Hey guys! Chris and I walked the “Freedom Trail” today in Boston. This was (in total) about a 12 mile hike all around the city of Boston which showcased some of America’s most famous sites. The trail is laid out for visitors by a brick / red line that runs throughout the city. So, if you’re interested in seeing the sites, just follow the trail and it will lead you to each point of interest. We started out at the Statehouse, and followed the trail to the cemetery where Paul Revere, John Hancock, and Benjamin Franklin were buried. We walked through Little Italy and found the Old North Church of (one if by land, two if by sea) fame. We then crossed the river bridge over to Charlestown where we saw the U.S.S. Constitution (a.k.a. “Old Ironsides”) as well as the Bunker Hill Memorial. There’s lots to see along the way, but those were by far the most interesting. The museum at the Naval Yard is open and free to the public, but the tours of the actual U.S.S. Constitution were closed, and it looked like it was only open during the warmer months. It’s worth the long walk just to climb the 294 steps up to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument. The views were amazing!

We found a whole bunch of great things to photograph along the way, and of course, many great restaurants to try out. Little Italy has a lot of character and is definitely a place we’ll be revisiting on this trip. If you would like a guided tour of the Freedom Trail, stop by Boston Commons (kinda like the Central Park of Boston) and see when the next one is leaving the visitor center. We saw 4-5 groups at one point. It’s kinda “tour-isty” but hey, if you don’t know the history, it’s a great way to develop your appreciation for how much has happened in this city.

Hey everyone! Chris and I are on the road again, and of course…time to waste in the car equals blog post galore. We’re Boston bound! Check it out. We get a bit slap-happy in parts…but hey, it’s a 12 hour drive from Ashland to Boston…

This is about a 15 minute video, so it may take a while to load!

Hey guys! Steve and I made it to Boston, but we wanted to start you off with a quick video showcasing some of the gear we brought. We’ll be placing videos online all week, so check back often!

Ever since I purchased my 105mm Micro, I’ve fallen in love with shooting the intricate and fine details of different things.  Flowers are a great subject for this lens, and I never get tired of doing this very detailed, close-up work.  This shot was made using window light, and was post-processed using Photoshop CS4 Extended. When working this close to your subject, a tripod is a MUST.  If you don’t have a remote cable release, I recommend using the self-timer feature of your particular DSLR to avoid any possible camera shake.

Hi all.  I wanted to upload at least one more photo of the beautiful Brittney before we start our PhotoshopWorld 2009 coverage.  This shot was extremely fun to do, because you never really knew exactly what you were going to get. Setup is the same as before (read about them in a few previous posts).  I had Brittney gather all of her hair, and on my cue, she would throw her head back and I attempted to catch some cool shots.  This is one of the shots that worked out.  Keep in mind that it’s very difficult to control your facial expression when doing this (for the model that is).  It’s important to keep at it until you get an expression that you are satisfied with….but make sure your model doesn’t get dizzy or pass out!

I wanted to post a couple images to give you guys an idea of what I am looking to do when I retouch a photograph.  Where did I learn all this stuff?

www.kelbytraining.com

Once again, these portraits were taken with a single SB800 off camera fired through a shoot through umbrella.  I literally shot these in a basement, which proves that you don’t need a studio to produce a great quality of light. Post production is being handled in Photoshop CS4 Extended.