White Christmas (almost)

Here in the midlands of South Carolina, we have always dreamed of the elusive White Christmas and in 2010 we got our wish. Well almost. The snow came a day late, but it was just as sweet. Indeed, this was the first time ever for significant Christmas snow in Columbia since records were first kept in 1887.

The great part about snow in this part of the world is that it rarely lasts on the ground more than a day or two.

The photo above is a composite of three images, blended together using an HDR program called Photomatix. The process brings out the colors in the shadow areas while allowing details to come through in the high lights.

Merry Christmas,
-- Steve

Merry Christmas

This is our miniature schnauzer Tucker, aka the LBD (Little Black Dog). I set up the studio last night for a portrait session, and before taking everything down we set Tucker in front of the lights and posed him in his Santa outfit. He didn't much care for this arrangement so I had to work quickly. Anyway the results are quite amusing I think.

Lighting setup: Alien Bees 800 w/ Large octo-box left, SB800 w/ Lightdome sx softbox above, Photoflex multi disk reflector right, sb800 w/ Honl neutral density filter left rear. Camera: D200, Lens: 50mm f/1.4. ISO:200.

Thanks to all of you who have supported us over the years. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!