this week i officially launched a separate photography division of dpi creative services: chrisowensphoto.  this was primarily a branding decision; i wasn’t getting enough recognition, for lack of a better term, with dpi as my primary photography brand.  having my name attached to my photography personalizes my work and attaches my name to it in a strong way.

i’m excited about this direction, as new business is already coming in.  i’ve got an event shoot in a couple of days, and a headshot project for a local company in the near future.

new featured project, updated portfolio of work.  check it out!

yes, it’s been another long gap between posts, but my excuse this time is more than legitimate. our daughter was born early! Eight weeks early, to be exact, while we were out of town on vacation. so we spent 4 weeks in the hospital up north, then two more weeks at a local NICU, and now we’re home. baby and mom are doing great, so life is good right now.

bonus? i have a new photo subject. the above shot was taken at home. camera was 1/60 @ f5.6, lit with my homemade beauty dish.

Here are a few things going on:

I’m leading a photo walk on July 18th.  That’s the date of Scott Kelby’s second annual worldwide photo walk.  I participated last year, but this year thought I’d take the leadership role.  Should be a good time; I feel the route I’ve selected is a good one, and it’s already more than halfway full, so things are looking good.  Check it out, and sign up if there’s still room when you read this!

The lilies are blooming again.  Actually, they’re starting to die; I wished they lasted longer. I recently cut a bloom and brought it inside for a studio session.

Yesterday was my niece’s annual dance recital.  It was fun to watch.  My wife and I realized that in a few years we’ll probably be watching our daughter perform in a recital of her own.  I think it’d be fun to teach the class the Thriller dance.

a couple of saturdays ago i was hired by local band sister sweet for a photoshoot. it was a really, really, cold day, but we all soldiered through it and got some really good shots for their promo materials. head over to my site to check out the gallery!

finished up another web design project this weekend:  salonnirvanaspa.com.  100% of the site was done by me: the photography, design, writing, coding…it was a long process to get it going, but it’s finally there.

i’ve known the owner of the salon for about 12 years now.  i started out doing their logo, and have designed everything from their business cards to direct mail.  she and her staff are great people to know, and they do great at their job.  if you’re in the richmond area & need a haircut (or manicure or massage, for that matter), head over there!

Last night I discovered, by good fortune, that my website was down (due to a corrupt .xml file, I think). As I’ve been actively promoting my business in 2009, this was not good. So I took the opportunity to do a complete re-design and upgrade.

The new design is something I’ve been kinda tinkering with for a couple of weeks, but was holding onto it until I was ready to commit to re-doing the site. It’s much deeper than my original site, and gives the visitor a better look at my business and what I can do for my photography and design customers. The site was built with a combination of Photoshop, SiteGrinder, Lightroom, and Dreamweaver.

Of course, it’s not “done”; there are still a few upgrades I’m working on, especially on the contact page. I also am working on integrating joomla as I continue to learn that.

So hop on over there and take a look. All feedback is welcomed!

this landed in front of my house this morning.

so last night i finally signed up. if you’re interested in following me, you can do so here: twitter.com/dpicreative. i promise to not post silly, wasteful updates, like “just ate a ham sandwich!” and the like.

hope to hear from you!