It's been over a year since anything has been posted to this page.  I'm not sure where I got off track, probably trying to make sure the bills are paid and ignoring the creative process.

I had someone writing for me which was all well and fine and I much preferred having a writer as I am not one to easily convey my thoughts in a coherent manner.   So bear with me, poor grammar, improper word choice and general babbling and I'm sure somewhere along the way something might just make a little sense.  I've had the opportunity to shoot some wonderful landscapes and people over the past year although, not as many as I would have liked.  I ran into a bit of financial difficulty and had to sell all my gear to keep a roof over the heads of my lovely girlfriend and myself.   However, I have some truly wonderful friends who asked why I wasn't working my photography business as much as I used to.  When they heard my reply and that I was renting gear for every shoot, they said, "No, that won't work.  What do you need?"  And then proceeded to bless me with some gear to get me back into shooting more regularly.  Anyway, I hope to be posting more frequently as I learn how to use this page (blogging has never been my thing but I figured, what the heck, give it a go).  I hope you enjoy looking at my photos and reading a little about them as much as I enjoy capturing them.

Thanks for stopping by from time to time, feel free to contact me I'd love to hear from you.

All the best
Todd

 I love a good carnival, the rides, lights, noises and smells just bring back so many good childhood memories.  Something I always thought would be fun, to take long exposure pics of some of the rides.  The patterns like the image at the top, can sometimes be unexpected.  The way this ride moved, I had no idea how the image would look at the end of the exposure.  Now, just imagine being strapped into that thing!  

Who doesn't like a good carousel?   I had to take several shots of this one to see what I liked best.  I used a flash to stop action for a split second to see how it would turn out and I liked it just fine but I think I prefer this image overall.  

This is where I like to spend most of my time at the carnival, the food vendors.  I mean the smell and taste of carnival food.... I don't know about you but I love it!  To me nothing beats a grilled itallian sausage with grilled onions, red and green peppers on a toasted roll.  Follow that up with a wand full of cotton candy or a funnel cake loaded up with a (non) health dose of powdered sugar and your night is almost complete!

These images were captured one night when I just happened to bring my camera and tripod to my day job.  The festival was set up in the parking lot just behind a close by shopping center and I decided to stop in and grab what I could.  I hope they bring back as many great memories for you as they do for me.  

Best Shots of the Year: Part Deux

Here we go again! Sharing some of Todd's best and most beautiful shots of Colorado landscape, people, and beyond. Take a look and linger over the awesome color, composition, and feelings in these shots.

What sort of stress can't be melted away with a gorgeous Colorado sky like this? So much to explore in this shot. The amazing contrast in the cloud colors and textures, the majestic mountain background, and what looks like a couple lakes in the foreground. It's a feast for the eyes.

In the same vein: Longs Peak. The choice to use black and white brings out a mysterious feeling in this image. Makes you want to hike up to the top and explore what's going on in those shadows up top. And look at that amazing cloud cover!

Maybe this rider is headed to the peaks above? Who knows. Want to take a guess at how Todd captured this shot? Maybe if you message him he'll tell you! Or maybe he will take up the magician's creed: Never give away the secret to how you make your magic.

Pictured above is Jessica Clayton, professional ballet dancer with Ballet Ariel in Denver. We love the way the shadow is cast to the left, and how she looks as if she could hold that seemingly impossible pose forever! The sense of movement in this shot is also quite bewitching, while the weathered copper paneling behind Jessica creates a lovely background for the gracefulness in her pose.

This image of a 1932 Ford Model A grill is vibrant and interesting. The perspective chosen for the angle of this shot causes you to want to linger and stare, and figure out just how big the whole hot rod is! We have a feeling it's pretty large!

And so concludes our two part series of "Best Shots of the Year." Want to see more? Or want to get some images of your own? Visit Todd's webpage at www.toddstrongphotography.com and book an appointment for portraits or anything else your heart desires. Keep up on the latest and greatest for this talented photographer on his Facebook  page: www.facebook.com/ToddStrongPhotography

Best Shots of the Year: Part 1

A good photographer takes countless photos within even a few month period. Todd is no exception.
We wanted to showcase some of his favorite shots, and we quickly found out that it's a case of "so many pictures, so little time" (to choose favorites). But we're going to try!
Here are a smattering of his best and his personal favorites, including many shots of his current home, the beautifully colorful state of Colorado. Let's begin with this beauty:

One of Todd's specialties is bringing out the very best of a your personality in a portrait shoot. Here we see a beautiful woman totally in her element-- her striking features sharply in focus and the background softly faded, bringing out the lovely blue of her dress and eye color.

Some more natural beauty-- Lake Irene in all its glory. Notice the almost perfect reflection of the trees and sky in the incredibly still water.

A well known tourist attraction in Denver-- Coors Field. What we love about this photo is how the ball player looks so close we could touch him, and how he's so perfectly placed within the frame of the building behind. It makes you want to visit, doesn't it?

Fewer things are more thrilling in a photograph than the image of a person flying through the air-- to say nothing about the lovely position this ballet dancer (Doina Florea, soloist with Ballet Ariel of Denver) Todd caught her in. Dance photography is a famously tricky business, as the dancers are in constant motion and it is extremely difficult to catch them in a proper position. Todd has proven himself to be quite the natural in this area, as you can clearly see!

We leave you with a nostalgic image from the past-- a 1929 Ford Model A truck. This was also the first print Todd sold as a professional photographer. Not bad for a "beginner"! We are told this vehicle was a Texaco service truck the owner's grandfather purchased brand new for his Texaco station.

Stay tuned for part two of "Best Shots of the Year"! Interested in hiring Todd Strong? Go to www.toddstrongphotography.com for contact details and more info!

Why Take Pictures?

Do you ever wonder what drives the artists and photographers to record what they see in our stunning world? To make a permanent remembrance of this life? Maybe it's something inborn, to show others what they see through the lens of their camera, to remember the beautiful images of life they see. In this continued interview with Todd Strong (owner/operator of Todd Strong Photography) we get a glimpse into the mind of this artist and what drives him to shoot.

We asked: What is your favorite thing about taking pictures?

TS: A tough question to answer! Where do I begin? It started with landscapes. Shortly after moving to Colorado, I found emplyoment as a traveling sales rep for a very large firm. My "territory" took me all over the country. This is when I discovered a large portion of the southwest United States. I would be driving along either early in the morning or late in the evening and just "see" a picture right before my eyes. This is what drove me to purchase another camera. Seeing a photo opportunity and being able to capture that brief moment in time to share with everyone is what drives my endeavor to shoot. I think that is the main motivator for me.

We asked: What kinds of images do you especially like to shoot?

TS: Whether it be a person doing something as simple as sipping a cup of coffee at an  outside cafe, to something extraordinary. From shooting expecting mothers or newborn little bundles of joy, to weddings, to any kind of performance such as ballet, theater or music. I love to capture people being themselves.

Jessica Clayton and Kevin Burke, company members with Ballet Ariel

We asked: What is the main reason you got into photography?

TS: Landscape. Those fleeting moments around sunrise and sunset, late morning and evening shots when the sun is still in the sky but has that certain warmth to the light. Shooting grand landscapes during season peaks, and gardenscapes, lakes and a little bit of wildlife I've run across. They are all just moments in time captured and shared. I think that's what I like most-- sharing with people the brief connections I have with my subjects whether they be people, animals, objects, or vista. My hope is to convey that emotion and sense of place I have at that precise moment.

*To book an appointment with our artist/photographer Todd Strong, email him at tastrong61@gmail.com or call the photography studio at (303-974-0300)
**Also check out the offical Todd Strong Photography facebook page at www.facebook.com/ToddStrongPhotography

How Todd Got His Groove (and Pictures) Back

You probably have gathered that Todd Strong is the main man of Todd Strong Photography. But what you don't know is he was born to shoot! And we're not talking about bullets. We're talking about clear, beautiful images of life that seem to appear naturally in his lens whether they are of the gorgeous Colorado landscape or unique personalized portraits.
How did he get his start in the business? Was he born with a camera in his hand? Was it an easy trail to navigate? No, but it makes for a great story. Check out some of his back story and why he's so good at what he does:

What piqued your interest in photography?

My father always had cameras, both still and movie cameras... But it was his Polaroid Land camera that caught my attention. I just loved the way you got an image a few minutes after exposing the film... the way the thing smelled. Leather and chemicals! I discovered his 35mm film camera one day while I was digging around my dad's camera bag, to see what was in that big mysterious black leather, red felt lined treasure chest. I found the 35mm and also a Minox (which is like a little spy camera). I wanted to know how to use it. My dad being the "keep your hands off my stuff!" kind of guy, refused to have anything to do with my curiosity for  photography. This was when I was around 8-10 years old.

Clearly, Todd ended up reconnecting with his natural curiosity for cameras and taking pictures, but how? Read on!

It wasn't until many years later, when I was in high school (and he hadn't touched his photo gear in almost as many years) that he agreed to let me use the 35mm camera to take a photo class. Unfortunately, my teachers were less than interested in my education so I quickly gave up and just let the entire idea of photography go and concentrated on my music (editor's note: Todd is also an accomplished drummer!). I always yearned, however, to be able to make images like some of my classmates. 
In one of my yearbooks is a photo of the very front of the property my old high school sits on. There is the brick sign out front telling you the name of the school. One snowy day one of my classmates got the idea to go take a photo of that sign using a wide angle lens. The image came out looking like the sign was the only thing on a planet that was covered with snow. Very surreal. Then they (the yearbook staff) had the brilliant idea of using that image in the yearbook with the caption, "A Frozen Wasteland." I laughed so hard. I think that one image more than anything, started me thinking like a photographer and looking at everything with the mindset of: How could I capture that on film? I think that was my real beginning of wanting to do something with imaging.

What was your first camera and how did you get it?

My first camera that I can recall was a Vivitar 110mm point and shoot that I got as a gift for Christmas one year. One focal length, had a flash built in, manual advance of the film as was everything back then (and used 110mm film). Very small negatives and the prints were about 3"x 4" or something like that. Nothing you could really enlarge mainly due to the poor quality of the lens. But it was something! I took pictures of everything I could, mostly of my drums. I went through as many rolls of film my parents would pay for.

Want to know more about Todd's journey as an artist and photographer? Check back soon and we'll reveal more of his story, and we'll even be sharing some of his favorite shots, of all time, that he's taken!

In the meantime, if you'd like to take advantage of this guy's eye and skill, and become one of his lucky subjects-- contact him for available slots! He is running a special deal for Valentine's Day if you book before February 10th, at 10% off all fees. Don't wait to get your slot.

Todd's contact info: call 303-974-0300;
or message him through his Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/ToddStrongPhotography