Tuesday, December 22, 2009

I finally thawed out my camera and took some dang pictures.

I've been awfully busy with other work for a while, but I found some time last week to head into downtown Minneapolis for the Holidazzle christmas parade.  I brought the camera along and decided to experiment a little with some longer-exposure photos of all the pretty lights.  Enjoy!

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Friday, October 30, 2009

At long last, some photos from Ithaca.

About a week and a half ago I drove all the way to Ithaca, NY with my dad, grandpa, and cousin.  We went there to see some of the places my grandpa grew up.  All in all we had a great trip, and we really lucked out by getting there right when the fall colors were hitting their peak.  As such, I did a little bit of landscape photography, which isn't typically something I do.  The area around Ithaca seemed to have a waterfall every mile or two, so there's a bunch of those, but I hope you enjoy them!

To start off, here's a panorama of the view from a scenic overlook at Twin Cuts, near Towanda, PA.  That's the Susquehanna River you can see meandering through.  You can click the photo to view much larger sizes.


This is Ithaca Falls, in Ithaca, NY, near where the Ithaca Gun Company (which my grandpa worked at for a while) used to be.


We stopped by a very old cemetery outside Ithaca and found the graves of some of our ancestors.  This is the headstone of my great-great-grandfather, William Holland.


Finally, we visited Fessenden Farms, owned by my grandpa's girlfriend's brother, and got the grand tour, including meeting the new calves.  This little guy was quite interested in my camera.


There are a bunch more photos in the gallery, so make sure to check them all out HERE.

Tonight is the night before Halloween and I'll be hanging out at the Commemorative Air Force MN Wing's Halloween Benefit, and will be sure to post some photos from it!
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Friday, October 23, 2009

Waterfalls everywhere!

The theme of my trip east turned out to be waterfalls of all shapes and sizes, from the mighty Niagara to the 2ft high "falls" at Robert Treman State Park. That, combined with the beautiful fall colors, made for some great shots! I'll have the gallery up soon!
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Friday, October 16, 2009

Photographic Road Trip

As we speak I'm in Kalamazoo, MI, after the first leg of a trip out east, ending up in Ithaca, New York.  I'll be taking the scenic route, cutting through Ontario and Niagra Falls, and hope to get at least a couple great photos, so stay tuned!
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Monday, September 21, 2009

Back to shooting paintball for the Splat Tag Resident Evil Game

This morning I drove out to Hudson, WI to shoot the Resident Evil Big Game at Splat Tag.  This game has a sort of unconventional aspect, in that when a human player is shot, instead of waiting to reinsert, they immediately change over to the zombie team.  This makes for some chaotic moments as players betray ex-teammates and paint flies everywhere.  Proving that I still have what it takes, I managed to avoid all but about four shots all day.

On a paintball-related side note, the NCPA Midwest North conference held their season opener this weekend, which I was not able to make. Keep your eyes open for photos from the later events though, I'll be shooting!

To check out the full gallery and buy your photos, click here.

For information on Splat Tag and their big games, check out the Splat Tag website.

Adam Cohn, serving the human side as Alice (the heroine from the Resident Evil movies, notice the red dress?)


A Wild Bunch player (Delta Echo maybe?), playing the role of one of the elite S.T.A.R.S. troops.


Darrin Johnson, owner of Splat Tag took to the field himself as one of the S.T.A.R.S.


Once again, Darrin had the Splat Tag Angels on hand with Splat Tag tattoos for unsuspecting players.
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Back to the Commemorative Air Force hangar for the Bomber's Moon Ball

The CAF MN Wing held their fall hangar dance on Saturday the 19th. I went down early to help setup, and got to sit in the P-51! The dance was a huge hit, packing the hangar and spilling out onto the ramp. There were free swing dance lessons, music by the Roseville Big Band and the Minnesota State Fire Service Memorial Pipe Band, and the CAF topped off the night by running up the B-25 "Miss Mitchell's" twin 1,600hp Wright engines!

With the help of CAF member Gary Chambers I also set up some lights near the P-51C and we photographed groups and couples all night, raising money for the maintenance and upkeep of the wing's aircraft!

For the full gallery from the ball you can click here.

To see the gallery of shots from the photobooth and find yours, click here.

The sun setting over the CAF P-51C Mustang


The Roseville Big Band and the pipe band perform a rousing rendition of "Amazing Grace" for a packed hangar.


"Miss Mitchell" cranking both engines on the ramp.


CAF Wing Commander Amy Lauria with (verifying name)


And last, but not least, your's truly, and my assistant Itty, test out the lighting for the photo booth!
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Monday, September 14, 2009

Partying like it's 1945 at the CAF Vintage Fashion Show!

The guys and gals down at the Minnesota Wing of the Commemorative Air Force cleaned up their hangar and made some room to host a great fashion show featuring clothing and accessories from Go Vintage. The B-25 "Miss Mitchell formed a great backdrop for the show, while the Red Tail Mustang made an appearance after the show for some photos of the models and attendees! Be sure to check out the other photos from the show, and check out the CAF's Bomber's Moon Ball, September 19 at the CAF Hangar at the South St. Paul Airport. Music will be provided by the Roseville Big Band, and I'll be there to shoot the event as well! Check out www.cafmn.org for details!

To see the full gallery from the event, click  here.



Here's a nice shot of all the models, along with emcee (and CAF member) Ken Martinson, all posed with "Miss Mitchell"


After the show we setup an impromptu photo booth with the Red Tail P-51C Mustang, which was a huge hit!





The rest of the weekend was full with second shooting another wedding with Preston from Brovado, but today we did a shoot with the lovely Heather Pound, so keep an eye out for those shots!
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Just a couple fun shots from Labor Day weekend

We headed up to a friend's cabin in northern Wisconsin to see summer off in the best way possible.  After sitting around the campfire for a while, inspiration struck and I decided to try some light painting and long exposure photography.  Here is the best of the bunch!



After arriving home late Monday evening I took a quick walk over the to the Minnesota State Fair to snap a couple photos of some of the rides at the Mighty Midway. Despite the insane crowds (even on the last night of the fair), I managed to get a couple photos I was happy with. Here's one of the best!



Next up? The Commemorative Air Force's Minnesota Wing Vintage Fashion Show!
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Sunday, September 13, 2009

Welcome to the new Matt Holland Photography blog!

I'm going to make a serious effort to update the blog for every new shoot this time.  And I plan to be shooting a ton!  This weekend I was busy with the Commemorative Air Force Vintage Fashion Show, as well as shooting a wedding with Preston from Brovado Weddings!  Tomorrow I'll be shooting some portraits as well.

Photos from the fashion show are up already on the main site, but a showcase post will be coming soon, most likely tomorrow.  Until then, sit tight, and check out some of the thousands of photos already posted on www.matthollandphotography.com!
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Wednesday, September 2, 2009

All new blog coming soon.

As part of the process of upgrading/redoing my web presence, I am switching from a Wordpress based blog to Blogger, and more closely integrating it with the photo galleries.  As such, please be patient while I make these changes.  The end result should be a great improvement.
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