The Pittsburgh Photographers Thinking Corner

Category Archives: The Thinking Corner

Photos by Nick will post random thoughts in topics, give reviews on products and services and answer questions that customers and fans send in. We will try and keep this mostly photo and tech related but at times we will stray from the topics.

2012 Soul Searching

I started to write this blog post the 1st week of 2012 but decided to change it slightly after a chain of events. I started a new way of living life both mentally and physically. I was not really that unhealthy to begin with, but I just wanted and needed a change. Something to give me a jolt of energy, something to push me to a new level and something that would not only benefit myself and my business but also benefit my family. I did a 10 day juice only fast. This is where my journey began.

At first I thought this is going to suck, I am crazy for even trying it and also what a great way to start 2012 off on. The first 3 days were horrible. I wasn’t hungry, but my body was rejecting and forcing out all of the bad toxins that I put in it over the holiday season. Beer, food, wine, cookies, cakes, pies and more! All getting forced out. This was giving me headaches, which I get often so this was nothing new. When I hit day 4, I jumped out of bed and had no headache and was full of energy. I had more creative ideas and a new drive to do more and to do it better. Not only in my work but also in my lifestyle. Instead of parking in the first space I found closest to the door, I parked at the back of the lot and walked an extra few steps. I set aside 1 hour each evening before my son went to bed and we would play. I also set aside 25 minutes a night to do some cardio too. By the end of January I was feeling like a whole different person.

Life was perfect! I soon realized that when you think your life is perfect,it really isn’t. Something is bound to happen. This is when I was traveling for work and hit an icy patch on the highway that caused me to flip my Soul. My Kia Soul that isLuckily my new way of life I was living saved me. I was wearing my seatbelt, going under the speed limit and being very cautious in the bad road conditions. If you knew me before then you would know that wasn’t how I used to drive. I feel that my lifestyle change is something that really helped me survive the wreck and walk away in one piece.

10 years ago my wife flipped a car and she was not as lucky as I was. She was in the hospital for a few days and it took her months to get back to 100%. As my car was beginning to wreck, I started to think of what I was going to do to get out of this alive and in one piece. I also thought, what if this is my last thought, what if this is my time. How would my family go on without me? I decided as I was flipping, this was not my time and this was not going to hurt me. Thank god he sent my angel down to save me and take most of the impact off of me. I made it out ok and I have never been so thankful before. I am sure that same angel helped my wife when she was in her accident 10 years ago.

So what did I learn on my Soul search? No matter how good things seem, anything can happen at any moment. So take it slow, take a step back and enjoy what is around you. Be it your family, friends, or life in general. My life is not perfect and will never be perfect as I will always be searching and following the light to fill my life and soul with happiness and joy. At the same time, my life is complete with a beautiful wife, amazing little boy, a wonderful family thats would do anything for me in a second and a long future ahead of me to enjoy the great people in my life and to build an even stronger and bigger family.

As I continue my journey, I will continue to better my life, my business, my soul and my family.

Here are a few pictures of my car. I am pretty sure I am one of the only goof balls that flips a car and then immediately gets out and takes a picture. I think I was just happy I was ok.

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Merry Christmas From Photos by Nick

We wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas in 2011. We hope you all enjoyed 2011 and we look forward to an even better 2012. Below is our Christmas card we sent out. For once I am in it! I had our good friend Kathy Wolfe take our photos. Thanks Kathy!

This is a 5×7 folder Luxe card. You can see in the first photo how the flap folds over and then how it all looks opened full. In case you all did not know, we offer custom cards. Just email us the photo/photos you want in it and we will create one for you.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

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Remote Printing

A few weeks ago I was out with my wife and she got the funniest picture of my son with her iPhone. I know it was only an iPhone picture so probably not worthy of printing, but she wanted it printed anyway. I have to say, the new iPhone 4s has an amazing little camera on it and under the right conditions, you can get a nice 4×6 or 8×10. Not SLR quality but still ok for regular home use. But back to my story….

So I started to think, wouldn’t it be cool if when she took these cool, cute, and funny photos, she could print them directly from her phone no matter where she was? I know there are services that we could sign up for and have them shipped to the house. What if we only wanted that one photo? Why pay $4 shipping for 1 photo? After a little research (4 hours one night) I found that Google Cloud Print will do what I wanted and would do it with pretty much any printer.

Then I got this bright idea! I could use this to print documents and contracts for clients and have them ready for when I got home to mail out. But wait! Now my wife won’t be able to print her cute photos of my son because our printer does not have a separate tray for photo paper. So what did I do? Found a cheap printer to use for her photos and added our office printer to Google Cloud Print.

I have always been an Epson fan for photo printing, so I started my search there. I was thinking I might want just a dedicated 4×6 printer, but decided I did not want t0 be limited to small prints only. Then I found a few 13×19 printers for cheap, but again did not want to get back in to larger format printing at home since it costs so much. I finally found something right in the middle and for a very cheap price. The Epson NX430 was only $50 and outputs a decent photo for home use. I would never give a print to a client but for something to print at home; it is not a bad printer at all.

Setup to Google Cloud Print services was easier than ever. I never even plugged the printer in to a computer! I just connected it to my wireless internet in the studio and then logged in to Google Cloud Print on my computer and added it as a printer. On Epson’s iPrint site, I added a custom email address that I can just email a photo to and the printer will print it at my pre-decided settings. To test it out, I went for a walk with my wife and son and sent a few photos back to the printer at home. When we got home, the prints were waiting for us in my studio. Pretty simple and straight forward.

After doing all of this fun remote printing, I got another idea for wireless tether shooting and remote printing at events/weddings. I will leave that for a later blog post. So check back to see where we go with it

If you have any questions with getting your remote printing going from your iPhone or iPad, leave me a comment and I will help if I can.

25 Photo Days Of Christmas Day 1

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What I Am Thankful For

Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is your than you. – Dr. Seuss

What does that mean to you? Have you ever stopped to think what life is to you? Have you ever stopped to appreciate life or the people around you? If so, have you told them? I would like to tell you what this means to me and what I am thankful for.

Last week Thanksgiving had come and gone, people started holiday shopping and many have forgot the true reason for the holidays. As I sat around the Thanksgiving table and enjoyed the people around me, I thought of what the above image meant to me. I realized that I am thankful for who I am and what I have become. If I would not have become the person I am today I would not have the beautiful wife I am married to. Without my wife, we would not have the perfect little angel of ours. I would not have met so many great people in my life if it were not for who I have become. I would not have been to so many beautiful places and done so many amazing things, if I were not who I have become. I am even more thankful that my family and friends have helped me along my journey to get where I am today.

So what does the above quote mean to me? It means that no one else in the world can have the courage, trust and love that I have created with my family and travel the same path I have, then end up with the same results. It means I am one of a kind and I am thankful I have become me and not someone else

During this holiday season, take a minute to sit back and think what you are thankful for and let the people in your life know what they mean to you. Also, what does this famous Dr Seuss quote mean to you? Feel free to post your comments below.

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Family Photos From A Friend

The last time I had my photo taken from someone other than my wife or a candid from a friend was when I married my beautiful wife 5 years ago. The hardest thing being a photographer is finding and trusting another photographer to take your photo. That was an easy task for us because we just love Kathy Wolfe’s work and we knew she would do an amazing job.

We went to her studio for a mini session and had more fun than we imagined. We are used to being on the other side of the camera and it was definitely a little bit weird for me to not be the taking the photos. It was relaxing and nice to know I was getting great photos so it did make it a lot easier to be in front of the camera instead of behind. Now I know how my clients feel when they come to me for photos.

Part of being a good photographer is recognizing good photography that is not your own. I know all photographers want to stand up in front of the crowd and brag how great they are. Today I am going to stand up and brag how great Kathy was. I don’t mind promoting another local photographer friend of mine because there is more than enough work to go around. Helping other photographers out is what this business is all about if you want to succeed.

Kathy, we thank you so much for letting us come in and get some family photos. There are a few we are going to hang in our house. Yes,I said it. I am hanging a photo from another photographerWe look forward to working with you again sometime.

Here is one photo of my son and I have a good time. I think my wife might have just tickle attacked him, notice the face her hasThanks to Kathy for letting me edit some of the photos; I tried out some new editing techniques with simulating some old film types. This is one of my favorite films from back in the day. Ilford HP5 B&W

More pictures to come later after my wife picks her favorites to post online. It’s 1:15 am or I would go wakener up to do it nowCheck back soon to see what she liked.

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Steve Jobs 1955-2011

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The Future Is Now – A Boy Graduates A Man

The future is now! Something my brother and I talk about a lot. Not everyone will understand and not everyone will want to try and understand. Just know that if you have a younger person in your life, they are the future and it is up to you to guide them in the right direction now.

I can remember back when my little brother was just a little guy. Jumping around the living room thinking he was a Power Ranger and had no fear. He was always hanging around me and always wanting to know what I was doing and why. We are 13 years apart and he quickly went from 2 years old to many years ahead of his time. Was it good or bad for him to grow up that fast? I do not know for sure but I can say he has accomplished a lot because of him growing so fast.

From him competing nationally in Florida for the national karate championships and taking 3rd place at the age of 6 to dedicating the next 6 years of his life playing ice hockey and being one of the best defensemen around. Being a top player when it came to sports was something that just comes naturally for us Bombich boys. This was just the beginning as he took a deeper interest in what I was doing. I went to school for graphic design and my lille brother would always spend time in my room watching me do my homework. He wanted to know everything there was about my computer and my design work. He wanted to know how I took such amazing photos of him competing in karate tournaments and playing ice hockey.

I taught him everything I knew about photography, graphic design and computers. I could see it in his eyes; he was hooked and thrived for more. It was at this point that I felt my brother had an influence on what I was going to do for the rest of my life. To have someone as young as him and as interested as him in what I did was such an inspiration to push myself harder and move on to bigger and better projects. Around this same time my brother found out what he was going to do the rest of his life. He took everything I taught him and explored his options in the digital world.

Yet again he accomplished more amazing things in his life and at such a young age, I was just amazed! My brother took everything I taught him and expanded it to create and produce some of the most amazing music I have ever heard. He has produced tracks for well known artists, been published, had his music played in clubs and on radio stations and has a number of tracks on the iTunes store. He found what he loves to do and I can see him doing this for the rest of his life.

There is nothing that makes me prouder than to look back and see the journey my brother took, the stuff I taught him and the stuff he explored with on his own. He made all the right decisions and is on the right path to success. To this day I enjoy talking to him weekly about politics, weekly world events, music, photography, technology and just about anything we both share interest in.

When I shoot weddings and the best-man gives his speech (usually the grooms brother) I now understand what they mean when they say their brother is more than a brother, they are their best friend. My brother is my brother, my best friend, my future business partner (in a new business we are planning) and a future leader. I wish him much success and will support him in any decision he may make with his life.

Here are a few photos from his graduation day. Look out for some amazing stuff from him in the future. He is already bigger than I was at his age!