State Fair Video

Still Playing Catch Up

Spent most of the Labor Day weekend laboring over what seems to be and endless backlog of projects.  I think I can see a twinkle of light at the end of the tunnel though.  Below is a video from last Saturday's shoot.

Heather and Kenny

Spent most of this week catching up on a backlog of work.  Here is another wedding video that was completed this week.  Maybe I can get back on track with Project 52 before next Friday.

Update and New Video

I has been a while since I posted last and I have missed the last several weeks of my Project 52.  I have been busy trying to sell my other business which I successfully closed last Friday.  Hopefully that will allow more time to update.  While you wait.....enjoy one of our latest videos of Erik and Kayte.

Project 52 - Week 31

Nikon D300s 1/400 sec @ f5 ISO 500 Processed in Lightroom 3

Project 52 - Week 30

D300s w/ 85mm/1.8 lens.  shot at 1/250 sec @ 2.8. ISO 2000

Project 52 - Week 29

D300s with 70-200/2.8 Lens shot at 1/640 sec @2.8.  Processed in lightroom

Project 52 - Week 28

Shot with Droid Mobile Phone Camera - Processed in Lightroom 2

Project 52 - Week 27

Nikon D200 300/2.8 lens ISO 1250 1/8000 at 2.8
I was shooting baseball action recently and loved this scene as the lights came on in the park.

Fun Clip From Recent Wedding

Just a fun clip from a recent wedding.  We are still working with video at every event trying our hand at new things.  We hope to go "LIVE" with a product in 2011 but there is still a lot to learn.  We have to figure out not only how to shoot, the equipment need, but also how to fit the captured footage into our work flow.

Project 52 - Week 26

Nikon D300s & 70-200/2.8 Shot at 1000 sec f2.8 ISO 400.  Processed in lightroom.

Project 52 - Week 25

Nikon D300s 70-200/2.8 Shot at 1000 sec f2.8 ISO 400. Processed in Nik Sliver Effects Pro.

Project 52 - Week 24

A few weeks back we were shooting a job inside of an old bank building.  Nikon D200 w/ 17-50/2.8.  Shot at 200 sec f6.3 ISO 400.

Project 52 - Week 23

Cell Phone Cam - Processed in LR

Project 52 - Week 22

Cell Phone Cam - Image processed in Lightroom

Project 52 - Week 21

Cell Phone Cam - Processed in Lightroom

Project 52 - Week 20

Cell Phone Cam

Wedding Gear

I get questions from time to time about the gear I pack when covering a wedding. Below is the typical contents for my bag when I head out to a wedding. All of the gear is transported to the wedding in my ThinkTank Airport Acceleration. Once we are onsite, I grab my Speed Demon Beltpack and load it up with 2 SB600, 85mm, 10.5mm, batteries, and CF Cards. I put the 17-50 on my D300s and the 70-200 on the D200. Both cameras have a SB800. This will cover 99% of all of the pre-ceremony shots except the formals. Depending on the situation with the formals, I reach for either the Ultra 600 or my SB600. Couple those light with the CyberSyncs or CLS.

• D300s Primary
• D200 Backup
• 2-SB800
• 2-SB600
• 1-Paul Buff Ultra w/power cord & reflector
• 10.5mm/2.8
• 17-50/2.8
• 70-200/2.8
• 85/1.8
• 50/1.8
• Hoodman Loupe
• Lens Cloth
• 40 AA Batteries
• 10 CF Cards in Pixel Pocket Rocket
• 2 CyberSync Transmitters
• 4 CyberSnyc Receivers
• 2-SC-29 Cords
• Several Snoots/Flags
• 2-Umbrellas
• 5 in 1 Reflector
• 2-Umbrella Adapters
• 2-Light Stands
• 2-Justin Clamps
• Gaffer Tape
• Various Flash Filters

My wife is packing another D200 with a 24-70/2.8 or a 50/1.8 and an SB800. She likes to travel lighter than I do.


I have worked myself into this equipment after years of experience and lots of weddings. I still review my bag about once a year and decide if there is anything I can live without. If it hasn't been used in the last 6 months, chances are it will not be in my bag much longer.

Project 52 - Week 19

Nikon D200 300/2.8 Lens.  1/2500 sec at f4.5 iso 320

ZipShot

Last week I took a chance on a product that I had my eye on for several months. The ZipShot Tripod is made by Tamrac. It weighs 11 ozs and opens up to 44 inches. I was a little concerned that it wouldn't support the weight of a pro DSLR. Once I opened it up and extended the legs, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was quite stable with my D300s and a 17-50/2.8 lens. There are a lot of things that it won't do but it is great when used within its limitations.


I have also used various attachments to attach speedlights and use it as a third lightstand. You can also attach an umbrella holder so you are not limited to a bare speedlight.

I won't be giving up my full blown tripod anytime soon, but this will be a welcomed addition to my toolkit. Well worth the 50 bucks. 

Project 52 - Week 18

Interesting things are all around us.  You just have to stop and look.  Nikon D300s 70-200/2.8 ISO 200 1/1250 sec @ f3.5 130mm

Project 52 - Week 17

Seems to be a recurring theme here.  Has me thinking of a new personal project.  Nikon D300s 70-200/2.8 lens shot at 1/800 sec f3.5 iso 200

Video Interview with HDSLR

This is a follow up to a previous post. Our job as digital storytellers is to capture and preserve the memories around us. The younger readers might not see the true value in this yet, but us less young people will. I wish that I had video of the stories from my grandparents.  Three of the four are gone but before this year is finished, I want to preserve the memory of all of the elderly in my family. They lived in a different era. They remember party lines, the first TV's, and watching man on the moon for the first time. They have lived through some of the toughest times this country has seen. Their wisdom is astonishing. You don't need the latest HDSLR's to capture these memories. Use what you have.

The interview was shot with the D300s and some really simple lighting.  We used one 10.5 inch work light from home depot and another smaller work light.  I positioned the bigger light camera left and ran it through a umbrella we use in our still photography. I was noticing some noise in the background even after I turned on all of the available "house light" so the other light was behind the subject and camera right pointed at the background. White balance proved to be a real issue and I hadn't had much time to play with the camera. A quick online search gave me the instructions for custom white balance. This proved to be my answer.  This is my wife's father. Since she knew most of the stories she wanted to preserve, we positioned her just out of frame and she helped guide the conversation. The interview ran over 90 minutes and we still haven't had a chance to edit.  What you see is straight out of camera.

Mr. White grew up in rural Arkansas.  This is just a glimpse of his story........

Dury's Photo - Nashville

Talk about great customer service. I can't say enough good things about https://www.durys.com/ I recently went in to look at some new gear my wife needed. I knew that I wanted to purchase a Thinktank Speed Belt and some of the modular components for the belt. After browsing for a bit, I was unable to locate anything other than the speed belt. Robert approached and I asked about the items I wanted and he took great pleasure in assisting me. He helped me to locate the other modular components. I also wanted to take a look at a Think Tank camera bag. Neither of us could locate it on the floor so Robert checked the computer. He ran toward the back of the store and reappeared 5 minutes later with the exact bag I was hunting. He discussed in great detail the pros and cons of the Airstream vs. other Think Tank bags.

Before checkout, I told him that I had already checked online at a couple of the New York places I order. I knew the prices were in line but New York also offered free shipping. Robert ran his magic fingers across the keyboard and matched the online price. I always want to buy local and it makes it an easy decision when the local guys go out of their way with great service and a great price. If you are in Nashville, be sure to check out their store. If not, check them out online. You can't beat these guys. 

Project 52 - Week Sixteen

Nikon D300s 17-50/2.8.  Shot at ISO 200 1/30sec @2.8.  Processed in Lightroom

Project 52 - Week Fifteen

Project 52 is harder than I thought it would be during the spring.  Spring is our busiest time of the year.  Tons of shooting for clients but hard to find time to shoot things I want to.  This is our son Ethan.  Nikon D300s 70-200/2.8 lens.  200 sec @f5.6  Processed in lightroom

Crazy

I know the posts have been REALLY light lately.  We are in the busiest time of the year and shooting almost 7 days a week right now.  Judging by years past, our schedule doesn't let up until mid June or so.  Stay tuned.  I have a couple of gear reviews coming up as well as a review on a local camera store.  I will also be purchasing a steadycam this month.  I will get some pics of it up along with my first thoughts.

Project 52 - Week Fourteen

I wanted to keep project 52 on more of a personal level but.....  This is from a recent wedding.  Both the bride and groom are soldiers.  Having the opportunity to photograph them against the side of a helicopter just seemed right.  Nikon D300s 1/8000 sec @2.8.  Lens was 70-200 @ 95mm.  

Project 52 - Week Thirteen

Another one made with the cell phone.  This is the AT&T building in Nashville.  Also known as the "Batman Building"

David & Katie

NOTE -  The clients WERE NOT charged for this product.  They didn't even know we were doing anything like this.  I wouldn't dare sell a new product/service without months of testing first.

Using the D300s that we rented we were able to capture the video you see below.  We had tons of footage that had to be ditched due to various issues.   It continues to be a big learning curve as we enter into the video world but I wanted to test the camera and workflow under real world conditions. The workflow didn't present any problems. Capturing great video proved to be a challenge but nothing that we can't overcome.  The camera is great except for the auto focus in video mode.  If you are use to working with DSLR as a still camera and then switch to video, be prepared for painfully slow auto focus.  The camera uses a different type of auto focus for video.  This forced us back to manual focus which took me a bit.  I grew up on manual focus cameras but it had been a while since I used it.  There is some add on gear to make life easier but I am still concerned about overloading the rig.  It needs to function as both a still and video camera and be able to swap easily between the two to work for us at a wedding.  The adventure continues....

Project 52 - Week Twelve

Cell Phone Cam while scouting shoot locations.

Rental Gear

Ok.  So I decided to try a little more video at a recent event.  Didn't want to purchase a camera without a chance to play with it first.  I also didn't know anyone that owned a D300s.  So I researched online and found BorrowLenses  Talk about making life easy.  I had a few questions on the insurance and reservations but a quick call to their customer service took care of that.  I opted not to purchase the insurance because there is a 10% of camera retail price deductible if something goes astray even if you get the insurance.  I took my chances and didn't have any issues. Reservations can be made up to 30 days in advance.  Their website walked me through the rest.  The camera arrived exactly when it was suppose to.  I chose the three day rental since I only needed it for last Saturday.  I scheduled it to arrive on Thursday.  This gave me Thursday afternoon and all of Friday to become familiar and get the camera setup the way I wanted it.  It also meant I had an extra day in case something went wrong with FedEx. With the three day rental delivered on Thursday, I almost got four days with it.  Since FedEx doesn't run on Sunday, they expected me to return ship on Monday.

The only complaint that I have was the battery.  With a full charge, I was only able to shoot 13 minutes of HD video before the one they gave me died.  Fortunately, the D300s takes the same battery as my older D200.  I dropped one of my batteries in and was able to get over an hour of HD video and still had half of the battery left. Not sure what the problem was with the battery they sent but if you don't have extras for the camera, I would recommend getting at least one extra.

I tracked the package back to them and knew that it was delivered.  That same day I got an email saying it was returned in great shape and thanks for taking care of the gear.

All in all, a pleasant experience. Just get extra batteries if you don't have them.

By the way, I loved the D300s.  Enough so, that I went ahead and purchased one to have on hand.

Project 52 - Week Eleven

Cell Phone Cam

Quick Update

I have been furiously researching the video on new HDDSLR cameras.  This has kept me from posting for the last week or so.  We have rented one camera that we will be testing later this week and through the weekend.  If all goes well, we will pull the trigger and purchase next week.  I am really excited about the ability to shoot video with the lenses we already have for our still cameras.  I think this will open up some great opportunities for us. It is also producing some challenges for us.  I have not shot video in the past, so we are having to rethink the way we do most everything at an event.  We look forward to working through these challenges and I will get some updates posted here over the next week or so.  We are coming into our busiest time of the year.  Our work starts ramping up around the 22nd of March and we already have the first three weeks of April booked solid.  This is really going to limit the time...but I can already smell the midnight oil burning.  Hopefully, we will have some great footage posted before the work overload begins.  Till then......

Project 52 - Week Ten

Cell Phone Cam

Project 52 - Week Nine

Nikon D100 35-70 500 sec @f11

Q&A

Lots of questions about the recent video we did for Interstate Trucks. As previously stated, I don't currently own a HDDSLR. I have an old Panasonic PV-GS9 that I purchased several years back. I used it along with the grip equipment that I have on hand for my still shoots. The camera was clamped onto the mirror of the truck for some shots of the driver. At one point, I also had a Nikon D70s clamped onto a grab handle inside the truck to get the still shots of the driver. This camera was fired via remote control. I was actually in the vehicle behind him when this image was made. I fired off 20-30 images and just chose the best. For the shot under the truck, I sat the camera up on a mini tripod and double checked ground clearance of the truck. Then we let Doug roll over the camera. He seemed a little skeptical but I didn't mind losing the camera in the event things went wrong.

After all of the video was captured, I dumped it onto the hard drives and began the editing. I trimmed the clips to where I wanted them, put them in order, and then dropped the stills in place. A few tweaks were done to the audio. Total process including shooting and editing took about 10 hours.

This project was a blast to work on and the whole team at Interstate Trucks loved it. Can't wait to work on the next one.

New Truck Video

Here is the latest project that has kept me busy for the last several days. Still learning this video thing. No HDSLR here. Just a cheap vid cam I have had laying around for several years. Sometime you just gotta use what you got on hand.

Project 52 - Week Eight

Nikon D100 w/ 35-70/2.8~~~750 sec @ f14

Project 52 - Week Seven

Lost in Motion

While I started Project 52 to push me to create new images, it has also got me to looking into images I made years ago.  I ran across this one that I made in 2004 in Boston.  I have always loved this image but only recently ran across it again.  Nikon D100/35-70 2.8 @35mm 1/10 sec @2.8

Interstate Trucks

Doug called again with another truck that he needed images of.  We did the last shoot in November.  This time he wanted to use a lot he just purchased.  He is scheduled to build on the lot this year but as you can see in the first image, it wasn't much to work with.  The good news was we had plenty of room.

I chose to place the truck as close to the neighboring building as I could and then used a 70-200 lens to compress the background even more.  The shoot happened later in the afternoon and fortune was on my side this day.  The sun was almost directly behind camera with the angle I wanted to shoot.  The only issue I could see was the front of the truck in need of some extra light.

Working at ISO 200 F9, I knew the flash would have to be almost on top of the truck to have any effect what so ever.  I only had my speed lights but I did have four of them at my disposal.  During the last shoot I was able to use the CLS system to fire the strobes but that would have been impossible at the range I was working today and competing with the sun.  I grabbed the wireless triggers and positioned the light just a few feet from the truck.  My only concern was keeping the light and stand in a photoshoppable area of the image.

After a little work in PS to remove some unwanted elements and add his logo, below is the image we delivered.  Be sure to check out their web site and blog.  Doug and his whole team put an incredible amount of time into restoring these rigs.

Project 52 - Week Six

So I am driving to a shoot recently when I pass a Land Rover dealership.  I see this SUV parked on one of those dealership ramps right out by the road.  It caught my eye but there was tons of junk all around the ramp.  It is in a parking lot.  I chose to stop and see if I could come up with an angle that would lead one to believe it was made in the middle of no where.  Turns out there was a ditch between the road and the ramp.  This allowed me to get low enough to grab the image you see above.  Nothing had to be photoshopped out of the background.  PS was just used to enhance the image and provide some blur to the tires as though it were in motion.  Nikon D200 17-50/2.8 180 sec @ F5 ISO 100.

Follow Up - Slow Time of Year

A month ago, I wrote about what can be done during the slow time of the year.  I contacted the broker at the office and offered to photograph anyone that would like to update their head shot.  We agreed that Feb 2 would be a good time since they had their monthly sales meeting that day.  I sent an email to him with all of the details that he forwarded to all of the agents.  I used Event Brite to manage the event and take appointments.  I was a little concerned when only 5 agents signed up but I was committed to doing it.  The broker announced it again during the meeting and 21 agents came in afterwards to be photographed.  The only problem that I ran into was the small space alloted for the images.  The first image was taken with a 17-50mm at about 32mm.  The

room couldn't have been more than 12 feet long and maybe 8 feet wide.  I was really glad I didn't have to put studio strobes in that tight space and then run cords all over the room for power.

The lighting setup is our normal setup minus the background light.  Since I couldn't get any more distance between my subject and the background, I had enough spill from the main light to eliminate the background light.  We worked fast allowing only two-three minutes with each agent and getting about five shots of each during that time frame.

The second image is the results from the lighting.  All images have been retouched and placed on our website.  The agents are free to download and use the images as they like.

This turned out to be a great event for us.  It helped them out with updated head shots and gave us time in the community to market ourselves.  We were able to land another job from this.

One down, two more of these events to go.  One of those has 15 people who signed up online.  If I get 5 times that many again, it will turn out to be a very busy morning.

Picture of the Day

Don't get much of this snow/ice stuff in Nashville.  You wouldn't believe how excited we can get unless you live here.  Shot with my cell phone camera.

Project 52 - Week Five

Cell Phone Camera

Video

I have spent most of my week trying to learn a bit about video editing.  I have managed to teach myself all of the software needed for professional photography but I forgot how hard it was in the beginning.  I see cool things that I want to do but am limited by my shoe string budget.  Since I am just starting, I am learning with what came installed on my computer.  Once I figure out what I can use the video stuff for in the photography studio, I am sure I will upgrade quickly.  I have an idea in my head and IF I manage to pull it off, I will post the vid here.  Don't expect it soon though.  The learning curve could take some time.

Camera Choice

Friends, family, and general associates often approach me when they are looking to purchase a new camera. The want to know which one they should buy. My response is always the same....don't know but I am thinking of purchasing a car.....which one should I buy. Both questions make as much sense as the other at face value. It depends! Cameras are nothing more than tools and I wouldn't buy a DSLR if I was going to make pictures of my kids on bdays and holidays. Seems like overkill. Then again, I wouldn't show up to the next wedding with only a point and shoot. You have to purchase the tool that YOU NEED.

If you are getting serious about your photography and you know what EVERY button and menu item on your P&S does, then maybe it is time to move up to a DSLR. It is important to know what the buttons and menu items do on any camera that you have. If you don't know, then how do you know the camera you currently have won't do what you want the new camera to do.


I guess the next most often question is Nikon or Canon. First, if you ask me, there is nothing finer than a Nikon. Just kidding. You should buy whichever brand your photographer buddy has so you can borrow his expensive lenses. Actually, buying which brand your buddy has isn't a bad idea. Forget about his lenses for a minute. If you get the brand that he has, then you have someone to go to when you can't figure out why the camera refuses to fire or throws another curve ball to you.


Most important is the last nugget of knowledge. DON'T buy a top of the line camera of any brand and then skimp on the glass you need to go in front of it. If you have to choose between camera and glass, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS opt for the glass. You are much better off buying a lower end camera with great lens as opposed to buying a great camera and putting cheap glass on it.


Hope this helps...J 

Project 52 - Week Four

Nikon D200 1/800 sec at F2.8 ISO 100

Corporate Shots

So I got a call from a regular client a couple of weeks back. He had taken a senior position at another office and wanted to update all of the employee headshots. Below is somewhat of a typical setup for this type of shoot. I almost always work with small strobes for this type event. They produce good light for a head and shoulders and are a lot less weight than the studio strobes. Setup included sb800 main light, sb600 hair light, sb600 bg light, and a reflector. Lights were set to TTL and fired CLS via a sb800 on camera. ISO 100/250 sec/F5.6/70-200/2.8@70mm.  

And the results straight out of camera.  The BG light was cutoff for this image.

Project 52 - Week Three

Camera Phone Image.  Not to bad for a quasi macro shot.

Push the Bounds

We continue to push the bounds of what traditional photographers offer their clients.  Below is one of those products delivered along with traditional prints.  The kids love having it on their IPod or sharing it through social media.

Video Project

It was over Christmas that this idea came to me. We were at my wife's parents house and her dad was playing so old home movies on the VCR. Most were cookouts or other family get togethers but at the end of one of the tapes was an interview with my wife's grandmother. Someone thought enough to sit her down at the kitchen table, turn on the camera, and get her to basically tell her life story. Be a photographer, the first thing I noticed was the poor lighting quality. Can't help it. It just jumps off the screen at me. Once I got past that, I could see the real value of this piece. The grandmother, long deceased, was captured on this film for future generations to see and hear. I thought of my family and my wife's and knew that I had to put together something honoring the elders of our families. I spoke with my wife and she was all about the idea. There was only one problem. We don't own a video camera. Seems silly in this day and age but I had almost always rather have still images from an event. I managed to talk my sister into borrowing her camera for the project. Problem one solved!


Next was the lighting. Being my usual cheap self, I couldn't reason buying "real" video lights for this one time personal project but I refused to film it with one tungsten bulb in an overhead fixture. A little research led to me these little guys.


I had a small one with a 5 inch or so reflector hanging in the garage and went to Home Depot and picked up another with a 10.5" reflector along with a 150 watt CFL. My first thought was to run the main light thru a diffusion panel to soften the light. Since I like to travel as light as possible, I opted for a small umbrella instead. This allowed me to leave one stand behind. I only needed to modify the main light's reflector by drilling a hole in it to slip the umbrella through. With my main light set, I looked toward the second, smaller light. I used a super clamp and attached it to a 40" extension arm. Using it bare bulb would be ok for a hair/rim light. I went ahead and set everything up in the living room. Looking at the hair light closer led me to think that I had a soft box  that would fit. Low and behold, it was almost as if it were made for it. I just left the hot shoe adapter off and it slipped perfectly over the work light's reflector.


I had a complete three light (a reflector for a third light) setup ready and it only cost me 25 bucks. And since I think photographers are going to have to learn at least a little video to stay competitive in the future, this was a great exercise for someone who has no video experience. I would love to have had a two or three camera setup for the project, but didn't have the software, knowledge, or time to mix the three together properly. Oh yeah, and I was a couple of camera's short. Maybe next time!

Project 52 - Week Two

Ok.  This one surprised even me.  This was shot on New Year's Eve at a friends house.  The amazing part....it was taken with a VERY old Nikon CoolPix 2100.  I just set it to scene view (fireworks) and pointed it upward.  Exposure 4 sec at f5.2.

Picture of the Day

Nikon D200 1/1600 sec @ f1.8 ISO 100 85mm lens

Camera Bags - Beltpacks

Gear heads like myself can never get enough reading material on which piece of gear someone uses and why they chose that particular piece. Before buying any gear I tend to read tons of reviews. A few months back I was on a search for a new beltpack. I love this style of bag when I am shooting sports and weddings. They keep most everything I need right at my fingertips. I already had a Think Tank Airport Acceleration and love it because it is by far one of the most well thought out designs. So I headed to my local camera store to check one out. After an hour in the store and going back and forth between different sizes, I settled with the Speed Freak because of its ability to hold a 70-200/2.8 lens since this lens goes with me 95% of the time.


After the drive back to the office, I began loading up the new bag and trying it on again. That is when the new wore off and I realized my mistake. This bag is freaking huge and when fully loaded I knew I wouldn't be able to carry it on a full day shoot at a wedding or sporting event. When I grab my waist pouch, I am looking to carry a minimal amount of gear. I don't need it to carry every lens in my arsenal. I usually have one extra lens, a flash or two, and vital extras such as cards and batteries. Not much else.


So back to the store I went. I returned the Speed Freak and grab the Speed Demon instead. Only problem was, it wouldn't hold the 70-200. Turns out to be an easy fix with the addition of the Lens Changer 75 Pop Down. Now I can easily expand the bag when I need the additional room but can leave off the extras when I don't need the 70-200.


After several months of use now I can say that I am 100% happy with my purchase. The bag performs as it should and allows me to expand/contract as needed depending on the assignment. Working photogs need gear to make their lives easier and I couldn't be happier with my Speed Demon.

Project 52

So after 20+ years in the photo profession, I am going to make an attempt concentrated effort to actually pull off one photo every week here on the blog.  I thought about one a day and then decided against it.  I know how crazy the spring can get with shooting and I had rather post one good picture each week than some half-ass picture every day.  Stay tuned and we will see how far I can get.  A fair amount if not most of the images will be made with my camera phone.  I like the simplicity and always have that camera with me.  Other times, it could be an image from a recent job.  It shouldn't be hard to figure out which is which.

Happy New Year - Project 52 Week One

Slow Time of the Year

So what do you do during the slow time of the year?  This year we have worked on revamping parts of our web site and researching new ways to market our business.   We already use Google Adwords for targeted marketing but needed something a bit more local and personal.  We decided to approach local real estate offices and offer free head shots.  Yep, I said free.  Actually it will end up costing us money to do the job.  So why would I do that?  To get my name into that section of the community.  We have started shooting real estate pics for advertising and need to spread the word about our new service.  So we are working out the details now with two of the top five agencies already on board for February.  In a tight economy and a slow time of year, you have to get creative with your marketing.