July 22nd, 2010
One of my recent assignments for my workshop was to shoot a portrait of someone and incorporate a mode of transportation as a design element. Let me tell you, I thought about every possible method of transportation and the only things that inspired me were things I had absolutely no access to (small airplanes, hot air balloons, etc). Everything I did have access to (cars, bikes, skateboards) bored me to death. I had NO ideas – this was a major problem. So finally I decided to take the most basic method of transportation – the wheel – and use it to create shadows in the hopes of producing a very graphic black and white image. Immediately after I shot, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that I just didn’t get what I set out to do…however, after a few days I was completely happy with the result.
It’s a common practice of mine to let my images sit a few days after a shoot before I look at them – it gives my emotions from the shoot day a chance to dissipate, so I can look at the images with fresh eyes.
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July 9th, 2010
A couple weeks ago I decided I wanted to shoot another double portrait, because I normally shoot singles. It was a super low key shoot, using only available light.
June 30th, 2010
I’ve always thought it would be magical to find a puppy. I’d be walking down the street, hear a noise in the shrubbery and out would run a puppy! In retrospect, this was a rather naive train of thought because that’s not how it happened at all.
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June 23rd, 2010
My third and fourth “challenges” from Ken Merfeld were to shoot two portraits of the same person utilizing radically different techniques and to shoot a portrait of someone laying down, respectively.
Taking a portrait of someone laying down has its own challenges and can be done in many ways. When someone is laying down, two important things to consider are the type of surface they are laying on and how their clothes (and in my case, jewelry) will lay. These factors will ultimately effect how their body will look in the photo. What was more important for me however, was camera angle and point of view. I wanted to be on the same level as my model – when I am laying down and photographing (especially if my subject is also laying down), the rest of the world seems to melt away and I find I connect with my subject on a whole other psychological level. For this assignment, I shot a model I had never worked with before – which is something I love doing. Prior to the shoot I had no idea what I wanted my final image to look like – the only thing I had going into it was my colour palette.
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June 12th, 2010
Besides exploring abandoned buildings and getting bit by ticks, while in Nashville, I also went to the zoo. Thanks to some sweet hook-ups, we got to go on a ‘behind-the-scenes’ tour, which involved such things as hand feeding elephants and giraffes! It was probably one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am crazy about animals so having an elephant take carrots out of my hand pretty much made my trip.
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June 10th, 2010
A few weeks ago I went to Nashville. After adjusting to the oppressive heat and humidity, I did what I love to do – go exploring. I didn’t find anything really exciting (since I’ve explored a lot of places, I tend to get pretty picky about the places I like to photograph) BUT i did take a few photos in two abandoned homes.
Despite finding the images above, the most exciting part about the whole adventure was discovering that during my exploring, I had picked up some friends – in the form of ticks. I’m not going to lie, I was completely freaked out by the fact that there were insects burying their way into my body. Thankfully, those around me realized that it was really not such a big deal and they calmly removed my ticks using the hot needle method. Although in all honesty, when I think about the ticks, I still get the feeling like bugs are crawling on me.
To see more from my Tennessee explorations, visit my Flickr.
June 8th, 2010
I started back up again with Ken Merfeld and his portrait seminars. I was in Nashville for the first assignment (more on Nashville in another post) so here is what I produced for the second assignment – to shoot a portrait outdoors at night using only available light…
Thanks to Patrick for getting dolled up and sitting for me at all hours of the night.
May 31st, 2010
Let’s talk about permits. Now, if I’m shooting a job (outdoors, in nature) where I’m getting paid, my crew is getting paid, and the model is getting paid, then I have no problem getting a location permit. However, if no one is getting paid – a prime example would be test shooting – then I start to have a problem having to shell out for a location permit. It’s especially frustrating since I’ve been told numerous times that I only need a permit if I’m shooting commercially (ie. if I’m making money, or if money is even involved)…which brings me to a shoot I did a few weeks back.
It was all planned out – a friend and I went out one afternoon and scouted for a location, the model and make up artist were confirmed, and a rad designer from Portland had sent down some dresses. Now granted, the location we found was in a state park and there is about a 50/50 chance of getting kicked out. BUT I figured the chances were in my favour seeing as i was using natural light and there were only five of us. I obviously figured wrong – almost as soon as we wrapped up the first look we were told to leave. At this point we went into full guerrilla mode – driving until we found some suitable backdrop, jumping out of the car, shooting for about 10 minutes, and then moving on. While this method was a little more stressful (ok, a lot more stressful), it reminded me about the great images that can be produced due to having to improvise.
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May 17th, 2010
I met Danella through a mutual friend – he and I were planning on shooting together and he suggested Danella model. That was back in late 2008, since then her and I have worked together (she was so kind as to get covered in ice cream for my ‘f word’ series) and have become friends. I came to find out that she volunteers a lot of her time to fostering animals – kittens mostly. I’ve been thinking about being a foster “parent” for a while and about a month ago, the opportunity arose.
Victor and Lenore are a brother and sister who were pulled from the shelter hours before euthanasia. They were 2 1/2 weeks old (born around April 1st) when they were dropped off but the shelter couldn’t keep them/take care of them for the remaining 6 weeks it would take until they were old enough to be adopted. I had spoken with Danella previously about fostering so when these little ones were almost 4 weeks old, she asked me if I could take them. I had never owned a cat before but I said yes and it has been awesome. They were still being bottle fed when I got them, and having a kitten that barely weighs a pound crawl up on you to drink milk out of a bottle just about breaks your heart. In the past 4 weeks, I’ve watched them almost double in size and I’ve got to see their personalities emerging. Lenore (second image, below) is cautious yet brave, whereas Victor (first image, below) is more of a sweetheart.
It will break my heart to see these little ones go, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed having them for the last 4 weeks. To find out more about becoming a foster parent to orphaned puppies and kittens, please contact the Los Angeles Animal Services.
May 10th, 2010
My team and I recently got together to do a beauty editorial inspired by the hair and make up of the 1980’s. My model, Alexandra, wasn’t even born until 1990 (which makes me feel old) – but she did an amazing job.
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