For the third time since I’ve started this blog, I’ve decided to change directions.  There are enough sites out there that provide tutorials and tips for photographers on how to save money, and they can do it much better than I can.  In addition, the whole point of me starting a website to begin with was to feature my own photography, and I began to feel like that was taking a backseat to some of the other things that I was trying to do with this page.  Sure, I would showcase a photo each week and highlights from different things I was doing and places I had gone, but beyond that, there was very little focus on my portfolio and that is what I hope to accomplish with this new version of the page.

Instead of focusing on this blog, I’m going to put more attention into creating a better portfolio.  The blog will remain, but only as a means of sharing specific projects and other vital information about the work that I am doing.  Regularly scheduled posts, such as the weekly recaps, will no longer take place.

Other than the obvious appearance changes, some things that you will notice are that I have minimized the number of sections on the menu bar and changed the layout of the portfolio.  I have removed the links to the store page as well as the tutorial page that I was working on.  I have also consolidated the photos in my portfolio onto a single page rather than spread out amongst six or seven different subject pages.

If you’re still interested in seeing photos from some of the random things that I do, I recommend following me on Flickr or JPG.  There’s also my rarely updated Twitter page.

My favorite of the set if being POTW didn't tell you.

I hate large crowds almost as much as I hate mushrooms, so going out somewhere to see fireworks on the Fourth of July isn’t exactly my idea of a good time, especially when I see people camping out for spots at 2:30 pm for a 9:30 pm fireworks display.  I can think of so many more things that I’d rather be doing with my time than that.  At the same time, however, I also have a five year old little girl that loves fireworks, so like many people end up doing for the holiday, we decided to purchase our own fireworks and have some fun at home, and, of course, I had to have my camera there.

What follows are some of my favorite photos from the set.  To do this, I set my camera at an aperture of f/10 and an ISO of 100.  For the shutter speed, I set my camera to bulb and tried my best to manually time each exposure based on what each particular firework was doing.  It didn’t always work out the way I liked, and there are several in my complete set that are almost completely whited out, but for the most part,  I was able to get some decent shots.

Check out a few of my faves after the jump.

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