Introducing Lily

Watch out world - we have a rebel flower. We hung out with Faith this weekend and got to meet her beautiful 12-day-old niece, Lillian (Congrats again Shannon and Chris!). She soo wanted to stay awake and see what was going on, but she just couldn't pull it off. She put up quite the cute fight though, living up to her blanket's fun embroidery.

All four images: 50mm. f/2-f/3.5.

Sweet T.

As we took photos this weekend of Sweet Teagan and her proud parents, it was clear she was somethin' special. So happy. Such bright eyes. Super long and lean.... (The list goes on!) But we had no idea that she has actually been voted the "No. 1 Most Beautiful Baby in the World." By whom? Dad, of course. But we're not disputing it. Nice to meet you, beautiful, sweet T! Keep on turning heads...

Photo Editing 101

Becca and I had a long, 3-min. conversation yesterday about the evils of photo editing... After the long, arduous discussion, we came back to the same conclusion that we were at before: some "photoshopping" isn't so bad. It's the over-the-top editing, (including, but not limited to, HDR) that is annoying (albeit sometimes really cool looking. See: Pictures of downtown St. Louis' Arch and Old Courthouse!).

Enter, Lightroom. It's the perfect photo processing tool that allows you to get the most out of your image while really maintaining its original nature. Like the name suggests, it enables some post-camera tweaking, similar to what a master developer might strive for in the darkroom. And that's why we love it. It lets us easily hone in on specific colors, tones, shadows, etc., without spending tons of time in Photoshop; and, yet, if we want or need to make other significant edits, boom -- instant Ps connectivity. Ideal.

Two samples of the same image. The first, no post-processing. Exactly what came out of the 5DII at 70mm, 400 ISO, 1/15 second, f/4. (Hand-held). The second, 15-30 seconds of Lightroom work. Again, same image. Mind you, neither one is great. It's just the illustration and the principle. The one on the right is much closer to reality. The one on the left is what the camera thought it saw. It's like cheap film vs. nice film, in a sense.



Our next conversation: full-frame image sensors vs. APS-C. Sound boring? Maybe. But I think you'll be surprised to see what you've been missing. (Think wide-screen movies vs. "adapted to fit your piece of junk tube TV from last decade.)

cute or what?

Our most recent shoot focuses on Duncan, the adorable 4-month old with a striking resemblance to his adoring big sis and simply overflowing with smiles ... On a scale of 1 to 10, boy is this guy cute or what?


The specs: Photo 1: 47mm, f/8. Photo 2: 131mm, f/7.1. Photo 3: 39mm, f/9. Photo 4: 50mm, f/7.1

our thoughts are with chile

This morning, our minds are drawn back to the beautiful, amazing, awe-inspiring nation of Chile, which was rocked by an 8.8-mag. earthquake in the early hours of today. So far, it sounds as though the death toll is low, surprisingly -- probably in great part due to the modernization and solid building structures found in the busy, busy capital city of Santiago. Our hope and prayer is that it remains that way and that the more humble, coastal towns like Coronel, Puerto Montt and Vina del Mar remain safe from the tsunami threat...

A look back @ Chile, from our cruise there last year.




Our friends traveled there far more recently. You ought to take a look at the Schmutz's photos while you're browsing...

Blimbam's official ad rankings

We agree with the masses this year: the 2010 SuperBowl ads were, at best, a letdown. With only one ad scoring a Perfect 10 on our oh-so-precise ad effectiveness meter, here's how we ranked the $54.3 billion in ads, along with some recommendations ...

The Lone Soldier
Doritos “hands off my mama”: 10.0
(Top-Spot Analysis: Every ad needs a funny black kid willing to slap an adult for a good laugh.)

Seek 2011 Exclusivity for Ad Copywriters
Snickers football: 9.0

Book More Primo Ad Slots in 2010
Google “search on”: 8.5
Bud Light “island radio”: 8.0

Send Personal Thank-You’s to the Focus Groups
Dennys Grand Slam #3 (birthday cake): 7.8
Bud Light “book club”: 7.5
Doritos “funeral casket”: 7.3
Cars.com “Timothy Richman”: 7.2
Coca-Cola “Africa sleep walker”: 7

Stick to Olympics Advertising
Doritos “barking collar”: 6.7
Bud Light “house of cans”: 6.5
VW “das auto slug bug”: 6.4
Bud Light “scientists, end of the world”: 6.3
FloTV “history of America” featuring The Who: 6.1
Budweiser “human bridge”: 6.0

Stick to Late-Night Advertising
Audi Clean Diesel “green police”: 5.8
Intel “best invention ever”: 5.7
Hyundai “10 years/Favre”: 5.5
Homeaway.com with Chevy Chase: 5.4
Bud Light “auto tune”: 5.3
Denny’s Grand Slam #2 (Patriotic): 5.1
Hardee’s “crying over jalapenos”: 5.0

Beg the NFL for Your Money Back
Teleflora “flowers in a box”: 4.6
Coca-Cola “Simpsons”: 4.5
Dodge Charger “man’s last stand”: 4.2
Budweiser “friends and fences/Clydesdale”: 4.1
Boost Mobile “Shuffle”: 4.0
eTrade “milkaholic”: 4.0
KGB “sumo wrestlers”: 4.0

Stick to WNBA Advertising
Tru.tv “6 more weeks of football”: 3.8
Denny’s Grand Slam #1: 3.7
Motorola featuring Megan Fox: 3.5
Census Bureau: 3.2
Vizio featuring Beyonce: 3.1
Dove for Men: 3.0

Start Seeking Government Bailouts
Hyundai Sonata music: 2.9
Kia “sock monkey and toys”: 2.7
Dorito’s “Chinese star”: 2.5
Focus on the Family with Tim Tebow: 2.3
Universal Orlando “Harry Potter”: 2.3
Bridgestone “killer whale bachelor party”: 2.2
FloTV “Change out of that skirt”: 2.2
Michelob Ultra with Lance Armstrong: 2.1
Budweiser 55 Select: 2.1
Sketchers Shapeups: 2.0
eTrade “He’s eating lobster!”: 2.0
Dante’s Inferno: 2.0
Dr. Pepper “KISS, I’m a Dr.”: 2.0

Let’s Just Pretend That Never Happened…
Honda Crosstour: 1.8
Dockers “free pants”: 1.5
Career Builder “expose yourself”: 1.4
PopSecret “awesome+awesome = awesomer”: 1.1
Go Daddy “massage”: 1.1
Taco Bell featuring Charles Barkley: 1.0
Go Daddy “too hot for TV?”: 1.0

Special Disclaimer and Production Note: Crappy CBS house ads don't count. Ever. But if we did set the meter, the David Letterman/Oprah/Leno and "How I Met Your Mother" ads would have fallen somewhere between Taco Bell and Go Daddy...

Oh, and in case you missed 'em, you can see this year's ads on CBS's website.