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Fun Times with the Hubby

03.20.10

Shannon (my husband) has been my go to or “gopher” model when I have need to experiment with new equipment, lighting techniques, or whatever thoughts are rolling in around in my head. For the most part, it completely bores him (and it shows in those past pictures) to stand in front of the camera and I don’t blame him. This time was different. I really learned a valuable lesson, which is: if you know you have a model that is bored by being in front of the camera, really make it about them and find something they are truly interested in. I think it is easy for us photographers to get caught up our own ideas and with the technical side of taking pictures that it is really easy to forget about what we are actually trying to communicate and we forget about the personalities behind our subjects. Shannon LOVES LOVES LOVES guitars. His love for guitars is equivalent to my love for photography. He also hates it when I make him stand outside when it is sunny (pretty much sunrise to sunset). He is of the blue eyed folk and they seem to have a tougher time than us brown eyed folk when it comes to dealing with the sun. Shannon has his sunglasses on even in dark shade…the only time I wear sunglasses is when I am driving and that is even periodic. So, I thought, why not photograph Shannon with his guitar and do a night session! Solves both issues. So, what I am saying in all this, is don’t forget to think about your subjects…they will teach you a lot! I always have fun making images, but Shannon, for once, had a good time this time as well.

(Lighting Setup for three images above..just in case you are interested: Canon 580 EX II in 28″ Wescott Softbox fired with PW Flex and Mini)

(Lighting Setup for image above..just in case you are interested: Canon 580 EX II in 28″ Wescott Softbox, Vivitar 285 HV behind amp,  fired with PW Flex, Mini, II)

(Lighting Setup for four images above..just in case you are interested: Canon 580 EX II with 30 degree grid ghetto rigged on a lightsphere, Vivitar 285 bare flash on opposite side)

(Lighting Setup for images above..just in case you are interested: Canon 580 EX II in 28″ Wescott Softbox fired with PW Flex and Mini)

Posted in Portraits

by admin

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Doris - March 21, 2010 - 12:48 am

so glad you both had fun….great location…great pics!
One of my favs is the 2nd to last picture.

Erica Letchworth - March 23, 2010 - 12:26 am

#4 fo’ sho’! hehe. These are fabulous and Shannon is very dashing in the purple beanie.

Tradigital :: Digital Negatives

03.18.10

My Digital Photography II students are working on their “tradigital” projects (joining of the joys of the digital process with the joys of the traditional process), so I thought I would jump in too. I recently went in to the darkroom to make a print from a roll of film and had a unfortunate incident. I was working on a corner enlarger and my negatives slipped right down this miniscule crevice between the enlarger and the wall, meaning they were lost in the nether regions of the darkroom. I was very upset. I called the maintenance department and luckily one of the guys was really sympathetic because he is a photographer as well and knew how frustrating that would be. He took the whole table top off for me to recover the negatives. That was awesome! So, they were recovered, but needless to say, negatives don’t like dust and I don’t like dust on negatives, so to print them in the darkroom as they were would be quite a feat. So…digital negatives to save the day. I scanned them in and have started to repair them by taking the dust and scratches out digitally and making digital negatives. In Dig II class, we are using Dan Burkholder’s method of making digital negatives for silver gelatin (just a fancy word for black and white) prints. In a nutshell, you do all the manipulations in Photoshop, then apply this weird curve that makes your image look flat (because you gain more contrast when you contact print) and invert the image. Why all the fuss? Because you can do all your dodging and burning or local adjustments in Photoshop. If you have ever had to dodge and burn in the darkroom, then you know this is a plus. So, here is one digital negative and the resulting print. More to come:

Posted in Art

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Image Transfers :: Steeples

03.18.10

The image transfer process can take an image and completely transform it. I have been experimenting with laser and inkjet transfers for some time now and have really enjoyed learning the process. It’s quite simple and pretty low tech. You print an image (in reverse) on regular copy paper. Brush it with an even coat of acrylic matte medium and press it onto another paper (something absorbent and substantial). Then, I let it dry under the pressure of a stack of books, then use small amounts of water to slowly peel the paper backing away from the receiving paper. Black and white laser prints have been my favorite and easiest to transfer. I sometimes scan them back in and join them with the original image.

Here are some examples:

(Laser Jet Transfer)

(original image from above transfer)

(original image for below transfer and composite)

(inkjet transfer)

(Composite of above transfer and edited image from above)

(Composite of an image transfer and original image…only a small amount of the original image was brought back in.)

Posted in Art

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