Photography by Vincent Mistretta

The Archives

January 2010




  • Education, Portraiture

    Try Something New

    I recently saw several images a friend of mine took of some models that I thought were excellent. His name is Barney Streit. I know Barney as a very accomplished landscape and nature photographer. However the shots I was reviewing were portraits. Oddly enough I have been interested in increasing my proficiency in portraiture so we started exchanging information on how he got more involved in this aspect of photography. I have attempted a few portraits and head shots and really like the results.

    Martina


    Rebecca

    Both of the above images were taken at Joe McNally’s Dobbs Ferry Workshop. If you are interested in improving your flash skills there is no one better to learn from than Joe. He is funny and one of the most knowledgeable photographers I have ever met. Joe’s assistant Drew Gurian is an awesome photographer as well. Joe has a host of books, DVD’s and workshops. If you are interested check out his website and blog.

    Oh yeah, back to Barney! When I asked him how he improved so much in this new area of photography he gave me two websites he used. Both of which had to do with networking. One of the sites I had heard of, the other I knew nothing about. The one I didn’t know was Meetup. This is a website where people with similar interests organize and post public gatherings for the purpose of meeting, collaborating and networking. I have already joined several Meetup groups and think this will help accelerate my portrait photography as well as be a lot of fun. If you already clicked on Barney’s link above I’m sure you have figured out that the other site was Model Mayhem. I also plan on joining Model Mayhem with the goal of doing some TFP work.

    One of the best things about photography is that most involved are very helpful and knowledgeable. They are usually very willing to share what they have learned. Thanks to my friend Barney, I have some great new tools with which to try something new!

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  • Education

    Photographic Goals for 2010

    01.06.10 | Permalink | 1 Comment

    Regardless of your business, preparing for and encouraging growth is an essential part of success. In order to encourage growth in my photography I have created a list of goals for 2010.

    1) Visit and photograph another National Park: A highlight of 2009 for me was visiting Glacier National Park. I attended Moose Peterson’s Wildlife Photographer’s Base Camp and learned more in 5 days than I ever imagined I could. Moose and his son Jake did a great job of combining wildlife biology and practical photography knowledge with business experience. I will definitely attend another Base Camp in the near future. As a result of Moose’s teaching I have read about and researched our National Park system since that visit and have become obsessed with visiting these national treasures. Ken Burns put together a fantastic series called “The National Parks: Americas Best Idea” that I highly suggest everyone watch.

    Swiftwater Lake Reflection at Sunrise

    2) Create photographs that illicit emotion: One of the true tests of being a successful photographer is whether your images are able to pull at someones heart strings. Good photographs capture moments, great photographs illicit emotion.

    3) Get published: I will attempt to have one of my photographs or a text/photo package published in 2010. I will also explore having my images exhibited at some of the local Fairfield County art and framing galleries. I will also enter at least one judged photography contest.

    4) Experiment with different forms of output: I would like to try new print media and video capture (I need to get a DSLR with video capabilities first)! I believe the advent of devices like Amazon’s Kindle and the rumored Apple Tablet will make “moving pictures” an important part of a photographers output capabilities. If you have not seen the Sports Illustrated Tablet Demo it is well worth your time and really cool. While the origin of this mockup is being questioned, the capabilities described are real. There is an old Wall St. traders saying, “Don’t fight the market, go with the flow for resistance is futile”. While I like creating and viewing photographs the tide in the industry is definitely trending toward moving pictures.

    5) Attend Photoshop World: I have never attended PSW. Based on my current level of proficiency I think the educational and networking opportunities will far outweigh the costs.

    6) Attend at least one Wildlife Workshop: This doesn’t have to be a photographic workshop, although it can be. The goal is to learn more about wildlife. Having just returned from Africa (I will definitely visit Africa again) I have an even greater interest in learning more about the biology of wildlife. I have started to investigate volunteering for a local wildlife organization to help them with their research by taking pictures.

    What are your photographic goals for 2010?

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  • Birds, Wildlife

    Happy New Year 2010!

    I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season, surrounded by family and friends. This has been one of the best holiday seasons I can remember. I have spent some significant quality time with my family and this feels like the first time in I don’t know how long that I have been able to enjoy the season.

    Now to some photography! We had about 5 inches of snow yesterday making everything look very festive. Given I was itching to make some clicks the snow was the perfect excuse to get out and ring in the New Year. With everything covered in snow and the bird feeders full, I had my pick of subjects.

    There are 2 new species I have seen in mass numbers over the last few days/week, White Throated Sparrows and Dark Eyed Juncos.

    White Throated Sparrow


    White Throated Sparrow waiting for turn at feeder


    Dark Eyed Junco in Snow

    There seems to be around 10-20 White Throated Sparrows and 20-30 Dark Eyed Juncos. They are both beautiful birds and very fun to watch.

    And one of my all time favorites:

    Downy Woodpecker in snowy tree

    The Downy Woodpeckers and Woodpeckers in general are difficult to photograph. They are very skittish as are the Cardinals. There could be 10 outside when I look out the window but they take off permanently when I go outside. I guess I need to work on my technique!

    I wish you all a Happy and Healthy 2010.

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