Salty City my last wedding

Well as promised I posted a picture from my good friend Shan’s Salt Lake City wedding. The pond in front of the temple is simply amazing and if you are ever given a chance to see Temple Square, DO IT! Salty City is nothing short of cool though I didn’t realize just how much smog covers that place. Had a strange experience to say the least the night before the wedding. The bride had gotten me a room at Hotel Monaco and since we had some extra time, I had the bride come down to the lobby (which was gorgeous) to do some pre-formal shots. Shortly after we began, good ole Tommy Lee (From Motley Crew) comes walking in. We were all caught off guard but I did manage to say “what up” to one of Rock N Rolls true bad boys. Anyway, that wedding wrapped up what has been an awesome year in weddings and in saying that, I want to thank everyone who had me photograph their wedding it was a true pleasure. I want to point out that this last wedding for 07 just happened to be a close and dear friend of mine. She was the first real friend I made upon my arrival in Boise from Big Sky Country and it has been no small pleasure having her in my life. Some of the funniest moments in both my personal and professional life have been shared by her and there isn't a day that goes by I am not grateful for her friendship. She married an awesome guy who is well on his way to accomplishing much in his life and would give the shirt off his back while he was at it. With that, I wish them both the best and look forward to seeing their shining faces in front of the lens down the road.

2007’s best wedding pics will be posted in my Pics of the Week gallery in late December for sure so be looking. Till then, enjoy the holiday season I will see ya in 2008!

This was the view from my room :)

Thank you Shey and Darrah for ALL OF YOUR TIME AND HELP, Much Love!

Drinks for all my friends,

Lance

Home to the Big Easy!

Been having some fun down in the Big Easy! Let me tell you that city has cleaned itself up considerably! So much for the hurricane wiping everything out. I was really impressed with the effort of the people who are trying to restore one of this countries great cities. I had the chance to watch the family alum, LSU play Arkansas on Friday after Thanksgiving and it was nothing short of a heart breaker. At $80 a seat, I would have liked to have won dammit! No more weddings in 2007 from this point forward we are all about Lance. Time for me to take some shots that appeal to me and perhaps, only me. Speaking of weddings, I will post some pictures of Trev and Shan’s wedding in Temple Square down in Salty City. I had a great time and so far, I am loving the pictures we got. Not much more to report but I will be back shortly with some shots from Salt Lake.

Drinks for all my friends,

Lance

Fall is in the air

Let me start by saying sorry, I have been really bad about posting lately. Well I am down to one more wedding this year (Salt Lake City in November) and that will just about wrap things up. Been doing some family portraits and preparing for the advertising rush in 2008. What I find to be the best part of having some free time is that I get to shoot some pictures for me, by me. Of course I have included a couple in the blog and as always, you can find many of them listed in the “Pics of the Week” section of my website. More to follow soon and be on the lookout for my collection of the 2007 best bridal pictures. I will compile and post sometime in either December or January. I want to recognize those brides that gave me some STUNNING photographs this year!

Drinks for all my friends,

Lance

P.S. Seattle was a blast especially watching my Saints whip those Seahawks.

Corporate Types & an Artist

Spent today doing some corporate headshots for a federal agency (The Small Business Administration) and product shots for an extremely talented artist. Sometimes photographers get lucky in that we get to shoot interesting subjects and their craft. In the case of the SBA, it was an opportunity to show the ever entrepreneurial public what the face of small business leadership looks like. Tom Bergdoll has led Boise’s local SBA office for the better part of 20 years and has seen it through changes both good and bad. It was a quick shoot (probably 10 minutes) and I was able to capture a professional shot using two off camera flashes (SB-800’s) and a Gary Fong diffuser. Traveling light has never felt so good.

In the evening I had a shoot for a young and aspiring atist named Cindi Duft. If you ever wanted something painted on your kids bedroom wall she is the person to hire (http://myweb.cableone.net/cindiduft/). Trust me when I say she can do it all and has a talent above and beyond the scope! Using the same setup I used earlier in the day, I was able to get her some promo images that are sure to please and no doubt should be on her website soon. For those of you who are fond of the camera, notice the direct light on one side of her face. I did this with a little off camera SB800 action and a cardbox slipped over the light acting as a snoot. Try it, it gives you sme dramatic results just be sure to jack your shutter speed up a little if you want the drama effect. No weddings until October and the break is super welcome. To those of you who have already booked for 2008 thank you and get ready for your engagements pics soon……



Drinks for all my friends,



Lance

Antone & Becky

On the road in lovely Wenatchee, WA. and I must say that I have never seen a place as green as this! Finishing up Antone & Becky’s wedding from 9/1/07 and it was nothing short of awesome! This wedding set a record for the amount of time I spent with one bride and one groom and every minute was worth it for sure. I posted a couple of pictures in the blog I hope you like them. I am not much for the “everybody jumps together” type of pictures but with the opportunity for a silhouette shot of this kind I just had to do it. I will be back with more soon and the website will continue to take on new life as I update its appearance.

Drinks for all my friends,


Lance

The Nation's Capital Baby!

Just got back from D.C. and I will tell it is quite the place. I encourage EVERYONE to check it out. Walking along the Vietnam Memorial was a very humbling experience to say the least. D.C. is a lush and happening place let me tell ya and I can see why it is so very expensive. One thing for sure is that it is a photographer’s dream come true I mean everywhere you look, a picture opportunity exist. My only complaint to report is that the tour guide rushed us like there was no tomorrow! If only had more time dammit! Anyway, enjoy the samples and as always, if you can’t eat it, shoot it with a Nikon.

Drinks for all my friends,

Lance

D.C. Boredom

Well I am sitting here in our nation’s capital bored out of my mind. You may be curious why I am here and my response is to shoot G.W.’s daughter’s engagement party (She recently got engaged). Ok I am kidding and to be honest, it would take all the gold in Fort Knox to have me rub elbows with those cronies anyhow. Seriously, I am here for a week long boring seminar and that is all I am going to say about that.

I have been reading much about wedding photographers who give up the rights to the negatives to wedding clients. Well many a photographer has grumbled about this and all I can say to you the bride is this. If it is good for you and your photographer is turning a profit does it really matter? What should alarm today’s bride is the photographer who uses “MySpace” as the only website for advertising their photographic services. Also, staying aware of the $175 wedding package because I will tell you, the images are most likely going to be terrible! Lastly, I recently visited a website for a Boise photographer who I knew was fired by a previous client of mine. Well, that site was interesting in that I noticed a link or two that was invalid and a mix of pictures that by all accounts, did not appear as though they came from the same photographer. Mind you, it takes a keen eye to spot that kind of stuff but nonetheless, my suspicions are most likely right! No I can’t say the name of the operation but she is a local girl and has recently changed her business name and her number (for the 3rd time). I say this to you because at the time my former client hired me, she informed me of how this particular photographer (if that is what you want to call her) knew little on how to operate a computer, was fashionably late to the consultation, and seemed SUPER nervous. Now if you saw this site you would not think that someone who promotes that kind of quality would be lacking in so many other areas. Before you ask, I have somewhat confronted this individual and the reason is simple. I love the industry and while I believe that photographers should be reinventing themselves regularly, it does not mean that it is ok to make the rest of us look bad but scamming potential clients. More on this later…..

Did some cool pictures and I figured I would share. Feel free to comment on them if you like

Drinks for all my friends,

Lance

Kooskia, Idaho

Was up in Northern, Idaho last week for a wedding on the Clearwater River. Other than the DJ totally screwing up the brides 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. dance (more on this later), all went without a hitch. J.R. and Nicole were a total blast to hang out with. For those of of you who don't know, Kooskia is up in the northern part of Idaho damn near the Montana state line. Talk about wilderness......Enjoy the pics and thank you JR & Nicole for your kindness and flexibility....Can't wait for Nikon to release it's new line of DSLR's & for Saints football to get started!

Drinks for all my friends,

Lance

Just(is) Info

Well another awesome wedding is done and it was dustbowl of sorts. Bogus Basin in Idaho is unique in that you can get some really cool pics but given the dry conditions, dust was a flyin! Regardless, Ryan & Brady put on a great show and their pictures are gorgeous. Funny how when you climb 6500ft for wedding pics how different the clouds

began to look. Brady herself was gorgeous and plenty good enough for the lens without the clouds! Enjoy the examples and feel free to comment even if you are not feeling the pics.

Well next week I am off to Northern Idaho in what should be a gorgeous ceremony for Nicole and J.R. The wedding is taking part right on the Payette River and that has me dying to get the bride in the water. Anyone who has ideas on how to do this without ruining the dress and pissing off the M.O.B. (Mother of the Bride) please email with suggestions (yeah right).

P.S.

The Saints start training camp this week! YEAHHHHHHHHH..We are so Super Bowl Bound!

Drinks for all my friends,

Lance

Taxes & Weddings

Well this weekend should be a grand event. Ryan & Brady look to tie the know high atop Bogus Basin Ski Resort. Hopefully, the sun will be gorgeous and those silhouette shots will be rocking! Funny how all of the PhotoShop in the world can't touch the natural and various lights our sun provides. Ok I will stop acting like Gandhi here.

As for the homeowners in Ada County I am every bit as angry as you are that your property taxes keep flying through the roof. Who in the hell comes up with these stupid numbers anyway? With all of the developers licking their chops to get something built, you would think that those costs would be passed on to them! Well, wouldn't surprise me if a few down at the county weren't getting a little kickback themselves for letting these idiots plow through the beauty of Boise while increasing your property taxes. Kinda sucks paying taxes on capital gains not even realized until you sell your home! So live in it for 10 years and let the county get 30K out of ya!

Took my kiddo out to dinner at Old Chicago the other night and ran into a group of activists from www.moveon.org
Great group of folks I might add who thought they might take a few out of their day to say to the world just how stupid the war in Iraq has become. Hmmm, I could not agree with them more. Love those vets (especially the airborne ones) but hate this blurred war we are stuck in.

See ya on the 2010 ballot…..Yeah Right…

Drinks for all my friends,

Lance

Scammers

I wonder why scammers are all of the sudden targeting photographers. I mean really, nobody ever accused us of being Harvard’s best & brightest but sheez, do they really think we are that stupid? You are probably wondering what I am rambling about so I will explain.

Scam artist acting like a potential client emails you for availability.
Then, asks how much to send for deposit (all of this can be found on most photography websites anyway)
Then asks for a mailing address and offers to send you more than is required. The catch is that they want you to mail them back the remainder after subtracting for the deposit.
Your bank runs the check and while they get a nice little chunk of cash, the poor/idiot photographer is left with the hefty bounced check fees when the check fails to clear.
Not sure about your bank but mine, Wells Fargo has implemented a system to prevent getting taken though it does little to protect me. Each time I deposit a check the bank will only release the first $100 until the rest clears. Regardless, I always get these emails and I simply tell them my wedding package costs $350,000 plus travel. They seldom reply and what makes me laugh even harder is that most of them speak HORRIBLE English. Here is an excerpt of one I got just a couple of days ago.

Hello Foster, Am Steve Mac, It’s my pleasure to invite you to my Daugther wedding ceremony which is going to take place at First Baptist church san Antonio , Georgia USA on August 4th 2007, please let me know if your company will be available on this date to take the coverage and every necessary things on that day. So let us know if you will be available on that on that day, let us know your package for 8 hours, presently am not in the state but it’s my duty to take care of this part that’s why, I have to contacted you. Let me know if you can receive your payment with a CERTIFIED CASHIER CHEQUE OR MONEY ORDER from my client in the states. Am looking forward to hear from you as soon as possible.

Treat As Urgent
Bye

See what I mean? San Antonio is in Georgia now???? What I have always found funny is that we can find one freaking cow who has “Mad Cow Diesease” amongst a hundred thousand but can’t find one of these idiots much less Osama.

Well enjoy I am off to Spokane for a wedding and then will be enjoying some down time. Congrats to Daniel & Ximena for a lovely wedding last weekend it was a privilege to provide your photography.





More updates to the site are coming soon to include a flash player for the pics of the week!

Nikon for All My Friends,

Lance

Updates

The website www.justisphoto.com is taking on a new shape. In the wedding section you will find a flash player slide show while each navigation button button will be redesigned as well. I hope to have some new stuff and more non-traditional wedding pictures posted for ya soon. In the meantime, check out some of these pictures from Greg Sims who just so happens to have one wicked portfolio!

http://www.photoshopuser.com/members/portfolios/view/gallery/1119633

Well as I posted earlier I have been at it with weddings and what not. Even had a challenging assignment of taking pictures of dental crowns for a gentleman who sells them to your local dentist. Thats right, the little silver things in your mouth I actually took pictures of. Just goes to show that photographers are capable of taking a shot of anything. I have always said that photography is the proximity of ideas but who would have thought? I wanna take a moment to congratulate some fine people who have allowed me to shoot their events. First my hats off to Becky & Antone who recently held an engagement party of sorts last Saturday and I am here to say it was a doozy. I mean really, when they are serving beer and you get to take pictures one would be a fool not to attend assuming they were invited! We ended up with some wicked images and I am thrilled that they loved em. Here is link to their wedding page and for those of you planning a wedding, this is a really cool service http://rebeccaandantone.weddings.com
Here is one for ya..

After this shoot I decided that for posed shots "RAW" is the only way to shoot! This allows me to give your pictures a more authentic aged feel.
Congrats to Joel & Jennifer who threw a helluva party at the 4th Street Gardens it was a total joy shooting your wedding and last but not least, Brady & Ryan who also recently completed a engagement session with me. More weddings are on the way and I can't wait to let my trigger finger do it's thing!

Drinks For All My Friends,

Lance

Justis Photography