The Website is Live!!

If you've made it to the blog, you know that the official Ethni Photography website is live! So many years of waiting and praying and seeking the Lord have finally come to fruition. I'm so excited to share this with you that I might even be inclined to give away a free session if you leave a comment on this post! And if only one person leaves a comment, then you have a 100% chance of winning! So pass along the good news to everyone you know who wants some free portraits! The winner will be announced Saturday afternoon. If you have this site bookmarked, it has a new address: www.ethniphotography.blogspot.com.

Check out the new site at www.ethniphotography.com! Finally, a BIG thanks to BigFolio and the awesome guys over there who have been so incredibly generous and helpful. Thank you!!

***Since it took over 36 hours for the new site to propagate, (and is still having problems in some places) I'm extending the contest. Winner will be announced Monday night.***

Photographers who Inspire: Michael Costa

The latest addition to my list of photographers who inspire: Michael Costa! Michael and his wife are actually a team, and I discovered their work while perusing through the list of platform speakers at this year's WPPI convention in Vegas. I took one look at their site, and was in love with every photograph I saw. I think the thing that is most intriguing to me is their different approach to wedding photography. Make sure to visit their blog, hosted by the awesome guys at Big Folio, who will also be hosting my own website once it launches. Michael and his wife are award winning WPPI photographers, and you better believe I'll be listening to them speak when I'm in Vegas next month!

Tilt-Shift Lens

My friend Erik at Big Folio was kind enough to let me borrow his new tilt-shift lens this afternoon for a shoot I'm doing on Sunday. I was playing with it this evening. I've read a lot of discussion about the lens online. A lot of people wonder what the point is of using it when you can blur out specific areas in Photoshop. In my opinion, I think the lens is great! Mostly because some of my best photos can end up being the "accidental" shots. Just from playing with the tilt-shift for about an hour, I can see how it can give a pretty sweet effect. And I figure why spend some time finessing a blur tool on photoshop when I can turn a knob on a lens in less than a second and get the same effect? Here are a few of the photos.