On the Peculiarity of Being Documented.

Documenting people in their work environment is something I have been doing a fair amount of recently. I do more than just follow them around, I try to blend in. Be the proverbial fly on the wall. Capture the moments.

To not get in the way, but still be a part of it all, is the real challenge. These attempts to bring a little understanding, maybe a little meaning to some event is never easy, but it is rarely unenjoyable. I'm truly lucky to be doing what I do!

The other evening Rachel followed me down to the river with her Nikon D40 and did an her photojournalistic best documenting my assignment. I was there to do the final shoot for National Parks Magazine. They needed a couple portraits for the opening spread in the upcoming Winter issue.

Now, I have always wondered if people I cover are really able to tune me out, forget I'm there. I always do my best to get in there without being in there. To become part of the scene without taking it over.

The other night I think I remember being aware of Rachel's camera shutter on maybe two occasions. She came back with about 40 images. I was so wrapped up in what I was supposed to be doing I completely forgot her photographic presence. Good to know this. Gives a little perspective.

At any rate, below are a few choice images from that shoot.

All photos by Rachel Klein-Kircher (copyright 2008).

Headshots

As I mentioned earlier, I do on occasion make portraits.

Kirk Penberthy is a voiceover artist and actor. (His website... here.) Among other things he's had parts in Homicide-Life on the Street, The Wire and the movie The Contender. Also, if you watched last year's Super Bowl you most likely saw this Coke commercial. Kirk's the moderator with James Carville and Bill Frist as the guests.

We did a photo session the other day and Kirk is kind enough to let me blog about today. (Thanks dude.)

The outside shot was done simply with a single speedlight (Nikon SB800) with a mini-softbox attached to help diffuse the light on his face. The speedlight was on a stand at camera right about a 45 degree angle between the camera and Kirk.

The photo inside was done with an SB800 shot through an umbrella that was placed high, directly above the camera. A white reflector is at Kirk's waist level just out of the frame. This helps fill in any unwanted shadows created by the main light. In the background there was another speedlight aimed at an angle at the wrinkled blue fabric creating a little bit of a pattern.

Oh and in case you people don't remember, Kirk is the father of this cool little fellow! And, of course, husband to the cool little fellow's mama (Mariel!) in that very same post.

Anyway, thanks Kirk. Fun shoot!

Nature Boy.

When I'm photographing subjects I like to get them in varied situations. Different settings.

This is Chris. A true outdoorsman!

Here he's watching a group of pelicans doing a fly-by as he continues to catch nothing.

In this shot he's just kinda hanging out showing off his pasty-white muscular body. To be fair, he does tan rather nicely girls!

In this shot... well, hey, Nature calls!

In the end, keep your camera at the ready. Never know what your subject will do!

Cheers.

More Gratuitous Self Promotion.

For those interested, the Sept/Oct issue of Maryland Life magazine is now out. I had an assignment about the Capital Crescent Trail, an old railway line--now a hiker/biker trail--that runs from Silver Spring through Bethesda and into DC.

Barnes & Noble or Borders. Check it out.

The photo here did not make the cut, but I liked it. So, for good or for ill... here it is!

A Little Less Than Serene!

You know you want to try it!  Don't you?

Serene.

So I walk into the room and there she is. Chatting with her mom (or dad?)... by candle light. Didn't want to spoil the moment so I quietly turned around, found the camera, came back and silently tripped off a couple shots. So peaceful.

Portraits.

I have, on occasion, been known to do portraits. They're not my forte, but I enjoy them.

These first two are from many moons ago. That's black & white film... set up, shot, developed and printed right here in our basement! Heh!

The last one is from this year's trip to New Smyrna. Susannah and Jay wanted a family portrait, they and their three beautiful kids. That shot might be used as a holiday card so I'll not jump the gun by showing it. But here's one I got of just the two of them.

Be Prepared.

The sun is setting fast and the sky is looking good. I've got a wide angle lens and I've crouched down so as to highlight the clouds. The flash unit is in my left hand, held out and up. I've dropped the exposure by about a stop (I'm guessing here!) and flash exposure is preset in manual mode and likely is at 1/16th power, which usually works at this distance.

Knowing your settings and distance beforehand makes it much easier to capture shots like this.

Also, in the background you can just make out the young man on the lifeguard's chair I shot earlier. (You can scroll down to the "Quality of Light" post to see it.)

Color Temperature.

Let's talk about color. Or, rather, the psychology of color. There is a school of thought out there that says we humans are comforted by "warm" colors and discomfited by "cool" colors. A crackling fireplace, candle light, a campfire, sunrises and sunsets... these tend to instill in us a settled, even soothed emotion. And the warmth (color wise, not just heat wise) is in no small part the reason for this relaxed feeling.

Before the digital camera explosion photographers employed various techniques to create this warmth in their photos. An amber glass filter over the lens or shooting with daylight balanced film under tungsten lights. Today, we have white balance (WB) control in our dSLRs.

We can adjust the settings so as to create a cool, bluish tint in our photos or, as I usually like to do, create a more warm, yellowish/orange tint.

Below are two examples. One is shot at sunrise on a hazy beach morning. The other is around a fire-pit and tiki torches. You can see the effect you get setting the WB to a warmer setting and what happens when you set it to a cooler setting. Everyone is different, of course, so you may not like the warmer tones. But generally speaking, it is the warmer tones that people gravitate to when looking through images. Keep this in mind when your making your photographs. Are you creating an image that attracts people or gives them a sense of unease?

This is necessarily an incomplete post. Feel free to pepper me with questions if you need this fleshed out a little more.

Meantime, dig out your camera's manual and have some fun playing around with your white balance settings.

 

Cheers.