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Category Archives: Education/Seminars

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DWF Convention 2008 - Tampa, Florida

January 8, 2008 – 6:53 pm

Another great Convention. This time we were in Tampa, Florida. Initially, it was cold. Seriously cold! It warmed up though and we had a wonderful Wedding From Hell. This was a seminar/skit that was designed to show how a wedding can go bad and how to deal with it. The photographers that shot the wedding were Jen and Steve Bebb, Greg Gibson, and Susan Stripling. I played the priest. Yah.. I know kinda funny but, I have to say was a lot of fun. Here’s a slide show of the day from Hope Photography.

As usual the seminars were awesome! The people were spectacular and sharing good times was unforgettable. I also managd to get some time in for some shooting. This time we did a water theme. The model had a great look. Here name was Jersey and she was a trooper. Here’s some of my most memorable images from the convention.

More pics are here
and Pictures from the 2007 DWF Convention in Veagas


This is a nice BMW M3 that caught my eye


Jake Morrow and Jason Domingues - Jump!


Jersey playin with some pearls


Jersey on the board walk - Snake Tongue


Jersey in the bushes


Our homage the shovel and JMC

By Jeff Newcum | Comments (0)

Bruce Dorn and Maura Dutra - The Digital Photography Edge

October 23, 2007 – 12:18 pm

Today I assisted Bruce Dorn and Maura Dutra at the Digital Photography Edge Seminar in Boston. I manned the registration table, help setup, and break down the equipment. I was pleasantly surprised to find out the Bruce was an avid biker. Not bicycle but, motorcycle. He’s built them, rode them, and put many miles on them. I really dug his riding stories. I rode my Dayton 675 to the seminar even with the threat of rain looming but, I knew it would hold for me and it did. I had the chance to try out the 50 1.2 and the 85 1.2 from the kind Canon rep that attended. The 85 1.2 was still sort slow for me compared to the Mark1 but, for studio work or better lighted situations I suppose it would be a better performer. Personally, I’ll keep my 85 1.8. The 50 1.2 on the other hand was pretty sweet. It has better focusing than the 50 1.4 but, is significantly more expensive. Most ot the shots I took were at 1600 or 3200iso with no flash.

It was also pretty cool to see some of the our local Bmob clan. Jamie, Joe, Stacey, Laura, Renee, Robert, and Connie. I also met some new faces that and put them to names that I’ve seen many times before. Bruce’s lighting work is incredible. He truly has a higher level of understanding of flash, lighting, and scenes. It’s amazing how a people have the capacity to create images that are distinctly theatric in style and lighting. This doesn’t mean that they look unnatural. Bruce’s images are dramatic, captivating, and lit exceptionally well. Maura has in ingenious means of taking breathe taking imagery and turning into one off pieces of vibrant art. Her Painter skills are monstrous! Wow!

Take a look at the site and check them out.

By Jeff Newcum | Comments (0)

Combo 3.1 with John Michael Cooper or ALT F

March 31, 2007 – 6:33 pm

On Friday and Saturday I attended a book binding/album making seminar at John’s studio in Las Vegas. John has been a leader in many aspects and has reverse engineered a lay flat album. He’s been producing these albums, by hand for the several years. The qualitys is impressive and they finished product is superb. Making your own albums allows for great diversity in size, color, cover choice, and content. I was amazed with the process and this is exactly what makes me love photography. Not only can you create unique work but, you can showcase it in a finely handcrafted custom album.

John is an innovator and takes a unique look at life. He challenges the world and creates a multitude of amazingly unique images that have redefined what fine art photography is. Take a look at his site and you’ll see what I mean. Give him a call if you ever need to have wedding or portrait coverage in the Las Vegas area. You will be amazed at what a picture can be.
We were instructed step by step on how to create our own albums that were sized to 8″ tall by 20″ wide. Each page was one entire picture with no breaks. We selected our own cover material, fly page, and spine fabric. The process itself is not for the faint of heart but, it does take attention to detail and knack to work with materials. I did document the day with my camera and I wasn’t shy about taking pictures of the steps. It was suprisingly straight forward to create the album but, with all things, it’s easier to see it in action. I was completely thrilled to attend John’s seminar and he’s given me new motivation to create my own hand made albums.

Initially I’ll need to purchase a few pieces of hardware to make it reallity but, I expect that I’ll be ready to churn out my own albums by the mid 2008.

Thanks Dalisa (his most excellent wife) and John, I really dig the support!

By Jeff Newcum | Also posted in Fun Stuff, Personal Life | Comments (0)

DWF Convention - And the rest of the week…

March 29, 2007 – 3:29 pm

Wednesday and Thursday were filled with seminars and the desert shoot. Unfortunately, I didn’t attend the desert shoot. It was cold and windy that day and from my previous experience at the dry lake beds on Saturday, I knew it wouldn’t be pretty. Instead we went back to the tradeshow and talked with vendors. There was an amazing amount of information to be consumed from the tradeshow and every year has more and more vendors to choose from.

To wrap up, the convention was amazing. This being my third year in attendance and every year the network of photographers grows. It’s really phenominal to see the growth and diversity of the photographers who attend. This year was even more outstanding with the Choppah Shoot! Next year is planned for Tampa and I’m looking forward to learning and thinking outside the box.

By Jeff Newcum | Also posted in Fun Stuff, Personal Life | Comments (1)

DWF Convetnion - Tuesday - Seminars and Trade show

March 27, 2007 – 11:29 pm

Tuesday started with a Seminar from Paul Gero about Capturing Great Moments. It was a very informative seminar that gave me insight on how to capture the spontaneity and fun of a wedding day. Paul has an extensive background and shared some of his beautiful work. Later I meet up with Mark, Desiree, and John for some eats. From there we headed to the Tradeshow to find out what’s hot in the photography world.

The tradeshow was full of great vendors with plenty of info. There were so many vendors. We walked around for about 2 hours and learned a ton about new products and opportunities.

The afternoon seminar was by the Bebbs. They are truly a unique couple who create exquisite work. They have a amazing way of seeing the light and creating outstanding images. Jenn and Stephen were voted one of the 10 best wedding photographers in the world. They really motivated me to start using available light in a totally different way.

I also attended another seminar that afternoon by Dave and Quin from DQ Studios. These are two people who abound with energy and fun. They really exemplify the meaning of fine art wedding photography. Their work is in a league of it’s own and they truly understand the customer experience. My most memorable comment was “We tell our clients to set high expectations and we’ll blow them away with the results” Now, that’s confidence and they can truly back up that commitement.

That night the ultra fun DWF Bahama Breeze party. My roomate Mark challenged me to shoot all ambient with my 5d. I took his challenge and mated a nice lil 28 1.8 prime to my 5d. I kicked up the ISO to 3200..ooohhh daring! The results blew me away. It really does pay to think differently and try new methods. Here’s the amazing results.

After Bahama Breeze wrapped up we headed over to my favorite club, Studio 54. If you haven’t been, make a plan. It’s really an unbelievable place. The music, the lights, the dancers….ohhhh the dancers! You can see images from there from the link above. Keep in mind, there’s no flash in any of those photos. What a night!

By Jeff Newcum | Also posted in Fun Stuff, Personal Life | Comments (0)

DWF Convention - Monday - Key Note Parker J PFister

March 26, 2007 – 11:14 pm

Today I signed up to help out at the registration desk for the convention. I also had a one on one with Ray Prevost from the warm state of California. We talked about lead management and how to follow up with brides after the wedding day. You may think this is kinda basic stuff but, there’s many different approaches and my intent is to find a proven method to track new inquires. We spoke for a short half hour or so and learned some steps into creating a better business relationship.

The keynote from Parker J took place later that evening and he really inspired me to create images that contained less flash or to shoot with a minimal amount. This approach is complimentary to the higher high ISO, low noise settings of the Canon digital cameras. Parker J has shot many destination weddings and travels with a minimal of lighting gear. His images have depth and insight to his subjects. I found his approach to be very inspiring and I will challenge myself to push my creative boundries with his advice.

By Jeff Newcum | Also posted in Personal Life | Comments (0)