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Featured: Faux/tographers workshop

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Speaking. Sheesh. I mean, I’m not a shy guy and I talk way too much as is. But something about getting on a stage and talking — when people can’t talk back — that makes me not all that excited. Because of this, I’ve turned down a few workshops and speaking arrangements around the world in the last year or two.

Anyways, I got a phone call from one of my favorite people — Josh. Josh and Sara were putting on a workshop around the country — and they wanted me to be the guest speaker at the Santa Barbara stop. About a week before, I turned down a speaking arrangement with PPA at next year’s Imaging conference and Josh was furious with me (he’s always pushing me to speak and do workshops). He even said that if I’d change my mind he would come up with topics that he would love to hear me speak on — almost like cliff notes for things I can ramble on and on about. So after some begging (just kidding ;), I told Josh I’d do it because we’re such good friends and because I was going to make him basically tell me exactly what he wanted me to talk about — like he said he would for the PPA dealio :P

It ended up being awesome. I rambled on about nonsense like how I started, my ideas on what it takes to be a working photographer, where to get inspiration, little things that have worked for me over the years, etc. — and everyone was kind enough to make me feel like I actually said something that mattered :) It had a conversational aspect to it — and that made it more enjoyable for me. I walked away from it feeling psyched!


I talk with my hands way too much. My mom would tell you that I am my mother’s son for this reason :)


God bless people who laugh at my jokes!


The crew :)

Thanks to all the new people I met for letting me share with you! And Josh and Sara, thanks for pushing me to speak — I enjoyed it much more than I expected!

Bobby

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Jasmine* - SO proud of you! Rock it out, homie! :)September 2, 2010 - 7:27 am

Misty - Wish I could hear one of your "speakings". :) I'm sure I would learn a lot.September 2, 2010 - 8:08 am

Andrew Fleming - Looks like it was a rad time!September 2, 2010 - 10:32 am

Matt - And thanks for coming... you rocked it!September 2, 2010 - 2:43 pm

Christine - That's awesome... way to rock it!! :)September 2, 2010 - 5:27 pm

Matt Taft - That was probably the best time I ever heard you speak. Wouldn't have missed it for the world!September 3, 2010 - 8:17 am

michelle brooks - Bobby this looks like a great time for all! I hope one day to be sitting at your feet. :) One thing I'm always freaked out to see in photos of group stuff like this is NO ONE is as old as me!! Guess I could be the den mama.September 3, 2010 - 10:35 am

Featured: I Heart Faces

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Whenever I’m featured somewhere it’s always surprising for me — and as often as it surprises me, it really feels great too :) Well I Heart Faces is awesome and I was pleasantly surprised when I received an email from them recently asking if I would be a guest judge. In typical Bobby Earle fashion, I took way too long getting back to them, getting images to them, getting their interview questions answered, and so on… but Amy and Angie were such dolls throughout the whole process.

BOBBY EARLE I HEART FACES

I’m lucky enough to engage in some legitimate photojournalism from time to time, but I don’t bring in any real income with pure photojournalism. If I could pay the bills the way I do now — and not be gone 24/7 like most working PJ pros — I’d strongly consider it. But it doesn’t (pay enough) and I would (be gone too often without my family) so I’m not (a working photojournalist). Even still, I Heart Faces apparently thinks there is enough PJ in my imagery to qualify me for this week’s guest judge — with the topic being “photojournalism” — and that makes me so happy. I’ve always believed that PJ is a real and serious part of my imagery — not just a buzzword. It’s nice when other people think so too :)

Click here to read the entire interview, enter the contest, and see my judging skills — or lack of judging skills ;)

Update: I’m TRYING my best to answer everyone’s questions for me in the comment section of the interview. If your question doesn’t require a conversation, I’ll probably be able to answer it!

Bobby

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Amy @ I Heart Faces - This is one of my favorite photo challenges!! I think it's really pushing everyone in our community to do and see things differently. Thanks for your inspiration! I really really really really really want to go on one of your trips. Can someone please watch my kids for a week?? I'm all over the Italy one and will be stalking your blog for updates:-)August 31, 2010 - 4:33 pm

Amy @ I Heart Faces - Scratch that... I just read your comment on our blog about Cambodia. That does sound like a life changing trip. I'll still stalk you even if you aren't going to Italy for a while:-)August 31, 2010 - 4:36 pm

Angie from I Heart Faces - It is absolutely awesome to have you visiting with us this week Bobby! Thanks so much for interacting with everyone in the comment section as well. :)September 1, 2010 - 4:59 pm

Ty - Congrats on the interview, it was awesome! My all time favorite set, is still the one with Dug. I had a smile on the entire time i was viewing those!September 1, 2010 - 6:31 pm

Baby Countdown: Week 35

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So this weeks baby countdown was EXTRA exciting! Lindsay’s parents gave me an awesome birthday present — a super long ultrasound appointment! We’ve only had very short ones in the past — so 20 minutes in front of a huge screen looking at our sometimes cute and other times creepy little boy??? It was my favorite present this year :)

We went to A Baby Visit in Miramar (San Diego) — and they were awesome!!! Happy, the man who runs it, is as sweet and kind as his name would suggest. I called at 1pm and asked if they had anything today — and they squeezed me in between two other appointments at 3pm! They have stadium seating with a GIANT projection screen — so you can bring as many people as you like. And then you just sit for about 20 minutes (longer times are available) and watch your baby. It was awesome.

Lindsay has been a total worry wart this whole pregnancy :) so she counted all of the boy’s hands, feet, fingers, and toes — and happily came out with the right number!


From left to right: April (my sister), Dane, Garrett, Cindy, my mom, and my dad. I’m sure we’d have filled out the seats but we didn’t know we were even going until a couple hours before! So happy my family, Dane, Garrett, and Cindy were able to make it last minute!


It looks like her eyes are closed, but she’s looking at the big screen :)


Kinda creepy, I know… but it’s still really awesome to see! At times you’d say “awe… how cute!” and at other times the boy would look like something out of a horror movie! It’s extra fun if you’ve got a bit of a sense of humor :)


So I think the potential for a surprise girl is getting smaller and smaller :)

I guess they were able to estimate that the boy weighs about five and a half pounds right now! Should be seven to eight pounds if he goes a full 40 weeks :)

And for those that want to see the video of the ultrasound, feel free to do so here.

Bobby

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Katie Lewis - Oh my gosh that is so exciting! I can't believe he'll be here before you know it! I know you guys picked the name. Is it the same name that was talked about in China??!August 30, 2010 - 6:03 pm

Kamrie LeBlanc - O my, Lindsay looks beautiful as ever. Your boy looks adorable. So glad all is well and he's healthy [Mrs. Earle also]. Can't wait to see more pictures soon!August 31, 2010 - 12:19 am

Mindy - How exciting!!! Can't wait to meet him virtually!!! So happy that everyone is healthy and doing well!!! And what a cool facility...I don't think there is such a thing here in HI.August 31, 2010 - 12:43 am

Cindy - yay! i'm so glad that i made it to the ultra sound. Pregnancy is such a miracle! It's really hard to believe that somehow the baby would just grow into a normal human being. How amazing is that! :)August 31, 2010 - 12:56 am

Amanda - I'm so happy for you and I'm glad you want to share it with us who read. My brother and his wife is expecting a baby in January so I'm all emotional when it comes to this. Good luck with everything :)August 31, 2010 - 6:46 am

Misty - Aaw! I went there for mine too! Such a great place! SOOOO exciting. Baby day is getting so close! Can't wait to see pics of the little man. Look out, Bobby, he is going to take over your blog more than you think. ;)August 31, 2010 - 11:01 am

Dina @ 4 Lettre Words - Wow. Such an insanely-exciting time And, she looks so darn cute at 35-weeks!August 31, 2010 - 1:42 pm

becky/becca - looks at you Linds...you're BEAUTIFUL!! soooo exciting!! LOVE you both!! :)September 1, 2010 - 11:10 am

Kelly Herd - Bobby, Your baby on the 3d ultrasound looks just like our baby! Our babies might end up looking very similar. Check out my Facebook profile picture for ours. Can't wait to hear about the delivery. We are at 10 days now and am loving being parents..... Looking forward to seeing you soon and checking out CFA. Kelly and MitchSeptember 2, 2010 - 7:37 pm

Photography on the cheap (for photographers)

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So most people are getting hit by the economy right now — and I know photographers often spend WAY too much on gear. And if you’re anything like me, you lose camera accessories. A lot. Like all the time. I lose batteries and CF cards like crazy (never CF cards with info on them — I’m an immediate backer upper :). And hard drives??? With 22mp images and full HD video, I go through terabytes (a thousand GB’s) of space on a monthly basis at times. Here are a couple ways to save money without sacrificing quality gear…

1. Batteries.

5D Mark II batteries (same as 7D batteries). I’ve heard of people paying $100+ for these batteries. It’s crazy. As usual, Amazon has the cheapest price at about $75 after tax and shipping for the Canon LP-E6 Battery. But if you want to save even more money, get a third party 5D Mark II/7D battery
for a fraction of the cost (about $12!). I’ve got a couple of these and they work just fine. The battery charge doesn’t show up on your camera — but they regularly go past 1500 clicks for me (and that’s with me swapping the batteries out BEFORE they die!) So who knows how much juice is still in them). If you want a 3rd party battery that shows how much battery their is in your camera’s LCD, the Opteka 5D Mark II/7D battery is a good deal at $25 after tax and shipping. Again, if you’re spending a hundred bucks on 5D Mark II or 7D batteries, you’re getting ripped off.

2. CF cards.

I know people are terrified by huge cards, but I’m a lot more terrified of keeping track of thirty 4gb CF cards than I am of card failure. I use 32gb cards without an ounce of concern. For me, it’s the lesser of two evils. An awesome card? The Kingston Pro 32gb card for about $75 (after tax and shipping). I’ve got like 4 of these? I shoot a TON and have never had a single issue. I’ve noticed that they aren’t always fast enough to shoot an image WHILE you’re recording full HD on the 5D — but I never do that anyways so it doesn’t bother me. But again, 75 bucks for a totally capable 32gb card? When I first started I paid over a hundred bucks for a 1gb card…

3. Hard drives.

Something I’ve always done is double back up on site at weddings. It takes no time. It’s cheap. And it’s huge peace of mind for me. How I do this is by using my Western Digital 1TB Portable Drives. They don’t require a power source (just the USB plug in for your laptop) and they’re tiny. Back when my stuff got stolen after my trip to China, I was saved because of these. I had one drive in my shootsac, which was stolen, one on Lindsay, and one drive in my camera bag. I was annoyed that I’d have to go through the insurance hurdles to get my stuff back (which wasn’t so bad), but I had total peace of mind knowing I had over 500gb’s of images and video backed up safely in multiple places. I’ve found that the easier backing up is, the sooner you’ll do it. I had images I took at midnight the night before that I had backed up on the plane ride home — just before my bag got stolen at LAX — since I didn’t have to go through the hassle of an extra power source. I love mini-drives.

2TB drives are so insanely cheap now too! The Western Digital 2TB Drives that I use are like $120 now (sometimes they get to $100 even!). I think my first external drive was a 250gb drive for like $200. Crazy.

Anyways, those are some quality options on the cheap :)

Our nephew, Mo, helping “Auntie” with the dishes yesterday. Mo is going through an “Auntie” phase and shadows her whenever they’re together :)

Bobby

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curtoneil - I lose CF cards frequently now too - but not to me misplacing them or them falling out of my pocket. It's come down to Harvey (our JRT) jumping onto the table and eating them. I'm currently using the Transcend 16GB cards - highly recommend them as well. Currently $40 at Amazon (ttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W0BC7I?ie=UTF8&tag=curoneipho-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000W0BC7I)August 30, 2010 - 3:14 am

Lynette Curtin - Thanks for posting this. I am getting a portable external hard drive for my first out of state wedding in NY (ahhhh!) and having your recommendation means a lot. Thank you!August 30, 2010 - 8:43 am

Kim Ward - Thanks for posting this. I've started buying hard drives like crazy and feel like I'm going through memory like it's candy. What's your workflow/method of storage and backing up? Do you stop before a drive is full? I'm having a time of figuring out what works best when moving from drive to drive and using lightroom.August 30, 2010 - 12:49 pm

Michelle Brooks - Thanks, Bobby!August 30, 2010 - 3:03 pm

Jillian - Thanks! Just ordered an extra battery for my new 7D so that I'm set for my wedding on Saturday :)August 30, 2010 - 6:46 pm

Brides: get down with your bad selves!

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I second shot a wedding last week at the Admiral Kidd — my first Filipino wedding. I loved it as they kept a lot of traditions :) but that’s neither here nor there for this post. What I loved was when the bride jumped on the dance floor and tore it up.

Admiral Kidd wedding photos

Brides, don’t be afraid to have fun on your wedding day. The pictures are always awesome when you do — and I’m sure my fellow photographers agree ;)

Bobby

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Kristen- K.Leigh.Ford Photography - I can totally agree with this! I love the dancing photos! And I'm a Filipina myself! Every Filipino wedding is all about the party! Whoop!August 27, 2010 - 1:05 am

Keng-Hay Wong - Sick (good) captures. This picture will make people smile :)August 27, 2010 - 1:42 am

MIchelle Brooks - These are the best!August 27, 2010 - 4:52 am

Winn - Awesome! I'm new at photography, and I'm always looking to learn, so I'm glad I found your site. I'll be back a lot to soak up tips and inspiration. =)August 31, 2010 - 7:15 am