Author: janikphoto

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Oil and Natural Gas Photos…

I admire these men.  They load big rigs, haul water to and from fracking sites out in the middle of nowhere, lay heavy pipelines, get covered in dirt and mud, work long hours in the heat and cold and rain… all just so we can have natural gas to keep our modern conveniences running.  The life of an oil and gas man looks brutal, but I’d secretly love to do it – just let me grab a flannel shirt and a thermos full of hot coffee!

I had a lot of fun photographing the natural gas industry, especially getting a chance to see what’s required to successfully complete the fracking process.  I thought the thousands of bottles full of sample water (seen below) stored for testing was pretty interesting, too.  And, of course , a day full of photographing giant semi trucks driving across the back roads of east Texas was a blast!  

With all the natural gas and oil in Texas, you can bet that I’ll be shooting more of the industry soon.  In the meantime, check out my other photos at www.janikphoto.com

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The Turntable Is My Friend…

This is what I listen to while working on the computer. Sometimes I spend several hours in front of the computer doing Photoshop, invoices, client emails, image archiving, etc… and the turntable can be my best friend! Obviously, the music makes work easier, but it also requires me to regularly stand up and change the record. This short break allows me to stretch and rest my eyes for a moment.
If you have to spend long periods of time at the computer, you don’t necessarily have to use vinyl records to time your breaks. Get an egg timer or something else that will help set intervals. Make yourself get up for a minute or so to walk around and reset your body. Your photos will look better, you’ll feel better and all will be right with the world!
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Weddings? Really?!?

What am I doing? I’m not supposed to shoot weddings, right?!? That’s the old stereotype, anyway. Either you are one of those cheesy wedding photographers, or you aren’t. You can’t shoot commercial and corporate work AND shoot weddings. You can’t shoot for prominent publications AND shoot weddings. You can’t shoot concerts, album covers AND weddings! You either do weddings or you do the other stuff – with the exception of the photojournalist, who works at his/her newspaper during the week and does weddings on the weekend…
Well, I am not afraid to say that I’m a softy, a hopeless romantic… I like to shoot a wedding every now and then. I like the love, the laughter and the joy. I like the action and the suspense. I like the cake, too.
I only do a handful every year, but I’m not ashamed to say that I shoot weddings. They are just like the huge conferences I shoot, the wild concerts and clubs I photograph, the magazine feature stories I capture on film… with tuxedos and colorful dresses thrown into the mix!
The above picture is from a wedding I did last weekend in Waco, TX.
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I’ve Been Busy, But Still Had Fun…

Usually, if I don’t post a blog in a while, it’s because I’ve been too busy with work and/or life. This last week or so has been an equal amount of both. Besides shooting for several of my regular clients (The museum, a couple charity organizations, and the DMN), I took assignments from several new ones (including a Floral Industry trade magazine, a worldwide database software corporation, and a platinum-selling rock and roll band). I also found time to play some video games on the classic Nintendo NES with my boys, take some Easter photos in the park, and have a backyard BBQ or two!
This week I will be equally as busy, so I may not be posting much again. I have a laundry list of things (including the actual laundry, finish my taxes, do a shoot for a retail baking industry trade magazine, shoot a wedding, and spend more time with the boys while the weather is still nice outside).
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Photographing The President…

I know that I’ve been a bit quiet on my photo blog lately. It’s not that I didn’t have anything to talk about… actually, it was quite the opposite. I was pretty busy with several 10 hour, 12 hour and 16 hour work days. It was all work, eat, sleep.

One of the recent photo assignments involved some time with President George W. Bush and Major League Baseball great Tony La Russa. Both photo sessions were only a brief part of my busy days, but they were very enjoyable! Both subjects surprised me with how pleasant, sincere and down-to-earth they were.
Part of the event involved them meeting various VIP’s and posing for a photograph with them. Both men seemed happy to be there and gave everyone a welcoming handshake. They also gave a speech and Q&A, and each time it was a message of sticking to your values and beliefs and being humble. It was nice to see two such famous people be so kind and caring. Here are a couple photo out takes from my time with them…

If you like my photography, you can contact me through my website at www.janikphoto.com
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Fans of Helmut Newton…

photo by Helmut Newton ©, taken from www.lalettredelaphotographie.com
I don’t shoot on the same plane of existence that Helmut Newton shot, and I never will. It takes a certain something that only comes along once in a million years to capture women, fashion, sexuality, privilege and angst the way Helmut captured it. In other words, we’ll probably never see another photographer record life the way he did. His work is so identifiable and so unique in its expression.
Countless art and fashion photographers try to copy him, but he can’t be copied. Check out some of Helmut Newton’s work, along with an interview, here:
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Another Convention Photographed…

One of the main things you’ll shoot during a convention is what’s taking place on the floor. There are dozens of things to focus on, but one key subject is tight interaction between the different booths and the convention attendees. Look for people discussing products, testing samples, giving talks and listening to details.
These won’t be wide shots. You want to come in tight enough that the people interacting become a clear focal point. You still need a little background information to help “set” the shot, but it shouldn’t compete for attention with the people.
At some point, you’ll still need to get those wide shots that show an entire aisle or several booths in a row. You’ll still need some product shots, signs, banners and sponsor shots. You’ll still need to shoot VIP’s, grip and grins, etc… all those photos will be discussed another day. For this post, let’s just look at samples of the “interaction” shot.





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I’ve Been Robbed!!!

*** UPDATE ***
I received payment for the use of this image, which goes to show that Perry’s staff is willing to correct their mistake. Good on them! I’m glad to see them wanting to fix things without much fuss. Who said all politicians were corrupt? And, now the original post…
I posted a nice little image of Rick Perry last year. You can see it here:
The image is available through Splash News, a photo wire service or syndicator. If you want to use it, that’s the only place you can get copyright permission, except for directly through me. Today, I saw this on Rick Perry’s official facebook page:


I’m waiting to hear back from my editors at Splash, just to make sure a sale of this image didn’t go through… maybe it slipped through the cracks or hasn’t been added to the sales log yet? However, the sales tracking system doesn’t currently show anything, so I am currently under the impression that Perry’s people did not legally obtain this image.
If Splash doesn’t show it’s been sold, and I know that I have never been contacted directly about it, this could be a problem. A simple cease and desist letter won’t cut it, as the image has already been picked up by other websites and is being used all over the web with no clue that it was my work. Here is one lampooning the governor:

Hopefully, this issue can be resolved. I’d hate to find out the head of our state would let someone’s copyright be trampled upon. Hopefully, he recognizes the importance of protecting our rights to work and benefit from that work, without it being stolen from us. Hopefully, a phone call or letter and an invoice will be all that’s needed to clear this up.
Of course, copyright infringement happens all the time, and this should be relatively easy to clear up. I don’t hold anything against the governor personally. I’m guessing it was one of his PR people that used the image without permission.