The Amazing Ms Casey!

 This week I have the distinct pleasure of presenting to you... the Amazing Ms Casey!
 We headed up to the equally amazing Pyramid Hill for some spectacular scenery!

Casey is the best!  
 She knew what she was looking for and has a keen eye for photographs herself!

We had a great time picking the best spots! 

Thank you Casey!!!!!!!!!
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Post to a Ghost

(Image photo-composite of several images in CS4.)
I took this photo-stitch composite during a try-out session for a camera with my friend, writer/photographer, Johnna. (Perhaps you remember her heart stopper daughter, Layla, from Krohn.) I haven't spoken to her in  many months. She used to be pretty active on the blog scene, inspiring many many people. Here's to hoping she gets back into it!

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More Kayaking in IR!

 Well, turns out this is the next opportunity where I had any free time to finish editing the images. 
So here are some highlights!

 I've been playing around with the color a lot. 
I still really appreciate my friends Natalie and Dave for having me out on such a fun day! 

Hope you enjoy!
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Northside 4th of July Parade! (The Soggening)

 SO let me tell you the tale of this year's Northside 4th of July Parade (from my view)!
As usual the spectacle of the Northside 4th of July parade drew a crowd of several hundred or more to gaze upon the finest menagerie of the least inhibited the surrounding community has to offer. It is truly a wondrous event! As much from the amazement of what you didn't expect from a 4th of July parade as the things you did.
This year had the added comic value of raining a gentle constant drizzle.
(Despite her expression I feel like she was happy inside.) 
 One of the best things this year was that I got to go with my good friends Steph and Seth! They are the best people ever and are made of candy and magic. No lie.
 Gabrielle Giffords was there!
And zombies!
 You may recognize the lawnchair ladies.
I just liked this!
 Another highlight was seeing my friend Kim Popa from PONES INC! You can see the rain in this one pretty clearly! Didn't stop Kim though!
And there were bubbles and hula hoops...
And more zombies!
I can't wait for next year to see what happens!
 Religious experiences? Check. Talked to the golden Buddha.
Photographed my first zombi wedding.
And ran into the guys from Foxy Shazam!

Great day! 
THANK YOU STEPH AND SETH!
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Maxfield is 3!

Almost a year has passed since Max, his parents, and I ran around Friendship park on that amazingly hot day!
This time it was perfect! We picked the perfect location!
The recently renovated Washington park in Cincinnati.
 That place looks great and is very kid friendly.
Music, slides, swings, Max tried it all!
 Pause for a lolly pop!
Well, a minor pause.

 Everyone had fun, and no one melted this time!

Happy Birthday Max!
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1000th POST!

Post 1000!


Hey my friends, So this makes one of those arbitrary milestones in life! I have reached a round number of blog posts! It got me thinking about lots of things. First of all what should I do for the post? And then secondly I started thinking about my consistency. So without further ado, a word heavy post this week. I'll try to throw in some nice extras to hold the attention. 
I collect things. Lots of things. 

I used to make records. I'm up to 32. In fact there's a new one just out but not in CD form yet. 
600 Rubies - Ex Luna Scientia [you can hear that here]
I also have two records with Bowling/Drum Master Yob Diordna. If you like Cheese-rock.
("Back in the day" it was cassette 4 tracks.)  
 So it occurred to me that my passion for photography has been no different. 
Here's the collection of PhotoMentorGroup blogposts: 
  1. http://nicholasviltrakis.blogspot.com/2013/05/whats-in-bag-what-to-pack-for-every.html
  2. http://nicholasviltrakis.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-guide-on-what-to-be-afraid-of-by.html
  3. http://nicholasviltrakis.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-i-plan-for-raw-and-photoshop.html
  4. http://nicholasviltrakis.blogspot.com/2011/06/061711-macgyver-it.html
  5. http://nicholasviltrakis.blogspot.com/2011/05/050611-lens-review-infamous-85-mm-14-vs.html
  6. http://nicholasviltrakis.blogspot.com/2011/05/050111-gift-of-impossibility-failure-is.html
  7. http://nicholasviltrakis.blogspot.com/2011/04/033111-shoot-wirelessly-to-your-ipad.html
  8. http://nicholasviltrakis.blogspot.com/2011/03/who-are-you-shooting-for.html
  9. http://nicholasviltrakis.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-choose-wedding-photographer.html
  10. http://nicholasviltrakis.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-i-cheated-in-photography_01.html
  11. http://nicholasviltrakis.blogspot.com/2010/04/040310-mammoth-cave-and-diamond-caverns.html
  12. http://nicholasviltrakis.blogspot.com/2009/07/071709-solution-to-your-problems.html
  13. http://nicholasviltrakis.blogspot.com/2011/05/050111-gift-of-impossibility-failure-is.html
  14. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2YgsaKQdORHxxkAz-w2vVaP5zqiOBte8fXRv9N8YOTuP1xENm1nhM5m17OvMtqejF4wGuzaae8QKnSl30c47z1BLmYY43j2CqF3DdRMMSErTbL_B4atDKb3Y19oHpyZNdPb6Cvsj8dk/s1600/IMG_0186b+Photography+Assistant.jpg
  15. http://nicholasviltrakis.blogspot.com/2010/10/100310-high-speed-sync-sunday-with-oj.html
Like the stones in the above image, I hand select each one based on the aesthetic (in the case of the stones over 3 years working at the Cincinnati Art Museum). The blog has been selected from all the amazing experiences I get to see! Fun story: in 2005 a lovely Norwegian lady saw these rocks on flickr and asked if I would mail her 5. Which I of course did. We still talk.

In my collection of archived JPGs from this business I have 213,338 images saved. And those are just the keepers.  I have a virtual gif animation of my entire life since April 10th 2004 when I got my first digital camera. That puts my average at 63 "keepers" a day that whole time. To say I like it is an understatement.
 And believe it or not... I have a mangled change collection.
 And lots of boxes!
Most of them have their little collections within. It's a fun time for kids at my house. 


As for the collection this blog is... I want to say thank you to everyone of the people I've photographed or photographed with!!! This collection of visual experiences has been amazing! 


So now that I got that out of my system, when I think about the 1000 blog post I'm happy to have another great hand crafted collection of wonderful things to share. More than that I'm thankful for all the great people who have touched my life in so many profound ways! I sincerely mean it and I take that sense on every photo job I get!

Here's to 1000 more!

(Special thanks to David Ziser who practically forced me to start this blog in Dec 07)
www.ziser.com

And be sure to read that article about me setting off the fire alarm at the wedding. That's a good one.

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