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I know this one is a little on the dark side, but I absolutely love it!
Also, Thank you Joe Paul for second shooting!
First session with the D600 for me after renting it a few times. I looove the full frame and it was worth it for sure. Here's a peek of what we got.
(click to enlarge)
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(click on an image to view it large)
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When Daniel asked me to take photos of his elaborate proposal, a few things flash through my mind. The biggest being, "I hope she says yes or this could get awkward". Being that he's a cool guy, I knew she would, especially after I saw the crazy setup work this guy did. Huge hand made signs, old doors, flower arrangements, violinist in a field.Thanks for including me in such a personal moment. Good luck with the wedding planning!
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Here's a preview so you won't have to wait to see anything ;)
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I admit it, I can't stop myself from buying every cool old camera I find in thrift stores, pawn shops, or on craigslist.
It may be a fad that will die out in a couple years to love the washed out colors and grainy low contrast images of old polaroids and plastic lens cameras. I don't care though, because a good image is a good image regardless of format. I've had a lot of fun shooting with some of my plastic lens 35mm cameras that I've found here and there for less than a dollar each. It's a more fun way to get into low-fi photography (or lomography or holgagraphy or whatever you call it) to spend 35 cents on a plastic camera and shoot a roll than to buy a new "retro" camera for $50. You never know what you've got, and you never know what to expect from the negatives until you see them.
These are two more I picked up tonight at a thrift store. The polaroid was a quarter and the little "Kan Kon" was ninety nine cents. Of course feeding them will cost more, but its all for fun anyway. I'm wanting to do a few polaroid albums for portrait sessions. That's definitely something not all your friends get when they get their portrait made.
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One year later to the day here are some portraits to commemorate your anniversary.
I'm shooting all week at Millcreek MX in Pell City, AL for the 2011 Thor Spring Classic amateur national motocross race. Practice ran all day Tuesday on Millcreek's slightly wet (but still very nice) track. It was overcast all day but for the most part the rain held off until practice was over. There were a few classes that I missed because of a little rain that I didn't want in my camera. So if you're looking through the albums and can't find your rider, either their photos haven't uploaded yet, or they were riding in the rain. Either way, I'll be shooting all the races this week and should have plenty of shots of every class.
Today (Wednesday) looks like a wash. Due to the crazy amount of rain that got dumped on us last night and this morning, RPM Sports has decided to delay racing until the track can be dried out a little and cleaned up. Racing will be pushed back to Thursday around . Until then, check out the shots from practice at http://photosteven.zenfolio.com/2011springclassic.
Check out Vurb Moto's (www.vurbmoto.com) blog for awesome photo/video updates on who's who in the amateur national scene this year at Millcreek. Also stay updated on the track's website at www.millcreekmotocross.com.
Here are a few shots from practice. To see more and order prints, click here http://photosteven.zenfolio.com/2011springclassic
I shot my first wedding of the year yesterday. It went so easy that it didn't feel like work. Ginger and Mike were possibly the easiest people to work with ever. It was a smaller ceremony at the Victoria Inn and Restaurant in Anniston, AL. Here is a peek at some of the photos we took.Thanks Ginger and Mike for choosing us to capture your special day. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
Well I got another chance to shoot some pretty heavy Christian bands. The lighting was different than most concert venues as the lights were all plain white spots. Usually I have lots of fun colored lights to play with and it makes for easy processing work. With the plain lights, I lean towards either a monochrome or slightly cold desaturated color image when editing.
Check out what I got.
If you have a show or event coming up and need photos, contact me through my website at www.PhotoSteven.com
]]>I've been using my D90 with my manual focus 50mm f/1.4. That combo lets me shoot in almost complete darkness. Most of these pictures were shot well after "good available light".
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| These are two of the coolest kids ever! |
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| Tuggie killing the target. |
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| This church always has a great sunset. |
Click to see bigger versions on flickr and please leave a comment.
I'm getting rusty on my light painting lately so I waited till the middle of the night to go out armed with half a dozen colored flash lights, some toys, a speedlight, and some steel wool to get some artistic exercise.This year I've had a lot of fun learning about light painting. Its a completely different world from the weddings, portriats, and motocross photography that I do, and while I'm still learning in all areas, light painting is an amazing exercise in composition. It makes me take all three dimensions into consideration more than just making sure my depth of field is going to be appropriate for my composition.
The picture below actually was an accident. It consists of me chasing my brother around with flaming steel wool and him trying to fight me back with a light saber.
I've learned that to incorporate light painting into a portrait (or portraiture into light painting), I have to take into consideration what I want to be in front. Its like layering in photoshop. In this one I first popped the subject (my bro James) with a speedlight through a small softbox. Then while he stood completely still, I ran around him waving my red light around to make the designs behind and beside him. If he had moved away from where he was standing, the light from the red torch would cover over his face and body. By the way, this is the only image that was photoshoped in this post. The rest are exactly as they were out of the camera except for some cropping.
The green orb in this one is an example of how hard it is to compose while standing in front of a camera in total darkness. My intention was to center the green orb up in the middle of the blue. I still love the green lines in both of these.
I hope some of you go out and play around with some lights soon. As always, please leave a comment and don't forget to find me on facebook and twitter.
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| Bummed out folks seeking shelter at the concession building. |
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| Kevin Cozadd |
When I got to the track it was pretty soggy from all the rain and no sign of getting any better. After wrapping my D90 with a 18-200 lens up in a plastic walmart bag I ran for cover in the stands where Kevin Kozad of MXers For Jesus was getting ready to have church with a bunch of sleepy looking muddy riders. If for nothing else I got to listen to Kevin's sermon and have church in the mud. I didn't get many photos, but I kicked the D90 into video and got Kevin's message below. Its shaky but the audio isn't too bad.
Only a couple minutes after the service, the track owner came out and announced that he was calling the race due to the weather and condition of the track. Not much you can do to control mother nature. Many riders had come from neighboring states to race. I loaded up, headed home, and slept the rest of the day :) Maybe I'll have better luck next week.
While I sit in my parents basement at 23 years old surrounded by computer monitors, printers and my camera equipment, with a sleepy itunes playlist of Dido, Rocky Votolato, Iron & Wine, and such at almost 1 am, I know I'm not where I thought I'd be when I walked for graduation over 5 years ago. I've never had a strong direction that I knew I wanted to throw my life into. I have been so many places and experienced more than most of the people I encounter.
More and more, life seems to be more of a maze than a time line. Every time I think I've found something I can mold myself into and focus my time on, something new and shiny comes along to chase after. I'm not complaining in the least. Each new job, group of people, art form, and opportunity just seem to push me on towards new inspiration and new adventures, but sometimes its hard to put life into perspective. To compare oneself to your own preconceived notions of who, where, and what you should be.
Lately I've had a lot to reflect on and evaluation of my current priorities. I'm excited for the direction that photography has taken me in the past year. At the same time, I miss music, old friends, and time that can't be had again.
Enough sentiment, I'm ready for this weekend. I'm lucky to be doing one of the things I love, photographing people. Coming to grips with what drives me to capture a still millisecond of someone else's existence leaves me with only the idea that I do it to better understand people. To catch that second of a smile, laugh, tear, or thoughtful empty gaze. I'm pretty happy with where I am and wherever I'm heading.
Please leave me a comment below.
Its a different challenge to shoot MX because of the times of day that you have to shoot during. Its almost guaranteed that you will spend a few hours shooting in the bright, direct, straight up in the sky sun. Highlights are harsh and shadows disappear. This is exaggerated by the fact that shooting in JPEG mode is preferable for shooting thousands of photos in a few hours to save hard drive space and to keep from hitting the camera buffer and missing "the shot".
Here are some shots from the last race I attended.
Prints from the races are available in the recent shoots section of my site. RECENT
I'm looking forward to shooting at the AMPMX August Classic this weekend. Come out for some great racing. Feel free to comment with any questions