Give and Receive…A Proven Cycle
Another in my series of ghost images. An ongoing personal project for this year.
Every year I work on personal projects, which is a good thing for people around me because that means somebody is getting some free pictures.
One project I’m doing is a one day event called Faces of Facebook. I am giving away head shots for anybody that comes into my office on Tuesday March 27th between 9 am and 2:30 pm. Why? Because it will give them something to put on their Facebook profile and give me a unique gallery of images. I thought about all the people I photograph most of them are used to being in front of a camera for one reason or another, this will give some people the opportunity to have a professional headshot that is not accustomed to having a photo made.
If your reading this and you want to get your head shot just come by my office at 1909 Montgomery Hwy. Dothan during the times I mentioned. The only rule is the picture is for Facebook only and you have to do one normal picture and one funny face picture. (Otherwise it would just get boring).
Another project I’ve been working on that I’m getting more serious about is capturing elements and people of the south. I want to capture images that reflect life here in the south. I am looking for people, places, and events that really reflect the character of the south. People such as farmers, business people, shop owners, artist, teachers, etc. The goal is to create a body of work that will reflect the heart of southern living. If you know someone that fits this and you think they truly reflect the character of the south be sure to reach out to me. I will not take up much of their time, a few pictures then I’m gone.
It may seem strange to some for me to give away so many pictures when I’m a full time working photographer. I do this because I believe in the power of giving. I believe if you give it is going to come back to you pressed down, shaken together, and running over. Most people only give when things are good or if they are asked, but I think the best time to give is to give when its the hardest and without being asked. I have personally found that when I am at my lowest that giving is the one thing that can pick me up. There’s no situation so bad you can’t give your way out of it.
Two Minutes to Success for Monday March 19th
Ever felt discouraged? That feeling of “I’m not far enough along in my career,” “I should be making more money,” “I shouldn’t have put that on a credit card.” Maybe its personal, a relationship you had hopes in failed, someone broke a promise, or they were cruel and took their problems out on you. It seems life can come at you hard without mercy sometimes. It often times seems unfair and cruel, leaving you feeling picked on, isolated, and hurting
Whatever the circumstance everyone at some point regardless of how successful we get feels this way. Its not that your different than everyone else, or that the world is out to get you its just stuff. The good news is that it does happen to everyone, despite what it feels like it, your are not the only one going through it. Now the question is you go through it or will you just stop and sit in it? Will you push through the doubts, fears, pain, and hurts, or will you lay down and quit? I once read a quote from Winston Churchill that said, “If your going through hell, don’t stop! Keep going!” The reason most people quit is that it is so easy in the midst of problems and pain to think the it will last forever, when if fact its just a moment. The axiom “everything changes” is true. Nothing on earth last forever, everything goes through changes. The weather goes from spring to summer, summer to fall, and fall to winter, then back again. Things changing is what makes the journey interesting, even if it seems too interesting.
So if your in that place where everything seems to hurt. Where if feels like your alone and no understands or cares, it time to stand up, dust yourself off and keep walking forward. When things come at you and it seems like it will be the end of the world, remember its only a moment, a moment of time, this moment of your life. Everything changes, a new day is just a few hours away. After all your not living for a moment, your overcoming for a lifetime.
Ghost Town
After over a week of editing, paperwork, and emailing I was pulling my hair out yesterday to get away from the computer. I drove to a small town north of me that I knew was for the most part a ghost town. People still live in the area, several people in fact, but the township is full of empty buildings and closed down shops. Empty and dilapidated buildings are almost as much fun as people to me.
When I arrived the main building I had planned to shoot had been demolished, so I had to settle for the few that were left. It was pure happy accident that a mother and daughter came walking by. My favorite part of that picture is that the little girl caught me taking it. She has that “What are you up to?” look on her face.
Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye….
Ok, the title is nerdy I know, I can’t help myself.
Each year I try to shoot personal projects that will give me a chance to experiment with lighting, try new composition, or tell some type of story. This year one of the projects is Transformations. The idea is that people often times do major transformations between work and recreational life. A lawyer who wears a suit and tie Monday through Friday, then on Saturday he slips on leather and skull caps and rides around on a Harley Davidson, or maybe it’s a nurse who on her days off teaches a belly dancing class, a mom of three who slips away a few days a week to do ballet. Whatever it is, most people do something that is a total contrast to their “normal” lives. Which is why I find this fascinating. Its the “I never would have expected they did that” moment that I am looking for.
This last weekend I shot my first subject for Transformations with Krystal, a female impersonations who performs at a local club. Krystal’s brought one of his stage clothes costumes to shoot in as well as some everyday clothes. Krystal’s on stage performing skills were apparent in his ability to pose and perform in front of the camera. The lighting for this was simple and straight forward. I have one light on Krystal which is a beauty dish on a boom arm to camera left, a second light was aiming at the black background with a twenty degree grid to create the spot effect. I used the same light setup for both portraits to keep them consistent.
I am continuing this series through the most part of this year and will be continuing to look for subjects. So if you go through some type of transformation big or small be sure to reach out to me either by email, Facebook, or Twitter.
Ghost, Faces, and Transformations
Every year I do a handful of personal projects. For example one year I did a Project 365 where you try to take a picture everyday, one year I did a figure series Black & White where I paired models of different ethnicity together. These projects often involve a lot of experimentation and are done to just add new work to my sites. This year I have three projects I’m for sure going to do (though I’m sure I will think of more).
Ghost
I have always been a fan of ghost stories. As a child I read all the “13 Ghost of” which listed thirteen ghost stories of the southern states such a Georgia, Alabama, Florida, etc. I get a kick out of watching ghost hunter shows (they are so funny to me, “There was a creaking in the room,” well duh the house is a hundred years old). Anyway since I like ghost stories and since I want to do more composite work I decided to combine the two into a series of ghostly pictures. I shot my first one this week and did the post work on it laying out some techniques to develop them. So over the next several months I will be looking for models to help me create my “spirit” gallery …oooooooooooo.
Faces
Facebook as become a massive gathering place for people. Everybody is posting, sharing things that often times we wish you wouldn’t share, retouching with old friends, and loosing countless hours looking at how fat the hot chick from high school has gotten. Pictures are the big thing on Facebook so this year I’m going to do something for people, I’m going to give away a head shot that they can use as a profile picture. I haven’t set a date but probably in later part of March to the mid part of April I’m going to have a day where anyone can come in and get a free portrait. I will make the images available as a download from my website and my favorites will appear on this blog and in a gallery on the site. So keep your eyes open for the announcement.
Transformations
This is another portrait series but this is focusing on how we transform from one part of our lives to another. For example, maybe your a lawyer wearing a suit and tie all week, but on Saturday and Sunday your a Harley Davidson rider with all the leather, skull caps, and chains. Maybe your a nurse during the day, but in the evenings you teach belly dancing. I am looking for people that are willing to share their duel selves with me and my camera. It will consist of two portraits one of your “normal” self and one of your “secret” identity. It may be bizarre or it may be as simple as a doctor by day and mom by night. So if you transform from one place to another be sure to drop me a note, I am ready to take your picture.
Three Shoots In Three Days
Last week I shot three shoots on three separate days, each with a totally different feel to them. As a commercial photographer in a rural area I tend to travel out of state for my work which is something I enjoy. However when Reggie and Kricket, a young couple in my local church, asked if I would take some pictures of them for their engagement I was happy to help. When they first asked I thought they would just want the standard pictures you see in most engagement pictures, but a few days prior to our shoot Reggie called and asked if they could do a 1920′s theme. I got to thinking about it and decided if we where going to do a set with a 1920′s feel then we should do it Bonnie and Clyde style. We shot a series of pictures that told a story of them meeting, secret rendezvous, candle light encounters, and dashing get aways. I have to give a special thanks to the owners of the Peacock House and Starla Kirkland of Coldwell Banker for use of one of our locations.
On Sunday I was traveling again, this time to Pensacola, Florida to shoot the April/May issue of Coastal Lifestyle Magazine. It was a crazy windy day which made for difficult shooting all day, but in the end we managed to pull off a great looking shoot. The above image was a test shot of the model to check exposure, I will show you more of the shoot when it comes out. In the meantime be sure to check out the current issue.
My last shoot was a contract shoot for a software company out of Canada. The assignment called for me to photograph two business owners of a material supply company. Vastly different from the previous shoots. Not only did I have two subjects that didn’t really want to have pictures made (though they were very cooperative and helpful), not only were they not used to being in front of a camera, but my setting was a building supply company. Not the most exciting of locations to shoot. I had to find a way to show them in their environment and keep it visually interesting. We shot in about five or six locations in their business, this was my personal favorite because I like the way the lines of the shelves lead into the photos.
This week will consist mostly of editing, sorting and completing orders in addition to some new projects I’m working on, but more on that later.
Photographer, Father, Husband, & Afraid
Ever been afraid? Ever had that moment where your feel like your lost in a fog of fear and doubt going what am I doing here?
I have them often and in fact I have them almost daily. In summer of 2010 I stepped out of a job that I had grown to dread and on an act of faith went full time as a photographer. Not only did I go full time, but I was crazy enough to choose a path that put my work and name against some of the best photographers in the world. Here I am in my mid forties with a wife, two sons (one of which is in college) and I have this wild hair brain idea to be a freelance photographer. Oh and I want to work in the entertainment industry specifically with musicians; and did I mention I didn’t know anything about or anyone in the music industry? Only a person who is crazy steps out into nothing and expects to land on something.
This is where I was last night. I just gotten home from a photo shoot for a new client, I am trying to make the simplest dinner and get moving because I was asked to attend a marketing meeting with my local church. I standing over the stove cooking and it hits me…”What are you doing?” Your throwing your name in a hat with names like McNally, Jarvis, Arias, and Cowart. You think anyone wants what you have to offer when those guys are out there? Your a nobody in a backwoods town that is so small minded they actually built a roadway to lock in there little world.
Who do I think I am that I think I can work in places like Miami, New York, Chicago, and Los Angles? My wife is working a job that stresses her, my oldest son is working his way through college, and my youngest daily forgives me for being distracted and often times broke. Words like useless, old, and failure regularly haunt my dreams and thoughts. I feel like I’m balancing on a thin wire over a great chasm and one misstep, one wrong move is going to send me plummeting to my doom. So why do I do it? Because I love my art? Couldn’t I do my art on weekends?
Then I remember that I didn’t take this step with out thought. That I didn’t just jump with no concept of what I am trying to do. I stepped out in faith because for me personally I believe what I do is more than just a job but a calling. While that may sound like I think I’m living on some higher plain than everyone else, trust me I’m not. I just know that this was birthed in me to do at this time. As a Christian I hold to belief that God leads in directions He desires for your life if your willing to listen. I know photography is not saving the world, its not stopping hunger or turning the tide of despair, but it does open doors that would not normally open for me. It puts me in places to share my faith, my hope, not just for myself but for those I meet. It provides me the chance to say if I can get up and face my fears, my insecurities, my problems, and push through to my prize so can you. If I can move forward no matter if I’m running, walking, or crawling then anyone can move forward.
Often the only thing stopping you is fear. Fear of failure, fear of being shamed, embarrassed, fear of the unknown. Well so what if you fail? The Beetles failed and were told no one likes guitar bands before they became who we know them to be. Walt Disney was fired as an artist because they said he had no imagination. Abraham Lincoln failed at everything he did his entire life until he became President. The CEO of Walden Books laughed in the face of the creator of Amazon.com saying no one would ever buy a book offline. Yahoo told the creators of Google to come back when they had a grown up program, so they started Google.com in a garage. Time and time again people we admire and call successful have gone through some of the worst hells to get there. That’s what made them successful, they went through it rather that running away from it. President Ronald Reagan (who didn’t make it to the White House till he was in his seventies) said, “Heroes may not be braver than anyone else. They’re just braver five minutes longer.” The prize goes to the one that endures, the one that refuses to quit even in the face of the impossible.
Oh and this particular “old” photographer has in the first year been published nationally and internationally more than once, photographed the new album for Phillips, Craig, and Dean, is the fashion photographer for a magazine out of the Gulf Coast, covered the Dove Awards, and has managed to survive physical problems, financial crisis, and a host of haters and nay sayers. Have I arrived yet? Not even close, but I am walking out my purpose. What are you doing?
GOYA It’s A Good Thing To Do
Yesterday was a GOYA day for me. GOYA stands for “Get Off Your A$$” and go do something, which for me is shooting images. It is real easy to get into the habit of just sitting around reading blogs, posting on forums,writing your own blog, and networking with art directors. While of that has its place at the end of the day I’m a photographer and I need to take pictures. Yesterday thats what I decided to do. I needed some background pictures for some composite work I am going to be doing and it was just a good day to get out and take pictures.
Now this is not my favorite type of pictures, like Joe McNally I have never seen a landscape that couldn’t be made better with a person in front of it. It would be great if I had a model that I could just call up and say stand there and pose like this at a moments notice. I shot a few HDR images for backgrounds and then just things that caught my eye. This isn’t portfolio material but is necessary for keeping your eye fresh. GOYA days should be a requirement for everyone but especially creatives. No matter if your a artist, photographer, writer, designer, or whatever, if you create you need a GOYA day. As creatives we tend to fall into to ruts of repetitiveness, we get stuck doing the business or our business so much that we can at times forget to create just for the sake of creation.
It doesn’t have to be awe inspiring and it doesn’t have to be perfect just the experience is worth it. GOYA it’s a good thing to do.
On Assignment for Independent Banker Magazine
I had the idea of a sky behind Hope with the bank sign in the background. To get this shot I waited to closer to sunset so I could get the colors I wanted in the sky. A hot shoe flash in a Westcott softbox to camera right was all that was needed to get the shot.
I just completed an assignment for Independent Banker Magazine out of Chicago. I was to cover an array of bank activities for the article. Most of the pictures dealt with the typical corporate style images (working with customers, conducting business, etc.) nothing very exciting or dramatic but all part of telling the story. The magazine wanted pictures of the bank owner Hope Johnson as well. The article dealt with how Hope was leading her bank during the current financial crisis so I need pictures that showed the strength and hope of the bank leader. We tried several different set ups but the one of her with the sky, sign and flag became my personal favorite.
Shooting corporate work is very different than working in music or fashion. The first thing you have to remember they are not accustomed to being in front of cameras and probably more than any other don’t like having their picture taken. You also have to remember that as leaders and directors they are not accustomed to being told what to do. In order to get the shots you have to be patient and allow them to process ideas. Especially if those ideas are outside their normal scope. You hear no more often but if your patient and can explain yourself, you eventually will get the shot you need.
Magazines, Authors, Billboards, and Vogue
The last few weeks have had a wide mixture of activity as I have had multiple irons in the fire. I’ve been working on billboards for my churches local ad campaign, photographs of a author Ginger Dean for her new book, finally seeing the cover of the new issue of Coastal Lifestyle Magazine and even making a submission to Vogue.
The Billboards
At the end of last year my pastor asked me to help him put together a series of billboards that would promote the church and at the same time give a message. We talked about it and decided to use the theme of “People Need Hope.” As 2012 kick starts it is apparent many people are afraid, they are afraid of governments, afraid of the economy, afraid of the world ending in December, you name somebody is afraid of something. So to address this I created a series of billboards that reflects different things in peoples lives that are “messed up” within their own minds and placed them with models and church members under the theme of People Need Hope. We are running three billboards a month with themes on achieving success, overcoming doubts and fears, and improving lives.
For the artwork on these I was inspired by a portrait of Steve Jobs in black in white (I’m sure you’ve seen it, it is everywhere since his death). I like the contrasty image against a solid white background. So I decided to adopt this idea and make it fit with what we are doing in the billboards. I felt that the extreme contrast between black and white would help the board stand out, however on the first layout I realize the type was getting lost. So to compensate for this I made the type a dark burgundy. It gave the signs just a little color which really helped them once they appeared on the digital billboards.
The Author: Ginger Dean
Ginger is writing her first book “I Will Restore To You…The Years the Locust Have Eaten.” Ginger sent me the first and last chapters of the book to read to get a sense of where the book was going. The photograph I was taking was for the back cover of the book where the authors bio will go. In the first chapter Ginger talks about sitting on her porch in the early morning hours reading her Bible and reflecting on what’s she’s been through and where she is going. I decided to try to recreate that problem was Ginger had moved and no longer had a porch and we couldn’t arrange our schedule until late afternoon which meant a different color to the light. So to solve this problem I first off found a porch that someone would let us use (one of the great things about being in the south, you can ask total strangers to let them use their porch and they say yes). Second was lighting. Morning light, especially pre-dawn light is cooler in temperature than late afternoon so I had to covert warn sunset to early morning pre-dawn. The solution was a hot shoe flash in a large 40″ white umbrella with a 1/2 cut CTO gel (color temperature orange) aimed directly at Ginger, my camera white balance set to tungsten to turn ambient light blue and finally underexposing the ambient light by about 1.5 stops. In post I had to tweak the colors a little but for the most part I got it in camera.
The Magazine
I got in the artwork for cover of the new issue of Coastal Lifestyle Magazine. The difference between being an assignment photographer and say a wedding photographer is you don’t have say-so in what images get used. I had another picture that I was totally in love with that I thought would have been a fun cover however they chose another. Not horrible but just not the one I liked best. At any rate the magazine should be on stands (or at least it should be soon) so be sure to check it out. Maybe next time I will slip the graphic artist a $5 bill and see if it sway them my way…what do you think?
Vogue
Vogue Italy has opened up submissions for photographers. Now to date I have shot for national magazine’s and publications but nothing on the level of Vogue. And while I enjoy editorial more than fashion, fashion is still a ton of fun (most times). Anyway I submitted about half a dozen images to their site yesterday…along with several thousand other photographers, but we will see. You never know and after all the worst they could say is no. Well actually the worst they could say is “Hell NO you #$@#$ @#$@#$@$ @#$@#$%@! @#$@@!!!!” but its still just a no.
For the submission I decided to send this composite of Pastor Vivian Goode that I shot a few months ago along with a few others.
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