MORE "FLASHY" PORTRAITS

Well, once again, it's been a while since I posted here.  That is what happens when life is super busy and I spend more time with the camera than with the computer.  Guess that is a good thing as the great photographers are always talking about shooting, shooting, shooting (...and then shooting a bit more) as the path to excellence.  Well, that and some good collaboration and contact with other amazing photogs.  I had that very chance a couple weekends ago in Portland.  Two days, an old building, two guys named Jeff, several new acquaintances, a ridiculous amount of gear, and two awesome models....

Betty Blues 

I have been extremely interested in lighting for my photography; particularly using small strobe-type flashes. Using different types of lighting methods, photos with really interesting and unorthodox looks can be achieved.  In order to get more understanding of these methods, I took a workshop at Newspace Photo Center in Portland called "Creative Strobist Techniques".  Strobist is a specific approach to photographic lighting gear--
small, fast, light...but with great flexibility. Multiple flashes, colored gels, various modifiers, and wireless triggers all play a part. The class was taught by Jeff Mawer, a Portland-based photog with much skill in this form of lighting.     

Mindee Jo

Jeff had his friend, Luke Olsen chipping in with some moral and logistical support in addition to working on his own project. Two models, Mindee Jo and Betty Blues joined us for the day.  Mindee often lends her time and modeling talent to the PDX Strobist monthly meetups.

The bulk of this workshop took place at an old dilapidated building in Portland.  Jeff and Luke had arranged for a couple of models to spend the afternoon with this class.  It was great learning some techniques and getting some new shots.  But the real treat came at the end of the day when Jeff invited me to hang out for the post-class personal shoots that he and Luke were doing.  There were some other shooters there as well, since the building was open and I was able to check out a variety of different shoots happening--cool stuff!  Ended up sticking around for about 5 more hours, until 

we all decided that we were too tired and hungry to continue. 


Luke had some interesting setups going as well, using the fog machine and the creepier parts of this old building, like the fireplace and the freight elevator.  His work shows off some real creativity and meticulous detail.  

I was able to get some nice experience helping out with Jeff's shoot, specifically getting to use the lighting setup for the shots of Mindee out in the back alley on the sewer grate (I have no idea what we were thinking--it just seemed like a good idea). Jeff was using an AlienBee Vagabond II power pack with two White Lightning 1600 flash heads on stands.  Jeff had various setups he created with the larger "studio" strobes rather than just the speedlights. In the set up shot here, I am holding the stand of the accent light (due to the high wind) with a gridspot modifier on the front. Working in the daylight outdoors required more power to get the "dark and moody" results we were looking for.


The next day I was up early and meeting another 
friend (also Jeff--no relation) for some breakfast and coffee.  He is getting ready to move out East for a doctoral psychology graduate program at Rutgers (congrats, man!).  Anyway, he graciously agreed to pose for a bit so I could continue to work on some multiple flash techniques.  These images were shot at about mid-day, controlling for the bright sun and bringing up the subject exposure with speedlights and reflectors here and there.  I definitely got some more practice doing a "run and gun" type of location shoot--dealing with wind, curious onlookers, and carting all the stuff around.


A great weekend of shooting that ended with a fast drive back to Bend, arriving just in time to capture the final night of 
the 2010 Roller Rumble Velosprint 
races at SilverMoon Brewing...that's next post!