ACME Photography

I found a short film the other week which after I watched it I realized that it was the best 15 minutes I had spent on the Internet THAT WEEK.  Looking back I would say THAT MONTH. 

As described by the creators, “Validation is a fable about the magic of free parking.”  Yet I say it is so much more.  From Flixxy.com, ” A short film about the magic of looking for the best in people. This movie has played at 34 film festivals worldwide and won 17 awards.”

Starring TJ Thyne & Vicki Davis. Writer/Director/Composer - Kurt Kuenne.  Please if you do not have 15 minutes right now to watch this, come back at the end of your day and watch this short movie.  You’ll thank me later.  

Now that you’ve watched this film, please share this link.  This film was great to me as a photographer because part of my job is to capture the emotion in a person’s eyes and the part of them that makes each person unique. 

I see beauty in every person, and capturing that emotionthrough a one still photograph is equally as important as the best lighting or great composition.  I’ve photographed teens who have self esteem problems as well as beautiful women who believe that they are sub par or barely average.  I’ve photographed corporate businessmen who are handsome, yet don’t smile because of a tooth which he think looks funny, so he never smiles.  In the corporate business world if we tell someone they look great (and if the person takes it wrong) it may border on sexual harassment, yet how often do we give somone else a true compliment.

I see it in one’s eye when I tell a client that they look good, or that what they are doing is working.  A smile or a 1/2 smile instantly goes to a full or real smile.  I get to compliment people when I’m behind my camera, but I try to carry this into the “real world”.  How about you?

Adam Nollmeyer
http://acmephotography.net

This is my second year photographing Christmas caroling at Freedom Inn with James Telich and friends.  I had a great time last Sunday and thought I’d share some photos for those who follow this blog as well as  those who attended this year’s event.

Below is a is a slideshow of all the images.  You may also view the same slideshow large by clicking here.

If you would like to individually click through the photos in a gallery format, click here for the event photos on flickr.

A few of the best photos from the event:

Last year Santa said some really nice things to me about my photography.  He said I was famous in the North Pole, but this year Santa didn”t even talk to me.  I wasn’t even sure if  it was the same guy, he looked thinner. (Maybe it’s recession or the economy?!)

I felt like doing something, crazy or silly, like the guy below, but I held back…. Trying to maintain a professional demeanor.

Take that Santa Clause.

Flowers are great, there’s always a lot of floral goodness, which is donated by somone.  If you know, drop a comment at the bottom the the article and I’ll update this post w/ some credit and “link love” to them.

Sometimes other photography “geeks” like to know how photos are made….

On the photo above I bounced a Nikon Sb-800 into the ceiling (and slightly to the left) to bounce some nice light from a direction creating nice soft light which is not standard for  “flash on camera” .  I also was using a high ISO to capture some of the ambient light.  The strobe was gelled with CTO (color temp orange) to balance for the tungsten  light.

Some exposure settings:

Exposure:	0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture:	f/4.5
Focal Length:	120 mm
ISO Speed:	1000

One can never go wrong with photos of cute children.

I nearly forgot, people came to sing, so here are some singers.

There was also some dancing.  This was the mild dancing.  I heard rumors that things go “crazy nuts”, then  was told that I would get in trouble if I posted those photos.

This is the end.

Remember all the photos are here.  If you like what I do you could always *cough* hire me.

Until next year,

Adam Nollmeyer
Phoenix Arizona Photography
http://acmephotography.net

For the third year we are pleased to be a part of Zoofari, the Annual Black tie fund raiser benefit  for the Phoenix Zoo.  Last year our partnership helped raised over $2K which directly benefited the Phoenix Zoo.

DATE/TIME
Friday, October 3, 2008
VIP Early Admission at 6:30pm
Event Hours 7:00pm-11:00pm LOCATION
The Phoenix Zoo
455 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, AZ 85008
602.273.1341

If are planning on attending Zoofari 2008 please stop by the Photography Booth and have a portrait created.  A photo of you in your “monkey suit” will help to Save the Orangutans as we are again donating proceeds back to the Phoenix Zoo.

2 FREE TICKETS Giveaway:

($450 value)

We have a pair of tickets which we will give away to a client or online friend.  If you are friends with  “@AcmePhoto” on twitter Just reply “@acmephoto” I’d like your tickets to Zoofari 2008″ and You’ll be automatically entered in the drawing.  No catch, it’s that easy.  You can also drop a note on my facebook page, or a comment below if you don’t quite “get” these other social media websites.   If you are a friend on twitter you will loose 10 cool points however if you only comment here on not on twitter.  Do both and you get 10 points however.

HURRY…. because we’ll be picking a winner for the two free tickets late Tuesday night, or possibly Wednesday Morning.

Good luck and I hope to see you at Zoofari this Friday!

Adam Nollmeyer
Photographer in Phoenix AZ
acmephotography.net

Speaking in Tempe on Thursday September 18th, 2008

YOU CAN WIN FREE TICKETS on this blog post!

Charlene Li, co-author of Groundswell and Vice President at Forrester Research is speaking in Tempe Arizona on September 18th, 2008.  She will present practical consumer based strategies for companies to harness  the power of social media technologies.  Blogs, facebook, youtube, &  twitter will be sure to be on the agenda.

• Strategies for surviving the groundswell.
• Social media best practices and pitfalls.
• How to get started.

This event is being sponsored by Sitewire an interactive marketing agency.  Last year they helped bring Seth Godin to the Phoenix Area to speak about his book book The Dip.

When: Thurs Sept 18th
Where Tempe Center for the Arts - Lakeside Room
700 W Rio Salado Pkwy Tempe, AZ 85281

Cost: $60  If you don’t win my free tickets. Info / Purchase tickets here.
Group discounts (save $10) available info here.
PRweb Press release.

*UPDATE* -  Wed meetup Because I’m a great stalker social media guru, I read on Charlene’s blog about an  Informal Wednesday Meetup at Borders store in Tempe.  The address is 699 South Mill Avenue.  5-6pm.

FREE tickets?

More good news… I have TWO extra tickets and I’m going to give them away.
Follow these easy steps.

1. You enter by picking a number between 1 and 100.
   I’ll use  a random number generator from random.org  to pick.
2. Post a comment on this blog post (below) using this format,
   ” I choose the best number which is  ___”
3. You may enter TWICE,  Once on the acmephotography.net blog  as well as one time on the Acme Photography’s Facebook fan page . (anywhere is fine, on the wall, on the imported note, etc

Contest will close at TOMORROW, end of Tuesday Sept 16th at midnight local Arizona time.  If you are going feel free to enter and use the ticket to invite a friend.

Adam Nollmeyer
Phoenix Arizona Photographer
acmephotography.net

PS: I’d put some fine print here but you wouldn’t read it anyway!

Open Invitation to Photographers and Photo Studios near Phoenix Arizona!

9/2/08 - Airport Hilton [map] 47th Street, Phoenix AZ, 85034  | 6PM Networking, 7PM meeting.
(Aspiring / student photographers are encouraged and welcome to attend as well!)

I’ve been invited to speak at AzPPA’s - Arizona Professional Photographers Association meeting next Tuesday, September 2nd and I wanted to personally invite fellow photographers and friends to attend this meeting.  I was asked me to talk about the photography that I create.  I spoke on this last year at AZPPA so I’m going to touch on this a bit then describe the process in making creative photography, showing lighting setups for available light photography as well as studio lighting (strobe) for on location work.

THEN…

I’m going to share about something that I’m very passionate about: Social Media.  If the word “social media” confuses you it’s a fancy word for “playing on the internet”.  You know “what the kids do”  Facebook, Twitter, Flickr Myspace,  Viddler, LinkedIN, Friendfeed, etc.  The news is you don’t have to be young to do this, and if done properly it can help your business.   Do you blog?  This is great, however  there’s more to the game then blogging.  Learn how you can:

• Keep in touch with existing clients while creating loyal “fans” for your business.
• Obtain  higher search engine rankings simply by being active online and sharing content.
• Generate web traffic without spending money for paid Goggle Ad Sense or Yahoo campaigns.
• Meet new friends who you can help and who will gladly help you when you are in a jam.

…. All for FREE, or dirt cheap.

Understanding how to leverage the “cool websites” to help build your brand is not as simple as signing up and spamming a message to people in your network.   Using social media properly involves understanding normal human relationships.  I’ll break this down with some simple examples to help you understand how relationships work, then apply it to online activities.

FINALLY…

Why your website sucks (and how to fix it)
If you rely on people typing your website into the web browser from the business card you personally handed them then your website is failing.  If the only traffic you get is from paid directories then you need help.

Learn some simple tips to improve your search engine ranking and make your web site your primary source of leads, instead of a compliment to your other marketing efforts.

I’ll see you at the AZPPA Monthly Meeting September 2, 2008

First meeting is FREE if you’re new.
(Tell ‘em if it’s your first time, along with where you heard about AZPPA and it’s on me!  )

Non-members $25
Phoenix Airport Hilton 2435 S. 47th Street Phoenix, AZ
Social Hangout: 6PM
Meeting - 7PM
Autographs - 9PM

Drop a comment below if you are coming.
See you!

Adam Nollmeyer
Phoenix Arizona  Photographer
http://acmephotography.net