Seamless....fashion (???)

Despite the passing of Labor day, and the fall fashion season, I thought it appropriate to add to the "better late than never" cliché and write about a "fashion shoot".

Glam/Fashion photography provides one a great opportunity to push the creative envelope, BUT there's a catch: Product. Oh, and another catch: Intended use. The trick is to showcase the product (scene is secondary--usually) such that the deliverable (photograph) meets the marketing requirements of the client. Easy, right? Shhh-ure!

So, the client: Steven Barrett Salon. Event: Summer Look (hair by SBS--whom I would recommend highly...the ladies always look FABULOUS) and Fashion (Clothing from Barney's Co-op). Deliverable: "...something bright and simple that can accommodate text overlays".

Nothing too difficult. It is mid-june, the weather in Seattle (at the time) was GEORGEOUS. And, I had scouted a roof-top location that would allow for some great summer skies, with a little city-scape to add some feel (was going to be bright, playfully simple, and appropriate for all sorts of marketing shenanigans)! Beautiful, right? WRONG! ...did you miss the part about mid-June and Seattle...outside location...Seattle...(see where this is going???).... Rain. F-ing Rain.

Plan B:


Set up a seamless-backdrop in the parking garage. Add three profoto 7B heads, 2 battery packs, strip light and 3X4 softbox on one powerpack (the head with the strip light has a powercord extension to loose an extra 1/2 stop, thus a full stop below the soft box), and a "dynamically placed" beauty dish on the second power pack (1 stop above). (for those that want the tech details).

Fire off a couple test-shots...and, "SEND out the models": Out comes the first model, stunningly beautiful, and TALL (wearing 3+ inch heels). WHOA.....WAIT..."Houston we've got a problem..."---those heels make her taller that me --I measure 6'3", and...I had everything set for a subject 5'9" to 5'11ish.

So, "Raise the light light stands", you say.

...hang onto that snarkiness...and rewind to the parking garage scene...notice the setup---one spot, with a vehicle. Can you guess the "issue"??? No??? (I couldn't get 6'3"+, head-to-toe, in-frame.)


(...not that it was not a HUGE deal...just a word of warning to get the height range of your models, if you are "space restricted"...normally, not an issue....but then you get thrown a curveball, and it will save you from having to call in the makeup artist for a quick touch-up and powder to cover a sheen...which you haven't even shot yet. ;0 )

Needless to say, the shoot continued...we had 5 beautiful ladies, (from TCM),

5 wardrobe changes,

and we ended with evening wear.


All-in-all, despite the hiccups, the shoot was a success: the client was happy with the end-product...and the models had fun throughout...despite a hiccup or two (three really, but I AIN'T sharin' the last one).

Stay tuned!

Triathlons...the sentiment of the sport

WOW! Where has the summer gone? It is August: The best month to be in Seattle.... the culmination of SeaFair, and with it, the SeaFair Triathlon: An opportunistic segue into sports action portraits and some editorial comments about athletes, the event, and a photograph.

When doing a sports action portrait with a triathlete, one is never short on opportunity. These people (pardon: athletes) eat, live, and sleep their training regiment...especially if they are training for an IronMan triathlon: 2.4 mi. swim, 112 mi bike ride, 26 mi run. (Pure insanity!)
Consequently, one can usually find them in the pool...

And, when the weather gets nice, one (a portrait photographer) can get these athletes into the open water...to have them do repeated squat-thrusts (up and out of the water) in an attempt to capture a portrait.

..and just for fun, you can say, "just a couple more, *to be sure*" (...push-ups are good too.)

All fine and dandy, but when one goes to provide event coverage...the "models" become these programed bots driven to achieve a time.


Ironically, it was in the mist (at the onset really) of the SeaFair triathlon, that I noticed an oxymoron...the triathlon commune.

Do you see it? I had never considered the phenomena. In hindsight, however, I am not surprised.

I suppose that is one of the beauties of a still image/photograph: You can sit and analyze a static moment. Each subject. Each expression. Each Individual's body language. Perhaps there is motion, but you can sit and look....and look... and look...you can get lost in an image, stare yourself cross-eyed...and then, as if to see the forest through the trees....an epiphany.

Do you see it?

Stay tuned!

American Gothic Moo-Moos...isn't just a style of dress.

Since I have received some feedback about the "Re-creational photo: Diego Rivera style" post, I decided to add another to the re-creational genre and go goth...as in "American Gothic"

To give credit where credit is due, I must attribute the creative epiphany, behind the shoot, to my dog. (As some may remember from a previous post, Jezebel is the famed chocolate lab yearning for freshly mined mellifluous morsels.) Being a guilt ridden dog owner, I obligate myself to take Jezebel on road-trips...and I am particularly obligated to do so for Christmas.

I cannot speak for all of you--out there in "TV Land"--but on a 10 hour drive, I often distract myself with every fleeting thought that passes through my brain. Just so happens, this past winter I decided to spend my drive devising a variety of shoots to embark upon once I arrived "home".... Ironically, I found myself completely amazed by the number of shoots (and subjects) I envisioned. The exercise turned into to a good reminder that "material" is abundant--a little town with so much to offer--I could spend months in my home-town shooting all sorts of crazy-fun images (again, another reminder: It is the ever-present "I" that is ones greatest ally and enemy...if you cannot make something interesting out of the familiar it's only harder with the unknown). So, I decided to start with family....

As some, or most, know, American Gothic is one of the most common 19th century American Artworks...my grandparents used to reference it as the reward of hard work, and symbolic to the "American Heartland".

...so I thought I'd give the concept an update.

I have an uncle that owns/runs a little cattle ranch. And, as required for ranching in cold climate, He has to feed the cows throughout the winter....what a great chance to capture images of my uncle hard a work...creating his American Gothic...

Imagine, if you can, 2 men out in a pasture.....one, gently walking around--with 3 Canon speed lights mounted on lightstands...one with a white umbrella....and a heard of hungry cows.

...ever seen how cows like to rub against things... you suppose a light stand would have a fighting chance??? Yeah, not so much, luckily, the model was entertaining the "extras" with dinner.

After several shots, the cows became a little more curious about these new "rubbing posts"...and a little less about their dinner. So, I talked Wayne into grabbing his wife (I'll call her "Aunt Sam") and meeting me in the corral--which housed the "new mom's and calves" curiously watching the photographic-antics in the pasture. The corral was where I wanted to capture my version of American Gothic.

Small cattle ranches are a family operation: Husband, wife, children, and a dog (usually)...thing about teenage girls, though...they ARE NOT going out on a cold December evening..warm evening for that matter, to have pictures taken in a corral with bunch of cows--they love their cousin-Drew; but, there are limits (and "images" to be kept)...luckily dogs are always game for something mischievous!

The work is hard, and while the intensity can wane, the work is year round. The cows must be tended, feed, and watered. The work is dirty...and if you think you have to put up with a lot of "shit" at work...I challenge you to clean a corral--then you will, indeed, be shoveling shit.

Cows, cows...and more f-ing cows...did I mention that the little bastards like to rub...

The American gothic: Moo-Moo style.

Stay tuned!