Tag Archives: location

Happy Birthday Velia

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I spent Sunday “playing” for a change.

Just because I’m a photographer, doesn’t mean I can’t still have fun.

It’s actually great not to think about what the client might want.

When I shoot for myself, I get to experiment and see what works and what doesn’t.

Event

It was a surprise 89th birthday party for Velia, my wife’s grandmother.

Birthday Girl–Velia with her boyfriend Bill in great spirits. They are a reminder to me to laugh at lot and to laugh often. Life’s too short. 2 light setup. Main light a 800 Watt/sec White Lightning into a silvered umbrella. Full size reflector on the right as fill. Backlight is another White Lightning head with blue gel into a grey muslin backdrop.

Since it’s not often that side of the family gets together, I dragged out my lighting gear.

Continue reading Happy Birthday Velia

Available Light Portraits

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Side Lit–Delia lit by strong sidelighting coming off of Lake Evans. The fill light is provided by a gold reflector on the right. Fill flash would have also worked but it would have required a Canon Speedlite capable of high sync speed. Exposure was ISO 100 1/350 sec @ f4 with a 50 mm lens.

Contrast can be friend or foe.

The more adept you are at controlling it, the better your pictures look.

In a portrait, if there’s too little contrast, the colors may look muted. Skin tones look drab.

Too much? You have to decide where in the scene you want to retain the detail.

If this all sounds alien to you, the beginner, it’s actually a real-world lesson on exposure. Continue reading Available Light Portraits

Life after photojournalism & a yacht wedding

gary_vianey1Tomorrow will be 5 years to the day I gave my 2-week notice to my former employer, the newspaper.

Last November they offered a buyout to all its employees.

Some took the offer, others thought they’re bullet-proof, indispensable and safe.

I figured out had I stayed on I would have been eligible to $50K minus Uncle Sam’s cut.

I kicked myself, of course, for not staying on.

Actually it wasn’t that hard a kick I gave myself.

In the time I left, I easily made that much.

The silver lining in this is: I learned never to be complacent again especially not in today’s job market.

Vianey and Gary dance during their reception on board the Dandeanna.

Continue reading Life after photojournalism & a yacht wedding

Location Lighting Part 2

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The picture above was taken at CALTrans’s traffic monitoring center (California Transportation).Using at 28mm lens, I metered the scene, decided on ISO 400, 1/8 sec @ f11. The flash that’s hidden between the monitor was set to give me f11. It was triggered by wireless Quantum radio slave.

The Ol’ Control Room/Nerve Center

The picture above of a control room is fairly common these days. Gone are the old chalkboards and other “analog” displays, this picture could be the setting for a casino’s security center, or any hub for communication.

In this situation,  camera shake will be a factor because you will have to use a slow shutter speed to allow the lighting in the room to “burn in” or record on your camera’s sensors. Continue reading Location Lighting Part 2