Phillip Mackenzie - Photographer

Jess and Craig | Maternity

Phillip Mackenzie — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 21:39:42 +0000

A lovely afternoon at a local park a few weeks ago…it got a little chilly, and there were dogs and children everywhere! Still managed to find some hidden away places to get some wonderful shots.

There was a lovely field with a few trees here and there:

At the other end of the field we found this wonderful pile of tree stumps and logs…here’s Jess, looking adorably pregnant:

A little closer to the belly…with Craig looking on:

Love this shot of Jess:

Along one side of the field there’s a creek by a covered bridge…and the sun couldn’t have been more perfect:

A little closer:

This covered bridge provided a great location for some more shots:

Another beautiful shot of Jess:

Craig talking to the baby (with an upside-down heart):

Love this shot too:

You always need a heart on the belly shot…tried something new this time:

And just for fun:

Congratulations guys! Can’t wait for the baby!

Sage and JC | Engagement

Phillip Mackenzie — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 04:08:41 +0000

A lovely day in Lock Haven, PA with autumn colors exploding from the foliage…and a girl and a boy, whose playfulness and affection glowed brighter than any of the fiery foliage. I was lucky enough to get to spend a few hours with Sage and JC before they drove back to Boston last week, and without a doubt they are one of the most fun-loving couples I have ever met. We drove to JC’s family’s house, who have acres and acres of land (I forget exactly how many) along a river just north of town, and found this awesome railroad sign:

I knew after that we were going to have a ton of fun! We found this stump closer to the river…with a variety of poses:

And a little less crazy:

Just behind that stump was this awesome bench that JC helped me get into position:

As we walked back through the woods on a trail that seemed as if it would go on forever (it didn’t…we found the end…eventually!), we found some lovely yellow stuff…I think it was bamboo. Either way, it gave a lovely golden shimmer to this shot:

Along the trail, JC might have jumped into more trees than I have climbed in my entire life! Here’s one that they both managed to hang from:

A little further down the trail, I spotted this nice spot a little off the path…it was worth climbing through the tall grass and brush to get there, I think:

These two trees covered in vines just screamed out for a wide-angle shot (and I got to break out one of my favorite lenses, the 17-40 f/4, for anyone wondering):

Some more of that beautiful golden light:

Their best J. Crew model looks (you can see Sage’s smile still trying to sneak through…JC was fabulous at the serious faces!):

What a lovely field for a kiss!

The engagement ring (and I absolutely love the juxtaposition of the dress along with the Red Sox jersey…sorry about that ALCS thing, JC) for anyone that missed the preview post:

A slightly more serious moment…doesn’t she just have the most captivating, lovely eyes?

Your wedding is going to totally rock, guys. I can’t wait! For the rest of you, make sure to stay tuned for some more photos of this lovely couple!

Preview | Amber & John

Phillip Mackenzie — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:03:47 +0000

Delicious sunlight and a beautiful pregnant woman…what else do you need for great maternity shots? Her husband was great too, even getting her into cornfields for me! Can’t wait to blog these…here’s a preview:

More to come!

Preview | Sage & JC

Phillip Mackenzie — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 04:28:36 +0000

This past Monday I had an amazing time doing an engagement session with Sage & JC, who are getting married in a few weeks! Both of them are so much fun and have such playful personalities…and did pretty much anything I asked. We’ll just say that JC has some mad tree-climbing abilities. We had a blast that morning before they had to drive back to Boston, and I can’t wait for their wedding! Here’s a teaser for everyone:

And yes…that does say Red Sox. I’ve got my fingers crossed!

Preview | Lisa

Phillip Mackenzie — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 20:27:26 +0000

One of a few sessions I shot in the past few days…stay tuned later tonight for other previews as well…and more to come! And I’m thinking about just a white logo and not the blue square…not sure yet though. Let me know what you think!

I’ve been tagged!

Phillip Mackenzie — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:21:51 +0000

A fabulous photographer, Erika McCauley, whom I met on the [b] school and whose work I very much admire, tagged me on her blog a few days ago…it’s taken me until now to get with it and play along, sorry about that Erika! Better late than never…here’s mine:

4 things I did today (counting yesterday after midnight):

1. Downloaded and sorted two photo shoots…one more to go and then I’m temporarily caught up!

2. Finally watched an episode of Mad Men

3. Going to a homecoming parade this evening (and if God’s listening, I’d love it to get just a few degrees warmer!)

4. Started reading “The Brand Gap” by Marty Neumeier

4 things on my to-do list:

1. Go to San Francisco and Napa and fall in love with the city all over again

2. Take my wife to my ancestral home in Scotland

3. Have my wife show me around Italy where she studied abroad for a semester in college…and I’ll second Erika’s drink a really good glass of red wine in Italy!

4. Watch the sun rise and set into the ocean from the same place

4 of my guiltiest pleasures

1. Apple…anything

2. BD’s Mongolian BBQ…we don’t have one here, but I’ve made us drive an hour and a half out of our way to go to one!

3. Spy movies (esp. 007…and esp. the new ones

4. Golf…anytime I have the chance

4 random facts about me

1. I have over a thousand DVDs/CDs

2. I have two Master’s degrees in music!

3. I love watching travel shows (National Geographic, The Travel Channel, etc.)

4. I flew 3000 miles to go on a first date with a beautiful blonde….who is now married to me and pregnant with our first baby!

According to the rules of the game, I have to now tag four other photographers…so here goes: Whitney, Scarlett, Lisa & Jason, you’re it!

Preview | Jess and Craig

Phillip Mackenzie — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:37:31 +0000

This past weekend I did some maternity photos for our friends Jess and Craig. We had a great time and got some awesome shots. Here’s a preview…

…stay tuned for the rest!

First Day of [b] School!

Phillip Mackenzie — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:07:57 +0000

For all who don’t know, I’ve blog-stalked an incredible photographer named [b]ecker since I began to get back into photography, and the new online community he’s built, called the [b] school, opened its virtual doors this morning! I’ve been enrolled for a few weeks since private school and I guarantee you it’s worth it to join. So many people wanting to succeed and in the meantime helping so many others to succeed with them. So come on in, join the fun, and [b] awesome!

And while you’re at it, get with the crowd and start twittering!

Funtastic Fridays | LAB color

Phillip Mackenzie — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 01:37:18 +0000

So I was watching Deke McClellan’s “dekePod” podcast and he has a lesson on why not to fear the LAB color mode in Photoshop, because it’s the closest to the way that humans see! Watch the video and you’ll be itching to try it out, which I did. So here’s the original, straight-out-of-the-camera shot:

Here’s the histogram in RGB:

And here’s what it looks like if you adjust the levels in RGB (to the same extent that I adjusted it in LAB):

Notice the gaps in the histogram; that’s where there’s absolutely no color information at all! It’s just gone!

So here’s Deke’s method: open it in Photoshop, convert it to LAB color, then adjust it with crazy (!) levels of saturation. This is more than I’d usually do, but it’s still pretty awesome how super-saturated you can make your images in LAB mode. Now the best part: after you’re done, convert it back to RGB and then look at your histogram. It should look clean, without those pesky gaps:

And here’s the corresponding image (with sharpening and vignette/blur from TRA):

Try it! Just play with the sliders in LAB mode, and see what effects they have on your image. It really is surprisingly intuitive. Deke says it in a fabulously entertaining way, but here’s the message: Don’t fear the LAB!

Seven Years Later

Phillip Mackenzie — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:01:36 +0000