A busy month!

It took a while to re-orient myself after getting back from the Middle East.

This month I've photographed a couple of events at the Convention Center, some beautiful hand-made furniture and very tasty (if you're a dog) premium dog treats.

I also did a video shoot for our friends at Water Street Mission of the Thanksgiving Banquet, and on 'Black Friday' took a few shots of Santa and the Tree Lighting in Penn Square  (with thanks to Jon and the hotel security staff who kindly provided access to the roof of the Marriott Hotel!)

One of the things I love about photography is the infinite variety of subjects - each one of them interesting and challenging in their own way.

Marketing photographs is also a challenge.  My day at the Flea Market area of Root's Market turned out to be a very cold and unproductive day.  I met some very nice people but only sold two photographs - even though most people who saw my work spoke well of it.  So in December I'm going to pursue other possible retail opportunities.

The little Canon Pixma iP100 I bought to take to Iraq produces incredible prints up to 8.5" x 11"   It's probably on the expensive side with ink, but it is so convenient when you need a high quality print in a hurry - great for photo-booths!

One other piece of equipment I used a few days ago that will be of interest to D800 shooters is the Atomos Ninja 2 video recorder.  Plugged into the side of the D800 it records video directly from the camera's sensor in HDMI.  I was impressed with the high quality of the video obtained that way.

But now I have to spend some time on the computer processing raw images :-)

I hope you have opportunities to get some great winter shots!

Andrew

Back home from the Middle East

I got back on Saturday night from a very worthwhile trip to Kurdistan-Iraq.

It was a great blessing to visit my dear friends in Slemani, and make a few new friends as well.

At the moment I'm busy processing photographs from that experience, and will try and post a few here in the next few days!

There's a lot happening, so please check back soon to see some great photographs and hear important news about First Class Images LLC!

Thank you,

Andrew

Kickstarter Project finished!

Today I finished my first Kickstarter Project.  Or at least putting everything together so that the public can view it.

Now I have to wait for the 'powers that be' to approve it, and then it will go live.

The project?   Suli - City of Peace.   

More information when I get the green light!

:-)

It's been too long.

It's been too long since I wrote a Blog - but you know how it is.

My son Phil got married.  Relatives came from the UK and Sweden.  It was an awesome wedding!

I left the bus company I had worked for since 2001.  I'd had enough of driving all hours of the day and night, and I can no longer manage to comfortably load (and unload) the heavy baggage that people feel they can't live without, morning and evening.

A mammoth toothache led me to have an unexpected visit to the oral surgeon.  (Thank you, thank you, thank you.)

Photography assignments kept me busy in September.

And now I'm trying to get done everything that needs to get done before I leave for a photography trip to beautiful Suli in Kurdistan-Iraq in five days time.

So I'm very sorry, there just isn't time to write.  Please check back later.

:-)

Video Gallery

First Class Images LLC is available to shoot video projects as well as still images.

Please check out the Video link on our web page.

Our first commercial video was shot by Phil Spreadbury for a Kickstarter Project.   (For technically minded viewers it was shot on a Sony NEX FS700.  This camera shoots full  HD, 1920 x 1080p, and is capable of high frame rates that produce beautiful slow motion footage.)

Photo Booths

Looking for your photo booth images?

1. Go to First Class Images' home page (www.FirstClassImages.com)

2. Click on 'Galleries'

3. Click on 'Photo Booths'

4. Click on the appropriate Gallery (in date order)

5. Click on the Gallery number you were given (e.g. 100)

6. Enter the password you were given :-)

If you cannot find your gallery or images, please email: help@firstclassimages.com or call (717) 405-1750

From your gallery you can view photographs, e-mail them to friends, download images (right-click on the image and copy).

You may print your own images.

For a reasonable charge you can also order prints and other items online.  (Although you are under no obligation to do so!)

Web site improvements

I hope you like the new design of our website: www.FirstClassImages.com.

Phil has suggested some  improvements, and I have implemented them this evening.

The main change concerns the gallery hierarchy and navigation.  We want to make it as easy as possible for our visitors to find the galleries and photographs they are looking for.  So we have made the following changes:

1. We have dropped the menu item 'Home'.  The choice was redundant because the homepage can easily be reached by simply clicking on the heading, 'First Class Images LLC'.

2. We have reduced the number of menu items on the homepage.  (They were too numerous.)
All galleries can now be reached by choosing the menu item 'Galleries' and selecting the appropriate choice(s).

The gallery hierarchy is:


Events:

• Weddings
• Birthdays
• Community 

Nature:

• Animals
• Plants

Travel:

• Kurdistan-Iraq
• Albania
• UK
• USA

Associate Photographers:

• Aso Nihad Photography
• Tim Scott Photography
• Luis P. Reyes Photography

No doubt there will be other changes to make later, and various galleries and pages still have to be added.  Inevitably a web site is always a 'work in progress'!

Andrew Spreadbury

First Class Images LLC

A pleasant surprise!

Yesterday (Sunday) I was assigned to drive a group from York, PA to Annapolis, MD.

It turned out to be a birthday party (Happy birthday, Wanda) secretly organized by her family, spending the day on a beautiful motor yacht, and having lunch in St. Michaels, Maryland.

I was invited to go along, so this is where I spent most of my day:

The motor-yacht 'On Course'

Laying down some serious wake!

'On Course' at the Crab Claw restaurant in St. Michael's, MD

The Crab Claw Restaurant

Thank you Jim and Wanda for a fun and unforgettable day!

My first blog

I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing.  (This is nothing new.)  I have wanted to start a blog for a while, and now seems a better time than before.

Three days ago I transitioned from the old 'Legacy' Smugmug Account to the 'New' Smugmug :-)  The promise is that more can be done by those with less.  (Less computer skill that is.)  Count me in.  It will take me a while to get everything organized and how I would like to see it, but the start has been promising.  (If you didn't arrive on this page via my Smugmug page please check it out here!)

Today was a good day.  My grandsons Luke and Ben came to visit and spent some time with my wife and I while their parents shopped.  They are so much fun!

Luke

Angela with Ben

Around mid-day I enjoyed watching Dr Guli Hamarash on Kurdish TV.  (I have three wonderful children of my own, but I'm honored that Guli calls me 'Dad' and I'm glad to call her my 'daughter'.) She lives in north-east Iraq in the city of Sulaimaniya.  I've been there twice and can't wait to get back to see her and my Kurdish friends again.  (This is not a high quality photo - it was taken from my computer screen with an iPhone:)

Dr Guli Hamarash

This afternoon my wife and I went shopping for a 'Tux'.  (I have to look my best for my son's wedding in 3 week's time!)  I might post a photo of my James Bond impersonation later on!

This evening it was time to work.  The assignment was a wedding video shoot.  I had the easy task of operating the second camera.  Although I've done a lot of photography, I'm a new hand at video.  Phil is an experienced and capable videographer.  On this shoot we actually ran 4 cameras.  A Sony NEX-FS700U, 2 Nikon D800's and a D7000.  

Tomorrow I have to drive a group to Annapolis, MD.  But my bus-driving days are coming to an end!  As from August 18th I will be a full-time photographer :-)