Imagine that, an update in a photography blog that actually contains pictures? Well, I figure I am overdue for one, so here goes. I am finally caught up editing all the shoots I did while I was traveling between San Diego and my new home in San Antonio. If all goes well, next week I will be closing on a home here, which will more than likely kick off a series of posts on building and testing my own home studio space, once I get some spare change. Until then, here's what I did to keep myself busy while I was on the road.
I came up with a crazy plan for the road trip, where I would try to shoot something in each location I stopped for the night, so I got to work on Model Mayhem trying to set things up in each city I had a planned stop. Ultimately, it didn't work out, but I had a great time trying and met some really fun people. The pic I opened the post with is from a fantastic model I met enroute, Sara Sinful. The second is an out take from another shoot that was also a blast, I mean, if you are going to wear a Super Girl outfit, you need to get some flying shots, right?
Now into the gym for a bit: you know the shoot is going to be good when you get a shot like this when you're just checking the lighting.
I spent a couple of months in Norfolk, and during that time I had the pleasure of shooting a couple of StrongWoman competitors in their gym. Not only were they both ridiculously awesome and fun to work with, but I got to have fun editing as well. Lately I have been playing with a washed out, desaturated look with a heavy dodge/burn feel to it, and for a rough and tumble, old school, no frills strength gym the look seemed to be a perfect fit. Each one is individually done, first the original image is oversaturated, then I layer anywhere from 1-5 black and white conversions at various opacities until I get a look I like. I haven't gotten it consistent or perfect yet, but it's definitely fun to play with when it fits the mood of the shots. The first of the two models is a nationally ranked competitor.
We shot for a while, and although she can turn it on and be serious when she needs to be, it was hard to keep a smile off her face. If you can have a smile that natural while tossing that much weight over your head, you're pretty much a certified bad-ass. Here's a few more for your viewing pleasure.
The second model was also a bad ass. She was a former figure competitor who was switching over to strong woman competition after recovering from cancer. You can see the treatment scars on the inside of her arms in some of the shots.
I was in Norfolk to attend some training en route to my new assignment, and I became the class photographer for my group. Not going to bore you all with those shots, but one of my friends from the class asked me if I could do a few family shots for him. I haven't tried to do any group portraits before, so I took him up on it and gave it a shot. Of course, the one time that worked for his family was the middle of the afternoon on a bright, sunny day. I couldn't do anything about the squinting that resulted, but between being able to set up lots of flash and my Singh-Ray Vari-N-Duo ND/Polarizer, I was able to deal with the sun fairly well otherwise.
Even managed to get a few shots in with reflection
And can't forget the casual playing around shots
They were happy, despite the light we got some good stuff, so it was a success. After all that, it was back on the road. No time for shoots for the second half of the trip, part two was all about seeing friends on my way through New Orleans to San Antonio. Although I didn't get any formal shoots in, I am always happy when I can notice and take advantage of a moment of beautiful light.
I've been in San Antonio for almost two months now. I have been pretty busy moving from hotel to hotel while trying to get into a house, getting the hang of my new assignment for work and meeting new people, but I did manage to get one job so far, back to my roots shooting an event. This one was the San Antonio edition of the Great Love Debate. It was a fun event, but listening to all the talk about how rough the dating scene is made me really appreciate not being part of that anymore.
Then I overheard that the guy I took over for at my assignment didn't have a photographer lined up for his retirement ceremony, so I said I'd do it. Little did I know he was going to make it as difficult as possible for me, even if he didn't mean to. Again, like the family portraits, right in the middle of the day, in bright sunlight, but at least with a small pop up shade- which made it worse. Not only were people under the shade half in the sun, half in the shade, but he decided to wear his whites while having the other participants either in flight suits or coveralls. ARGH! Just to give you an idea, here is a shot of the sunlight reflecting off of the plastic cover on one of the ceremony documents, I actually had to take a quick break after this shot because even through the viewfinder the glare hurt my eyes.
Didn't have the time or the space to set up remote flashes on stands, so I had to do the best I could with an on camera fill flash and some creative post processing, here's the best I could do under the circumstances (couldn't do anything for the squinting when the participants were out in the sunlight.
On the good side, he was happy with the shots, and I did remember to watch for the emotion from the family in the audience and got some of my favorites that way.
I'm also shooting a series with my wife, more on that later, but through her I wound up doing a quick shoot for the yoga studio she has been going to here, to celebrate the end of their teacher training for the year. Again, not something I have done before, but came out ok. Just a couple of umbrellas, and that was that, then it was time for the pot luck. Who knew yogis were so into champagne and deviled eggs?
So now we're all caught up, and once again my photography blog is full of photos. Although I miss everyone in San Diego, it's been really good here in San Antonio, it's a very family friendly town and both my wife and I are making friends and getting involved with the local scene here. The new place should be awesome, and you will probably be seeing a lot more of that in the near future, and she and I have also started working on a long term project that you'll be seeing previews of in the near future. Otherwise, trying to get back into the swing of things and start moving forwards again at the Arcanum, getting ready to officially move my business from CA to TX, and get my name out and about with the local dance, circus and yoga communities here. Stay tuned and have a happy Halloween!
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