Monday, 24 June 2013

Blaue Reise (Sailing Boat & Gulets), Göcek

Via Flickr:
Another quick "heartbeat" post, as quarter end keeps me from processing and Flickr.

This is one of a number of archive shots which, whilst it does rewrite history, I rather liked, but never got around to posting. Just a clean holiday shot of something I'd intended to catch and broadly managed too, but it hopefully confirms I'm still alive.

Hope everyone is well and look forward to catching up more frequently and without the 1-2 day delays that early mornings and late nights of work are currently enforcing.

Have a great week.

Friday, 14 June 2013

Michelle (Stranger #27/100), Oxford

Via Flickr:
Michelle was recharging mind (with a wander) and body (with Red Bull) in between Saturday library sessions. She's a post-graduate art history candidate at Hertford College. We shot a series with and without glasses, with good frames in each.

I've switched posts a couple of times - in the end the above is one of the closer crops, yet there's a nice alternative at a wider angle in the comments below. Feedback would be of interest.

Michelle - thanks for stopping and being such a good sport. I hope you like your portrait!

STROBIST INFO: On camera Canon 600EX-RT in Lastolite Ezybox. Second Canon 600EX-RT street level 45° left of shot, angled upward from ~3m (bare) - three stops below first flash. Fired with RT. Gold reflector camera held by Michelle. Criticism much appreciated.

This is portrait #27 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Thursday, 13 June 2013

Gabby (Stranger #26/100), Oxford

Via Flickr:
There's been a lot keeping me away from Flickr recently, so apologies to Gabby for a few days delay in sharing her portrait.

We met on Brasenose Lane, where her friend Katie and her were kind enough to stop and share model/assistant duties to make this street portrait. They're students at Brasenose; the college providing the soft Oxford stone backdrop for this shot. Thanks for taking part in the project, guys!

It's a little wider than most of my 100 Strangers series, yet I wanted to get Gabby's ace necklace into the frame - and cropping closer kind of sliced it into a disturbingly incomplete half.

STROBIST INFO: On camera Canon 600EX-RT in Lastolite Ezybox. Second Canon 600EX-RT street level 45° left of shot, angled upward from ~3m (bare) - three stops below first flash. Fired with RT. Gold reflector camera left. Criticism much appreciated.

This is portrait #26 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Sunday, 9 June 2013

Rule Of Thirds (Jessica With Roniflex), Rickmansworth

Via Flickr:
Quick friends/family post to note Jessica's second birthday. Two years (and a few days) since this. The Roniflex is an inherited item from my Great Uncle, which she's taken to. Just trying to teach her to look through the viewfinder and wind on. Then we might look at investing in some Velvia 50. Small steps...

Things have been a more than a little busy recently, so and with only enough time for one and a half of shooting/processing/posting, I've been trying to at least do the first two. Some new stranger portraits, model shots, long exposures and landscapes from Zion NP all waiting to be tweaked and shared. I'm just waiting for a window to catch up properly on my contacts' work before jumping in - as I'd like to be up to date with that first.

Hope everyone is fantastically well and enjoying the start of summer.

Thursday, 23 May 2013

Gianna (Stranger #25/100), Las Vegas Venice

Via Flickr:
When Gina and Gianna asked me to take their picture together in Venice Las Vegas, it seemed only fair to also pitch them in the idea of a portrait for the project.

Fortunately they agreed, and we got three quick frames for each of them before security intervened to move us along. Shooting with reflector and on camera softbox, it must have looked like a model shoot.

As always when shooting strangers that know each other, I'm posting as a single session. Gina did a better job with the reflector, and as she went first my exposure wasn't quite dialled in, so I've posted Gianna. Even shooting at ISO 1600 you can see the slight grain from boosting the under exposure - there's an atmospheric gloom in the casino, which doesn't help!

Gina - please do email me for your portraits. Gianna - I hope you like this one. Hopefully you both had a great day. Thanks for taking part in the project.

This is portrait #25 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

Baleria (Stranger #24/100), Las Vegas Aria

Via Flickr:
Baleria agreed to have her portrait taken just across from the new, silver frontage of the Aria casino in Las Vegas. All in I saw just five people say yes to a portrait, versus some twelve rejections. Maybe it was the heat, or number of touts, or lack of locations, but Vegas was very hard to shoot strangers in.

That made Baleria's stopping all the more appreciated. She was on her way to meet friends for a hen party; hence the fantastically presented hair. We chatted about her life in Stuttgart and holiday to family in Mexico; a great, energetic conversation that indicates she's every bit as full of energy as the 4,000W smile suggests.

This is portrait #24 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Sunday, 5 May 2013

Jarnail (Stranger #23/100), London Soho

Via Flickr:
Just a quick post, due to intense work which has kept me away from Flickr for a couple of weeks, whilst my grandfather's recent death has taken up some personal time as well. Jarnail was a great guy to meet and I feel hugely guilty that sharing his pictures has been delayed.

We meet in Soho after a day shooting with bomvu. His incredible turban and Canon camera (good choice, sir) stood out and necessitated my asking for a moment of his time and a portrait.

It turned out Jarnail is a model for a traditional music and cultural troupe, and that came across in his fantastically intense eye contact and posing. My first few shots were a little wayward as I experimented shooting full length, but after a good twenty minutes learning about the significance of his turban and Sikhism in general, we took a moment to grab some headshots. There's one in the comments, perhaps a nicer crop with the extra step back. I went with the main shot though, as the other has a slightly distracting lady and bag, and the impact of Jarnail's challenging stare is a notch higher.

Thanks for taking a moment to stop Jarnail - and for your patience whilst I processed your shots. I how you like them and hugely encourage you to get involved in the project yourself. You'll love it.

This is portrait #23 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.