Ice Bucket Challenge

I have been nominated for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge by my little friend Carter Woodard. The problem is I hate cold water, so here's what I did. I put a 24 hour auction up on eBay for a limited edition 19" Giclee print of the Canandaigua Lady with Lightning in the background. All the proceeds of the auction will be donated to the ALS Challenge fund raiser at the close of the auction. Here is the link for those who want to bid on a good cause. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=181503909108

It's Never Too Late To Say Thank You

This past week I had the honor of photographing a gentleman in his mid 90s who had served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.  He flew PBY aircraft over the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, protecting the United States from a Japanese attack from the north. He was very proud of his service and was one of the most polite, sincere men I've ever met. As a "thank you" for his service which occurred almost 30 years before I was born, I created a collage for him to surprise him when he came back to the studio to pick up his head shot.  When I presented it to him, he was extremely moved as was I from hearing his story. 

Syracuse Nationals

A few years ago we set up a booth at Syracuse Nationals, one of the largest classic car shows in the northeast with over 8,000 cars at the Syracuse Fairgrounds. We tried to book sessions to photograph cars. It wasn't very successful since many of the cars were too far from Canandaigua.

We did a booth again this year with a different approach and that was to show the cool designs and products that we use with our car photography and let people choose whether we use our photos or theirs. The results were much more promising, so much so that we're toying with the idea of going to the Adirondack Nationals in Lake George in September.

We set up a new section to our website to explain how to submit their own images for the products as well as tips on how to photograph their cars for the best results with the products. http://www.cheslerphoto.com/carart.htm

Here are some of the images we created for posters, shirts and blankets from images we shot during the show.

AWesome 1

How far would you go to get "the shot"? Sometimes, getting that perfect shot means putting yourself and your gear in some sticky situations. Fortunately, I was recently able to get my hands on one of Nikon's new AW 1 mirrorless cameras, which is waterproof down to 49 ft, shock proof from a 6.6 ft drop and freeze proof down to 14 degrees. Over the past few weeks I've been able to put the camera through a few tests that I would never imagine doing with my DSLRs.

The first test I put it through was during the waterfall class I put on with Chesler Photography Workshops. While most of the class was geared toward creating the veil look of the water, I couldn't help but try the camera out in the falls instead of looking at them. The results were pretty dramatic.

I bought the camera to take on fly fishing trips and out on the boat. I have a smaller point and shoot camera that's waterproof, but the results weren't what I wanted. As a professional photographer I'm always looking for quality even at the expense of a little convenience. The AW 1 is a small camera when compared with DSLRs but it's significantly bigger than a point and shoot. Nikon designed the camera to be able to change it's setting through a series of easy to touch buttons and by tilting the camera to toggle through the settings, so you can change the settings with gloves on or under water. There is definitely a learning curve with this camera since it is so different than Nikon's familiar DSLR buttons and menus. Although I bought the camera for it's waterproof capabilities, I was very impressed with it's autofocus speed and high frame rate to capture amazing stop action photographs.
The kids were out playing with water balloons today, so what better way could I find to test not only the speed of the camera, but also to combine it with it's waterproof capabilities to capture some truly dramatic images. I won't go in to all the technical aspects of the camera since other websites do a great job of that. I just want to share how it's a great tool to remove some of the limits of creativity.

Wedding Photography Workshop

In this extensive 4 hour class, follow award winning wedding photographer Steve Chesler around to several locations with a model bride and groom to learn how to create the romantic wedding photos that will set your work apart. This class will be very specific to the 1/2 hour to hour you have at a wedding with just the bride and groom and how to get the most from it in a short time. Learn how to seamlessly go from one pose to another creating a full portfolio in minutes. You'll learn how to work with off camera lighting to get dramatic photos in any lighting situation. The class will go in depth on posing, lighting, lens selection and how to get the bride and groom to look comfortable and in love even if they don't like being in front of a camera. Space is limited….$150

Chesler Photography Workshops Facebook Page

New Photography Classes

Now that hockey season is over and I finally have a minute to breathe, it's time to start up our photography classes again. This time around we are adding a new concept with the class concluding on our new Chesler Photography Workshops group on Facebook, by participants of the class sharing their photos taken that day. We will also post tips, how to's, contests and giveaways on the page, as well as information on all of our upcoming classes. Here is the short list of upcoming classes for this Spring.

Photo 101 - DSLR Basics  April 8, 2014 from 6:00-8:00 p.m.  $25.
Get the most of your DSLR (or advanced Point and Shoot that has manual settings). Learn what each button does and when you'd want to use them.  You will get an understanding of exposure and how each camera setting effects the final outcome.

The Bird Song Trail  April 26, 9:00-11:00 a.m.  $25.
We will meet at the parking lot to the Birdsong Trail at Mendon Ponds Park to explore the trail and adjacent fields for the amazing variety of birds returning to the area from a long cold winter. A DSLR with a 200mm+ lens is recommended, as well as a tripod.

Landscapes  May 4, 9:00-11:00 a.m. $25.
This class will focus on the beautiful scenery of the rural areas surrounding Canandaigua. We will look for fields of wildflowers set among the rolling hills. A wide angle lens is recommended for this class, however pack your telephotos and macro lenses as well.

Urban HDR  May 14, 6:00-8:00 p.m.  $25.
If you've never experimented with High Dynamic Range images, this is a great starter class. We'll explore some of the texture filled alleys of downtown Canandaigua creating bracketed exposures of each scene to merge in the computer later. The final image has a tonal range far greater than a traditional photo resulting in a surreal fantasy look.

HDR image of the Canandaigua Pier boathouses.

Amazing Lake Placid Wedding

Playing with a Ferrari

As a child I had a ton of car toys. My favorite was a 15" plastic 1978 Trans Am just like the one from Smokey and the Bandit. I wore out the carpet and my knees racing that car all over the house. Not much has changed since then, my life still revolves around cars. 

As part of my business I lease my cars for three years. It never fails, as soon as the new car reaches my driveway, my gaze starts looking along the horizon for the next one in three years. I'm a car research junkie, however I always put my efforts in to researching cars I have a remote shot at getting. I'm realistic, so I don't put much time in to reading about the super cars such as Ferraris, Lambourghinis, Porsches, etc… 

 Over the last year or so, I've been fortunate enough to get hooked up with RM Auctions, a Canadian company that does high end auctions for the world's premiere cars. My role with them is to photograph cars going to auction from Buffalo through Albany. This region is not exactly a hot bed for super cars, but if you look carefully, they're hiding in places you'd never suspect. I've driven through Ovid, NY dozens of times on my way to Ithaca or down to Wagner Vineyard for weddings. I never would have guessed that tucked between the miles of farms and rusting pick up trucks was the last prototype Ferrari F-50 before they went in to production. Needless to say when I pulled in to the driveway to photograph this beast I was giddy. The owner even took me for a short ride from one shooting point to the other.

 Shooting for RM Auctions, I have to wait until after the auction ends before I can post the photos as to not interfere with the auction process. "My" little red Ferrari sold at the Arizona auction for $1,625,000. Not a bad pay day.

 As my business transitions more heavily in to commercial work, I'm setting my sights on more and more automobile photography. Since I can't afford them, I can always drool over someone else's.

Flipping the Bird

Growing up near New York City, it's unavoidable to get sucked in to the battles of every day life, whether it's fighting for your lane on the crowded streets, your space in line to buy a bagel or playing chicken for a parking space. All too often, the attitude is every man for himself. I'm making a huge generalization here where there are plenty of exceptions, but all too often the battle culminates in someone getting flipped off. I grew up thinking that's just the way life was, not knowing it could be any different. 

 Going away to school in Brockport, I discovered how different every day life could be in a small rural community in Western New York. I fell in love with the easy going attitude where people go out of their way to hold a door or give you their spot in line if you had fewer items than they did. I'm not saying people don't rub each other the wrong way every once in a while, they just react to it differently.  

As a business owner in a small town, I really have to watch the way I react when something happens, because inevitably that same person will be walking in to the studio. I've had it happen where I'm trying to get to the studio for an appointment only to be held up by someone going 15 mph under the speed limit the entire way. Sure enough, the person holding me up ended up being my client that I was rushing to meet. 

 Last week my brother Rich and I were on Long Island shooting a Bar Mitzvah for an old friend of the family. When we got to the venue they were finishing another event so there were no parking spots left except for one. Rich found the last spot and was about to pull in when an SUV came flying around the parking lot the wrong direction and stole the spot. I can't say that I'm surprised when stuff like this happens down there, but I still don't understand why people think they have the right to do stuff like that. Rich and I sat there in disbelief as the guy gets out of his car, looks at us and says "How ya doin?" and walks inside. 

 After a few deep breaths and restraint from giving the pompous guy a piece of our minds, we found another spot and brought our gear inside the venue. We met our friend Dave inside who promptly introduced us to the owner of the venue Mr. Pompous himself. It's a good thing we showed self restraint or it would have been a very long day with no doubt a fresh loogie on our dinner. I guess the moral of the story is "Don't flip off the hand that feeds you."

Wine, Wind and a Wedding

I first met Krista and Doug at Starbucks down in Mamaroneck in Westchester. I knew right away that they would be a blast to work with. They traveled up to the Finger Lakes for their wedding at Belhurst Castle, on a windy early Fall day. Krista's veil had a mind of it's own during the ceremony, creating some interesting and humorous moments. The broken over cast sky made for some great textures over Seneca Lake. Congratulations Krista and Doug!