Tag: Lighting

… And When There’s Darkness.

abstract, Canon R6 Mark II Mirrorless, Dramatic Lighting, Travel, Travel Photography

Taking the lyrics from a song of an obscure 80s hardcore band. (One my friend and I discussed about in length just last night.) Much of my love of photography stems from shadows and small pockets of light. Long ago, when I had my work reviewed by a mentor. His question, “What did a shadow ever do to you?” helped me see the error of my ways. In a sense, his words awakened something in me that not only changed the way I lit portraits and studio work. It unlocked a curiosity and passion for finding pockets of light in the dark and creating drama and depth in photos. While it opens the door to possible failure and mixed results. It brings me a lot of satisfaction as a storyteller. A puzzled look and a longer, more in depth look into the photo and it’s part of the story. This image was taken without the aid of a flash, at a parking garage in Annapolis, Maryland over the weekend.

Photographing People

Portraiture, Portraiture in natural light, Uncategorized

Though it’s not always easy to get the right subject to sit in with you. Photographing people has, for me, always been the most rewarding aspect of photography. The eyes, expression, and peeling away the layers that allow the true soul of the person to appear. There’s honestly, nothing like it. While many of the people who I wanted to photograph weren’t confident or comfortable in their own skin. Others, flat out turned down my offer. “No. I hate being in front of a camera.” are words I’ve heard countless times. The hardest part for me was not taking their refusal personally. The times when the reaction was positive and the answer was “Yes”. Put me into this instant happy place.

When meeting the woman above. I was captivated by both her beauty and talent as a musician. It wasn’t long before I realized she was one of the sweetest people I’d ever met. The image above is from our third and final session. The final results were rewarding, as I convinced her to peel away some of her makeup and change into a fun and laid back tee shirt. One of the hardest things for me has always been telling people exactly what I want. My life as a photographer became a lot easier when I learned to better communicate with the people I photographed and express exactly how I envision them.

If I Only Knew Then, What I Know Now.

Beauty, Editing, Finding Solutions, Finding your Zen

As I review and often delete old files from my desktop and external hard drives. I can’t help but lament over mistakes I made when I started out. Whether it be bad lighting, busy backgrounds or blemishes. I often wish I had known more. Whereas in the past. I didn’t spend much time in post production and my studio lighting was often flat. Through listening to better photographers and putting their teachings to practise. My skills improved and I gained confidence. These days, my enjoyment of post production has grown to where I’m beginning to notice that shooting and editing play on an evener keel. Still, I often find myself wishing I could get another chance to capture the beauty and soul of many of the people I met along the way.

Out and About

Editing, Flea Market Therapy, Flea Markets, Street Photography

Earlier this weekend, we took a short drive to a fairly local Virginia market where we enjoyed the food, cool weather, and even got to talking to some of the locals. I took this image while waiting in an alley while my wife visited a nearby bakery. With the mid day sky at it’s brightest, I made sure to lower my iso and kick up my aperture. When I got home I played around with the contrast, amongst other tools, to get what I wanted. Below are the results.

But Still…

Finding your Zen

As exhausted as I might be from our move back to the east coast, my mind can’t help but think of photographing and documenting my new surroundings. A new town or city will do that, and both Washington DC and Virginia offer many visual opportunities. And as we move from two nights of hotels in both Seattle and DC to our temporary Amazon apartments, I couldn’t help but grab my camera and 50mm lens to experiment with some of the light and shadows in our apartment and spooky hallway.

Capturing your vision

Art, Canon lenses and equipment, Dramatic Lighting, Mental Health, Narrative

I have a habit of overthinking. When I get something in my head or get passionate for something, I go all in. Being that I’ve suddenly decided I wanted to get back to taking pictures, (Not that I ever really stopped.) I’ve been spending a lot of time watching videos about composition, lighting and long exposures. So, as I lay in bed last night, I began to think of that box of matches we have. The ones we use to light candles when our farts are particularly foul. There I was, unable to sleep because I couldn’t stop thinking about how I wanted to capture those matches. So, after I got up this morning, showered and enjoyed my first cup of coffee, I got to work. After a few, less than satisfactory attempts, I finally captured the matches as I had imagined as I lie awake the night before.

Matches (1 of 1)

Adding Color to my Concert Photos

Canon lenses and equipment, Finding Solutions, Music

I’ve shot countless shows for various media outlets over the years. I absolutely love being in front of the stage trying to capture that note, emotion or moment. As in my studio work I  almost exclusively shoot B&W. It’s my personal choice. Working in that trade I’ve tried to learn from the best while applying my own style. I am constantly checking in on work on various websites and music media outlets. I have to shake my head when I see a lot of the work that’s published and considered professional. I’ve seen more than my share of burnt out, unfocused, blurry and over exposed images. Most of which are in the form of color. I never want to disrespect any one’s work or approach and I  fully understand the challenge of working with certain lighting issues including “No Flash” policies. A lot of what I’ve seen has scared me away from shooting color at shows.

Well, I’ve grown some cojones along the way and forced my self to see what I was missing. I’ve incorporated color into my show images and though I’ve found some challenges along the way, there was nothing that a little adjusting of the flash, your vantage point or a little post production won’t cure. “Watch out for those hot spots.” I still scratch my head when I see these images and wonder, sometimes aloud, how this is accepted and why an editor would even approve it for copy. That instruction book that came with your camera goes a long way when learning your cameras functions.