What I have done during my summer; vacation?
I hope everyone has had a great summer so far. I have been busy!
Here is the latest news!
Cheers!
Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale's 
In June, I was hired by Charlie Palmer to produce the advertising images for his newest restaurant in Bloomingdale’s South Coast Plaza. The restaurant and its affiliated Next Vintage Wine Shop are located on the ground floor of Bloomingdale’s. I certainly recommend that you stop by if you are in the South Coast Plaza area for a drink in the beautiful bar, for a great meal at lunch or dinner, or to pick-up a bottle of wine from the Next Vintage Wine Shop.
Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale's
South Coast Plaza
3333 South Bristol Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
ph: 714.352.2525
www.charliepalmer.com
Charlie was at the restaurant as I was photographing it. He’s a really personable guy with great vision and I really enjoyed meeting him. To get a taste for the personality of Charlie and one of his dishes, check out this clip from a cooking segment that he did July 30th, 2008 on the Today Show.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/25916605/
The 4th of July on Bainbridge Island, WA 
My wife, Karen, and I were invited to spend the 4th of July on Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from downtown Seattle, at the home of our dear friends who live on the water’s edge. The “boys” did their work early in the holiday by assembling a couple of new deck chairs and putting up a new flagpole. After that, it was time to relax and enjoy the fantastic weather. The tall-masted ships sailed by through the morning fog and then it was off to the street fair. On the morning of the 4th, it was back to Main Street for the “big” parade. That’s Americana! Back at the house for the fireworks, the grandkids found it hard to wait for the sun to go down at 9:30pm to enjoy the show – a spectacular and endless display throughout the bay and Puget Sound!
PPA International Print Competition
July 20-24 found me heading to Daytona Beach, Florida, to judge the International Print Competition for the Professional Photographers of America (PPA). I was one of 40 judges selected from a total list of only 125 qualified jurors who, over a three-day period, judged over 5,000 entries from PPA’s 15,000 plus members. To become part of this esteemed group of jurors, I first had to become a Master Craftsmen Photographer with PPA, then judge for many years at the local, state, and regional competitions, followed by completing a series of judging classes, and finally a review of my background and submissions of my work for review by other judges. Over the years, I have also had many opportunities to judge the international print competition for the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI). By judging these international print competitions, I get to see thousands of prints from photographers around the world. This allows me to stay in touch with the latest trends and styles in photography and, most of all, to always provide fresh perspectives and ideas for my clients.
Another part of being in Daytona Beach was it gave me a chance to get to see the Raceway. Wow, is it big! The track is 2.5 miles in length, with 30 degree banked turns. They have a great IMAX show that tells the story of the track and of NASCAR. There is a terrific museum about racing as well as you get to ride a tram around the track. I can’t wait to go back for a race!
I am proud to say that two of the four images that I put into competition where accepted into the load collection. They are part of the top 5% of the images accepted into the exhibit.
Newport Beach Breakers, World Team Tennis / Hoag Hospital 
This July, Hoag Hospital hired me to cover the seven home matches of their World Team Tennis (WTT) team, the Newport Beach Breakers, which features marquee stars such as Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, Anna Kournikova, Martina Navratilova, and John McEnroe. The team played their matches at Breakers Stadium at Newport Beach Country Club. If you have never seen WTT matches, they are lot of fun. In between points, there is rock music and they use graphic replays to check if a ball is in or out. They use the stars in both single and double matches, and then have an autograph session for the kids at the end of the night. At the end of the season, I photographed a favorite of mine, legendary comedian Dana Carvey, as he performed at a Benefit Comedy Night for Hoag Hospital at Breakers Stadium. What a great night! I am looking forward to photographing more events with Hoag Hospital in the future.
NAWBO – Orange County
I have become one of the few male members of the National Association of Women Business Owners' Orange County (NAWBO- OC) which happens to be one of the largest NAWBO chapters in the country, with 400+ active members. NAWBO-OC is committed to enhancing the overall success of women business owners by providing its members encouragement and support, networking opportunities, educational programs, and professional development. Earlier this year good friend and then President of NAWBO, Barri Carian, asked me to photograph a special speaker that the group had at that month’s meeting. As long as I was there they asked me to do some other photographs. Then I was asked if I could do photography again for the next month, and the month after that. At the last of those meetings Barri suggest that I become a member, and so I did. Besides providing my photographic service to the group at the meetings each month, I have also become the photographer of choice if a member needs to update their business portrait. With my wife, Karen, as President-elect, it looks like I with be hanging out with the women of NAWBO awhile longer.
Brooks Institute of Photography students visit with Doug
A group of 16 graduating students, all women, from the world renowned Brooks Institute of Photography, stopped by to talk to me this August about how I have been able to be successful as a photographer over all this years. Brooks Institute is celebrating more than 60 years of educating students in the visual and media arts. With campuses in Santa Barbara and Ventura, California, the school offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in fields including Professional Photography, Visual Journalism, Film and Video Production, and Graphic Design, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Photography. I was honored to have an opportunity to tell my story and answer questions from this wonderful group of young women as they make plans to start on a career of their own in this profession that I have loved for so long. I talked to them about how they now have great photographic skills to compete with, but they must also be as good as any one in the way they do business. I also reminded them that it is tough to rebuild their reputation with their peers and clients if they don’t go through their careers with integrity. I wish them much success!
“Morning Light” - a documentary sailing movie by Roy E. Disney
Last year, you might remember that I had a chance to work with my friend and long-time yacht photographer, Sharon Green (www.ultimatesailing.com), shooting stills for a documentary movie being made by Roy E. Disney. The movie is about a young crew of sailors that are on the yacht Morning Light in the Trans Pac Yacht Race that sails from Los Angeles, California to Honolulu, Hawaii every other year. The movie follows 15 young sailors through the selection process in August 2005, their training in Hawaii and Long Beach, and sailing the race in July 2006.
The movies trailer is now available and the release date has been set for October 15th, 2008. http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/morninglight/large.html
They have made this into a compelling story that will be great to see up on the big screen in October.
First Basic Photography Class held at DGP studio is a success!
After years of teaching a basic photography class with the University of California, Irvine (UCI) Extension program, I taught my first basic photography class here at the studio. It was a great success! The students loved the individual attention I was able to give them and I loved being able work with each student until the concepts were clearly understood by each of them.
The response from the class has inspired me to soon offer basic, intermediate, and advanced classes, along with field trips, for small groups of photographers – from the enthusiast to the professional. And for those who prefer personalized instruction, I will continue to provide individual coaching as before.
For dates and times of the classes, please check the DGP blog for announcements. For private coaching, please call me at 949-362-3661 or send me an email at doug@douggiffordphoto.com.
