New Blog & New Site

Thanks for stopping by. This Blog is no longer active and this will be the last post at this address. All new posts will be at marksweeney.net
You can also visit me at my portfolio site which is also under construction at this time at marksweeneyphoto.com

Thank you for taking the time to stop by, it's been a good run here on Blogger but it's time to move on.

Mark

New Website

I'm working on a new website and it is up in working, but not completed. There are going to be many changes made over the days and weeks ahead. I was using a company called Blu Domain. Blu has been one of the worst business experiences I've had. They have little to no customer service and endless problems with the website. You will read similar reviews all over the net. I am now with PhotoBiz and I couldn't be happier. Their customer service kicks @ss and the site management tools are incredibly easy to use. The publishing is easy allowing to instant changes as often as I like. I am really looking forward to working with PhotoBiz.

You can see my site in the making here. It should have full functionality.

Thanks for stopping by, there will be a few updates coming this week. I've been up to a lot and very busy...

Ron & Amanda

I work with Ron at the fire department. He and his fiancé Amanda will be getting married in the Monterey area on September 4, 2010. They are a great couple and a ton of fun to hang out with, I can't wait for the wedding. I know it's going to be a memorable one. We had an engagement session way back in December. I think this one fell through the cracks as far as getting it posted. Well, here are a couple...enjoy!

Around the Station

I needed to get some photos of details around the station the other day for a banner we will use for recruitments, open houses, and other city functions. I started roaming around looking for the details in all the things I look at on a daily basis. It challenging to take an area you see all the time and look at it in a new light with new eyes. Do you ever get tired of shooting in the same area or in the same town over and over? You have to learn to not take it for granted and learn to look at your surroundings through new eyes. Many things can get the inspirational juices flowing. New lenses always work for me or a new camera body, but these can be pricy. An out of town visitor works wonders too because they always see things we aren't used to looking at. What works for you?

Mesmerized

Lately on my hikes around were I live, I've been in awe of the trees I've been surrounded by my whole life. The enormous oaks surrounding the are mesmerizing to me. Can't tell you why, they're just great looking trees. Again I went out today hiking with my camera and just my 24-70 2.8 and was drawn to the trees. They were amazing up against the winter sky carrying a new storm due in tomorrow.

These are not all meant to be beautiful photos, more a study of the shape and silhouettes.

Walk in the park

You can't beat the winter light for landscape photography. The days are short which means the golden hours of light are closer together and even the mid day sun isn't overwhelming because it is so far south.

Growing up in the Monterey County I've always loved the huge majestic oaks we have.

In my opinion, next to the Redwoods these are the most amazing trees around.

I'm Back

It been far too long since I've put up any work. Life has been a bit crazy with the new house and all. I've been shooting, just haven't had time to do much editing. It's been an interesting couple of months of workshops, a home purchase (with major renovations going on), taking care of mom, and having family and friends visit.

I've been working on some portrait photos lately and adding in some lighting as I experiment. It's opening up a new world. I'll post more photos very soon, but for now here is a bit I've been working on lately.

My Brother Matt:

A few of my little sister:

Jordan

love that hair!

I really like this series of my dad.

Thanks for taking a look. More work coming soon

Photography showing

As some may know a small collection of my photography has been hanging on the walls at Coffee Mia in Marina (250 Reservation Rd. cross of Seacrest)(map). Horace, the owner, will be hosting me for a meet & greet on Halloween day from 9-12. If you are in the area, or like me enough to go a little out of your way, stop by, say hi and grab some great breakfast and check out a bit of my work. I'll be offering discounted bookings while I am there.

Hope to see you there!!

Practice?

So after spending a little change going to L.A. to be belittled and yelled at by one of L.A.'s best photogs, I thought I'd better get out there and practice what I think I learned...I think. God, I hope Mark Robert Halper doesn't see these, I have to face him again in a couple weeks, albeit with out my camera. Mark, don't hate me...

So I went next door and bribed my neighbor with lunch, and made him sit there for a while (Way longer than I should admit) while I tried to hear Mark denigrate me while I worked. I guess in the photography world, you pay for this.

Thanks Philip for your patience.

Mark Robert Halper Workshop

This past weekend I was down in L.A. for a portrait workshop with Mark Robert Halper. There were 12 photographers in the class, and it went from Friday to Sunday. The workshop was way more intense than I would have imagined. We worked our asses off for three days straight from around 8am to 11pm. It was a great group of people and it was neat to see how much everyone developed in such a very short time. The workshop opened my eyes to so much. The brain is a bit overwhelmed actually at this point, but I look forward to putting into practice what I have learned and see where it takes me. Two of the days we had models come in and be our subjects. This is Susanna from Finland. Enjoy.

L.A. Road Trip

This weekend I'm down in L.A. for a Mark Robert Halper workshop. I found Mark through the Camera Dojo Podcast. So far it's been great and the learning curve is steep, but more on that later.

Used to be all I shot really was landscape photography. Since starting my portraiture business I haven't really taken the time to go out and shoot for "me" much. I decided that on the way down to the workshop I'd toss the Canon on the front seat and see if anything strikes me. I love driving Hwy 198 between roughly King City on the 101 side over to Colinga on the Hwy 5 side. It's a great drive with winding roads and a multitude of textures along the way and also some pretty hair raising encounters with big rigs on the little tiny road. I snapped of a few shots along the way and ended up with these. I was kicking myself that I forgot the Hoga.