December 14, 2010

Big Rock at Low Tide | San Diego Fine Art Photography

Big Rock at Low Tide | San Diego Fine Art Photographer | ©William Bay Photographic Arts-DSCF4506

I’ve obviously been spending quite a bit of time around La Jolla and Windansea lately. It’s hard to blame a fella when there is amazing rock formations and tide changes to photograph all day long. And in all honesty, I’ve been like a kid with a new toy since I got my Neutral Density filters.

Here’s one at Big Rock, which is south of Windansea. When I was about 17 I ended up on the rock to the left while surfing one day. I quit surfing for good.

But then I started again. What can I say? I love surfing as much as I love Photography.

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December 13, 2010

Eric + Erinn | San Diego Engagement Photography | Imperial Beach + Windansea

Eric and Erinn are both officers in the Navy which rang for me with both of my parents having been in. Erinn is actually currently stationed in Virginia and Eric is working on getting into BUDS (Navy SEAL training) here in Coronado. They plan on getting married in Lawrence, Kansas. I’m crossing my fingers they fly me out to photograph the wedding too.

Eric currently lives in Imperial Beach, and Erinn was visiting him for a week, which was a perfect time to get their Engagement Photography session done. we started out in IB with a few early morning shots with my Neutral Density filter technique I’ve been working on out on the pier and jetty. We took a mid-day break for lunch, then met back up at Windansea to finish off the session in the afternoon sun. The beach was packed with other photographers, so we snuck off to one of my secret spots I like to use.

We came up with some great shots. The Neutral Density photos (the two B+W) are composites with the first exposure in the 20 second range and the second shot with Eric and Erinn was about 1/45th of a second. A little bit of Photoshop magic and we have some unique artwork.

Eric + Erinn | San Diego Wedding Photographer | ©William Bay Photographic ArtsDSCF4613}
Eric + Erinn | San Diego Wedding Photographer | ©William Bay Photographic ArtsDSCF4593-Edit}
San Diego Engagement Photography
Eric + Erinn | San Diego Wedding Photographer | ©William Bay Photographic ArtsDSCF4709}
Eric + Erinn | San Diego Wedding Photographer | ©William Bay Photographic ArtsDSCF4746}

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November 26, 2010

Black Friday Sunset

There were those that were out chasing deals today. I am very Thankful that on this beautiful day after Thanksgiving, I was not one of them.
I was out, practicing my skills and spending a day photographing some really great clients Eric and Erinn for their Engagement Session. We started in Imperial Beach in the morning, took a break at mid-day and met later on at the La Jolla Reefs area for the golden hour.

After we wrapped up I grabbed this shot of the Windansea Shack and the Agave spire in the sunset.

I love San Diego.

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November 24, 2010

Self-Portrait, Windansea

I love winter time in San Diego. The sun gets low enough in the sky for the full day, and I can photograph almost all day long if I want to. The above photo was taken at about three o’clock in the afternoon at Windansea Beach. The rich surfing history has always made it one of my favorite beaches in San Diego. The palm-frond shack behind me has been there since the 40′s and has always fascinated me for the brotherhood that surfers share. Some surfer built a shelter for his brothers to gather and story-tell about travels and life, waves ridden and poundings received.

This is more Neutral Density compositing I’m working with. The first photograph was 15 seconds long which allowed the waves to blur out into a hazy soup, and the clouds moved slightly as well. The second photograph was 1/15th of a second, and I didn’t have a beautiful model to stick in the photo today, so I stepped in.

I need to check my lens and see if I broke it.

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November 17, 2010

New Design Coming, and a Personal Challenge

The Design

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about who I am as a photographer lately and I’ve come to the conclusion that my current site doesn’t reflect what my photography is about. The current design has been up for almost 2 years now and that also has me clamoring for a redesign.

As of now, I have a very close friend of mine working on a new logo, and I’m in the process of a complete website redesign. The redesign will be a ground up, everything: logo, look and feel, navigation, the photography displayed. It will all be new.

The Challenge

A 365 Project is in the works too. A photo and blog post everyday for 365 days. This will officially begin in January and stretch the entire year. But I’m ramping up my posting now so it’s not that much of a shock to me when I have to post every single day.

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November 16, 2010

Fun With Photography

I’ve had an idea I’ve been toying with in my head for awhile, and I wanted to try it in real world application. Yesterday was a gorgeous day here in San Diego, perfect for a day of fun experimentations. I grabbed my big tripod and headed out to Sunset Cliffs to play in the afternoon light.

My experiment was with Neutral Density Filters. ND Filters (for short) are simply filters that block a certain amount of light while taking a photograph. That allows the photographer to make very long exposures during the day which could be used to indicate a passage of time.

As you can see in these shots I used the ocean to show that passage of time. Both pictures are 20 seconds long. With such long exposures the ocean takes on a blurry, hazy, ghost like appearance which can be very cool. A friend of mine, Cole Thompson, is a master at this technique and has an impressive collection of coastal photographs that put these two pictures to shame.

One of the reasons I started playing around with this is because I’ve wanted to begin incorporating this technique into portrait work.
You might ask: “How can I take pictures of people with 20-30 second exposures?”
Easy! I take two pictures. One with the ND Filters on, and one without, and combine them later using masking techniques in Photoshop.
As you can see in the photo below; I took a picture of this Fisherman named John without the ND Filters at 1/45th of a second. And when he stepped away to bait his hook out of view, I took another exposure at 20 seconds.
With a little Photoshop work, we now have a fun photograph that would not necessarily be possible otherwise.

I’m really looking forward to using this technique on everything from family portraits to my own style of fine art environmental portrait work for individuals, and who knows… Maybe even weddings that take place on the beach, or formals after the wedding. The sky is certainly the limit.

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November 15, 2010

Come See Me Talk About WordPress

william bay wordpress professional photographers of san diego countyI’m very excited to be putting together my very first speaking gig. I will be speaking to the Professional Photographers of San Diego County on December 7th from 9am-5pm.

I’ll be covering a lot of information about blogging in general, how to get started, the benefits to WordPress as your blogging and website engine, search engine optimization, and quite a bit more.

I will also provide a critique and comment period on the attendees websites and how they can improve their site, blog and search engine rankings with easy tweaks.

Whether you are a wedding photographer, portrait photographer or anything else, you won’t want to miss out on this event.

To register, go over to the PPSDC website and pay online. Space is limited and we expect to have a full house. So sign up early.

The cost is $25 for PPSDC members.
And $35 for Non-members

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October 18, 2010

Reflections on Beach Family Portraits

I get a lot of comments on photos like this one above about the reflections on the sand. It’s such a naturally beautiful element in a photo and makes for great family photos to hang on the wall in your house.

People ask how I do it…

Well, it’s not me really. It’s Mother Nature.
It all has to do with the rising and lowering of tides and the shimmer that is left behind as the tide recedes. At really flat beaches in San Diego, like Imperial Beach, Coronado, and along the cliffs near Torrey Pines, a low tide may go out rather far, leaving behind 40 yards or more of exquisite shimmering wet sand to get great portraits on.

The best time to do these shots are within an hour to sunset. The “Golden Hour” as it’s called, has everything glow and lights up everyones face’s with gorgeous warm light, and those reflections on the sand intensify.

If you are interested in having a family portrait done in this manner, there are a few dates coming up with very low tides that coincide with the “Golden Hour.”
In October, the 23rd, 24th, and 25th.
In November, the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th.
These are all fantastic dates to get your next family photograph taken.

And don’t forget, I’m running a Holiday Specialall the way to November 15th that includes Photo session & 25 Holiday cards for just $100.  So make sure you call 619.813.1919 or email me today to book your session.

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October 14, 2010

$100 Holiday Family Portrait Special

It’s that time of the year again! Yes, the holidays are sneaking right up on us, and it’s time to get your pictures taken to send them to all your favorite friends and family members the world over.

This year William Bay Photographic Arts is doing a great deal. Get a complete family portrait session on location in Beautiful San Diego, and 25 free 4×8 Photo Cards, for just $100. Normally a $200 Value. This deal will run from October 15th through November 28th.

You may choose from these 5 card styles above and below. You can even order more than your complimentary 25, as well as all kinds of Albums and Wall Art for your house. All from your family photo session.
So get your smile ready and call me 619.813.1919 or contact me today!

The fine print:
Additional cards are priced at 29.99 for each additional package of 25.
Cards are one sided photo cards, and only one line is customizable.
Digital files are not included, but are available.
All shoots at this price are on location in San Diego County.

Posted in Family Photography
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September 15, 2010

September PPSDC Print Competition

Print competition is here again. Yay!!!

At PPSDC (Professional Photographers of San Diego County), we hold 5 print competitions per year with a full panel of Master PPA Judges. And I truly love submitting my work, and hearing the critiques and discovering where I can get better in my photography.

And this year, it just so happens that I am responsible for putting the whole thing together… Yikes, what a responsibility! This year also happens to be a unique transition period, in which the Board has made the decision to convert over to digital display rather than actual prints. There were and are plenty reasons for going that route, and of course there are reasons for staying with traditional prints, but I won’t really get into that here.

I will say that I think we put on one hell of a show that night. Amy Dawnelle helped me with running the competition, and there were so many other people that helped set up and manage the flow of the night, including our Print Competition Chairperson from last year assisting with the handful of actual prints that a few members had submitted. Yes, we’re officially hybrid and people can submit digital or prints.

I submitted two photos. Only one merited (received an 80 or better) with a score of 81. This image might look familiar to some, as it comes up on the first page of my website.

Look out in November for my next competition pieces. I’ll definitely be sharing them.

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