June 8, 2011
I'm a Mac!
I knew they were awesome, but I didn't expect the one-after-another OMG's every time I try something else on this thing. Holy cow, what have I been missing? Now that I got that out of my system, the news: I finally got a Mac, after years of wishing. I can't be more thrilled. I can't get over how amazing my photos look on this screen. This will definitely take my photography to a whole new level! Oh, and this Magic Trackpad thing - yeah, it's all they say it is and more. Yowza. I may not leave my home office for days.
April 2, 2011
Getting to Know Autism
One source states that one in 110 kids may have some aspect of the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The spectrum includes Autism (ranging from high functioning to low functioning), Asperger's Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD or PDD-NOS). The source is neurological, and no one knows the cause. We do know there are possible genetic predispositions.
So why do I know all that? Because it's close to home. This year my wife and I are beginning to get more involved in the Autism Spectrum Disorders community as we navigate this brave new world with our son.
April is Autism Awareness Month, and there are many things going on to increase understanding of this complex set of disorders and gifting. We participated in Light It Up Blue to give some local support in our neighborhood. Check out AutismSpeaks.org for more info.
September 9, 2010
2010 Gahanna July 4th Parade
Pictures from the event are now online in the Events gallery (actually, they've been there most of the summer but I thought it worth announcing). It was an incredibly beautiful day! Don't hesitate to check out the other galleries, too.
July 23, 2010
Seeking Models
It's portfolio building time, so I'm seeking models for display shots. If selected, your shoot is free, and prints are at lab cost. All ages welcome. Email alwhicker@hotmail.com for info.
May 22, 2010
Saying It Well
Here's a great quote I stumbled upon recently...
The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking.
--Brooks Atkinson, American theater critic
The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking.
--Brooks Atkinson, American theater critic
May 19, 2010
Pricing Basics
So how does my pricing work? Simple; I charge a reasonable fee for the session to cover time and materials. Then after processing I post your pictures to an online album. From there you can order prints and photo products at competitive pricing. My site is operated by SmugMug, one of the best pro/enthusiast photographers' hosting sites in the world. They use pro photo labs, too, and turn out fantastic print quality.
More info? Check out the www.alwpics.com/Services.
More info? Check out the www.alwpics.com/Services.
Senior Pictures
Any time is good for getting your senior pictures, but fall is ideal here in Ohio, with temperate weather and a great variety of locations and natural backgrounds. One of my favorite locations is Inniswood Metro Gardens, a park in northeastern Columbus. The landscaping and flora are spectacular, making it one of the most popular portrait locations in central Ohio. Call or email anytime to plan your shoot!
October 24, 2009
About the Photo on the Home Page
I've been asked about the picture on the front page of the website. It was taken on a beautiful evening in Manhattan. I found after a few days of walking the city that looking up was just as delightful as looking around to find interesting subjects. This lamp post was one of many beginning to light the streets as dusk crept into the city. After walking up to it and looking up, I couldn't believe how perfectly the angles of the lamp matched those in the building, which was across the intersection. What a shot, and one that I still love to gaze at several years later!
August 25, 2008
Moving Pictures
As a still photographer I've always been a bit pensive about getting into video editing; after all, 30 frames per second is a lot of images! But with mini-DV tapes stacking up I've finally decided it's time to take the plunge and start creating DVD's and online videos. It may never be for professional shooting, but who knows where it could go! So now it's time for somthing new.
After a tremendous (somewhat obsessive) amount of research I've chosen Sony Movie Studio 9 Platinum as the tool. With the lowest system requirements, a rich heritage in the professional world, a great price point, very good user reviews, and its amazing audio capabilities, this one is hard to beat. In fact, for about $100 you can't get much more for your money.
After I get the software installed and try it out I'll post some comments about it, and of course, samples. It should turn out to be an exciting new adventure!
After a tremendous (somewhat obsessive) amount of research I've chosen Sony Movie Studio 9 Platinum as the tool. With the lowest system requirements, a rich heritage in the professional world, a great price point, very good user reviews, and its amazing audio capabilities, this one is hard to beat. In fact, for about $100 you can't get much more for your money.
After I get the software installed and try it out I'll post some comments about it, and of course, samples. It should turn out to be an exciting new adventure!
August 1, 2008
Look of the Blog
If you came to this page via the main web site you noticed its different color/theme. For a while it was similar to the site (black background, etc.), but it's a place I like to experiment. Seems that the white background makes it easier for reading the larger posts; white text with a dark background can be harder on the eyes. Anyway, this one uses a fairly nice template, too. Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts!
--Al
--Al
July 7, 2008
Scrubs
I'm not much of a poser but hey, this one is cute I guess. Yup, I'm in scrubs for the first time in my life, prepping to be right there for the birth of my second child. After seeing this photo I almost wondered if I should have gone into the medical field. Nah. 
July 2, 2008
Building the "Look" (Brand?)
Here's some info about how the website came to look the way it does. It's a bit of a long post, but the story is interesting.
It took about two months of learning basic CSS and brushing up on HTML in order to craft a site that I like, and feel comfortable showing off to others. I learned a great deal, and found that good old fashioned experimentation is still a key part of doing art, even in web site design. I also have to say that my host, SmugMug, provides an amazing amount of helpful info and great starter templates. And now it's beginning to show some maturity. Finally!
The hardest part was the banner; it's the 80 vertical pixels across the top of the site pages that include the "Alw" initials. This was biggest challenge for me in developing the appearance for the whole site, since it pretty much establishes the brand itself, if there is such a thing for the average guy like me. Getting it right means depicting myself with just the right look, so people would see my art and work as I do. Not that easy, I'll say!
It finally came together with a simple black-to-white gradient for the initials, which have essentially become my logo. Adding a gray line across the bottom leant gravity, and reducing the "photography by al whicker" title to a low-key gray helped to finish the elegant and understated look I've been trying to achieve. By the way, the graphics work was all done in Corel Paint Shop Pro X2, and some of the earlier versions were done in GIMP.
Once the banner was done, the whole site took on a pretty cool look. Then the front page needed something to class it up a bit. Gone is the picture of an airplane with blue sky. It was nice, but it didn't convey the feel that I wanted. In its place is the new building-and-lamp image, taken in NYC, and an inspiring quote about the art from one its finest practitioners. Now the front page has class, but not too much of it (I'm not exactly the black-tie type), and the site is professional looking, and hopefully also still very inviting.
If you've visited before you may have seen a short time in which the entire site was white. It's back to black now, and here's why. I discovered an interesting fact about image display, thanks especially to my graphic designer friend who knows such things. It seems pictures tend to look better on a computer screen when surrounded by black, even though they look great on a wall in a white matte. Turns out, there is good reason. From a computer screen, bright colors like white throw a lot of light at the viewer's eyes. This 'light pollution', though crisp looking, makes it harder for the eye to focus, and may take away from the image's beauty somewhat. But when your monitor displays black around a picture, it's more like night; it's throwing off less light, allowing the image's colors to 'pop'. Really interesting stuff, ergonomics. :-)
So there you have it. Some thoughts on what went into the site design and color choices. I like it, but that's not the main reason for the site; it should be inviting to you, the viewer, most of all. It should be easy for clients to view and order prints, too. So send me your thoughts. Add a comment to this post, or add one to the Guestbook. I'm looking forward to some good feedback!
--Al
It took about two months of learning basic CSS and brushing up on HTML in order to craft a site that I like, and feel comfortable showing off to others. I learned a great deal, and found that good old fashioned experimentation is still a key part of doing art, even in web site design. I also have to say that my host, SmugMug, provides an amazing amount of helpful info and great starter templates. And now it's beginning to show some maturity. Finally!
The hardest part was the banner; it's the 80 vertical pixels across the top of the site pages that include the "Alw" initials. This was biggest challenge for me in developing the appearance for the whole site, since it pretty much establishes the brand itself, if there is such a thing for the average guy like me. Getting it right means depicting myself with just the right look, so people would see my art and work as I do. Not that easy, I'll say!
It finally came together with a simple black-to-white gradient for the initials, which have essentially become my logo. Adding a gray line across the bottom leant gravity, and reducing the "photography by al whicker" title to a low-key gray helped to finish the elegant and understated look I've been trying to achieve. By the way, the graphics work was all done in Corel Paint Shop Pro X2, and some of the earlier versions were done in GIMP.
Once the banner was done, the whole site took on a pretty cool look. Then the front page needed something to class it up a bit. Gone is the picture of an airplane with blue sky. It was nice, but it didn't convey the feel that I wanted. In its place is the new building-and-lamp image, taken in NYC, and an inspiring quote about the art from one its finest practitioners. Now the front page has class, but not too much of it (I'm not exactly the black-tie type), and the site is professional looking, and hopefully also still very inviting.
If you've visited before you may have seen a short time in which the entire site was white. It's back to black now, and here's why. I discovered an interesting fact about image display, thanks especially to my graphic designer friend who knows such things. It seems pictures tend to look better on a computer screen when surrounded by black, even though they look great on a wall in a white matte. Turns out, there is good reason. From a computer screen, bright colors like white throw a lot of light at the viewer's eyes. This 'light pollution', though crisp looking, makes it harder for the eye to focus, and may take away from the image's beauty somewhat. But when your monitor displays black around a picture, it's more like night; it's throwing off less light, allowing the image's colors to 'pop'. Really interesting stuff, ergonomics. :-)
So there you have it. Some thoughts on what went into the site design and color choices. I like it, but that's not the main reason for the site; it should be inviting to you, the viewer, most of all. It should be easy for clients to view and order prints, too. So send me your thoughts. Add a comment to this post, or add one to the Guestbook. I'm looking forward to some good feedback!
--Al
June 24, 2008
5 Reasons to Like Digital Over Film
Here's a fun look at a few benefits everyone can agree on...
- Less printing = less paper use = lower tree use
- Reusable 'film' = lower cost and less to recycle
- Quality of digital printing has passed that of film
- No darkroom chemicals! Well, at least in the home.
- Instant image preview = less wasted shots (back to #1)
June 21, 2008
My Other Bio
If you've read the Bio page on my main site you know a little about my interests and work with photography. Here is a bit more about me.
- Full time career: training and development
- Private Pilot license and Aircraft Dispatcher license
- B.A. from Ohio State U in Social and Behavioral Science, majoring in aviation management
- Very involved in Christian ministry; I teach a Bible study, for example
- Some of my other interests are reading, various arts, a wide variety of music, writing, hiking and camping, technology like learning to write CSS and HTML, graphics, and even home improvement (picture Tim Allen)
June 20, 2008
Equipment I Use
Okay, at least one person will ask, so here's a short list of stuff I currently use.
- Canon EOS 400D (Digital Rebel XTi)
- Canon SX10is
- Canon 50mm f1.4 prime, 28-105mm zoom, and 75-300mm zoom lenses
- Sigma 18-50mm zoom
- Dedicated on-camera flash (Canon 430EX II and Promaster 5750)
- For some studio-like work I use a Photogenic PL1500 monolight
I like to use whatever is at my disposal, too. I've taken some amazing shots with the family point-and-shoot, a Canon A550. Even my son's refurbished Fuji A610 is a great little tool. Going back a bit, some of the images on my site were taken with an Olympus C5050z, and others were taken with Pentax or Canon 35mm film SLR's and later scanned.
On the "dark room" side I currently use a Dell 9100 Pentium 4 3mHz PC with 3gb RAM and a 256mb video card feeding an Ultra Sharp flat panel. I arrange photo libraries and edit images with Canon Digital Photo Professsional, Picasa, and Adobe Photoshop.
For photo storage I use dual internal hard drives, plus an external hard drive and DVD backups. In addition, all photos on my web site are backed up on three servers in three states by the site host, SmugMug.
So there you have it; the main stuff I use. Ultimately, great photography transcends whatever gear is used to make it, and I strive not to get caught up in the latest tech trends or gadget goodies. The stuff is fun, no doubt, but the art is far more satisfying!
- Canon EOS 400D (Digital Rebel XTi)
- Canon SX10is
- Canon 50mm f1.4 prime, 28-105mm zoom, and 75-300mm zoom lenses
- Sigma 18-50mm zoom
- Dedicated on-camera flash (Canon 430EX II and Promaster 5750)
- For some studio-like work I use a Photogenic PL1500 monolight
I like to use whatever is at my disposal, too. I've taken some amazing shots with the family point-and-shoot, a Canon A550. Even my son's refurbished Fuji A610 is a great little tool. Going back a bit, some of the images on my site were taken with an Olympus C5050z, and others were taken with Pentax or Canon 35mm film SLR's and later scanned.
On the "dark room" side I currently use a Dell 9100 Pentium 4 3mHz PC with 3gb RAM and a 256mb video card feeding an Ultra Sharp flat panel. I arrange photo libraries and edit images with Canon Digital Photo Professsional, Picasa, and Adobe Photoshop.
For photo storage I use dual internal hard drives, plus an external hard drive and DVD backups. In addition, all photos on my web site are backed up on three servers in three states by the site host, SmugMug.
So there you have it; the main stuff I use. Ultimately, great photography transcends whatever gear is used to make it, and I strive not to get caught up in the latest tech trends or gadget goodies. The stuff is fun, no doubt, but the art is far more satisfying!
June 4, 2008
Why I Chose SmugMug to Host the Site
I was looking for a single solution for both web site hosting and e-commerce in order to automate a part time photography business and provide image storage and sharing for my personal work. None of the free services (Snapfish, Fotki, etc.) had all the features I was looking for, even with their paid services.
After an exhaustive analysis of many vendors, I narrowed it down to four within a certain price bracket and did a decision matrix using 21 weighted factors to evaluate them. SmugMug came out on top and every day I find another reason to be glad I chose them. It’s a surprisingly well-built service, run by great people, and it beats some higher-priced vendors at that! I won’t explain their offerings here since they do a fine job of that on their site; suffice to say their model is the best I found at a reasonable cost for hosting both amateur and professional photographers’ sites. It’s worth every penny.
If you're curious about the decision matrix and the factors I used, let me know and I'll send you a copy. Interesting process.
After an exhaustive analysis of many vendors, I narrowed it down to four within a certain price bracket and did a decision matrix using 21 weighted factors to evaluate them. SmugMug came out on top and every day I find another reason to be glad I chose them. It’s a surprisingly well-built service, run by great people, and it beats some higher-priced vendors at that! I won’t explain their offerings here since they do a fine job of that on their site; suffice to say their model is the best I found at a reasonable cost for hosting both amateur and professional photographers’ sites. It’s worth every penny.
If you're curious about the decision matrix and the factors I used, let me know and I'll send you a copy. Interesting process.
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