Jim Turley's Blog

New Year, New Opportunities

SweetPhoto — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:51:21 +0000

I’m enthusiastic about 2012, especially because I live/work in Denver. Although digging out of the Great Recession is going to be a slow process globally, it’s going to be much faster for us.

For me, a big help will be the recovery of the real estate market. Most importantly, I have honed my real estate/architectural skills during Q4, 2011. This is a normally slack time, which I used to attend workshops and drill down on my own to increase my skill level.

Looking forward to 2012.

Gear for the New Year

SweetPhoto — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:00:04 +0000

Just added a sweet Canon 17-40mm lens and battery grip to my gear bag..

I previously used a Sigma 12-24mm lens which was, in retrospect, great to get me started in the real estate/architecture field. As my eye got sharper, I noticed many images with this lens were not as sharp as I would like.

It is interesting to experience the improvement of my eye. Aspects of a photo that were totally unseen earlier, started to become an issue. And sure enough, when I compared the Sigma to a somewhat similar Canon lens I already had, the Canon was sharper. Even sent a copy of an image to Sigma to see if this was the best I could expect from the Sigma lens or if there was a problem with it. Sigma said it was performing to their standards.

I then did research on Canon lenses that would serve me shooting real estate/architectural work. Found two possibilities, a 17-40mm and a 16-35mm. The latter is their flagship wide angle zoom, priced at $1700. OUCH. Upon further research, testers reported the 17-40 to be an optical equivalent in performance. Not as fast (4.0 vs 2.8), but this is not an issue for my kind of work. Cost was half. So once the budget would permit it, I made the move.

The battery grip was something recommended in a workshop I attended, put on by a renowned photographer, Scott Hargis. He said it provides a more secure, steady, grip of the camera. This is important when not using a tripod, which can be very cumbersome shooting residential interiors.

Shoot of the Week

SweetPhoto — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 21:08:38 +0000

As an artistic person, I am a rough judge of my work. But not always. Did a shoot this week that really felt – and looked – good. Maybe even better than good.

See what you think and let me know.

Best,

JIM

Good anti-depressant

SweetPhoto — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:39:02 +0000

Around 4 pm last Wednesday I was out of juice. No interest in continuing work for the day, except maybe wanting to escape. Grabbed the camera and went for a walk. I was treated to wonderful golden light, available only in the period about 30 minutes before sunset. Got two shots that completely turned around my day.

Photographer-author

SweetPhoto — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:33:57 +0000

Recently discovered a photographer-author with whom I resonate, David duChemin. His book on a photographer’s vision initially hooked me. Now reading VisionMongers, on how to grow a photography business.

Joys and rewards of grandparenthood

SweetPhoto — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:26:30 +0000

Spending a few days caring for a grand child may offer more than a self-discovery retreat. I am amazed at what I learned about myself, and life, while caring for our 18-month-old grandson, George, last week. Granted he is a special guy, but I have a hunch the actual experience of being his primary caregiver was the key. No one told me grandparenthood would be so glorious.

Architectural Photos

SweetPhoto — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 00:21:37 +0000

Shot Casa Chiara several months ago, a retirement community for Sisters of St. Francis develop by Urban Ventures. Fortunately for me, there has been lots of media attention about the project. Here’s one: http://zmarter.com/design-architecture/qa-prefab.html.

Metropolis Magazine is also planning to feature Casa Chiara in a future issue.

President Obama, Senator Bennet

SweetPhoto — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:35:09 +0000

Busy February 18th. Had a Real Estate shoot in the morning. Spent the afternoon at the Fillmore shooting the Obama/Bennet event. Now have a White House Press Pool pass as a memento. All my event experience came in handy. Shot everything with available light and both a 70-200 2.8 and 300mm 2.8. Most shots at 3200 ISO, still very good quality due to performance of my Canon 5D MkII.

Event Gig

SweetPhoto — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:20:35 +0000

Selected to cover the Obama/Bennet campaign rally on Thursday at the Fillmore. First time with White House credentials.

Photo Booth for Family HomeStead Gals

SweetPhoto — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:10:33 +0000

Saturday night I shot the Family HomeStead Gala, as I have for the past 3 years. This year I added a photo booth. It worked out well; i.e. good results. Will do again in ’11 if attendees were pleased.