Getting better all the time

Here's the new thing I've been working on.

New website

I've got a new website! 
I read an article not too long ago that said, "Don't take for granted your placement in the search engines"
Well... I've always been number one on Google when you searched for "Headshots Denver".
I mean, for years I've been number one.
So I checked.
Not only was I NOT on the first page.  I wasn't there at all!!
I spoke to my web designer and he did everything he knew to get my keywords (or whatever they're called) entered in so the search engines would find them.  Apparently Google keeps changing their protocols and all of a sudden I ceased to exist on the internet. 
You couldn't even find my website when you searched for Eric Weber Photographer. 
It was very frustrating, and after a month or so of not showing up on the search engines, I decided to create a new web gallery.
It's through a company called foliolink  and they're pretty cool looking.
So keep checking back. I should launch it within a couple of days now.
Oh... meanwhile, my old site has ended up back at number one at Google so I guess now I'll have two websites.

New Technique

I discovered a photographer who used to be in Denver, Joel Grimes. He's got this great technique where he shoots people in his studio and then  transfers them to a HDR background.  If it's done well (which it HAS to) they look "hyper-realistic". Here's a few...

Summertime activity

Good-day mates!  Christie and I have been working on a pirate routine that she'll be performing at the Museum of Nature and Science, so I'm walking around talking pirate lingo!  yikes! So, this Summer has been a  busy one.  We just got back from Las Vegas working on the Garth Brooks, " Teammates for Kids" appreciation party. It's a lot of hard work with lots of different events to attend and shoot pictures of, but the whole weekend is capped off with a wonderful concert from Garth and his band.   We stayed at the Wynn Hotel and, man,  what a hotel!

Image via Wikipedia

No scrimping at this place.  I swear, one chandelier cost as much as my house. The big item up for bid this time was a Shelby 350GT... donated by Carroll Shelby himself.

Vegas

We're at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas!   Dang!... unbelievable how much money is spent on these resorts!  We're here for the Garth Brooks, Teammates for Kids fundraiser and concert.  I'm the official photographer so I get to hang around with Garth a lot.  This'll be the 4th time Christie and I have come here and it's a lot of work.  But these kids are seriously ill and 100% of the money raised goes to them.  That's great!  Funny though, as much time as we've spent with Garth, I can't say we've really ever gotten to know him and Trisha. They are always surrounded by people.
We got in yesterday at midday and had the rest of the day to walk around,  lose a little money and  exhaust ourselves in this midsummer heat!!  My goodness... 110 degrees!
I'll post some pictures over the next couple of days.

rainy rainy rainy

Christie took the day off today.  She's realllllly sick.  Coughed all night... afraid of losing her voice.
I'd like to share some more pictures.  This is well known Bronco Linebacker Karl Mecklenburg.
Graphic designer, web designer, etc. Charles Bevier.  We did a studio shoot instead of the natural light.  I like it!... of course it didn't hurt that he had such a winning  smile and personality.
Katie Cunningham... cute girl!.... new with Radical Artists.

shot today

This is Dana Smith, a new talent who's studying with Benjy Dobrin Studios. A couple of different treatments

THIS IS NOT GOOD | garyfong1 on Xanga

THIS IS NOT GOOD | garyfong1 on Xanga

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Ah... Saturday... No shoots

Yay!  I'm home today.  I ALWAYS book a photo shoot on Saturday.  Incredibly... no one requested that this week, so I'm left with a warm, wonderful, free Saturday.  What to do??  Clean the garage!!  My Christmas present to Christie was to make the garage so  that she could once again park her car in there.
So here we are almost 6 months later and it's time for me to pay up.
More news though.
Gary and the boys at the studio decided that it was finally time to put the walls up in the front office.  Our original idea was to use corrugated metal roofing material, both translucent and metallic.  Well... DONE!
Have a look.

It has just been a big empty room till now.  Mine's the one closest to the camera.  we left the sides translucent so the light from the front window could get through.
Had an exciting shoot yesterday... Anne Penner from Radical Artists.  I've always been intrigued by her from seeing her on the Radical site.  She was so much fun to shoot with.  Here's a couple of samples from the web gallery....

Good bye Walter Cass

Walter was a musician and  an attorney... a father to four beautiful children and a voracious reader and studier of everything.  I'll miss our conversations a lot!
He passed away on Saturday night at around 10:30 with all the kids around him.
He died the way he wanted to... at home... not in a nursing home or a hospital.
It was amazing how much he took care of... almost as if he knew.   All the arrangements for the cremation, etc. were handled by him... sometime.  He took care that it wouldn't be a burden on anyone.
It could have easily gone the other way.  He could have survived the stroke and been confined to a wheelchair as an invalid for the rest of his life, in which case he would have died in a nursing home.
But he went out his way... good on ya Walter.  You were a great man.  We will miss you

Christie's Dad is dying

Christie's Dad, Walter had a stroke a little over a week ago. Despite all the efforts of the wonderful staff at Denver General Hospital, he has been unhooked and brought home to make the transition.

Christie, her brother Scott, her sister Kim and her sister Cindy are all over at the house, spending time as siblings, being around their Dad is his final hours. God Bless them.

I'm at the studio, kind of staying away and keeping busy until they need me, but I got to have dinner over there with them last night and it was really sweet to see them all together, dealing with their loss in their own individual ways.

My Son

Jeremy is the love of my life... and the joy of my life. He has been the most wonderful Son. I'm such a proud father...
He has always been more friend than Father/Son

Angel Eyes - New Grass Revival

This is a fantastic song by my all time favorite group. They were one of the first bluegrass bands I ever saw live and they were magical. Truly one of the first jam bands.
Anyway, Sam Bush has been a huge influence on my mandolin playing... especially my attack. He's the master of rhythm mandolin... and lead of course... but his attack is so percussive.
John Cowan is an amazing singer... Bela, well...can you say "Flecktones"
Pat Flynn... cool guitar player.
Together they were magical.

How Freelancers are Using Social Media for Real Results

How Freelancers are Using Social Media for Real Results

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Hard to keep up

I'm not sure anyone is reading my blog, but it's fun to get on here and write  stuff. Came across a couple of my favorite pictures from Christie and my trip to Australia last November.  In the interest of keeping my blog alive, I'll post them.

The run is over

Well,  Dearly Departed is over.  What a great couple of months it has been!  I really think it is one of the funniest shows ever written, but in the hands of these seasoned pros... even funnier.  I did some photo setups on the final weekend and had some fun with them. Also, we took the show to La Veta, Colorado this last weekend for two performances.  Steve Sealy  couldn't go, so we recast his three parts with three local thespians.  They did a super job.  Here are the pictures...

Evil Stuff

I was on Facebook last night and saw that my friend Tanya had joined this club:

DEAR LORD, THIS YEAR YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTOR, PATRICK SWAYZIE. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTRESS, FARAH FAWCETT. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE SINGER, MICHAEL JACKSON. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT IS BARACK OBAMA. AMEN.

DON'T CLICK ON IT!!
Knowing that she's a big Obama fan, I wrote her and asked why she would join such an evil group.
She DIDN'T!! She merely clicked on it and it added it to her recent posts.
I clicked on it to see what it was all about and it planted it on my page as well. That's just plain evil... and I think what's going on now in America is scary.
We need to start a movement that preaches understanding and caring and loving... not hating.  What is wrong with these people?? It's distressing.

giving a new blog program a trial run

So... I've got Anne Van Etten... successful voice coach in here today. They're putting her face on back in the studio and I'm messing around up here in the office. I'm sure those of you who are waiting for your digital files would rather I was immersed in Photoshop, but I have to come up for air occasionally.
Let's try publishing a photo or two. Right below.... Anne Van Etten.

How about another one.

and this attorney shot...

what are you selling?

It occurred to me that many of you don't understand the importance of a good image of yourself in your marketing material.  What are we selling after all?  It is true that we are selling "you"... but even more so, we are selling an "emotion".  Who cares what you look like?  That is what it is, and beyond plastic surgery there's not much we can do about that.
What makes a person sexy isn't how pretty their features are or how "jaw droppingly" beautiful they are when they walk into a room, but... and listen to this carefully... it's the "fire" in their eyes... the confidence with which they carry themselves.  THAT'S what makes people sexy.
We are drawn to successful people.  Whether you are successful or not,  looking successful is the key.
In your marketing material you MUST look successful.
Wardrobe certainly plays a part in this, although many headshots are cropped closer and you can't even see that.
Facial expression is the key.  The message you send with your eyes is the key. We don't want the viewer to just like the photo of you... we need the viewer to "feel" the "emotion"... to get the message behind the expression... to want to do business with you.
read this:
http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/top-5-marketing-and-pr-blunders-no.-4/

Patty's party

 Fun, fun, fun!  Great to see so many old acquaintances and clients.
Anyway... I got there as soon as I could after our matinee of "Dearly Departed"... really wanted to run these songs with Scott and Misha and Jake. It was pretty close to party time, so we did what we could.
The party went great.  All the different acts were so much fun to see... so many talented people!
Misha and I sang and played "When you come back down" by Nickel Creek
http://nickelcreek.com/
Jake did a super job on the guitar and Scott McClean did awesome on the piano. Oh, the harmonies sounded beautiful too!
 Really didn't want to play solo mandolin for my big finale number, but literally 10 minutes before I went on stage, Scott had to leave... yikes!  I think it went well.... you'll have to ask others.
I drank too much and stayed out too late... felt like shit on Monday!
here's the fb page
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf#!/photo.php?pid=1010289&id=1532768654&fbid=1406317087939

thoughts for another Saturday morning

Christie has a new job at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. She loves it, but it means that she leaves me around 9 on Saturday mornings.  I wish she were here with me.  Saturday mornings are such a great time to get things done around here and it's so much more fun when we do it together. Artie and Bitsy are so cute chasing each other and Artie is especially affectionate in the morning.
I'll leave for the studio in about an hour... have one shoot at 1pm... a short one and then a rehearsal with Misha and Jake for our performance at Patty's birthday party tomorrow night... then back home to feed the cats... then to the theater for tonight's performance. 
Not a very interesting blog entry today, but I promised myself that I would keep up with this. Kinda like keeping a diary, but one that everybody can read.

Dearly Departed!!

Fun night tonight. This show just gets further and further out of whack... people taking more and more liberties.  John Ashton is doing great taking over the role of Ray Bud (my older brother).  Steve Sealy continues to have fun with his roles, cracking all of us up and getting great laughs.  What's also cool.... figuring out how to get bigger laughs... trying different stuff.  Then when you hit it... greatest feeling in the world. 

Webcast #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2Vkzqdq3NQ

New Pics!!

Been a great last couple of days shooting. Some different stuff.
First shot... a vocal group called "Firesign".  We shot this morning.  I was going for the Manhattan Transfer feel.
Shot #2 a business shot, done on location at Rivet Software http://www.rivetsoftware.com/
Mike Rohan, chairman and co-founder.
Next shot.. Matt Baca, actor and comedian
And last... Shelly Gaza... actor.... thought she's have to go to either coast to get a good headshot....WRONG....!
Do you get the feeling that I like people leaning to their right..I don't mean politically!

Teaching

Jumped back into the teaching gig. Yep... I'm teaching a course for http://www.auditionbetter.com/
It's a class about how to "receive" a good picture of yourself... how to project to the camera... body language... best angles, etc.  It was great!  We'll get into posing and movement in front of the camera (which is what I have my most experience in) You should check them out.  Owner, Elizabeth Karsell
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0440145/ 
is a seasoned actress with tons of credentials... you can see for yourself.
They're in a cool building down at Mississippi and Wadsworth that offers lots of photographic possibilities. Seems like a good deal for the student.  It's $125 for the month, but you get a couple of shoots with.... me... wait, that's TOO good of a deal.

Lots of good photography over the last couple of days... will post some stuff tomorrow.

posing techniques

What if I were to teach posing and lighting techniques to aspiring photographers?....that thought came to me tonight.  I was reading about photographers paying for photography workshops only to be disappointed with the results.  Read this http://www.leeannmariephotography.com/for-photographers/scarlett-lillian-workshop/.  Seems like there are tons of these workshops that are advertised in photo magazines, taught by seemingly successful photographers when they really are just successful marketers of workshops.

I was thinking... I've always had a gift for lighting and choosing the right time to press the shutter. I've got a lot that I can share with people who want to learn. I could advertise and teach photography seminars.  I certainly know a lot about it...... Waddya think.

I'm gonna have to meditate on this one.

Thoughts for a Saturday morning

ah... glorious Colorado.  The Sun is shining and you can feel Spring in the air.  We had a great crowd at the show last night... full house.  They laughed a lot... we laughed a lot.  This is such a fun show to do.

We were talking about going out for a drink after the show.  Steve and Pam said Racines and then in the parking lot, Tupper said "Mozart Lounge" 14th and Krameria".  So I show up there... see Pam and Tupper at a table with David Marlowe and my old friend Bob Leggitt.  I go to the bar... something doesn't look quite right... oh.....it's all men... holding hands.  I'm in a gay bar!  That's ok... I've got lots of gay friends, but it surprised me a bit... especially when I'm standing at the bar and these two cowboys next to me are staring at me and smiling.

So all of a sudden the piano player (who's totally holding court in the front of the club) says over the  mic.  "Did I see Eric Weber walk in?"  It was Danny Dobbins, a local legend in the musical theater scene.  I waved and he called me over to the piano.  I got a big hug and an announcement to the whole lounge that I was an actor and the best photographer in Denver.  That was nice.  Anyway...

Steve called and he and John Ashton and Pam Vanderpool had gone down to Racines.  So I finished my martini and hopped in the car to go there.

Saw lots of people I knew (man, I haven't lived the theater life in lots of years!). Got home at 1am.

A little groggy today, but that was sure fun.

Shag man

Ron Vigil!  What a great look he has.  This is today's shoot. He's got sit-com written all over him.  Here's three of them.....

today!!

Great weather... great group of people that I had the privilege to work with.

Bronco Great Karl Mecklenburg for accent windows.

Gabriel Donaldson... Radical Artists Agency.  Fun, fun shoot.  Great guy.  Easy natural smile.

Beautiful Jamie Sogard is studying acting at the Denver Center.  Again, so easy to work with and so great in front of my camera.  notice that these are natural light photos that are supplemented with strobes on the hair and the background... I think it's very important to supplement the natural light..

another day... another couple of headshots

Beautiful day in Denver.  Perfect for natural light.  Shot a comedian named Rob Gleeson (http://www.robgleeson.com/
very comfortable in front of the camera.  His eyes were pretty light sensitive so we had to move away from the door a bit.

Started the day with a studio shoot for Transwestern Commercial Real Estate (http://denver.transwestern.net/)

She loved having her picture taken... that's always nice. Here's one of those...

These are not retouched at all... just color-corrected and posted.  Really loving the beauty dish that fits on my White Lightnings.  It puts out great light.  I'm using it for a hair light on the natural light shots.

Weekend photos

had fun shooting with author Peter Heller who has just completed a book about surfing.  He learned how to surf while researching this book.  Isn't that great?  He's married to Cindy "KIm" Yan who's a gorgeous actor with Big Fish Talent www.bigfishtalent.com  She's the greatest... we've been shooting together for years. Here's Peter's shot...and then a couple of Cindy Kim.

Ah...

shot this last week... this was her agent's choice. The other two were on Friday. Her name is Katherine and she is fulfilling a life long dream of wanting to model.  I think she certainly photographs well enough  and moved well in front of my camera.

quite a storm

Brought my computer home last night.  Figured we'd be snowed in. We are... kinda.
It's starting to melt already....
I've spent the morning trying to get the big computer to talk to my wireless internet.... no luck!
Frustrating.....

Snow's coming!

I had a shoot scheduled for 2pm today, but since she's coming from Colorado Springs and the forecast is for 10 to 15 inches of snow on Monument Hill... we decided to reschedule... smart!
I've actually done quite a few natural light headshots  while it was snowing and they came out awesome.  But NO-ONE wants to attempt Monument Hill in a snowstorm.
Am having fun hooking up with old high school friends on Facebook and working on a Keynote presentation that I will be posting on here and on You Tube... it's that kind of a day... oh and lots of Photoshop work to catch up on.  Time to hunker down.

new shots

Bjorn and Jennifer Bird are opera singers who have just moved here from Germany.  Glad they found my studio and came in yesterday for their new headshots

Photographed an attorney in the morning.  Here it is: