Tom Bol Photo Blog

Okay, I have seen my family aka ‘models’ on about everything through the years as a photographer.  My wife and son have been on magazine covers, in books, on brochures, hangtags, instore displays, mouse pads, bill boards…when you are shooting for stock, your images show up a lot of places.  Yesterday I was driving through Zion scouting some locations for an upcoming workshop, and pull up behind an RV.  I’m sitting there day dreaming when all of a sudden it registers that I know this photo plastered all over this RV.  Not only did I take it, but it is my wife and son, Cree and Skyler.  We were shooting stock on the colorado river in Moab, and this was one of the shots from the shoot.  Of course I was excited, jumped out and took a photo.  Pretty cool to see the gang on an RV.  And then I saw the same shot on another RV.  In Bryce I ran into 3 more RVs with my family towering on the back.  All of a sudden I see them everywhere I go! Some might be wondering why I didn’t know about this image use…we often get statements from our stock agencies and learn of sales that have already occurred, similar to this use.  So the next time you see an RV this summer, check out the back for the cool canoeing family!

Share this:

A good friend of mine, Stacy Pearsall, has just finished her book, SHOOTER, and this is one everyone should check out.  Stacy spent many years as a combat photographer in the army serving in Iraq and other areas, capturing sobering images of this war.   She was wounded twice, and her story shows in detail what it is really like being a photographer in this situation. I’ve seen Stacy speak to numerous large audiences, and there isn’t a dry eye in the audience after she finishes.  A very powerful story, incredible images, and fresh look into what the Iraq war was really like.  You can order her book here.

Share this:

If you are a Photo District News reader, take a look at the current issue (‘DIY’ issue) on newstands now.  PDN and Nikon did a two page spread of my work in an advertorial on my ski and winter photography.  I have been a die hard Nikon shooter from the beginning, and I can honestly say I put my camera gear through very rough conditions, and it never fails.  This ad features the D3, which I plan to keep on using, it is a great camera.  But I will be adding a D4 to my arsenal shortly, can’t wait to get my hands on that camera!

Share this:

If you are an iPad user, check out the lastest issue of Light It magazine. My friend and fellow photographer Steve Glass took this image of me photographing a climber near Fort Collins.  We did this shoot for the magazine to demonstrate my ‘vertical studio’ lighting technique for creating edgy climbing photos.

Light It offers a wealth of lighting tips in each issue, everything from speedlight technique to large strobe setups.  If you are interested in learning more lighting techniques, take a peek at this online magazine.

Share this:

Thanks to everyone for all the positive feedback on my book!  It is great to see this book at the bookstores and online after putting a lot of work into it.  Since it is the holiday shopping season, you now can get a great deal on my book at Peachpit.  Go here to order my book, and at step 3 in checkout enter FALLPHOTO and you will get 35% off!  Time to fill those stockings and add a few new presents under the tree!

Share this:

I’ll be doing a webinar Tuesday the 13th at 2-3PM Eastern time next week with Manfrotto.  I’ll be showing a number of images, and talking about what goes into creating them.  Topics from available light to using strobe in remote locations will included.  And of course I’ll talk about Priscilla and her huge yellow python!  To join the discussion, go here.

Share this:

The snow is coming down here in Colorado, winter has arrived.  This is perfect timing for my latest photography training video, which just posted at Kelby Training.  We had a blast last year creating this video.  Scott Kelby, Matt Kloskowski and Adam Rohrmann all came out for the shoot.  The day before the shoot Scott and Matt got some shooting in, and it just happened to coincide with a huge snowstorm!  We worked with some pro snowboarders and skiers for the shoot, and had a nice mix of weather for the video.

The training video goes into detail on shooting in cold, snowy environments.  If you shoot any subject matter outside in the winter, you should pick up a few tips from the video.  We covered a lot of material including portraits, powder shots, cliff jumps, super pipe aerial shots, high speed sync and packing gear to work in the snow.  We also shot huge jumps, and did a tutorial on how to seam the frames into one shot in photoshop.  Here is a promo video on the class.

If you have never checked out Kelby Training, you should take a look. There are over a hundred classes on a wide variety of topics from photography technique, photoshop and lightroom technique, light painting, video…the list goes on and on.  The best part is you can try it out for a month for under $25 bucks.  If you like it, you can sign up for a year for $200.  New classes are added weekly.  I honestly can’t think of a better value in photography training.  You watch when you want, as many times as you want, anywhere you have your computer and the internet.  A great holiday gift for the photographer.

Share this:

I was excited to come home the other day and find the first copy of my book sitting on my front door step.  This has been a year in the making, and a great project.  My friends at Peachpit and Kelby Training encouraged me to put all my adventure sports and outdoor photography into a written form, so here it is.

Adventure Sports Photography; Creating Dramatic Images in Wild Places mixes technique, personal stories and outtakes from many assignments I’ve had through the years.  This book covers in-depth composition, image design, equipment, portraits, lighting, video and my workflow.  Hopefully everyone will find some useful information in this book.  I also covered some of the new high speed sync flash technique, underwater shooting, northern lights photography and how to seam together action sequence images.  I also give some self assignments to help photographers develop their creativity and find their style.  You can get it at discounted prices here, just in time for the holidays!  Thanks to everyone who made this book a reality…

I will also be opening my blog to comments now that we have a spam filter in place.  I get many responses via email to technique blog posts, so the comments section should be valuable for more information on these posts.

Share this:

If you are interested in learning more Photoshop technique, I highly recommend joining NAPP.  This organization offers tons of benefits for a small price, including online tutorials on many topics, great discounts on gear from many companies, and copies of Photoshop User magazine.  The current issue has my image on the cover and a spread of shots inside, take a look if you are browsing newstands.  Or even better, join NAPP to learn more post processing techniques.

On another note, I hope folks have seen the new iPad magazine Light It from Kelby Media.  This online magazine is designed specifically for the iPad, and offers the same functionality you are used to with iPad apps.  I am shooting/writing a column each month titled On Location.  The first issue is free, so check it out if you have an iPad.

I’m off to Photoshop World tomorrow.  I’ll be talking about high speed sync photography at the Manfrotto booth, stop by if you are in town!

Share this:

Photo District News just listed the 13 top photo workshop instructors in the country , and I’m very excited to be included on the list.  Thanks to all my past workshop participants who voted for me.  The rewards of teaching and working with students is something I really enjoy, and I look forward to seeing all of you on another workshop soon!

I decided to get out of the office the other day for a little recreation.  I went for a paddle on the Poudre near my house.  I used a head cam for the video, you can see it here.

I have been using two head cams, the Drift HD170 Stealth and the Go Pro Hero.  Both do a good job.  I went with the Hero for this shoot since it is waterproof.  Both head cams have lots of options for attaching the camera to various objects.  I used my skiing helmet for this sequence.

Share this: