Good times!

Phew! Looks like the website is almost done and I just have a couple tweeks to make. Most of my blog links are back but some are gone for good. It is my fault, I am too busy to go fix all of them!
I want everyone to notice the awesome music of Joe Koenig that I added to the site. Joe is a friend of mine, who's wedding I helped Catherine Hall with last fall, is also an incredible singer/songwriter. As tough as the music business is I belive that he will make it, he has a great sound. He is also an amazing graphic artist. too! His work has been in so many magazines it isn't even funny and he designs great websites too (see Catherine's above). These pictures are a couple from the wedding.

My Apologies

If you haven't noticed already, I have completely redone my website. It is really nice and I am quite happy with how it has come out. One unfortunate side effect is that all my image that were here on my blog are no longer in the same location on my web-server. I need to go back and reload all those images and fix the broken links. It will take me a bit but I will get them back soon. Until then, please take a look at the new site and let me know what you think.
The guys at Big Folio did the site, they are awesome to work with and got it up really quickly. If you are looking for a site that caters to creative businesses I suggest you check them out first.

Bridal Shoots Galore!

I am just back from the Bay Area and while the purpose of my trip was to visit my very ill and absolutely wonderful Grandma Janet, I knew I should get in some shooting in to help keep my mind at ease. I made a call to my sister-in-law Courtney to arrange a model for me so I could do one shoot--I ended up doing 4 location shoots including 3 bridal's, an engagement shoot and some headshots! I'm exhausted!
I love this time of the year because I get the opportunity to shoot for myself and really push myself creatively. I often have brides ask me what I would do if I could do whatever I wanted; well here you go! I figured that I might as well really challenge myself and shoot almost exclusively at night, after all, my style tends to be dramatic and nighttime really lets me show off all my skills.
While I was there I called up my new friend Trevor Meeks to shoot with me. It is always fun to shoot with another photographer so that you can see how different two people see the same subject. Plus, it was a lot of fun!
Here are just a couple of images I edited real quickly to get up here. I have a very busy week coming up as I will be re-releasing my website soon otherwise I would post more as there are tons of great shots...if I don't say so myself :)

Going North

I'm headed up North for a day or two to get in some shooting and visiting with family. Stay tuned, we have some pretty wild shoots planned, I'm really excited!
After a quick trip to the camera store I get the chance to lunch in the city with Gene Higa." As I mentioned in an earlier post, Gene is the top of the food chain for destination wedding photographers, if you haven't seen his work you need to. I was late for his workshop at OSP West, which was amazing, so what an awesome opportunity to get to sit down with him for a bit. Did I mention we both grew up in Santa Cruz? Doesn't get much better than that! Gene is a fun and easy going guy so I am really looking forward to it.
After meeting so many incredible people and great photographers lately I have made a vow to not be such a hermit out here in the woods so I am to get out and make some new friends in the industry. So look out! The Colin Michael Photo Tour may be coming to a city near you...

Messy Chef

Our son Caiden has recently discovered cooking with Mom and Dad can be one of most entertaining parts of the day. As other parents out there already know this is both a good and a bad thing: he loves to help which is a good thing but now it takes 3 times as long to get anything done! It is totally worth it though, see that expression on his face? Priceless. Every time we go into the kitchen Caiden grabs a chair, pulls it up to the counter and says "ELP!" which loosely translates to "let me help you throw all this stuff on the floor!" My dogs love cooking now too, but that is another post :)

OSP West Success!!!

OSP West was a success, even if it was raining! It was so great to met everyone (if only briefly!) and finally put faces with names! Sorry if I was a bit aloof and didn't get a chance to talk with everyone but that is was OSP WII is for! I honestly can't believe how nice everyone is, I'm so bummed I live so far away from you all and I won't get to hang out more often. I'm am resolving to stop being such a hermit and get out to visit all of you! Everyone was so much fun and everyone had something to contribute.

I have to thank so many people for making this all happen. To all those who planned, gave workshops and shared their knowledge, in no particular order:
The Big Folio Crew- Mike and Erik went the extra, uh, 10 or so miles to pull this all off! They are awesome guys and such a great resource. Without them OSP West wouldn't have happened. I will be upgrading my website with them soon, they will be sick of me in no time!
John Michael Cooper- What a guy! Shares an amazing wealth of knowledge with everyone, then gets stuck sitting in parking lots in the back of my car for hours and still is a super cool guy, amazing!  Sorry to drag you around like that all day! His work and methods are so inspirational and he is just an all around great person. Seriously, his work is what I strive for; creativity, originality and such a polished look but he still maintains his persona in everything he does. I really hope I get a chance to hang out with him again. If you get a chance, check out John's anti-workshop
Jason Groupp- This guy is amazing. It is that simple. Nice guy, fantastic photographer and a wealth of knowledge. If you are in New York you need to look up Jason he will make you a better photographer. If you are getting married in NY you have to see his work, it is everything you could want. There are few people out there that are as genuine and kind. 
TJ Cameron- TJ is going to be big. He is a soft spoken, very easy to get along with guy who has more talent in is little finger than I will ever have. If you are getting married in Oregon or Orange County you owe it to yourself to check out his work.
Jefferson Todd- JT is one of those guys who makes me feel like such a slacker! He is a very jovial guy but an amazing business man who all of us can learn so much from. He is a perfect example of someone who can be a consummate professional yet be so easy to get along with that you feel like you have known them forever.
Chris + Lynn Jaksa- I am so glad I got the opportunity to meet and get to know Chris and Lynn, what a fun couple! They are one of the premier husband and wife photography teams and a total inspiration. They are both so funny and great people, I can’t wait to get to hang out with them again at WPPI.
Mike Larson- Mike is a great person. In his group at the winery shoot last Friday I was amazed at how open he was and how well he led his group. Everyone learned a ton and got a chance to see Mike in action. I also got the chance to have dinner with he and his wonderful wife Rachel and can’t wait to repay the favor.
Gene Higga- I didn’t get much of a chance to hang out with Gene but in the few minutes we spoke I learned a ton. His workshop on destinations was awesome, as is his work. He is also originally from Santa Cruz (as am I) so he is okay in my book!
Robin Bellissima- Wow, Robin is smart! No joke, she is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met yet still down to earth and a total sweetheart. Her workshop on business and albums was fantastic and really shows just how we should all approach the long term goals we have for our businesses.

I know I forgot a few people, sorry! You were all amazing and I hope to get a chance to see you all again soon.

Coffee is Back!

I love coffee. I don't need latte's, mocha's or anything fancy just a good grind like Peets with a bit of milk. I have been sick for almost a week now and when I am sick I don't drink coffee, just tea. I went down to Costco today to pick up lunch for everyone who will be here for OSP West tomorrow and while I was there I saw this the above coffee maker for $52. You have to love Costco sometimes.
My existing pot doesn't have a auto setting and doesn't keep coffee very hot so I broke down bought it. I am sitting here, still a bit sick, but so happy because this thing makes a great cup of coffee! Maybe it is just that I haven't had any in a week but I like to think that it was a great investment. It is definitely a business expense!

OSP West Metering Workshop

This post is for all the photographers who are planning on attending my Manual Metering/Flash workshop at OSP West, sorry everyone else!
During my first class in photography school my instructor handed out a chart that showed common lighting situations and how to make a proper exposure in that situation. We were quizzed on it the following week. After the quiz everyone tossed out that chart and relied on their light meter. A couple classes later another professor taught us how to manually calculate flash exposure and we were quizzed another week later. Everyone forgot how to do it soon afterward as they used their flash meter to do it for them. I quickly learned that the people who relied on their equipment to make all the decisions were slower to set up than the people who could walk into the room, set the camera close to an accurate exposure, put the lights at the right distance and then check everything with a meter. This sometimes made the difference between having a cooperative model and having a bored one. Not only were they faster it also seemed that they could see the light and shadows with their naked eye whereas the others were completely reliant on a light meter.
The purpose of this workshop is not to allow you to toss out your light-meter or always shoot your flash on manual, the goal is to make you faster and enable you to create more interesting lighting effects. The better you understand the principals of how light works the more you will begin to see light in a new way and will become much faster and accurate when shooting. The principals I will cover will also make you more comfortable when shooting with multiple strobes off camera. These principals are the first step in teaching your eyes to see in "stops." Plus, it will be great to get a chance to meet all of you!
The most important piece of information is here. Even if you don't exactly understand what it means I highly encourage you to memorize this chart. Please bring a copy of this chart with you to the workshop.
Several people have asked me what they need to know in advance of the workshop so here you go...Prerequisites: You should know the whole f-stops from f/2 through f/22 and you should know full stops of shutter speeds. For example, if I ask to open up 4 stops from f/16 you should know I mean f/4. You should also understand the implications of adjusting shutter speed vs. changing aperture.
I look forward to meeting you all and trust me, the memorization is really worth it! Email or call if you have any questions.

Brittney and Chris

It was after my earlier post about how I forget how beautiful this area is that I took a long look at my work and noticed that I haven't been making the most of the Central Coast. Most of my shoots take place in more urban areas, which is great for my style, but I know that I can do more with the natural beauty of this area. The thing is, I get so tired of seeing the same old beach shot or the tired "couple sitting in the grass" pictures that we have all seen repeated thousands of times. So I decided to take Brittney and Chris out to those same areas but shoot them Colin Michael style :)
Brittney and Chris were amazing to work with, without even being asked they would find great poses and looks that fit the feel of the images perfectly. It was very cold, windy and was raining on and off but they acted like it was 80 degrees out! I tried to talk them into staying out of the ocean but they wouldn't have it. It was a great time and I have to really thank them for all their hard work.
Enjoy!

More from my street

Sometimes we forget to see the beauty that is right in front of us.
I am usually so busy looking for exotic locations to shoot brides that I forget just what a beautiful place I live in. For those who don't know, I live out among the vineyards of the Paso Robles wine country, it is a truly inspiring place. How can I miss beauty like this? I don't know really, I just drive by it all the time and take it for granted! I figure the ranger in Yosemite sometimes does the same.
The funny part of living here is that I hardly have any good shots of vineyards. Sure, I shoot couples out in the vineyards but I don't have anything that I put on my own wall. Maybe that is because most vineyard shots are just so cliche to me.
But I don't think this one is. It was taken on a very cold and foggy morning in December. To me, it really conveys a sense of the moment, mud, cold and all. So I made a nice 30x40 to go on my wall. If you want one for your wall let me know.

I'm Slacking!

Wow, I just realized how bad I have been about updating my blog! Sorry about that. I have been quite busy with planning for the Open Source Photo West Coast conference, planning out some portfolio shoots as well as getting geared up for this coming wedding season. There is lots of fun stuff in the works, stay tuned in the next couple of weeks for some really exciting photos shoots.
The dog above is Frank, he is quite a ham.

Fashion Bridal

Jessica is a fantastic model and a good friend who's wedding to Bryan is coming up next fall in Mexico. Rumor has it that there may be a tequilla bar at the reception...hmm, that sounds like trouble! I am really looking forward to this one, it is going to be a great time.
We decided to do something a bit different from the traditional bridal shoot (I know, nothing unusual for me there!) and get a bit rockstar. Of course I threw in a couple images that even a mother could love, but we had a great time shooting in some new spots around San Luis Obispo that I recently discovered. Enjoy the pics and let me know what you think. As soon as it gets a bit warmer you will see part two of this shoot as we are going into the water with this dress :)
There are plenty more from this shoot that I will be adding to the webpage soon, I just wanted to get something up because it has been so long since I have updated the blog.










Here is the more "normal" shot from the same spot as above

They got me...

Ahh, they finally caught up with me! I am on standby for my civic duty so if you aren't able to get ahold of me I am sitting on a trial. This is actually the slowest time of the year for me so it is probably the best time for jury duty...as long as it doesn't keep me from vacation at the end of the month!

Martin Paris Band

Over the weekend I shot the Martin Paris Band. They are a great local band that does lots of gigs at weddings and winery events. I recently saw them play at Summerwood Winery just down the street and they were a ton of fun. I just put up one of their songs on my website, go check it out at ColinMichaelphoto.com
We got together down at the Paso Robles train station for a shoot on a breezy and cold November afternoon. As soon as I got setup one of my strobes (a strobe is a big studio flash) started acting up so we shot without it for awhile. After the light warmed up it started working again and we were able to get these couple of really cool images.
In case anyone is wondering, these images were taken around 4pm on a cloudy day. All I do to create this effect is to turn up the power on my strobe so the exposure is around +1 1/2 stops over the ambient light. This makes the background darker than the areas affected by my strobe and I really like the effect.

Flowers in Fall

This has been such a beautiful and warm fall that the flowers have decided to return! This was taken on the road up to my home, quite an interesting plant to be flowering in November. If someone knows what it is please email me.

Something a bit different

I wanted to really challenge myself photographically so I decided to try an underwater photoshoot. No, I have never done underwater photography before. No, I don't own any special underwater equipment. No, I haven't ever tried anything even remotely close to this before but I am really happy with the images. So much so that I might just get myself some underwater equipment so I can get some even better images.
The model is my friend Jessica whose wedding I will be shooting in Mexico next year. Look for more pics of her soon; we are doing an engagement shoot, bridal's and a trash-the-dress session. She is very photogenic and works hard to get the best images; she must have dove under me about 50 times to get these shots!

Sam and John

My good friends Jon and Sam never had any engagement shots done (I didn't shoot their wedding) so I took them up to Sonoma State University so they could have something to make up for it.
We ran around campus and had a great time. Sam thought it was so funny how the camera seems to give me the power to get just about anything to happen. I ask Jon to carry Sam, he carries her. I ask Sam to do the same, she gives it a shot! I thought about asking them to jump into this fountain but thought better of it ;)