November 16, 2009

I worked on this photo over the weekend and I thought she looked a little mysterious.

November 13, 2009

Oh those eyes.

In my opinion, there is nothing like window light. It just makes everyone look good and the beautiful (like this gal) look spectacular. This is not to say that artificial light is not wonderful, too, but I just love, love, love window light.

November 12, 2009

I processed this one a bit more than I normally do because I wanted it very tone on tone except for her dress. I did use Topaz to bring out more of the wonderful texture in this old building.

November 11, 2009

Here's a shot I did for an Hair Stylist. She does some wild things and wanted to show off some of the things she can do.

I had the opportunity to participate in a photo shoot at Preston Castle (an abandoned boy's home...see previous picture) on Saturday. The place is old and falling apart. The windows are huge and filthy...perfect for natural light portraits. This beautiful gal reminded me of a Rembrandt painting.

November 3, 2009

This is Preston Castle. I took this photo last year, but never did anything with it. So, I dug is out on Halloween, added a different back drop to make it look a little spooky. I also used a little Topaz filter. This used to be a home for "wayward" boys before there were juvenile prisons. Before this home, the young hoodlums were warehoused in Folsom prison or San Quentin...some of the boys were as young as 8 or 10. So, this was a much better choice for some of the troubled young men. The State of California abandoned it in the 1950's or 60's and allowed it to fall into disrepair. There is now a foundation dedicated to restoring the castle. They raise money by charging for tours, weddings, photography events.

Anyway, I'm heading here on Saturday for another photo shoot. It's a great place.

October 29, 2009

One more shot of my son's friend. I've been learning about extractions in my photo shop class and I had a little fun with this one. I extracted him from a white background (masking yoyo strings is blech!) and placed him on this background of a city rooftop scene. Then, I did a little spray paint art on the brick wall. Fun.

October 28, 2009

I did a quick photo shoot with this young man who happened to be over at our house visiting my youngest son. He said he was in to yoyo-ing and showed me some of his tricks. He's pretty good and it was an interesting challenge to get a decent shot while he was going through his tricks.

October 27, 2009

My son's longtime friend came over to visit him the other day and I never miss a photo op. Luckily, he was highly interested in being my subject, so it was an easy photo shoot. I've been using old picture frames to help my subjects loosen up a bit. Props are helpful, especially when people don't know what to do with their hands. I'm not crazy about this frame, so I'm on the hunt at the local thrift shops for something a little more interesting.

No filters this time, but I did over sharpen to give more contrast (thank you Scott Kelby.) Shot with a strobe and small soft box camera left. Pull down roll of white paper as backdrop.

October 22, 2009

I actually took this photo last year at a place called Preston Castle, which was a "home for wayward boys" until the 1960's, or so. The state allowed it to fall into disrepair and now the Preston Castle foundation is trying to bring it back to it's former glory. In order to raise money, the foundation allows groups to hold events, weddings and photography events on the premises. The light is absolutely fantastic (this shot was taken with only available window light.) At any rate, I am going to another Preston photo shoot in a couple of weeks, which may be the last one they allow. So, I'm excited.

I processed this photo, in part, with a Topaz filter.