Special: Holiday 2010 Portrait Mini-Session, $199

Serving Denver, CO and the surrounding suburbs this offer includes:

- 30 minute mini-session, 1-2 poses
- 50 4x8 flat or 25 5x7 folded cards
- Low-resolution digital images

Call 303-335-0348 to make your appointment today!

Details:

- Package includes low-resolution copies of all final images,suitable for e-mailing, Facebook, etc. High resolution digital copies suitable for printing, and other printed options are also available.

Offer expires December 07, 2010

Happy Halloween!

Here's this year's pumpkin, Jack Skellington:



And last year's carved by my friend and graphic designer, Drew Lager (who created my logo):



Post a link to yours!

Updates on my Facebook Fan Page

Hello, dear readers! I apologise for not keeping up with the blog, while I'm not closing it down any time soon I do recommend also following my latest updates over on my Facebook Fan Page, which I update on a much more frequent basis. Here's how to follow Calanan Photography on Facebook:



Thanks for following this blog! If you don't use Facebook don't fret, I will continue to post updates here.

- mike

My first attempt at photographing lightning

View larger...

Taken in Denver, CO.

Camera: Nikon D700
Exposure: 4 seconds
Aperture: f/11.0
Focal Length: 24 mm (Tokina 12-24mm f/4)
ISO Speed: 200

I don't know why I haven't tried this before, to start with it was actually pretty easy to dial in exposure settings. There was quite a bit of ambient city light (orange sodium vapor streetlights) so I ended up keeping the shutter/aperture low enough to knock down the ambient yet just long enough to catch some full bolts of lightning.

Once exposure was set, I locked in the view I wanted with my wide angle zoom, locked the tripod down and took sequences of 4-second-long shots and crossed my fingers that I caught lightning.

Have you captured lightning on film? Share your links (and tips) in the comments!

Pinhole view of The Tetons

The Tetons, as seen through my homemade pinhole lens
Grand Teton National Park
Jackson Hole, WY

Nikon D700

Sean and his :P

Denver, CO
Nikon D700
Nikkor 35mm f/2

Family photography: A day at the Denver Zoo

I recently photographed the McDermott family at the Denver Zoo, where they spent a couple of hours viewing the animals while I tagged along and took candid "day in the life of" photos of their adventures. At the end of their visit took a series of formal portraits against a backdrop of greenery and flowers.











I love this combination of candid photojournalistic photography and posed, on-location portraiture as it takes advantage of my ability to capture those special moments while challenging me to think fast to compose photos in a way that tell a story. My work as an editorial assignment photographer in the magazine industry taught me how to find interesting portrait locations, and to make the best of natural lighting and portable artificial lighting (like small SLR flash units). Likewise, I also learned how to quickly build a rapport with strangers to try to make them feel comfortable so that their natural expressions show through in their photographs.

If you're in the Denver area and would like to book me for a "day in the life of" session please contact me for details and booking at info@calanan.com or 303 335 0348. Mention this blog post and I'll discount your session by 10%!