More Muscles
September 21st, 2011
Here are a couple more photos from my shoot with Artistic Physique and Fitness 101. These are a couple of amazing body builders who also happen to be very nice people and excellent models. And not the least bit shy, which is always an advantage when doing nudes.
This shoot was a lot of fun for all of us. AP and I had been talking about setting it up for some time and it finally worked out. All I had to do was set up the lights and turn the two of them loose to see what poses they could come up with.
I’m spending today packing. Tomorrow morning I head out for a long photo expedition with two of my all-time favorite models. Stay tuned for news and photos from along the way.
One more of AP and Fitness before I go:
Triangles
September 18th, 2011
Life’s pretty busy, as usual. I’m getting ready to leave on this year’s major photo trip. If all goes well you’ll see photos and updates along the way between now and the middle of October. Stand by for details.
But meanwhile, I’m way behind on posting the things I’ve been shooting. A lot of that has to do with getting ready for this trip. But I’m going to try to catch up over the next week or two before I start having things from the trip to post.
To start off, I’ll be posting a few from a great studio shoot with a couple fantastic models. I’ve worked quite a bit with Artistic Physique. She’s beautiful, talented and a world-class body builder on top of all that. She came to the studio a while back with a friend from the world of body builders, Fitness 101. The two of them did some great work together. Here’s the first sample. I’ll be posting a few more from this shoot.
As Light As Air
September 14th, 2011
That’s what you think must be the case when you see dancers like these in action. I took this photo in New York City several years ago. I was studying dance photography with Lois Greenfield at her studio there. She brought in some of the best dancers in the world for us to work with. But you can see that in this photo.
Lois has added this photo to her collection of student work on her website. She just e-mailed me to let me know, so I thought I’d share the news here. Lois does workshops at her studio from time to time, so if you’d like to photograph the best dancers in the world while learning from the best dance photographer in the world, this is how you can do it.
Thank you, Lois. And thanks to the amazing dancers: Dario Vaccaro, Miguel Quinones and Colleen T. Sullivan.
Ten Years
September 11th, 2011
Yes, it’s been ten years since everything changed. But you know that because there has been way too much about it in the “news.” I don’t want to add to that cacophony. But it does warrant a mention.
I was working for the Air Force on that day, at a major command headquarters. I spent that night in an underground command post helping coordinate the Air Force response around the country. I’ll never forget the events of that day or that night of worry, fear and confusion as we tried to figure out what had happened and who had done it.
And I’ll never forgive those in positions of trust who have exploited the events of that day to further their own political and personal agendas.
That’s all I have to say about that.
Instant Julie and a PhotoShop Rant
September 9th, 2011
Like pretty much everyone else who has been doing photography for any amount of time, I’ve worked from time to time with Polaroid instant materials. “Back in the day” I used Polaroids to check lighting and exposure when working with strobe lighting in the studio. The digital equipment we use these days has completely eliminated the need for that. I also used Polaroids for fun. I have several cameras that can take several different kinds of Polaroid film. But Polaroid film is pretty much a thing of the past. Yes, I know about the Impossible Project…but in general its products are just impossibly expensive.
But Fuji has come to the rescue of those of us who like to play with instant cameras, but don’t want to spend our entire photo budget on the film. So I bought one of the new Fuji instant cameras, which I tend to refer to as a Fujiroid. I drag it around and play with it every once in a while. I’m still getting the hang of the new camera and the new film, both of which are very different from what Polaroid gave us. But the Fujiroid is fun.
So, when I was shooting the lovely Julie Max in NYC last month, I pulled out the Fujiroid and shot up a couple packs of film. We were both pretty happy with the result.
Now for the rant. If you aren’t a photo geek you may want to stop reading now. But don’t miss the third Fujiroid at the end of the post.
I’m really, really pissed at Adobe. I feel insulted and abused by them. I’m using PhotoShop CS4 for a lot of my editing. That’s one version older than the current version of PhotoShop. But Adobe has completely stopped supporting CS4. I think that is a totally unreasonable thing for a software company to do. I don’t buy every new version of any software when it comes out. I always skip at least one generation. The updates are just too expensive to shell out that kind of money every time the company decides to put out a new version. I think every other version is a reasonable compromise that keeps me up to date enough for the limited kind of work I do on my photos. And every other software I use continues to be supported by their makers well beyond a single generation.
But not so for Adobe. The trouble started when I bought my D7000 in January. No support for the RAW files in CS4. What would it take for Adobe to simply update CS4 for the new cameras that come out…at least back a generation or two from their current version? Really, I don’t think that’s unreasonable to expect. At the cost of their software I think Adobe owes that kind of support to their customers. Not doing so is disrespectful and abusive of the customers who they depend on to keep buying their products.
And the trouble continues. After I installed the drivers for my new Epson 4900 printer I discovered a new PhotoShop problem. CS4 now, in what appears to be a random pattern, will sometimes refuse to print a file. Not to the new printer, not to the old printer, not to anything. It just puts up an error message saying there are no printers installed. My other programs don’t have any issues with the new printer and I can print with no problem at all from ACDSee. In fact, the best results I’m getting so far with the 4900 are by using ACDSee to send the files to the printer. But with PhotoShop now and then I’ll get that error message. If I get the message for one file in a folder, I’ll get it for all the files in that same folder. And, even if I move the files, or resave them, to a different folder, I still get the message. But another file from a different folder will print just fine.
A little hunting around on the PhotoShop help forums informed me that this is a known bug. And it also let me see that Adobe has no interest in fixing it. Their attitude toward the many photographers out there still using CS4 seems to be, “Fuck You…buy the new program or go to hell.”
So, I’ve found some work-arounds that let me get past this bug…but they take a bunch of time and are a pain in the ass. It’s much simpler to just print from ACDSee. By the way, ACDSee always continues support for several older versions of their program…and when they are going to stop support they send out a notification to everyone who has a registered copy of the version they are going to stop supporting, so you know where you stand. Is that really too much to ask, Adobe?
Now, we all know that PhotoShop is the best thing out there for editing photos. Of course, there’s Lightroom, but I don’t really care for it…tried it and didn’t like it. I’ve used ACDSee for many years, starting way back when I first went digital. I like their program…it works well for what I need and they treat their customers with respect. Not like Adobe.
So now I’m so mad that I’m thinking about trying to find a good alternative to PhotoShop. ACDSee’s photo editing functions don’t quite get me what I need. I like working in layers and doing my corrections on a series of layers that can be adjusted individually. Is there something else out there that will give me that ability and not cost more than one arm or leg? I’ll be looking around. I was planning to buy CS6…but I’m reconsidering now.
Ok, enough of that. Here’s another Fujiroid of Julie to make us all feel better. Isn’t she beautiful?
Theda in the Basement
September 6th, 2011
Here’s another of Theda in the sub-basement. For some reason she didn’t want to lay down back in there. I can never figure out why my models are sometimes hesitant to do the things I ask them to do. But we got some good shots anyway. Actually, Theda is always great to work with and a real pro when it comes to doing what it takes to make a photo work. And, after all, shooting in a dirty location was her idea.
I’m sitting at home today waiting for the truck to deliver my new Epson 4900. The driver just called and said he was about 45 minutes away, so the wait is going to be a short one. That will give me the afternoon to set it up. I can’t go out to get any paper to try it out because my truck is still at my mechanic’s being prepped for the upcoming trip. I’m supposed to get it this afternoon too…so I’ll soon have wheels again. The first thing I’ll do after I get the truck is make a run to the local photo place to pick up a pack of paper so I can play with the new printer…and I’ll also make a stop at Lowes to pick up a thermocouple…our water heater quit last night, so no hot water for baths this morning. It’s just the thermocouple…but I don’t have a way to go buy one until the truck is finished. Thermocouples don’t seem to be made the way they used to be…seems like they only last about three or four years now…but years ago it was unusual to have to replace one after 10 years. I just hope Lowes is still carrying them…last time I went looking for one…about three years ago…there were just a couple stashed in little boxes and almost impossible to find.
Primordial Cam
September 2nd, 2011
Here’s the beautiful Cam Damage out in the beautiful forest where we went hiking and shooting last month. It was a perfect setting for the work I do. Cam was a great addition to the landscape too. I love the almost pre-historic look of this forest and think that Cam fits right in as a part of it, a very lovely part, to be sure.
Everything in my life is at an in-between state right now, so I don’t have much in the way of news to report. But I’ll mention some of the things that are coming up.
I’ve bought a new printer. An Epson 4900. It will be delivered Tuesday. This will be the starting point for a new phase of my life as a photographer. I’ll be launching a printing project that I expect will be my primary focus for the next three years. More about that project when the time comes, but first I’ll have to learn how to use the new printer.
I’ll be leaving in a few weeks for my major photo trip of the year. Right now my truck is in the shop being made ready for the 5,000+ miles that we will be traveling. More on the trip as it unfolds.
I have a bunch more photos to post from recent shoots and may even do a little more shooting before I head out for the trip. So, there’s lots more coming.
Julie and the Monks
August 30th, 2011
The lovely Julie Max in her equally lovely apartment. Those monks are sure missing out on a great view. It was a pleasure and an honor to be able to photograph Julie in her home.
I’ve been busy working on plans for my major photo trip of the year. It’s coming in September and October. I expect to post regularly while I’m on the trip with two of my favorite models. Until then I’ll just try to get through all the backlog of photos I have from recent shoots. Lots more to come.
Dirty Pitchers
August 26th, 2011
When I contacted Theda about my trip to New York so we could set up the shoot we always try to do when I come to town the leading question was, “Where?” We’ve done a lot of shoots over the years and many of the more recent ones have been done in Theda’s apartment. It’s a great place to shoot, but variety is a good thing too. One time I took Theda up north of the city for an outdoor shoot that was great, but the timing wasn’t really right to try for a repeat of that this time.
Theda’s first suggestion was, “I’ve been wanting to shoot someplace dirty.” That sounded good to me. Problem was trying to find such a location in New York City from my home base in Ohio. I did a bunch of on-line searching and contacted some friends who I thought might be able to help, but no luck. So Theda and I finally just settled on the idea of shooting at her apartment and also looking around her building for other spots that might work. That’s what lead to the first photo I posted of her from this shoot which was done in a tiny stairwell with my ultra-wide lens.
Next stop was the sub-basement in her building. Most of this was in pretty good shape and didn’t really fit the look we were going for. But there was an open door that Theda had never seen open before…and it lead to a REALLY dirty space. It was exactly the kind of place we wanted. That’s the space in the photo above. Pretty damn dirty.
More Cam Damage
August 23rd, 2011
Here’s another of Cam Damage on the rocks in Pennsylvania. This turned out to be a great location and the weather was very cooperative. And it didn’t hurt to have the lovely Cam there to decorate the rocks.
I’ve done several more shoots since my trip to NYC, but I’m going to keep posting from the three shoots I did on that trip at least for a few more posts. There are so many good photos of each of the three models that I want to share several of each of them before I move on.
But, I have another shoot tomorrow, so the backlog of new things is getting pretty big. Stay tuned.
The east coast earthquake is all over the news and some people in Ohio have said they felt it. I didn’t feel any earth shaking going on today. I did feel the last one we had around here and it made enough of an impression that I added earthquake insurance to the homeowners policy. Hope I never get to collect on that insurance.
