Photo drought

We are having a drought here in the south.  I think last I heard we were down at least 10 inches. 

The reason I am speaking of a drought is that I have been in the midst of a photo drought.  I haven't had any real creative or unique thoughts about what to photograph here lately.  I am hoping that my vacation next week will help rejuvenate me.  Also Lighting 102 starts over at strobist. 

My latest shots were for the UT's College of Business.  Here they are:

Hopefully more will come over the next week.

Flickr: Discussing Wizwow's Assignment in Strobist.com

This looks like a fun assignment.  It should really get the creative juices flowing.  I will give it a try and post my results here. 

Link to Flickr: Discussing Wizwow's Assignment in Strobist.com

 

Here is the assignment list.

1. An image of one thing, that says only one thing about it.
2. A person who represents what you wanted to be when you were 6.
3. A kid who loves you... and I gotta see the love.
4. The thing that makes your mom your mom (or dad, or sister)? Shoot it.
5. You know your favorite song? The one you always turn the radio up on? Shoot a photograph to go on the cover of that album. I don't care if I get it... do you?
6. A bridge. From one place to another. One soul to another. One child to another. A bridge.
7. Your most hated food (for me - liver and onions) but make it look so good you are even tempted. You can have people in the shot, but not more than 12.
8. Show me a sports game in a landscape. No athletes, just the game. No sports field, just the game. No balls, no hockey sticks, no buckets of ice. Just the game as a landscape.
9. Happiness.
10. Any musical instrument, with people or not. Here's the deal though, we should feel something when seeing it, not just 'see' it.
11. Cute kitten... nawww... just kidding. Make it a place that seems abandoned, or lonely... if a place can be lonely make me feel it.
12. The one photograph you would want to sum up your photographic career today. You have been invited to show at the most prestigious show in NY and you can show only one picture. Show me that picture.

 

Check out the thread to see what others are doing.

Car shoot

I have made it through the photos and have uploaded them to flickr. 

 

This photo was taken with available light and my sigma flash to add some fill light to the tire and the spokes.

 

A front shot with light added to the grill work.  You can see the hotspot from my flash on the bumper.

Classic Cars

I did a shoot for Ross Marshall of Marshall Classic Cars.  The car I photographed was a Bentley.  We were allowed to shoot in front of a local mansion.  The area was beautiful and the car was amazing.  I hopefully will have the photos processed tonight and I will put a couple up here for you to admire.

The shoot was a unique one for me.  It was the first time I have photographed a car like this.  I tried to take as many angles as I could think of.  One problem that I experienced was not knowing how to add light to the car with my strobes.  The shoot was at 9:00 AM.  The sun was starting to peek through the clouds.  Some shots had very nice highlights on them some did not.  I'll write more as I post some of the shots.

Professional photography equipment - camera bags, camera cases - from Think Tank Photo

Link to Professional photography equipment - camera bags, camera cases - from Think Tank Photo

Think Tank Photo has posted a 2 part article on traveling with you camera and gear.  I have skimmed through it and it looks like a pretty good article with a lot of tips from other photographers.  If you are planning on flying with your equipment any time soon this would be a worthwhile read for you. 

Photoshop Insider » Video: How to set-up and use B&H Photo’s Scott Kelby Location Kit

Link to Photoshop Insider » Video: How to set-up and use B&H Photo’s Scott Kelby Location Kit

Scott has put together a great video demonstrating the use of his location light kit.  The kit can be purchased through B & H PHoto.  This video reinforces the strobist thought patterns the David Hobby has drilled into the readers of his blog.  The kit is priced at $494.95 (as of 5/9/07) which is a little on the pricey side for us starving photographers.  But you can piece it together a little bit at a time and build it up.

Way to go with the video Scott.

Scenic Wild / Wilderness Images by Guy Tal

 If you are looking for a nature photographer to inspire you, look no further than Guy Tal.  He has some amazing shots on his website. (I know I spent a lot of time looking at his photographs.)  He has an amazing eye for composition and exposure.

Link to Scenic Wild / Wilderness Images by Guy Tal

Beam Signing

I was just going through my photos and came across some from the beginning of March.  We had a beam signing ceremony for the top beam for the new building for the College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee.  It was a fun little event.  We got to sign a beam that will be with the building forever (or until they tear it down).  I was the unofficial photographer for the event and as a result of that a couple of my shots are going to be published in the College's Perspective newsletter (yeah!).  The communications coordinator for the College liked my shots better then some of the shots taken by the media relations person for the University (talk about an ego boost!).  Here is one from that shoot and there are a couple more on my flickr site.

Lighting 102

For those of you have not gone to Strobist.com and became enthralled with the amount of stuff you can light with a little strobe, you need to.  Do not pass go, go directly to Strobist.com.  David Hobby is a great photographer, but more than that he has a knack for explaining things in very understandable terms.  (Plus he uses a lot of photos, and we know that photographers are visual people).  Now on to my point.  Last summer David did a learning exercise called Lighting Boot Camp.  Well he is doing it again.  On June 4th, David is kicking off round two Lighting 102.  Last year I just watched from the sidelines and thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the submissions.  Well this summer I plan on diving in and working through this round.  I might embarass myself horribly, but I know I will learn a thing or two just attempting the exercises and seeing everyone elses work.  So if you are a budding photographer like me or a professional come and join us and have fun learning to light in new and exciting ways.

del.icio.us tags: strobist.com, strobist, off camera flash, boot camp

Way to busy

I have been way to busy lately and have found that I have been neglecting many things (like this blog).

Well I have finished up with my Commercial Photography class and it was a blast.  I haven't gotten a grade for it yet, but at this point in my life I am not to worried about a grade.  What does excite me is the fact that I learned a lot about lighting with studio lights and with portable strobes.  I feel as though my skill in this realm has grown greatly (though it still has a long, long way to go).  Hopefully over the summer I will begin to play with portrait photography and get a better grip on that aspect.  I am also debating whether or not to take a travel and nature photography class this summer. 

Over the next few weeks I hope to post more here and on my flickr site.

Learn how to light at strobist.com.