Where have I been lately??

Hi Blog peep's! Sorry I have been so busy shooting, editing and face-booking to post here on the blog. I'm seriously trying to button down and catch up, it's hard! But I'm making a solid effort. I have a ton of NEW image's and content and not just images; that I want to share with you :D Have a wonderful day and enjoy this KILLER weather, it won't last for long :D

Love You All,
Michael

Expression

I've always intended to use my blog as a photoblog, but I sometimes forget it's a way that I can express myself with words instead of images. I have this really, really bad habit of not expressing my feelings or thoughts or experiences I have had, after photographing people or just in general for that matter. My focus after the shoot, is to just get the work done! I think I learned that from my workaholic Dad, I love You Dad :D I come across blogs, fan pages, websites etc. that really dig into content and expression about photography sessions, emotional experiences and just plain old story telling. I think I have done myself a dis-service by not sharing more and not expressing more! So I have decided to make this a NEW goal to talk about, express & share my thoughts and experiences, and not keep them so bottled up :D

I remember when I had a Hmmmmmm moment about actions & different tweak styles. I look back on that and all I can think is how I was wasting time. BUT, I was being true to myself and I always think you should do that too!

Kazj & Jalynn - The Lucky Couple

Michael Lloyd Photography is on Twitter

So I decided to finally create a Photography Twitter account so I can check one more thing during the day in my office....J/K It'll be fun :D

http://twitter.com/M_L_Photography

40's Style Baby

I love having theme weddings. Alecia & Sam's wedding was 40's Style. This is a sample of Alecia's bridal from the vintage Sinclair. There are so many pix to see, so I posted the 16x20 that I printed for their Reception.
I will create a folder on my website, from her bridal shoot.

LaVell

Today I had the privilege of meeting LaVell Edwards at his home in Provo, Utah. I was asked to shoot still images for an upcoming documentary about him (More pix & info about the documentary to come).

LaVell is a very kind, spiritual and humble man. I was very impressed with his competitive nature, his honesty and of course his beautiful flower gardens. He was showing me his day lilies after the interview, they literally bloom for a single day and then they are done. He takes much pride in his gardening. I felt very peaceful and calm while I was with him, it kind of made me feel like I had a grandpa again, my Grandpa Lloyd has been gone since I was 10 years old..........I sure miss him!! But I sure treasured the time with LaVell this morning :D

My NEW favorite image

Provo River photograph on KSL 5 news

LOL did Dev call it or what?!! (see post below) According to Dan Pope this storm was worth between $55 and $95 million dollars in water resources for the state of Utah. We just increased our state wide snow pack by 12% in one storm. One inch of water melted from several inches of snow is worth about $20 million dollars. Crazy how they have it all figured out!

Provo River, Flocked Trees, A Cool Old International Truck

So I decided to leave the office this morning to capture the rad snow that fell last night. I have been gritting my teeth not being able to shoot the last couple of snow storms. The snow was so deep and it just sat 3-4 inches on top of the leaves and branches of all the trees. Saaaweeeet! I shot for a couple of hours and I felt like I was just getting warmed up. It was fun to 4 wheel and trek through the deep snow in my winter gear :D

Dev loved this image and I liked it, funny how that works. Nature photo of the day ^

Love all of the H2O

I think that this is my favorite shot from this morning.

I wish that the little old house was about another 60+ years older for the look. This image has a dry brush finish to it.

Is this a sweet old International or what?

Cattail's & A Killer Sunset

While I was on my way to shoot the Reception today at the Mapelton City Center, I missed my turn and drove up another street looking for a place to turn around. Along the way I saw a field of beautiful fresh white powder (+snow mobile tracks, of course!) and some really sweet looking cattails. I had to get out of my truck and photograph them basking in the sun, covered with last nights fresh snow. I live by the hurry up and wait motto, so I had a few minutes to spare.

When I was selecting my settings in the camera, I remembered that a small aperture is best on a sunny day because it makes the sun look like a star instead of a big over exposed blob. I chose to shoot the 24-70mm 2.8L, @ f 13, 1/400, -2/3 compensation, 100 ISO. By shooting at a short focal distance with a fill flash, it helps under expose the background, which is great for a beautiful sunny open sky.

So now you are wondering why the sky isn't blue, but red & black instead?? Well I'm a big fan of infrared film and this is my version of it :D I think it gives it more of an abstract, artistic feel.

Nature photo of the day ^

After I finished shooting the Pre-Reception tonight, I looked outside and saw the killer sunlight that was setting. Of course, I went into holy freak mode and got all excited because I know that I have just a couple of minutes to capture the light. I switched to the 70-200mm 2.8L and zoomed right in on the top of the mountain. It took me 2 shots to get this one. When you shoot a shorter shutter speed than focal length you risk a soft image. So the closer you are to 1/200 the greater the chance you have for a very sharp image. I was zoomed at 200mm, @ 1/100, f 5.0, 200 ISO. I felt like I was pretty close to max for a sharp image, even with my very steady hand.

The first shot was a bit soft, I fired a second image right after that so it was a smoother more steady shutter release. I hate tripods and I love to shoot hand held in low light. It was very sharp and clean when I looked at the pixels at a 100%.

It's funny, when I was looking at the photo that close, I could see every little thing on the mountain and I kept thinking I'd for sure see an animal or a herd of them!

Squaw Peak @ Sunset

While my wife was out doing a little shopping, she called me up and said to go look outside at the beautiful sunset on the mountains. I grabbed my camera and wide-angle lense and ran outside. The light was Awesome and the color was so vibrant! After I fired off some hand held pix I decided to run back in and switch to the long lense, dumb...on my part! If there's one thing I have learned about light, especially with sunsets, It's that you never leave the light!! It will be gone every time, I promise.

1D Mark III, 24-70mm 2.8L, 1/125 @ f 4.0, +1/3 compensation, 640 ISO, AWB.

Low Angle Shooting

Low angle shooting has always had a bad wrap, it's typically discouraged especially with people. Here's an example of a low angle image that works. The key is not to see "up the nose" or add "chins." You have to get the angle of the image plane just right. It's tricky but you can do it. I'm about 3 feet below them, with the camera bracket in hand.

I really like to shoot very low angle when possible. I will literally put the feet of my camera bracket on the ground and track the subject by turning the camera left and right until I feel the shot and "wham", it's there. Auto focus is best but manual focus works great especially if the subject matter is in a consistent spot.

Happy Turkey Day

We all know that Thanksgiving is so much more than turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. It's a time to stop and be thankful for all that we have been blessed with! I am so grateful for a day to really stop and do this and be with loved ones. I can honestly say that I stopped thinking about the troubles of our daily lives, like our economy and the uncertain future of our so amazing country. I somehow just let it all go and I am so grateful for that today. I am also so grateful for my family, my passion/job and good health. I hope that you have had a real chance to stop and take stock in your many blessings and riches!

Sincerely,
Michael Lloyd

Meet The Crockett's

Meet The Reynold's Family

I love the contrast of the green foreground and the red bushes. I cross processed this image to give it a little color & contrast snap. I nailed this one within 5 minutes, that seems to happen to me allot :D

What a doll!

Veteran's Day Remembered

I wanted to publically Thank all of the past and present Veteran's for giving me the freedom to live in this amazing land, have free speech, free choice and MANY, MANY other rights.
I love my job as a people photographer and I would NOT be able enjoy this right and blessing with out you all! You are not forgotten, you are appreciated and loved....Thank You Very Much!

Sincerely,
Michael

Blogging...what's that?

Holy did I forget to blog or what?? I have been such a blog slacker! I guess I've been too busy to put some pix up of, the thousands I've shot since my last post. Oh well, that's being busy as a bee :D

Michael in action, with Steve + Meghan

Here's a fun video of me in action with Steve + Meghan's at SLC Temple.

Video courtesy of Matt, from: happilyeverafterdvd.com

Mount Timpanogos at sunset

So this evening when I was taking out the trash and doing a little house cleaning, I looked up at Mount Timpanogos and saw the awesome lighting with the fresh white snow against the fall leaves and decided to pull out the ladder and shoot from my roof top. I'm not a big fan of heights but a roof top I can do. Every once and a while I shoot from the roof top, but I will probably do this more often :)

The lighting was great when I got up there and the clouds were so dramatic. As I waited for the color to come on I just took in the awesome 360 view. I'm trying to stop here and there more often, instead of barreling through my whole life and regretting not doing so.
There's a term we photographers use called alpen glow. This is the type of light we get when the sun dips below the horizon. Most people think your best shots are only at sunset, but that's not necessarily true. The color usually lights up the entire sky and for about 2 minutes, tops, the sunlight blankets the mountains. The lighting was more dramatic with the direct sunlight on the mountains this evening. But the bottom lines is we live in an absolutely beautiful state and country. What more can I say!?

I love the contrast of fall color, blue sky and white snow ^

Watching this happen right in front of my eyes is an amazing sight! I get soo excited that I feel like a little kid :) Photo of the day ^

Provo Canyon photograph on KSL 5 news

To my surprise, my photograph made the news tonight following the Eagles vs. Bears game. I shot this image on my way to a reception yesterday. I was ahead of schedule so I took full advantage of our beautiful state and God's amazing creations. The changing aspens and yellows are just around the corner. They are real strong in Park City right now.

Original image ^

Provo Canyon, on my way up to Deer Valley

Provo River ^

Provo Canyon ^

Color infrared ^, shot just above Provo Canyon near Deer Creek Dam. I saw this lonely little tree with a missing middle section and I couldn't help but flip around and go back to it.

I Solarized this image ^. I was looking North East from Park City.

So I drove to 3 different gas stations looking for the New citrus Rock Star, before my Deer Valley Reception and drove along side this Awesome tree with amazing back light.

Nature Photo of the day ^

What an absolutely amazing state and country we live in!

Provo Peak in the fall

Provo Peak ^

So today was the day for our annual trip across Camels Back trail. It starts in Provo Canyon and comes out in Hobble Creek Canyon. Typically we plan for a 5 hour drive with all of the stops and photo opps. This year we just missed the peak for reds & oranges by about 3-5 days is my guess. But the yellows are just about here now. So if you are still looking to go for a ride up Provo Canyon do it now or in a few days :)

BYU hosts Wyoming with a 44-0 shutout!

Fui Vakapuna putting the hurt on his opponents, he loves to go at 'em!

Max Hall to Dennis Pitta

Sweet set up man :)

Future Heisman Trophy winner??

David Nixon scoring a touch down for the Kick Butt defense

This Photo of the day ^ tells the story of the game, the D-Line is Awesome!

Max Hall & Austin Collie chillin' with a healthy 44-0 lead, while the secondary keeps the Cowboys down

Harvey Unga is a stud! He's got great hands, tons of power and he's a Provo native

Karissa's Bridal Shoot

I love low angle

What a doll

I love fill light

Not everyone likes their toes photographed, but Karissa did. Her soo cute orange shoes were a perfect opportunity to show off a pedicure. Photo of the day ^ because of the artistic process

Classic shot of the full dress

The sunlight was so amazing!

A little extra color and artistic flare for an otherwise average sunset

Mount Timpanogos photograph on KSL 5 news

This was a fun follow up to the trip this morning with my buddy Mike. I shot this still image from my plasma after I saw it air on the 6 & 10pm news.

Here's the uncropped version.
Get out and enjoy the Fall season ;)

9-11 NOT forgotten

Did you take a moment in your busy schedule today to remember those who died and lost loved ones on this anniversary of the 9-11 attacks? We live in a land rich in happiness, blessing's and most of all FREEDOM. There are so many that would love to have what we Americans have and in some cases they might appreciate it more too!!
I felt overwhelmed today when I thought about this and really remembered this anniversary and also those who get up each and EVERY DAY to protect and preserve our FREEDOM'S. Count your many blessing's and may GOD continue to bless this GREAT Nation that we all LOVE.

A little Jeepin' above American Fork Canyon

So my good buddy Mike, a.k.a. Dr.Mike or to me, my Awesome dentist, decided to take 5 today. 5 hours that is, up above Tibble Fork Lake in American Fork Canyon. Sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses and realize why you work so hard! In this case we stopped to smell some very clean and fresh air above the city sprawl. As many of you know I'm programmed to work only (see: nightowlphotoholic post) but today I decided to enjoy shooting some scenery and a few details here in this beautiful state of Utah, that I call home.

We met at the crack of dawn, the sun wasn't even up yet. (my kind of hours) The top was off of the Rubicon, the air was brisk! Fall is definitely in the air. Our first stop was at Tibble Fork to take a few shots and let out some air in the tires to ready the rubber for the rocks.

We followed the windey black top up until we met the dirt road. This was our next stop for a shot, it was the back side of Mount Timpanogos. The next stop was just above Silver Lake Flats ish, when I say ish I mean we didn't GPS it :) We crossed over a little stream and then back over it a couple of minutes later. Mike and I heard that there was another Lake up above Silver Lake Flats so we jeeped up a sweet rocky and slick runoff path, way up on the mountain side that came to an old mine shaft at a dead end. Talk about a 10 point turn on a cliff! Mike's a very experienced, safe and smart driver. After all of that maneuvering I asked Mike if he thought that, that was a little hairy? He replied, "Ya a Little." With a Big Smile. LOL!

On our way back down to where we crossed over the little stream I shot some very wet flower pix, they were beautiful with the morning sun. Next we headed up to the back side of Mineral Basin and at the top there was a huge gate with a No Trespassing sign on it, that kept up from literally climbing over the top of the mountain! Darn gate. We stopped for a bit and harassed a squirrel, took some more flower pix and just took in the absolute beauty of Gods wonderful creation's. What more can I say? We had a blast and we were both back in our office's just in time for lunch :)

Jeep Man!

Tibble Fork East view ^

Tibble Fork, South view. Photo of the morning ^

East side of Mount Timpanogos ^

Little stream near Silver Lake Flats ^

ROCK on Mike!

Did someone say.....OZZY?

There were beautiful flower's everywhere!

Utah Valley Magazine: American Legacy Academy Summer Gala '08

Today I cracked open the latest edition of Utah Valley Magazine, September/October '08 and saw the article about the American Legacy Academy Summer Gala '08 photographed on July 31st. The story was found in the UV seen section, highlighting community events etc.

It reminded me of how great the event was to shoot and be a part of. BTW I Love this image :)

Emily's Bridal @ the Garden's

Photo of the day ^

Steve & Meghan's Bridal shoot

Photo of the day :)

Beautiful family with one little turkey!

What a handsome boy! Photo of the day ^

Miss squinty pants!

Did you notice the little turkey ;)

Now the little turkey is smiling! Negotiation is the key.

Very Happy moment.

Don't they look Great!

American Legacy Academy: Summer Gala 2008, fundraiser & auction

The marketing director for American Legacy Academy stumbled upon my website and said she. "was very impressed with my work." ALA is a private school and they needed a photographer to cover their annual fundraising gala and for current marketing material. Roger Anthony a very successful motivational speaker was the main speaker. Jon Schmidt was the evening's entertainment. Both were very great, very nice and incredibly talented!

Other guests on the VIP list included Marvin Pain and his wife, Tom Holmoe and his wife, Zane Gray and his wife, Vance Law and his wife.
We had an amazing gourmet meal!! Wow the chicken would rival any, that I have ever had! The evening was filled with talk of the children, the gospel and a very exciting auction. I was more than honored to donate my time for the future of our community and education.

Vance Law eyeing an authentic, signed and framed Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson photograph. I heard among the bidders that it was actually shot at the Salt Palace.

Roger Anthony was a Gold Medal winner at the Australian Academy of Boxing Speed Ball Championship and currently a motivational speaker. Seen here practicing with the speed ball, for the visual demonstration he includes in his speech.

Here to support this great cause was Vance Law a former Major League Baseball All-Star and Tom Holmoe a former San Francisco 49er and 3 time Superbowl Champion. Vance is currently the BYU baseball head coach and Tom is the BYU athletic director.

Jon Schmidt is a new age classical pianist.

Karen Bohrer co-founder of American Legacy Academy.

It was very impressive to watch Jon's body language as he connected to the baby grand piano. It was as if his body moved to the exact sound and rhythm of each note. I had never heard him live and he was absolutely amazing. Great job Jon!

Now that's one very eager bidder!

Lots of laughs during a bidding War :)

If that's not the look of Victory.....it was.

Jeremy Elliot (a.k.a. Sam) from the movie Charly, with a very excited fan.

Steve + Karissa

I really wanted to see the wall's on both sides of me, but still have Steve & Karissa as the focal point.

I love the way the texture from the wall turned out. Also I'm very happy to see Steve's eye's and face really well, even with his hat on. Normally I'd say hat's like this are bad for engagements but his worked out and it really suits his personality too! Photo of the day^

Tall grass is a must this time of the year. It's everywhere and I LOVE it :) Karissa's mom came with us on this shoot and she was standing to my left when I asked Steve to go for the hiney! It was so funny. We all laughed for a couple of minutes after she gave him the Hand's Off Mister response. I love how the personalities come out with just a silly idea like that. If you are a prude, this is especially for you ;)

In loving memory of Don Morehouse

Great guy, Great businessman and most importantly a Great family man.

Don, you will be missed by many! We are all very sad that you have left this life early, but happy to know that you are home with our Heavenly Father!My thoughts and prayer's are with his wonderful family, I Love you guy's!

The following is the official report from KSL. By Whit Johnson.

Family mourns loss of man who drowned in triathlon
July 27th, 2008 @ 5:30pm
By Whit Johnson
Family and friends tonight are mourning the loss of well-known businessman and community volunteer Don Morehouse, who drowned Saturday while competing in a triathlon.
Morehouse was President and CEO of Slaymaker Group, which owns all the TGI Friday's and Winger's Restaurants in Utah and Idaho. Those who knew Morehouse say he was dedicated to his work, but more importantly, he was a dedicated family man and friend.

Morehouse leaves behind a wife, four children, seven grandchildren and countless friends. Family members say he was a busy man but always managed to go above and beyond for those he loved.
His wife, Fairy Morehouse, said, "If Don was in the room and you didn't get a smile and a hug, there would be something wrong."
By age 60, Morehouse accomplished success by all definitions of the word. Living in Provo, Don was a CEO and an athlete, he traveled, and he helped build a large, loving family. "I mean, there was nothing negative about him," Fairy said.
Today, his wife, along with friends and family, shared stories about Don's life. He was the perfect husband, the perfect grandfather and the perfect father and a perfect friend," Fairy said.
Morehouse died Saturday while competing in the Spudman Triathlon in Burley, Idaho. During the swimming portion of the race, witnesses say they heard Don call for help just before he disappeared under the water. Rescue crews were unable to revive him. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
"He'd buy his books, and he'd read his books, and he'd do the training plan. And he was ready to finish and complete another project, another dream," his wife said.
Don's family says he was healthy, in remarkable shape and recently competed in a number of marathons. Why Don went underwater is still unknown, but he was able to touch the hearts of many before he passed.
"My grandson said, ‘He was going to come watch my game Tuesday.' I said I'll be at your game on Tuesday. We're just going to fill his shoes."
Nearly 2,000 people participated in the Spudman. Besides the swimming event, the competitors bike 40 kilometers and run 10 kilometers. A spokesman said this is the first fatality that has occurred in the Spudman's 22-year history. "We've had some people that have needed to be pulled out of the water or hang on to the side of a boat," he said, "but we've never had anything like this before," he said.
E-mail: wjohnson@ksl.com

Spicing up the office, Stage 1

So amongst all of the shoots, editing and lack of sleep (this is normal) I....We have finally begun to paint and spice up the office. Dev you are the bomb honey! I have been putting it off for ummmmmm several years! Kind like the website, there's never enough time for it all :(

On the walls I have a NEW coat of paint called "Trench Coat." It is a warm beige tone. Also the very stylish furniture has been painted a NEW color; black instead of the old brown. We really loved the stained red that was on the walls but it was time!

Next up is carpet, base and the so very important NEW frames and enlargements. I will add pix when my o.c.d. wears off :)

Finally I have a NEW website!

Okay so I finally have my NEW website and it only took me 2 months to decide on one and another month get it where it's at right now, I think they call that OCD! There's still allot to do but hey I'm only one crazy person you know, see: (Nightowlphotoholic). But I will say that it's much closer to my style than the antiquated one. The old site served it's purpose and I'm happy that I've moved on. So my guess is I'll be ready for another new one in a year or less, we'll see :)

Tell me what you think, I'm excited to hear feed back.

6 months of blogging!

Well it's been 6 months since I started this photography blog. Allot has changed in my life and with my photography style. I'm so glad to just be me again! This artist has truly begun the next stage in his photography career. I hope the next 6 months are equally fun and exciting. Thanks for taking the time to hear my thoughts and see my photography evolve :)

Cheers, Michael.

Aah Sushi with Rhett and Ryan

So I just got back from SLC for a little business lunch at Aah Sushi in downtown SLC. It's a regular spot for Ryan and a first for Rhett and I.

Dang; I think the "Crazy Vegas" Roll was my favorite, not shown. It sure was tasty! Oh and a Diet Coke with lemon to wash it all down. We've been trying to get together since WPPI and we've all been so busy. In case you were wondering and would like to try them, the roll on the left and middle are "Playboys" and the roll on the right is a "Mars."

Ryan and I brought our cameras, his is some nikon whatever and I have the Canon 1D MarkIII, did I mention that I love my Canon camera? Now that we've got that out of the way, we decided to take some fun pix while we had 30 minutes before it was off to work. Got to pays bills :)

More pix to follow.........

Steve and Meghan's Engagement shoot

Steve, Meghan and I had the coolest engagement shoot Tuesday night! We shot in downtown Provo and at The Castle (which I LOVE) for their engagement session. When they arrived I was sitting on a chair watching them stroll up hand in hand and they were so cute and full of excitement! Our first spot was just along the parking way between the building's. I shot wide angle first and then some cropped in detail shots of their hand's and feet. Next we went to the stinky alley way (sorry guys!) and just around the corner from their were some window's. Meghan loves windows and stairways. A few kissing shots and then off to downtown. We stopped for a few shots with a Huge AMERICAN FLAG along University Ave.

Steve, Michael and Meghan

Next a wooden bench for a few shots. The next thing we knew we had an audience of a dozen or so and it was kind of awkward for Steve and Meghan, so we moved on for a little refresher at the nearby pizza shop. I LOVE Apple Beer...yummy.

We decided to make a quick stop at the Provo City Library. We did some cool shots on the stairs, up in the rail openings and in front of the monument. The monument shots were funky wide angle and their feet looked huge!

We were now on our way back to the cars and off to The Castle.

Photo of the day (above)

We pulled up and of course 6 bazillion people were there! I said, "We are going as far away from them as possible!" When we got out of the cars, the light was already amazing and holy cow we just went nuts with all of the fun, funky and crazy shots! Mixed hats, sun-glasses, mixed together etc.
Around the corner was a cool set of stairs with just Rad lighting! I shot some through a hand rail and some with the killer sky and sunset. Just before the sun went away we shot a few more with the Steve's yodeler hat and Meghan's pee-pee hat (inside joke).

Man they were so fun!!

Ryan in Las Vegas

Solarized in two layers. Mostly hand painted for the exact look I wanted.

Infrared B&W, I love the texture. It reminds me of a still you might see in a Quentin Tarantino film. I'm torn but I think this one is my favorite.

Color Infrared, cross-processed. I love how Ryan's left hand looks like it's on fire.

So I've been putting of tweaking these images of Ryan since our trip to Vegas for WPPI. I have looked at the vanilla version for so long now that I just couldn't wait any longer. At first you may think, "WOW....What is this??" But to be honest this is what I need to do every once and a while, when I am spending allot of time touching up and perfecting the "Traditional" images and filling print orders etc. It was sure fun to tweak these images!! :)

Dang Cute Family!

Yes, everyone's eyes are open :)

Brrrr that was some cold water, but worth all of the fun and personality that came out of it!

Photo of the day :)

Hi guys I just wanted to tell you that I had so much fun shooting your pix! Even with a sleepy Itty Bitty, I thought they turned out great. I can't wait until 1 year baby pix!

I Love you all, Michael

Nightowlphotoholic; what's that??

When I was texting in between the wedding today, I came up with a crazy word that defines a certain person I know!?

So who do you get when you cross a night owl with a photographer who works and edits weddings until 6 a.m.?........Michael Lloyd, that's who.
Hence: Night Owl, Photographer, Workaholic. (Nightowlphotoholic).

Seriously this is my life and yes, I shoot good exposures in camera but...I imagine the potential of the image. I work my guts out to exceed my client's expectations and so far after 8+ years, it still works! Call me crazy, but I get so excited to see and share an image that otherwise is average.

Ryan and Stacey at Saltair

I don't usually love poser shots, but this one's HOT and it's my photo of the day because their personalities were captured just right.

Tyler and Jenica at the Salt Lake Temple

My favorite artistic image of the day. (above)

My favorite fun image of the day. (above)

click here to view Tyler and Jenica's wedding online.

Use the event code: Parcell2008 to view them, enjoy :)

Kenny's Photo Lab

So today I picked up a couple of 16x20's that I ordered for a client and I found out that Kenny's now has Fuji paper!! Wow! I am a big fan of Fuji papers! I really struggled with the look of the Kodak paper for proofing and small enlargements. The reason I say that is because I was so use to the look of film prints '96-'04 and the "NEW" ( back in October '04) digital prints, had a VERY different look to them. There was allot to learn and adjust for the paper that I had been so use to seeing day in and day out. Without going on and on about the differences etc., I can say that I have tried nearly every paper and always came back to Fuji papers.

Give Kenny's a try, they are VERY fast, VERY reasonable and Guarantee your satisfaction! You will be VERY HAPPY with their service and products.

P.S. they have tons of Frames, which is VERY convenient and are right next door to Ernie's Deli and Papa Murphy's. So after you've ordered some prints go kick your feet up for lunch. Yummy!

186 West Center Street, Orem.

Little Sister and Big Brother

My favorite photo of the shoot because she was soo sick and this one really shows her happy side :)

Family pic of the day?? I like them all!

Meet The Johnson's

Photo of the day (above)

James and Kim @ Heritage Gardens

I love to come a little early and get the real moments of the bride getting ready before the wedding ceremony.

Kim is so beautiful!

If this image doesn't show character, I don't know what one will! Funny.

My heart is racing at this point and all I can focus on is the look on James face as Kim gets closer and closer to him.

I love walking shots. Now it's official!

Seriously how fun is this bridal party! I love that the guys didn't even flinch when I asked them to show off their sass! LOL

I love the fact that my camera has such high quality and high resolution, that I can crop in as much as I'd like. The rings are tack sharp!

I love this image! I was practically jumping up and down when I captured it. The gardens were as always amazing!

A brief moment to have a bite.

I couldn't walk away from this little girl until I captured a perfect moment of her personality. What a doll! It took me a half dozen images and about 5 minutes to nail this expression. She was so busy playing and fascinated with the light passing through the fork.

Nice save James and solid effort Kim. Don't worry, she still got him ;)

I about fell over when I stumbled upon this Itty Bitty looking out the window. I love this real moment!

Can you feel that!? I love my job! I get to see everyone at their best. Photo of the day ^

I wanted more of an artistic expression and feel of them dancing. My camera was literally on the ground looking up. I love to shoot low angle, but it takes allot of practice making sure the couple is in focus and not the wall behind them.

Just where I wanted the bouquet for a perfect expression.

Honeymoon baby!!

Favorite bridal's of the day

My favorite image of the day! (above)

Off to War again?

Sweet Harley Davidson! It's the 2003, 100th Anniversary edition.

So I was dang thirsty about an hour and a half into our shoot and I decided to make a quick zip through the Taco Bell drive-thru, on our way to the next location. I ordered a 32 ounce root beer and the lady said that'll be a buck eighty two!? I was like whatever and drove up to the window. She said, "That'll be $1.82." I said 32 ounce root beer right!? Yep! In my mind I was like, are you kidding?? I was just caught off guard I guess! So apparently that's how they make up for their $ .99 bean burritos etc. By the way my favorite is with the green sauce :) Enjoy mmmmmm.

Bridals at Thanksgiving Point

Bridal of the day?

vs.

Family shoot of the week

Photo of the day

Photo of the day

Old camera from the NEW Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

So my family and I went to see the NEW Indiana Jones tonight and it was Awesome. It brought back tons of old fun memories that I have from the previous 3 movies. We had a blast! We even bought the Indiana Jones popcorn bucket for life. It's a huge bucket for $8 and you can refill it as many times and as often as you like for .50 cents. Can you say heart attack! But not if you are reasonable, right? So I'm not a big fan of giving away any info on movies before you see them, pet peeve and I think it takes away the magic! But...@ the end of the movie you'll see someone using the Kodak Brownie Hawkeye and I won't tell you who is using this camera. I'd love to see you post it, if you spot it.

The Kodak Brownie Hawkeye was well known for being one of the best square film cameras of it's time. Kodak released it in the fall of 1950 and stopped manufacturing it in the summer of 1961. It takes 620 roll film, better known as 2 1/4 by 2 1/4. The model that I have from my vintage collection is the flash model. Unfortunately I don't have the flash but if I find one. I'll post it :)

Image above shot with 1D Mark III + Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro. Camera on the left was shot hand held with available room light @ 1/80th, 2.8, 3200 ISO. Camera on the right has been cross-processed, because I love it that way!

Michael having a Hmmmmmmmmm moment!

So here's the hmmmmmm moment. I just went through 2000+ emails I've been meaning to go through for the last year, spring cleaning in late May. As I looked through, trashed, and saved them I started to checkout a blog here, a website there and it occurred to me that I have to stop fighting within myself about the styles that I personally like, that I haven't been pursuing. I have been couping up my feelings about it for a while now. I have seen some real cruddy photographs, websites and blogs the last couple of years. I feel like allot of photographers are relying on actions to save their blown out images and just calling it art instead of having a properly exposed image to begin with. (just my opinion take it for what it's worth) But on the other hand I have been more inspired by the great photography that I have seen and discovered in the last 4 or 5 months. You know who you are :) I try so hard to give my clients and the moms exactly what they want and totally forget about me in the process. I live to make my clients happy and give them an awesome experience. Really since I switched from film to digital in 2004, I can honestly say that I miss film, but strongly believe that digital is tons better for my clients and 110% worth the reward! I love shooting 600+ images at a wedding. I really like digging deep inside of me to be more creative and less safe. I'll always love classic and candid photography and implement them into my shoots. I'm ready to be me again and I feel so strongly about this.

Photo of the day

Photo of the day

I love the way the dress looks with shallow depth of field, lots of contrast and tons of color.

Shot mid-day with Canon 1D Mark III + Canon 70-200mm 2.8 L IS + Canon 580EX + Gold Reflector.

Hold her close

Adjusted hands after.

This image was shot during Mike and Kari's first dance. I was going for the painted look and I liked the way it turned out. This is my way of painting right now. A canvas, paints and a brush is just not practical at this stage of my journey. Maybe when I reach the Bob Ross stage I can pick it up again. Who knows, maybe I'll start up again in the very near future.

Meet Stetler: 24 days old

The wait for a new camera is over! 1D Mark III

So I have been waiting for a 5D replacement for months now, but that wait is over! My good friend Kenneth Linge was about to eBay his 1D Mark III and he gave me a buzz before he put it up for bidding. I was so happy he called me and stoked to pickup a killer light writer like this! I literally shot 3 or 4 frames into an engagement and my decision was made. Wow this camera ROCKS!

OZZY edition :)

Michael & Sharon Rust

Meet Michael & Sharon Rust, married March 21st, 2008.
I shot Michael and Sharon's wedding post WPPI '08.
I really applied the ideas that I had just learned from that
Awesome experience. I felt more connected to them than
normal. I think it was a combination of their personalities
and the newly acquired ideas. I admit I looked at everything
in a very open minded way. I shot the bridal above at that
location for the first time and I've been shooting at Temple
Square since '96. I watched and waited for that connection
to them. It may sound touchy and feely but it's part of the
experience. I love it!

Senior Pix: Alex Anderson '08

Here are a two of the four outfits Alex chose for his senior portrait shoot. We shot all of them in the studio, which works out great with all of the crazy Utah weather we are having.

New MLP Logo '08

Ryan & Kathi Gray: April 27th, 2002

Talk about making my day! When I was checking my email today I received a message from two of my favorite clients ever, Ryan and Kathi Gray. This is why I have the best clients in the world!

"Hey Michael,

You shot our wedding in Manti on April 27, 2002. I just did a wedding album for our anniversary, and I got to thinking about how fabulous you are and how much fun you were to work with. Anyways, I thought I'd send the album to you just for kicks. I'm way into digital scrap booking, and I can't begin to tell you how invaluable it is to have the rights (negatives) to our wedding day photos so I can make prints and do fun things like scrapbook with them. I know lots of people who are very jealous of this!!! Anyways, here's the book...

Ryan and Kathi Gray's Happy Wedding

Several of my friends have seen the book I made, and a lot of their reaction has been regret of not having a better photographer. Of all the things I did (or didn't do) for my wedding, the one thing I would never change was having you as our photographer. Even after six years and lots of distance from the details of our wedding day, I can honestly say that working with you was one of the most enjoyable parts of the day. I look at all the pictures, and I am amazed at how well you captured our feelings that day. When I look at them, I go back to my wedding day. They are simply priceless.

I hope you and your family are doing well. Your photography on your site looks amazing!!!"

Thanks,
Kathi Gray

A night with Henk van Kooten

What an Awesome class! On March 25th, Pictureline sponsored this class and our hosts were Kenneth and Marylyn Linge. I love you guys :)
The emphasis on the class was "how to create your own creativity." Henk has not been big on organizing or structuring his photography. He has always concentrated on the art of photography. But about a year ago he decided to get structured and begin to tell his story. Henk has put together a DVD and book titled "One day with Henk van Kooten."
The DVD & book talk about the "10 point system." Check it out. Henk is a great artist and his work is very unique and different. Something he does with each person he shoots is, facial analysis. Henk can look at a person and tell where they belong in the picture and allot about their personality just by their facial language. He broke down several of his images and described why each person was in their specific location and why he placed them there. It was amazing. I think we subconsciously do that but I'm going to consciously implement that in my shoots. Drake Busath talked a little bit about this last year at a class he was teaching. Henks work speaks for itself, go check out his site.

Henk van Kooten
Christina, Henk's beautiful wife. She's the business and salesperson behind their studio

Marylyn and Kenneth Linge

Matthew Jordan Smith @ WPPI March 19th, 2008

Matthew Jordan Smith is best known for his beauty and fashion photography. He is also the photographer for "America's Next Top Model." Before I met Matthew I had already made up my mind that I really loved his work. We have all seen his beautiful work in magazines and books etc. The image that I saw last year of Cynthia Nixon with a red background really caught my eye. Matthew is a very nice and big hearted guy. When I was talking photography with him he was very humble, knowledgeable and polite. Later after reading his bio and more about his current projects I realized what a great guy he is and how much he gives back. You can read more about his book titled "Lost and Found." on his website. This book focuses on the struggles that families face when a child has been abducted. This is just one of the example of his personal projects, that helps other people. Matthew is an amazing photographer! He has really polished his technical skills. Matthew has a rule of never showing a single image. He shows his images typically in pairs. I've seen this look for years and I never knew it had an official name. Matthew calls it the rule of opposites. We all know about the rule of thirds but how cool is the rule of opposites. Last but not least Matthew tells us to DREAM BIG!

Here's my example of rule of opposites.

Catherine Hall @ WPPI March 17th, 2008

Catherine was so amazing! She talked about trust, educating our clients and fear. In my own words Trust is the way our clients feel safe with us. When they have faith in our skills and feel a strong connection to us they can relax and be themselves. This is vital. Once we have gained the trust of our clients we can begin the process of educating our clients and helping them achieve what they want from their photography. Fear is a big part of each of our lives. We experience fear on a daily basis. It is an emotional response to something in our lives. It can be as simple as a job interview or as scary as skydiving. Of course going to a job interview is not jumping out of an airplane but if you are unprepared and not ready for the interview it could be scary. The same for skydiving if you have been educated, trained to jump and have a professional instructor tethered to you, you know it now comes down to your will to do it. Here's the link to Catherine's blog.

Young Guns @ WPPI March 16th. 2008

Sunday night was our first class and it was with the Young Guns. The Young Guns are 12 of the hottest young photographers out there, period.
I was inspired to hear from each of the speakers. Each photographer had there own style of shooting, marketing and connection to people. To me the main theme behind all that we learned was to be yourself, show who you are, tell your clients story and overcome your fears. These ideas really apply to our entire life, no matter what business we are in!














Rhett, Mike and Ryan after Young Guns.

Steelers Rock!

I always encourage props at any shoot, it's always more fun! Kari just happens to be a huge Steelers fanatic. Her props included a Steelers toe ring, the Terrible Towel, a Steelers throw blanket and of course an NFL football. These props were a perfect way to show Kari's personality and add to her classic style bridals.

WPPI '08

Long over due for me, Two years to be exact. It's amazing how life just flys by when you have the best job in the world, a crazy schedule and a beautiful little family.
My goal this year is to discover a few new albums, new templates, fresh work flow ideas, tungsten lights and just have fun!

My first camera

This is my very first camera. It's an ITT magicflash 110 camera. I can't find much info on it but I know that this camera was made in Hong Kong between 1960-'68. It was a gift from my Mom back in 1984, I was 10 years old. How funny, I still have this old dog. Cameras have come light years since the 110 days. Thanks again Mom!

Creativity

cre·a·tiv·i·ty /ˌkrieɪˈtɪvɪti

–noun
1.
the state or quality of being creative.
2.
the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts.
3.
the process by which one utilizes creative ability: Extensive reading stimulated his creativity.
[Origin: 1870–75; creative + -ity]

Snow People

Okay...I know it's silly and a bit out there but I just couldn't resist. I thought it was funny.

Beautiful day for a wedding

Last Saturday Jesse & Charley had their wedding ceremony outside! I can't tell you how blessed we all were to have the sun shining after weekends of snow, snow and more snow. We took full advantage of it and had so much fun. These images are just a few of my new creative styles that I'm really enjoying right now.

Just a few Thank You's

I have the best clients in the World. Here's just a few of the Thank You cards I have received from my Awesome clients. My personal goal, has always been to focus on the Bride & Grooms wants and needs first. It 's usually a bit crazy on the wedding day and I don't want my clients to have to worry about coming up with ideas or worrying about what has or has not been photographed yet. I always encourage ideas, props and fun shots too! This is one reason I always strongly suggest a bridal shoot. Beside having bridals for display at the wedding, it's a great opportunity for us to work, play and have fun together while we get to know each others personalities and style.

Snowboarders @ Timpanogos

Timpanogos Temple that is. Randy and Cierra wanted a shot with their boards, oh and the fop hat. Cierra braved the snow on her feet twice to have this shot, the former was back behind the Temple for the wide angle shots. What a beautiful day it ended up being. We all expected teens and the usual wind.

Utah Weddings Cover Image 2008

Well I finally got my hands on the new 2008 Utah Weddings Book, I've been anxiously waiting to put it in hand since fall '07. It only took me 4 tries (ha ha) to finally get the cover shot.

Stiff competition. I'll submit for the 2009 edition later this summer/fall.