lakeshoreclick.com - what's new

August 25 - Every now and then you get to do something really nice for someone... this time it was for Jayme, an exchange student living with my in-laws. She spent the weekend with Sarah and I and we decided to shoot her senior portraits. Sarah served as make-up artist and fashion director, and I just kept banging away at the trigger. So much fun! I don't think Jayme was used to so much time in front of a lens (about four hours over two days all told). But, she certainly enjoyed herself!
August 10 - Added Bond. Ethan Bond. to the people portfolio.
August 9 - Added some shots from the annual Vomastek family reunion.
June 25 - My father and brother playing in the Michigan Senior Open. Pretty cool.
May 26 - Portage's Memorial Day Parade. Thank you to all those who have served.
May 20 - OK, like two weeks later I finally posted the images from Sarah's, Bri's, and my photo-walk on the PCBP bike path. Yes, it's been two weeks. Sorry, Bri. Yes, it's been 2 months since the last update to this site. Sorry, readers. That's what an election and redistricting does to your life. My recommendation... don't try that at home, kids.
March 30 - Some gear changes. Sarah is shooting with me more frequently now, which is awesome, and the 18-200 on the D200 seems to work well for her (although a D40 would be better fit, but I want to keep the D200 as a backup to the D300). However, when out shooting, this left me with the 12-24 and the 70-200, and the gap between those two was just a little too much. I was looking at a something to cover that gap with a constant f/2.8 aperture. I looked at the 24-700mm f/2.8 that just came out. While it isn't quite wide enough at at 24, and it would require more swapping with the 12-24, it is full frame, so if I ever moved up to an FX body, I would be future-proofed. However, the $1600 price tag killed that deal. So, I tested both the Tamron 17-55 f/2.8 and the Nikon version of the same, and went with the Nikon. Some other thoughts and sample images can be found after the link.

Also, the kitchen blog, after a two year wait, is finally on-line. It will take a week or so to get all of my journal in there, but I will keep slicing away at it.
March 1 - random. trees. collaboration. You kinda had to be there.
February 16 - A small gallery of pics from Valentine's Day in Chicago with our dear friends, Dave and Natalie.
February 9 - Winter Collaborations with Briannah
February 9 - updated the pets gallery. This was generated using one of the many presets in lightroom. If you aren't using that software, you should be!
January 27 - pet pics from the weekend
January 6 - after weeks of frustration with my site being trashed if not completely dead, I dumped by crappy web hosting company, iPowerweb.com, and moved to a new host. Please let me know how load times are for you and if you have any problems.
January 2, 2008 - A new year, a new look! I have updated the bulk of lakeshoreclick to, what I hope most of you agree, is a more professional look and feel. I've also modified the structure somewhat. The site now features a gallery section for collections of photographs from the same shoot, and a portfolio section for some of my favorite images, with descriptions, categorized by type of image. Both of these sections are available via the home page.
December 10 - I continue to expand the D300 review. It's grown to 2 pages, main review and a separate section for the high ISO tests.
November 29 - My D300 arrived. I have an updated review posted.
October 27 - Added a small gallery from my trip to Nashville.
October 21 - Added a gallery from a wedding of two dear friends of mine, Lisa & Mike.
September 19 - Added pics from the Lakeshore vs. Portage Northern High Football game.
September 9 - Added a gallery of Cait's (my niece) senior pictures. Also added a Lightroom book to the studies section.
September 8 - Added the PCHS vs Lumen Chirsti Varsity Football game pics. Added the PNHS @ PCHS Varsity Volleyball pics. Added a link to my Nikon D-SLR forum on Yahoo Groups.
June 9 - Updated the pets gallery with a new collection of pics.
April 28 - Added a small gallery of images from St. Mary's Middle School Play "The Lady Pirates of Captain Bree" - This is the second event I have shot with my recently acquired 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S ED VR-II lens. I can't tell you how terrible the light at this event was (even with f/2.8 and ISO 1600 the shutter speeds varied from 1/50th to 1/160th). This simply isn't a shoot that I could have completed with available light prior to owning this puppy. (as of June, I have removed this gallery from the main page, but the link above still works)
April 1 - Added my favorite Tremont image to my main portfolio and to the wallpapers as well. No fooling!
March 27 - Just some modifications to the lens line-up. Dropped the blizzard 2007 galleries. Time to forget that nightmare.
March 24 - Lakeshore's Semifinal at the Breslin
March 20 - Lakeshore defeats Unity Christian - Breslin, here we come!!!
March 18 - I survived the annual trip to Tremont with St. Mary's. 6 days, 1,400 miles, 3,000 images.
March 11 - Lakeshore Wins District Championship!
March 3 - "Perfect Season" - Congratulations, Lakeshore! 20-0!
February 23 - "We eat bear meat"
February 20 - Lakeshore dominates Lakeview.
February 18 - Added an athletics section for sports coverage. I don't shoot a lot of sports at the moment - don't quite have the right gear. All dad wants for his birthday, a 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S ED VR lens.
February 5 - More blizzard pics. What fun. Adding some more wallpapers.
February 4 - Updated my main portfolio with an image of the Golden Gate Bridge.
January 11 - Just a heads up. I am doubling up on my grad school courses this winter so that I can finish my MBA by this spring. Just got my two syllabi, and I am hosed... it is likely I won't get much work done on lakeshoreclick for a couple of months, but I will do what I can.
January 9 - Added blueberry princess to the main portfolio, and added a how-to article on the duotone process used to create it.
January 2 - Added a studies section with book and other resource recommendations.
January 2, 2007 - The how-to section open for business. Only two articles for now, but more to come. Please email me with suggestions, corrections, or requests for new articles.
December 26 - Recategorized the home page to allow for more top-level links. Getting ready to officially open a how-to section.
December 24 - Santa brought me some new gear, early even!
December 23 - Added a link to Brian & Whitney's engagement proofs, as well as a new image to the primary portfolio.
September 16 - Added some pics from the Portage Northern vs. Lakeshore football game.
August 28 - The primary portfolio continues to expand.
August 6 - The kitchen blog is open for business.
August 5 - Added my primary portfolio. I am still working on adding images and narratives. I will continue working on it this week. I will be closing out other galleries as I do this. I will maintain some galleries from time to time, but I have decided to focus on my favorites.
August 4 - Added some more wallpapers.
August 1 - Added an "about me" page. Ever play three truths and a lie? ;) I have also begun work on some how-to pages as well as a true portfolio section with shooting notes, tips and tricks, and other personal reflections that are sure to bore you!!! I have set aside some time the next week to finalize those and post them, so check back if the grass isn't growing fast enough for you.
July 24 - Reformatted most of the site. Simple is better! I am really struggling with how much time to spend on the site layout. I don't want to create something that takes a lot of time to maintain, and I also don't want to create something that is entirely copied from someone else or a template. Odds are, I will change my mind again! I have moved to a black on grey for text - easier on the eyes, but I plan to stay with black backgrounds on the main page and on the galleries - I like the color contrast. As always, please let me know what you think!
July 16 - Added a gallery from this weekend's blueberry picking with some friends and their kids.
July 9 - Updated the pets gallery and added some fireworks wallpaper.
July 4 - Redid the nature gallery with the new flash based photo viewer, and added pics from Sarah's & my trip to Colorado.
July 4 - Added a new gallery of fireworks pictures from Saint Joseph's July 3rd show. You'll need Macromedia Flash to view the gallery. Download it here if you need to.
July 3 - Added information on ordering prints and equipment.
July 2 - Added a few shots to the nature gallery from this pics taken this morning around St. Joseph. Trying a new gallery format - let me know what you think. Also added images to the wallpaper downloads.
June 26 - Sarah and I just returned from Colorado. Nature pics are coming later, but I do have some quick pics from a Rockies MLB game. (We scored great seats!)
June 26 - The wallpapers section is officially on-line. Only three so far, but more to come. (This stuff takes time, and the honey-do list is, I am afraid, a higher priority. I wonder how many years of marriage it will take for this website to be higher than that list...)