Fun Few Weeks for Photography

It's been an interesting month for taking photos. I finally made the decision to upgrade my Nikon D50 to a Nikon D200...not the top-of-the-line but it's a damn fine camera nonetheless. I knew upgrading would be a huge improvement in having a tool to be able to do things more creatively and I am even more surprised now that I own it as to how accurate I was in that assessment. While my wife still thinks of it as a "new toy" (and there probably is some truth to that) it actually is just a more powerful tool to push the levels of creativity in photography farther. I think of it as a better brush to the painter. The artist never changed, just the tool to deliver the artistry became more effective.


So, of course, with the new camera in the bag I decided I needed to start shooting as much as possible last week to get the feel for it. The weekend started quick with another shoot for TheDirty.com. They are always a lot of fun to work with. I did two night's of shooting with them...one on Halloween and again the night after, both at the Prive' nightclub at Planet Hollywood. I knew it would bring out the craziest Las Vegas tourists had to offer and I got some awesome photos there.

Three days later, I had the privilege of shooting a young model from Denver, Colorado, Lauren Travis. I was looking at doing an artistic nude shoot with someone and after interviewing about half-a-dozen, she had the exact look I was seeking. She hadn't done many shoots before and she was comfortable with the type of shoot I was looking for so we chose Red Rock (just moments outside of Las Vegas) and she worked out better than expected. We did a bunch of great head-shots for her out in Calico Basin and in some hidden locations around the Scenic Loop we did the other shots.

Fast forward to mid-week. SEMA was in town, the huge automotive industry trade show. Anyone that knows me knows I LOVE exotic cars. Having driven many of them, I have a passion for Ferraris and I thought no better place would be to photograph some. Aside from all the classic cars, hot rods, and Japanese import street racers, there were a few exotics there for sure. Not as many as I was hoping for but there were a few. I saw a few Ferraris, several Lambos, some Ford GTs, and even a Mosler. I was really hoping to see a Bugatti, Pagani Zonda, or a Koenigsegg and was let-down to see neither. Still though, it was a fun place to get some great photos (special thanks to Vanessa with Mariott Resorts for helping me out with the pass!).

It got me thinking though, with such an insane week of shooting, Vegas really is a increcible place to live from a photographer's point of view. Not only do we have the coolest trade shows, awesome nature areas, amazing skyline, and a 24/7 party mentality, it really is one of of the greatest cities in the world! To have the ability to capture the moments digitally of such beauty is a real privilege, in my opionion and I am looking forward to getting back to my photographic roots, so to speak, and taking more advantage of all the beautiful imagery this city has to offer.

Recently I interviewed with Christie's Photography here in Las Vegas. They are one of the top photography houses in Las Vegas and Orlando with such notable clients as Lowes, Harrahs, MGM Grand, and more. They had a need for a few more freelance photographers to add to their very reputable crew and I was selected along with two others out of the 50+ people that interviewed with them. When I was speaking with their regional manager in the interview, the topic of what my opion of photography was...whether it was an artform or not. I'm a HUGE believer that it is. Mid-Month we all had an orientation with one of the executives from the organization along with our regional manager and it was extremely informative. There is a lot to be said about being on a team of people who actually REALLY know what they are talking about.

Earlier in the week, I grabbed my camera and with my wife and in-laws we decided to play "tourist" on the Strip and Downtown for a few hours. I've been wanting to do that for quite some time and it was fun to finally get around to that. I'll have those photos up on the site soon. So be sure to look for them on my new URL at www.shotbyadam.com.