Photography Stuff For Sale

As I stated in a previous post, I'm selling a bunch of stuff at the studio that we're just not using anymore. This does not mean I'm going out of business, just cleaning house. Here's the list: Nikon D2X Camera Body. This camera has 179K acuations on it but with a titanium shutter it's rated to go to 450K. It's a 12mp workhorse that's built like a tank. I paid $5,000 for it in 2006 and I'm asking $575 for it now. It comes with the box and battery however you'll need to get a charger since I have another camera that uses the same charger. 

 Fuji S5 Camera Body with Grip. This camera is a Nikon D200 with Fuji guts so it takes all my Nikon lenses. It has a unique dual sensor which exposes for the normal exposure and one for the highlights giving it a range closer to that of film. The colors are amazing. I'm selling this one because I have two of them and don't use both. It has high mileage so I'm only asking $450 for it, but it's in really nice condition. I baby my cameras. This is a great camera especially for the "natural light" shooters out there. 

 Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 lens. This is a nice lens for the DX series cameras. It has Nikon's typical quirky rubber for the zoom and AF rings but other than that the glass is perfect. I'm asking $750 for it. 

 Nikon 80-200 f2.8 lens. This is Nikon's ED D lens with separate zoom and focus rings. This lens does not have VR. It also has loose rubber on the zoom ring. The glass is perfect. Asking $650 with box and case. 

Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and Flex TT5 set. 1 MiniTT1 and 2 Flex TT5 Units for Nikon allowing full TTL operation converting Nikon's wireless infrared system to a radio signal to go around walls and much greater distances than infrared. Barely used. $575 for the set.

 Off the Wall set with columns and matching sandstone 12x24 backdrop. Asking $475. 

 Off the Wall two sided wall unit. This unit has a cool doorway on one side and a Mediterranean looking plaster wall with window on the other. It also has a set of steps going up to the door. It's very tall so I had to remove the studio windows on the second floor to get it up there since it wouldn't fit around the corner to go up the stairs. I paid $2400 for it and I'm asking $1250. 

 I also have a set of Bogen Autopoles which mount between the floor and ceiling to attach accessories to such as the expan drive system to mount rolls of seamless paper for an at home studio. I used these when I had the studio out of the house 13 years ago. I also have a brand new set of expan drives never taken out of the box. Asking $125 for the poles and $75 for the expan drive set of 3. If interested in any of these items, please call me at 585-393-9242.

Rumor Has It

Walking around town last week, Sue and I stopped in to one of the local shops on Main St. and discovered that am rumor had been circulating among the business owners that I was closing the studio. I was surprised as anyone to hear that since I have have no plans to do such a thing. It may have started since we had a studio garage sale to alleviate some of the congestion in there after 14 years of accumulating stuff. In fact, I will be posting this week some more items for sale that we're just not using anymore, including some camera bodies and lenses. 

 Let's face it though, with the advancement in technology and the drop in prices of cameras, there is very little cost of entry in to the field to call yourself a "professional photographer". I'm not here to debate how the influx of new photographers charging little if anything for sub par photography has brought the level of the industry to it's knees. That's an entirely different topic which I'm growing tired of discussing. However, like it or not, it's becoming harder and harder to earn a living as just a wedding and portrait photographer. So I've decided to become a "Jack of all trades and Master of "Fun". I love photography and everything it has allowed me to do, such as being my own boss, creating art and building a ton of incredible relationships. With that in mind, we're not closing the studio, we're expanding in to other areas of photography. One of the areas we're going to push harder in is education. We're going to expand on the photography classes we've already been offering and start offering full day workshops and photo excursions to cool locations both locally and nationwide. Look for a new section of our website coming soon devoted to photographic education. In addition to the education, I'm going to begin offering my studio shooting room up for rent on an hourly basis for those photographers who have a need for a shooting room but not enough business to warrant getting their own. 

 I'm also toying with the idea of creating a camera consignment shop in the studio. I know Craigslist is an awesome place to find all sorts of cool camera gear, but I also know how much fun it is to browse through equipment and finding something I didn't even know I needed or wanted. That's why the antique industry is so strong in our area because it's such a pleasure to just browse and find cool things. Why not do it with photography gear. Have any gear you want to sell? Give me a call at the studio at 585-393-9242 and we'll see what we can arrange.

Delinquent

I know I've been delinquent with the blog. With so much going on at the studio I've basically been doing brief Facebook updates instead of full blog posts. You can view our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chesler-Photography/43912569727. That doesn't mean I'm done with the blog by any means, I just took a little breather since I've been doing it almost non-stop since 2006. Let's just call it writer's block. In the mean time, we've resurrected our Constant Contact Newsletter which is chock full of news, tips and seasonal happenings here at the studio. You can sign up for the newsletter by clicking this link: Sign Up For Our Newsletter. 

 We've been doing a ton of sports photography lately thanks to the dozens of people who have referred us to their league organizers. Your word of mouth advertising is so valuable to us we can't thank you enough. We're having so much fun, not just running each kid through the line to collect a package payment, but creating really cool one-of-a-kind products. Here is one of the designs we created that we put on a micro fibre sports shirt. If you feel we would be a good fit for your kids sports league, please put in a good word for us. Send the league organizers to our sports website at Cheslerphotosports.com.

We're also gearing up for a strong senior portrait season. We specialize in senior athletes and musicians.   There is an alarming trend in senior photography of students going to their friends for their senior photos, in fact, it's so prevalent now that the school has relaxed their yearbook guidelines to accommodate the mass influx of amateur photos. Unfortunately, the results have been disastrous. Looking at this years yearbook was a shock with the amount of poorly done photographs submitted for the senior headshot. Senior portraits don't have to be expensive, but they do have to be good. We offer a wide range of options from those who want minimal fuss to those who want to be a model for a day. What we don't offer is poor quality. Regardless of the level you choose to invest, you'll always receive exceptional quality.

New Photography Classes

We have come up with dates for our next round of photography classes. Classes are $25 each or $150 for all eight classes paid in advance. Here is the class schedule: 

March 6 DSLR Basics
 - Learn all the bells and whistles of your DSLR camera. Bring your manuals, lenses, flashes, etc... to learn how to get the most out of your camera.

March 13 Lighting
 - Learn fun and creative ways to use light. We'll touch on using different light sources from candle light to studio strobes and anything in between. We'll explore how to creatively shape and bend light to direct it where you want it.

March 20 People Photography
 - This class will explore photographing people from newborns through the elderly. Learn the best ways to light people and creating certain moods through lighting.

March 27 Photoshop and Lightroom 
 - These programs are so extensive that we'll just touch on the basics. Learn simple editing techniques such as editing blemishes, cropping, straightening photos, burning and dodging, vignetting, etc... We'll also play with dozens of quick and ready presets to create global edits to a photo to change it's look dramatically.

April 10 Landscapes and Waterscapes
 - Hopefully the weather will cooperate for this outdoor class photographing landscapes, lake views, waterfalls and Spring flowers.

April 17 Perspectives 
 - We'll play with lenses that create a different perspective than normal such as macro lenses and fisheye lenses to get a different perspective of the world around us.

April 24 Sports Photography
 - For this class we'll venture outside to find some local sports leagues practicing to learn how to get the best results when photographing action.

May 1 Finishing Touches 
 - We'll wrap up our series of classes with an opportunity to design and order some really cool products from the photos you've taken during your classes. We can create wall collages, books, canvases, posters, etc... all from your photos at drastically reduced prices.

All classes will be from 6:00-8:00 p.m. each date. To sign up for classes, call the studio at 585-393-9242 or e-mail me at steve@cheslerphoto.com.

Winter Image DVD Sale

Our annual Mid-Winter Image DVD Sale is now on through the end of February. Now is the chance to get all or part of your Wedding/Bar Mitzvah images on a disc with reproduction rights at a reduced price. If you already bought the disc of 200 images and would like to upgrade to the set of full images, you can do that for just $300. This sale only comes once a year and ends February 28, 2013.

Save $200 on our wedding DVDs for the complete set (normally $850) and $100 on our set of 200 images (normally $350).

We are also having a sale on our individual images on disc at just $25 each (normally $75).

Patience

As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait...and wait...and wait. I did a shoot over the summer just for fun for a friend of mine who was recently married. We took out her husbands motorcycle and did a fun session over looking Canandaigua Lake. As life sometimes goes, I put aside editing her photos to keep on top of my regular clients work, and as the months went by there was no break in sight. I finally had a moment to breath so I tackled her photos today. I forgot how much fun this shoot was to do. 

 OK, breaks over...back to work!

Sessions for Coats

I dropped my daughter off at school today with the mercury hovering at 10 degrees. I was amazed at how many kids were going in to the school in shorts with no coats on. I don't know if they were just trying to look cool, or maybe a jacket is just too cumbersome to cram in your locker. When you're running from the car to the school who needs a jacket right? 

On my way home, I passed a girl walking toward the school. She had a bout a mile to go before getting there. She was wearing jeans and a light sweatshirt, cradling her books to her chest as if hoping to find some warmth coming from them. I would have offered her a ride if didn't result in sending the school in to lockdown with some stalker on the loose. If I had a spare coat in my car I would have gladly offered it to her though.

Next week, the forecast is for an arctic blast to slide down from Canada, sending nighttime lows in to the single digits with daytime highs in the teens. To prepare for it, I want to offer a free half hour session to anyone who brings in a winter coat to donate. It has to be a warm coat though, a stick to your ribs coat like a can of hearty chunky soap with big chunks of chicken and potatoes, steaming from a bowl next to a wood burning stove. Here's the fine print. Bring in the coat next week but you can use the session between now and the end of February. Our winter hours are shorter than normal since we are working around our hockey schedules, so please call ahead to 585-393-9242.

Kyle and Janelle

Where Did the Time Go?

I always hated the feeling of waking up, looking at the clock and feeling that instant burst of adrenaline, knowing that I'll never make the bus on time. It's the worst way to wake up when you instantly have to jump out of bed, throw some clothes on, brush your teeth so fast that you stab you gums head on and fly out the door with one shoe on and half a bagel hanging out your mouth. That didn't happen today, but I did wake my son up ten minutes before his bus arrived. 

 My day was filled though with lab deadlines to be met, technological issues, meetings, snow tire installation, a trip to the post office, coaching a varsity hockey game, a coaching class final exam and philosophy paper. I didn't stop running until 12:30 a.m., just enough time to check Facebook before going to bed. My cousin Lisa left me a note on my profile that she was thinking about me today and that she misses Uncle Eddie (my Dad). That's when the burst of adrenaline hit. My life is so full of stuff that I completely missed the fact that it was the anniversary of my Father's death. How could I forget? I never called my Mom to see how she's doing. I didn't go to dinner with my sister Ellen to celebrate his life. I never sat down with my kids and talked about how incredible he was as a father. Is this what 11 years does, making it fade to the point that the insanity of my life doesn't allow a minute for the thought of my Father enter my head? I feel guilty for not remembering. 

 My Father died 11 years ago after a 9 month battle with esophageal cancer. Ironically, I just had an endoscopy yesterday to keep tabs on the damage I've already done to mine from acid reflux. I go every two years to make sure I don't follow the same path my Dad took with his. I slept through most of yesterday while recovering from the anesthesia. I usually don't remember much of the day when I have an endoscopy done. The medication they give me makes it so I don't remember the unpleasantness of the procedure which I have to be awake for. I remember the first one I had done back in 2002, shortly after my father died. They must not have given me enough of the medication since I remember all of it. Swallowing a camera with a tube attached to it is not an easy task. Ever since then, I make sure they give me plenty. In fact, my wife Sue usually has some very funny stories of the things I do or say in my drunken stooper while coming out of the anesthesia. For example, last year while driving home, I saw an adult sized beaker, like the one's from Chemistry class in high school, fighting with a large bundle of helium balloons on the sidewalk along North Pearl St. I also had trouble getting up the three steps to the front door because I couldn't lift my legs high enough, however after reaching the door, I somehow felt the need to start running in the house. Thankfully I don't remember how that turned out. Yesterday's recovery was somewhat uneventful aside from the occasional hallucination in the recovery room. 

 I'd love to think I forgot about the anniversary of my Father's death because of the medication. Unfortunately, the only thing I can attribute it to is the insanity I've allowed my life to become. 'Tis the season I suppose. I miss you Dad.

Gift Certificate Sale

Back by popular demand, we are once again offering our gift certificate sale for Christmas. Beginning now and continuing through Christmas Day, we will be offering "Buy One, Get One Free" Gift Certificates or "Double Value" on one certificate. The gift certificates are for new sessions only and will be valid from January 1st, 2013 through April 30, 2013. The certificates are good toward sessions and product orders. After April 30, 2012 the certificates are still good, they are just at face value. Call the studio at 585-393-9242 to purchase a certificate which comes tastefully wrapped for immediate giving.