Dan Francis Photography

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.”–William Shedd

“Back roads are the best!”

Last week I headed for the open road. I once again left without bringing a map or a GPS unit. What I did bring was a PB & J sandwich, water, tripod, camera bag, two camera bodies, and about 5 different lenses. I ended up heading down Eastbound Highway 10 towards Detroit Lakes. I haven’t been to DL to just visit in some time. Probably around 15 years, and yet it’s under an hour away. I went there a few times for Cross Country in high school to run up some hills since Fargo has none. I remember going to Zorbaz once or twice and hitting the water slide when I was younger as well.

I drove 15 miles before turning off the highway and finding some open farmland. This is where your photographs come to life. 90 percent of the images I took were off the highway and not visible from the highway. this is where I find the goodies (Yes, I actually make a folder after I’ve archived and put my best ones in it and call it: goodies.) Anything that screams: Take my picture, I’m unique, or take my picture I’m almost falling down. I stopped on a gravel road and found some telephone poles that were leaning just right for me to just stop and pull over, grab the tripod, set my settings and took a couple of shots before putting it all back into my car and drive off. Next I found a tire swing just hanging from a tree right next to a fence. How could a photographer just keep driving? I grabbed the shot and moved on to rocks on the side of the road, and a barn that was slowly falling down with cows in the foreground. “Back roads are the best!”

I finally left the back road and went towards Highway 10 again until DL. I stopped by the lake and walked onto an open dock. I took out a book and started to read for a few minutes. Just to relax and listen to the lake. After I headed back to my car, I saw some kids playing on a dock. I took out my zoom lens and framed the shot with the trees above and waiting for some action. I took a few of the three kids playing on the dock, but I wanted just one. Two eventually left and one kid remained, I took a few more and finally found one I enjoyed very much. (photograph below)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danfrancisphotography/4809310756

Also a Boat Plane landed in the lake right in front of me. That was very cool to see and also glad I had the right lens on.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danfrancisphotography/4819031747/

After taking the shot I wanted, I headed out East for a few more miles. I almost made it to Wadena where some tornadoes had gone through a month earlier. But I decided that I probably shouldn’t, so I turned around to get some sunset images on my way home. I got back to Fargo later that night to upload all the files on my computer, I took all the images for HDR and sorted them out in importance. I think I did a better job than ever before on it. I’ve never been a fan of 60% of the “Flickr HDR” People tend to go overboard with it and make it more of an iffy picture. I use HDR, to get the look that I see from my eyes into the camera. I used ND filters to get the sky a bit darker, but HDR for landscape is such a great tool if done right. I think I’m right in the middle of not going to far and not going far enough. Anyways, Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danfrancisphotography/4809311038/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danfrancisphotography/4809310630

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danfrancisphotography/4809310504

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danfrancisphotography/4809310376

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7.21.2010

I’ve been asked back to teach Photography at a local college this fall. I taught two 3 credit courses back in the fall of 08, and now I’ll be back teaching those credits, and also an additional 9 credits.

The college decided to add a photography certificate to their courses. So, I’ll be teaching three intro to photography classes (two of them are through the Graphic Design program.) and Also I’ll be teaching I’ll also be teaching an “Intro to Image Manipulation” class and “Advance manipulation class.”

I’ll be teaching along side another photographer this fall and I can’t wait. I dusted off my red assignment/lesson plan book and reworked it for this fall.  This along with two art shows, and not to forget…becoming a daddy in the next two months; I’m pretty much booked until December.

The certificate is also in the spring, so hopefully everything will work out, and people sign up for the class, if they do, I’ll be sure to teach starting up in January too. This was good news this summer when I was asked back. I enjoy doing this, and it helps me give back and help people see the way of taking and seeing good photography.

More updates later!

- Dan

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7.20.2010

A month from today, I’ll be hosting an art show at the Spirit Room which is located downtown Fargo. I’ll be displaying around 15 prints of my work from the “Fargo: Past and Present” portfolio.  Here are a few from that collection:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danfrancisphotography/4813234433/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danfrancisphotography/4813857610/

And as stated in yesterday’s post, I’ll also be displaying some at our local mall for the month of November and December.

In other news this week, I’ll be heading to St. Olaf College to photograph an engagement. The photographs that I’ve seen I’m in for a real nice location photo shoot. I can’t wait. should be a great time and I’ll have plenty of time to try new things. I’ll be sure to post a few next week on the blog.

Until tomorrow…

-Dan

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Last week I talked to the CEO of West Acres (our local Mall in Fargo) and his family about displaying some of my “Fargo: Past and Present” photographs. I met with them for 45 minutes and discussed which two images they liked the best to display. And now, I’m happy to mention for the first time, that I’ll have two prints up on display in the Macy Square section. I already have the two prints ordered and I’ll be taking them in to get matted and framed for display. In addition, they liked the images that I displayed to them so much that they decided to give me in additional space all to myself: (the Herberger’s square). So around, November I’ll be displaying 6-10 prints for the November and December months! I can’t wait to see them up there.  So, if you’re walking around West Acres stop by the Macy Square and look for my two images. And in the Months of November and December, more will be displayed in the Herberger’s Square.

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I need to catch up on this blog, I’ve had some uploading problems with images, so I’ve had to add them to flickr to get them on here.

In order to catch up. I’m going to try and post something everyday this week on the blog. I have wedding images, street fair images, landscape images, business, award information, and some photo information as well.  So, be sure to check back here everyday around 4 to see what I’ve been up to this summer.

After this week I’ll try and stay on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule again.

-dan

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Here are a few images from a wedding I photographed earlier this month. The weather was absolutely in our favor for these images. It had rained earlier in the day before we started, the weather forecast was going to be sunny with spotted showers. Usually not a problem, however, this was going to be on top of a rooftop in Downtown, Fargo. and the only option if it was going to be raining was inside the hotel. So, as photographers we really wanted it to be on the rooftop. The sky was blue with nice white clouds for the beginning ceremony, towards the end, there was some darker clouds coming towards us, but the ceremony was in the 70’s with a mild breeze. After the ceremony was done they had a champagne toast with all that were present, the main photographer got some nice formal shots of family and friends before we went in due to rain, no problem, i went downstairs and grabbed a few detail shots as the bride and groom went into the basement where there was a bar and a wine rack.

While we were doing this the streets became flooded and the rain looked like it was never going to end. However, once they came up from the basement the rain had stopped and blue was in the sky again; so we headed out and found a neat alley and then walked north on Broadway for some coffee shop shots. I couldn’t believe how fortunate we were with the weather! First wedding in rainy June and it turned out great! Here are a few images that I took on that special day for James and Jessica:

First Kiss

Kiss at Sunset

Husband and wife Laugh

Rooftop View

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6-4-2010

This week a fellow photography partner and I unvailed: Clique: Unique and unforgettable senior portrait and video experience. click link here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Fargo-ND/Clique-A-Senior-Portrait-Experience/115166398526239?ajaxpipe=1&__a=38

We offer video and photography in one package for upcoming seniors. It was time for a change in the senior market, and we’ll see how this does. With facebook, photograph slideshows can be too slow for this generation, they need excitement and constant change. I’ll keep you updated on how well it goes!

Tomorrow, I’ll be shooting a wedding on the roof of a very fancy hotel and restaurants, that is located downtown Fargo. I can’t wait to see how well the photographs look. It should be a fun experience.

Have a great weekend and I’ll be back next tuesday to share what I know.

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5.27.2010

Sorry about not being on schedule these past few weeks. I’m working on a new project that I can’t wait to share with you, however, I have to keep it low key for now. Hopefully next week I’ll be able to share it.

I Just got back from a day trip to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It was a nice 72 degree day with low clouds. Very, very nice to try some HDR and polarizing filter shots. Here are a few of my favorites!  Have a great weekend everybody!

Photos:

Medora

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April.27.2010

I just got back from Watertown, SD for the Northern Lights Convention which is a regional PPA (Professional Photographers Association) And I’m on cloud 9 right now. I knew I was coming home with a few awards as I did have the top scoring print in ND, but was unaware how many times I would be going up to the stage to receive awards. This is around 6 years in the making. I’ve been to these conventions since 2004 in Sioux Falls, SD as a +1 studio member. I’ve attended 5 judging since then, and I give those credit for me learning what I needed to learn to better present my images, to make sure I had picked the right ones and to work my photography lens off to make sure that I placed high. If you read a years back blog I had mentioned that I was going to finally enter this competition after so many years taking the back seat to some other photographers that I helped get merits. Now that that part of my life is over, I can focus on my work. I was able to enter my four prints.

Sitting back in the seats watching the judges score my Photographs was interesting. I had to take a deep breath when my first image scored a 77, that’s OK, three points off from a merit, it was the first, and it was probably my weakest print. that’s OK… next up… a 90. NICE!, but wait, it was challenged… for good, it went up to a 92, CHALLENGED that score… if we’re bring it up to a 92, why not bring it up to a 95 said one judge. So they did.. a 95. The top honor a print can get! The third image rotated around and I received an 85, not bad for the Vietnam wall memorial. Within two hours of judging my last print rolled around… it scored…an 88! Three of my four prints received merits!

Tonight was the actual ceremony. ND was first up, and they called my name for Top Illustrative print: Abandoned Dreams. They also called my name for Top Portrait Category: Here’s the Problem. But wait, there’s more. I was also called up for: 1st Merit Award, First Time Entry award, ND Photographer of the Year and Presidents Award. After everybody knew my name from those awards, They went through SD and Minnesota awards. Then the big ones… the Northern Light Awards, this would be all three states of ND, SD, and MN together. I received Best Illustrative for “Abandoned Dreams” and I also received my print case fee back with having the best score as a first time entry.  They then gave out the KODAK awards, which I received Three gallery awards for each of my merit prints. I couldn’t believe it. I walked the stage and got my picture taken with the president of the Northern Lights and the president of the NDPPA 12 different times. unheard of. My hardwork paid off.

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