Leo Kowal

Timelapse Photography

Posted on20. Jan, 2012 by Leo Kowal.

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Previously when I compared the D7000 to higher end “professional” camera’s, I wondered why people would spend thousands more on a D1X or D4 when they can do just about everything with a prosumer camera like the D7000. Not only do the higher end cameras have a full frame sensor, but they also perform better [...]

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Interactive 360° x 360° Panoramic Photography

Posted on11. Dec, 2010 by Leo Kowal.

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The first time I saw a 360° x 360° interactive panoramic image, I was blown away and knew it was something that I wanted to do. I shot plenty of regular 360° panoramic images for the real estate industry back in the early 2000′s when I did side work for a California based company called 3CIM. My latest stint with panoramic photography literally puts the viewer in the middle of the scene. You can look 360° left and right as well as 360° up and down. This type of panoramic projection is also known as equirectangular!

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2011 Jeep Drive Away Event

Posted on24. Jun, 2010 by Leo Kowal.

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Chrysler contacted me to take some photos of a “Drive Away” event that they were hosting at Soldier Field. In a nutshell, they were unveiling a new 2011 Jeep model and this was to be a informative pep rally for the dealers. At the end of the event, each dealer drove away with a new Jeep. Pretty cool! Not sure who paid for the cars, but all I know is that I didn’t get one.

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Made With Love By Jackie Moon – Summer Shoot

Posted on22. May, 2010 by Leo Kowal.

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In case anyone is wondering, photography is a huge part of running our company Autumn Creative LLC, but I’m not really for hire and I only shoot things that I WANT to shoot. Jackie Moon happens to be my girlfriend’s (Mary) best friend, but she doesn’t get special treatment because of that. She gets special treatment because she is dedicated to her pursuit of becoming independently wealthy and she has AWESOME style and is a brilliant designer! It obviously shows through in her crochet patterns!

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Made With Love By Jackie Moon – Winter Shoot

Posted on18. Feb, 2010 by Leo Kowal.

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I had so much fun working with Jackie on her last shoot and was fortunate enough to work with her again today! Her product is so beautiful and she looks great in front of the camera! She has an very natural and cute style that everyone should be drooling over! Let’s hope that her crochet patterns sell very well! We headed back to the same neck-of-the-woods that we shot in last time, but this time conditions were quite different. Instead of overcast, we had direct sunlight and instead of leaves and lots of brown, we had snow and tons of white! Needless to say the camera was shooting really fast today! Again, I brought the reflector/diffuser, but I was very happy with the direct sunlight!

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Made With Love By Jackie Moon – Fall Shoot

Posted on17. Feb, 2010 by Leo Kowal.

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I don’t have much experience shooting fashion, but putting myself in the shoes of the designer makes the process so much easier. The objective is to show customers what the product looks like while conveying a feeling or mood. Much like her products, I wanted to keep the images clean and natural. We found an area in a forest that had a topography similar to something a meteor would create. A great flat base to stand on with an incline that made for beautiful background eye candy, especially shooting with a wide open aperture.

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iStock in Action

Posted on05. Jul, 2009 by Leo Kowal.

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It’s impossible to know how ALL of my images have been used. After all, as of January 2010, I’ve sold almost 17,000 images on iStock. It may sound impressive and I’m quite happy about the accomplishment, but its nothing compared to the top 10 iStock contributors who have sold over 200,000+ images, and that may be a low estimate.

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Portraits with Kyle

Posted on06. Apr, 2009 by Leo Kowal.

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Last week I got a chance to shoot (almost) 5 year old Kyle. Kyle is the son of an old friend that I’ve known since Freshman year of high school. She actually originally contacted me because her computer was on the fritz and I mentioned that I do photography as well. When I first met Kyle, I knew that he would be great in the studio and the images show!

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Dockside Shoot for iStock

Posted on05. Apr, 2009 by Leo Kowal.

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The idea for this shoot was more of a reason to get out of the house then an actual planned shoot, but I was still happy with the result! Obviously hair and makeup are VERY important no matter where you shoot (studio or outside), you might as well get that right so that you don’t spend too much time editing the photos afterward. You can only edit a photo so much before it is no longer acceptable as a stock image. As I like to say, “You can’t polish a turd”.

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Autumn Part I

Posted on04. Apr, 2009 by Leo Kowal.

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For those caught up in the hustle and bustle of a 9-5, its hard to tell when the autumn winds begin to push summer’s warm, lemonade laced days south of the equator. Twice a year, the angle of the earth is so that day and night are equal, with it comes a sense of transition as well as reflection. I swear, there is a distinct moment where I feel the first brisk autumn winds embrace my skin. Immediately I am filled with visions of cloudy days and psychedelic forests, pumpkin patches and apple orchards, the smell of autumn potpourri and the taste of cider and pumpkin pie.