Brian Bastinelli Photography

#617 The Move Is Underway...

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:50:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Well The move to the new format and blog has begun. It's not completely ready yet but its ready enough to do a soft opening.

Currently the blog is located at www.brianbastinelli.net That is due to a domain ownership issue that I am currently going through with Bludomain.

I will post more about that after the issue is resolved. Which I hope to be soon. I would like to have my main address remain www.brianbastinelli.com.

Stay tuned on that and I'll definitely let you know what the final address of the new site will be.

In the mean time PLEASE take a look around and give me your feedback on the new site. As I said it is hardly complete but I hope to have ti ready by early next week.

Your feedback on its functionality, look and anything else you'd like to add is really important to me so please check it out and let me know what you think.

Thanks and have a great day!!

#614 Change On The Horizon...

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:40:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

After a few months of thinking about it, working on it, and thinking about it some more and then a little more working on it. I have finally started the process of creating a whole new web presence for Brian Bastinelli Photography.

The process has been started but of course is being held up by domain transfer, who would have thought that would be a problem (again)... Anyway as soon that fiasco is taken care of I'll really get moving on this and hopefully within a week or so we'll be ready for the big reveal.

In the mean time I'll continue to post and then this site will remain to redirect traffic to the new location.

Today I wanted to tell you all about a great photography workshop that my friend Bryan Allen is offering. The workshop is called Location People and it is one of the best learning and shooting experiences available for your photography dollar.

I took both Location People I and Location People II but the new class is being streamlined into a longer more intense offering called Location People.

All of the links you need to find out more are listed below as well as a few videos that will give you a feel for this great experience. Jameson Abart and Jerit Abart shot these great videos during the last Location People II workshop in Knoxville, TN.

Check them out and feel free to contact me with any questions you might have. As I said it's a great experience and Bryan is a fantastic instructor and person. If you enjoy shooting people and you like both location and lighting concepts this is for you.

Here is the info on where to register for the Location People workshop:

LOCATION PEOPLE 2010

BRYAN ALLEN PHOTOGRAPHY

THE MINDFUL EYE

Here are the videos:

Workshop Teaser Video

Workshop Feature Video

Interview with Bryan Allen Lead Instructor

Interview with Brian Bastinelli

Interview with Usha Vedula

Click on IMAGES FROM THE WORKSHOP in the lower right corner of the linked page to see some of the great images that participants created during the week.

#613 Taking Advantage Of Your Surroundings...

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:19:00 +0000

Hi Everyone-

Today's images were shot on our recent family trip to Walt Disney World. More specifically they were shot in Disney's Animal Kingdom.

While we walked through the Dinoland section of the park I noticed this orange and green wall that seemed to go with the clothes that Cree had on that day. She was really ready to keep moving so I was only able to get one shot off while she was fully engaged with me. Then she gave me the I'm done look and walked away.

Later on in the day while we were walking around in the Asia themed area of the park I noticed a very cool wall outside of the restrooms. Conveniently for us it had a bench built in. So we stopped and played around for a few minutes and got the images of Tonya and I with Cree.

One thing that I always try to do when we are traveling or even out and about in our own area is to look for cool backgrounds and textures that I can incorporate into fun images of the family.

Have a great day!!

#612 FireRescue Cover Shot

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:55:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Hope everyone had a great week. Mine was ok, and pretty long. Just got back from Las Vegas last night and you would think that after spending a week there at the WPPI photography conference I would be all amped up.

While I did learn a lot and am thankful for the experience I was really sick the whole time and didn't have any of the fun you might expect out of a Vegas trip. I never even got to play a single hand of black jack. Most days were spent in class trying stay awake, learn something and not hack up a lung. Evenings were spent trying to eat something and then heading to bed.

So today I went to the doctors again and then for x-rays to rule out pneumonia. Super. Waiting to hear back on that. And I'm starting another round of medications.

But one good thing has happened this week. One of my images shot at a fire in West Manchester Township was selected for this months cover for FireRescue Magazine.

The issue covers rural fire tactics. So the image is a good fit. FireRescue tries to create covers that give the reader a glimpse of what's inside. This image fits well because of the barns and windmill in it.

When I shoot fires I try to shoot a variety of scenes and angles. I want to tell the story of the incident. But one thing I always try to shoot are images that will fit well on the cover of the magazine. Obviously they need to be vertical bet I also like to arrange areas for the mast head (magazine title) as well as areas of dead space where text can be laid over.

This image worked pretty good in that way.

Have a great day!

#611 Breakfast With Chef Mickey...

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 04:05:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Yesterday morning we had our last meal with any of the Disney characters, scheduled anyway.

So we went to the Contemporary Hotel and got our seats ready for Breakfast with Chef Mickey and friends.

As luck would have it we were seated at the first table inside the dining room from the characters entered the area. So we got to see them right as they came into the room. Since this was breakfast with Mickey and Friends tall the characters had on chef uniforms.

Everyone had a great time and Cree was able to get all the autographs and photos she was hoping for, and so did daddy...

Have a great day...

#610 Baby's Got A New Pair Of Shoes

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:46:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Yesterday we left the Disney parks for the day and headed over to Universal and Islands of Adventure. While I tend to like Disney a bit more we had a great time.

First of all the weather was perfect. Around 70 and not a cloud in the sky. Secondly and almost as important, there was not a large crowd. At no point did we wait even ten minutes for anything,

After we arrived in the morning we headed right over to Islands of Adventure and specifically the Dr. Seuss area. It was awesome. Not only did the kids love it but we practically had the place to our selves. Most rides we actually rode alone and for a good hour there was only a handful of people in the area.

It couldn't have worked out better.

Just after lunch we had a few minutes while everyone was getting lunch cleaned up and hit the restrooms. While everyone was doing that Cree and I found an area of open shade with some cool colors on the ground or in the background. Something that was easy to do in this part of the park.

Cree recently got a new pair of shoes that are quite sparkly and light up. Well they were perfect for a little photo fun. So while we waited I found an area that I liked and we began shooting. That lasted about 10 minutes before everyone else was ready to go.

Cree had fun and we got a few cool shots.

Have a great day!

#609 A Kingdom of Magic...

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:26:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

I hope you had a great weekend. Ours has been... well... magical!!!

Friday started off with some snow and worries that we might be a little late to the airport and ended with us getting into Orlando 6 hours later than expected but with the added bonus of 6, yes 6 free airline tickets amongst the three of us.

We decided to take the airline up on an offer we couldn't really refuse.

Since then we have been having a super time at the Magic Kingdom and all of the WDW parks despite Cree and I both being pretty sick.

More about the trip later but I wanted to share two images shot This past Saturday while waiting for the Electric Light Parade to start.

Have a great day!

#608 Really........Your Takin' My Pitcure?

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:36:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Well the snow has begun to fall, albeit light at this point. We have about an inch of new snow on the ground and it is continuing at a pretty light rate. The wind is also picking up a bit.

So I'm not sure what we'll actually get out of this one. But for those of you to the north and east of us, good luck...lol

In today's image I shot this bison coming up over a hill from the Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley, Yellowstone National Park.

It was shot the morning after an October snowstorm moved through the area. It was very cold and pretty windy.

The wind actually worked out nice for shooting a series of "environmental portraits" of the bison crossing the area. That combined with the sun very low on the sky made it as though I set up lighting and had fans in place. Heck even the bison cooperated.

Have a great day!!

#607 Did Someone Say Snow!?!

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:48:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Well its going to snow again! The weather man is saying that starting tonight we can expect another 4 to 8 inches of snow.

As a matter of fact in North Eastern PA and NJ they are saying that the conditions will create a snowicaine with lots of snow and very strong winds.

While normally I am all for it this may have some effects on upcoming travel plans. So much so that my mom, dad, sister and nephew have changed their travel plans to leave a day early just to make sure they get out.

So today I have mixed emotions. I love the winter and snow, I don't want to miss our flights, I am looking forward to better weather, I am going to miss playing in the snow... Oh well there will be more...lol

Here is a image from Yellowstone highlighting the beauty of the snow and winter, just to remind you that it's not all bad!!

#606 The Robins Are Back...

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:58:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

I thought I would add a little brightness to a dreary mid winter day. As I was working in my office i noticed that there was a large number of Robins outside the window.

As I looked further I noticed about 30-40 in my front yard. Many were bathing in the pond and stream and the rest were just hanging out in the yard. So I grabbed the video and shot a few minutes of some of them cleaning of from their long journey back.

I'm a big fan of winter and snow, but these guys are always a welcome sight at this time of year.

Have a great day!

#605 Peaceful Memories

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:28:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

As I mentioned yesterday I enjoy watching the Trumpeter Swans while I am in Yellowstone National Park or Grand Teton National Park.

They are graceful and peaceful and to me very calming and relaxing to watch.

In today's image I tried to create a feeling of looking back in time to a more peaceful and leisurely era. At a time in my life and I'm sure for many others where it seems like we never have a chance to take a break, this is just what I need.

Not often enough do I take the time to escape reality and get away for a few hours in nature. More times than not sitting here at the computer working on the images is about as close as I get to spending any real time with nature unless I am on a trip.

I think that I am going to change that this spring. Even if its just for an hour here or there I think it just might make all of the hustle and bustle of my everyday reality a little easier to take.

Have a great day!

#604 Trumpeter Swan

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:53:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Hope you had a great weekend. I spent much of mine coordinating a transfer of data from my external storage devices to my newly purchased DroboPro storage device.

The transfer went smoothly and has greatly improved the state of my image storage. Going from 9 external drives to one was fantastic. As well it will allow me to create a much more effective back up process.

This was a long time coming and should have been competed years ago, but it's finally done! Along with the transfer I revisited my filing system and cleaned that up a bit. That will will make my work flow much smoother as well as improving the flow of back ups from now on.

Today's image was shot this past fall on the National Elk Refuge outside of Jackson, Wyoming. Although I am not big on bird photography I do enjoy watching the Trumpeter Swans that frequent this area. They are a very graceful animal.

Have a great day!

#603 A Few Seconds of Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:37:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Yesterday, which was day three of SNOWMAGEDDON 2010, everyone was home so we got to play a little, have a nice lunch and take a few pictures before I headed in to work for the night.

During all of that I was outside trying to expand the road and driveway back to its normal size with the snow blower. While I was outside Cree decided that it would be nice to get all "beautiful" for daddy.

So while I was gone her and Tonya painted her nails and she put on her pretty dress that I got her recently in Nashville. When I came in she very daintily showed off her beautiful dress and nails to me.

Of course I had to get a few pictures. However she wasn't really in the mood for any posed "pretty" pictures. This was more of a fun goofing off kind of day.

So here's a few from our 5 min photo session. They were all lit with natural light from the kitchen door. I was actually outside kneeling on the deck and Cree was in the house. I wasn't able to come in because I had on my fire gear which was full of snow from my little project. But it seems to have worked out ok.

Have a great day!!

#602 Seniors!!

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:44:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Anxiously awaiting the snow's arrival here in PA today. They say it's a sure thing but you know how that goes. I suppose we will get some snow but more than likely not as much as I would like to see.

But looking forward, I wanted to share a video with everyone of my High School Seniors Portfolio. It is definitely time to book for these sessions. So drop me a line or ring me up if you have any questions or would like to schedule a shoot. Also for those of you who do not fit the HS senior demographic (lol) please pass along my information as sessions will begin to fill up soon!!!

Hope you enjoy the video! Have a great snowy day!!

#601 Swan Lake Storm

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:24:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Today's image was shot in the Swan Lake Flats area of Yellowstone National Park this past fall.

I had left the park for a few days but decided to come back and spend a little more time when word of an impending snow storm began to spread.

I lucked out a bit and the park received a fair amount of snow.

As the storms began to clear out I headed to Swan Lake Flats in hopes of seeing wolves but that didn't really pan out. I did get to watch the beautiful landscape of the area begin to wake up from the snow.

This was only a momentary laps in the storm as it turns out and later in the day we received a lot more snow.

Have a great day!

#600 Burn Notice

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:30:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Back in March of '09 I got a notice that there was going to be a structural burn training held at the York County Fire Training School. I thought it would be fun to go up and catch some shots of the departments involved in the training.

Until recently I forgot that I even went up and shot these images. However I have recently started to organize and relocate some images and while I was doing so I came across the fire from that day.

Since it's been a while since I have shot anything fire department related I thought it would be a good change of pace.

Here are a few of the images that I shot that day. Hope you enjoy.

Have a Great Day!

#599 2009 Year In Review

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:29:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

I know this post is a bit late but for those of you who follow the blog regularly you know that life has been a bit crazy lately and that the blog has had to take the back burner for a while.

But as the new year moves on that will definitely be changing for the better. I have some big plans for some changes this year!!

This video is a look back at 2009 and many of my most favorite images. I hope you enjoy it!

Have a great day!

#598 Carolyn and Floyd

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:38:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Here is a little video created from Carolyn and Floyd's Engagement session a few months back. We had a blast shooting these image. We shot in and around Harrisburg, Pennsylvania using the train station and State Capital as back drops. As well we shot at some local parks and Carolyn and Floyd's home.

Hope you enjoy, have a great day!

#597 BB King Blues Club House Band

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:05:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Another quick post today cause there are more things to do than hours to do them....

These images were shot in Nashville at the DWF party last Sunday night. The band is the BB King Blues Club house band. We were originally scheduled to be there but a 30 inch water main break out front changed that plan.

The event was moved to a different venue but the band came a long which was very cool. They were awesome!

Have a great day!!!

#596 PPA and DWF Nashville

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:22:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Last week I was in Nashville for the Professional Photographers Association (PPA) convention. It was a great opportunity to learn from some top notch photographers who also have top not business and marketing skills.

I attended a two day seminar on the business side of photography that covered just about everything you need to know to really start your business on a solid foundation and grow it from there.

Ann Monteith and Carol Andrews Jenson were the instructors for that class and really did an excellent job. I some great information from the class as well as a good base line for where I need to go from here.

The third day was a marketing class that was taught by Jeff and Allison Rodgers and Carol Andrews Jenson. They were awesome. They covered just about every avenue of marketing that a photographer could utilize. They had tons of great ideas. Again I got everything I need to build upon for a good marketing plan.

On the 4th day I met up with Bryan Allen and assisted him along with Ted in shooting a stop motion tilt shift video of the Digital Wedding Forum (DWF) convention at the Lowes Hotel in downtown Nashville.

This was both a challenge and a fantastic learning experience. There is nothing like putting yourself in front of some of the best wedding and portrait photographers in the world and shooting in a way you never have before!! But it was tons of fun. We shot for 11 hours before breaking off to do a little personal shooting and partying at the DWF party.

There is a lot to tell about the week and what I learned but that will have to wait. Until then here are a few images from the DWF party.

Have a great day!

#595 Gros Ventre Moose

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:53:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Greetings from very cold Nashville, TN. It is supposed to be snowing but it hasn't started as of yet. Not to worry though for me as we'll be inside all day.

Today we (Ted Van Der Linden) and I are taking a photo business class. The class is being taught by Ann Monteith and Carol Andrews. It covers the business and financial aspects of running a photography studio. Its a two day class that I have really been looking forward to.

I'll report back on that as it goes on.

In the meantime here is an image I shot of a bull moose in the Gros Ventre area of Grand Teton National Park. This guy was pretty cooperative for about 20 minutes or so.

Have a great day!

#594 Night Sky Over Gardiner Montana

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:25:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

Here is a quick post of an image that I shot this past October just outside of Gardiner Montana. The image was shot around 10pm.

Of course the camera was on a tripod and the exposure was somewhere between 15 and 30 seconds if I remember correctly.

The light on the clouds and mountains comes from two sources. The main source was a nearly full moon. The second was light from buildings along highway 89 north of Gardiner.

I have never had a camera before the D700 that shot high enough quality low light images to even consider doing this type of photography. Next summer and fall this will be something that I play around with when I am back out in Wyoming and Montana where there is a tad less unnatural light to deal with.

Heading to Nashville today for the PPA ImagingUSA conference and the DWF convention. I am really excited about some of the classes that I will be attending.

But I am also very excited to be working with Bryan Allen and Ted Van Der Linden on a photo project while we are there. We are going to be shooting something pretty cool at the DWF and the BB King Blues Club. I am not to sure what I can talk about and what I can't so that's it for now!!!

Have a great day!

#593 Grand Teton Moose

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:36:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

I hope you all getting back into the swing of things today. We've kicked off a new year and while most of you are heading back to work, last night was my last night tour and I have next tour off so I don't head back to the FD until the 16th of January.

Sorry to rub that in but the mid winter break is not something I have taken before and I am really looking forward to it!!

I will be in Nashville for part of the time attending the ImagingUSA conference as well as the Digital Wedding Forum conference. And I'll be working on a special project with my friends Bryan Allen and Ted Van Der Linden, but more on that later!!

So check back through out the second half of the week and weekend for additional posts related to all of that.

But in the mean time here is a moose image that I shot back in October in Grand Teton National Park. It was taken in the Gros Ventr (grow vaunt) area of the park.

Have a great day!

#592 Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 01:56:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

As those of you who stop by the blog often know I have been taking a much needed break from daily postings. But I am back up and running recovering from the busy schedule related to the holidays. So check back often for new posts.

At this time of transition from 2009 to 2010 I as many others take a look back at where we have been and ahead to where we might be going.

2009 was a great year. There was a lot of good things that happened. As well there were a lot of new friends made. Friends I hope to have forever.

I don't like to make resolutions because I don't ever really keep them. Instead I like to set some goals of things I would like to accomplish or things on which to improve. I have stopped setting unrealistic goals that I know I will never reach.

I have decided that I will strive to improve upon where I am at right now. It doesn't really apply to anyone thing but really to everything, being a husband, father, son, friend, firefighter, photographer etc.

My goal is to be able to look back and say ya I'm better at that than I was last year. It seems like a much more reasonable way to go about this.

I selected today's image because it reminds me of thinking of the year to come. There is a long road, you don't really know where it will take you and along that road will be some storms and uncertainty. But if you stick to it it will take you to a beautiful place. And along the way if you take time to stop and look around the whole journey is beautiful.

Thank you to everyone who is a part of my life. You all mean so much to me.

Thank you also to everyone who comes to this blog. Your comments and friendship are what keeps me and this blog going!

I hope that everyone has a great 2010 !!!

#591 Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Bastinelli) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 06:05:00 +0000

Hi everyone-

I want to take the opportunity to say Merry Christmas to everyone.

I hope your day is wonderful.

We will be sharing our day with our immediate family in the morning and then will be gathering with our extended family later in the day.

Out of all the gifts one could receive on Christmas the best is the moments shared with loved ones throughout the day. I look forward all year to spending Christmas with the family.

I hope that each and every one of you have a perfect holiday.

But let's not forget all of those who will not be at home to share the day with their families. Please take a moment to remember our military, firefighters, EMS and police who are sacrificing their day with their families to ensure yours is safe.

Thank you to all of the men and women who keep us safe everyday, your efforts do not go unnoticed.

Merry Christmas!!