Aug
31
So I ponied up some dough and bought the AlienBee RingFlash system a couple weeks ago. Just got out in the studio to finally play around with if for the first time. Lisa, the brave soul for most of my lighting testing, stepped in to let me blind her at point-blank range for an hour or so. I will feel fully responsible if this poor girl looses her sight by the ripe old age of 30, cause at the current rate, it’s totally a possibility.
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Aug
27
Attention all you B-hamers, I’ll be up and shooting the weekend of September 26th and 27th. Some stuff is already in the works, so contact me to check for availability. The first week into the Fall season, would be a great time for senior pictures, I have some great locations for it. I’ll be packing up all my lighting gear, so indoor and outdoor shoots can be done.
Aug
26
I knew that the economy and the job market hasn’t been it’s best lately, but I had no idea to what extent until my photographer assistant ad was posted on Craigslist. The first day I posted the opening for a volunteer photographer assistant for the Love ï Life ï Passion project, I had 275 hits on my site that linked back from the ad. Over a three day weekend, 600 hits from the ad. It got me thinking… is the job market that bad or are there that many people wanting to break into the photography field, or both. Keep in mind, this is a volunteer position for a project in which no one is making any money, a collaborative effort to create a really great book.
Photography, a tremendously competitive field, not only full of really solid professionals, but even more amateurs who have invested in an entry-level DSLR. The market is flooded with people who just can’t wait to take your picture, a joe on every corner who will take your pic for a cheeseburger. It’s just flatout hard for people entering the field to rise above the masses to get some legitimate work and get the ball rolling. The photography supply and demand curve is really messed up these days.
Anywho, the response I got from the ad was quite amazing. Everything from zero experience to 4-year degrees in the art wanting to be a part of the project. After a couple rounds of mass emails, a couple meetings, I decided on Lemala (pictured on the left). She has the perfect balance of foundation knowledge, passion, and hunger for further learning the field. I wanted to bring someone onto the team who’d not only be a great help with everything that’s involved with the project, but someone who would really benefit from the whole experience and learn a lot. She’s taken some photography classes and is ready to learn more advanced methods, like off-camera lighting. Lemala is an extremely nice, pleasant woman, and I’m glad she joined the team.
I had her visit my place and see where I shoot white seamless portraits, had her jump in front of the lights for a sec and grabbed a few pics. She’ll be taking some behind the scenes pics and video, so we’ll have better insight for you readers once this project starts to ramp up.
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Aug
17
There is something about the leisurely walk-around shoot that usually makes me feel like one of those dorks in the tourist herd. You know… THAT guy, who drops a grand on an entry level DSLR (only to use it in full automatic mode) to compliment his pleated shorts, nurse-white sneakers, knee-high socks, completing the ensemble with the all-important fanny pack. Wandering without a mission, just taking pictures of anything that catches my fancy, I could see how I could appear like a lost soul, taking pictures of walls, flowers, and architecture from awkward angles like I have an equilibrium problem. Well, minus the heinous outfit and plus a decent amount of camera knowledge, that’s what I looked like last Sunday afternoon. On second thought, a hefty fanny pack that could lug a 3lb lens around without too much of a fuss wouldn’t be a bad idea for a quick lens change… or maybe I could market something like that and put my stamp on it. The “matty fanny” does have a good ring, right? Anywho, I really don’t mind blending in with the other joe’s with DSLRs in-hand, it’s a nice change of pace from my normal shoots with all the lights and equipment (and sometimes a half-clothed model) that tend to gather onlookers.
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Aug
04
A couple weeks ago I posted a blog about nurse camp, an event I covered at Tacoma General Hospital, along with a few pictures. As I mentioned in that post (click here to view it), I shot video as well. I mainly shot the video as a little afterthought, thinking it would be nice if the hospital staff would want some rough, stock video of the event. Well, one thing led to another and I ended up editing a video piece unexpectedly after I got the idea in my head. Working close with the nursing staff, I cut together a video in hopes that it will help promote the nurse camp and generate further interest for the hospital.
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Aug
02
The Fairhaven Village Inn, located in Bellingham, WA, was in need of some new promotional material, and I was happy to help. Another early morning, 3:30 am I believe. I was shooting in tandem with video producers from P-51 Pictures, as they were shooting a commercial for the Inn as well. Our first scene called for an early morning breakfast look, and the only way to accomplish a real early morning sunrise look on video in the summer means a really really early morning for us!
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