Simplicity and Rock n' Roll

I consider myself on the advanced side of artificial lighting and design.  Whether it be lighting a scene for a local independent film or playing with off- camera strobes, lighting is "my thing" and I love every minute I get to experiment and work with it.  After all, Photography literally translates to "the study of light."

I finally splurged and purchased some studio lights to assist me in times when small speedlights and flashes won't get the job done.  This has been a long time in the making and I have done hours and hours of research in finding what would work with my workflow and niche.
In the near future, I'll post a blog about the strobes and went with along with a complete review and examples.  I am not gearing this post about it simply because I haven't shot with them enough yet to gauge an opinion.

For this week's blog, I going to recap one of my recent shoots in the studio with Mckenzie, a young and ambitious model with true professionalism and mutual respect.  This was our first shoot together, hence the images are clear, concise, and clean cut showcasing her natural beauty and personality. 

More images and story after the jump

Growing Up...

I had the opportunity to have a quick session with Carson and his little brother, Carter.  We were kept in the studio as the Utah weather still hasn't made it's permanent turn in to Spring.  It was a fun time and the boys behaved long enough to capture some great frames.

See more images after the jump

One Light Can Work Wonders

A couple of weeks ago I set out to do some test shots of Emily, a lovely and outgoing local who is considering getting into modeling. I was asked to do some "test shots" too assist her in finding her own level of comfort while being in front of the lens as well as gauge what type of photography and modeling she would be most suited for.
We started the session in the studio with some simple head shots. We later ended up taking a short 10 minute drive to a small field and rural back-road for some more charismatic themed shots during the last minutes of daylight.
All that was used was a single speedlight coupled to an 43" relflective umbrella placed at various axis around the Emily and the camera. Once in post processing, I gave the images a bit of lomographic curve (which I tend to do lot) and crushed the blacks a tiny bit. Here are the results...

THE GREAT FLOOD

I had built and moved into a new home about 2 months ago. It has a large and spacious unfinished basement which I have slowly converted into my new studio space. I acid washed the floors, painted the walls black , installed a sound system, and after a week's worth of labor, I had a pretty decent area for a "home studio"

I had noticed when I had moved in that the basement drain which catches the condensation from the central air unit and softener was draining slowly. I placed a call to the builder, and I was told that some the other homes in the area had slow drains and that I should remove the grate-cover and shove the drain lines from the water softener directly into the hole. I did as instructed and it seemed to not backup as much, but I felt it was still not draining appropriately. I placed a second call to the builder... I was immediately blown off and pretty much told to quit whining and to enjoy my new home.

We roll forward in time to 3 weeks ago. It was one of those triple-digit days and the air conditioning wasn't keeping up. I decided I'd better run downstairs to check on everything and low and behold, as I reach the bottom of the stairs, I step into 4 inches of water! Lightstands are floating, props are bumping around as if they were toys in a bathtub. Besides my studio space, I had used a separate area of the basement to store all my old stuff and seasonal goods. As I rushed over to that area, I knew that there was no way in hell that my diplomas, old electronics, and my late mother's Christmas ornaments would be spared.

What would casuse such a thing to occur in a new home? Get this... When they built the home, one of the subcontractors decided it would be okay to dump his excess concrete, stucco, or tile grout material down the drain and into the sewer.

Now 3 weeks later after a maxed out credit card, a newly poured driveway, and priceless heirlooms and sentiments ruined forever, I have realized that we can never prepare for the unknown, and that we have to take life as it is dealt, regardless of the hand you hold.

As for me, luckily the builder is going to take care of the cleanup and construction costs. But covering my lost setiments is another matter.