Chase Lester Photography

Ballet

2011-03-15T07:15:00.002-06:00

So I must say, I am a fan of ballet. I have never actually been to a ballet, but the dancing and art is very beautiful. Last year, around this same time of year, I wanted to do some ballet portraits. After asking around, a good friend of mine introduced me to some awesome dancers. We ended up doing some studio shots, which at the time I thought were very awesome shots. We did end up with some fantastic results. The issue now I think was I was just starting out in learning studio lighting, and in general was still picking up on how to really shoot photography. I could produce results that were great, but after a years growth, I can do much better now.

Over the course of this past year, I have deaply studied using artificial lighting (small strobes and large studio lighting) in most all my work and balancing that light with ambient light when not in a studio situation, such as outside in sunlight. Now in most all my work I use studio strobes, whether I am inside or outside. And one reason I do this is because the light creates some very unique looks, and adds drama and emotion to the photo, much more then ambient light alone can do. Some refer to it as creative lighting. It can become quite a burden though somtimes when hawling all this equipment around. But its worth it.

So feeling I have grown quite a bit this past year in my style and in my knowlege, I decided to invite these two dancers back into the studio for some updated shots. I believe what we came up with was a hundred times better then last year! Now what do you think about these shots?

And here is another awesome thing! I am giving away a fine art print of one of the ones on a black background! A 16x20 mounted on hard gator board ready to be hung in your house! How do you win? Its pretty simple- Head over to my fan page on Facebook and hit the like button at the top if you have not already. Then hit the tab called suggest to friends, and suggest to your friends! Once my page gets to 225 likes a random genorator will select a number. When someone likes my page it puts them on the top of the list of people that liked my page, which in essence they are the "xx" person to like my page. If you were the 190th person to like my page, you will have the number 190. Thats where the random number genorator comes in. The number it choses will be whoever liked my page at that number. And that person is the winner and will recieve this fine art print! Good luck and thanks for stopping in!

This past month

2011-02-17T07:33:00.003-07:00

Well, as I said in my first post this year, I wanted to be more active on this blog. I have become more active on my fan page on facebook, though I really would like to get this blog up and going more often. I have had quite a bit of shoots over this past month. I will go over a few of the shots from these shoots in this post. Though I would like to post per shoot, but that will be a future try. Anyways, why don't we start.

This photo is a bit outdated. Its my boy's 8 month photo. Since then though my little boy has actually turned 9 months, so I will have to update soon with the nine month photo. But anyways, this shoot here is something my wife and I have been doing since he has been born. It portrays his growth every month. We have done the exact same photo with him in his rocking chair and his stuffed animal since he was two months I believe. Once he hits one year, the photos will become every other month or so.

A new model contacted me wanting to do a shoot with me. This was from our studio shoot. A more business look here. I have started a new venture in my photography, which is micro stock. I now contribute to micro stock. If you are unfamiliar with it, its a place where businesses or really anyone can go, and search a photo topic and find thousands of images to download for whatever use, commercial, school, business meetings, advertising.... etc. I have been shooting and uploading since the beginning of this year. And that is what most of my recent work is for. If you are interested in helping me on this venture by any type of modeling, do contact me and we can throw around some ideas!

This was actually a shot I did last year in a shoot I was invited to participate in with a close photographer friend of mine -Erica Newell-. I shot this on a medium format Hasselblad film camera. The reason its part of my portfolio now is, I recently developed it in the darkroom and scanned it into the computer. I really like how this turned out. Film to me is exciting for the fact of the anticipation of what it will look like! And the lighting and mood in this photo turned out fabulous!

This is Elle. I had shot her and a friend last year in a dance photo shoot and wanted to get her in the studio. I have seen these type of portraits around from photography friends, and love the look. So I have started to shoot similar beauty type shots. From this shoot, it turned out very well. I really liked the end result!

This is Elle again. This was fromt he same shoot. I had planned on doing a creative nerd shoot, and that was the initial reason she came to shoot in the studio, but the creative nerd shot I want to do, got pushed aside. But I wanted to edit one from the shoot we had. This turned out very well, and very funny!

This is Camille. Her mother is a photography friend of mine. Camille likes to help out with modeling when she can, and she agreed to help me in my micro stock venture. So for this shoot I had her dress up as a nurse. This shot was one of the favorites from the shoot!

This is Rachel. She is a friend of mine, who so very often likes to step in front of the lense. She usually has brown eyes, but when she showed up to the shoot, she was wearing these blue contacts. Which I new would look really awesome in the shots. This shot was one of the favorites.

These last two images were from last weekends shoot. I have been trying to shoot my friend Zeb again, for a while now. He is a busy man. He works for United Way and does much good for that company here in Utah. We wanted to do a busines type shoot. The top image was a friend of his that came and helped out. The bottom image is my friend Zeb. Tired worn business man with a fan blowing his tie and the papers infront of him. It turned out really nice.

I will be updating more photos hopefully from all these shoots, and of course more photos from the shoots I have coming up. Gotta get into the habit of blogging more! So busy, and so many things to do! Thanks for stopping by. If you would like to step in front of the lens, you can contact me at gmail- chaselesterphotography@gmail.com

New year 2011

2011-01-28T08:37:00.004-07:00

Well, I am trying to make a comeback to my blog here. I am hoping to make this blog more of an active one. I have not been around on it for a while now, and have seen the numbers of visitors drop because of my inactivity. I have revamped myself for 2011. With the release of my newly designed website (still working on a bit), which you can go view at www.chaselester.com, I have decided that I would also like to be a more active blog poster so that I can share more in detail of the shoots I have, and everything else that happens to me in the photography world and in my life. I have already had quite a few shoots this month and have a couple more before the close of the month. So come back to see whats going on in my life. Here is to the first post, of many more to come in 2011!

As a parting to this first post, I thought I would share a new piece of gear I just got in the mail this week. A photography product table. I finaly got it set up last night, thanks to the help of my wife, who pretty much had to take apart the progress I made on putting it together and re-put it together due to me reading directions wrong. I thought after it was together I would give it a go. This leaf has been begging to be photographed for a while. This leaf has been naturally aged by the elements- Mainly a bunch of rain, then drying out, then rain, then dry then rain, then snow, then wet, then dry. Its been sitting out in the driveway for months. Since last fall I think. So I finally picked it up and brought it in, and the results are very nice. The detail in the dead leaf is amazing.

Now if you want to see the detail a bit bigger, click here.

Thanks for stopping in!

Days 283-323

2010-11-20T10:16:00.003-07:00

Wow! Here are a ton of photos coming to you. I am finally getting around to updating this blog. We are nearing completion of the year for my 365. Not too many days left in the year. Well, take a look! Do you have a favorite from this set? Make a comment below letting me know!

Day 283

Day 284

Day 285

Day 286

Day 287

DAY 288

Day 289

Day 290

Day 291

Day 292

Day 293

Day 294

Day 295

Day 296

Day 297

Day 298

Day 299

Day 300

Day 301

Day 302

Day 303

Day 304

Day 305

Day 306

Day 307

Day 308

Day 309

Day 310

These are prints on metal. They are really cool!

Day 311

Day 312

Day 313

Day 314

Day 315

Day 316

Day 317

Day 318

Day 319

Day 320

Day 321

Day 322

Day 323

Thanks for stopping by. Sorry for the delay on uploading all these photos. I will do better throughout the remainder of the year to upload on a more frequent time frame as there are only 42 days left in the year!

Day 266-282/365

2010-10-10T20:24:00.002-06:00

Welcome to my inconsistent blog, where I wait to show you many pictures from my 365 project. Today I have almost twenty photos to post. Some were really fun to make! I hope you enjoy looking through them! If you have a favorite, let me know in the comments below! Here they are:

Day 266/365

I thought I would try out a photo in the style of Jill Greenberg. I would recommend checking out her work. You can google her. She has taken photos of crying babies, and mainly did so when Bush got re-elected for his second term. Babies cried I guess when he was put back in the white house for a second term.

Day 267/365

Smashing head ache this day. Ever felt like this? Not fun

Day 268/365

Objects in the mirror are closer then they appear.

Day 269/365

I grew up on mario, and thought this idea would be really fun to try

Day 270/365

What do you think? Should I start wearing my beard like this?

Day 271/365

Just me and Owen. He is getting big!

Day 272/365

My Dad had recent surgery on his neck. So that night I made this photo for him. He is doing well now!

Day 273/365

Upside down day! Make sure your items are well strapped in!

Day 274/365

I decided to have my eyes implanted into my hands. Its easier for me to sneak around corners because I dont have to show my face when looking around them!

Day 275/365

Since I am always on my phone updating this, and updating that, I decided to have it permanently attached to me. Easier to carry around!

Day 276/365

Yum yum, sour gummy worms!

Day 277/365

I was just trying out some new catch lights in my eyes. This one is a round circle catch light. Almost something you would get from a ring flash. But I dont own a ring flash.

Day 278/365

Somewhat the same thing as yesterday. But this time the catch light in the eyes are stars! Can you see them?

Day 279/365

Owen and I again! He loves light. And loves his photo taken!

Day 280 and 281/365

I thought I would show both these in a row since they are the opposite of eachother. The first day (280) is Hate. Something I am not a fan of at all, but am surprised that there is a lot of it around. The second day is Love (281). Something I think there should be more of in this world.

Day 282

Last one for today. Just me. With a contrast light and shadows. I am looking scruffy! I need to shave!

Thanks for stopping by! Check back again for more 365 day photos! Also coming soon with be my real official blog that will be more geared towards client shoots and showing client photo sets! Let me know what you think of my photos in the comment section below!

A bunch of 365 photos

2010-09-23T12:31:00.003-06:00

I have not yet caught up with the days I missed. But eventually I will be caught up. But for the time being, there are a bunch of photos you have not seen yet from my 365 days. So these photos in the post are from days I missed and also days after the ones I missed. I still have around 10 days to make up. Trying to do at least two a day, the photo for that day and a make up photo. That way I eventually will be caught up. Also the post before this one, I have a little free give away if you live in or around the area. You can win a free photoshoot with me! go check out the details here.

Now onto the good stuff! Here are the photos of recent that I have had a ton of fun making! Which one is your fav? Let me know in a comment below!

Day 234

This was taken right before school was starting. I never thought I would have to take calculus, but apparently I do. I was not looking forward at all to this class. But its not as bad as I though it would be. I can understand when things are done on the board. The only thing I struggle with is when I get home and have to do the things I learned

Day 235

Came home from school, and my head was about to pop. To much in one day!

Day 236

Sometimes I feel trapped. Its not a very fun feeling, but somedays if feels like I am in the movie "Ground Hogs Day". Ever seen it? Great movie. But horrible feeling.

Day 237

I had a wedding I was shooting, my wife was also with me, and while waiting for the bride and family to come out of the temple, I snapped this in my wife's sunglasses!

Day 238

I had a shoot that I was setting up for in the studio. While setting up, I decided to do some messing around. I am such a child! But rolling around and spinning on a chair is fun!

Day 239

Satch is a local skateboard clothing company. I have had the chance to do some of their products for them. I did their skateboard decks photos, and also these shirts! But of course this is not the product shot. This is just me goofing off again. If you are interested at looking at their decks or wanting to puchase a skate deck or a tshirt from them, you can contact them here

Day 240

Dont move or I'll shoot!

Day 241

This is a wide angle lens. Its 15mm f2.8. There will be some photos coming up that I did with this lens. Its my newest lens!

Day 254

Owen and I are having some fun!

Day 255

My wife and I went to the Utah state fair with some of the family. There were tons of vendors there, but among them was this tie company. Almost every tie they had I really liked. Usually tie places have very ugly ties. All I had was enough cash to get two ties from them at the time. But I hope to buy some more soon! They had lots of cool styles. Check them out!

Day 256

(This next one is a bit violent so if you have little ones looking with you, you might want to scroll past this one...) I got in a war with myself. Its not fun being in a way with yourself because someone has to win.

Day 257

My wife purchased this headband for me a while back so I could do a portrait of myself like the baby portraits where they are in a flower or a pot or something. But I never used it. So I decided to use it for this photo here.

Day 258

I wanted to do something on a darker background because so many shots I do are on white background. So i went into the studio and just started playing around. This is the shot that came out that day

Day 259

That picture of me leaning against the lens earlier was a wide angle lens. This is a shot using that wide angle shot. Kind of a fun lens to mess around with

Day 260

Using a flash light and a long shutter speed on the camera, I made this photo. I also used a flash to expose myself.

Day 261

Yet another shot using the wide angle lens!

Day 262

I love this kind of edit and lighting. Its more of a edgy look. Its kind of a ton of work to edit but the result is a fun one. Usually I pair this type of edit with a background but this time I didnt. It still turned out very nice

Day 263

This is similar to the day before, but the look is edited a bit differently. Its also a black and white shot.

Day 264

I bet you have not seen my son in a while. Last time you saw him he probably was about eight or nine pounds. Well he has put on some weight since then. And his hair has grown quite a bit too!

Day 265

Can you believe there is only 100 days left in the year? Kinda crazy! This edit here is the same process as day 262 but with a background and a few more things done to it. I first was going to make myself jumping from the roof with the umbrella but the end result looked better then me jumping off the roof.

Thanks for stopping by! Dont forget to enter for a chance to win a free photo session! Keep coming back to see more of my make up photos and continuing on with the day to day photos!

365 day project- September photo session giveaway!

2010-09-09T18:12:00.004-06:00

Alright, so I admit I am behind on the project. Uh-Oh. So much for a picture a day. Though I plan on getting back on track. Things just have gotten busy with school starting. Here is where you come in. I am asking for your ideas, ideas that I will try to translate into my 365 day project. I plan on stepping into the studio this weekend and busting out catch up photos. I will be posting the catch up photos through the weekend and the next week, up until I am caught up.

What's in it for you and your idea(s)? Well, I think it would be fun to see how I translate your idea into a photo! If you are familiar with my 365 day project you know what kind of things I have done. If not, take a look through my photos. However, your idea surely does not have to stay inline with what I have done. Your idea can be way off in left field! But wait! Thats now all! This will be my September photo session giveaway! August was the first month I gave away a photo session... for free! Thats right. A photo session with CD of your digital prints... free! These monthly free photo sessions wont last long so better enter! The free photo session is also helping me build a stronger portfolio. So its a win win situation for you and for me.

So get those ideas rolling! To give me your idea and to be entered into this months free photo session giveaway, leave a comment below with your idea! Random.org will be used again when the winner is chosen. Winner will be chosen on the 27th of this month! You can enter twice a day as long as there is another idea for me to try and make into a photo! The more you enter, the better chance you have to win! But once I am caught up on the 365 project, the contest is closed. So come back every day and give me your ideas as long as its still open! Locals only for contest. If you live outside of the the greater Salt Lake area, travel fees will apply if you want a on location shoot! Or we can do a studio session. Studio is down town SLC. If you live too far from me I still would love to hear ideas for me to try!

Want a photo session before trying to win? Lets get together! Email me at chaselesterphotography@gmail.com for more information!

Thank you for you help!

233/365

2010-08-30T21:33:00.000-06:00

Well I went on a vacation for a little over a week and put off my 365 while on vacation. So I am picking up right where I left off. Here is the continuation.

Breast Cancer is on my mind today. I have a friend who's sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is 15 years old! That is major young to get any type of cancer. My wife and I decided we would support Breast Cancer awareness. I have seen these bracelets around that say "I love boobies (keep a breast)" My wife and I both bought one from a local store. Which all the sales go to the cause. If you are interested in a bracelet or to check out more, go to www.keep-a-breast.org/ and to check out what there is to purchase you can access it from the website or go here: www.loserkids.com/category-exec/category_id/189

day 222-232/365

2010-08-29T18:34:00.002-06:00

Well, I have been on vacation for a week now. Finally back to being off vacation. Though, I postponed my 365 project by a week, for while I was away. These photos here, are from before my week vacation. And now I will pick up starting tomorrow where I left off when I left on vacation. Hopefully being able to upload everyday instead of taking the photo and putting it on hold till I have like 10 photos or so to upload from a weeks worth. Not promising anything though as school is starting up and I have some major hard classes to get through. So here is the last before my vacation. Then expect my 365 to pick back up tomorrow with the new photo and continuing on!

Day 222

Its very awesome how my son will just sleep like this. My wife took this photo as we both were catching up on some much needed zzzz's

Day 223

I was in the mood during this time to do some black and white photos (as you will see in the next few phots)

Day 224

Another Black and White photo. I love the look of black and white. So over these days I decided to see if I could make some photos that portrayed emotion

Day 225

Though this one is not black and white, there is some emotion stated here. I wanted to work on this photo a bit more with putting something in the darkness there in the distance. LIke stars or something. But time flew by and I didnt finish it. Maybe someday I will

Day 226

I must be emotion week. The final outcome of this photo here I like very much. Very edgy and the light is really nice.

Day 227

With all the low key black and white photos here, I decided to do a high key black and white.

Day 228

To beard or not to beard....That is the question

Day 229

Oakley contracted with me to do a series of photos. Well ok, they really did not. This is just the shirt I wear while shredding it up on the wakeboard!

Day 230

I love a good pair of Aviators, as you will see in the next few photos. I guess I just wanted to show them off

Day 231

Another Aviator photo. I found this pair on my dads boat after he bought it from my grandfather. This pair must have been in the boat from the late 90's

Day 232

And the big relaxing day before the vacation! Just lounged around and packed up a bit. I love lounging in a good pair of scrubs

221/365

2010-08-10T21:34:00.003-06:00

It was a pretty nice day outside today. Got to play some golf. I guess its always a good day when I get to do that. I didnt play all to well though. Thats ok, it still was fun! I almost wanted to do another shot outside today, but was a bit limited to my time. So I went in the studio and decided to play a bit with one light. Here is the photo I came up with:

Oh and dont forget to enter for a chance at winning a photo session with me! Just become a fan here then look through all my photos on the blog and let me know which you like on the fan page. That will enter you for a chance to win! More details on two blog posts ago! Check it out! Then enter!

220/365 Evening color!

2010-08-09T21:35:00.002-06:00

Wasn't it such a beautiful day? The evening was very nice too. I thought I would take my photo outside for this one! And the colors are awesome.

Dont forget to enter to win a free photo session with me! Check out the post below this one to find out how! I would love to do whatever it is you want photographed! Family, just you, your dog, cat, monkey, kids, or whatever!

Day 204-219 Time to catch up

2010-08-07T21:37:00.004-06:00

Win a free photo session! Whatever it be! You, your family, your kids, your monkey, or whatever! First things, become a fan here. Then come back here and take a look at all the photos in this post, head back to facebook and write on the fan wall of what photo you like best and why, and you will be entered to win! Session will take place in September or anytime after that when you wish. Winner will be announced by the 21st of August! Sorry, only Utah residence within or close to SLC. If you are outside SLC or farther away then Orem/provo area and Bountiful-ish area, then traveling expense will be expected! So all you Hawaiian residence please enter!

Well once again I find myself way behind and need to catch up. Here are the photos from the last week and a half or so! Some were pretty fun to do! Whats your favorite?

Day 204

Taste the double complete rainbow! The idea for this somewhat came from this video. Not sure if any of you have seen it, but its pretty funny. I was probably eating skittles at the same time as watching this video and thus came this photo:

Day 205

Its been such a nice summer and we rarely have taken opportunity to use the family boat. But we went recently and I decided to avoid putting on sun screen. I guess that was a mistake. I am not known as having a dark complexion anyways, so being very white doesn't help the cause of not having sun screen on at all either. Thus a sun burn was my punishment. Can you tell I was wearing a hat?:

Day 206

I really have no idea at all where this came from. I have been having some weird dreams lately, but this one probably would top them all. Anyone want to take a stab at what it means? Its like out of a scene from ghost busters, but I was using a tube roll from a paper roll as my ghost buster gun, and I was trapping myself with the gun and trying to capture me in a ghost busters trap thingy which is a tissue box. Crazy dreams... huh? Well here is my picture portrayal of that dream:

Day 207

I just though it would be cool to see what it would be like to have my hand on fire, and then to stare at it all intently:

Day 208

My brother wanted to see what it would be like if I were to smile, and frown, or be straight faced at the same time. Its not the easiest photo to edit to make it look good. But I gave it a go:

Day 209

I have been working on a new style lately. I thought I would give it a go on another one of my 365 day photos. I have done this type of style on other clients, and a couple times on myself. But this one I thought would be pretty fun. The process is quite the difficult one. So I am still working on getting the look just right, but this one turned out pretty good. What do you think?

Day 210

Well if I had the time when I was working on this photo, I would have cut myself out and placed me on a background where the sun was setting. But I settled for what I got in the studio. Kinda looks like I am staring at a sunset....right?

Day 211

I have had this image in my head for a while. I wanted to add some chainsaws in here, but I dont own one to take a photo of. So I just used multi colored balls.

Day 212

I had the idea to do a color wheel t-shirt type photo. The colors are not exactly the same colors you would find in a color wheel, but the colors are very fun! This was a fun photo to work on:

Day 213

I kinda like the look here, but still think its missing something. Like me holding a champagne glass with red whine or something in it for a nice color punch to the photo. But I still like the look here:

Day 214

This one made me laugh. When I was younger I used to be a magician. I even worked in a magic shop doing magic when I was in high school. I still know a few tricks, and love showing little kids, because they believe in magic more then those that are a bit older. And its fun entertaining little kids! Grown ups just bug you till you tell them how to do it. Oh well. Magic is still fun. But I have decks of card laying around and thought I would do something fun with a deck. Here is what I came up with:

Day 215

Alright, I must admit this is probably one of the most fun photos I have done so far. And the editing worked out awesome. My dog was a good participant also. This is such a fun photo I think. So far those that have seen it have just laughed. I hope that I get a laugh out of you from this, as that is what I try to do with my photos, is to give you guys some type of enjoyment looking at them. Anyways here is the photo:

Day 216

The giant me came out to do some stomping. I dont know what we all did to deserve this, but he really needs to climb back up the magic bean stock. I have such fun making these photos. Though I wanted to add a background to this photo, as I think stomping through a city would have added a bit more too it. Still fun:

Day 217-219

With the next three days, I decided to play a bit with grids. Grids are things that go over the light to control the spill of light onto other objects in the room such as the background. It really just helps the light travel strait instead of giving to much spread to the light. The result is a darker background. The background in the next three photos is a white background, but because the light is kept from hitting the background too much, the result is that white background turning grey to a dark grey or even black. I thought I would play around a bit with the technique. Here are the three photos in those three days

217- One light used, which was a huge octobox

218-Two lights used with grids. One on the back for a bit of rim light. The front light this day was changed to a beauty dish

219- The same type of lighting as the day before

203/365

2010-07-23T10:48:00.003-06:00

Well here is day 203. I had an idea of just painting the twitter bird on a white background, but once I took the photo and brought it up on my computer, I drew the bird, then I drew the clouds. I thought oh, thats looking decent. then I drew the flowers. Then I drew the hill and the sun. I thought to myself, what a wonderful world.... lol.... no, I thought, there needs to be color. So I colored it all in. I couldnt stop just at the bird... and this is what I got! LOL

Do you twitter? Follow me! Let me know that you saw this photo and I will follow you!

Welcome to my world...

201-202/365

2010-07-23T10:44:00.002-06:00

Getting closer to updating everyday... Well here are a couple for ya

Day 201

Every got in a rubber band war... I have. Can be fun, but if snapped wrong, can leave a nice welt!

Day 202

It was our anniversary. Every year we do a photo on the day of our anniversary. So here is the one for this year!

Thanks for stopping by again and checking out my photos.

189-200/365

2010-07-19T17:55:00.003-06:00

Well today we reached another milestone in the 365 day project. Its day 200 today. So I thought since its been about 12 days since I last caught up on my posting. I would do it today! I am such a slacker... so here we go from day 189!

Day 189

The power went out this day for quite sometime. So I had to improvise in my studio. So using a flashlight, I did this:

Day 190

With my lil boy:

Day 191

I got in a fight with myself... It was not a fun experience

Day 192

Played some bball with my dad and bro on this day. The pic could be much better I will admit. But it was getting dark and I wanted to incorporate some motion into the photo

Day 193

Been so tired lately, It would be awesome if I could have two days of strait sleep!

Day 194

Yummy gummy in my tummy!

Day 195

Dirty mouth? Clean it up!

Day 196

I have felt so like this lately. Nothing seems to be flowing to me. I just get down on myself sometimes and wish I was more creative...

Day 197

My dog knows how to play Light as a feather, Stiff as a board!

Day 198

Droid X!!! Got one for my wife and I

Day 199

Well as the photo describes.... Brainfart! Seem to be getting a few of these lately

Day 200

Wow, can you believe its already day 200 this year?!? Crazy isnt it? Well I have been a bit down on myself lately. I am a very tough critic towards my own work. Not only with my 365 project but also client work. Also wishing I could move things along somehow with getting more clients and such. I am really ready to be done with my day job. But until photography can cut that bill then I will be doing both! I saw this idea from another amazing photographer Steve Hansen and the idea seemed to click, because I have strugled lately with my own work and how critical I am wondering if it is really good or not. So I decided to give his idea a spin and try and make it towards how I have felt lately.

Thanks for stopping in. I really wish I could get back on track with posting everyday! Hope you enjoy looking at my photos as much as I enjoy shooting them! Want some work done for you or/and your family? Shoot me a message to chaselesterphotography@gmail.com or call at 801-403-7875 to set up a consultation!

188/365 Story time!

2010-07-07T20:46:00.002-06:00

Well once again today I was not sure what to do. So I went out with my studio and stared around for a while trying to be creative today since I don't think the last few days were very creative but more showing what life was like day to day. But as I was staring around my eyes came in contact with the rocking chair in the photo and immediately this photo came to my head, and I went for it. It turned out very nice and was very fun to do! Click here to see larger and on black!

day 184-187

2010-07-07T20:39:00.003-06:00

Well here are the last few days of my life in photos

Day 184

This is a late fathers day gift. My wife had this idea and went with it. I think its awesome!

Day 185

This was a yummy yet fun cake my wife made for the fourth of July weekend. The way its made you cant see that it looks like a flag. Then when you cut into it, it looks like this:

Day 186

Just thought I would poke fun at myself, LOL

Day 187

Well, I kind of had a brain fart this day and wasnt sure what to do. I had an idea in my head of what to do with the photo while editing and that didnt work out, so I ended up with this. Oh well. Some days you just cant win

day 172- day 183/365

2010-07-02T18:11:00.003-06:00

Ok, so here we go again. There are tons of photos to go through so take a minute and look at each one! Let me know which one is your favorite in this post!

Day 172

I think the photo says it all! Not much more needing to be said is there? Well....Love

Day 173

I was having a brain fart on this day, and not really knowing what I was going to do. As I went in to the studio to shoot this, I had the back light on which cast a shadow onto my backdrop. I decided it was better then any other idea I was not having.

Day 174

Seems this has become my life. Not that its bad, but I sure have been doing a lot of editing lately. I really enjoy it though.

Day 175

Met up this day with a bunch of photographers. I showed a few people some lighting techniques and also help a few photographers understand outside lighting with studio lights. This was taken shortly before the close of the eveing

Day 176

I think there is greatness in all of us, dont you? The wind was blowing my cape (well some fans really).

Day 177

I planted this bean outside that grew and grew until the stock went in the clouds. I should have never climbed up the bean stock

Day 178

Well, us triplets got together again for a competitive game of Jenga. As you can see there was a few bucks on the game, well $250 to be exact.

Day 179

Bleh, thats all...

Day 180

Sour Patch Kids are fun to eat, and Yummy. But not as much fun when one is eating you...

Day 181

I went shooting this day. Its been over 13 years since I last went shooting. I woke up with a bruised shoulder the next day.

Day 182

I finally got my business cards. I love them. My cousin, who is an awesome graphics artist designed not only my business cards, which also have the same look throughout my website and blog

Day 183

Well I think tomorrow its about time to bust this bad boy out! I got my wakeboard near the end of the season last year, so I think I only road this board once since I have owned it. I think it was about time to get my own, not that its bad to have a family shared board, but I wanted my own

days 161-171 Catching up again....

2010-06-21T19:03:00.003-06:00

Ok lets do some catching up on the posting. Each photo was taken on the numbered day shown

Day 161

Tag, your it!

Day 162

I dont really know what I was doing here, I guess the light was mesmerizing.

Day 163

I am watching you!

Day 164

Family photo! This was a very impromptu shot, per my mothers request. I would much rather plan out a day to do a better location and better shot. Oh well. Heres to you mother!

Day 165

Homemade Pizza! Need I say more?

Day 166

This is how I have felt lately. Not fun at all! Dang allergies

Day 167

Bouncing light! This was done with a bouncy ball that lights up!

Day 168

www.chaselester.com Have you been there yet? Go check it out!

Day 169

Light painting with a nightlight purchased from Ikea! It changes colors!

Day 170

My spoon is too big! This is a photo prop my wife purchased for me last week to use when I do my infant shots! The first client I had loved the prop! And the photo turned out awesome for her too!

Day 171

Satch. This is a brand new local Skateboard and snowboard company. They have a line of tshirts and also skate decks right now for purchase. I am doing their product shots for them. Check em out here!

Thanks for stopping by and checking my daily project out! Have any favs or just feel like leaving a comment? Dont be shy!

155-160/365

2010-06-10T21:36:00.003-06:00

Does it bug all of you that I have become horrible about updating lately? Well it bugs me too. Ever since the baby came I have fallen out of the habit of uploading my daily photo. I am still remaining faithful with the daily photo. Its a way of expressing myself and a way to keep my creativity going. Here are the last five days. Hopefully I will get on uploading from day to day again. Just bare with the lack of updating everyday! Thanks for viewing and stopping by!

Day 155--
Stinky dipers! Truth be told, he is not too stinky yet. Just though this would be funny!

Day 156--
Just trying out the power settings on the lights. I can get the power very low, which is a good thing! But they also have plenty of power if I need that. But with the lower settings of power I can get pictures with a blurry background. This can be seen here with me zoomed up on my face. As you can see, the blurriness starts to fall on the photo right outside of the focus of the eyes.

Day 157--
I bit into an apple and it bit back!

Day 158--
This idea came to me via my Aunt Renee. She said I should try something with pigs flying. This is what I came up with!

Day 159-- The Queen!!!
I have had this idea for quite sometime. I just didnt have a chess set to do this photo. But I was able to borrow one and I am really happy with how this turned out! I am very competitive in chess you know. Especially when playing against myself!

Day 160--

Well this is the type of style I have been working on lately. But now I decided to try and get all the way through the whole process. Going back on my 365 project the past week or so, you will see that I have edited myself (the subject not the background) like this in a few photos. But this is the entire process finished. What do you think? You can view it larger here.

Thanks for stopping by!

154/365 Using new lights!

2010-06-03T22:00:00.001-06:00

Well I am happy that the strobes I just purchased have so many power settings (stops) on them! I have a Alien bees 1600 (not used in this photo) and two Alien Bees 800 which were used in this photo! The reason I love the lights for studio work is I shot this at f2.8 which could not be done with the last strobes I shot with. Lowest was like f8 (which would not allow for so much blurriness in the background or foreground) with the other strobes because they had a ton of power. But thats why I got the 1600 so I could keep some of that power for when I go outside!

My baby boy!

2010-06-03T19:38:00.002-06:00

Here is a very cute picture of my son!

149-153/365 Catching up once again!

2010-06-02T19:50:00.002-06:00

So still sticking to the photo everyday. Just stinking it up with the uploading everyday. So here are the past few days of my 365 day project!

Day 149- Patty cake, Patty cake, baker's man

Day 150-Weekend is almost over. Wish it were just starting

day 151- Tug of war! My dog loves a good game of Tug of war!

day 152- bleh so tired

day 153- New light set up!!! UPS still has my light stands and a few small things. But those will be here tomorrow!

148/365 Aggression

2010-05-29T13:24:00.003-06:00

Ok, so I guess I am a bit obsessed with this look these past few days. But the style is not quite there yet and I am trying to practice it to get it to how I would like it too look. A lot of the style has to do with how you light the picture too. So I am trying a few different ways to set up lights.

This is a continuation of this series. I have not done one in a while. This is the 3rd edition to this series. Hope by the end of the year, we will have a winner!

View On Black

146-147/365

2010-05-27T22:15:00.004-06:00

Well I have been liking a style of a photographer that is based in Tucson. His name is Joel Grimes. He has a few tutorial videos you can purchase to learn his style. I have been watching those and attempting the style. These past two days are my first trials. Its really only half of what he does to his photos as he adds a background. I will be attempting the full out photo this weekend. But in the mean time here is what I did. Day 146 my lighting was a bit wrong. Day 147 the lighting was a bit better as to how it should be to do this style. Here they are. Day 146 and day 147

142-145/365 Catchen up again

2010-05-26T16:03:00.003-06:00

Well once again, I am playing catch up on the blog! I have still taken a photo every day but have been slacking on loading them so here we go!

Day 142- I had a wedding that I shot on this day! It was my first Greek Orthodox Wedding. It was very interesting and fun to see how the ceremony was! Then after I shot at the reception. Day 142 is a photo of me at the reception. There was a girl there that kept asking me if she could take a photo. So I finally put the strap around her neck so she would not drop it. This is one of the photos she took, and I thought I would use it for my 365!

Well day 143 I finally got the baby's room all cleaned out with my studio stuff and moved into a bigger space to shoot in! It took quite some time to get it all cleaned, but now I have a space and so does the baby!

Day 144- Sometimes I feel like a real nerd. The glasses are 3D glasses that I took the lenses out of. I got the glasses a while back when I went and saw Avatar with my dad.

Day 145- Well, the studio lights that I have been using since the first of the year are actually on loan from my brother in law. He has now requested them back. So I wont get to use them for much longer. Its ok though because I ordered a whole studio set up and its on its way! So I will only be without lights for a day or two if any! Here are the lights that I have been using

141/365

2010-05-21T22:19:00.006-06:00

Well, I took this photo to play a little game over on my flickr page, which if you want to give it a try you can do here or on the flickr page. Its a simple game really. How many lights did I use to light the photo? Also if you are daring enough, what type of light modifiers were used? The hint is in the catch light! You can also View larger here

140/365 Messin' around

2010-05-21T20:58:00.002-06:00

Not that I am good at the guitar or anything. The piano is my instrument of choice. Check some of my music out here Just messin' around here in the studio!

139/365 Two Faced

2010-05-20T13:03:00.003-06:00

Have you ever known someone who is two faced? Well I have and still deal with two faced people all the time. Its kinda annoying isn't it? I had this idea for quite some time now, and decided to tackle it last night. I got tired and decided to finish it up today. Its not perfect but I wanted to be done so I can focus on day 140, which is today. I loved the movie The Dark Knight and this is where the photo idea stems from. Two Face in that movie gets burned real bad and I think they did a great job with how they made him look, unlike the batman from the 1990's.

135-138/365 Catching up with posts

2010-05-19T13:28:00.003-06:00

Ok, so rest assured that I broke no 365 day project rules with posting this many at once. I stayed within the rules by taking a photo every single one of these days. Now because I have been busy (as can imagine) with the baby being born, I am now posting my last few days of photos.
After a ton of emotions, and thinking we were going to lose Owen a few times through the pregnancy, he proved to be a fighter and fought through it and came out proving medical reasoning wrong. If you don't know what happened, my wife hemorrhaged at 8 weeks along in the pregnancy. They expected her to miscarry. This was the first week of bed rest. She remained on bed rest through the rest of her 28 more weeks of pregnancy.
At 15 weeks along, her water broke. This usually brings infection to you or to the baby or even both. If infection happens, they have to take the baby out because the mother chances losing her own life if they keep the baby in. The baby cannot survive out of the womb until at least week 24, and even then they have less then a 10% chance of living. The sack which the baby grows in can heal and feel back up with fluid, but when this happens, the doctors have no explanation and it is a very rare thing to be seen. Well my wife's did heal and feel back up with fluid. It was the first time in all of her doctors career that he has seen it happen. My wife had no infection at all. Every week was something to be thankful for!
Around 18 weeks we found out Owen would be born with only one functioning kidney. Which he has now. But you can live a full and happy life with one kidney. So we were fine with that. But there were a few scares when he was in the womb. He had one artery and one vain umbilical cord, which you usually have two arteries. This sometimes is a precursor to a chromosomal abnormality, and the baby only lives a couple hours outside the womb. Luckily Owen did not have this. At 36 weeks and a few days, he decided to come! Now we have our miracle baby!

Day 135

Day 136

Day 137

Day 138

134/365 He is here!

2010-05-15T14:07:00.001-06:00

Well here he is, after he was born! From yesterday. I will have todays up sometime in the next few days.

133/365 Looking Good

2010-05-15T14:03:00.002-06:00

Well, I am going to keep this short. I have one more to upload. I took this shot, and opened it in photoshop to edit, and at that very moment my wife's water broke. So I rushed her to the hospital, and ten hours later she gave birth! See 134/365

132/365 Swinging triplets!

2010-05-12T20:48:00.003-06:00

The other two triplets came over for a swing with me today. They are such goof balls. We also love to play video games! Though, its not always fun between us. As you can imagine, it gets a little tense sometimes. I think the other two are just jealous because I am the favorite of the triplets! LOL.

131/365 Chase, coming to a theater near you in 3D

2010-05-11T21:37:00.003-06:00

(Alright get your deep movie voice ready) This summer, the biggest blockbuster to ever hit the silver screen in 3D! Better then Hannah Montana Concert in 3D. Bigger then Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D. Even bigger then Avatar 3D. It's Chase! He is big! He is bad! and HE....IS......IN......3D!!! One Magazine Raves "This is 3D!!!" A well known critic gives Chase 3D 3 Thumbs up!!!

Ha ha. I got this idea today to do a 3D image of me. But if you don't have the red and blue glasses I wont really look 3D to you, just red and blue. So if you have purchased Hannah Montana 3D, or Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D, you should have the glasses! LOL. Don't I just leap right of the screen at you? Probably not really.

Coming Summer 2010!!!

130/365 My work station

2010-05-10T21:43:00.003-06:00

Today was a very productive day. Worked on more stuff, getting our home ready for the baby. There is still so much to arrange and set up, its crazy. Probably anther full day of work around here to get it to how we want it. Moving my studio out of the room that will soon be the baby's room and moving my studio into a bigger location in the house which will be awesome! Its real nice having a studio in the home, and also if I need to take the studio to a bigger space outside of the home, I have that option to, which I have done for shoots in the past, and will have some in the future! Well, here is my set up for my editing/work station. I know its not that exciting of a photo, but I really thought I would have more time to shoot and edit some of the ideas I would love to do for my 365. Hopefully soon though.

129/365 Happy Mothers day!

2010-05-09T20:42:00.004-06:00

For mothers day, I wanted the love I have for my mother to be shown and engraved for all to see. And what better way to show that then coloring on a tattoo with washable markers and taking a photo that will last for generations to come!

128/365

2010-05-09T13:43:00.002-06:00

This is coming to you a bit late. I did take it yesterday, so I kept within the rules of taking a photo per day. I just got really busy yesterday. We are working hard to get all the baby stuff ready for the little guy so we dont have to worry about it when he comes. I also went with my father to the movies. It is always nice to spend time with him when its just me and him. In between the madness I snapped this shot. It is now being uploaded. I will have todays photo up later also.

127/365 Failed

2010-05-07T23:17:00.002-06:00

Well, I decided to try something new today. I took a photo in the studio, which is what you see here, but the second part is what I failed at. I went to take an HDR photo at the local golf course to composite the studio photo into, kinda like a Joel Grimes look. I have never tried it, and after working on the HDR for hours, it never turned out how it was supposed to be. So I just decided to post the studio shot. Hey I tried right? I am going to study a bit more up on how Joel gets the HDR photo, so I can get the final product how I see it in my head. But until then, here is the studio shot from today.

126/365

2010-05-06T20:34:00.003-06:00

Today was kind of a lazy day. I came home after work and pretty much sat around. I should have done some things around the house to get things more organized for when the baby comes, but I was just way to tired. Oh well. The weekend is coming up right? I know this photo is nothing special. Just trying a new lighting set up. Very hard to accomplish in my little studio space. Soon I will have a bigger space to shoot in. But I have learned how to shoot in a very limited space which came in handy for a photo shoot I had a little while back that was done in a small area. Thanks for stopping by!

125/365 iHappy

2010-05-05T21:20:00.003-06:00

Well if I am ever let near money again it will be a phenomenon. Really, it will. This is our new family toy. Really for me, but my wife is allowed to touch. LOL. It is awesome for photoshop and Lightroom! 27 inches is much better than 13 inches, or so I think! My wife might disagree with me on this one. So I had this idea today for my photo and I think its pretty funny. My wife helped shoot it by pushing the shutter release.

124/365 Today I bring you....

2010-05-04T21:21:00.001-06:00

Today I bring you crap!!! It was a real busy day, so I am sorry. You get crap today. I have been working around home, trying to get things organized for when the baby gets here, and I need to get to bed soon, so I decided not to spend anytime tonight. I promise to have better things coming in the future. But today you get this. The light I used for this I bounced off of the balloons from day 100, which are a very silver reflective surface.

123/365 New trick!!!

2010-05-03T21:47:00.002-06:00

Today was a good day! Got a few things done at home. Still working on getting everything situated for the baby's room, but its starting to move along. Here is a new trick my dog can do. I didn't think he would stay on my back, but he did:

122/365 confusion

2010-05-02T20:24:00.002-06:00

Well today, I spent some of the day putting together the soon to be born baby's dresser. Dont you just hate the fun directions that come with some of the things you purchase at the stores? So much fun. Cant wait for the crib!

121/365

2010-05-01T23:03:00.001-06:00

Well everything is going well for my wife and I. She has made it to the point the doctors wanted her at, which was 35 weeks. So now if the baby decided to come anytime there would be no preemie issues. Though it would seem that the baby is going to stay in there for a bit longer! Well here is todays photo

120/365 Yum!!!

2010-04-30T23:43:00.002-06:00

Today was a busy day. We went to the specialist again today. Everything checks out with the baby. She is 35 weeks now, so not much longer to go! After we went to this new bakery in town that had some wonderful looking cookies and cupcakes. So we purchased a few. This one is a Raspberry Lemonade cupcake. It tasted very good. We took a relaxing evening to calm down from our busy day and watched some NBA playoffs. Anyways, here is the photo:

119/365 Keeps on going...

2010-04-29T22:15:00.002-06:00

Well, if it were not for my AB Energizer battery, I probably would not have made it past these last two days with it being the final week of school. Its almost the weekend, so hopefully I can catch up on some much needed rest and recharge my battery.

118/365 Lights on but no ones home...

2010-04-28T22:48:00.004-06:00

Today was my last film class of the semester. I still have two more photography classes and one last test in my online class. So the spring semester is almost over! Yeah! I dont really know what I was going for in this photo. Thought it looked kinda funny, but when my wife saw it she said, "oh, like the lights on but no ones home..." Well thanks sweetie for that one... LOL. If you look closely you can see my eye.

117/365 Heartless...

2010-04-27T22:24:00.000-06:00

Just a title... I am far from it I would hope. Just had an idea and went with it. It proved to be harder then I thought. And I still think it does not look all that good. Oh well. Thats how we learn right? By trying things out... That is what this 365 project is about anyways. I think the inner "walls" of where the heart shape is could be more convincing for sure. I wish I had the time to put into this photo to make it look more convincing, but since I need to get some sleep and I was playing around with this photo for far too long, I ended my editing with this. I at least like the lighting! LOL

116/365 Golf!!!

2010-04-26T20:26:00.003-06:00

Well, I used to be a huge golfer. I wanted to be a playing pro on the PGA. However after getting married, I think those wants changed. It was hard the first year or so of our marriage when I was always on the course practicing. So I changed my priorities. Kind of have to when its not just you anymore. But I still play a bunch. Ever since I started shooting photography professionally last year, I have not really had the time to get out on the course to play golf with everything that is going on in my life. I finally got out on the course today and played for the first time since last August. For those of you who play golf I shot +3. Not bad for not being on a course for that long. I still have a ton of fun playing, but its just for fun and competing for fun. Well here is the shot for today:

115/365 Balancing act

2010-04-25T20:44:00.002-06:00

Does life ever feel like a balancing act? It has been for me ever since I started shooting photography professionally. As of yet, if you have been following my 365, you would know I don't shoot full time yet. I wish I did, but some day I will. I have not been at it professionally too long though, so I am not too worried. Jobs are coming in, so thats good right? Coming up I will have a very hard balancing act because my day job schedule is changing, probably for the worst, and then when school starts in the fall, then it will be an extreme balancing act. But such is life right? Gotta do, whatcha gotta do. Especially when a baby is going to be here in the next few weeks! Well here is my pic for today:

114/365 My wife's Birthday

2010-04-24T20:48:00.003-06:00

Today is my wife's birthday. We celebrated last night for the most part, but today I went and got her a bundt from Noting-Bundt-Cakes. They are really good! Gave her a birthday gift too. We are about to lay down and watch another movie. Here is todays pic!

113/365 Simple

2010-04-23T21:13:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow is my wife's birthday, but because I have a photoshoot we celebrated tonight. Earlier today we went to the doctors again. Things are still progressing with the baby. She has not been feeling well lately though, so for the most part she is supposed to stay down. We are about to watch a movie and get some sleep. So today I did this simple head shot:

112/365 Poor, poor yellow shirt Chase

2010-04-22T21:15:00.003-06:00

Poor, poor yellow shirt Chase. He is always being picked on.

111/365 I Am Legend

2010-04-21T22:18:00.003-06:00

I kind of like taking a photo of myself and compositing it into another photo for a surreal look. Here is one I decided to do today. Kinda I am Legend feel to it! That is also a good movie. I have been wanting to do a photo that has this feel to it for a while. I did one a while back and composited myself into a beautiful sunset, but still was not the feel I was looking for. So what do you think? Do you like this style of photography? Its not a specialty of mine, I know there are photographers that are very good at it, but I still like to mess around doing this.

110/365 Dang allergies...

2010-04-20T20:56:00.002-06:00

Its allergy season for me, so I set my pills out on my dresser so I remember to take it every morning. However I totally forgot to take them today on my way out to work. I had an allergy attack and it sucked! Runny nose, tickle, sniffles, congested... not fun! On top of that my work only had these sandpaper type tissues, so over the course of work today my nose became really raw from having to blow my nose! Now it hurts and is all red. Horrible! Hope I can remember to take them on my way out tomorrow.

109/365 Dark

2010-04-19T20:57:00.002-06:00

Today we went to the doctor again. Yes we are going every week to two different doctors. After my wife was craving a little treat so we stopped at Target and purchased a few things. One of those things was for me. I, for some reason lately, have gotten to like dark chocolate. I recently tried 70% Cocoa dark chocolate and thought it was very good. Then today I saw 90%! Wow, I had no idea they made it that dark. I had to get it. Well I can tell you I have to eat it little at a time. It will probably take me a while to finish it all, its so bitter, but I like it. Anyone else had it this dark?

108/365 Playoffs...

2010-04-18T21:00:00.002-06:00

Well, the playoffs are going on right now. Not that I am a super bball fan, but I am known to cheer on my team here and there. Mostly in the playoffs though. During normal season I usually only catch a game if others are watching it. I dont think my team is going to get past the first round though. Oh well. Its just nice to see them in it most every year. I shot this pic while at my parents tonight. I brought my set up over there and was shooting for my final project in school that requires me to shoot my family members. So here is my shot for the day!

107/365

2010-04-18T00:01:00.002-06:00

Dont know how many of you have been keeping track of my pictures since day one, but if you remember this photo then you know that I hate both shaving, and facial hair. Wow, isn't that just weird? I hate facial hair, but I wont shave because I hate shaving too! But I love a silky smooth face. So now, it looks like, going back over my photos, that its been since day 92 since I shaved. Its really itchy right now. Just go shave already and get it over with! My wife hates the hair also! Anyways I thought I would share my uncomfortable situation with you all. Thanks for checking out my work!

106/365 Six-fingered man

2010-04-17T00:14:00.002-06:00

My father was slaughtered by a six-fingered man. He was a great swordmaker, my father. When the six-fingered man appeared and requested a special sword. My father took the job. He slaved a year before it was done...

...The six-fingered man returned and demanded it, but at one tenth his promised price, my father refused. Without a word, the six-fingered man slashed him through the heart. I loved my father. So naturally, I challenged his murderer to a duel. I failed. The six-fingered man left me alive, but he gave me these scars...

...I was eleven years old. And when I was strong enough, I dedicated my life to the study of fencing. So the next time we meet, I will not fail. I will go up to the six-fingered man and say, "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

What movie could this be? Its a good one! Here is my picture to go along with the quotes!

105/365 High Jump!

2010-04-15T21:20:00.003-06:00

So when I got home from school tonight, my dog came up to me and said "hey dad (thats right he speaks english), lets play". So I had the idea to show all of you how high he can really jump! Because to me, this is high. Anyone else have a small dog that has hops? Oh, he also speaks some spanish, french, and of course, since he is an Italian Greyhound, he speaks fluent Italian! Thanks for stopping by!

104/365 A little tickle

2010-04-14T21:31:00.003-06:00

I got the opportunity today to shoot with Kevin Winzeler. If you have not seen his work, go check it out! His commercial work is amazing! It was very nice to just follow him around and do some shooting with him. After that I just came home and relaxed. It was a very nice day overall

103/365 Stabbed!

2010-04-13T20:56:00.004-06:00

Ok, so before you go down and look at this photo, I should tell you a bit about it. In no way does this photo portray how my wife feels about me or I her. I had to shoot some photos for a project at school, and this was one of the ideas. Turned out pretty good I think. Kinda creepy and dark, but that was the topic for the assignment at school. So I shot this, and we headed out to meet a pediatrician that will now be our baby's pediatrician. Then I went from there to school. I had time to finish up the photo, and this is now what it looks like. What do you think?

102/365 The punt

2010-04-12T21:32:00.004-06:00

Well, I am still playing Mr. Mom. When I got home from work, my wife had a shopping list for me. So I headed to the store and picked up some groceries. I am not too used to finding things in the store, so what would have taken my wife maybe at most an hour, took me probably two hours. But I still found everything she had on the list. So it was a rather long successful trip! Well here is what came to mind today!

101/365 Hasselblad jump!

2010-04-11T20:11:00.003-06:00

This is the view through the lens of a hasselblad! Didn't really know what to do while being looked at through the hasselblad so I jumped! It turned out pretty good! Not much happened today. Just watch Phil rock it at the Masters, and hung with the fam!

100/365 Triple Digits!!!

2010-04-10T23:43:00.004-06:00

Wow. A 100 days of faithfully taking a picture every day and posting! Crazy to think I have gone this far and still going strong! I wont lie, its been hard some days to think of ideas. But those days are going to happen. So we just keep moving forward! Crazy to think I am in the triple digits. Thanks for everyone that has been keeping a watch on my photos and made a comment or sent a message about it. I love the support and it sure has been fun!

I had this crazy idea today that would probably have taken all day to shoot and edit, and I really had not time for that, so I collaborated with my wife and came up with a simpler solution! I waited in the car with our dog while my wife went in to purchase these three balloons and also a huge birthday balloon for our little niece who just turned three. When my wife came out with the balloons, both of the zero balloons came off the string and were carried away by the wind! Apparently the store people didn't tie them too well. My wife went in and said "here are the strings, can I get more balloons". They were kind enough to replace them. This time she walked out with the zeros in a huge bag so they could not do the same thing again.

Also look for my website to be up soon http://www.chaselester.com it should be up in the next couple of days. But please mind the newness of the site. Things will still be getting organized and photos added and dropped as I get it looking how I want it to. But I am excited for it to be up as it has said "coming soon" for quite sometime now. Now for the photo!

99/365 Mr. Mom

2010-04-10T00:00:00.003-06:00

Well, this was shot before the midnight bell. Just getting to posting it now. Well this picture has a story behind it. My wife has been put on complete bed rest again. She is 32 weeks along. We went to see the specialist again today, and everything looks good on the ultrasound and the baby is growing normally. However, today was the first day of stress free testing. Come to find out that the pains my wife thought was just the baby pushing up against her stomach, is actually contractions. She had quite a few during the test. She also had them all day yesterday. They of course dont want to deliver yet, so she is now once again on full bed rest. They told her that staying down will keep the contractions down for now. But we are to watch them carefully incase we need to go to Labor and Delivery at the hospital. Hopefully we make it to 35 weeks, though I think they want to see her really make it at least to 38. So once I again, I resume the roll as Mr. Mom:

98/365

2010-04-08T22:07:00.001-06:00

Had some awesome shoots today. First one was an infant, and she was very very cute! After that shoot I had to do some for school for a group project. So with some other fellow class mates, we met in the schools studio and did a bunch of fun shots for the assignment. Here is one of those shots:

97/365 Ballon Head

2010-04-07T18:49:00.003-06:00

Have any of you ever had your head stuck in a balloon? Its really hard to breath, thus the needle! I am having a hard time lately thinking about things to do for my project. I am going to blame it on my busyness right now. But soon school will be out, and I will have more time to dedicate to what I want to do. I have ideas, but the time its going to take to shoot and edit some of them are probably more time then I have in the next week or two. So those ideas are on hold. So I walked in the studio today, wondering what to do, saw a balloon on the floor, and this is what came to mind:

96/365 Exposure

2010-04-06T22:00:00.002-06:00

Not too much to report for today. Did two tests today, and took a photo. Had another Dr. appointment with my wife for the baby. We are going to have quite a bit to finish out her pregnancy. They will be doing a non-stress test to make sure the baby is happy in the tummy. If he is not happy, then he gets to come out early, which hopefully is not before three and a half more weeks. My wife will be past the preemie stage at that time (35 weeks) Anyways, thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment if you so feel inclined!

95/365 The dog is a licker

2010-04-05T21:36:00.002-06:00

Thats right, don't get too close to my dog or you might just get a kiss or fifty! Lol. He has been a kisser since day one! He just loves to give loves! But he is a cute boy anyways. He is a retired fake racer. We used to pretend he was a racer. He got to run at a dog track a few times while being trained to race, but we decided not have him continue on. He is the fasted dog you never met, but Italian greyhounds are fast anyways. But my dog Gus here, looks built to run because he has the longest legs of any Italian Greyhound I have seen! One day I will upload a pic of him standing. He loves to run. But loves to cuddle also. He enjoys long walks on a rainy beach....lol Jk, to todays pic!

94/365 Portrait

2010-04-04T19:37:00.003-06:00

Happy Easter weekend everyone! Its been a good one. And the meals were delicious! I wish it were Easter every weekend! Got to hang with family from both sides (the wife's and mine). For todays photo, I thought I would just do a simple portrait! Thanks for stopping by and checking it out! What were all of you up to this weekend?

93/365

2010-04-03T23:42:00.002-06:00

What a great day! It was really kinda busy though. But I got some pictures done for my end of semester school project. I am doing it on family. So I am taking portraits of each family member individually to show the uniqueness of each person in the family. So I was able to get some of the family shot on my wife's side today. After I was done with all the portraits today this was an idea I was wanting to shoot for a while now. The last time my wife was in the picture for me was 55 days ago and here she is again much more pregnant! Things are going well. She is not so much on bed rest as she used to be, but she still is on a somewhat bed rest. She is now 31 weeks along, so not too much longer to go... Well here she is with me for day 93!

92/365 Man in the Mirror...

2010-04-02T23:35:00.002-06:00

Hello knife... we meet again! Something strait out of a horror movie! Man in the Mirror. You wont catch him because he knows right when you are going to look up and the reflection will turn right back to yourself! Watch out... Knife in the back!!!

91/365 Long legs!

2010-04-01T22:02:00.002-06:00

I was messing around after photography class with a fellow student and she shot this of me. The light that you actually see in the left of the picture is not actually firing in this shot. It was not supposed to and didnt really need to be in the photo. But this shot is still very cool! Its really fun to see what you can do with little strobes!

90/365 A hard man's stare

2010-03-31T17:33:00.003-06:00

I really am not too big a fan of Wednesdays. Especially today. I got up at 3am and went to work. Got out of work at 12:30pm and went home. I finished up my essay that is due today in class. I usually would have plenty of time to shoot my picture before class but I took a nap instead. That didn't help much. So when I woke up I had thirty minutes till I had to leave for class (4:30pm). I am in class till 9:20pm this evening, so I decided I would hurry and take a pic to upload before class started. Well I was rushed a bit because of this. So here is what came out of todays session. A hard mans stare:

89/365 Like a kid again...

2010-03-30T20:33:00.001-06:00

...Well except I have a big bald head now. I started out doing a "many hats of Chase" and then when I pulled them all into lightroom this one stood out, so I thought I would just use this one. Its funny for some reason. This hat will be worn by my son someday. But he is still baking in the oven.

88/365 Splash!

2010-03-29T21:28:00.002-06:00

Well its post 100 on my blog and we are getting even closer to day 100!!! I had this idea today and went with it! It always makes a mess when using water in the studio and is kinda a bit scary around all my electronics. There was one of my small strobes used in this photo too that was in the splash zone. But I was not worried. I just had to clean up all the water after the shot. Three attempts were tried and this is the third. This was the best of the three. It turned out pretty nice! Didn't want to keep trying because it was making a mess. But here is the splash for today!

87/365

2010-03-28T18:33:00.003-06:00

This is a continuation in the series to this photo. Its a battle starting to get heated. I might have to take it outside! Who do you think is going to win? Me or......me?

86/365

2010-03-27T23:08:00.002-06:00

Busy busy day. We are trying to move my studio space into a new area because when the baby is born he is taking the studio space I am currently working in (our spare bedroom)! So we were cleaning out some room for me to move all my stuff into so I can still shoot my 365 and clients. After gathering things to donate to DI (kinda like Good Will, but its a Utah local business that resells used stuff for cheap), we went grocery shopping. Dinner was also on me tonight for almost my whole family. I fed eight of us from a restaurant I recently did some photography work for. Then we went to my wife's sister's home and we watched a movie with her and her husband. So while at their house I set up a light and had my brother in law pull the trigger of me and my little niece. HIGH FIVE!!!

85/365 Few of the many faces of Chase

2010-03-27T00:15:00.003-06:00

I really wish that the weather would make its mind up. It must have started and stopped snowing today like ten times. At least it stopped long enough and clear up enough for me to have my shoot! I was worried there for a bit. But it went well. We mixed it up a bit. Did some shots outside and then some shots in the studio! I stepped in front of the camera after to show some of my many faces. Which is your favorite?

84/365

2010-03-25T21:43:00.002-06:00

Have you ever had one of those days where it feels like you have your head on backwards? Well I guess today was just one of those days. Spent some more time in the darkroom tonight and came out with a print of a shot I did on a hasselblad a few years back. It turned out pretty nice! Thanks for stopping by!

83/365

2010-03-24T20:16:00.000-06:00

Had this idea for a while. However it could be a bit better. The shampoo could be darker so you could see it better. So just view it larger to see the detail. The reason for this shot is because every time I get in the shower my wife complains at how much shampoo I use compared to how much hair is on my head. I tend to use just a tad too much (or way to much according to my wife). I guess we differ on opinions on how much shampoo it takes to wash a bald mans head! Oh well. Heres to buying shampoo frequently!
View Larger Here

82/365

2010-03-23T22:13:00.003-06:00

Well I had a first today. Was the first time I have been in a dark room. It was pretty interesting. I started shooting on film years ago, and that is how I learned camera settings and exposures and such. But I always just sent the roll in to a lab that would do all the developing for me. But being a photography major in school, we get to learn all the fun stuff that the pre digital people did and used! So I am now learning the dark room. Well after all the fun stuff tonight at school, I came home and snapped this beaut and did some editing on it...

81/365

2010-03-22T19:36:00.003-06:00

Man, I do not feel well. I have no motivation to even try for some kinda wow picture today. So sorry for the blah picture, but this is how I feel.

80/365

2010-03-21T22:19:00.003-06:00

If you were deaf you would know what I was yelling. Well this was a fun picture to do. My wife was kind enough to help me all day today to accomplish my color assignment for school. This was one of the color ideas, but I used my wife for the actual school shot. We worked for a while in the studio doing different product shots. We also have one final one to shoot tomorrow which is the show stopper (hopefully). I will be using some of the shots in my actual portfolio and website (when I have it up). Some of the shots are very eye catching (I think). I will have to post some of them on here soon so all of you can see what I am talking about. Anyways, here is the fun shot for day 80! No editing what so ever. Those are christmas lights by the way.

79/365 orange splash

2010-03-20T23:41:00.003-06:00

This is what I was doing today for a school assignment! You should check the orange photo larger below the 365 day photo. It was a bit hard to time just right, but after a few tries it came out looking stellar! The assignment for school is on color. I like the orange color against the black!

Wanna view the orange larger then this?

78/365

2010-03-19T23:01:00.002-06:00

I have been tempted to try a shot like this one for a while. But I think I waited for it to get a tad to dark today. Though it was snowing/raining right before this. The thing that made me really go outside to take the photo on the street was the wet road, which you really cant tell to much anyways that its wet. It was very cold too, and my hands got very cold very quick. Next time I will wear gloves. I think I will try this again in the future but with a few changes to the set up, and also when its a bit lighter so you can see the background. So here I am freezing my buns off!

77/365

2010-03-18T20:19:00.002-06:00

Well this is a failed attempt at an HDR image. An HDR image is three separate images taken at different lighting settings on the camera and merged in photoshop to make a High Dynamic Range photo. You capture pretty much every detail and such in the photo. But doing it on a person is very hard because if the person moves at all while the images are being taken, they wont line up in photoshop. Two out of three lined up fine, so this is actually only two merged together. It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to look, so I did some more tweaking to the photo to get the end product you see below. I also added the black and white in post.

76/365

2010-03-17T20:23:00.002-06:00

Its raining light today. Good thing I have my umbrella to bounce the light!

75/365 Standoff

2010-03-16T21:34:00.002-06:00

So I have this idea of doing a story with pictures. I think I will start it off with this picture. Every week I will come out with the next picture in the series, but probably on a Saturday or one of the weekend days. So the next part of the series will be released this weekend and then on a week to week basis after that. So the first picture in the series is titled Standoff. As the story progresses these two will be duking it out to become either the saviour of the universe or the destroyer of the universe....

74/365 Puppet

2010-03-15T20:28:00.005-06:00

Sometimes this is how I feel. Tied down to life. I cant wait for the day when I can shoot photography full time. Well you wont get too many pictures like this because of how long it takes. This is three separate photos edited into one. The first is the background, which was the easiest one. Its a texture layer from a fellow flickr member who has tons of free textures if you are a photoshop person. The next photo was the trunk. I shot the trunk, made it taller in photoshop, isolated it from the white background I shot it on, and then added it to the texture background. Then shot myself on white and edited the white out. Put myself in the position you see and added strings. Quite the task for the final product. All done today. What do you think? I would love to hear from you!

73/365

2010-03-14T22:14:00.002-06:00

Just hanging around today. This weekend has been a very nice one. Kinda was sad to not have any shoots, but I kinda did it on purpose. I have been so busy with shoots and life that I needed some time up to catch up with some things. So I got to sleep in this weekend, and just chill. Hopefully I am refreshed because it picks back up tomorrow! Busy and me have a love hate relationship. I love being busy, but for the right purpose. I love shooting and have been happy that I have had so much to shoot lately, but when I am not shooting and its something else that is taking my time, sometimes I hate being busy. I will be out shooting again with hopefully more to show you other then just pictures of myself. Well here is todays photo.

72/365

2010-03-13T20:22:00.003-07:00

I have had this idea for a while now. Its kinda taken from the ipod commercials though. I really dont have a big enough space to shoot in to get the light on the background how I would like it, but it still looks cool. I really wanted to get outside and shoot some shots for my 365 project. However the weather has not been very nice lately. Its been snowing all day long! I am ready for the warm weather to come. I am itching to get outside and shoot. I have some really cool shoots coming up when the weather gets warm. So I really hope it gets warm soon! Well, have a wonderful one hour less of sleep tonight. Dont forget to switch your clocks forward.

71/365

2010-03-13T00:21:00.005-07:00

Today was a very long day. I went snowboarding for the first time this season. I am so tired right now. Its also past midnight. I have been working on my photo and to tell the truth I am so tired I decided to just be done with it and not try to get it looking perfect or close to. I hope I dont wake up sore from my snowboard experience today. I remember the first time out of the season usually is a muscle getter. So I guess we will see in the morning. Well thanks for stopping by!

70/365 The Tramp

2010-03-11T21:49:00.002-07:00

Recently, I got to watch one of Charlie Chaplin's movies in my film class. They really are some good movies even though they are 70 +/- years old. His character he is most known for is called "The Tramp". I decided to try and recreate that character. So what do you think?

69/365 What are you looking at?

2010-03-10T22:12:00.002-07:00

Wednesdays are hard. Well I guess its not exactly the Wednesday but the effect it gives me Thursday morning. I get up at 3am for work mon-fri, and on Wednesday I have class till 9:30pm and if I don't get my pic done before class then I have to do it after, such as tonight. Well here it is. Kinda what I had in mind but I wanted a bit more harder lines from light to dark, kinda like a comic book. But I like the end result here too.

I have another shoot tomorrow after work. They seem to be coming more, which is good. I feel I am getting better everytime I shoot! My lighting technique is also getting much better too. That all comes with experience and trial and error. Well here is todays photo!

68/365 Two faced

2010-03-09T21:34:00.003-07:00

I like a challenge and as you can see, there was some post edit work needed to accomplish this photo. Though this is a first time attempt, I think it looks ok. But I know there is probably an easier way to do this, and possibly a way to make this look even better. Though it was a fun idea I think. Lighting is fun to play with too. Every day I try to think of the lighting in a way that might help the photo look cool. That is the type of photographer I am. I love light and I try to incorporate it in every image, whether its for myself or a client, in such a way that it draws the eye in or maybe just adds a bit something to the photo. Lighting is so much fun because you can take a complete white background and the way you light the scene you can make the background look grey, such as shown in this photo. Believe it or not, that is a white background, but through lighting and camera settings, it appears grey. I do this in a lot of my self portraits. I think the grey helps the actual subject pop a bit more when the subject is lit properly. Well here is the photo for today!

67/365

2010-03-08T19:32:00.002-07:00

While out taking pictures for my school photography assignment, I snapped this photo for my 365 day project. I was able to take the studio lighting out because I got a battery pack that I can plug my studio strobes into! Awesome investment! Anyways, this photo was taken at my Dad's golf course. So here it is:

66/365

2010-03-07T20:29:00.002-07:00

I know that I did a very similar idea last week, but after doing it I knew that I would try something again like it. Using the magnifying glass is so funny looking. So I though tonight I would try it with the eye! Very funny result I thought. But what do you think?

On another note, I have been very busy these past few days. Had two big photo shoots that went very well. I hope to have some posted up soon from them. I continue on with this week, looking to be busy once again. I am not used to being so busy, but I am working very hard to become a good photographer. Well here is todays pic!

65/365

2010-03-06T20:27:00.002-07:00

Today was an awesome day. I had a very sweet photo shoot, and got some amazing pictures! Along with the shoot I had, my friend Zebulon, who works for United Way, came by with some Live United t-shirts and had me do some pics of a few people wearing them. Well after I got home from the shoot I had this picture in mind and went for it! Kinda a Super man type shot but with a Live United t-shirt under the nice shirt. What do you think?