Alexa

Alexa and her twin sister came to Studio 51 from DC to shoot with DayJaVue and while her sister was getting ready to shoot I was able to get a few awesome frames of Alexa.

Background image by Brenda Starr

Graceful Paintings

It has been a while since I have light painted.  Weather, work and finding a place to shoot has limited the amount of time I have had to explore and play. But, now that I have space at Studio 51, I can shoot and light paint at any time of the day!  Two of our largest studios are windowless and can go totally dark at any time of day.


My first shoot at the studio was with Grace Valentine.  Grace is wonderful to work with.  She has a fantastic look and can shoot just about any genre you would want.  It was a great collaboration and I hope we can explore more light painted creations in the future.


I had a blast, but I got a bit frustrated at times.  I have way too many light toys to play with and choosing which one and when to use it drives me a bit crazy.  I need to focus on using only a few toys per shoot and exploring all the options before pulling another light from my bag of tricks.


All of the images were created in camera with some minor editing in photoshop.  All images were achieved within a single long exposure.

Studio 51 - Charlotte, NC

Wow, it has been over a month since my last entry.  Time flies!  Work has been very crazy.  I have been to Las Vegas and Orlando this month attending trade shows.  Finally, I should be able to settle into a more regular routine.


GREAT NEWS!  This month I have joined a group of fantastic photographers in Charlotte, NC.  Studio 51 is my new home away from home.  Please check out our Facebook page.  We are also working on a new website which will launch soon!


Watch for some images from my latest light painting session with Grace Valentine.  I will be posting them soon!

Dakota & Bonnie of Aradia Fitness

Last week while in Cary, NC, I had a fantastic opportunity to photograph Dakota and Bonnie of Aradia Fitness.  These ladies are so strong and graceful.  They truly defy gravity. 

After accomplishing all the shots I had planned for, I offered the opportunity to try some light painting.  For those of you not familiar with this it is creating an image in total darkness by creatively using light to paint your subject in one single long exposure. 

In order to light paint them, they had to hold their poses for several seconds while I created the image.  I was so surprised at their enthusiasm and willingness to attempt this.  The results were, WOW.  They have incredible control over their bodies.  I have included the exposure times so you can appreciate how long they had to hold these poses.  Remember these times were just for the exposure.  They had an additional 5 - 10 seconds just getting into the pose before I could start to light paint them.

24 Seconds

22 seconds

27 seconds

2 poses in 47 seconds

33 seconds

32 seconds

Here is a slideshow of my best images from the session.  Enjoy!

Using Video Lights for Photography

Ever since I attended AfterDark in Charlotte, NC this September,  I have been intrigued with using video lights in photography.  I purchased one light a few weeks ago and loved the look I was getting.  WYSIWYG!  It is very easy to mix ambient with the daylight balanced LEDs.  All images were shot at 2.8 at iso 1600-2000.

These images were shot using one small CN126 LED battery operated light.  No modifiers.

I soon realized that having another light on the same stand would allow more control of the shadows and mood.  The following were photographed using two CN126 LED lights mounted above and below on the same light stand.

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South Meck Soccer Seniors

For the last few years I have been photographing South Meck Soccer games and shooting the Senior Photo for the programs.  This year's image came out really nice.  The night was nice and cloudy and with a little photoshopping everything just pops.

AfterDark Charlotte, NC 2011

Wow, time flies when you don't update your blog!  


Three weeks ago I participated in AfterDark Charlotte.  For those not familiar with AD, here is their link.  It was 3 days of 12 plus hours of shooting, classrooms, mentoring and fun.  It was aWeSOMe!  I learned so much.  


AD Charlotte pulled in over 35 mentors from across the country.  All types and styles of photography were at my fingertips for 3 days!  It was photography overload!

I was very focused on learning, absorbing and watching instead of actually shooting.  I had a blast.  If you ever have the chance to attend, it will be the best investment in your photography you could ever make.