Steampunk

I worked with Mel S this last weekend on a series of images inspired by something called Steampunk. Google it. I am very happy with our results, Mel put a lot of work into putting the "looks" together, doing her own makeup and hair. She is a force of nature!

Butterflies

I took my daughter to see a local butterfly exhibit yesterday at Brookside Gardens. What a wonderful experience!! There is so much to see and learn about. The room is just filled with butterflies and there are guides there to teach all about them. My daughter was entranced.

Here are a few shots from the afternoon.

Boho Chic! II

This was the third set from Tabitha's Boho Chic shoot. I like it the best. The light was doing wonderful things, the setting was really great and the models were able to pose themselves in a more versatile environment. It was more interesting!

The Hippie

Cristi is definitely NOT a hippie. Most of the work she has done before now has been in-studio glamour - very polished, carefully lit, etc. So I guess she was in the mood for something a bit different when she contacted me for a shoot.

We shot in the middle of the day which is really unusual for me. The light was overhead and super bright. I used some fill flash from a SB-800 to balance the light a bit.

Boho Chic!

My friend Tabitha put together a fun project for me to shoot recently. She did the styling, makeup and was one of the models! She also brought another model on board the project (Jillian) who was just a perfect fit for the project! I think they did really well together!

Some Things I'd Rather NOT See

I had to look at things I didn't want to see today. I forced myself to see them anyway.

This afternoon I took my daughter for a walk in the park and we stopped by the little creek to play. It was idyllic. My little blond headed princess picking up rocks and looking for fishies and whatever else six year olds look for. Evening light flickering through the trees. Soft breezes blowing. Garbage washed up in every corner of the creek bed. :/ Thats right. Garbage. Why?

Come on! Put it in a can already!

Macro

This week I got to try a different way to macro! Let me back up. My mother has an interest in photography and last year we got her set up with an inexpensive dslr (Nikon D40x). She wanted to do some macro shooting but didn't really want to pay for the 105 2.8 so I recommended a reversed 50mm. I'd read all about how it worked, seen the great examples and even tested one that belonged to a friend. Anyway, Mom came to visit this week and brought her rig. I took the opportunity to borrow her reversing ring and see what I could do. Its hard! Exposure is a bit of guesswork (light meter would have been handy) and you really don't get to focus, you have to just get the right distance from the subject to put it into focus. So you really ONLY can do macro shots. Here are some of my efforts from another day at Brookside Gardens.

Nostalgia II

So, I did another set of these memory shots. :D Fun for me!!

Nostalgia

I don't do a lot of "conceptualization" when it comes to my photography. I want to, but somehow fitting that into an already busy life just doesn't happen. Recently however I took the opportunity to shoot what I'll call "memory" shots. I planned for these to be loose, casual and far from perfect. I wanted the images to seem like fond memories. So I directed the model to just kind of goof around and we didn't worry too much about composition, framing, lighting or much of anything. I snapped away. Then I made them even less perfect in post. I hope they awaken a memory in you.

Looks

I try to ask the people I photograph what prompted them to ask about a shoot with me. What about my work struck you? Why me? Its my informal way of figuring out what people want. Recently when I asked that question to Chelsea (seen below in a post titled "Story") she replied that she liked the diversity of my images. I don't do just one thing or "look" with each shoot. This is true, while I do aim for consistency in quality and story I do like to add some variety to the images. Here are some images from the day after I shot with Chelsea. Lovely model named Carol (excellent makeup work by Lala).

Three looks.

Rainy Days

Rain isn't the worst thing in the world but its close. I"m exaggerating, rain has called a halt to many shoots and forced a change to many plans but it isn't always a bad thing. Today I grabbed the camera and two lens' and headed to a lovely lake in Columbia to record the wetness. I find even when I don't really have a project or a shoot lined up its good to be out looking and learning. I try to see things differently. At the very least its good for my brain and good exercise for my body!

Story

I spent a few hours with Chelsea and Gia (model and makeup artist) the other day. We found a particularly lovely location and had some fun playing. I have to say this shoot was a great example of creative collaboration. I shot with natural light for the most part.

Enjoy!