#505 -- Compositing #1

I have to admit that I've always been interested in compositing -- blending two images together ... using Photoshop to try and tone and blend them so it's a believable merger. When I was shooting Alyssa in late December we started talking about space, and I remembered I had downloaded some high res space imagery from NASA's hubble telescope. The image above was shot on a white background, so the blending was pretty simple. And some of the new features in masking and refining masks in Photoshop made the task relatively simple. Image of Alyssa: 1/60 sec at f/8, two SB800s providing some rim light, main light is an SB800 in a Westcott Rapid Box. Some warm, magenta overlays were added in post to help blend the composite.

#504 -- High Speed Sync with the Pocket Wizard Flex and Mini

During my shoot with Alyssa, I wanted to try out some new Pocket Wizard Flex and Mini triggers I got recently. These were shot in my back yard with a shallow depth of field, using high speed sync. 1/2000 sec at f/1.8, 85mm, ISO 200, light from an SB800 in the Wescott Rapid Box from camera right.

#503 -- Blue Umbrella

Normally during the week between Christmas and New Years I try and do a few test shoots with new gear and some different techniques. The photo above of my second cousin Alyssa was taken last weekend. Tried out a couple of new things. First, the background is a Westcott 7 foot parabolic umbrella -- decided since it was so large it might make a decent and interesting background, so I set up three flashes firing into it, all with Roscoe Blue Bell gels. Main light was an SB800 in a Westcott 26" Rapid Box boomed overhead on a C-stand. Just below the camera frame Alyssa is holding a DIY beauty reflector that I made from three silver cake platters from Party City. Ended up not getting the intense blue that I wanted for the background, so eventually shifted the white balance to 4000 K manually (making the entire scene more blue) and putting a 1/2 cut CTO gel on the main light (which brought back the main light to more of a neutral skin tone on Alyssa). If you're interested here's the lighting diagram.

#502 -- Brown Pelican

I had to make a quick trip to Galveston a few weeks ago on a weekend and spent a little time shooting birds along the ship channel. Pelicans in flight seem to be what I gravitate to when I'm doing these kinds of things. 1/1000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, 300mm.

#501 -- Sabrina at Sunset

As most portrait photo shoots go in the late afternoon, I usually look for a nice ambient/flash mix at sunset. During the shoot with Sabrina, it was mostly cloudy. The sun would come out for a few minutes here and there, and I'd try to make the most of it. So as it got close to 5:00 pm I honestly didn't hold much hope of any kind of sunset color. It was pretty overcast and gray. She decided to change into her Clear Springs Silverados uniform, and I changed to a zoom lens and put a half cut CTO gel on my flash -- thinking we'd see what came our way. To my surprise, some really nice light and color came through at sunset. The photo above was taken on the boat launch at Bay Area Park in the last moments of what was a very dramatic sky at sunset. Goes to show you to never write off a sunset. 1/60 sec at f/4.8, ISO200, 62mm, light from an SB800 with 1/2 cut CTO gel in a Westcott Rapid Box with deflector plate from camera right.

#500

In October 2008 I started this blog with a photo of a hummingbird taken in my back yard in the post-Ike days. Now, five years later -- here's image #500. Lots of things have happened since then. Have slowly made the transition into portraits during that time and have finally, I think, got a good handle on the technical -- lighting, exposure, gear and general technique. Still working on gesture and creating light that has both a purpose and a voice all to itself -- those elusive things that somehow separate a good image from something that transcends. With all the great tools available to photographers and training out there on the web, it's hard not to absorb and put these things into useful practice. Working with fellow photographers in the area, and watching and learning from the greats in the industry like Joe McNally and David Hobby, who so generously share thier knowledge and technique via their blogs have undoubtedly helped many a photographer out there, me included. Anyway, the photo above was taken Sunday at Bay Area Park. This is Sabrina, daughter of our good friends Pep and Patricia who we've known for 20+ years. She's a senior at Clear Springs -- so senior photos were a must. Two things I've been doing lately, and I think both have been working pretty well ... instead of shooting my 85mm lens at shallow depth of fields for subject isolation and nice out-of-focus backgrounds, I've been using my 28-300 lens (that I got more for a travel lens) and shooting it at the long end -- often from 150-300mm for portraits. I've found that even at f/5.6 and f/6.3 the background is still nice and soft and has a nice bokeh, and the f/5.6 gives you a fighting chance at getting a sharp eye. Also been using the Westcott 26" Rapid Box Octa since August and love the light it produces. Probably the most versatile and prettiest light from a speedlight I've seen. I use it with the deflector plate in; and the wrapping of the light is truly stunning. I'll post more from this shoot soon that really show this. But the Rapid Box has become my go-to light modifier, replacing the wonderful Lastolight EXY box. Specs for the image above: 1/60 sec at f/6.3, 150mm, ISO 200, light from an SB800 in the Rapid Box from camera right. Split tone conversion done with Nik Silver Efex 2.

Lake Crescent Lodge

Today I was looking through some old files from our trip to Washington state and came across this photo of Lake Crescent Lodge. I remember it was a cold clear sunset, and I was shooting it across the lake, and I turned around and saw this pretty light on the lodge, so I took a few photos -- three bracketed photos merged here with Nik HDR Efex 2.