Message me to start planning your session, give feedback or just say hi! Either way, I love to hear from you.

If you don’t like to use the form below, you can e-mail me at
hello@maikearmstrong.com

Name *
Name
Phone Number
Phone Number
(OPTIONAL) Let’s schedule a good time for you to talk, so we can get to know each other! I promise to only call you at an agreed upon time.
 

Recently on Instagram

Want to listen to some new music this weekend? *** Neil found this awesome guy who created a playlist for every genre imaginable (really also for genres I’ve never heard of. Shoegaze anyone??) 😄 Just search Timothy Walschaerts on Spotify and pick a playlist for the weekend. 🌞 *** We usually listen to Alt Rock/Folk but are currently blasting Old School Jazz Rap.👌😄 *** What do you normally listen to? What do you want to give a try? If it’s any good, share it in the comments, so others can check it out too. 😊 *** Photo from a gloomy, awesome trip to Red Rock NP
How do you decide between b&w and color? ---
To make a good photo there is a lot to consider but ultimately it comes down to: What do I want the photo to say? And how do I communicate that well? --- We have a lot of decisions to make to successfully convey our message. And intentionally capturing a scene in black-and-white versus color is a big part of it. --- HOW I CHOOSE B&W vs COLOR 1) What role does color play in the scene? Is it relevant? (Ex: I like to capture the mood of a spring morning = showing golden sunlight illuminating soft pink blossoms = keep color) * 2) Are the colors distracting from the actual moment? (Like brightly colored elements in the background that are impossible to remove even by framing the scene differently) * 3) Do the bright shapes & lines in the scene guide the eye through the frame well? (Areas of high contrast (highest contrast being black against white) is where the eye jumps first. By eliminating color the eye only has different shades of grey to differentiate between the elements in a scene. If contrast is high, it can help amplify patterns, shapes & textures or show connections between objects of the same brightness that don’t look all that similar in color. But it can also be distracting to have one “muddy soup of grey” when there’s little contrast or a cluster of patterns that the eye doesn’t get guided through) * 4) What’s my concept? (B&w can work well to communicate raw concepts and ideas because it’s open to the viewer to interpret what it may have looked like in color and position the image in their own world)
* 5) Color can date an image. Is it important for the photo to look timeless? --- “I feel that for a color photograph to be successful, color itself must be a central element. On the other hand, if color is merely present in the scene – as it always is – without lending needed support, and if it can be eliminated without losing the compositional essence of the image, then my choice is black-and-white.” – Bruce Barnbaum --- How do you decide between b&w and color? Do you shoot more color or b&w and why? It might be super interesting for others to know. So if you like, share your thoughts below!
“People are taking more pictures now than ever before, billions of them, but there are no slides, no prints. Just data. Electronic dust. Years from now when they dig us up there won't be any pictures to find, no record of who we were or how we lived …” – Ben in Kodachrome⠀ •⠀ I think about this often. So I document little moments during everyday life that seem so normal now and make prints.⠀ •⠀ I imagine sitting on a couch somewhere years from now, when a lot has changed, holding those prints in my hands – smiling at the memories.
We usually listened to audiobooks, podcasts and music on road trips but when we went on a day trip this weekend, the radio was off and we played silly games instead.⠀ ***⠀ Like one person thinks of an item, place or being and the others have to find out what it is, by asking yes-or-no-questions. ***⠀ Anyway! I love to play! Not just road and board games but of course when it comes to photography too. *** I find it so exciting to experiment and try out different things rather than following the same “formula” that’s worked before.⠀ ***⠀ How about you? Do you enjoy playing around and trying new things or do you prefer to stick to what’s worked before?