The light was right and she was half out of it. While she may look serene in this image I just witnessed her shoving her head into a small cup attempting to lick out all the ice cream. So looks are deceiving.
Category: Portraits
Ancient Faces
When I finally got around to shooting with the Sony RX100M3 I went to the Arthur M. Sackler and Freer Gallery of Art in Washington DC. I have shot there before but I did it all manual focus stuff and wasn’t pleased with the images. One of the interesting things about shooting in a museum like this is the light changes from blinding to non-existent so ISO ranges are all over the place. It was a good test of what the RX100M3 can do.
I did this series based just on the faces of the statues. Most are buddhas or bodhisattvas from various regions within Asia. The final image is an image of the Buddha himself, Siddhartha Gautama.
These are all composite images. Still working on getting the kinks out of my new editing system which means getting my Photoshop back to where it was on my old machine. So there are some editing “issues” as I finally realize I missed a setting on my previous images.
Hope you enjoy.
Hey There
Just a quick edit of something new I shot! I went to the Tampa Aquarium with my family and shot a lot of images. First time in weeks I have held a camera for more then a few minutes. Was a good time!
I have lots of images but not lots of time and I really liked this little guy. The image was really shot vertically but I flipped it horizontal then merged several shots together to really bring out the detail and finalized.
With the gecko just sitting there it reminded me of an internet meme of “Hey There!”, enjoy.
Blue Monday
I have been dying to use that title since I edited this image. I have been sitting on it just so I could use it on a Monday.
The image itself is of the guy who works for me. I usually point a new camera, lens, or flash at him. Most of the images are looks of hate or inappropriate gestures. In fact, the next image that had him exposed shows him glaring at me. I just liked the silhouette effect with the blue coming in from window. Enjoy.
Calling Elvis
I was going to write again but I got distracted when I started to go through what I was going to write about. I saw this image and new I had to edit it. I know he’s a guitar player in a band I shot. What band? I have no idea. I just liked the image. It’s like he’s channeling Elvis and the sunglasses are classic Elvis style sunglasses. I know because I own a pair. Plus the Johnny Cash Live At Folsom Prison shirt just makes the image for me.
I had to color correct the image to get him to not be urine yellow or Martian red. I liked the 6×6 medium format style crop just to keep him in focus. I went to town on the sunglasses to really bring out that reflection in them. For those of you wondering the technical aspects beyond the edits, Olympus EM1 at ISO 4000 and a 75mm (150mm) at 1.8.
I could not be happier with how it turned out.
Enjoy.
Into the Mic
While it may seem I only shoot random objects around cities and flowers. Reality is I do shoot concerts and events. This is Carla Coates (NSFW) of the band Butcher Babies. I had the pleasure of shooting one of their concerts. The Butcher Babies has two lead vocalists and they were fantastic from a photographic perspective. They knew I was there and made sure I got some shots that other bands would never give me. Now, being crushed up against the stage while the crowd behind me moshed and slammed into another photographer; or the drunk girl throwing her horns up with beer in hand and spilling it on me not so fun. The show in itself was really good, lots of energy and even those of us there working were bouncing to it. Nothing like jumping with a camera in your hand and two more swinging off you with a crowd pressed against you. Give it a try.
Having shot enough shows, its ISO 4000 and a wide open lens. The camera is set for continuous high and you just press the shutter and fire. You take 10-15 shots and maybe 1 is usable out of it but that one is magic like this one. It was shot on a 150mm 1.8 wide open. She was on the other end of the stage from me and the light was just perfect. The grain in the photo works and you really can see she’s into the show and not just going through motions like some bands do.
I’ll return to some more normal stuff tomorrow. Until then enjoy.
Flesh to Alabaster
Points if you know there the title came from. Think big 80’s band and the lyric came from a oft covered song.
I was in Washington DC as I have shown and on my wanderings I saw that the Corcoran Gallery said free admission I wandered in for a peak and something to drink. So to cool off from being outside I had a nice beer and proceeded to wander the gallery. I asked one of the security guards if I could take pictures and he said it was no problem provided I did not use flash. Since I had my new secret camera that had limitations, I just used my Ricoh GR and cranked the ISO up. I shot some other stuff but I love shooting statues. Want to learn about light and shooting portraits, shoot a statue for a bit. It’s effectively the same thing. I knew once I saw these images it was going to be in black and white as there just wasn’t much color to begin with and I wanted the statues to be the focal point. So I just desaturated the images and cranked the blacks and the contrast. I really like how they turned out. Enjoy.
Feel It?
I need a break from Panama editing and I have to process images for a couple bands that I shot that were openers for this man’s band, King’s X. This is Doug Pinnik who is the lead singer and bassist and I managed to get this shot. I was wide open and either shot this with a 90mm or a 150mm. I can’t remember and too lazy to go back and look at EXIF. I know I was shooting at ISO 4000 and the guitarist’s hair was in the picture so some Photoshop magic was used.
While I show a lot of different stuff I really am an event photographer and I love shooting bands. There is something magical about feeling the thump of the PA in your chest (I wear ear plugs), looking through a viewfinder and nailing a shot. You know when you got it too. You don’t have time to chimp the photos because you are constantly moving and shooting. As you are working you got this great music as a backdrop and you just kinda grove along to it. The biggest thing is you can’t grove too much because you are holding a camera.
Enjoy.
The Pool Players
This was shot a couple weeks ago but just getting around to editing them as I have been endlessly shooting flowers and other items in Southwest Florida. This was shot in collaboration. The person I was with was borrowing my camera periodically throughout the evening as she was interested in photography. So while I can’t tell who shot what, I know she shot some of them. There were two cameras used, the Sterling Ricoh GR and the Mighty Canon 330. You can tell which is which by image name and crop. Enjoy.
Thumbs Up! It’s Friday!
It seemed appropriate for a Friday. He was a barber at the Baltimore Tattoo Convention and yes they were really cutting hair. He was next to the free rum sample booth. I think we were both very happy by that point.
