The Black Dog’s PhotoBlog

I was up near the Isanti County fairgrounds the other day and thought I’d stop by and update the pictures I have of the old house. I was curious after my last post what updates they might have made over the past couple of years. It looks like they’ve put a nice little deck on and added some wood shutters. Looks kind of cute don’t you think? I’m dying for them to do some work on the inside of this house. I love antique furniture and vintage décor. In my next house, maybe I’ll decorate it in a vintage style. I still have a few antiques my mother gave me.

This is the home that my friend’s father grew up in. The original homestead is in Springvale Township just north of Cambridge MN. The home was built in the 1870s by his great grandparents. While his uncle still lives on the original homestead the original house has since been donated to the Isanti County Historical Society and now sits on the Isanti County Fairgrounds. 1870’s Pioneer Home Museum

Since I live near Isanti County I visit the fairgrounds on many occasions throughout the year. I look forward to watching what they do with this house and taking pictures of the progress to share with everyone.

‘The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world’s top shooters (voices that matter)’ by Joe McNally

My review posted on Amazon:
Two Books in One
It is a coffee table book laced with instruction. People will enjoy viewing the wonderful photographs in this book.

But don’t buy this book for it’s photography work alone. Accompanying the many excellent photographs are helpful instruction and advice from an experienced professional photographer. This may not be the best book for a beginning photographer but many photographers could benefit from the helpful advice in this book.

Mr. McNally shares many of his experiences and hard learned expertise. I find most of his advice being on the lighting end of photographs but there were some other helpful tips. Lighting being one of the most important pieces of photography it’s only right to focus on this topic and I think many photographers will find this book insightful. Also the quick tips Mr. McNally shares with you that he has learned through experience or from his colleagues over the years in the business are very helpful to aspiring professionals.

(Pictures in this post are provided by Photojojo. Photo credits: ’stpiduko’)

Thought it might be time I post a little update.

We’ve finally finished remodeling the studio and waiting area with the exception of a few finishing touches. It looks so nice and fresh with the new flooring and paint. It’s so nice to have the waiting area and shooting space all one big open room. When you’re doing a shoot, you never know when you’re going to want to spread out. It also lets the light from both rooms flow throughout the space.

I’ve also been busy updating the décor in the waiting area. Gone is the old country/outdoorsy décor and we’ve brought in a nice caramel color microfiber suede sofa and love seat. It’s a cleaner more stream lined look yet still very comfortable and casual.

Of course with the updates I had to find some new and innovative way to showcase some of my recent photographic work. But what’s “new and innovative” in displaying photography? There isn’t too many different ways to do this and they’ve all pretty much been around for eons now. To my thrill and surprise sitting in my email inbox was a newsletter from Photojojo with the lead story being Glass Jar Frames. GREAT idea! Here’s a link to the article and directions to make your own Photojojo’s Glass Jar Frames. Not only is this a fun idea it’s also eco-friendly.

I used some of the old bottles I have around and loved the results. Sorry that I haven’t had the time to take my own pictures to show you my Glass Bottle Frames. I’ll have to try and get a few up later this week. If not, I guess you’ll just have to stop by my studio for a look-see.

Now if I could just get my hubby back to work on those barn wood frames.