Saturday, August 30, 08

Didn't get to do any edits last night after all ... got sidetracked ... in a good relaxing way ...

Today is shopping & cleaning day. Getting ready for a shoot tonight ... concept, accessories ... filling in two storyboards ...

Working on shoot prep for an October concept.  Called April ... She's good to go for that concept ... need one or two more models for that shoot ...

Long night ahead, still need to make up for the edits from last night ... these are fun ones ...

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Betcee May and Lauren Warner arrived on time and got to work after quick introductions ... it's always good to see how professionals "click" in no time.  It's my third shoot with Betcee May  and my fourth with Lauren Warner.  They both know by now what I'm looking for and I trust Lauren will do a stellar job on Betcee.   I'm shooting Betcee May today with a beauty make up accentuating her mostly blue eyes while keeping the long curly flowing hair.

The first concept is shot outdoors.  There's a hill across my studio and that hill overlooks Alameda creek all the way till Coyote Hills at the bay.  Magnificent view but it takes a half hour climb to get there, a little over a mile with 800 feet of altitude difference.

Before we left for the hill, Sarah Ellis arrived and it was wonderful to see the mutual respect between the two models and the excitement for a duo shoot.  What a team !

The pictures to the left feature Betcee during the climb ... something she did with flying colors on sandals.  This girl truly grew up in the outdoors and I had the pleasure seeing her in action on steep riverbanks a couple of months ago.

When we got back Sarah Ellis was in the Dior make-up chair and Lauren was finishing off with the hair.  In the meantime I shot a couple of new backlighting set-ups with Betcee.

Soon both models were interacting in front of my lens in a splendid exchange of looks, intertwined arms and ... of course ... laughs.

Finished the evening with some Sarah Ellis solo work.  Black leggings, black heels, ethnic jewelry and my wrought metal iron chair.

Never got to do my edits ...  talked with Nicole in preparation of our next shoot ...

More pictures later.

Continued ...

Friday, August 29, 2008

Busy day at work ... not surprisingly, the last day before the long weekend ... solved some sticky customer issues to everyone's satisfaction ... life is good.

Went shopping for some new toys ... I'm a guy after all ... lol

Posted the Newbie Model of the Week composite on Newbie Model of the Week 

... I'm the OP since a couple of months for this forum thread, all a part of giving back to the community at large.

Working on more edits, planning on doing a couple of retouches tonight ... April, Nicole, Betcee, Sarah, Tiana ... plenty of it to go around.

Back home, jetlagged ... Sunday, August 10

Jet lagged but I'm managing well this time ... Melatonin and going to bed at the right times definitely helps.

Sunday ... quick shoot with Arjun Shah at the Mission San Jose in Fremont.  Shirts and suits ... fashion ... definitely fashion

Spend some time shooting head shots also ... the light was harsh and I was shooting against a white wall ... we'll see

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I'm interested in extreme crops of faces lately ... it's hard to describe but I've always had a sweet spot for this ... I crop in camera so I know what I'm shooting and what to expect ... it is purely a matter of composing and framing and letting the light do the magic.

Love shooting with my Nikon 105mm F2.0 DC on my D2x ... the crop sensor makes this an extreme portrait telephoto lens while the defocus control let's me choose how soft I really want the image while producing an incredible bokeh ... same lens on my D3 produces excellent results but I'm constantly switching between two camera's.  D2x with the 105mm F2.0 DC lens and my D3 with the 28-70mm F2.8 AFS lens

The above image from Nicole is toned for print ... intend to print this one at 20" x 30" ... like these larger than life-size. This image is again about connection ... Nicole is glued to whatever is going on ... connection, not posing ...

Continued ...

Singapore, August 5

Almost sleepless ... not really ... got 5 hours tonight ... yeah ... we're making progress !

It's 3:30am ... checking and responding to emails of dear friends ... work ... assignments ... back to my catch of the street ...

This is why photography is such a passion for me ... creating beauty and art as a ravishing combination ... 

Back to  CS3 ... editing an image from my shoot with Nicole barely a week ago ... nothing is sharp in this image except for some strands of hair, the eye ... mouth ... Nicole pulls me in and that is what hit me when I snapped this ... that split second of connection ... it's not about posing ... it is about connection ...

It's 4 am ... better try to get some more zzzzz's ... it's going to be a long day ...

 To be continued ...