Friday Featured Photographer - Sean Patty

I'll go a little different direction for this week's featured photographer... as in, way out west.  I happened upon West Texas Photo a few weeks ago and invited photographer Sean Patty to be seen on this side of the Lone Star State...

A quick browse through the galleries is all it takes to see that Sean likes beautiful western landscapes.  No surprise then that a love of the outdoors has inspired Sean's photography obsession.

"I have always enjoyed hiking and backpacking into the great outdoors," he said. "I wanted to begin capturing some of the beauty in the wilderness. I love landscapes and I love being on location, generally alone, and capturing a moment in time to share with others."

You can also see that Sean spends time processing some of his images for a stylized, almost HDR look.  He said that there isn't one particular look he goes for, but rather a look that he thinks suits each image.

"I’m not sure what my “’style” really is," he said. "For landscapes and some of my energy shots, I try to get a feel for that particular scene and then process accordingly. For some shots I go for a more surreal look while other shots will contain the perfect elements with only minor tonal adjustments. Maybe one day I’ll find a “style” to be known for. I use Adobe Bridge and CS5 software."

Sean's images of the Alamo raised my curiosity ... clearly this is not in San Antonio.  It is a good example of making the most of your photographic opportunities when you can.

"A few summers ago, I took my boys camping at Kickapoo Cavern State Park. Near this remote park were the remnants of the old John Wayne movie set for The Alamo," he said. "It was a wonderful opportunity to shoot the Alamo in an authentic setting. My understanding is the set is now closed to the public so I’m grateful to have gotten the shot."

While Sean's inspiration may come from the likes of Ansel Adams and other nature photography greats, he also ventures in to many other areas of photography. Here are a few other clips from his site that caught my eye.  I particularly like the Air Power gallery.

Sean also works for commercial clients around his home base in the Midland area.

Last thing... Sean is a Canon shooter, and he carries a versatile set of lenses for treks into the backcountry...

"I bought my first Canon Rebel over 5 years ago. Then I migrated to the Canon 60D and 2 years ago I purchased the full frame Canon 5D Mark II," he said.  "In my bag is my 5D Mark II, Canon 17-40mm, Canon 24-105mm and a Canon 70-200mm Zoom. I also carry a remote flash, ND & Polarizer filter along with a sturdy Manfrotto tripod."

Thanks Sean!

Friday Featured Photographer - Robbie Rakestraw

This week's featured photographer is Kaufman County based Robbie Rakestraw.  I have had the pleasure of meeting Robbie on several occasions at sporting events and can confirm he is a great guy.  He was helpful with some tips on using strobes for basketball when I was first getting into shooting high school sports.

"I have two boys (13 & 18) that are both very active in sports," he said. "I found it very challenging to capture good images of active subjects, especially when they were in dark dungy gyms and nighttime games played in the great outdoors.  That challenge sparked a quest to capture the perfect action shot; proper exposure and white balance, no motion blur, and a compelling composition.  I’m still chasing that 'perfect image."

Shooting sports, especially high school night games, just getting a crisp action shot can be hard.  Robbie added the following tips to get the best shots possible.

"Shoot as low to the ground as you can get.  A low position makes any athlete look more majestic," he said. "If you don’t have long glass (big telephoto lenses) be patient and let the action come to you."

Like any good sports photographer, Robbie knows that there are great pictures to be had besides the athletes...

Sports photography naturally led to shooting portraits as well, but the sports influence seems to come through there as well.

"I started shooting high school seniors due to repeated requests by parents and students," he said. "This genre of photography allows me to be creative with natural and strobed (off camera) lighting.  I offer a combination of studio and outdoor locations.  I like to match the location with the subject.  If they are athletes we go to their field of play.  I always try to include action shots along with formal shots in an attempt to capture the true spirit of the subject."

While photography is his passion, Robbie manages to fit in another 'regular' full time job into his schedule as well.

"I do have a full time job that keeps me away from my photography more than I like, and I also shoot for MaxPreps (CBS Sports)," he said.  "My biggest challenge is finding time to process my images after a contest.  This past football season I shot 45 high school varsity games along with numerous varsity volleyball matches and middle school football games.  I’m currently shooting soccer and basketball and the baseball season starts next month."

Shooting one or two games in a week is time-consuming.  45 games in a season is a serious commitment of travel time, wear and tear on your equipment and carpal-tunnel syndrome in front of the computer.

As you might expect, sports photography requires a hefty bit of gear in the camera bag.

"I’m a Canon shooter, and I generally only carry one camera body, which is a Canon 1D Mark IV," he said.  "If I’m lucky enough to get a day game, I will carry a Canon Mark IIN as a second body.  My go-to lens for most field sports is the Canon 400mm f/2.8 with a 70-200mm f/2.8 on the second body.  I will also carry a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens for post game shots.  For softball I will use my 300mm f/2.8.  At volleyball and basketball games my primary lens is the 70-200 and sometimes the 300."

Robbie can be reached through his website, www.r2images.com.

He also posts a lot of recent highlights on Facebook.

Friday Featured Photographer - Amy Lunceford a.k.a. Amylu

Throughout 2013, I plan to feature various east Texas photographers who catch my attention.

For the first installment ...  Amylu photography first caught my eye on Facebook sometime in early 2012.  From what I have seen, photographer Amy Lunceford, shows great consistency in finding good light, color and attention to small details in her images.

With four years under her belt doing photography professionally, Amy said her extensive background in the advertising world has been very helpful in developing as a photographer.

"After 15 years in advertising I found myself stepping back and leaving the creative world professionally serving other clients," she said.  "I began focusing on my love for photography and with abundant blessings, incredible support and a fire to continually improve I found that Amylu was born and thriving before I really think I realized what was happening.  It just became a natural part of who I am.  Now I am back in advertising and still focusing on Amylu which is a creative dream marriage for me."

Family photography is a competitive world these days.  To set herself apart, Amy said that she strives to make her subjects feel more like her own family rather than clients or business associates.

"Amylu is VERY fun and laid back," she said.  "It is known that I 'shoot on the fly' a bit.  I see images as I shoot them and move through a shoot.  So there is no stuffy, stiff posed, formality going on.  A great deal of laughter, adventure and heart goes into my shoots.  I like my clients to leave feeling like family."

According to her website, Amy shoots primarily with available natural light.  Take a look through her galleries and you will note that she knows how to find good light and backgrounds.  Again, her history in advertising comes into play as she also emphasizes pre-visualizing the final image as she is shooting.
"I have worked with some amazing design talent nationally for my entire advertising career.  Access to that has given me an extremely strong love and appreciation for color, texture and the ability to relay a story and feeling in an image," she said.  "I feel it is my gift of seeing a shot as I shoot it just as I know I want the end edited image to appear to convey that moment in time that sets my work apart from others and defines my personal artistic voice."

As for gear.. a quick look at her images shows Amy's tendency toward fast lenses to get the super soft background bokeh.
"I am a prime girl," she said. "My bag is pretty simple. A Canon 5dMarkii and 50D as backup, 50L 1.2, 85mm 1.4, and when needed for specialty shoots I use the 24-70L and the 70-200 f/2.8, a Speedlight  580EXii."

Which goes to show (despite my best efforts to collect photo gear :) that more cameras isn't the key to success.
"I am a believer that it is all about using what you have to its fullest versus having mounds of lenses and toys," she said.


Follow along with Amylu on Facebook or her Blog.

Have a great weekend, it looks like great weather for making photos!