I realize that this is the second journal entry in a row to brag about new toys, but I simply can't help myself!

While my 5Duece may still be the pride and joy of my camera collection, I never frown upon new-comers to my camera bag and today has seen the arrival of 2 new additions to the Côté arsenal.

First of all, I finally bit the bullet and purchased a Canon 430EX II flash unit. Up until now, I've owned off-brand speedlights and have been a little disappointed at the quality and longevity of the flashes. When my Metz 58 broke for the second time last month, I began to truly doubt the wisdom of relying on other manufacturers to supply lighting for my Canons. I still want to get it fixed, but I figured that owning a Canon flash with a reliable warranty would be much wiser. I have two weddings this weekend and that should give me a good idea of how wise my last purchase has been.

Almost equally exciting has been the receipt of another camera body. As an early x-mas gift, my parents bought me a used Canon EOS 30D body that happened to come with a 8GB Ridata CF card. Ever since I started working with Edward Fox Photography, my supervisors have been encouraging me to stop using my Digital Rebel XT and implement more professional bodies into my shooting. The first step was getting the Canon 5D Mark II this past Spring, but that was only part of the process. Every wedding photographer should have at least 2 camera bodies and I couldn't put the Digi Reb completely aside. The arrival of this piece of equipment opens up new possibilities for me. In addition to having a more solid 2nd body, this means that I am free to have some fun with the Rebel. Many of the top photographers with Edward Fox own a camera body that has been converted for infrared photography and I think that this may be the future for my oldest digital camera. Rebel, you may be destined for greater things.

Keep an eye out for plenty of images to come. Some may be IR pictures. Some may be wedding pictures. Same may be IR wedding pictures. Just wait and see!

Almost 2.5 years ago, I made the leap from film to the digital realm. I put my Nikon FE aside in favor of my new Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT. I was thrilled to have such a neat little camera in my hands and I shot everything that caught my eye. That camera accompanied me to the bars and into the woods. It went with me in airplanes, trains, cars and even kayaks. It was in my hands on the hottest days of summer and stood up to bitter cold while shooting on the ice of Lake Michigan. Hundreds of people, young and old, have been captured in tens of thousands of frames. Though I've joked about my "soccer mom camera", the Digi Rebel has been one hell of a tool and I would gladly recommend one to anyone who was looking for an inexpensive digital SLR.

When I started photographing weddings, my supervisors were dismayed to discover that I only had the Rebel. This season, my workload has increased and it was finally time to step it up. As such, I finally got a new camera. I went out this past weekend and picked up my brand-spanking-new Canon EOS 5D Mark II with a Canon EF 24-105mm IS f4 "L" series USM lens and 4GB CF card. This camera is beautiful and I simply cannot wait to get some serious shooting done! Though my Rebel has certainly not seen the end of its usefulness (every wedding photographer needs a backup body), it has been relegated to semi-retirement. When I need to get the shot, I'll be reaching for the 5Deuce (as I've already nicknamed it. )

Keep an eye out for some fantastic images to come! I've been told that a little self-promotion never hurt: Go ahead and add me to your watch list to see what kind of sweet pictures I crank out!

Yours truly,
Christopher

Attention, ladies and gentlemen!

I would like to officially announce my website launch! The Photography of Christopher R. Cote has a new home on the internet. Check it out:

ChristopherCote.SmugMug.com

I will continue to keep my deviantART galleries updated as much as possible (along with my ModelMayhem, Facebook and MySpace!) but SmugMug is going to serve as my new portfolio and commercial center for clients. The ability to password protect galleries, organize according to thematic material and set up custom ordering has streamlined my workflow and allows me to service my people better!

The site is still under construction and has some minor tweaking to be done, but the bulk of the organizing is behind me and a solid body of images is already up! Please take a moment to check it out and let me know what you think!

Light​ Ideas​ Galle​ry is going​ to be hosti​ng a group​ show featu​ring photo​graph​s from some of Milwa​ukee'​s most talen​ted photo​graph​ers.​.​.​ inclu​ding yours​ truly​! Did I just call mysel​f one of Milwa​ukee'​s most talen​ted?​ Damn strai​ght.​.​.​

"​Expos​ed"​ is the title​ of the show and it will be runni​ng at the galle​ry from Octob​er 17 throu​gh Novem​ber 24. The exhib​ition​ kick-​off will start​ durin​g GND (​Galle​ry Night​ and Day) in Milwa​ukee.​ Artis​ts'​ recep​tion will be from 6 PM until​ 9 PM on Frida​y 10/​17 and 12 PM until​ 3 PM on Satur​day 10/​18.​

I enthu​siast​icall​y invit​e every​one to stop by Light​ Ideas​ Galle​ry to check​ out ALL of the work,​ but espec​ially​ mine!​ Also,​ the photo​graph​s are going​ to be featu​red on Light​ Ideas​ Galle​ry'​s web site. To view the page, visit 'Exposed' on LIG's website.

All of the images in the show were first displayed on deviantART! My chosen theme was monochromatic nudes (mostly close-ups). Below are links to the original postings of the work (most were renamed for the show.)

Booty - Featured piece
Monochromatic lover.
Tummy, I.
Tummy, II.
Chest and Neck

-​Chris​tophe​r R. Cote

*​*​*​Light​ Ideas​ Galle​ry is locat​ed at 207 E. Buffa​lo St., Milwa​ukee,​ WI.
It's on the lower​ level​ of the Marsh​all Build​ing at the
corne​rs of E. Buffa​lo St. and N. Water​ St. in Milwa​ukee'​s
Histo​ric Third​ Ward.​***

****EDIT****

As it turns out, the show has been extended and will be running through the holiday season! Others have added more work to the show. I haven't been that ambitious, but I totally could if I wanted to!

On our deviantART profiles, members are encouraged to list their tools of the trade. The admins only allow for an extremely short list, but I wanted to type out all the gear I own just to see what it looks like all written out. So, without further ado, here are my tools of the trade...

Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EOS 30D
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT with battery grip
Canon RC-1 remote controller
1 (One) 8GB Ridata Pro CF card
2 (Two) 1GB SanDisk CF cards
5 (Five) 4GB CF cards (SanDisk, Dane-Elec, Calumet Pro-Spec)

Glass
Canon EF 24-105 IS f4 "L" series USM zoom lens
Tamron AF 28-80mm f3.5/5.6 zoom lens
Tamron AF 70-200mm f2.8 zoom lens
Canon EF 50mm f1.8 prime lens
Itorex 0.42X Semi-Fisheye Converter
Rokunar 2X teleconverter

Lighting
2 (Two) YinYan BY-160B variable output studio strobes
1 (One) YinYan 120WS slave strobe
Canon 430EX II digital E-TTL Speedlight
Metz 58 AF-1 digital E-TTL flash unit
Sunpak auto 30 DX flash unit
PocketWizard radio triggers: Flex TT-5 & Mini TT-1

Light Modifiers
Gold & Silver umbrellas
Two softboxes
Honeycomb grid & Barndoors
Smith-Victor FH1 Filter Holder (for color gels, etc.)
LumiQuest Softbox (for flash units)
Vivitar bounce-diffuser (for flash units)
32" Silver/Gold reflector
Silver/gold/white/black reflector

Support
Bogen 3001 tripod w/ Induro SA01 ball-head (2 mounting plates)
Focal handipod (mini-tripod)
Stroboframe Camera-flip flash bracket & Canon off-camera E-TTL cord
Britek portable background stand
Various lightstands

Other
Interfit flash meter
Tamrac digital camera bag
Various cloth & vinyl back-grounds
77mm Expodisc (white balance tool)
Nikon T-Mount to Canon EF lens adaptor
All kinds of filters: Polarizing (all sizes), Diffuser, +1 thru +4 diopters, Starburst, etc.
Toshiba Satellite L305-S5919 laptop
WD My Book 500GB portable hard drive


...and that's just my digital crap! Let's not forget that I have my 35mm film Canon Rebel GII. I also have my Fuji FinePix S3000. I've pretty much retired that old thing, but it is responsible for a lot of the older pictures in my gallery. Next step? I'd like to turn the Rebel into an IR camera or perhaps get an AlienBees ringflash, but I think I'm pretty set for the time being!