Also, I used this opportunity to experiement with the new Lightroom 3 from Adobe… amazing!!!  The biggest jump I can see (besides a smoother interface) is an amazing performance with sharpening and noise reduction.  These pics are 100% lightroom edited including the watermark and sharpening on export… my life just got way easier!!!!  I also used a bit from Totally Rad Lightroom Pre-sets… worth it!

Thanks and enjoy!

Michelle, modelling but also collecting wood-tics, LOL!

From left to right… Jen, Michelle & Rebecca

Bond!

Thanks for being such great models girls!

Highstyle 2010 from Mark Hiebert on Vimeo.

So why an industry night??  Well let’s start with the most important thing… very happy clients!!!  I certainly love that:):):)  By knowing and having a good relationship with great people in your industry, you can help them when they need help… they can help you when you need help… we can all help each other even if we don’t need help:):)  The better we are as a team, the better we can serve out clients.  From the 5 to 8 inquiries I get every week, 90% of them are dates that I am already booked for:(:(  I’m so glad to know a great network of awesome photographers that I can send them to… and they return the favor so that’s cool!  I always get asked from my clients about a florist, a DJ, a venue, a wedding planner, ect.  I had a pretty good idea before, and after last night that network only grew:):)

The Gates on Roblin is one of my favorite venues in the city… great service and of course food:):)  The decor was awesome thanks to Soiree Event Planning, Divine Weddings, The Little Flower Shop, Krystal Dreams Ice Sculptures, Planned Perfectly, Platinum Productions, Bel-Ayre Rentals, Design Manitoba, and Ayoko Design.  Oh, and the Vodka Martini’s by by Siku… yum!  And then the desert… double yum!!  Chocolate Zen and The High Tea Bakery never fail:)  After some good eats, The Danny Cramer Event Band rocked into the night and we all had fun in the Rockbooth!  Thanks to everyone for coming and I can’t wait until next year:):)  I’ll see you all throughout the summer I’m sure:)  Thanks!

The Awesome Jeremy Dueck & Rebecca Croft

Man this makes me thirsty just looking at it!

This guy is amazing!  Danny Kramer Event Band!

The Queens of the Rockbooth!

The Little Flower Shop, Divine Weddings & Soiree

A Honey Stetson Sandwitch:):)  Awesome person and awesome name!

Mike & Zhara from Tinholt Photography + their new little cutie!!!

Bond and his wonderful wife from BLF studios… expecting very very soon!

The awesome Emma from Events by Emma and her team!

me:)  Thanks Ray from Aldo’s for the cool suit!

No a party without Lucky Girl in the house!

The coolest wedding dresses in the country… Atelier!

Two Chicks!

The two Rebecca’s… they’re actually enemies, LOL!

Awww… cuteness!  Rebecca Rocks!

This is totally Chris:):)

Double cuteness… one of these is Sean from A Moving Pictures :)

Luck Guy:):)

Danny Kramer and his Band!

Pink Elephant in the house, yah!

And the Gates crew, thanks guys and gals!!!!

Some of the gang thought it would be fun to hit the shore and brave the giant crashing waves.  I’ll be honest… I was happy to stay dry and capture the action from above:)  Check out some fun pics below and stay tuned for a video today!  The good thing that came out of everyone getting soaked was shopping for new (and dry) clothes before we left the town.  Oh yah, and Kenny got is 5D II a little too wet and it needed to take a break for the day, LOL!  I think it dried up by the evening:):)

After that we drove back to Ravello and toured the town with nice weather this time.  Very beautiful!  At the end of the day near sunset when the town was closing up, Kevin Swan and I were enjoying a beer when a nice man sat down and started to ask questions.  Before we knew what was happening, many of us were escorted to his wine store for some “Free” wine tasting.  I made it out without a purchase but I think a couple members of the group came home with a few boxes of wine, LOL!  What a great salesman he was:):)  We spent the rest of the evening drinking wine and speaking Irish (not sure why), LOL!  Good times!  Enjoy!

Napoli is the birth place of Pizza so you can guess what we had for lunch… yum!!!  We had a great time touring around for the rest of the day and ended with a fun shoot with Stevi & Matt on the rocks in front of a wicked castle.  We headed back to Amalfi for dinner and stayed up late taking pics in the dark streets of the town.  You have probably seen the lest pic at the bottom of the post before:)  This was one of my favorite captures!  It was just so peaceful to be standing out in the ocean in the middle of the night in Italy:):)  Stay tuned for more and enjoy!  Thanks!

Almost all of these pics were edited in Lightroom using the new Totally Rad Actions for Lightroom… very awesome set!

Finally, the sun came out!  We stopped at Atrani and headed down to the ocean for some model pics with Stevi & Matt Savage and a group camera toss by Kevin Swan.  Crap did we ever get wet!  Waves were killer, LOL!  Shane and I spent the rest of the afternoon walking up the town of Atrani… what a maze up the mountain… would hate to live up top! (or would I love it…hmm).  A beautiful view from high up into the ocean:)  Next was another great evening of wine and spirits:)  Stay tuned for more!

First off… I have to give a huge congrats to Canada and all the other athletes for an amazing Olympics!  What an inspiring two weeks!  I was able to keep up a bit while in Italy, and then took in the closing ceremonies as soon as I got home.  I’m not sure why, but these Olympics really demonstrated how important the games are to us.  Not just Canada but the world.  I was so proud that everything came together and Canada did an amazing job!!  I miss them already:):):)

Now finally I get to post this!  Should have been up in January but unfortunately I have been doing a lot of procrastinating:):)  I am indeed looking for some great help in 2010 and beyond.  This is a tough one because I’m not 100% sure of exactly who and what I am looking for:):)  I’m just gonna post this and see what cool stuff comes my way!  My specialty in my past corporate life was recruitment and I never thought I would be going back to that, LOL!  So I will break it into two parts… 1) internship and 2) second shooting.

1) Internship

I guess one exciting thing I can announce is I already have one intern for 2010… welcome aboard Jen… so excited!

I plan to step up my game even more this year and I have no interest in doing it all on my own.  I’m the kind of guy who loves to work and collaborate with others so I’m so excited to see what grows from this! One of my most important goals is to have more face time with my clients… getting to know them better and not to get stuck in front of the computer all year!  I want to take photos damn it!  LOL!  It’s not definite yet but here is a list of what one could be doing in this position…

Here is some criteria to who and what I am looking for…  If you are interested in photography, design, marketing or even administrative work and think you want to break out your creative side, then great!  You will get all of it:):)  I would say (and this is my opinion) that a position like this would be an alternative to going to school.  You would be working with me all year, learning and practicing everything I know:)  I will be taking the time to mentor you in photography and the business.  At this point it is an intern position which means no cashola.  You would need to be available for 15 to 20 weekend weddings this year and anywhere between 8 to 20 extra hours a week in the studio or other location.  Sound fun yet!?!

NOTE: If you have already established a business of your own, have a blog, book weddings and other photography gigs… you need not apply. Sorry peeps!  For these positions, I am looking for a couple people who can put all their effort and energy into growing my business and not their own at this point.

The intern positions will last for this year and will likely grow into something even cooler like associate photographer positions in 2011.

Interested now!?!  Well please send me an email to curtismoore@moorephotography.ca or give me a call at 204-688-4186.  I can’t wait to hear from you!

2) Second Shooters

What a great way to learn and have fun doing it!  Any weekend I have off during the year you can be sure I am spending it shooting with another photographer!  This is of course less of a commitment… it could be just one wedding out of the year.  You would of course need to meet a certain level of photography knowledge plus have the needed equipment.  If you have any questions about second shooting and would be interested… please send me an email to curtismoore@moorephotography.ca or call me at 204-688-4186.

Here is some info from The Becker about second shooting that may help… http://www.thebschoolblog.com/index.cfm?postID=24

Thanks so much for stopping by and I can’t wait to work with some awesome people in 2010 and beyond!!!

Oh yah!  If anyone who reads this blog that might know anyone interested and good for this, please send them my way!!!  Thanks!

Here is an awesome video I just saw so I’m posting it for fun! Enjoy!

So every year I make sure to invest in at least one good destination workshop.  I have only been in business for two years and these workshops have been one of the largest contributors to my success:)  So many great photographers that have made it their passion to share their knowledge with others. Each workshop I have attended over the years has allowed me to take giant steps forward in my business!  They have always come at the best time to inspire, motivate and teach me to be a better photographer, make a better business and just be a better person:):)

2008 – Mike Colon 4-day workshop – California

What an amazing trip! Mike Colon is one of the worlds best wedding photographers… you know… the $20, 000 guy:):)  Probably one of the coolest guys on earth… so nice and easy going!  Met some great people, made some awesome friends and learned a crap load about photography and the business.  Plus it was nice being in Beautiful California!  If you have the opportunity, learn from this guy!!!

Check out a post from way back then… CLICK HERE

2009 – Cliff Mautner 4-day workshop – Philadelphia

What a master of light this guy is!  This workshop really changed the game for me:)  I was once concerned with location choices, framing and posing but it’s all about light for me now!  Similar to how a cinematographer approaches a scene in a movie and how to light it… that is what I love to do.  Every shoot I do is different because lighting is always changing depending on the time of day or year.  Thank you Cliff Mautner!!!!

Check out a post from way back then… CLICK HERE

2010 – Kenny Kim Photo Venture 7-day workshop – Italy

And now for 2010!!  I’m always trying for bigger and better things so how about a week travelling through Italy with Kenny Kim?!?  Umm… yes!!  So excited!  I’ve never been and the countdown is on:):) So far, these workshops have been life changers and I expect the same for this one.  Here are some details about the tour… CLICK HERE.  As per usual, this crappy Winnipeg weather has kept me couped up and itching to get out and shoot… what a great way to start it off!  So very excited to see Italy, make some new friends and learn more about photography and myself!  March and April is gonna be all Italy on the blog baby!  Stay tuned:):):)

Oh yah… one of my goals for 2010 is have at least five adventures with my wife:)  Amanda is coming out at the end of the workshop so we can spend a week together… can’t wait!