Inspiration – Page 6 – JWNPhoto.com

Category: Inspiration

4th Annual Worldwide Photo Walk

Scott Kelby has organized the 4th global photowalk this weekend, and this year Charleston had two groups of walkers. After sweating my way in the daytime during last year’s photowalk, I opted for the evening walk led by Eugene Mah.

The group met at the fountain by Charleston’s waterfront park. I swear, I never made it out of the park! While we were setting up to take our group photo, I noticed some dancers practicing in the grass. As soon as the walk started, I walked up to the dancers and asked them if I could take some pictures of them. They were no strangers to the lens, so they were more than helpful models! Taz started out by doing leaps over me as I laid down in the grass:

Natalya was up next. I decided to mount my SB-600 on my tripod to try and illuminate her face as she was jumping. It was not easy trying to time the leaps – I’ve got about a dozen shots of her just before or just after the precipice of her jump. I did get this one though, which is all I needed 😉

While I was rolling around in the grass with a camera to my eye, a familiar face popped up – It was my local photog buddy Marty! He got some great shots of the girls as well.

As Natalya was resting, I made a casual portrait:

The sun was setting, so we moved over to the barrier wall to take advantage of the beautiful sky. Unfortunately there were no clouds, but I think the clear sky definitely influenced my compositions.

The light was quickly fading, I focused on shooting Natalya, while Marty was shooting Taz. We were both using off-camera flashes to light out subjects. I shot most of my shots with a Tokina 11-16mm ultra wide angle lens wide open at f/2.8. Natalya was doing splits (pictured at the top of this post) and stretches on top of the wall that would make a parent squeamish. She was awesome at this!

At this point, Marty and I realized that we spent almost the whole walk in one spot! More like a photo shoot than a walk – so we headed over to the fountain to get some long exposure night-shots of the water.

After that we went to the rendezvous point, a cool bar/grill called The Griffon. While waiting, we decided to shoot the old Chevy parked in front of the gelato place next to the bar.

I do love to take long exposures of people walking. This group of sailors made this shot:

We met up with some other walkers and went inside the Griffon to tell our war stories and watch the last half of Clemson’s trouncing of Virginia Tech. I shot the table next to us just because I had the shooting bug in me and found it hard to stop.

Marty, Eugene, & I went up on the roof of the parking garage where we were parked and tried to get some last minute shots. I had nothin’. It was late, surprisingly cold, and I was tired. My tiny little travel tripod was not having the wind up on the roof, and the shots I took up there are proof! Instead of making excuses, I made my way home 🙂

You can check out the full set of shots I made on my Flickr set. Also check out Marty’s set while you’re over there! Chuck Boyd was also on hand as were many members of his 21st Century Photography Group.

Which One: King Of Pops Umbrella

Chase Jarvis has a bit that he does on his blog where he asks his readers to pick from two alternate versions of shots he’s made and explain why you like one over the other. Here’s an example of his latest one. I thought I’d try it out here with two shots taken within seconds of each other. They are also shown in the order they were made in. I shot these with my Nikon Coolpix P7000 at the 2011 Carolina Green Fair this past Sunday in Marion Square. The subject is the iconic King of Pops rainbow umbrella.

Shot #1

Shot #2

So which one do you like, shot #1 or shot #2? Why? Sound off here in the comments, or on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

Labor Day at Folly Beach

What better place to spend a national holiday than at the beach? Luckily we’ve got some of America’s best beaches right here in the Charleston, SC area. Unfortunately, the Folly Beach State Park was closed due to erosion from Hurricane Irene (yeah we did have some damage, regardless of my own personal experience – I’m feeling quite sad for my northern friends and family that got it much worse than us). The beach was still a blast anyway.

We headed to “The Burnout”, which is what I call the side of the beach to the right of Folly Road opposite to the ever-so-popular surf spot, “The Washout”. There were quite a lot of surfers out on this side of the Folly Pier. Not to mention body boarders, including my two kids.

I brought my trusty old Nikon D40, and stood in the water getting sloshed around. Even though it got splashed quite a bit, it kept shooting without fail. That little camera has been through a lot with me, and it’s nice to bring it out every once in a while.

I have nothing clever, witty, or necessarily insightful to say about the day. It was just plain awesome to have a day to relax, hang out in the waves, and snap some shots of the kids having fun. I hope your day was at least half as enjoyable as ours was.

Keep Shooting

I made the shot above after pouring a bowl of Cap’n Crunch for my son the other day. I liked the natural light coming through the windows and the vibrance of the colors of the cereal and bowl. After I shot it, I was working on my computer and I looked over as he was eating and saw a whole different shot of the same scene. I remembered being a kid and reading the entire cereal box while I would eat my sugary breakfast. Kegan was doing just that and when I picked up my camera again to capture this:

Same scene, but two completely different shots. I couldn’t say which one is better or more effective, but instead of one shot, I now have two that I love! I also recently parked near a church in downtown Charleston and decided to break out my camera. I started with the straight “real estate” shot:

First Scots Presbyterian Church - Charleston, SC

I walked around the church looking for interesting shots, and the view of one of the doors through the iron gates just screamed Charleston to me. Iron gates are one of the signature elements in the Holy City, as are the many churches.

I then recomposed for a vertical shot which turned out to be a very different photo:

As you shoot, it’s so important to move around and look for different approaches to the subject you are shooting. Joseph Stalin once said, “Quantity has a quality all of its own”, and as nutty as he was it makes a lot of sense. The more you do something the better you will get at it, and the more you produce, the better your chance of capturing the perfect moment or composing the perfect scene. In short, keep shooting.

B&W Nikon Coolpix P7000

Since I started shooting with the Nikon Coolpix P7000, I’ve found that I really like converting a lot of the images to black & white in post. It’s not that the color images are lacking, but I think it’s more the style of shooting that the P7000 inspires me to take.

Much like when shooting with my iPhone, I find myself experimenting in more social situations. I don’t mean just hanging out with my friends, but being out amongst people. I’m sure it’s mostly in my head, but when I’m shooting with my DSLRs I feel like people are paying more attention to what I’m doing. When I pull out a point-and-shoot, I get the feeling that people write you off in comparison.

When I shot the Archers of Loaf, I was able to walk in with a camera in my pocket, and not get questioned by a doorman on a power-trip (or one just doing his/her job). I could get up close and shoot the whole night, which was pretty cool.

At the recent Tunguska Event art show held at Tivoli Studios in Charleston, SC, I could act like a fly on a wall and people just carried on without putting on pouty smiling faces.

And while hanging out at a friend’s house, I could focus on an interesting composition in between sips of beer and conversation without missing a beat.

To me, monotone images don’t take away color, they take away distraction. A black & white image simplifies the act of conveying your photographic message. With a smaller camera, I feel like I’m more care-free in my photography because I feel like people are more care free about me taking photos with it. While I love well thought-out shots that are purposeful, I also love capturing moments in life using the creative reflexes I’ve developed by shooting with my DSLR for the last few years. Both my iPhone and now my P7000 allow me to bridge that small strange gap between casual photography and artistic shooting. Strip a shot down to its composition, depth, and meaning, and you make a statement that begs for further attention than a color snapshot might ask for.

The Return of The Archers of Loaf

I’m gonna keep the writing brief on this one, you can read a thorough review of one of the Archers of Loaf reunion shows through yesterday’s post. I can’t top that, so I’m just gonna let the photos do the talking. What I want you to know about these photos is the camera I used to take them all. Before I left for this trip, my father’s day gift was a new camera (which I picked out).

On sale for $379 (normally $499), I couldn’t resist getting the Nikon P7000 as a street/walkaround camera. After using my waterproof Pentax point & shoot camera a lot on my recent vacation because I didn’t want to risk breaking or getting my DSLR stolen while I was riding an ATV through Cozumel, I realized the value in getting a high-end compact camera. That value is the quality of life you can have by not lugging around a bag of camera equipment during casual engagements. While my Pentax is cool – it really is only good in outdoorsy settings where it can take the heat, dust, and water, but can’t do much with low light.

I threw myself into the fire over the weekend with this camera as the Archers of Loaf are easily one of my favorite bands ever, and here I am shooting their long awaited reunion with a camera I’m completely unfamiliar with. Furthermore, I wanted to pay attention to the show, not fiddle with settings.

I had spent a good portion of Saturday figuring out the ins & outs of the P7000, including a walk through Central Park, which will be the subject of a future post. I pushed this little sucker as far as I could to see just what it can do. Sure it’s noisy in a club atmosphere, and yes I missed a lot of great shots due to my own lack of knowledge of the camera’s limitations, but to me that is the fun of it!

One Issue that popped up at the show in Williamsburg (which I didn’t notice until afterwards) was that the blades that cover the lens were sticking because some debris must have gotten into them. From the reviews I’ve read, the P7000 is very susceptible to this. Now that I’ve seen it firsthand, I know to look out for it while I’m using it.

You can see the effect on quite a few of these photos – it’s like a vignetting on only 2 sides. Fortunately for me it didn’t ruin a lot of the shots, although one picture of my friends after Saturday’s show cut everyone’s heads off – it really stings that that shot is ruined.

After that first night, I was aware of the issue and I kept an eye out for it (although it hasn’t happened since). I did manage to get another shot of some of my friends on the second night – this one was taken by the bassist for Risk/Reward, my friend John Houlihan:

I’ll be sure to share more shots and talk more about the new camera in upcoming posts. So far, I’m loving this thing for sure. You can see the rest of my Archers of Loaf photos in this set on Flickr.

It’s Not The Camera

It’s who you know. But that’s not just what I’m talking about. Good pictures don’t care about hardware, they care about the intention and execution of the person conceiving and/or capturing them. Sure a camera’s lack of abilities can hinder you from getting a shot you envision, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make a good shot with a poor camera! Once you realize this, it’s a matter of exploiting what the camera can do, and not wasting your time griping about what it can’t do.

The photo above was made at the Archers of Loaf concert in Brooklyn, NY this past Saturday. I made it on my iPhone using the app Camera+. I shot it, converted it to B&W, and immediately shared it on Facebook. The next day, a writer for L Magazine (who is an old friend) saw it and asked to use it for his review of the concert. So yes, it is mostly a case of who you know. I did offer up some technically better shots taken with a better camera, but he liked the iPhone one enough and it works in spite of the fact that it was made on a cell phone.

I’ll be sure to share more shots of the shows I attended this weekend that I made on my newest camera when I review it. I also have all of my vacation shots sorted out – just need to title and tag them, so that will be up this week also.

The Big Man Sleeps Tonight

When the change was made uptown
And the big man joined the band
From the coastline to the city
All the little pretties raise their hands
Im gonna sit back right easy and laugh
When scooter and the big man bust this city in half
With a tenth avenue freeze-out

RIP Mr. Clemons, you’re a legend on so many fronts – the artistic world has suffered a great loss, but you’ll inspire many generations to come.

Here is a fantastic interview from Ron Bennington Interviews. Check out the part where Ron asks him about his health challenges, and Clarence responds with “I don’t see them as challenges, they’re opportunities”.

Here’s the Big Man’s latest commercial collaboration with Lady Gaga:

I know this is not photographically related post (never got to shoot the E Street Band, but I did see them at the Meadowlands years ago), but music is one of the most important art forms and it has given me so much in my life. Thanks for reading.

Angel Walk 2011

On Saturday, May 21st the 2nd Annual Angel Walk took place over in Hampton Park in Charleston, SC. Questioning the predicted rapture for that day, I felt the best way to find out firsthand was to walk with Angels… OK, bad jokes aside, the Angel Walk is actually a fundraising and awareness event to fight medulloblastoma, which is the most common malignant central nervous system tumor in children.

I found out about Dawn Sechevich (pictured above on the left) and her son’s story through my neighbors who are close friends with her. Her boy, Luke James Sechevich, was diagnosed with high risk medulloblastoma on January 30, 2006 at the age of 1-½. After a long battle, Luke passed away in January of 2008. Dawn organized the Angel walk for Luke and all children who battle this disease in the hopes that they will someday find a cure. Read the full story on the Angel Walk website. Here’s a clip of her story from Lowcountry Live:

Let’s talk about the event, which was an uplifting and fun-filled family day in the park. There were a lot of activities for the kids, great food, and performances throughout the morning. Face painting, hair spraying, caricatures, the King of Pops, and jumping cows!

The Djole Dance & Drum Company livened up the event with African beats and dancing:

The Charleston Police Pipes & Drums band stormed the event with a fantastic set of traditional bagpipe music…

Melinda Gay & Dawn Sechevich pose for a shot with the band:

One of the highlights of the event for me was the singing of the gospel choir that closed out the day. There really is nothing quite like a southern gospel group to make you feel like you can believe in anything.

There were a lot of other people involved in making this event happen, especially the doctors and staff from MUSC Children’s Hospital as well as all of the sponsors who donated money and vendors who donated their services and products. Make sure to browse through the Angel Walk website and throw some support to all of the sponsors on there.

While I do have a big old set of photos on Flickr, I have an even bigger, more thorough set of pictures in my gallery with the ability to download for all of those who participated!

Don’t forget, you can always donate some money at any time through this charity, so please help them out, and tell all of your friends to “Like” them on Facebook as well!

First Flush Festival 2011

Normally, I despise day-long outdoor festivals. Big crowds of sweaty people, oppressive heat, lousy sound, bad light, & $5 bottles of water. This year’s First Flush Festival broke most of the rules. You couldn’t ask for better weather, giant fluffy clouds peppered the sky providing not only moments of natural shade, but great light diffusion. The sound was great for an outdoor venue and since it was on the Charleston Tea Plantation, there was free sweet tea for all! There were still big crowds of sweaty people, but there was plenty of space to move and still enjoy the music.

Vermont’s Grace Potter & The Nocturnals headlined the event with their brand of straight-up rock n’ roll. My daughter was especially excited to see Grace Potter because of her cover of White Rabbit on Tim Burton’s Almost Alice soundtrack. She couldn’t believe that someone “famous” (by her standards) was in Charleston!

Outdoor stages like the one at First Flush Fest are not designed to tailor to photographers, they are meant to make a comfortable environment for the musicians. Since event photography is a lot about troubleshooting the situation to make the best image you can, I decided that most of the band shots should be close-up and tight. Even in this photo, which I tried to pull back enough to get multiple band members, shows the back of a pick-up truck in the background among the rest of the distracting stands and such.

Another tip is to move around. Unfortunately for me (not for the band), it was packed up in front of the stage. I did not have access to the photo area, so I was limited by the fact that I didn’t want to push my way around spectators while they were enjoying the show. I did manage to move to the side of the stage and get some less distracting shots of the band members:

I realized I wasn’t going to get the perfect clean shot organically of any of the bands, so I did take one shot of the bassist and blow out the background enough to make it look like she’s in front of a white background:

The band was great and Grace Potter has an amazing voice (and range – she can hit notes higher than I thought humanly possible).

Music wasn’t the only attraction. The food trucks were there making me wish we arrived a bit earlier – there was a hole in the pit of my soul when I walked up to Roti Rolls only to find out they’re out of rolls! My wife had a similar experience when they were out of her favorite tacos at Taco Boy’s truck. Oh, what a world, what a world. We did manage to score some hand-made ice pops from the King of Pops:

The was also shopping and jump castles and hula hoops for the kids to entertain themselves with.

Not to mention the old fashioned fun of climbing a tree. I mean, why else would they let their branches hang so low but as to invite kids to jump up and climb?

I’ve been hearing about the band Leslie for years now, and I finally got a chance to see them at the FFF.

If AC/DC had a bastard child while touring in the south, the tucked away little gem would sound a lot like Leslie. Loud, guitar driven southern rock. They truly impressed the crowd with their energy.

They have had their band photos made in the past by the likes of Zack Arias, so I think they’ve got to have good taste 😉

They also won over my daughter by giving out free posters and stickers, and making themselves available after their set for pictures and autographs. Here’s a tip to every band out there – young kids will be loyal if you give them a solid reason to be – Treat your fans like fans!! Leslie didn’t disappoint. Check out this photo of Mac with the band:

Unfortunately there’s a random dude growing out of my kid’s head. Sometimes you just have to deal with it 🙂 Before I forget, you can check out all of my photos from FFF on my Flickr set (as well as last years pics if you have time). And to wrap this up, I bring you a picture of “Broadband”. This guy stopped me in the crowd and assured me that I needed to take his picture and publish it on my blog. Who am I to disagree with a guy named Broadband?

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