By Kimberly Pistone
For the Sidney Daily News

SIDNEY — A local photographer who has been in business for almost 10 years is opening a studio in downtown Sidney.

Kristin Allen, who owns Allen Photography, is opening the studio at 217 N. Main Ave., above Home Experts Reality. She said she’s excited to branch out into having her own space where she can offer corporate headshots and branding in addition to her current offerings. She specializes in family, wedding, child and senior photography.

“The new space is not what I thought I was looking for, but I think it is going to be perfect,” Allen said. “I am really excited. I love it.”

The landlord is renovating the attic space for her, and she expects to be moved in by July at the latest.

Like many photographers, Allen began by taking photos of her children. This led to her always having her camera for field days and school ceremonies, and the business grew from there. She said her forte is lifestyle and candid photography, and she highlights her subjects in a variety of creative locations. Allen said she has the ability to help her clients feel comfortable and relaxed in front of the camera, resulting in memorable keepsake photographs.

Allen is looking forward to having a designated space to meet with her clients, as well as a space to do some of her photography sessions without having to set up repeatedly in her home. She does not do prop photography; instead, she will use the backdrops mainly for headshots and branding.

Allen does photography year-round, which can present some challenges in the winter. She has been able to find indoor locations such as the library in the past, and will continue to creatively use those spaces, but having a studio will provide another option for clients.

Allen can be reached at 937-638-714 or on Instagram @kristinallen_photography.

Wedding season is in full swing again in Australia. I love wedding photography: There’s so much joy in capturing all the meaning and intentional details that a couple has put into their big day. But weddings are long days, with lots of heavy gear to tote about. That’s why I’m using taz + tez Archy backpack for wedding photography. Not a wedding backpack, you say? Let me explain.

The Archy Modular Camera Backpack V2 (my full review here) by taz + tez is not billed as a wedding photographer backpack. The larger, carry-everything Tildy backpack is what taz + tez recommends if you’ve got a lot to carry. I struggle with back, wrist and elbow issues during wedding season because of the gear load. So I’ve been investigating other options to get my kit moved around on wedding days that alleviate the strain.

Using taz + tez Archy backpack for wedding photography is a lightweight option

I’ve been working on cutting my kit weigh down this year. I invested in a mirrorless camera (Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera) with some RF primes (50mm and 28mm) to do this. Weddings are heavy work! There’s speedlites, long lenses, multiple camera bodies, battery packs and light modifiers to carry around. To protect my body, it’s been my priority this year to cut down my carry, and get as much weight into a rolling bag as I can.

That’s my setup that I’m using for weddings with the Archy backpack as my “need it now” gear pack. I have a rolling bag (an office style one with top openings) where the bulk of my kit lives for the day. I take gear in and out as I need it, swapping it into my Archy for what I need during each phase.

This keeps my carry weight down while also having access to everything that I need. It’s a good compromise: I don’t have to drag the rolling bag everywhere if I don’t need it. I can swap in and out what I need as I go.

The Archy backpack is not the only wedding bag I use, but it’s my flexible “what I need for this bit” bag

The Archy backpack is not a huge bag. If you’ve read my full review you can see the different variety of gear that it can fit. While I can’t fit everything I need into it for the wedding day – I don’t want to. I am using it for the “what I need now” bag.

I pack in my mirrorless and primes for the bridal prep photos. Then switch in my 24-70mm lens and a flash for the ceremony and load up my second camera onto my belt. I drop off the heavyweights for the romantic portraits, and pack in my off-camera setup for night photos. It’s the back I keep on my back throughout the day, while the rest of my (heavy) kit sits in waiting in my rolling bag.

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Using taz + tes Archy backpack for weddings makes sense too because there’s enough room for essentials in the pack. Phone, keys, a few snacks: I have what I need close at hand across the day.

The Archy backpack blends in at a wedding

Sometimes you have to leave your backpack sitting unattended while you capture the ceremony, or duck out quickly for the last pink clouds of the day. Camera bags often scream, “I’m a camera bag!” The Archy Modular Camera Backpack V2 doesn’t.

It’s a classic, stylish bag that just looks like another guest handbag. No flashing red lights advertising where your expensive gear it. For a high-end wedding where you want to look as sleek as the crowd you’re working for, even better.

For photographers who struggle with carrying too much, this system helps on full-day weddings

If you’re like me and can’t physically lug a whole backpack of wedding gear around all day, then splitting your kit into a flexible carry-and-pull system like this makes sense. It lets me get the job done without extra strain on my body, and I always have what I need with me. That’s why I’m using taz + tex Archy backpack for wedding season.

Science Museum Oklahoma is set to unveil its latest exhibition called “Out of the Toybox,” a year-long showcase featuring art from toy photographer Mitchel Wu.

Monday, May 13th 2024, 9:58 am

By:

News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY –

Science Museum Oklahoma will be allowing guests to catch a glimpse into the art of toy photography this weekend.

Joining the News 9 team Monday morning is photographer Mitchel Wu to talk about his upcoming year-long exhibition called “Out of the Toybox.”

Monitor photographer Riley Robinson wasn’t sure what to expect when she arrived at police headquarters in Dallas with reporting partner Henry Gass.

The police perspective was important to their story on violence prevention efforts featured on the cover of the May 13 issue of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly magazine. But law enforcement is notoriously guarded about press access, particularly when it comes to photography. So Riley was concerned that she might not get what she needed to accompany the story.

It wasn’t until an officer handed Riley and Henry waivers to sign that it became clear they were going out in the field on what’s known as a ride-along.

Soon, she and Henry were in an unmarked police car watching a stakeout unfold into an arrest. Henry, the Monitor’s justice reporter and Texas bureau chief, describes the scene in detail.

“I couldn’t tell you nearly as much detail as Henry does,” Riley says. “When I’m out there … mostly everything becomes line and color.”

This is true for any photo shoot. To get the rich imagery that illuminates our pages, a photographer must hyperfocus on the viewfinder. But this story presented a new level of technical challenge.

“I knew there were a lot of security and privacy concerns,” says Riley. “I didn’t want to emphasize the faces of whoever was being arrested, for example.”

Then, about halfway through the ride-along, a message arrived from the Police Department’s communications office.

“Oh, by the way,” Riley says, paraphrasing the message, “all the officers who are not in full uniform – they’re in street clothes, with a bulletproof vest over them – they have similar privacy concerns to cops working undercover. Don’t show the faces of those officers, either.”

Reluctant to artificially blur anything during the processing of images, she had to get creative.

“I’m trying to use depth of field, use other parts of the scenery, use parts of the car to try and follow as much of this in the moment as I can,” she explains.

In the end, she managed to pull off a layered cover shot that illustrates the scene without showing any faces except for the watchful eyes of Maj. Jason Scoggins framed in the rearview mirror.

This image, and the story behind it, captivated the editors working on this issue. It’s just one perspective that Riley’s photography brings to our cover story. Find the full story.