Swan Dance in Australia - Lumix Life

My "Swan Dance" gallery was shown in a photography gallery in Sydney, Australia as part of Panasonic's Lumix Life exhibition. Here are some screen shots from a webcam set up in the gallery, along with the original photos.







You can see more of my swan photos at: Trumpeter Swans by Joe Beine

Twins in Light: Wooden Tops

These wooden tops were made by Alan Gray, a mechanical engineer, who enjoys making toys that balance. The package they came in arrived on a sunny spring day. When I opened the box the sunlight from outside my front door and window made a nice glow on the red tissue paper and the colored top. So I took a picture.

The top maker's website is at: Wood Tops

My Photograph of Michelle Obama on the Cover of NV Magazine

In October 2008 I went to a rally on the University of Colorado campus in Boulder to hear Michelle Obama speak. Although I was buried in the crowd I was able to take some photographs of her with my Nikon D80 and a 70-300mm zoom lens. A skate girl next to me let me stand on her skateboard for a few shots. She had to steady me because skateboards aren't really designed for this sort of thing. Later, I posted a couple of the photographs online. One of these became my most viewed photograph on Flickr. At the end of 2008 the photo was used with my permission on a First Ladies fashion website called Mrs. O. And then NV Magazine asked to use it as part of their "Michelle is Me" cover story, about Michelle Obama's impact on African-American women.


The original uncropped photo has blurry backs of people's heads along the bottom and right side. But I think Mrs. Obama's smile transcends the entire scene.

Since I took this photograph she has become a gracious and beautiful first lady.

NV - New Vision in Business Magazine is sold at many Barnes & Noble stores around the U.S. Thanks to Leah Bailey at NV Magazine.

Norman Petty Documentary featuring Buddy Holly

Five photographs I took inside the Norman Petty recording studio in Clovis, New Mexico were used in a documentary called "New Mexico Legends - The Norman Petty Studios." The documentary was produced by the New Mexico Music Commission and you & me productions. It first aired on New Mexico PBS stations on June 4, 2009. It features Buddy Holly, the Fireballs, LeAnn Rimes and others.


Here are the photographs of mine that were used:

• Ampex Tape Recorder - Maybe Baby


• Celeste Used by Vi Petty on Buddy Holly's "Everyday"


• Nor-Va-Jak Microphone


• Acetate Cutter


• Baldwin Piano

For more information about the documentary see: New Mexico Legends - The Norman Petty Studios

Thanks to Steve Palmisano of you & me productions

Fujifilm Instax 200 Camera Photographs

Instax is instant film like Polaroid used to make. I recently bought a Fujifilm Instax 200 camera. It's a large plastic camera about 7" long and 5" high. It has three exposure settings (lighten, normal and darken) and two lens settings (0.9 to 3 meters and 3 meters to infinity). I'm having fun playing around with it. Here are two of the first photographs I took with my Instax camera.

Wheat Sky

Snowless Winter