Do you own a gun?

-No. But I’ll have a .45 or two and a 22cal someday.

Can you use chop sticks?

-I’m asian.

Who are you going to be with tonight?

My fried chicken eating black brother James Junior.

Are you too forgiving?

-Depends on who it is.

Ever been in love?

-I’m in love right now.

What is your best friend doing tomorrow?

-Hanging out with me.

Ever have cream puffs?

-Ever get fat? Pfft, yeah.

Last time you cried?

-A couple nights ago when I was cutting up onions.

What was the last question you asked?

-“Yo, you wanna play demigod?”

Favorite time of the year?

-As long as I can wear shorts.

Do you have any tattoos?

-No.

Are you sarcastic?

Hell no… I’m the most sarcastic person ever.

Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect?

-Weird movie.

Ever walked into a wall?

-I’ve walked into corners.

Favorite color?

-Blue.?!?

Have you ever slapped someone?

-Not to be mean, only for a movie.

Is your hair curly?

-No.

What was the last CD you bought?

-Music soulchild – whatever that last one was titled.

Do looks matter?

-Yes and no. With friends and strangers no. My girlfriend yes. No I’m not shallow. Ask yourself, would you marry someone unattractive? Would you have sex with someone you didn’t think looked good?

Could you ever forgive a cheater?

-I’d try to say the least.

Is your phone bill sky high?

-$65? I have 1000 anytime minutes, free nights/weekends, unlimited data on my google phone and unlimited texts.

Do you like your life right now?

-For the most part yeah, I work a job that I like, when I come home I do more stuff that I like doing. I love Jesus and my relationship with him is growing and I am dating a girl that I love very much. I just want to get my own place though.

Do you sleep with the TV on?

-No, waste of power.

Can you handle the truth?
-Yes.

Do you have good vision?

60/20 or 20/60, whatever it is my eyes are bad.

Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people?

-Yep.

How often do you talk on the phone?

I average 21.6 minutes a day.

The last person you held hands with?

-Anna.

What are you wearing?

-Shorts and a t.

What is your favorite animal?

-People.

Where was your default picture taken at?

-Default? I take flippin epic pictures.

Can you hula hoop?
-Yeah, for about 5 seconds. Then it falls.

Do you have a job?

-I have 2. I run my own photography business specializing in Weddings and on location portraits. The job part is the lighting gear, setting it up and tearing down etc. The fun part it shooting. I work part time at Best Buy for the discount hehehe…

What was the most recent thing you bought?

-Sony earbuds.

Have you ever crawled through a window?

Several times cuz I get locked out or I gotta breakinto my girlfriends apartment haha.

My life is awesome.

2009-04-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

For those who didn't know, today is Earth day which means free bus rides for everyone in Bellingham, Washington. I have a bus pass that I got for free so it doesn't really matter but I thought I'd share that random fact.

I found myself with a day off today so I decided to up to campus to hang out with friends and to walk my girlfriend home from class. While I was on the bus I ran into my friend Ausutin Jenckes (http://www.myspace.com/austinjenckes check his stuff out, he's legit in my book.) We were just talkin life and whatnot and he said that I have an awesome life. I get to work at best buy where I get paid to talk about electronics with people. When I'm not "working" I'm photographing people. Yet another job where I can be a nerd, mechanic, and socialite. Three things I excel at. And to top it all off, I have an absolutely wonderful and beautiful girlfriend Anna who is one of the better things that has happened to me next accepting and following Jesus.

Pretty much I am always doing something that I love to do, thats hard to beat.

Moar about me

2009-04-17T02:23:00.000-07:00

Chuck Norris doesn't do push ups, he pushes down the world.

...anyways. I just thought that was really funny so I thought I'd share it. You ever have a conversation with someone about a random topic such as the supremacy of peanut butter chocolate milkshakes over fresh warm brownies with a scoop of vanilla ice cream only to realize that when you say something completely off topic because you were actually paying attention to the car that just drove by and say something stupid like... "I can totally see myself in that..." And the person you're having a conversation with you says, "you want to be in a peanut butter chocolate milkshake?" Then you make up some witty response like, "pssh, yeah. There is no greater way to barely survive than eating your way out of heaven... Actually, I was talking about that sexy... BMW that just went by." And then your girlfriend says, "were you checking out another girl?" And you say, "No! BMW isn't code for sexy german girl. I just saw a 2009 BMW M3 coupe roll by and I can definately see myself in that."

Well that never happens to me, its just a random thought as I was looking at commerical photography online.

But seriously, here is a fun fact about JP. I would prefer to wake up in the morning to the smell of coffee and I would much prefer to have a cup of green tea before I go to bed. There is something really comforting about sipping tea before I go to bed and drinking coffee after I wake up. Of course, I'm too lazy to actually buy coffee, grind it and then wake up early enough to turn it on.

I have a lab retreiver. It's 15 years old. His name is Sergent Pepper. I named him from a character in Star Fox 64 from the Nintendo 64 gaming system.

I probably spend 3 hours infront of my computer everyday. Just an average number. More if I am editing photos. What do I do with those 3 hours?
- 30 minutes of Team Fortress 2 to keep me sane.
- 30 minutes of looking at new photos to expand my horizons
- 30 minutes of reading professional photographers blogs
- 30 minutes of looking at other forms of art work in hopes of "inspiring" myself to be a better artist
- 1 hour of "social networking" and researching the latest and greatest in technology
I also give myself photography homework everyday. I gotta shoot 3 mundane things and make them look interesting... which usually fails but sometimes I can get cool stuff with done with reflectors and flashes.

Here is another fun fact about me. I have commitment issues, not with Anna though. Just my toys. Fact. I have never had the exact same camera setup for more than 3 months. New flash, new lens, new body, something new. Maybe I'm just a tech whore and the same thing applies at work. I can never work the exact same department for more than a couple days. I'm clasified as a Customer Assistant which means that I specialize all over the store, not just computers or cameras or TVs. I love it, its something different everytime. I guess thats why I love photography so much because each shoot that I do whether it be portraits, weddings or commercial work, its always something new.

Each client I work with is unique. Of course, every photographer and business person says that. Each person is special, but I really do mean that. If you took photography away, I would still love to just hang out with you anyways as I LOVE meeting new people. Put me in a group of people and I'll start a party, seriously.

If you want epic photos of yourself, call me up, and even if you don't want photos I still want to hang out and get some Thai food or hit up some coffee at woods.... or do something else, but seriously who doens't like Thai food or Coffee?

New project, wanna get shot?

2009-04-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

Hey friends! I am working on a new photography project and I'm going to need your help! I plan to do all the shooting between now and before the end of May 18th, 2009 (changed the date from April). I'm going to need the following type of people for this project!

- one girl in a formal dress, has to be solid white or dark colored, no strong bright colors.

- one guy in a nice black suit

- one couple that is willing to dress up formal with matching colors (taken)

- a couple people willing to deck out their hiking gear and take a small trip up to the mountains.

- someone with a guitar (taken)

anyways, if you're interested, please email me at jplumansoc@gmail.com

The best mistakes

2009-04-08T02:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes camera gear just doesn't work 100% of the time and usually it ticks me off because clients don't pay me to shoot out of focus photos, they usually want nice and sharp photos. I was looking through a wedding I did back on Valentines day a couple months ago and I stumbled upon this photo below. I was aiming for the flower that the bride was trying to put on but wasn't paying attention to where my focus point was. Thanks 40D for not focusing correctly.

Please feel free to check out my website www.jplumansoc.com for the rest of my photos. Also, don't forget to friend me on facebook, John-Paul Lumansoc.

And yes, I am still very excited for my new Dell ultrasharp 24" monitor to come in.

You're a photographer and you don't use Apple?

2009-04-07T02:46:00.001-07:00

Yes, I am a PC guy. But, I also like apple as well. As a photographer, a computer is just a tool to me, whether its a pc, apple or linux box. I just need it to work reliably and speedily and PC just happens to do that for me. To be honest, I would love to use an Apple machine, they're slick looking and work well. And don't get me wrong, I'm thinking about picking up a Macbook pro 17" because the screen is beautiful and the battery life is amazing considering its huge and fast. Of course, I'm going to bootcamp it and put vista on it, haha.

So the question is what is stopping me from going all out in Apple?

Money and organization.

I'll touch on organization. I've use windows and apple and I don't prefer any one system other than the fact that windows can play video games. I have developed a filing system for my pictures in windows that makes sense to me, I suppose I could learn another way to do it but I don't see why I should bother spending dozens of hours trying to learn another way to manage my files, and I don't see a reason why I should spend more money on an Apple to do so.

Everyone says Apple is a good investment but I would disagree for the following reasons.

I have the adobe suite with a PC licence which costs 1300 dollars... I don't want to pay another 1300 for a apple licence. And no, downloading is not an option for me, I have moral issues against illegal downloading plus I run a photography business that is licenced by Washington State and I don't want to get audited and get in trouble because of illegal software.

I built a PC that has a 3.4 GHz Intel quad core processor, 8 GB ram, 4 terrabytes of hard drives, and a fast ATI 4870 GDDR5 512MB video card. Ohh and a 24" monitor that looks just as good as apple cinema monitors. Ohh, and all for the price of about $2000. Apple would charge me about 5000 including the monitor.

So if I wanted a comparable setup I would need to drop 6300 dollars... vs the 2000 I dropped on my new computer that I built. I could use that 4300 for... a bunch of new lenses, some new lighting gear, other stuff that would actually help my photography get better, ya know?

There you have it, financially, it would be stupid for me to use Apple. I'm not stupid. But for anyone else starting from scratch, go with Apple, they make fantastic products, although they charge more, you get quality hardware (usually) and fantastic software that works and integrates well. Of course it isn't fair, I am a very tech savvy guy so building a computer is simple to me but I'll build you a computer! Buy the parts and I'll build it for a small fee. Seriously.

Shopping Therapy, kinda.

2009-04-07T02:24:00.000-07:00

There are very few things that excite me more than a new toy, especially this one that I just purchased 15 minutes ago but I'll touch up on that in a second.

Apparently there are 5 love languages; words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, quality time, and touch. For me my main love language is gifts with quality coming up second. The rest aren't quite as important to me. To be honest, I am very much a materialistic guy especially when it comes to technology. The best gift I ever got was from one of my best friends Tony who gave me a $5 dollar mouse (originally 60 but he got a instant discount with a mail in rebate [the kid is a smart shopper i tell ya]) Sure, I've gotten expensive gifts before, a nice watch from my parents, baked goods, a 2000 dollar upright bass, and a 800 dollar camera. Besides my first bible and some setimental gifts from girls, this 5 dollar mouse is probably the best gift I ever got because I use it sooo much. I use it everyday, everytime I use my computer and its so useful! It has a left and right click, a scroll that clicks also, 2 programmable buttons plus a sensitivity controller that can easily switch between 4 different settings in case I need speed or accuracy while photo editing or sniping chumps in Team Fortress 2.

Most of my friends know that I have some of the latest and greatest in technology. The HTC G1 google phone, a 3.4 GHz Intel quad core computer with 8 GB of ram and 4 terrabytes of hard drives that will give most computers and some servers a run for their money, some high end Canon camera gear, etc. I like to keep up with the latest and greatest but I don't max out my credit card but I don't buy the dollar store parts either.

So I guess 25 minutes ago now I purchased a new Dell 24" Ultrasharp 2408WFP monitor for a bit under 600 dollars. Why? Well I am a photographer, if you have been reading this blog you already know this. This dell has one of the highest color gamuts availible for a very very attractive price and as a photographer I want to edit photos on a monitor that is actually color accurate. Your average monitor only covers 70% of the colors in Adobe Gamma but this dell supposedly hits 103% of it plus its 1920x1200 which is has more space than my 22" 1680x1050 (which I'm giving to my girlfriend) and has a ton of connectivity options so I can watch blueray in 1080p connect my xbox in 1080p, connect my wii and of course my freaking fast computer. With this new monitor I'll have confidence in the color rendition of all my photos now. Just buying something new makes me really really excited.

I'll give you a hint, if you give me a gift make sure its actually useful to me or very setimental in some way or just rediculously funny silly. I like I said, I've received expensive presents as well as cheap one but the best one I've ever got was a 5 dollar mouse.

Some of you are asking me why I said Dell and why I don't use Apple... check in later for that post.

Sunny Days, they don't happen... often, rarely.

2009-04-07T00:04:00.000-07:00

Sunny days never happen in Bellingham, and when I say never happen, they actually happen. I've just been living under a metaphorical rock that I like to call grey and gloomy clouds for the past 6 months or so. I decided to spend the weekend out in the sun to enjoy it, of course, camera in hand. I got together with a couple of other photographer friends and took some pictures around Bellingham. In our little photographic adventure, I rediscovered the little gravel path between downtown Bellingham and boulevard, the over hanging trees and long path were absolutely sweet. The problem with my adventure was that I only packed one 580 EX flash with no light modifiers... except for my sweet white sweatshirt that I was wearing which made for a sweet reflector! Forget softboxes, umbrellas, brolly boxes and foldable reflectors. You can't beat my sweatshirt that I got as a gift from my sister. Ohh the portability of sweatshirts, it keeps me warm and it doubles as a reflector to give me that oh so soft light. I'm not sure if adding downy softener helps or not, but its a step in the right direction.

Ok, so I wish that I had real soft boxes, two of them to be exact a key plus a fill but ohh well, gotta deal with the cards you got right?

Brian and Ashley's Wedding

2009-03-31T21:50:00.000-07:00

Some pictures I took of Brian and Ashley's wedding... I only went as a guest but that didn't stop me from takin awesome pictures.

Mission Trip - SSI Stanislaus

2009-03-31T12:04:00.001-07:00

So I spent the last week in Turlock, CA doing contact evangelism with 19 other students from Western Washington University. We walked around 3 campuses, Merced Junior College, Modesto Junior College and California State - Stanislaus. We were working with Chi Alpha Christian Ministries who housed us and helped us out on the campuses, we also blessed them by working on their building, doing some gardening, cleaning, setting up the sound/lighting system and touching up their prayer room. Over all it was a wonderful experience, feel free to ask me more if you want to hear more. Of course this is my photography blog so I'll touch on what went down. I took my Canon 30D, EF 28mm f/1.8 USM, EF 85mm f/1.8 USM, a couple cybersync transmitters/recievers and a Canon 580EX speedlite strobe unit. I totally forgot that my parents have my XSi EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM which would have been much more portable, convenient and flexible for what I was doing especially since I was outside in sunny California and I didn’t really need f/1.8 haha. Anyways, here are some pictures from my trip, check it out.

Ok, so this picture below is one of the guys from the trip, his name is Jack. And below that is Lauren. We were just sitting in the van going back home and when they found out that I was a professional photographer, they asked if we could do a little silly photoshoot for fun... seeing as I was only one seat infront of them with just a 580ex and no light modifiers it would have been tough trying to get a good lighting situation going on... until I noticed that Carly had a satin pillow which was silky reflective cream colored ish aka a good bounce to get some diffused light. So what did I do? I had the person sitting next to them hold the pillow and another person hold the flash pointing at the pillow. I think my settings were around 1/320th, @ f/5.6 @ ISO 200 and the flash was at like 1/64-1/32 depending on what I wanted. I underexposed the ambient by 1 stop, enough to make him pop but not enough to make it look completely unatural.

This is Lauren. The flash is coming from my left.

This is Carly, I took her satin pillow.

Left to right Jonathan, Cameron, Tony, Lauren, Vanessa, Liz and Jamil.

In this picture I was just bouncing flash back over my left shoulder, nothing special.

So this picture was at the house we were staying at. A bunch of us guys were kinda bored so we decided to beat down some air matresses. That room was rediculous dark, my settings were at 1/400th @ f/5.6 @ ISO 3200 flash fired off camera.

This picture here is one I took in northern California while we stopped for gas and to use the bathroom. The State of Washington better watch out...

Canon Thoughts

2009-03-31T01:07:00.000-07:00

Canon just announced their new Rebel series T1i which is replacing the 14 month old Rebel XSi which is what I use as back up camera. I actually like the XSi, it keeps up with my 30D very well in terms of image quality and ISO performance but lacks in shooting speed and focusing speed. The XSi has a better screen which is 3" compared to the 2.5" screen on my 30D. I think this is where canon drops the ball. Nikon's LCD's look waaay better than Canon LCD's. Even the newest 50D and 5D Mark II. Nikon's D90,300 and 700 have much better color quality on their LCD's. Back to the T1i, I'm excited to see what the T1i can do, the biggest changes that I've seen thus far is the new 15megapixel sensor, DiGiC 4 processor, extended ISO to 12,800, 3" high resolution screen, Auto lighting optimizer (protects highlights and shadows), face detection in live view and HD video. I am very excited for the 1080p/720p video function on the T1i. The 5D Mark II has 1080p video on it but from my experience, controlling exposure is a little finicky for my tastes I'm particularly looking forward to see how the high ISO looks although if its anything like the 50D it'll be nothing to be excited about as anything past ISO 3200 was bad. ISO 6400 is usable in small resolutions.

Just a quick bout with the canon 5D Mark II. Why is there 21 megapixels? By doing that, they pretty much ruined the 1Ds Mark III, I mean there is still some advantages that the 1D has such as the enviroment sealing and the 50 extra customization options, bigger viewfinder, and slightly faster focusing/shooting speed but past that, I think very few people will opt for the 1Ds Mark III now that the 5D Mark II is out. I think they should have made the 5D Mark II to have 14-16 megapixels and shoot a tad bit faster. I just think that 21 megapixels is a waste, most people who would use that many pixels are professional shooters who make billboards poster size king kong prints. Nikon's D700 blows the 5D Mark II out of the water when it comes to high ISO low noise. Also, they didn't even enhance the focusing system of the 5DmkII its the same as the old one. Perhaps Canon should stop playing the megapixel game and get a little more serious about their camera design and features. As a wedding photographer I care most about focusing speed, shooting speed and most importantly, high ISO performance as I can't use flash all the time. Although you landscape photographers will love the 21 megapixels. My thoughts? Good product but could have been better. Perhaps they will release the 5D Mark II N which will have 14 or 16 megapixels for less noise. I just might buy a Nikon D700 for my next upgrade... hmmmm.

It's been a while, eh?

2009-03-21T04:44:00.000-07:00

Its been almost half a year since I've written anything. I guess since then a ton has changed. I'm working at Best Buy now as a "customer assistant" my main goal is to contact all the customers on the sales floor, ask them basic questions and connect them with department specialists. That is what I'm supposed to be doing. I've found that my computer and especially camera knowledge greatly exceeds any of the employees at Best Buy, I am also competent enough in Home Theater, particularly TV's and speaker technology to keep up with the best. So really, I am the specialist for pretty much all the departments. On top of that, I am one of the top leaders on the floor for getting best buy credit card applications (people buy more from us if they have the card). To be honest, I used to feel bad about trying to get people to sign up for credit cards but not so much anymore. The managers love the fact that I'm good all over the store and that I can bring in those apps so there is my job is safe unless Bellingham Best Buy closes down as a whole.

As for photography which is why I have this blog... Since I started shooting last spring break, pretty much a year ago, I've done 13 weddings, 27 portrait sessions, 3 engagement sessions and 2 product shoots. Not bad for my first year of "professional" photography. I say professional loosely as I've only been doing this for a year. I've added some new gear since then too. I've picked up a 2nd Canon 580EX, my beautiful EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, its like the bestest lens canon has to offer in the standard zoom range, a EF 28mm f/1.8 USM and EF 85mm f/1.8 USM for low light situations. I've also picked up some cybersync wireless transmitters so I can shoot my flashes without having to use a cord. I've grown a butt load since then too. The more I work photography, the more I realize that photography is only a part of running a sucessful business. There is managing finances, contacting clients, getting pictures and albums out in a timely manner, marketing and contacting people, keeping in touch with vendors and one of the biggest things in wedding photography, being helpful in the wedding. I've found that brides and grooms appreciate it when I help them out with little things. Keeping them calm, telling them that this is their day and it is perfect, telling them they're beautiful/handsome, and just trying to have fun most of all. Anyone can take a picture but not everyone can be your best friend in 5 minutes.

I've finally realized why I love photography. It combines 3 things that define me.

(1) Socialite.
In wedding/portrait photography I soon realized just as i mentioned previously, that good social skills are a must. I love making people smile, laugh, think etc. Whatever it is, I love to hear what people have to say about anything and I love to get reactions out of people for my photos. Plus when I'm not shooting I'm usually hanging out with my absolutely beautiful girlfriend Anna or hanging out with other friends... or playing video games that are online multiplayer, NO! not world of warcrap. Team Fortress 2. A cartoony shoot em up game where the goal is to steal the other teams flag... and shoot them if they get in the way.

(2) Nerd.
I like to shoot at 1/200th @ f/2.5 @ ISO 100 on my Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM. Set my key at f/16 and rim lights @ f/11 and maybe the hair and fill light to f/8 maybe 5.6 depending on how I feel. Seriously. Then when I import it into Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3, RAW of course, I do my standard pre-sets. Slight contrast and vibrance boost, unsharp mask, the exposure adjustment etc... That's what kinda ticks me off about my 30D the colors always need boosting... The 8mp sensor on it combined with the DiGiC II processor and the 85mm. I wish I had the 5D Mk II with its 21mp sensor and DiGiC IV processor... tastey goodness there i tell you.

Ohh sorry, I was just nerding out, it kinda what I do and why I work at best buy part time hahaha... yeah.

(3)Artist.
Artist... hmmm, I don't know what to say about this one cuz you'd just think I'm weird. But I like art, I like patterns, lines, curves, stuff that stands out to me, stuff that catches my eye. I also love music which kinda goes hand in hand with photography, patterns, lines, curves, etc.

Yes! I still love photography! I hope to do this full time one day. So that is exciting to me! Its like 5 in the morning right now and I'm about to leave for my mission trip down to California so that will be fun and challenging. Pray for me as I do stuff down there. I'll try to post pictures on here and on twitter/facebook if I find time.

JP ^__^

Discount of the day! email me @ jplumansoc@gmail.com and get 5% off my wedding packages or 10% off my portriat packages if you tell me the 3 reasons why I love photography and the # of weddings I've done as of this post. (Good until May 1st, 2009)

Craigslist and Photography

2009-02-01T02:54:00.000-08:00

disclaimer: I'm slightly ADD and it shows in my writing, have fun reading this. I am going to ramble alot so try to keep up with my multi tracked mind.

If you're looking for advice head to the bottom, look for the dotted lines and squiggles and stuff.

Its almost 3pm, I'm sitting here using my roommates computer wondering why I paid 1500 dollars 3 weeks ago for a computer that doesn't work (they sent me dead parts). In front of me are two 22" monitors. The left monitor has Dreamweaver CS4, Photoshop CS4, and Lightroom 2 open. The right one has firefox 3 open with a plethora of tabs which fall in this order; Gmail, Google.com/ig, facebook (home and profile), youtube, pandora radio, craigslist, bhphotovideo.com, strobist.com, the-digital-picture.com, weddingplan.net and a load of other "professional" photographers websites.

I would consider myself a power user when it comes to computers, unfortunately John's computer although ridiculously fast, quad core overclock, 4 gb ram, etc. it isn't setup the way that compliments my workflow thus forcing me to slow down. Because of that, I get irritated and start surfing the internet. Tonight I decided to check craigslist, I did my standard search in Bellingham, Seattle and Portland. Just one word.

Canon.

I currently have a Canon 30D, Rebel XSi for bodies. I use Canon 28mm f/1.8, 85mm f/1.8, 17-55mm f/2.8 IS, 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6, 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 and a 70-300m f/4-5.6. I have 3 flash units, 2 580ex's and a 430ex. Late spring I'm planning upgrade two 2 5D's or 2 50D's or one of each as well as purchasing a 70-200mm f/2.8 IS USM. I'm looking at at least 3000 dollars in upgrading my gear to more "professional" equipment.

To be honest, I am a hardware geek and Canon is my manufacturer of choice just because of the price and performance that Canon gives comparative to other manufacturers. The hardware is partially what keeps me interested in photography. Name any major digital camera and I'll give you specs, performance, usability and general opinion of the camera or lens. Beside that, I like the fact that photography allows me to do something new everytime, I get to meet new people, I get to travel. In fact, I'm flying out to Virginia to shoot a wedding. I'm so freaking excited for that!

So on to my main point. Craigslist and photography. I decided to search for photographers on craigslist. After all, I am a certified sole proprietorship business in the state of washington, I gotta know who my competition is right? I started looking at websites, looking at other photographers galleries, seeing what I'm up against. I think I've looked at about 1000 pictures tonight from about 100+ photographers. I came out with a couple things.

I am a n00b (newbie) photographer. I started using digital SLR's for almost 11 months now I've owned my own since August. I've shot 14 weddings, 22 portrait sessions and two dozen or so random events for a total of 59,142 pictures since March 2008. As of today, I am booked for another 6 weddings and several portrait sessions this spring and summer. I feel that I've come a very long way since last year, but at the same time, I look at my work compared to some other photographers and feel like I should quit while I'm still ahead.

Here is my problem, I compare myself waay to much to other photographers. Just to clarify, I was looking at photographers from craigslist, I considered photographers who had real websites as well as having just flickr, deviantart, myspace/facebook, etc. Of those 1000ish pictures 7 photographers had work that I would clearly say were better than what I can currently do. 54 photographers had work that I felt was good but nothing I couldn't do myself. The rest are just people who have digital SLR cameras and call themselves professionals. I hate myself for judging, but why oh why are there some people who should not be charging for their photographic services. Seriously. Do the industry and consumers a favor and learn how use your camera. Learn how light effects a photograph. On the other side, those 7 photographers I looked at, you could charge 5000+ and I would pay you to do my wedding if I ever get married. I guess thats the joy of running my own business. Some of my competitors are rediculous good and some are pure crap yet they're still in business.

So what the crap am I smoking? Long story short. I hate using other people's computers for doing my work. I love and hate my photography. I want to quit but I want to learn more. I love owning my own business but hate running it. What I do know is that God is good and has blessed me.

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Parkour @ WWU

2008-08-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

I didn't know this but Parkour is pretty big around Bellingham and on Western's campus, its pretty cool. I followed around two of my friends James and Mark as they learned some tops and tricks from this guy Dane.

This happened last weekend and I finally got around to editing the pictures. I took around 600 pictures between me and another guy that was working under me. This guy is freaking ripped muscle awesome strong ninja kick your @$$. Yeah.

This is the first time I've ever seen Parkour in real life, I'll watch the occasional video on youtube but now that I've seen it in real life, I'm kind of inspired to start doing it... with all the free time that I have. I'll at least check out the Parkour scene and possibly take more pictures.

My First blog

2008-08-20T01:13:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh... what to say? Everything! I created this in hopes to see where my thoughts go and flow as I explore this world. My life is based around my faith in Jesus, music and photography. I'm probably going to be blogging the most about photography so we'll see where that goes.

I'm curious to see where photography takes me. I am definitely an amateur but read and read and read as much as I can about photography, lighting, posing, composition techniques etc. And then after reading I shoot and shoot and shoot thousands of pictures practicing. I hope that my fire for photography lasts for a while. I've got a wedding to shoot in a couple days which I'm excited about but also kind of nervous. I was the main photographer last year in wedding before I really knew about proper lighting, composition and all that fun stuff. I've stepped up my gear lately; I'm armed with a Canon EOS 30D, a EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and 580 EX speedlite flash unit. I also use my mom's Canon Rebel XSi with a 28-135mm IS USM as well. I also just picked up a umbrella for my flash which I'm loving so far... the diffused lighting looks beautiful.

I really don't have much else to say... It's reclamation of youth week right now. It's been alot of fun but rediculously tiring... I'll talk more about that later.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/lifestyle/story/166499.html

JP ^__^