Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving 2008 was a different experience thanks to an invitation of NatLight Studios to participate in a city shoot ... and what it shoot it was !  Images below show me in action and are courtesy (c) of NatLight Studios. 

Model is Sarah Ellis, make-up by Lauren Warner.

It is inevitable to have a few funny things happening during a public shoot.  

First of all, our ad hoc "audience" was always very respectful and at no time were there any disturbances.

The shoot was always low key when children were in the neighborhood.

At times the crowd would applaud the model after the location session.

One young gentleman asked me if I would shoot him just when we were moving on to another spot.

I had given hem my business card and he called within 5 minutes to find out where the next shooting location was going to be ... ;-) ... we made a fan !

All had fun and we shot some top notch images.

No animals were harmed during this production ... (j/k)

Ms Susie B - Part Two

Susie had invited me to tag along on her shoot with NatLight Studios on Saturday afternoon, the day after Halloween.

The photographer had OK'ed it and Lauren Warner was going to do the make up.

It is hard to resist an invitation like this ... exploring a new studio, meeting new people and watching a model and make-up artist I love working with.

It was raining like hell, the first major rainstorm in the Bay Area of this Fall ... traffic was light, no issues to reach the Cotton Mill Studios.

NatLight Studios came up with a great concept and had indeed hired the right make up artist to pull this off.  As soon as I saw the sketches Lauren had made for the NatLight Studios idea my eyes lit up  ... wow ... lol ... what a concept ...  what a ghostly creation ...

During the make-up transformation we had plenty of opportunity to talk shop and to get to know each other ... nothing more fun than exchange stories and talk photography techno-babble while backdrops and lights are readied ...

A couple of minutes in the shoot Jim invited me to shoot along ... my heart skipped a couple of beats but this is something you don't have to ask me twice ... 

I'm very grateful for this opportunity ... needless to say that this was a fun shoot ... the images speak for themselves ...

Thanks Jim ... Life is good !

*   *   *

That afternoon I also had the opportunity to meet Craig Morey.  He's one of my inspirational photographers and I'm well aware of his work as I purchased a few of his photography books in the past and I subscribe to his newsletter.  I especially like his classy B&W art nudes and the light bondage photographs ... all about female beauty.

I actually tried to attend one of his workshops in late 2005, well before I started photographing models, but I missed the boat ... hopefully Craig will set up some new workshops in the near future ...

All by all, a great afternoon and evening ... time well spend with new friends ...

Continued ...