REMINDER! NEW BLOG OVER AT BLOG.BRETTARTHURPHOTO.COM

Don't forget, my new blog is at BLOG.BRETTARTHURPHOTO.COM!!




Anddddd....don't forget to follow me on TWITTER!!

December 29th 2008 - Goodbye 2008

Over the past, what is close to 365 days, I have gained so much knowledge, experience, wisdom, faith, dedication, commitment and enjoyment doing what I do. I had the pleasure to meet so many amazing people from all over and I was fortunate enough to be able to build a bond with the mast majority of them. Through photography, I was able to travel and see places I haven't seen, do things I haven't done and learn things I didn't know and I can't wait to see what 2009 will bring. I did more work with musicians this year than I have in the past and it was truly an experience. From doing 10 minute shoots before a show to traveling 10 hours in a day and shooting 8-9 hours of the same day to staying up for days straight living off Red Bull and left overs editing photos, I learned a lot about myself, my goals and my style.

I was blessed to work with the following artists and bands this year:
-A Kidnap In Color
-All Night Dynamite
-Aloretta
-American Diary
-Aniston (x2)
-Aside Oceans
-August
-A Verse Unsung
-Belson
-The Cab
-Conditions (x2)
-The Downtown Fiction (x2)
-Emmure
-Farewell
-Five Cent Wing
-Haste The Day
-The Hint
-Hot Vegas
-The Jealousy Game
-Jonathan Timber
-Mercy Mercedes
-The Morning Of
-MyChildren MyBride
-Relic Revival
-Wrecking Season
-Yearling

Thanks to so many people for your help, support and courage! There are simply too many people to list, but you know who you are!

I look forward to this new year and I know it is going to be an amazing journey!

Brett
www.brettarthurphoto.com

December 12th 2008 - Work VS Life / Ready for '09!

Out of a 24 hour period yesterday, the weather had to decided to pour down rain during the small slot I had scheduled for a shoot. Of course I wake up and it is absolutely beautiful. Good thing for studio space and equipment, right?

My last couple of weeks have been extremely hectic and I have been really working on teaching myself how to handle all the ingredients of working hard. Trying to separate your work life with your personal life is hard when you take so much pride in what you do. Your work life becomes your personal life and your personal becomes your work. At some point, you have to know when to draw the line. Taking a certain amount of time each day to do certain things has helped a lot. For example, I may take one hour a day to do some online marketing and networking and take 30 minutes to watch the news. I have read many places and I am true believer that the average person needs to take a small break every 45 minutes because the human brain cannot fully concentrate on working, studying, reading etc. for much longer. I tend to work a little longer and take a slightly longer break in between. You have to find out for yourself what works best for you. Just remember that wearing yourself out will cost you a lot more in the end!

With 2009 making it's way around the corner and the economy still struggling, I have decided to do something I normally would not do. I am running specials for all my shoots in January. If you contact me before January and set the date, you will the special rate! Not too bad right? The only catch is that dates are filling up fast! Email or call me to get it set up.

December 1st 2008 - The SLR Mega Machines War Continues

Today Nikon officially announced the long rumored D3X. The 24.5 megapixel beast truly does not lay out much surprise for what, at least I thought, would offer. With a price tag tallying in at $7,999 you would think Nikon would throw us a little bit of a mind boggling surprise. The D3X, which happens to be nearly the same camera as the D3, with the exception of the megapixel difference (the D3 being 12.1 and the D3X being 24.5, for those who didn't know) seems to be priced extremely high for what you get considering you can pick up a Canon 5D Mark II (when you can actually get your hands on one) for $2,699 and get a the same features only on a smaller body and with HD video for much less! Come on Nikon. I am little disappointed. Nikon seemed to be very proud of the image quality of this camera and from all my readings thus far, it looks like the 5D Mark II is going to come out on top. Yeah, Canons ergonomics are poor in comparison, but I haven't had too much complaints on the 5D or any of the 1d bodies. We'll see what happens next...



In other news, I just got back from a relaxing Thanksgiving break. I finally got to visit with family and eat some really good food! I am currently working on new branding and brainstorming a lot of new ideas and innovations for 2009! It is definitely sneaking up on me. I hope to post a lot of new work in the next couple days and I have some really amazing shoots coming up that will have some awesome behind the scenes video footage and photos!

November 26th 2008 - Yearling Photo Contest + More

The guys in the Tragic Hero Records band, Yearling and myself are hosting a "Photo Caption Contest" right now! Last time I worked with them, we did some shots the night before in a girls bedroom with a pillow fight theme. It was a blast. The photos come out well for the conditions we were set up in. The room as real small and I had to actually take most of the photos from the hallway outside the room. It all worked out in the end.

Anyway, back to the topic of the contest. If you head over to their myspace you too can join in and win some sweet Yearling swag. All you have to do is think of your best caption that describes the photo and leave it in the comments of the picture! You can win Yearlings album, "The View From Here" released on Tragic Hero, a Yearling T-Shirt and signed poster of the photograph of them on the bench in the park I did!

Head over now because the contest ends DECEMBER 1st!



I also just got back from Washington, DC again. I am beginning to become rather familiar with that area. I really enjoy that part of the country. So much history and the sense of being in the capitol of such a country is really awesome. I will have a lot of photos from both shoots up there as soon as they are public! So keep an eye, or two, open for those!




On a totally non-photographic subject, the new Volkswagen Passat CC is amazing!! I am a German made car man! I love my Passat that I own now and I will definitely be getting one of these once my lottery earnings are deposited in my account. Riiigggghttt.

The list of features that intrigue me can go on forever! I will name a few real quick.

3 Power Outlets
4MOTION®
12-way Power Driver Seat
Adaptive Front Lighting System
Brake Pad Wear Indicator
Fuel Pump Shut Off
Fully Galvanized Sheet Metal (As usual)
Heated Washer Nozzles
Multi Function Steering wheel
Navigation System with rearview camera
Rain-sensing wipers
Tire Pressure Monitoring System
Vented Front 4-Wheel Disc Brakes
...Just to name a few!





www.BRETTARTHURPHOTO.com

November 17th 2008

After my last quick trip to Greensboro, NC for a shoot, I really started to think about how important an assistant is no matter what the magnitude of a shoot is. I ended shooting solo and it was a pain. It may have been for a few different reasons. One being the comfort of having a trusted partner to help set up and tear down. On another hand, and more importantly to me, is having someone to be able to hold your lights and boxes when bags and battery packs don't do the trick. Being cold and windy this time of year, it is hard to be able to keep your boxes from twirling around if you are trying to snap some shots. Putting things up and together and taking them down is easy, it surely is a luxury, but I did for a long time myself and made it.

While my photography grows, I hope to grow and incorporate more hands at each shoot. With some of these larger shoots, it is 100% necessary to have help. With actual shoot times of 30 minutes, 20 minutes and maybe even less, it is so important to make sure you have everything ready and set exactly to your standards before your client walks in front of the camera.

My shoot in Greensboro was a little last minute for me and I scrambled around trying to get things ready and make sure the locations were secure and etc etc. Unfortunately, my right hand man couldn't make it and I ended doing it all and it was a lot harder than I remember. Most likely because I have collected a lot more lighting, modifiers, stands, booms and the rest of the nine yards.

So, for all you youngin's, like myself, as you grow as a photographer, do your best in picking out a good team of reliable individuals that share a passion just like yours!





In the next month or so, I will be launching a NEW BLOG and a lot of new material for everyone to enjoy. I am going to work my hardest to get some more behind the scenes action for you, in video of course!

www.BRETTARTHURPHOTO.com