Brathw8 Studios Blog

We've Moved

2010-02-13T09:55:00.001-05:00

Brathw8 Studios is no longer updating this site. Catch up with our activities at www.brathw8studios.com. We look forward to seeing over there.

/mnb

Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time

2009-09-10T20:46:00.005-04:00

I am a person who looks at his watch constantly. Although, in all honesty, I gave up wearing a watch ages ago; I just rely on my cell phone's clock. Be that as it may, imagine my surprise when I saw how long it's been since I updated my poor neglected blog.

A great deal has happened keep me away from the blog. I've been occupied over the last few months attending photo get togethers, worldwide photowalks and workshops on workflow and business. I've played the role of assistant at two weddings for two highly skilled and well-respected photographers in the area and learned a great deal. I've had two of my own shoots with talented, wonderful and beautiful models. Life has been full.

Speaking of models, the following are pictures from a shoot I did a few weeks ago in Leesburg, Virginia. My model is the lovely Marie Ven. Enjoy. Oh, I promise not to make so long before the next posting.

A Day at the (Brownies) Beach

2009-04-25T14:49:00.030-04:00

This week, I had the pleasure of getting together with several professional photographers for a photo shoot at Bayfront Park (Brownies Beach) in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. It was a great day of shooting and learning with a great group of photographers.

My sincerest thanks to our models Kelly S., Ivonne E. and Ali M. They endured lying in cold water , getting rained on, getting sandy, getting muddy and risking getting struck by lightning, all to help us get the shot.

In addition, an extra special thank you goes to our talented makeup artist, Kelley Woods of FACEMODE.COM.

Enjoy the photos.

Ivonne E.

After a major rain storm passed, the sun made a spectacular appearance in time to capture this shot.

Ali M.

Kelly S.

mnb

Online Tutorials

2009-04-11T09:18:00.003-04:00

The internet has no end of online photography and graphic design-related tutorials. I've found the on the Layers magazine site to be very helpful. Check it out.

mnb

Post from BlogPress

2009-03-10T07:45:00.000-04:00

I just got BlogPress for my mobile phone. I plan to be out of town away from my computer in late spring, so I wanted a way to blog remotely.

This post is an experiment.

-- Post From My iPhone

Richmond GTG

2009-03-09T21:00:00.005-04:00

On February 28, I attended a photographers together in Richmond, VA. Although, I spend a good portion of the GTG stuffing my face (too much good food, not enough time), I did manage to take a few shots of the brides that were there. Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy.

I like this one the most. While I doubt most brides would want a shot like this in their album, I like it for its contemplative mood.

mnb

Photographer Get Together

2009-01-30T21:30:00.003-05:00

Photo by JULIA MACINNIS PHOTOGRAPHY

On Saturday, January 23rd, I went to my first photographer get together or a GTG as we in the biz like to refer to them. 8^). Fellow shooters Julia MacInnis and Armin DeFiesta hosted the event at Julia's lovely home just outside of D.C. Having 50 people at any event would be daunting for anyone, but Julia handled the crowd graciously, gracefully and with an ever-present smile. My hat's off to her.

The group consisted of men and women of all ages, shooting styles, specialties and experience levels from all around the D.C. metro area, some as far away as Fredericksburg, Virginia. Some have been around for years, while others, like myself, are just starting out. I found everyone that I spoke to to be very open and willing to share. For example, when I spoke to one person about my desire to second shoot several weddings by the end of the year, he referred me to a wedding shooter who he had gained experience second shooting for. Perhaps, he offered, this shooter could help you as well. How's that for helping out the newbie.

My only regret is that because of the size of the gathering, I didn't get to speak with everyone. Thank God for tracking people down in Facebook.

/mnb

Single Light Portraits

2009-01-22T20:07:00.014-05:00

As I mentioned on FaceBook last month, I got some new equipment for Christmas; chief among them was my new Manfrotto light stand. I love this light stand. It is portable, easy to store and easy to use. I've been using it along with my Nikon SB-900 Speedlight to take some single light portraits of the family. Enjoy.

N8 (Nate) the Gangsta SkateboarderSpecs: Nikon D80, 135 mm, f/5.6 @ 1/4 second, ISO 200.

My loving and well-manner son Nathaniel
Specs: Nikon D80, 135 mm, f/5.6 @ 1/4 second, ISO 200.

/mnb

Obama's Biggest Supporter

2009-01-20T16:39:00.004-05:00

While I have never kept my political views to myself*, I have always kept who I support or how I voted a secret. No one, not even my wife of 20 years, knows how I vote. But there is one member of my household who has been a Barack Obama supporter from day one, or near enough to it, and is proud to show it-- my daughter Olivia.

Today is for you, Pumpkin.

/mnb

* Note: my bachelor party was almost thrown out of its hotel because my best man and I were loudly arguing over the causes of the American Civil War.

My pDNA or what Watson and Crick didn't tell me

2009-01-18T15:47:00.001-05:00

So, I just finished reading a great book titled Fast Track Photographer by Dane Sanders. As a result, I'm sitting down (rocking out to Ozzie's "Crazy Train" as I do it) trying to finalize a business model that best fits me; not just my professional ambitions, but my personality as well.

This is an extremely important exercise for me. I've worked at enough jobs where I was unable to bring my whole self to work. Part of my personality needed to stay at home, usually the zaniest part (yes, I do have a zany side), and definitely most of my creativity needed to be checked at the door. Those days are rapidly coming to close.

/mnb

2009 Goals

2009-01-09T18:59:00.001-05:00

For me, 2009 is the year that the rubber hits the road.

For the past few months, I have been scribbling notes to myself on any piece of scrap that I could find. The notes are photographic and business plans that I have for myself for this year.

I tend to suffer from a malady called "Analysis Paralysis." I tend to over-analysis a problem or situation before I act on it. While this has saved me from much heart-ache in the past, it has also kept me from taking advantage of some killer situations. Recently Shaun Duffy, a local photographer whose work I admire, posted his 2009 goals on his blog. Reading them inspired me to get the lead out and commit my goals to a public forum.

GOALS

Grow the Personal Network

It's been said that your network is your net worth. If that is so, I've squandered my net worth over the years.

My personal network has unraveled over the last few years because of neglect. I need to stop the trend and reverse it. Over the course of the year, I'll be reaching out to folks I haven't seen or spoken to in years and meeting new people. The main reason for doing it is to feel more connected to life.

Dust Off the ol' MBA

To make brathw8 studios to be a viable venture, I need to be a savvy business man as well as a talented photographer. Some would argue that the business side is far more important. This is where the MBA comes in. I rarely use it in my 9-5, but it will get a complete workout building the studios.

Get a Photography Mentor

Although, I intend to complete NYI Professional Photographer course by August and David Ziser 's Digital Masters Class by Summer's end, I realize that that is not the end of my learning. It is the beginning. I definite need someone to hold me accountable. Someone who will push me technical and artistically. I need a Master Po to my Kwai Chang Caine.

Second Shoot, at least, Three Weddings by Q4

This is my BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal) for 2009. This is where it all comes together. This is where I test my mettle as an event photographer.

At this point in time, there is no reason to believe that any wedding photog within shouting distance of his or her right mind would let me within a thousand feet of any wedding that he or she was shooting. But, by the end of the year, I plan to prove that I have the skills, temperament and professional savvy to be a worthy second shooter.

Wish me luck.

/mnb

Natural Light Study

2008-12-27T11:27:00.008-05:00

I've been experimenting with natural light lately. Here's a picture of my eldest child, Nate, that I'm pleased with. I just love the noise. Enjoy.

Specs: Nikon D80, 18-135mm zoom, f / 5.6 @ 1/30 second, ISO 800.

/mnb

Trip to the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

2008-11-07T20:00:00.003-05:00

I took a rare week off from work (no mission trips, no medical conferences, no family visits) to take care of some 'round the house things before the 1 week of Fall we have in Virginia passed. As a reward for a week of hard work, Victoria took me to the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in nearby Fairfax.

/mnb

The blahs

2008-10-17T08:00:00.006-04:00

A few weeks ago, I was reading the NYIP students discussion group at flickr.com. Someone had posted a message stating that she was suffering from a creative dry spell. She referred to the dry spell as the "blahs." Her message struck home for me, because I too was suffering from the "blahs." At that point, it had been at least two weeks since I had the desire to pick up a camera and shoot anything.

I responded to the original poster with some words of encouragement that I hope were helpful to her. In short, I told her to get out there and to keep shooting even if her creativity was absent, because it was through the act of taking photos that her creativity would return. Although I wrote those words, they were not part of my normal practice... until this weekend.

This past weekend, the family and I took a trip to Virginia Beach to visit my mother and one of my two sisters. I brought my camera along, but truthfully I didn't have any hope that my creative fires would be rekindled. Fortunately, they were rekindled (I think). At least photography became fun again. Up until then it had become a chore, just any other thing to do on my endless list of things to do. But this weekend, it was different. Although I was trying to get certain photos to fulfill an assignment, looking around for the proper composition, angle, lighting etc. was exciting again.

I guess I should take my advice more often.

/mnb

Is it that late already?

2008-10-08T22:03:00.005-04:00

Unfortunately, I spent most of the night working on my Renwick Gallery brochure design for class and surfing my new online hangout the [b] school. Therefore, there's no post tonight. Sorry.

/mnb

Website Shopping

2008-10-05T08:00:00.001-04:00

For the past three days, I've been shopping for a web design that matches the style and feel that I envision Brathw8 Studios embodying: an urbane mixture between fun and professionalism. Narrowing the choices wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

I have a programming degree and am studying graphic design, so you would think that I should be able to "roll my own" site. And given enough time, I'm sure that I could. But a long time ago, I realized that my talents do not lie in the realm of web design. Also, I wish to put my time and talents into photography not web design. No, my friends, when it comes to websites, I'm a firm believer in buy vs. build. With that mantra firmly in mind, I did what I always do: I ran to the internet to begin my research. Unfortunately, there were a lot of things to consider

look and feel
shopping cart capabilities
flash vs. html or both
music playback (rocking tunes not that sappy muzak crap)
cost (as my wife reminds our kids "Money don't grow on trees!")
customization
proofing
etc.

In addition, I was acutely aware that a well designed (or a poorly designed one, for that fact) says a lot about your business to potential clients. I wanted to make sure that my website said the right things. Ultimately, my research lead me to BluDomain. Their designs rock! And their prices make my banker smile. The only issue I have with them is that their shopping carts don't handle major credit cards. Bummer! It's either PayPal or you handle transactions manually after receiving them via email. Double bummer. Hopefully, future revs will correct this grievous short-coming. As it stands right now, BluDomain is the vendor for me.

Now all that remains is picking the style that best suits Brathw8 Studios. Luckily, they only have 50 design choices. Decisions, decisions.

/mnb

Maiden Post

2008-10-01T17:23:00.007-04:00

Greetings all,

I am Mario Brathwaite and I am an aspiring professional photographer.

I've taken pictures since the age of 6 or so. At the risk of dating myself, my first camera was the vintage Mickey Mouse variety (complete with flash cubes). But, it hasn't been until fairly recently that I've begun to study seriously what makes a good photograph.

This blog will document my journey from neophyte to competent professional. I invite you along for the journey.

/mnb