Soft Boxes

We get asked a lot about using soft boxes ... why and when. A soft box is used when you want to have diffused light ... light that is even and softly transitions. It's the best way to recreate the look of daylight coming through a window within the studio environment. I pull out my soft boxes quite a bit when I am in my studio ... for portraits and object photography. I tend to use them less on location, as they can be pretty unwieldy. Since I am a natural light shooter, I like the quality of light the provide. My umbrellas can be a bit harder than I like in some situations. When you acquire your first set of studio strobes (or "hot" lights), that will be when you'll want to invest in at least one good soft box. Make sure it is rated to handle the heat for your wattage of lamps, is sturdy, and the setup/breakdown/storage is as simple as possible. They are not all made the same, invest in the best quality you can afford. I've been using mine for almost a decade and they are still going strong.

Art Market Update

Thank you, again, to all who came by today ... we enjoyed getting to meet everyone!

No Art Market next Saturday (Dec. 5th), but the final one of the year will be on December 12th. There is some great art available even on non-Market days ... if you are in the area, please pop on by the shopping center to see some examples in the window. If you like anything, go to Suite 9, Monday thru Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, we will be happy to help.

We have wine-themed decorated Christmas trees, novels from local author, Robert Anderson, local photography, Swedish embroidery, scroll saw woodworking (including ornaments), and jewelry.

Art Market will be going on hiatus after December 12th. We are talking about reconvening the Saturday before Mother's Day in 2010, if a space remains available and there is enough interest. Let us know what you think!

Art Market Continues

Hope everyone had a joyous Thanksgiving and its continuing into the weekend! We thank everyone who came by to see us today and the Art Market continues tomorrow ... 9 am to 4 pm at Palisades Village Shopping Center. Hwys 54 & KK ... come on by for some great gifts.

There will be no Art Market next Saturday, December 5th due to other artist commitments, but our last one of the year will be December 12th. We've been chatting about doing something special for our local supporters ...

Website Changeover

There may be some intermittent outages to our website and email as we changeover to our new site and hosting. Hang in there with us ... the new look is going to be awesome! We'll still be available at midnightbluestudios.com during the change, it will only impact 12amblue.com. Thanks for your patience!

Thank You!!

In this week of Thanksgiving, we wanted to express our utmost gratitude to the clients and friends of Midnight Blue. Taking this creative journey with you all is amazing and we wake to each new day, thrilled with the opportunities it may bring to be of service to you. Thank you so much!!

May your holiday be filled with love and joy ...

Need Jewelry?

Okay, maybe no one really needs jewelry ... Want Jewelry? Dream about beautiful things? Talk to us! We love doing commissions. We get really excited to help with that unique, special gift or making your vision for a piece come to life. And it is not that expensive ... earrings start at $12.

Art Market

Thank you to everyone who has been attending the Art Market!

Our next market is this Friday & Saturday ... 11 am to 4 pm. We will be in Suite 13 at the Palisades Village Shopping Center (between Little Shop of Hers and Country Crossroads), located at KK & 54 in Osage Beach. A full house of artists and artisans is lining up ... there will be woodworking, jewelry, photography, paintings, holiday trees, embroidery ... great gifts for the holidays and you will be supporting the arts in our community ... come by to see us! The coffee pot will be going ...

Artists interested in showing and selling your work, please let me know ... I will give you the details.

The Art Markets will be on hiatus for after December 12th. We are hoping to reconvene in 2010.

Bottle #5 for Charity

Print #1 of "Bottle #5", from a limited edition of 5, will be auctioned at "A Taste of the Vine" this Saturday. It is an 8"x10" black and white print, archive matted in white to 16"x20" and framed in a thick, black wood frame under glass. A certificate of authenticity accompanies it, along with the actual bottle of bubbly from the photograph. This photograph was done as a special project, just for this event!

A Taste of the Vine is lots of fun and benefits the Shriners this year ... hope you'll be able to attend and please bid on the piece!

Photoshop Plug-Ins

What would be the one Photoshop Plug-In I would not want to do without? Tough one ... I am a plug-in junkie. Love them!! Get sucked in by the newest, coolest ones. But if I had to choose just one, it would be Nik Sharpener Pro. I have been using Nik Sharpener for years and pretty much every one of my photos runs through this plug-in, just to be sure its the crispest it can be. I have the whole Nik suite and their software is some of my favorites, but there is lots of cool stuff out there ... OnOne, AutoFx, Flaming Pear, Imagenomic, Topaz ... they all offer things a photographer can use. Plug-ins are a great way to make Photoshop even more powerful for you and help your images to perhaps sing in new ways. But as a junkie, I give this warning, be careful not to overuse them ... its easy to get carried away, piling on effects. There is a balance point, just like with any art, a place where you need to stop before you ruin it ... use them to make a great image even better, you'll know when its right, that "aha" moment. Then 'Stop'! Don't just use it because its new or cool, if it doesn't step up the artistic quality of your image. Drives me crazy to see inappropriate filters applied to an image. Hang in there, the right image will come along to use that filter.

Winter Glow 2009

It's time for WinterGlow!! :0)

Another Waterscape

Not sure why, but I have been absolutely fascinated by reflections the last couple of years. I see them everywhere ... here is the latest addition.

I loved this because of the reflection of the trees on the surface, but you could still see all of the leaves and debris under the water's surface, too. I think there is stillness and depth to the photo that I like to try to achieve in my personal work.