Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Engagement Sessions ROCK!

Engagement sessions are one of my favorite things to shoot! I LOVE shooting couples together having fun! And to top it off, I get the just hang out and get to know the couple, not just point a camera at them.

Just the other day I was able to meet Megan and Christo! What an awesome couple! I had a blast with them! They are both graduating from medical school and getting ready to start their residency. Wow... I picked their brains for at least an hour over lunch and I learned a TON! I thought residency was just something where you applied where you wanted to go, just like a job. Boy was I wrong... I'm really excited for them because it sounds like there are some pretty cool options for them with their residency!

I can't wait for Megan and Christo's wedding. They are getting married at the Outdoor Art Club in Mill Valley, fairly near my old stomping grounds in Santa Rosa!







Christina and Steve's Wedding!!

Christina and Steve's wedding was sooo fun! Small weddings are cool because I usually get to spend a much higher percentage of the day alone with the couple just shooting pictures of the two of them!

We started out with a quick ceremony in the Mural Room at the Santa Barbara Courthouse. That room is a photo-shoot in-and-of itself! So fun and beautiful!

After the ceremony, Christina and Steve, along with my cousin (who spent the day as my second shooter) and myself, cruised over to Butterfly Beach for some sweet pictures on the sand!

Steve is a big game hunter/guide by profession. He and Christina met on safari he was guiding in Africa (Steve is South African) The two of them later spent a good deal of time in Africa together studying and documenting wasps which pollunate the Fig trees. I believe they might be releasing a book on the subject in the future! Christina actually went to my Ala Matar (Brooks Institute of Photography)






Internet and SEO for Tim Halberg

I'm such a computer geek that sometimes I realize that maybe I should be embarrassed... And I think this is one of those times.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has become a little side hobby that I'm trying to educate myself on (ok... I enjoy a TON of side hobbies... but this just happens to be one I spend too much time on for how little I know.)

Part of staying up on this for myself, I am constantly hitting Google and searching for Tim Halberg or Tim Halberg Photography.

The idea is, your own website with your namesake should pop up first... well, sadly, my former blog, which was hijacked several months ago by someone who is posting other people's pictures up, now comes up first when you search for my name. Weird, you'd think a search for Tim Halberg would get timhalberg.com to show up as the first result... scary. I just wish I could contact the guy and find a way to get that url back.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Rainy Day Photography

Saturday was another rainy day in Santa Barbara, meaning, another day of being couped up indoors. So Cheryl and I decided it was the perfect day for two photographers to take a photographic adventure to Ojai.

It was a great break from editing and working away in the office.

Enjoy:





You can see more pictures on Cheryl's Blog.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

My New Bio...

Last night when I was introduced as part of the panel, Anna Costa of Michael Costa Photograpers (the folks who photographed my wedding!) read some little blurps about me for my bio. I was pretty excited, because I felt the style in which I was introduced was much more fitting to my personality than my existing bio on my website.

So... I've taken the basic ideas that she read, and I'm posting them here, because I want to see what you guys think about using something like this as my bio on my website:
-
*5'10"
*Blonde hair
*Blue Eyes
*White (half black, 3/4 asian, 1/5 hispanic, and some other stuff mixed in)
*I have spent time working as a bike mechanic, golf course grounds keeper, news writer, news photographer, editor, photo lab tech, digital lab manager, and wedding photographer!
*I am one class away from having a degree from Brooks Institute of Photography (no, I'm not currently a student at Brooks, I finished my studies there in June of 2005)
*If someone was keeping track, they would note that I am in my eighth year of college.
*I shot my first wedding in 2001 for my friends Tyler and Michelle.
*I'm am soooo happily married to my GORGEOUS wife Cheryl! (we actually shoot all of my weddings together!) (And yes, she is a professional photographer as well with her own business)
*I LOVE mayonaisse!
*I am originally from a small town in the mountains called Tehachapi.
-

Let me know what you think. If you love it, let me know some other details that might be fun to throw in there. If you hate it, flame away and let me know!

More news coverage!

I got a call today from Christine with "Money 101" on KNX 1070 radio. Turns out, they saw the article about me video taping my neighbor stealing my newspaper and want to interview me live on the air!

I wonder if I should have warned them that I speak SUPER fast!

If anyone wants to tune in and listen to me try and not make a fool of myself, I believe the interview will be around 10:15 a.m. on Monday morning.

(update)
Just got off the radio! lol, I guess there is a whole movement in society where people are publicly shaming each other on the internet. There are sites devoted to reporting bad drivers and such.

My video of my neighbor stealing my newspaper which I posted on YouTube seems to have caught on as part of this latest fad. Strange thing is, I just posted mine up to share with some friends! It's amazing how big YouTube is these days! I wish I'd have come up with that idea!!!

Wedding photographers and blogging

Tonight I had the opportunity to speak at the Santa Barbara Pictage Users Group (PUG).

We had a panel discussion for a group of about 20 fellow wedding photographers on the finer points of blogging! It was a great opportunity for myself to get ideas and inspiration for a few blogs I hope to launch in the next couple of weeks!

It was also a blast to share some of my geek knowledge! (I love anything techie, so speaking to questions about meta data and SEO definitely stoked me out!)

It was a bit intimidating being on stage with two amazing photographers! Sara France is an awesome and successful wedding photographer based out of San Diego. Amelia Lyon is my new inspiration! Her most recent post on her blog of her sister's wedding blows me away!

Sara and Amelia had some great insight into their blogs, their use of software based blogging programs and why they blog!

I had a blast and I hope everyone who attended walked away with some new knowledge!

It was really cool because there was at least one person in attendance who wasn't a wedding photographer, but wanted to learn about blogging for his personal training business! Adam Shipley of Fueled Sports Performance was on hand to learn a bit more on this topic as he prepares to launch his own blog! I can't wait to hear what he posts about! (especially seeing as I'm in the middle of trying to get my crazy self into better shape!)

(I'll try and scam some pictures off of someone and post those up in the a.m.)







From left to right: Sara France, Amelia Lyon, Me/Tim Halberg.













It was really cool to see my good friends Mike and Rachel Larson in attendance!

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Wow, after being featured in the Wall Street Journal last week for a video I published on You-Tube last year, I was contacted this week by a producer at ABC working on a similar feature for Nightline.

Tonight's Nightline ran a few clips from the video of my 50 year old neighbor (maybe even 60 year old) stealing my newspaper, hilarious!

I think I'm going to have to start video taping more funny things I see. Now if only someone would pick up on my buddy Blaine's mullet collection! That'd be brilliant to feature on TV! (I think he seriously has a collection of mullet pictures numbering in the thousands!!!)

Thursday, January 18, 2007

I've been shooting quite a few engagements lately and having such a blast with them!

I had the chance to hang out with Amanda and Tim a couple of weeks ago, and just got around to picking out some of my favorite pictures from that day.

I'd always thought i was the only guy who got weirded out kissing when there was lipstick present, but I quickly found out that Amanda's Tim shared the same feelings as myself. :-)

We had such a fun time with these guys! I can't wait for their wedding! It's going to be at a private residence near the Regan Library! :-)

Wednesday, January 17, 2007














I'm looking to update my website with a few new weddings in the gallery section, and I need your input for what music to use.

I know I'm probably going to use something by Imogen Heap, I really wanted to try and use something by Regina Spektor, but the sound just didn't quite fit what I want.

My good buddy D is my go to man for when I need help, and he's suggested Colbie Caillat, and she has a pretty good sound, but I'm still looking for a few more options.

Does anyone have any good suggestions? I kinda want to keep with the same vibe that I've already got going, so if you haven't watched my slideshows recently, cruise into the weddings section of my site and check it out. (oh yeah, and I don't want another country song, it just fit for the one wedding because it was in Texas!) :-)
It feels sooo good (yet it hurts sooo bad) to excercise again!!! (if you read my newsletter then you know I'm trying to drop about 20+ pounds by April)

So, I started by running for about 5 or 6 days straight, then I've been hitting the gym every day this week.

The problem is, I'm torn between running, and circuit training in the gym.

Running seems like the no-nonsense way to lose weight, but everyone I keep talking to tells me that circuit training is the way to go.

At this point, I'm pretty sold on the gym. I seriously feel way more worked out after a good workout there than after a long run, and I feel like I can push myself more in the gym.

Any thoughts?

Oh, and the guy who's been pushing me to work harder in the gym is my buddy Andrew VanGundy (aka, AVG). He's a fellow wedding photog who's go the body that I think is my eventual goal! (is that weird for me to say about another guy?)

Anyway, I found a picture of him so people can give me their thoughts on the best way to achieve my goal!













And yes ladies, he is single ;-)

Sunday, January 14, 2007


















I had such a blast going wine tasting in and around Santa Ynez yesterday with a few of my friends! I gotta say, I do love wine tasting. I think we made it to five different wineries before the girls said they'd had enough (as Amy said on her blog, D and I were still ready to hit up a few more...)























Our crazy group included Amy Nave, her roomie Summer, the one-and-only Shyla Dalirifar my good buddy D (he was one of my groomsmen just about two-and-a-half-months back), my hottie of a wife Cheryl and Myself. :-)

















The first winery we hit was Foxen. I LOVE that place!!! I don't usually find too many bottles of wine worth buying when I go tasting, but I always find something at Foxen. Though I think Shyla might have felt a little bit differently, because on her blog she said each time she tasted a wine there it was like faceplanting in the dirt. (They have some pretty decent Pinot Noir's in my humble opinon, and they can be a bit earthy) ;-)

Next we hit up Zaca Mesa. I hadn't tasted there, and I kinda doubt I'd make the stop there again. Nothing stood out to me, I'd lean toward saying their wines were just very blah... They did have a pretty fun little chess set that we created a fun group portrait with. (see pic above, I'm the one laying down)

Our third stop was Firestone Vineyards. Firestone definitely isn't at the top of the list of wineries for me, but I am a member there (for the simple reason that I get free tastings for myself and my friends each time we stop in, so it easily pays for itself) I'm not a huge fan of the wines at Firestone, but their Riseling is a tough one to pass up, and the dessert wines are GREAT (but then again, where have I ever had a dessert wine I didn't like?)

At this point we were definitely ready for lunch, but we were told we had to stop at Curtis to try their dessert wine (I think the girls made a big deal at Firestone about how much they LOVED the dessert wines!) I usually skip Curtis even though as a member of Firestone you get free tastings at Curtis.


Next, Los Olivos Cafe. I assured the girls they could choose either a sandwich or salad here. (I'd never eaten there, but as a guy, I was pretty sure of this...) Well, they had some salads, and then a list of pizzas, TONS of wines, and no sandwiches. Oops... but we all enjoyed our own personal pizzas. They kinda reminded me of California Pizza Kitchen ones, but more posh...

After lunch (which we didn't finish until after 4 p.m.) we headed to one last winery, Daniel Gehrs, to taste some of their port. I do love a nice glass of port once in a while, and that's the only thing I've found worth buying at this winery, but wow, is it worth it. :-)

All-in-all we had a GREAT time. From the sounds of it, Shyla still isn't big on wine, but she did say she loved all of the yummy desert wines.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Wow... word travels fast!!!

Lol, my photography friend Joy Jensen just emailed me with a picture of her holding the Wall Street Journal with my picture on it, as she's sitting on a plane!!! :-) She said the flight attendant handed her the paper and the first thing she saw was my picture!

Too fun! :-)

It happened, they put my picture in the Wall Street Journal.

No, it's not a feature article about my photography (maybe one day though!)

Actuall, the article is about how people are catching their fellow citizens in the act of breaking the laws, and basically enforcing the laws themselves by posting pictures and videos to the internet.

I guess Jennifer Saranow of the Wall Street Journal was working on this article when she came across a video on youtube that I posted of my previous neighbor stealing my newspaper.

Well, a few weeks ago, she called me and interviewed me about my little video and ended up sending a photographer to my house to take a few pictures of me re-enacting my little sneaky sneaky video efforts.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

It's finally done!!! After countless hours and lots of trial and error, I've finally sent out my first Newsletter!!!

My buddy JT made it possible by giving me a TON of information on how to get everything setup and running!

If you'd like to see this month's newsletter you can get there under the links section on the right side of my blog. If you didn't receive my newsletter, you can sign up for it via the sign-up box on the right as well! :-)

This year is promising to be pretty exciting, so I'm stoked to keep everyone up-to-date on everything happening around the Halberg household this year!

Inspired by my buddy Blaine, I saw this gnarly spider in our window the other morning and just had to take a picture of it eating! (Actually, Cheryl was the one who saw it first... I just borrowed her macro and went to town)





Spiders kinda creep me out, but being that I was inside the house shooting through the glass of our front window, I was pretty fearless!! :-)
What a year!!!

I'm soooo excited for 2007! My buddy Mark recently posted up about how with the new year comes a sense of a time for change/reflection and I have to say, I'm right there with him!

Not only have I done the required New Years Resolutions, but I've also been able to slow down a little bit and take a look at my business and see how I can make things run more smoothly for this next year!

I have a ton of fun weddings to share this year! I can't wait!!!!

Probably the BIGGEST news from last year is that I got married!!!

Now the coolest thing about getting married is buying each other gifts for Christmas! I've never in my life had soooo much fun shopping for someone besides myself! ;-)

And wow, did she go big shopping for me!! Hehe, she got me cooking lessons (I love to cook) and, she bought me a SWEET new BBQ!!! She even caught me in the act of putting the BBQ together while smoking a lovely cigar! :-)