Zingpix

The ACD 2011 Calendar is now available!

Jeff — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 22:09:29 +0000

Just click on the tab above that says “Buy Calendar”.

The Great 2011 Calendar Project

Jeff — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 03:18:05 +0000

After considering this project for several years and some prodding from friends and acquaintances, I decided to self-publish a calendar for 2011. It isn’t just any calendar, it is a calendar of Australian Cattle Dogs doing what they were bred to do. The sub title is “Cattle” is Their Middle Name. No one has published a calendar quite like this. I have chosen some of my favorite images of cattle dogs pushing cattle. You’ll see dramatic images of heeling, heading, confidence and courage. If you scroll down you can get a taste of what the calendar is like. The YouTube video gives a sense of what it is about.

I have been in virtual seclusion over the last two months designing, fine tuning and producing the calendar. My cameras have been on vacation too, enjoying the time off. This isn’t the type of calendar where I just plug 12 images into a template and upload to have some strange person print it out on a digital printer. I got quotes from printers through out the US and Canada. I decided on a local printer to print the project. The calendar is printed on a printing press using four-color process. I specified quality paper and varnish on the front and back covers as well as the images. The varnish gives things an extra ‘pop’ and is worth the extra expense. Each calendar comes shrink-wrapped in plastic for protection with a stiff chipboard insert. When you compare the quality of this calendar to the big publishers of dog breed calendars, there is no comparison in quality. I win.

I didn’t want to create something halfhearted. Since this is my first foray into self publishing, I’ll see how it goes. The problem with calendars is that they have a shelf life (actually this one should be good for the years 2022 and 2033 also ). With each project, I have three benchmarks or goals: 1) recoup my out of pocket expenses 2) get paid for my time invested 3) rewarded for art or uniqueness.

The best part of the calendar are the images, if I do say so. I am an avid photographer of herding dogs and more specifically Australian Cattle Dogs. In the ACD world, I am know for my action images. I license my images to publishers, editors, authors, advertisers and to corporations. The images I have included are among my favorites, some are very, very unique!

Anyway, that is the short version of this project. If it flies, I’ll do it again for 2012. I already have some very creative and unique images in mind and hope to be selling some calendars at this time next year.

Thanks for stopping by.

YouTube Video of the Calendar

Jeff — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:47:40 +0000

Australian Cattle Dog 2011 Calendar

Jeff — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:32:43 +0000

“Cattle is Their Middle Name”

Available late Summer 2010.

Barrel Racers

Jeff — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:39:39 +0000

I recently collected some of my barrel racing images and made a slideshow which can be viewed on YouTube or right here.

Cascade Australian Cattle Dog Club Trial August 1st and 2nd

Jeff — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:56:29 +0000

OK. They’re up and you can find them here:

CACDC Herding Trial August 1 & 2, 2009

A few of my favorites from the weekend.

If you want to see herding dogs at work, or maybe you’re just dog hungry, check out my Flickr albums:

ACDs herding

ACDs doing things other than herding

Aussies

Kelpies

Shooting Fireworks

Jeff — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:40:01 +0000

OOO_AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!

There are many methods to shoot fireworks. This evening, I decided to use a tripod and longer exposure times. By using a longer exposure from 5 – 10 seconds, you’ll get some of the more spectacular streams and tails of the fireworks. If you try to use a shorter shutter speed, you’ll cut off their tails and minimize the streaming effects. I shot in ‘M’ (manual mode) ISO 50, f10 for 5 – 10 seconds using a Canon 5D and f2.8 70-200L IS. I played with the exposure throughout the show, but these settings provide an example of what I tried to accomplish. This particular image is a composite of about 8 images produced in Photoshop.

Little Hummers

Jeff — Sun, 24 May 2009 03:45:43 +0000

I was thinking of a way to catch these little guys and then I decided to use some off-camera flash, Strobist style. The exposure was easy to set up with a bare Vivitar 285HV from the area of the camera and another bare Vivitar 285HV under and behind the Hummingbird. I used Cybersync triggers (they work great!). I used my Canon 5D set at 1/200th to sync with the flashes. The flash duration is about 1/1000th so you get a nice under exposed blur of the wings and then a punch of light to give definition to the wings and properly expose the rest of the bird. Depth of field is very shallow and that was the greatest challenge. These guys won’t stay still for more than a nano second.

Coffee and Photography at the Same Time

Jeff — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:53:16 +0000

When I can do both at the same time – it’s a great moment.

This image was the cover of “Roast” Magazine Sept/Oct, 2009.

: Latte Art

You Tuber

Jeff — Sun, 10 May 2009 16:23:47 +0000

I just noticed a video I uploaded to You Tube has surpassed 100,000 views. The ACD video was the first and there are a few rough spots. I followed the Australian Cattle Dog video with an Australian Shepherd video. The second video is a bit smoother and more refined but has fewer views.