A.J. Wright Photography

(Major) Snow in Seattle

Tony — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:12:23 +0000

Stuck in the house going stir crazy. Time to get out and get a few more shots…

Blessings…

Tony — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 04:21:05 +0000

Merry Christmas to you all. If you’re reading this, you’ve been blessed! Have a great holiday season!

The Lone Fisherman

Tony — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:18:01 +0000

Light is everything. Let me say that again… Light is everything. I had been out at this lake for over two or three hours. Just hanging around on the bank… taking pictures of rocks and tree stumps. The guy in the photograph below was in front of me the entire time. Not once did I have the desire to point my camera at him to take a picture – besides, who wants to see a man in a boat fishing (without a fish being caught). To be honest, he was somewhat of a distraction. I had wished that he just paddled away. He didn’t.

Then, the sun started to do its thing. The golden hour approached… As the sunset hour eased upon me, I watched the lake transform from a mirror of light to a very calm and peaceful looking get-a-way. All of a sudden, I cared about the guy in the boat. I wanted to be him. I wanted to be relaxed, with no worries, gliding with the wind.

It’s amazing what light can do. It’s your friend. Not only is it the source that powers our Earth, it’s also the source of all great photographs.

Happy shooting!

Insanely Cool Island

Tony — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 12:55:32 +0000

The hard part about being in a cool location (for me) is deciding whether to relax and soak it in or to grab the camera and take pictures. Sadly, I have a very difficult time doing both. While everyone else relaxes on the beach, I scramble around looking for a great subject or the right perspective of a subject that’s been shot a million times. I guess photography is therapeutic though. It keeps me sane, and keeps me creatively busy.

The image below was taken on Water Island, which is a short ferry ride over from St. Thomas, VI. This little piece of heaven is a very small island with many cool attractions. The weather was perfect, and the people were tremendously friendly. If you’re ever in St. Thomas, rent a bike and explore the island!

Stumped!

Tony — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 03:05:11 +0000

My secret fishing lake / creative get-a-way. Love this place; especially during the winter. The lake was like glass this evening and the crowd wasn’t unbearable. Gotta get some models out here soon!

10 Best Cityscapes in USA

Tony — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:11:01 +0000

There’s probably 100,000 images of Seattle. Many of which were taken from the same location where I took this picture. Don’t think I’ve seen one quite like the one I’ve attached. If you’re interested in a high resolution print, let me know. It’s pretty awesome.

The Majestic Mount Rainier

Tony — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 03:39:42 +0000

Studio Action…

Tony — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 07:23:44 +0000

My first customer in my spiffy studio. Whoo hoo!

Portrait Backdrops

Tony — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 23:34:14 +0000

Too often when taking portraits, amateur photographers seek out landmarks as backdrops to pose their subjects… I’ve learned, over time, that the best background is one that is simple and free of clutter / distractions. I tend to shoot against simple walls, or landscape backgrounds with very little to offer…

In this image, I chose to use a garage in Seattle. The wall is adjacent to dumpsters. I brought along one speedlite, one umbrella, and one light stand – keeping it simple.

Felisha Barnes

Second Pass

Tony — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 01:59:15 +0000

I read an article today about workflow – - – workflow is a term commonly used by photographers to describe how they process their images after they’re done with a shoot. For me, a normal shoot will be anywhere between 500 and 1,000 images. Although some photographers shoot many more, 500 images are plenty when you’re only hoping to have 5-10 keepers. Anywho, I’ve filed my images quite efficiently, so accessing them (again) is a breeze. Nevertheless, I normally don’t re-look at old RAW images unless I get crazy bored and/or need something to do. Today, I was bored… And, to my surprise, I’ve been finding a few keepers in my archives… which brings me back to the article I referenced when I started this blog.

The article, in a round-a-bout way, gave the impression that we are sometimes our worst critics. I agree. I have a habit of setting a goal and being very robotic about next steps. I’d assumed that if I set a goal for 10 good images, the likelihood of exceeding that was fairly slim. I was also focused on my ‘best’ work. That process killed many images right out the gate. It appears, that from looking in my old archives, I’ve had a few gems waiting to be discovered.

Today, I have been busy sending clients new images of shoots that were taken over the past couple years. Some of those pictures are really cool. Some of them are images of my family and friends. Next time, I’ll make sure to get them all the first time… Nothing like under promising and over delivering!

I took the one attached to this blog last summer. I barely remember taking the shot. Anywho, I hope you enjoy!