Alan Thomas Photography

Jai Achen + Family

Alan — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:46:09 +0000

It has been a very long time since I blogged about anything that I almost forgot my password to log into my site. The achens {priests} in the Mar Thoma church as some of you are aware move around every 3 years. I can’t imagine moving to a new place every three years. I have already done my fair sharing of moving from DTW to ATL to MGM and its NOT fun. Jai Achen and family are moving from Atlanta back to Kerala, India. I thank God for their devotion and commitment to get up and move around every 3 years. I wanted to give a special gift that they can always look back and remember their years while in ATL. So what’s better than pics, after all pictures say more than 1000 words, right?. I asked if Achen and family would be willing for a session at the parsonage and they were very excited!

I started off with a good cup of hot chai [tea] and you can see the rest below.

On another note, some people have asked me why I shoot with film. Isn’t that the past? Well shooting film was a personal choice of mine. Both mediums [film+digital] have their own pros and cons. Digital is easier, convenient, faster and cheaper in the long run if you take lots of shots. Film camera bodies are about 9x cheaper than digital, less time spent in photoshop/lightroom, you tend to keep more pics, and it just looks better . You tend to keep more pics??? What do you mean? Well when you shoot with film you SLOW down because you know each click is going to cost some $$$. This helps you to be a better photog because you THINK before you SNAP which means less time spent in PHOTOSHOP fixing those OOPS.

I got into film and am continuously learning because of Jonathan Canlas and many others. Recently he launched a book on how to shoot film and is a really good source for those who want to get into film. You can get it here.

All my scans were developed and scanned by Indiefilmlab and these guys are good at what they do!! Even better since I live 2 min from them!

Technical Info: Frames [1-11] Mamiya RZ Pro II shot on Portra 160
[12-20] Nikon D700
[21-23] Nikon F100 on Portra 400 {23 on rt}

Islands of Adventure + Local

Alan — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:25:53 +0000

Well I got my second roll of shots and I am really enjoying the new medium. Expect to see more shots in the future with this medium. These scans were done by Indiefilm Lab in Pratville, AL. A few of these shots were taken nearby my apt to test out my very first roll of film. I may sound like a geek but I am very excited and can’t wait to try out more. Thanks again for looking around and let me know your thoughts/comments

Islands of Adventure + Lancaster SC

Alan — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:24:28 +0000

Lately I have been experimenting with film photography and I was really excited to try it out. It conveniently turned out that my friend and I planned a trip back in Oct of 11 to the Islands of Adventure in Orlando, FL. For those wondering I used the Nikon F100 and Portra 400 to take all these shots. The film was developed and scanned by NCPS. Most of the other shots were taken by a nearby place in Lancaster, SC. Some of you maybe wondering if digital or film is better and the real answer is that it really depends on YOU. So I say, shoot whatever medium you prefer and make your own opinion. You can read all you want but till you start doing it you won’t really know I am waiting on one more roll of film but till then enjoy these few pics. Always love to hear if you have any questions/comments about film/digital/pics or anything else

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Alan — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:48:08 +0000

Well 2011 is coming to an end and I wanted to thank all my friends and family for all your support. I am not sure what 2012 will bring, lets just hope it will be AWESOME This will be my last post for this year and I thank you all for checking out the blog and leaving me your wonderful comments Earlier in November we went to Frankenmuth, MI to check out the famous Bronner’s Christmas store. I am sure all my Michigan friends have already heard about this store. For all my non-Michigan friends, this store is open 24×7, 365 days a year selling mostly Christmas decorations. There are ornaments imported from all different parts of the world. This was my first time visiting store and it was a lot of fun checking out all the fancy Christmas ornaments. You can get custom made ornaments, meet Santa, watch a play and the list goes on. Here a few snaps from the store. Hope everyone has a joyful Christmas and all the best wishes in the New Year

CD Cover

Alan — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 04:33:08 +0000

Later this year I decided to offer custom DVD/CD covers for all my clients. I really prefer these personalized look and its just one more way to put a smile on your face knowing that you are getting something special from me. I always go an extra mile for all my clients and I want my clients to have the best. So go ahead and take a look and leave me your thoughts.

Wedding Album

Alan — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:54:48 +0000

This has been a project of mine for well over a year. Finally the project has come to fruition, and I am loving the result. The photographs in the album were taken by the awesome Westpark Photography from Birmingham, MI. I wanted to design an album as a project for myself as well as any potential clients in the future. I love the feel of the supple leather binding, and I am constantly brushing my hands over the album. I am a big sucker for leather! If you are wondering about the tech specs, each of the pages are about 2mm in thickness printed on Fuji crystal archive paper. Albums are a good way to remember your special day and something that I plan on passing to my next generation. Well go ahead, take a look and leave me your thoughts.

Joanna aka. {Jojo}

Alan — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:42:09 +0000

Hope everyone had a nice thanksgiving week. We had a great time spending a week in MI with family. The drive back from MI was long and extremely boring but we made it In the next coming weeks, I will be doing a few updates so stay tuned. Going back to MI this thanksgiving weekend also meant seeing the newest member to the family, Joanna. I am really happy to share a few pics of Unni chayan’s & Sibi chech’s bundle of joy. I should be really sleeping right now but I couldn’t resist to share a few pics before I head to work.

12.06.11 :: updated all the pics. Enjoy!

Atlanta Family Retreat 2011

Alan — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:29:17 +0000

This was our first year attending the Family Retreat hosted by the Atlanta Mar Thoma church and it was a great blessing for us as well for the many who have attended. The speaker was Dr. Vino J. Daniel, MD from Philadelphia, PA. We weren’t sure what to expect of the speaker besides the great words that were passed along by other members of the church. The theme was “Sanctified Community”. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the theme as I walked in but as I walked out from the conference it became much clearer. Dr. Daniel emphasized key points on how a christian community should live in this world. An Indian community living among the midst of many cultures, its very easy to loose track of what’s right/wrong. He reiterated that we should turn towards the Bible in terms of seeking instructions on how we should live rather than follow the crowd. He also mentioned that we can’t serve both God and Satan at the same time. Yes we have all heard that saying but we all do it. If God is in our temple well it can’t have any place for evil to linger. He also mentioned the importance of reading the word of God. Not casually reading but really spending time understanding what God was intending for his people. As it’s written in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” I hope what I learned can be applied in the daily walks of my life. Hopefully this verse may sum up some things

I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. ¹⁴ I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by^[d] the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. John 17:13-19 [NIV]

Here are a few pics from the conference and we also happened to see a cotton field for the very first time. It was very cool.

P.S: For all my fellow photogs; all pics were from the x100 and processed via lightroom

How will you be remembered?

Alan — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 23:06:59 +0000

Yesterday I got the chance to visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial center in Atlanta with my parents and was fascinated to see the neighborhood he was brought up. A noble price peace holder but he had a childhood similar to most of us. There was a tour guide of his home but no cameras were allowed so I wasn’t able to take any pictures. MLK was only 39 years when he passed away. He had a very short life in this world but he accomplished more than the average person. The only one message I got from the end of the tour of was, Its not how long you live that matters rather what you do the life that you have. For all the photo geeks out there, these shots were shot by the Fuji x100.

Philly to NYC

Alan — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:49:59 +0000

After our trip back from India we decided to have one final trip before summer ended so we planned to visit Philly and NYC. This was my third trip to NYC and needless to say it never gets boring. First in high school, then in college and finally as a married man Its always fun to see different places and hopefully we get to take more trips in the future. We visited the usual tourist spots and I am sure many of you will easily recognize these areas. So I don’t think a description beneath each pic is necessary. In Philly we visited the Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, and Reading Terminal. In NYC it was the MOMA, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Museum of Natural History, China Town, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, Rockefeller Center, Empire State building, WTC and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For those who are considering visiting these spots, I highly recommend the city pass to save some $$. Nice pair of walking shoes or sandals will make the trip very pleasurable for your awesome feet. We decided to stay inside NYC close to all the action. Being a camera geek I wanted to visit B&H and Adorama stores but we didn’t have any time If it weren’t for the long lines at these places we would had more time to see other spots. NYC is fun and entertaining, I don’t think you could be bored or run out of things to do. I love the food from the street vendors and I wish I could have some now. Well enough about me babbling, after all you here to see the pics right? So go ahead, look around let me know what you think!