Gunny Highway 6 months

he's running in this one, just to make sure we're all clear!
Well, I never thought I'd be a dog fan, but it's happened - who says people don't change? My whole entire family cannot believe it!

We got Gunny Highway, who is named after a Clint Eastwood character in the movie "Heartbreak Ridge", in October. Dan keeps bugging me that we need to do more "puppy portraits." I can hardly believe I'm posting them on my blog, but he's such a good puppy!

We're in obedience class at the Cannine Academy, and we think he's "most improved," he went from being the class clown to one of the best behaved! Last week he won a bone by doing a good "sit stay", this week he did alright on his "down stay" but not good enough to get to pick a new toy. Maybe next week, when we have the "best trick" contest, I'm trying to teach him to close the door!

I've thought about writing a book, "Adventures of Gunny Highway" but I think that will have to wait until I'm retired or something.

The last photo is Gunny's new friend, Briggs. He's a mix of Rat Terrier and ... He's only 9 weeks! I think he kind of looks like a cat, but he's cute!

Until next time!
~allyson

Awesome sunset!

On my way home from a shoot last night, I observed a truly marvelous sunset. Here are some photos taken from my car window while driving down the 101, yeah, I'm a real photo nerd! Pretty soon the CHP will be putting out ad campaigns for "Don't shoot and drive"...hehe

As I was looking at these images, I thought it might be interesting for my readers (I know you're there!) to talk about JPEG shooting versus RAW. I'll try to do this without getting too techy....hopefully you'll find it interesting!

Professional cameras have the ability to capture imagery in a few different formats, the most common being JPEG. A JPEG is a completely finished file. You can make adjustments to the brightness and contrast by opening it in Photoshop or another after-capture type program, but each time you make adjustments and open and close the finished file, you loose a bit of image quality.

I prefer to shoot in RAW. RAW files are unfinished - meaning they do not have the .jpeg extension. Since they are unfinished, we can go in and make any adjustments necessary - shooting RAW gives the ability to adjust the exposure by up to 2 stops, adjust the white balance for different lighting conditions, adjust the contrast, color saturation and the list keeps going.

Shooting RAW offers a lot of pluses for the end product, but it does take more time to process. I believe there is major upside for the little downside we call time, and that is the quality. RAW files capture millions of more colors than a finished jpeg file. This makes the file size larger and the quality premium!

Below you can see both files types - can you guess which is JPEG and which is RAW? the last one is "digitally enhanced" in photoshop.

So there you have it, a mini photo lesson on why I prefer to shoot RAW and why it's better. Some may argue, but I know what offers the best quality and even if it takes a bit more time in the post-production, we like to give our clients the best!

My first Bat Mitzvah!

I shot my first Bat Mitzvah and it was fun! As you probably know, but in case you don't, a Bat (gal) or Bar (guy) Mitzvah is a Jewish ceremony where a young person (usually 13) studies and practices their Hebrew, reading & signing for a very long time. About one year later, they present what they have learned to the congregation, friends and family. During the ceremony they are presented with their own Tali - or prayer shawl - and they read from the Tora. It's really quite interesting and I thought it most interesting because I like cultural events. Then there is a party a few hours later, where there are games, music & dancing, dinner, character artist, chocolate fountain and SUGAR - LOTS of sugar! The kids were great and the family was even better. Thank You Ricca Family for this special opportunity! ~allyson

SLIDESHOW (click)

Career Day at Morro Bay HS

When my good friends Jack & Barbara Della Bitta asked me to substitute for them at Career Day, I couldn't say no! It's unlike anything I've ever done before but was fun. The students came into the gym during different periods and would check different careers and ask questions about being in that field.

It's kind of funny because while I was volunteering to do something for my friends and the school, I was the one who ended up with the blessing! I talked to ALOT of kids and answered ALOT of surveys, their questions and interest made me reconsider, why I do what I do, how I got here, what inspires me, what education I've had, what personal interests I have that influence my work, what they should do if they want to be a photographer and the list goes on!

I am blessed and have come along way (I remember being their age like it was yesterday!) there's no doubt that it's not all my work, but mostly the work of my creator - who thankfully is very creative!

A special than you to Frederica who took the lovely photo above!

Thank you Della Bitta's for this fun opportunity!
~allyson

Kimberley & Ryan

Finally! I've been experiencing major problems with my blog, and am so relieved it's back up and running!

Kimberley & Ryan are my 7.7.7 couple....for those of you who don't know, July 7th, 2007 is a crazy popular wedding day for all! I think it might be one of the most popular dates in the history of mankind. They are a very fun couple and I am quite excited to be their photographer. Kimberley's dad is actually the pastor of our church: www.abcchurch.org

It only seemed appropriate to take their engagement photos in front of a church - don't ya think!?
Until the next day!
~allyson