New Portraits

I've long wanted to do some portraits downtown next to the graffiti-covered flood wall and I finally had the opportunity last night. Obed is a young R&B singer that was a pleasure to work with. We had so many great shots that it was hard to choose faves, but these made my short list. Feedback welcome as always.

L.O.S. Noir

Last weekend I did my first shoot for a band (full disclosure: it happens to be one of my own) and it was easily the most ambitious photography project I've taken on. I have to say that it was both challenging and satisfying, especially considering that it turned nearly identical to my vision.

That's a major achievement in my book. Would love to hear what you think.

The band loved it, and it will be used for the liner notes in their upcoming CD.

The technical scoop on the photo:

4 lights, from L-R:
Nikon SB600 in Honl spot grid on bar
Nikon SB600 in Honl 8" snoot below camera
Nikon SB800 in Honl spot grid clamped to ceiling beam
Nikon SB600 in bathroom behind subject
SB600's triggered via modded Cactus V2s triggers, SB800 fired via optical slave.

3 exposures created from one RAW file in Lightroom, blended to HDR in Photomatix. More tweaks and textures in Photoshop.

Drums-Plus-One Night

Last night I had the great pleasure of seeing my friends from Louisville, The Black Diamond Heavies perform. For those that don't know, they are a uniquely kickass keyboard & drums duo. Incredibly, the other two bands on the bill were also duos (drums and guitar in both cases) and even more incredibly they were both just as amazing as the 'Heavies!

I highly suggest that you check out all of these acts, especially if you have the chance to see them LIVE because they will blow your mind.

The Black Diamond Heavies



Timothy James Oxnard of The High Plane Drifters



The Moaners

Nothing Goes Together Like Jellybeans & Tequila

Still playing with my food, photographically speaking.

Mmmmmm...fooood

I recently did some catalog shots for a local purveyor of fine cheeses and decided to try some formal product shots using the delicious items in the goodie bag he sent home with me. It was also a great chance to use my new softbox. The results are a bit old school and formulaic, but I'm no food stylist.

Wilderness Escape

I've been extraordinarily frustrated lately, mainly on the employment front. Sometimes a nice hike through the wilderness is a suitable escape and since the weather was actually tolerable today I took the new D90 out for a walk at Shaw Nature Reserve.

Nothing too incredible here, but the light was still harsh at 5pm and I was trying not to force things. Besides, the point was to forget about business for awhile and just wander around amongst grasses taller than myself.

My First (And Last) Kodachrome

Go figure. The first time I finally try out a roll of the legendary Kodachrome, it gets discontinued. Literally, the day I shipped it off for processing. Oh well. Here are the results. And yes, I realize it's not completely gone yet but I really don't want to pay a premium for it now that all the film nerds are hoarding it.