Phil Holden Photography

Rio – shots from a number of years ago

Phil — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:17:00 +0000

It’s funny how things around here tend to happen in sequences, initially unrelated but then they link together. This morning I was reading how three buildings collapsed in Rio de Janeiro yesterday. Lots of concern over the cities questionable infrastructure and if they would be ready for the 2014 World Cup and then a couple years later the Olympics. Then later in the day one of our lovely boudoir clients was in the studio picking up her album and amazing wall piece that’s going to take a top spot in her home. She was telling us that she is getting ready for a trip down to Rio in time for Carnival in a couple of weeks. Not surprisingly she is totally excited and looking forward to the trip and some much needed R&R.

That got me to find some of my photographs from a trip to Rio a number of years ago. I wasn’t fortunate to make it for the Carnival, but still had a great time wandering around this beautiful city. The physical beauty of the city that sits on the Atlantic coast, with beautiful beaches, Sugar Loaf and The Christ visible from almost everywhere is simply amazing. Although the blog post that I wrote up at the time of the trip is long gone, I’m still reminded of the amazing contrasts of the city; mountains, forest, the bay, beaches and the sea all within an easy day of exploration. Churches and older buildings hundreds of years old that were solid and strong, then you had modern day structures that looked like they could topple in a strong storm. And then maybe the obvious, rich millionaire homes with no money spared compared to the favelas, pulled together with cents – the slums that took over hills around the city.

A nice distraction looking at these photos today after a rough day here in the studio. Good luck Ms M on your travels.

Seattle Snow Day – first of winter 11/12

Phil — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:39:28 +0000

Today we saw the first snow of our winter with a good couple of inches that stayed. So pretty

Repost: Shooting the D4! « Joe McNally’s Blog

Phil — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:42:45 +0000

A great write up by Joe McNally on the upcoming D4 just announced by Nikon. Sounds like a simply great camera. Next question, when can I justify purchasing this little baby. Some of my favorite comments below, full link to article as well.

Shooting the D4!

In Equipment at 1:15am

“The D4 is an entirely new chapter in the history of the pixels. It arrived in a nondescript box. We all stared at it, like it was something that got sent from a sci-fi movie, and if we opened it, we would find the still beating heart of an alien life form. “

“We knew it was gonna be cool. We just didn’t know how cool. “

“We found our way to a picture, through the muck and the mud. And, right off the bat, I was impressed with the file. It was, in a word, smooth. I know that’s not a techy description, and there’s some folks out there right now counting every pixel, but I was impressed by the detail and the creaminess of the pictures. No sharpness of contrast, and harshly defined lines of demarcation between highlights and shadows. Smooth, in a word, and great skin tone.”

“Through it all, I was continuously impressed with: Skin tone, for one thing.”

“File detail and forgiveness in the shadows.

Responsiveness of the camera in terms of intuitively good exposures and autofocus.

Video quality and new features. Wow. We’re in the final stages of post right now for what we shot. Check back sometime next week for the full scoop. It’s a game changer.

New rocker buttons for moving the auto-focus cursor.

Ease of shifting the auto-focus modes.

Size and clarity of the lcd.”

The fact that I dropped one and it kept working.

Plus, none of us had tried to light an elephant with an SB-910 and a Lastolite tri-grip before.

Shooting the D4! « Joe McNally’s Blog

Another tough winters day in Seattle

Phil — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:23:00 +0000

My gosh, Seattle has had amazing weather for the first day of 2012. Can’t believe who nice it was,
here are a couple of iPhone snaps to share as I took a little bit of a break. Taken with my favorite HDR application.

Happy New Year!

Phil — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:44:44 +0000

Welcome to 2012 from me and Miss Jones, Her in her usual position on the bed

Repost: Vintage Photos of Airplane Travel and Celebrities – The Daily Beast

Phil — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:45:27 +0000

I came across some wonderful old photographs of air travel the way it used to be. For any of you current travellers that think we are living in the wrong decade, I think we are. The full collection via the Daily Beast below, just click on the link.

Vintage Photos of Airplane Travel and Celebrities

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Vintage Photos of Airplane Travel and Celebrities – The Daily Beast

Seattle Grain Terminal

Phil — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:34:00 +0000

Got the chance to go out for a walk with the girls this morning and relax. Walking back to Seattle there was a great view of the grain terminal with the city in the background. Love the depth of the rocks and seagul in the foreground too. Loving the time to relax.

Repost: 2011: The Year in Pictures – Interactive Feature – NYTimes.com

Phil — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:48:29 +0000

Another set of moving photographs from 2011, this time from The New York Times. Some incredible photographs with some indepth coverage of some of the main events of 2011. These working photo journalists have my complete respect for being right in the thick of it and at other times covering topics that few care about. The shot below has to be one of my favorites, so simple yet powerful at the same time.

Sgt. Aaron Grudich of Oakfield, Wis., walked to the car with his family after coming home from Iraq on Nov. 19. The soldiers in his battalion returned home after 51 weeks, the last Wisconsin National Guard unit to come back to the United States.

John Ehlke/West Bend Daily News, via Associated Press

Full set of amazing photographs here – 2011: The Year in Pictures – Interactive Feature – NYTimes.com

South and West views of Seattle this morning

Phil — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:35:00 +0000

Those initial rumors of bad winter weather coming to Seattle don’t appear to be true ( Yet!!).
Although we had had some chilly days, many of them are also filled with lots of sun allowing us to enjoy the amazing views that this part of the Puget Sound offers. Today was one of those mornings that are meant to be enjoyed, so with tea in hand I went up to the roof.

Looking South you get to see the city coming alive with Mount Rainer in the background. Looking West you have the Sound, the grain terminal and the Olympics in the background. I don’t know if there could ever be a better way to frame the city with those mountains and water around us. We are just so lucky to live here.

These were both shot using an HDR app for my iPhone.

Repost: Why people unfriend people on facebook

Phil — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 02:43:00 +0000

An interesting post by the Huffington Post on why people unfriend folks on Facebook. I have always felt as a small business owner, with many clients on my Facebook there is a balance on what you post on Facebook. In reality we all have differant views o very important subjects, yet not everyone wants to hear them or agree with you, especially when your ‘friends’ are multiple hundreds.

A quick read with lots of graphics : )