After Before 
We have a Fashion/Fantasy/Glamor assignment for our Advanced Portraiture class. I went out to shoot for it today. Unfortunately it was raining, so I had to make do with the little ambient light I had and my off camera flash. The building I was shooting in did not have electricity so I couldn't use Photogenics, but in the future, when I have more than one off camera flash, it would be cool to go back and see how creative I can get.
We shot executive portraits today for our advanced portraiture class. We drew names and then took our lights to shoot whoever we picked. We had a lot of fun playing with props in our subjects natural environment.
For my final project in my photojournalism class I'm shooting the Red Hatters, members of the Red Hat Society. It's a social group of sorts for older women, so they can get together and have fun. They are characterized by their red hats and purple clothes. The idea is that they no longer care about fashion and societal norms and have fun wearing outrageous and silly hats. In fact, the Red Hat Society encourages fun, silliness, creativity, and friendship amongst its members. I've gone to a card game and out on the town with a Red Hat group this past week. They are a wonderful group of women and I enjoyed photographing them. Thank you ladies.
original header with black font
We had a photo shoot for Advanced Portraiture in which you could shoot high key (white on white) or low key (black on black). I chose to shoot low key. This is my friend Janet Kelley. She was willing to let me shoot her as a French Madame, sad and alone at the end of her life. Kind of creepy isn't it?
On sun shiny, relaxed afternoons, there is nothing better than a walk. Whether it's in the city or in the mountains, there is something beautiful to look at and take photographs of. Recently, I was wandering around the streets of Atlanta. While I took photographs of many things, this rippled reflection of a nearby building is my favorite.
It seems as though the moment I begin to feel somewhat comfortable with Photoshop, the "new and improved" version comes out. I don't know about you, but it's going to be a while before I get my hands on Adobe's new Photoshop CS4. However, that doesn't mean I can't read up on it. So far the most interesting feature I've found is the way adjustments will now be applied to photographs. Adobe claims that adjustments such as Curves, Levels, and Hue/Saturation will be applied in a non-destructive manner, much like Adobe Camera Raw does now. If this is true, CS4 will have a supporter in me. To read more about what's new in CS4 click here. Don't forget about the Free Trials!
Duncan Shirah practicing his rock climbing
This is the original background photo for my header.
photograph by Marc Climie
Earlier this week I posted a color photo of this cat. I had been practicing with my new flash, and had produced some great shots of my friend's cats. When I looked through the photos, I made a mental note to go back and see how the cats looked in black and white. This cat's green eyes were so striking that I felt the photo should add to that element, not distract from it. I really enjoyed playing with this photograph and I like the way it turned out.
Today we made the final adjustments to the lighting on our Holiday Portrait set. We have a main light that is in front and above the subject, and two fill lights to illuminate the trees that surround the subject. We have two strobes on the ground, behind the subject, that light a couple trees so that our forest had dimensionality. And finally, we have two more strobes, gelled blue, to light our background with. We also added a light dusting of snow to make it feel like a true Atlanta Christmas.
I had an absolute blast shooting in Atlanta. I shot from the 17th Street Bridge over I85. While the photographs that I have probably don't fit the definition of "fill flash," they are definitely cool. I took mostly 2.5 second exposures, bringing in the city lights, and flashed my subject with my 580. The effect was an image reminiscent of a double exposure. Since the subject was only lit for a split second, the ambient light (that I exposed for with my shutter speed) filled the space where my subject had been, rendering a ghostlike image. Check out the rest of my images on Flickr.
I'm planning to go to Atlanta tomorrow night and shoot some more with my flash. I'd really like to get the night time skyline in the background with the subject lit partially by street lamps and then use the fill flash to bring in some of the foreground. It would also be fun to play around in a well-lit parking garage. If my subject is smoking, I can fill flash the subject and the smoke will curl during a long exposure and look really cool. The idea is to just have fun and learn more about my new flash. I'll be sure to bring my tripod and lots of extra AA batteries for my flash.
I have a fill flash assignment this week. I just got my Canon 580 on Friday, and I went out today at dusk to shoot with a friend. I got some good shots and also some fun shots and really enjoyed myself.
I just got my Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash. I'm so excited. I've never had an off camera flash before and I have so much to learn, but I had a great time today taking photos of my friend's cats. I just kind of played around with bouncing the flash of the walls and the ceiling. The ceiling seems to offer a softer light, while bouncing off the wall leaves a sharp shadow behind to subject. I'm going to play around with my flash again tomorrow. I mean, why not? It's fun and I learn!
The students at the Savannah College of Art and Design Atlanta Campus are having an art show on November 13th. I went to visit a few friends of mine and they showed me around the fifth floor where all the art is being stored until the show. There are a lot of really talented artists at SCAD, so I had a great time looking at the students' work. If you live in the Atlanta area you should really check it out!
Don't you just love autumn colors? It makes me yearn for the mountains and a weekend of hiking on the Appalachian Trail. While I was out taking photos for my "day after the election" assignment, I came across a tree with beautiful golden leaves. Behind the tree was an American flag. As it was a very patriotic day, I felt it was a perfect shot. Hope your weather is as lovely as ours has been here in Atlanta.
Today we replaced the rubber mulch on our Holiday Portrait set with real mulch. The rubber mulch had had a chemical smell that we couldn't get rid of even with air purifiers. The real mulch, however, had a surprise of it's own; salamanders! Tiny little salamanders are living in our mulch. It's a funny conundrum. Before today, I had never successfully caught a salamander. Now I have!
The only thing I could think about while Obama gave his acceptance speech, was that I wanted to be there in Chicago taking photographs. Alas, I was not. So when my photojournalism teacher told us to get a photograph illustrating "the day after the election," I hit the streets. What I found was Jelesc Newsom, with his "Obama 2008" sticker still adorning his right shoulder and his "I'm a Georgia Voter" sticker perched on his left shoulder. I couldn't have imagined a better subject.
photograph by Quin Cheung
Old Header
As I'm taking photojournalism this quarter, and as my many experiences shooting indoors and in other low-light situations have persuaded me, I'm going to purchase a flash. Because I shoot with Canon and I have the 5D, my search for a flash hasn't been a confusing one. Everywhere I turn, people suggest the 580EX with TTL. A lot of people have also suggested that I buy a cheep Vivitar. While I appreciate the logic behind getting a cheep flash now, and saving for the higher-end dedicated flash in the mean-time, I've been saving for a while and I'd like to make this purchase really last. So I've been checking out the 580. Here's a review I read comparing the newer 580EX with it's predecessor, the 550EX.
This morning I arrived at school at 7:05; not to go to class, but to hand out business cards with information about our Holiday Portraits. Gwinnett Tech is a polling location. As such, all the people who live in the immediate area come to vote there. What better opportunity to spread the word is there?
We also printed a few hundred business cards today. They have all the information about Holiday Portraits and are very pretty. Tomorrow, during the election, we're going to tag-team the line and pass out business cards to all the voters. Our school is a polling place, so we just informed the police about our intentions. They know we're not trying to persuade people at the polls, so they're going to let us pass them out. It should be fun and it will also allow us the opportunity to get everyone in the immediate area involved with Holiday Portraits.
I worked on Holiday Portraits again today. We painted the corner molding black and put down black sheets behind the set so you don't see the white floor tile. We also placed some pretty, low-growing bushes along the back of the set to add dimensionality. Today we also wired our street lamp, so it glows. We've repainted the background too. It's really coming along.
I took this photograph at dawn at Lake Burton. It is so beautiful there, so calm. It's not like Lake Lanier, where most of the people there are on vacation. At Lake Burton, most of the people living on the lake are retirees, and live there year round. The surrounding town has a different pace than that of the big city; it's slower, and people know one another. I love visiting my grandparents at Lake Burton. Even if I'm stressed out and tired when I leave home, by the time I've reached nearby Clayton, I'm relaxed and enamored by the hills and trees. I really enjoyed taking photographs at Lake Burton and when I look at this photograph, it's like I took a piece of that peace home with me.
Posts
All Comments
