Happy New Year!

Gosh, it's been a great year, and 2014 is really looking up, as well. If you're reading this, thanks for sticking with me. It's not that I've quit writing, it's just that I've been writing so much for Photofocus.com. Follow this link to see what I've been doing over there.

In other news, I got to make some pretty cool picture in Michigan the other day. I met up with my friend Bryan, who I met on the Photofocus page on Facebook, and we went shooting on the streets of Grand Rapids before work one morning.

While in Grand Rapids, I also got a minute with Breck to make a fun portrait.

Lastly, after shooting with Breck I was walking down the hall of the hotel and saw a horse and carriage pull up outside in the blizzard. When I got to the elevator, a couple jumped in, and told me they had just gotten engaged! I suggested we make a quick portrait, and they obliged. Congrats, guys!

I hope things are going well for you all, and I hope you get out and make some pictures with family and friends before the holidays are over.

Support Your Library

I love public buildings. Good architecture is hard to come by these days, but libraries often get a good dose of it, and the USU library is no exception. It's built with great light in mind, and I used to love going there with my clients to make use of it. For this image I took my class of Summer Citizens (visiting from Arizona and Texas) to the library to work with our wonderful model, A. Sunlight coming directly through a high window was shining on the white wall of the art exhibit in the atrium, and the reflection back onto A. was simply perfect. It's got a great direction, and since there's no light shining on the ground behind, she stands out against the simple background. Her simple black dress was just right for a black and white image. 

So, get out there, explore your public buildings and look for great light. It's time to put your tax dollars to work!

Nikon D800, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @135mm, f/5.6, 1/320s, ISO 800.

Feels Like a Flat Tire...

A few weeks ago we drove from Lake Oswego to Logan. It was a nice day, fair weather most of the way, temps in the high 70's, and about 32 people pulled over with flat tires. I've never seen so many! Everyone was getting it taken care of, and we were just crossing out fingers that we wouldn't have any trouble (it was our first trip with a kid in the car).

Well, this week is the Cache Valley Cruise-In, and three years we started a photo contest associated with it, and I've had a blast making pictures for the contest. Follow this link to see some of my previous entries. This year, however, I'm in a new place (Lake Oswego, Oregon) and still finding out all the cool things going on. Still, not going to the Cruise-In is a little like getting a flat tire.

Here's a fun one we made last year with the talented (and recently married) Jane.

Nikon D800, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II lens, f/3.5, 1/800s, ISO 800.

Fashion Fun

Going through some previous shoots...

We made this during the fashion show at BATC, which happens every semester. The designers made the hats, but this gal is a drama major who was really hamming it up, making her the star of the image.

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 Micro VR lens, f/8, 1/200s, ISO 100. Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

One light, a big 86" umbrella up close makes the soft light. The 105mm lens is my favorite for nearly the last year--it's just the right amount of compression to create a lifelike perspective on people. Plus, it's ridiculously sharp, crisp, and fast focussing.

Aim High

This is B., and she's a pilot, and a cheerful, yet determined person. She's also in the running for Miss Cache Valley, which draws the most talented women I know.

Nikon D800, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens @ 160mm, f/8, 1/160s, ISO 100.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish...

People kept asking, and Laura just kept answering, "Because we can!"

I've said it before: it's just plain fun when creatives get together. There'll be more of these to come, but here's something to tide all those involved over.

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro lens, f/10, 1/160s, ISO 100.

Definitely Dancer

I'm not a huge music lover, but I love music. I know what I like, and I listen to it. I don't explore new stuff, I don't listen to the radio. I like U2. I like John Denver. I like the Beatles, but I don't have their albums. I like BNL. I like They Might Be Giants. I like Natalie Merchant. I like Adele (and for the longest time she was the farthest thing from a white British gal in my mind).

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro Lens, f/3, 1/125s, ISO 200.

I was introduced to The Killers a few years ago, and I think they are the best in a long time. I like this song, Human.

This is K., again, and she's definitely a Dancer. Even when she's standing still, she's performing. She's thoughtful and wants to know what to do. She gets frustrated when my students don't tell her what to do, don't give her direction. I guess she doesn't realize that she's doing it already.

Nikon D800, 70-200mm f/2.7 VR II lens @98mm, f/4, 1/160s, ISO 800, Nik Color Efex Pro4.

Setup for these was simple and fun. Let's start with the second one first. It's just a 40x40" continuous light softbox on the right. Black paper background. The light is sitting a little higher than K. pointed slightly downward. I think we had the white reflector on the right side, too. She's spinning and moving so I turned up the ISO to allow me to have a faster shutter speed to freeze her motion a little. This isn't the most perfect or graceful image I made of K. that night, but I think's the most fun; she's laughing and real and imperfect. It's perfect. Made this one at the Mansion during our beginning digital photography class.

The first image above is made during our portrait class. We're in a stairwell at USU's library. There's a small speedlight behind K. set at almost it's lowest setting, and that's for two reasons. First, when you put a colored gel on a light and you want lots of color, you use a low setting, otherwise the color is washed out. The second reason is that light coming from behind aimed toward the camera is more efficient than a light aimed at someone's face and bouncing back toward the camera. From behind it's skimming into the lens, from the front it's a full 180 degree turn to get back. Think about it, and you'll get it.

The light on the front of her face is a speedlight set into a small 24" softbox and set at it's lowest setting, and positioned about 9 inches from her face. Being close to her makes it very soft and also makes it disappear quickly so that it doesn't affect the background and barely even lights her shirt. I like this one. It's a very Noir image to me.

Thanks, K.

Circumnavigation

Things--life--seem to move in cycles and patterns and rotations. I feel like I'm coming around again and it's a nice way to wrap things up. I'm moving to Portland, Oregon later this month, if you hadn't heard, and everyone is saying goodbye to me. JM is one who has come cyclicly through my photography and this blog. She's been a real friend, always supporting me, and a joy to have in front of the camera, too. 

She and her brother came to classes in 2010 for the first time, and everyone had a great time making pictures with her and N. This is one I didn't share back then. The doorway in the background is my first Studio over on Church Street!

Nikon D90, 85mm f/1.8 D lens, f/6.3, 1/80s, ISO 800.

Looking at that picture now, I realize that I was still frequently shooting jpegs only. Now I shoot everything in RAW, and occasionally RAW with an additional jpeg file (for black and whites, as described in the post below). 

This shoot above was really an auspicious day, too. While we were walking the streets outside the Studio I met my pal Sam, made this picture, and started a friendship thats going strong to this day.

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens @140mm, f/2.8, 1/100s, ISO 400.

What's more, Sam obliged the next session of my classes by coming and modeling for us--and this while rehearsing and playing violin in the orchestra for the Utah Festival Opera everyday. As I recall, he had to boogie from the studio and run across the block to rehearsals as soon as class was over. He's a true friend to spend energy helping us create when he still has creating of his own to do.

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens @ 98mm, f/3.5, 1/80s, ISO 320.

While I was making the above image of Sam, Erin Holmstead was also in the room shooting as one of my students. Another day we were making pictures of flowers in the Studio and I was so inspired by her image that I turned around and made my most favoritest rose picture.

Nikon D700, 85mm f/1.8 D lens, f/5.6, 1/100s, ISO 400.

Nikon D700, 55mm micro lens, f/5.6, 1/80s, ISO 800.

Well, about a year later, Erin started working for me as my intern at the new studion in the Thatcher-Young Mansion. She tried to help me get organized...but I was too much for even her skills, I'm afraid. She was a huge help getting things done, though, and we had a lot of fun times making pictures for people and trying out some wacky stuff occasionally. Eventually, she even let me make pictures for her new family!

Nikon D7000, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @ 50mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 200.

Well, right about the time Erin started working with me, another student asked me to help him one-on-one. J. needed some specific help just for himself at his own pace. So we headed up to USU to walk the walks and see what there was to see. Foolishly, I didn't shoot a single image of J. that day. However, while we were hassling people outside the campus library, cajoling them to be in our pictures, JM walked up and said hello! I hadn't seen her in quite sometime, and I was glad to talk with her a minute.

Naturally, I invited JM to be in a picture or two. She demurred, however, claiming that she wasn't really made up, and didn't think she was ready to be in a picture that day. I said she looked great, but I also respect someone who takes a picture seriously, so I said goodbye and got back to coaching J. on the use of a diffuser in bright sunlight.

You can imagine my surprise a few minutes later when JM tapped on my shoulder and said, "I decided I could be in a picture." She was so genuine and disarming, I couldn't help smiling as I invited her into our location studio on the planter by the sidewalk. I'm so glad that she stopped because it made for one of my all time favorite images.

Nikon D7000, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @ 92mm, F/5.3, !/3200s, ISO 800.

I love to see the maturity in JM's eyes here, compared with the image made one year prior at the top.

In speaking of all time favorite images, although I didn't make a picture of J. that day, I did have the privilege of photographing he and his wife a little later on. I hope I can become half the husband and friend that J. is.

Nikon D3, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens @ 105mm, f/11, 1/200s, ISO 200.

Oh, and one more all time favorite includes my man Sam. He was back in town again this last summer for the Opera and was, once again, good enough to indulge me in some creative activities. Fortunately, his stay overlapped the Cache Valley Cruise In, so we headed to the fairgrounds in search of the perfect automobile to match up with Sam. As we walked he talked about wanting a '69 mustang. We happened to find one.

Nikon D800, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens @ 145 mm, f/2.8, 1/400s, ISO 400, Nik Color Efex 4, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

After convincing the owner of the Mustang to let us use his car for awhile, and after a few more days' break, I got Sam back into the Studio for some more portraits. If you're like me, you can help smiling when you see Sam laugh. That's the kind of treasure this black box I work with keeps for me, and lets me share. In fact, I can share it and share it and never run out.

Nikon D800, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @ 250mm, f/5.6, 1/200s, ISO 100.

Which brings us to today. I was texting with Erin and Facebook messaging with Sam, when J. surprised me by showing up right before my class to help setup for our club meeting this evening; and who surprised him but JM, who came to model. So, nearly three years and five cameras later, JM is with my class again, sharing herself and helping us learn to create, helping us to consider the importance of pictures. 

What was it Norman Maclean wrote?

"Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it."

As I sail through life, I find it all goes 'round, and friends come again, and the shutter records it.

Nikon D800, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II lens @90mm, f/5.6, 1/160s, ISO 800.

One Light, One Lens, Two High Schools

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro lens, f/5.6, 1/160s, ISO 800, red filter in monochrome mode in the camera

Ah, high school. Remember how great it was? How free you were? How your only worries were about friends and home work that wasn't really that hard? How you went to an after school job to earn spending money instead of mortgage money? How you got to go to art classes and have a good time? Those were the good ol' days, eh?

Well, I went back yesterday. Twice. I spent the morning with Photography students at Fast Forward Charter High School were we set up a simple studio and made some simple portraits (still hoping to see their pictures of me on Facebook!). We did the same thing at Logan High in the afternoon. I talked about light and working with people and not sitting back in your chair so your legs don't look fat. Then--finally--I shut up and made pictures.

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro lens, f/4, 1/25s, ISO 400, red filter in monochrome mode in the camera

And I have to admit, this post is not normal for me: I haven't finished any of the images, they are straight form the camera. I normally adjust the exposure and do some touchups and add a vignette and maybe use the Nik software tools to really make them pop. But I wanted the students to see here that the photo as I shot it wasn't bad, and that I'm not using photoshop to completely change the picture. Most of the students have shot film and may be inclined to think that photoshop is a little bit of cheating: but I heartily disagree. I use photoshop (Actually, I use Lightroom4) to finish the image off, just as I would in the darkroom, brightening here and darkening there, and increasing contrast, and cropping. It's not rocket science, but it does finish my image to look the way I envisioned when I pressed the shutter button. That's the way photography has been for nearly 200 years!

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro lens, f/4, 1/100s, ISO 400, red filter in monochrome mode in the camera

Besides that, digital camera all have significant photoshopping skills built right in. This black and white setting I use isn't one of them, however.

When we shoot black and white film, a red filter (red glass) placed in front of the lens makes pictures more contrasty and has an especially nice effect on skin tones. See, it evens the tones and makes blotchy skin more clear, and makes pimples virtually disappear. Now my digital camera does the same effect without the glass--it interprets the light coming into the camera as if there was a filter on the lens. This is great! Just go the monochrome settings in the Menu on your camera (not the shortcut to button on the outside of the camera) and go in and choose to use a red filter (ROYG are usually the options--red, orange, yellow, green). I love it, and I think you'll enjoy better black and whites from it, too.

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro lens, f/4, 1/100s, ISO 400, red filter in monochrome mode in the camera

Also, the students at LHS will remember that the above picture of J. (long haired male) was made when he was sitting farther from the light--that's why the background is more visible. When the students sat closer to the light the difference between the amount of light on the face and on the background was too much for the camera to distinguish and so the background is completely black. The the model farther away from the light, the difference in the light on the face and the background is similar and so the background is visible. Note also that image was shot at 1/25 of a sec--much slower, and much too slow for me to handhold, so I'm using the tripod. 

Also, these pictures are simply made. There's just one light to the side (at Fastforward we put four lights right next to each other to make a single source, and at LHS we shone two lights through a white sheet to make a single source), one lens, and the subject is turned so there is light on both sides of the face. We're lighting the short view of the face, remember?

In the end, I think everyone had a good time.

Classes

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro lens, f/3.2, 1/400s, ISO 800.

K. is a joy to work with. She came to a Lightroom class a few times with her mom and then left for her dance class part way through. She was always smiling and had a light in her eyes. Not like other people's light, though, not like when a mom says she has a light in her eyes. Nope, K. has some like a two million candle power halogen shining out of her skull--it's like a blinding kind of light that is infectious, and she seems to make others more cheerful just being nearby.

Well, now she's come to model for our photography class a couple of times and it's really fun having her. Sure, she's got that great smile, but she can also put it away and appear somber beyond her years.

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro lens, f/3, 1/125s, ISO 800, Nik Color Efex 4, CS6.

The first image above was made in the Mansion using a 40x40 softbox on a set of fluorescent light bulbs; there's also a large white fill card on the right sode of the picture. I just kept sidling closer until she was laughing at me. That happens a lot--people laughing at me. I had my camera set to Monochrome with a red filter applied in camera to give me those luminous skin tones, and I added some contrast, and my favorite gentle tint with a little vignette to finish the image off. I keep smiling just looking at it.

The second is even more fun. The whole class is crammed into a stairwell at the Library at Utah State University (that's what I call my tax dollars at work!). There's a single florescent tube position vertically in the corner, and she is sitting on a window sill facing into that light. That's it, no fancy tools, and no fancy lights. Anyone with a camera can make this picture. I used a contrast filter, glamor glow, and darken/lighten center in Nik's wonderful COlor efex 4 to finish off the finishing I started in Lightroom 4. Plus a bit of an oil paint filter on the scarf from CS6. I rather like it. Can't wait to have both K. and C. back next week.

Back Again

M. came to model for my class again last night, and, as expected, we had a great time making pictures with her.

This was my portraiture class that's happening this term. We are only making people pictures, and we're having a great time of it.

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 Micro lens, f/4, 1/400s, ISO 400.

During classes we shoot with continuous lights that allow us all to shoot at the same time without worrying about recycle times on flashes or triggers. This has a big 40x40 softbox on the left, and another high and behind on the right, and an 8x8 v-flat made of home insulation panels on the right bringing a little light to the dark side of M.'s face. We've got a bit of a loop lighting pattern on her face, and a great expression. Can't wait to have M. back again.

Practice, Practice, Practice

M. and L. are so much fun to work with. I mean, it's not like we are rolling on the floor laughing (though we do frequently laugh out loud), but it's fun because we work together to make an idea come to fruition. We paged through a gillion magazines looking for ideas, and put a few different ones together and then moved in a direction all our own. Creativity builds this way, and practicing allows us to put it together quickly when it counts.

Nikon D800, 105mm VR Micro lens, f/4, 1/40s, ISO 200. 

Nikon D800, 105mm VR Micro lens, f/2.8, 1/100s, ISO 200.

Nikon D800, 105mm VR Micro lens, f/2.8 1/100s, ISO 200.

Nikon D800, 105mm VR Micro lens, f/3.2, 1/320s, ISO 200.

Passionates

Wherever there are passionate people, there will be good pictures. Remember these guys? Civil War reenactors with canons...there were some great stories from those passionates. Last night I got to spend time with another set of passionates: fashion designers. And what fun! Naturally, they had beautiful people wearing their designs, so that's easy. Then they had cool designs, check number two! But best of all, they were all having fun showing their work and wearing it, too. I sure enjoyed my work as they worked. 

Any other Passionates I should know about?

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 lens, f/7.1, 1/200s, ISO 100.

Been A While

Gosh, how time flies. Seems like just last Spring L. and I were making her Senior Portraits. You can view those here. But, alas, she just turned 21. I guess I've been doing this longer than I thought! Well, she stopped by for a birthday portrait the other day, and I'm sure glad she did.

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro lens, f/16, 1/200s, ISO 100.

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro lens, f/14, 1/200s, ISO 100.

Headless Chickens

Ever feel like one of those? It's been the busiest summer of my life. I returned the other day from a wonderful conference in Chicago where i got to teach alongside one of the greatest photographers in the world, I just photographed the birth of a brand new baby girl (all natural for mom--wow!), and I finally moved past my stigma of winning third place in the Logan Summerfest Plein Aire Photography Competition.

I initiated the competition three years ago, and for the last two years I've earned third place. Heck, I picked the judges and couldn't win! Well, this year, I didn't pick the judges, and not only did I not get third, but I did get First and Second places. I was floored and honored. 

And someone just reminded me that didn't even post those images here! So, first and second respectively. 

Cruising Time!

Each year this week we have that wonderful Cache Valley Cruise In when classic cars from around the world converge on the fair grounds. Basically, they come to show off. And that's good for a guy like me, cause I get to see some stuff worth showing off, then do my own showing off right here. It's a nice little narcissistic circle. 

So, here's my first sampling from the show. I'm so glad that J. has once again agreed to come out and play picture making with me. She always makes this a fun adventure--working with creatives always makes the best pictures, and J. oozes creativity daily. 

Of course, I'm not just out to play! This is serious business: we have a contest to enter, after all. This is the second year we've had the Cruise In photo contest going. The rules are simple: make a picture during the Cruise In, then turn it in to be judged during the Gallery Walk on July 20th. All are welcome, and the more the merrier. I hope to see your work there, too!

Nikon D800, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens @ 135mm, f/4.5, 1/200s, ISO 800.

Rainy Day

This is a fun one from a recent shoot with M. It's such fun working with her--she's full of character and spunk, and she really lets it show when the lens is pointed her way. I sure do appreciate Sher Lisonbee's help getting M.'s makeup and hair ready--she's also great to work with.

Nikon D3, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens @175mm, f/2.8, 1/160s, ISO 200.

Forest Spirit?

So, you're sitting there with seventeen rainbows worth of colorful paint, a slew of fun clothes and accessories, a willing model, and a creative painter who's eyes are bulging with the possibilities: I dare you to not have fun.

M. got all kinds of made up and we headed to the grassy fields nearby to make some pictures happen. Always pleasure working with M., and Laura from Jacana Parties keeps things...colorful. More to come.

Nikon D800, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @ 180mm, f/5.6, 1/800s, ISO 400.

Grey Crowned Crane

I sure do appreciate Laura from Jacana Parties--she's a creative with a penchant for painting her expressions on other people. We've worked together before, and we always seem to turn out some interesting images. Today was no exception, and K. was good enough to allow us to transform her into a crowned crane. M. also came, and pictures form her transformation will be coming soon.

Nikon D800, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @ 135mm, f/8, 1/200s, ISO 400.