Thursday, June 6, 2013
CSUF GRAD: Typographic invitation/announcements
Here are some graduation invitations I designed for my coworker's daughter & CSUF grad Brittaney. We ended up doing 4x6 UV coated 13pt cards, and they came out fabulous! Brittaney loved them :)
Photo Retouching
When I retouch photos, the goal is just that: to "retouch". There's a huge difference between photo retouching and photo manipulation. As a photographer, my aim is to capture moments and memories. If I photoshop a photo to the extent where the subject no longer looks like their natural self, that's not capturing a moment, that's faking one.
Most of my retouching includes color/light enhancements, brightening of the eyes, and some smoothing of the skin. If a picture looks good, it's not because of photoshop - it's because the subjects just LOOK GOOD!
FUNKADELIC: 70's Birthday Celebration
Sometime at the beginning of this year, I had the opportunity to photograph a 70's themed birthday party. Kudos to the host because everything was so well planned, and literally every single person was dressed like they had just traveled from the 70's. I don't even think I've seen such a good costume turnout at any halloween party before.
She even had a runway fashion show...
And it's not a 70's party without a Soul Train line!
The Penland family: mother & daughter, father & son.
And it's not a 70's party without a Soul Train line!
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
In Memory Of Tracy Turpen: An Inspiration to all.
So, I'll probably be posting these in no particular order - and even though it happened awhile ago, I really want to pay my condolences to a photographer named Tracy Turpen.
When I first really started getting into photography (years ago), Tracy was on the first destination photographers I became a fan of. Her photos were absolutely amazing. She was so creative and had this unique style that could not be duplicated, you could put a photo of hers in a collage with 50 others and I could almost immediately identify hers. Tracy captured incredible moments that words truly can NOT express.
At that time, I was trying to get advice from successful photographers so I sent some emails out. Tracy was literally the only photographer to actually "communicate" with me more than just copy and pasting the "FAQ" from her website. She gave me some really genuine and good advice, as well as words of encouragement that have stuck with me 'til this day.
We only exchanged a few emails, and even though she was located clear across the country, I already knew she was a beautiful person she was inside and out.
A few months ago, I emailed her again since I hadn't in awhile. Instead of receiving a reply from Tracy, sadly, I received an email from her mother instead stating that Tracy had taken her own life. She was engaged at the time, and a few weeks later her fiancee took his life as well.
Tracy's mom was right; if you google "Tracy Turpen", you'll see that she was not only an inspiration to me, but to so many other people from all over the world as well.
You really never know what's going in someone's personal life and everyone really is going through their own battles. I'm so glad I had the blessing of interacting with you Tracy, even if only briefly.
Rest in paradise, beautiful. ♥
Tracy's website is still up, and viewable here: www.tracyturpen.com
When I first really started getting into photography (years ago), Tracy was on the first destination photographers I became a fan of. Her photos were absolutely amazing. She was so creative and had this unique style that could not be duplicated, you could put a photo of hers in a collage with 50 others and I could almost immediately identify hers. Tracy captured incredible moments that words truly can NOT express.
At that time, I was trying to get advice from successful photographers so I sent some emails out. Tracy was literally the only photographer to actually "communicate" with me more than just copy and pasting the "FAQ" from her website. She gave me some really genuine and good advice, as well as words of encouragement that have stuck with me 'til this day.
We only exchanged a few emails, and even though she was located clear across the country, I already knew she was a beautiful person she was inside and out.
A few months ago, I emailed her again since I hadn't in awhile. Instead of receiving a reply from Tracy, sadly, I received an email from her mother instead stating that Tracy had taken her own life. She was engaged at the time, and a few weeks later her fiancee took his life as well.
Tracy's mom was right; if you google "Tracy Turpen", you'll see that she was not only an inspiration to me, but to so many other people from all over the world as well.
You really never know what's going in someone's personal life and everyone really is going through their own battles. I'm so glad I had the blessing of interacting with you Tracy, even if only briefly.
Rest in paradise, beautiful. ♥
Tracy's website is still up, and viewable here: www.tracyturpen.com
I'm back!
It has literally been over a year since my last blog post, but I'm back again! I'm going to do my best to update this blog as often as I can. I should have plenty to post given the fact that so much has happened in the last 12 months, in fact I'm actually in "catch-up" mode.
So, let me start off with a quick update. Johnnie Williams Photography & Design has grown tremendously since my last post. I've been expanding to different fields of photography and even different clientele markets. I've been so blessed and doors and opportunities have been opened to me - I'm doing my best to take advantage of it all.
On the same note, it's also been a difficult year. My good friend and photojournalist Michael Quiboloy always says that any positive growth is also extremely difficult, which is absolutely correct. But I'm grateful for all the challenges, they even help me grow as an individual, business set aside.
I'm going to close this post out with one of my favorite photos from last year.
Last fall, I photographed my first official Quinceneara event. Here are all the girls helping Kennedy get into her poofy princess dress - take a look at the girl on the right. Her smile is why I love this picture so much!
So, let me start off with a quick update. Johnnie Williams Photography & Design has grown tremendously since my last post. I've been expanding to different fields of photography and even different clientele markets. I've been so blessed and doors and opportunities have been opened to me - I'm doing my best to take advantage of it all.
On the same note, it's also been a difficult year. My good friend and photojournalist Michael Quiboloy always says that any positive growth is also extremely difficult, which is absolutely correct. But I'm grateful for all the challenges, they even help me grow as an individual, business set aside.
I'm going to close this post out with one of my favorite photos from last year.
Last fall, I photographed my first official Quinceneara event. Here are all the girls helping Kennedy get into her poofy princess dress - take a look at the girl on the right. Her smile is why I love this picture so much!
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