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Category: Projects

Recovery From The Klash

Last night was fantastic! Kulture Klash 6 was a huge success, and it was a ton of fun for my family & friends. I’d like to thank Jonathan Stout and Scott Debus for including me in this great event. Of course, I brought my camera with me, but I also had drink tickets so a lot of my shots were fuzzy due to Fat Tire. I spent most of today nursing a hangover, but it was well worth it (especially because I don’t have to actually work today).

During the daytime, Kulture Klash hosted a free art viewing. I brought my daughter Mackenzie along and we ate crepes and drank Japanese soda after looking at some really cool and unique art. It was really a good experience for her to see art like this on display. Kids don’t get a chance to check out alternative art at a professional level on a regular basis, and she ran around from piece to piece soaking it all in.

Here is a display with one of my prints on it. There is a painting on there that got a lot of people talking, as it is either brilliant or extremely tacky. Whichever you decide, it succeeds in creating a dialog which means it is a successful piece of work. It’s the painting on a panel of wood of Kurt Cobain with what appears to be blood and brains exploding out of the top and it’s entitled “Kurt Cobain’t”.

There was also a giant 3D piece that was very popular. The artist provided 3D glasses to view it and it was trippy to say the least. I love that it took advantage of the live setting as there really is no other way to take in this particular creation. I tried to take an artsy shot of the 3D glasses with part of the painting in the background, but the depth of field was really shallow when holding the glasses at arm’s length and this really doesn’t show the scope of the piece. I usually don’t agree with the sentiment “The picture doesn’t do it justice”, but this is one of those cases where it’s impossible to do it proper justice with a photo.

The Lowcountry Highrollers were on hand to skate around and eat lollipops. They also did some hula hooping, which made for some cool motion capture photos.

Another cool thing that Scott thought up was a series of carnival style character cut-outs that he invited artists to come in and paint. The theme was to make freaky circus sideshow characters and they looked fantastic.

Brian, Amy, & Mira In A Cut-Out Character

Charleston lifestyle photographer Jonathan Stout had a photo booth set up with a crime scene background and chainsaws, hammers, and axes as props. The man worked his butt off taking shots all night long, and they came out looking fantastic. Take a look at his website to see all of the awesomeness. There is also a shot of yours truly in there.

Here’s a shot of Jon hard at work:

There was also lots of different music from musicians and DJ’s. There were three stages, including an 18 & over burlesque show tent. I took this photo of one of the dancers in the tent, but decided to use an artistic saturation effect on it to create something new out of it. Here’s the original and saturated versions:

The shot at the top of this post is of a dancer who I asked to do some leaps and poses in front of a mural painted by the Mohawk sporting gentleman below. I think his name was Scott as well, but I’m terrible at remembering people’s names so I’m sorry if I screwed that up. You can view the other shots of the dancer as well as the rest of my photos from the event on my flickr set for it.

I hope Mr. Debus keeps this train rolling, because it was such an important event for our culture and it gives people like Robert Donovan and I (and most of the participants I’m sure), who do this for the love of it more than anything else, a place to celebrate our creations with other enthusiasts. I’m so happy to have been a part of this with such great company. Thanks again, and see you next time!

The Cub Sleeps Tonight

6 years ago, my son was 10 months old and would not sleep through the night. He cried. A lot. At some point I wrote this quick little lullaby for him:

Hey Kegan

We used to get to the neurotic point of insanity that could only be quelled by putting this song on repeat while driving aimlessly around Long Island in our car. I think my wife and I must have heard this song at least 100,000 times during that time of our lives, and to take a picture like the one above makes it easier to forget just how nutty raising kids can be.

I got some very cool news from Charleston Magazine yesterday, I hope that it all works out. I also should be receiving the prints I’m entering into the 2010 Coastal Carolina Fair photography contest today. Last year I printed my entries on cheap computer paper using a cheap color laser printer. I felt kind of silly when I saw how much better the professional entries looked when printed on quality photo paper, so this year I decided to take it a bit more seriously.

This was my highest scoring entry from last year’s contest:

Last but not least, don’t forget to come to the 6th Annual Kulture Klash Arts Festival this weekend, and check out the prints I am showing.

Kulture Klash Arts Festival 2010

I got a message a while back from Charleston lifestyle photographer Jonathan Stout asking me if I knew anything about the Kulture Klash Arts Festival. I had heard about it on the Digitel, but didn’t really know anything about it. He asked me to introduce myself to one of the organizers and send some sample photos. I started reading about the event and looking through Jonathan’s photos from previous events. Next thing I know, I’m ordering large prints of my work to display and sell at the event. Music, art, drinks, comedy, & roller derby… I’m very excited to be a part of this festival as it looks like something that’s right up my alley.

This will be the first time that I’m showing printed versions of my photography in a gallery type of setting. I know it sounds cliche, but seeing fine art photography as a printed medium is a totally different experience then when looking at it on an illuminated LCD screen. I even tried to photograph the prints, which are all 16×24″ standouts shown here in my kitchen on the bar, but it just doesn’t come close to doing these pieces justice. The color and detail of “Abandoned Trailer” really shine as a metallic print. The stark contrast and shapes of “Columns” are even more defining. I put a lot of effort into making sure these represented my vision for them and spared no expense in creating their printed versions. The pieces I chose all have very different appeal, but demonstrate my current photographic style.

I really hope that if you are reading this and you can make it to 10 Storehouse Row at the old Navy base in North Charleston on October 9th, that you stop by. There will be a free art viewing from 1-4 p.m, and then the party starts from 7p.m.-2 a.m. which will cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Even if you just show up for the art viewing, I think you will walk away with a very cool experience. I plan on checking out the whole festival. The Charleston Scene has all of the details here, so I hope to see you there!

The Tale of My First Wedding Shoot

Whew. I have a new-found respect for people who do wedding photography for a living. I can honestly tell you that I worked so hard on this that I sweated through and completely ruined a brand new tie! And that was just on the shoot. It has been almost a week since the wedding, and I still have a whole reception’s worth of photos to sort through. In an effort to share the process with you in a timely manner (and before I forget), I wanted to write up this post about a few of my favorite shots from this special event and how I created them.

I definitely felt most creative in the pre-wedding shots, as I could set my own pace and really experiment. The couple only walks that isle once, so you really can’t get to nutty with your shot, but the wedding rings can be futzed with endlessly if you have access to them.

I had a few ideas for the rings. I started with a classic shot of the rings on the spine of the Bible with a small flashlight from behind creating a heart shadow.

While I liked how this looked, I started looking for something different. I took a look at the heel of one of the bride’s wedding shoes and thought that it looked like an elongated ring holder when it was sitting upside down.

Then I noticed a very cool Kershaw pocket knife that the bride had with her make-up (yeah, you don’t wanna mess with Crystal). Being a knife collector, I really wanted to include it in a shot. On went the two wedding bands. I think she really dug this shot.

I tried really hard to think of an original way to shoot the wedding dress. There really wasn’t a whole lot of options in the hotel room where the bride was getting ready, but then it hit me to put a wireless flash behind the dress and make it appear as it is glowing. Add in a little vintage B&W editing and this is what I came up with:

I really like this close-up shot of the Maid of Honor hugging the bride right before we packed up and left for the ceremony. It is as authentic a moment as you can capture.

One of my favorite shots of the day came as the bride was waiting to get in the limo. The sun was getting low in the sky and a beam of warm side-light hit her on the hand as she was holding her belly. The fall-off of light around the dress framed it perfectly and I quickly grabbed this shot. It’s these kinds of shots that only come when you have your eyes wide open for them.

This shot of the kiss is also one of my favorites because of the sheer joy in Crystal’s face just a split second before the groom plants one on her.

The group shots were an utter stress-fest. I knew it was going to be, but let me explain a little of my pain. The sun was setting, and it was going down quickly. After every shot I had to adjust my settings to get a decent exposure. At the same time, people in each group are looking at other people around me with cameras instead of me and I’m barking out orders from atop a small ladder. I had a single umbrella that I had to reposition each time a person was added or removed from a shot. Up and down, while constantly adjusting my exposure, and little time to review what I was doing – I was shooting and praying the whole time. Luckily I grabbed my favorite shot of the wedding, which is this magical moment with the bride and the flower girls. I just love this shot for so many reasons.

Here is a classic shot of the newlyweds:

I learned a hell of a lot on this shoot, and I know that if I ever do this again, I need to invest in a fast portrait zoom. Thank goodness for my 35mm f/1.8, because it saved my butt during the portraits.

I Survived!

I just wanted to chime in and let you know that my first wedding shoot was a success. I learned a lot and I accomplished a lot of what I set out to do. I’m completely fried, so I’l write up more about it later this week when I have a chance to sort though all of the photos. I just wanted to share this fun photo of the bride during her reception.

Making It Your Own

One of my favorite aspects of photography is that you can do an assignment for someone else and even though the subject matter might not be what you would go out of your way to shoot on your own creative excursion, you can always find something that will pique your interest.

Shooting real estate is one of those assignments that can be a little unfulfilling artistically. While it can be satisfying because of the challenge and skill it takes to make a home look it’s best, it is what it is. You can’t stretch too far creatively because you need to keep things realistic. You’re shooting wide, your compositions need to be precise, and your at the mercy of the seller of the home to have a well kept property.

Here is a shot I took of the interior of a home just yesterday:

When I was done I noticed a rose bush on the side of the house. A single rose against the brick siding caught my eye, so I put on my long lens and took a shot of it.

Then I started to look closer at the rose bush and decided to take some shots of the thorns, which was a bit more appealing to me.

I converted it to black and white and added a little cyan to the highlights to cool down the shot. It has an almost wintery feel as you see no flowers or leaves – just thorny stems against a pale blue backdrop.

And there you have it. The photographer’s equivalent to goofing off on the job (as long as you wait ’till you’re done and you’re not doing it on a client’s dime) is a good way to make the best out of what can sometimes be a mundane or routine job. It’s also a good way to keep you inspired after using your camera as a tool for commercial gain, which in my case can sometimes feel like a soul sucking experience instead of an expressive one. It’s important to remind yourself why you started to do what you do in the first place.

On a side note, I’m shooting a wedding for the first time tomorrow. I’m quite nervous as this is a huge task to take on and there is a lot of pressure to do justice to the newlyweds on their big day.

Here is a shot of a moment between the bride and one of the flower girls at the rehearsal today:

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