Mie Ahmt Photography

One Year Ago

One year ago today I got in the truck (AKA the Black Beauty) and drove from Idaho to Montana! Who would have known that spending five months in a photography school in Missoula would change my life to the extend it did and still does today?
I LOVE Photography - and I can't imagine my life without it... And now I can't imagine my life without the people I met at RMSP last year. In a few days a whole new group of people are starting the experience of Summer Intensive at RMSP. I am exited for every single one of them but also a bit jealous and can't help but to sit here and wish that I was the one doing all that all over again!!!

Best Wedding Video Ever!!!

I found this video on A Cup of Jo - a blog I really enjoy.
This must be the best wedding video ever. Wow! Now there is a wedding that look like a fun time!

Like Joanna - I double-dare you not to smile...

Brian & Eileen's Wedding Music Video. from LOCKDOWN projects on Vimeo.

Micro Stock Studio

This is very cool!!!
Photographer Yuri Arcurs gives a tour of his studio in Aarhus, Denmark!
His studio is one of the most successful and productive stock photography studios in the world! For me - this looks like an awesome place to work! Maybe someday - with some hard work and a little luck - I can have a place like that!

Dirty Dirty Sensor...

Last week I handed over my camera to Idaho Camera to get it cleaned. Normally I clean it myself - I have no problem - or rather - no fear of cleaning my own sensor. But it had come to a point were the amount of time I spent looking into my sensor with my sensor scope - just didn't make sense any more. There were some spots I just couldn't see - or couldn't clean. I am not the type of person who treats my camera as a baby... I put it in my purse - I carry it with me everywhere - more or less.. I change lenses and put it on the ground (Not at the same time though) - so I am not one of these overly careful or sensitive people... Anyways... I took my camera over to Idaho camera and they cleaned it in a day for $105 and I was a happy camper.. I went out over the weekend and took a ton of pictures - because now I finally had a clean sensor. Or - so I thought...
At first sight my pictures look just fine - also at f22 - which was my problem earlier.
  But when you take a closer look it doesn't look so fine after all. The picture below is a picture of a white board - nothing but white! I adjusted the levels in Photoshop to bring out all this nastiness... Woah!!! $105 for THAT? I don't think so!

All the black spots in this picture are dust or dirt from my sensor... Obviously nobody but me would never notice this in my pictures - but it bothers me and I spend way too much time looking for flaws rather than being creative and evolving... So now I am without my camera again - no biggie - I just hope they will get it spotless as soon as possible.

I have discussed this issue with some of my friends (and now colleagues) from RMSP - and I have come to the conclusion that I will try a methanol-based solution - rather than the waterbased one I have been using until now. I have a feeling that the waterbased solution takes too long to dry and that just might be the root of my whole problem here... We will see what happens - and I shall keep you posted. Taking pictures is much more fun than stupid sensor cleaning!

Spring Cleaning

I love spring... Everything about it! I even love the spring cleaning! I love getting rid of stuff and the feeling of weight pretty much being lifted off my shoulders. Since my house is under construction at the moment - I am spring cleaning my computer. Not so long ago I spilled coffee in the keyboard in my beloved MacBook Pro... It was totally the dogs fault - and funnily enough her name is Java! Yes! I love my coffee! The computer itself didn't suffer much from the Java accident - but the keyboard isn't working much anymore. It works just fine with an external keyboard - but I have lost faith in my computer and know it is only a matter of time before it bails on me... So spring cleaning it is... In my computer... AND my camera...
Since my last trip to Afghanistan I have had serious issues with dust on my sensor - which pretty much makes me shoot in F4 or below... So now I finally gave in and sent my camera off for cleaning. I should probably have done it a long time ago - considering the number of hours I have spent looking into my sensor with my sensor Loupe... I can not wait to get it back!

So while we wait for my camera to get back - here are some pictures of the little Java Puppy who made me spill coffee in my computer. She is a beautiful Border Collie - 5 months old - with A LOT of energy!

I actually have two pups... the other one is Java's brother... His name is Lucky - and I am sure there will be plenty of pictures of him on this blog in the future...

Izona

Ahhh... Remodeling takes forever... The joy of living in a construction site!
We have finally purchased our kitchen cabinets - and now I am trying to find some nice appliances. I have found it really hard to find anything locally - let's just say this Danish Scandinavian design fan - doesn't hit it of with the furniture shops in Boise.
In general everything from sofas to fridges here seems to have the bulky - almost rounded look! I don't like it!
Finally a friend of mine - Corrin from Gospad, got me on the right track when she sent me a link to Izona!
They have beautiful gas cook tops, cooler drawers - that I have been looking for forever... pretty much all the appliances that I have been looking for in a straight, clean, strong design.

You would think that everything now would be fine and dandy - and that I would be dancing around in my construction site ! I would be - if I could find a place in the US that sell these appliances... It seems to me that you can only get these beautiful appliances in Australia, New Zealand and The UK! Can that really be right? I must own these appliances!

  The pictures above are from Izona's brochure - which I downloaded from their Homepage!