Ice on pond at G Patterson Studio located in Nacogdoches Texas.
Ice on pond at G Patterson Studio located in Nacogdoches Texas.
It has been quite cold the past few days. Nacogdoches is not quite use to this type of weather. We had plumbers out to our house to fix problems with one of those on-demand hot water heaters that froze. I think they are thankful for the work but may be wishing the same we are wishing, and that is warm weather.
When I came into the studio Tuesday morning, I could hear the trickle of water back in the garden. Beyond my skin saying retreat for a warm environment, I veered off my normal path to the studio to examine the sound of water. It was about 18° that morning with an expected high just below freezing. There must have been some moisture from the previous night because as I walked, I could hear the grass under foot crack and pop as if frozen.
As I approached the pond, I could see the shimmer of sunlight bouncing off of the what was once water. Now frozen to about 1/2 inch thick ice. The falls were still running but with every splash, they were producing some fantastic ice sculptures on the rocks below. Cold but most defiantly still beautiful.
Warmth will come again and we will all be wishing for cooler temps.
Before we know it, we will be rocking 100° plus days which seem to stay with us much longer than cold. Are you ready for March/April? Spring is one of my most favorite seasons with March and April just about as perfect as it can get in East Texas.
However, by the end of this week, we are expected to be back in the mid to upper 60’s. Until then, enjoy this photo I captured with my trusty Nikon.
Enjoy,
Greg Patterson, Certified Professional Photographer
Nacogdoches Senior Class of 2014 at G. Patterson Studio portrait garden
After Christmas, one of two things generally happens to a senior. They either get busy or they get lazy (senior-itis). The first group tends to be on a mad hunt for scholarships and extra-curricular activities as they submit college applications. The other tends to sit back and coast and let the chips fall where they may. But no matter which category they fall into, everyone will agree that these final five months go by as a blur. So, to our graduating class of ’14 and your parents I say this, “Don’t blink. You might miss it.”
But hey, that’s what senior portraits are for… to help you remember all that you’ve accomplished and all that you represent right now in this moment in time… to remind family and friends of the whacky, zany, silly, funny, serious, studious, and hard-working sides of your personality. In the last week and a half, we have personally seen and scheduled many 2014 seniors for their senior portrait sessions. We’ve been talking graduation invitations, outfits, locations, and poses to make sure that this moment is perfectly catered to the individual. It’s obvious that students and parents alike are getting excited in their anticipation of graduation… and so are we! If you have been sitting around waiting for the right time to schedule, NOW is that time! Call the studio to discuss your ideal senior session and what products you’re most interested in. Hope to hear from you soon.
The beginning of something beautiful! Toasting to everything Happy Happy Happy!
The beginning of something beautiful! Toasting to everything Happy Happy Happy!
Can you say “Happy Happy Happy” Anniversary! Well I can as today my beautifully kind and amazing wife and I celebrate our anniversary.
Time really does fly when you are happily married. I do remember some not so easy moments but they are like dust in the wind compared to the years together. We started young at a mere age of 20. Young, excited and ready to start on our own, we were married 27 years ago today, January 3rd 1987.
Over the 27 years, we have celebrated the birth of three wonderful and healthy children. Watched as they grew, played Nacogdoches Baseball, NYSA Soccer and been part of the Nacogdoches Dragon Band.
We started a business from nothing, basically working out of a closet in one of our rented homes. The business has always been part of our family and close to our hearts. A strong sense of family has been important to us and the business allows us to share this passion by capturing those special moments for others.
Since its January and such a great month for tips, I though I would pass along my tips for my happy marriage.
1. Love your spouse more than yourself. Easy to say but putting self in anyplace other than first is difficult. When self is at least second, then in my opinion it allows for you to be joined together as one.
2. Realize that there will be bumps, hills and sometimes mountains to climb in life. Work, bills, kids can all wear on an otherwise healthy relationship if you let them be first. So go back to my tip No. 1 and make sure your spouse comes before you and the job and the kids and anything else.
3. There are really so many things I could say and have likely over 100 tips. Well this LAST tip is simple. Remember those two words you said during your marriage. You remember? “I DO!” Those two short words in my opinion are a promise. But what were you promising? My vows I promised “To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish ’till death do us part.” So my last tip is to remember your promise and be faithful to the best of your ability to live up to that oath.
I would love to hear your story and or comments.
Greg Patterson, Certified Professional Photographer
Get out and practice with your new camera. As you practice, you will learn and have fun while doing so. It’s a great New Year resolution and may bring some joy in your life for 2014.
Did Santa bring you a new camera for the new year? If so, I’ve got a few tips that will help you get started with capturing some great images.
1. I know it sounds lame, but open that little book that came with the camera and read at least the first chapter or so. It should be a pretty easy read and will get you familiar with the basic functions. Read with your new camera in front of you and be sure to make note of how to turn the camera on and off, the location of the shutter release, zoom for lens, button or menu setting for ISO and white balance.
By the way, don’t try to learn all of the menu options. If you had a difficult time programming that old VCR, then trying to figure out all the menu items will easily confuse you early on. If you read something and it doesn’t make sense, simply read on and don’t get bogged down in technical details. Shoot for the basics at this point.
2. With the knowledge of being able to turn on the camera, set the camera to any of its programed shooting modes. Sometimes its a green P, or a symbol of some sort. Refer back to the manual if you can’t find it. Once found, I suggest going outside and practice. Go out during the day which should yield enough light for quality images and shoot until you get bored.
Practice capturing subjects that won’t run away or move. Your house, car, flowers, etc. all work well. Try to train your fingers to the locations of commonly used buttons. Be sure to to zoom and and out so you may practice with the lens as well.
Shooting in Program mode will force the camera to do all of the work for you with regards to setting the shutter speed and aperture. With time you can learn how to control these but at first its important to simply get started. Shooting in Program lets you enjoy quality results without all of the knowledge.
3. So you read some, practiced some, now its time to evaluate your results. I suggest downloading your images to a computer of choice. I’m a Mac user but any PC would work just as well. Once downloaded, use the OS or a program such as Adobe Bridge or Apple iPhoto to view the images. Look at each image you captured evaluating the technical quality. Look for sharpness and overall exposure. Try to remember what camera setting was used and make a note or mental note of what worked and what didn’t work.
You can put the camera card back into the camera during this process for some additional details sometimes not easily seen when viewing on a computer. With the media card back in the camera, look for things like focus point (where the camera focused), histogram (technical but helps to evaluate exposure) and any other settings used.
4. Once you have a handful of favorites, I suggest you send them off to be printed. Print 4×6″ at a minimum but if you feel you really have a few good shots, consider printing 8×10 inch prints. In Nacogdoches, any of the local drug stores can print.
With print in hand, compare what you were seeing on the computer. Darker, lighter or spot on? Compare to what you were seeing in the camera display.
5. The last tip is to give your favorite image to a friend, co-worker or family member. Have you heard about the Joy of Photography? Give your favorite image away and you will experience it in both you and the person you gave it to.
I would love to hear about your experiences regarding the new camera and new year.
Enjoy!
Greg Patterson, Certified Professional Photographer
