April 2009,

We have found a studio location. It is located on the main street of our little downtown area. The ceilings are high with room for a large studio, reception and viewing areas. It also has two additional rooms, one for an office and the second for a dressing room. The studio area will be approx. 24'x24' which will allow me to setup backdrops on three sides. With that capability, it will be easy to move lights to accomodate the background of choice. We share a common area with bathrooms and kitchenette with another business in the same building. This will workout just great. More work coming..... we need to paint, get furniture, office equipment and supplies, etc. But it is great to have a location ( 1 N. Jefferson, West Jefferson, North Carolina) for HD Elite Photography.

At the same time as the studio is happening, we have a large job to shoot. The church I attend wants a new church directory. I have found software that can be purchased for this purpose and we made the decision to do the directory on our own. We researched a good color printer and leased that for the church. Now comes the task of shooting 170+ families. We schedule the shoot over an 8 day period, at the church, to provide flexibility in accomodating people's schedules. The lighting and backdrops are setup, a small computer network connects the laptop to my camera and a second laptop that will be used for people to view their pictures. People are welcome to order pictures on the spot or to have them posted on our web site and purchased at a later time. Since I am new to the church, it has been a great way to meet people.

I had a great time photographing Luke and Courtney. They were a lot of fun and are not shy around the camera.

March 2009,
We decided to go with Smugmug for our photography business web site ( www.hdelitephotography.com ). We contract to have the initial web layout modified for our needs. Now starts the process of populating it with photos and getting it customized.

The search for a studio location is on. It is not an easy task in our small community. Trying to find a good building with high ceilings, sufficient space, a good location at a decent monthly rent is challenging. We have looked at several building so far, and a couple have possibilities.

There is a lot of paperwork involved in getting the studio started. Contracts have to be drawn up, price lists for services have to be produced, model release forms completed and much more. Fortunately there is a wealth of information for these things on the Internet and from books. I have been doing a lot of reading and typing.

I have started taking a few photos which I will share. Nothing too fancy yet, still getting familiar with the new equipment.
http://hdelitephotography.com/gallery/7552449_M2FrK#494318989_fXDs2

http://hdelitephotography.com/gallery/7552449_M2FrK#502064411_5WdBV

http://hdelitephotography.com/gallery/7552449_M2FrK#499808258_hhpbW

February 2009,
Much of our new equpment arrives and is setup in our garage. This will provide an area to get everything setup and tested until we have a studio location. I went ahead and purchased Paul C. Buff transmitters/receivers for the Alien Bee lights, and this combination works very well. A few backdrops have been purchased and I can now start taking some photos. Watch out family and friends!! Actually they have been very understanding and some even love having their picture taken.

I signed up for a photography class from Scott Smith of Lighting Magic ( http://www.lightingmagic.com/ ) in Fort Worth, TX. This was a 2 day class which is focused on lighting techniques and how to read light. Scott is an accomplished master photographer and has taught photography for several years. I opted for the one-on-one class which allowed more time to experiment and ask questions. Scott is a great teacher and I would highly recommend his classes.

I have always worked for large corporations in my previous career. Running your own business means you now have to do everything like ... accounting, paperwork, making phone calls and other details that used to be handled by multiple people. But, you certainly learn a lot starting a new business.

This picture is one of the first I took in my garage prototype studio. It is my wife with our dog, Lex. He loves to cock his head sideways when you talk to him.

January 2009,
I have been researching photography equipment needed to start our studio. There is much to choose from. Canon has been my camera of choice for years and we will continue to stay with Canon. The new Canon 5d MkII is investigated and I like it...what's not to like. Since we need to buy two cameras and we need to stay within budget, we opt for the Canon 50D instead. Our primary lighting sources will come from four Alien Bees (1600 version) complete with grids, gels, stands, umbrellas and accessories.

Investigation starts on how to setup our web site for HD Elite Photography, LLC. We need a place to store a lot of photos and with the option to purchase online. At this time, we don't want to spend a lot of money on a custom web site, so the search is on. For my personal photos, I had already signed up for Smugmug.com (http://www.alh.smugmug.com/) so Smugmug is a contender for our business website. Still researching.....

There are two churches in our area that have frescoes. This picture is one fresoe of the Last Supper and it covers the entire back wall of the sanctuary.

December 2008,
We are in our new rental house in Jefferson, NC. We had a great time spending Thanksgiving with my family ( first time in 30+ years).
Most of our household items are in their rightful place, but we still have several boxes that are not unpacked. Did I mention I hate moving!

I start the process of making a business plan for our photography business. It will be called HD Elite Photography. Selecting a name is important and can also take time to ensure it is not used by someone else and the domain is available. There is much to plan and things to learn when starting a business. We decide to form an LLC (Limited Liability Corp) and the operating agreement is completed by the end of December. Of course, it has to be filed with the state gov along with a filing fee.

December is also a time of winding down from my previous job and from the move.... both stressful and now behind me. I take some time to photograph some of the beautiful landscapes in northwest N.C.

November 2008
We decide to make the move from Boise, Idaho to West Jefferson, North Carolina. It has been discussed and thought about for some time, and now is right time. I am changing careers and plan on doing photography full time, something I have done and loved for many years.

The trip is 2700 miles in a Penske 16 ft. truck with a car in tow. My wife is driving our pickup. The U.S. is a big country and we run into some winter snow near Chicago as we were trying to stop and see Karen's sister in Pittsburg. We don't have much time for sightseeing since we are on a tight schedule.

We arrive after a 5 day trip and then wait for a couple of days while our household furnishing arrive. Then, the joy of unpacking starts.....so much fun.