Drips and drops

Doing some testing for a drips and drops shoot. Not sure which way I'll go with it. If I use the big lights I can only sync at a 250th. With the Nikon speedlights I can sync at a 1/2000th in FP mode.

Bad burns and hard-drive

One of those weeks. It started with bad DVD burns and error codes,I was just going to swap out the burner, than the hard drive went bad. Still in the process of recovering files and installing software and hardware. This just sucks. A raid system, that's a good idea ..

Oops ......

Guess it got hot

In the corner

Hmmm, messing around with my corner set, not sure where I'm going with it ......

Hanging out with the law

An editorial assignment photographing the Dean of NCCU Law School. They were all great so it made my life alot easier. 1/2 hour to scout 2 hours to shoot, 3 locations and set-up's with no assistant. Think I left a trail of smoke behind me. Always save the outdoor shots for last when it's 90 degree's with 100% humidity.

In Print

Some shots from recent shoots that that made it to print ...

matching headshots

I always think one of the hardest things to do is matching existing photography ........ I had to do that with some headshots.

trees at night

Some trees I saw on the side of the road @ 9:00 PM. 30' sec exposure f/8.

Archdale Building

Went into the studio over the weekend. I pass the Archdale building everyday, the gate to the parking lot was open so I stopped to take some snapshots. It really reminds me of downtown Raleigh on the weekends, vacant and bare.

Friday night Race Night

Or should I say Friday night rain night ? Working on my speedway series and went out to Wake County Speedway the races were called off due to thunderstorms. Maybe I'll make it next Friday.

My Neighbors are moving

Found out the other day my neighbors are moving. They have all been a part of my Neighborhood Project and have all been very supportive. I'm still not sure how many people actually live in the house. Always a party going on at the opposite corner from the studio. I'm going to try and get some more shots before the big move.

Mulch madness in the studio

If you didn't know there are lots of different types of mulch, I spent the day shooting them all. I made a round rig to have uniform piles of mulch. The hard part was after each pile I'd have to clean up. Pick up the big stuff, sweep, dust buster and wipe down with cleaner. Not enough $ in the budget to clip everything out and drop it on white. What to do ? I over exposed the RAW files by a 1/3, tweeked the RAW images to bring up the white, bring into PS add levels and layer mask, selective color on white and bring down the black with a layer mask, clone out the small dust. I think I'll have my kids scatter the multi-color mulch in the yard this weekend.

UNC leftovers

Had some stragglers left over from the UNC catalog shoot. Thank goodness for cans of spray paint and well behaved dogs.

Oh what a privilege

Just doing my part to help out the budget in NC. There are rumors that NC will start taxing services. Interesting to see who needs and doesn't need a privilege license.

Accountant $50.00 Certified Public Accountant $50.00
Architect $50.00 Art of Healing $50.00
Attorney $50.00 Chiropodist $50.00
Chiropractor $50.00 Dentist $50.00
Embalmer $50.00 Engineer $50.00
Land Surveyor $50.00 Landscape Architect $50.00
Naturopath $50.00 Ophthalmologist $50.00
Optician $50.00 Optometrist $50.00
Osteopath $50.00 Photographer $50.00
Photographer’s Agent $50.00 Physician $50.00
Podiatrist $50.00 Psychologist $50.00
Real Estate $50.00 Veterinarian $50.00
Licensed Home Inspector $50.00 Loan Agency $250.00
Check Casher $250.00 Pawnbroker $250.00

More Mulch

I made some time and went through the files from the mulch shoot and pulled a few more. It makes me think I have 4/5 other "industrial type" shoot I haven't had a chance to go through. Hard to do with a quick turn around and thousands of images to look at.

Riding the ferris wheel

I think the ferris wheel was everyones favorite ride at Tweetsie. The guy said it was built in 1929, it dose look kinda old and rusty and the thing goes fast. You get a great view as you spin around at break neck speeds while on top of the mountain, a cemetery.

Random Tweetsie Railroad shots

Tweetsie Railroad is like stepping back in time. Some random shots from around the park. A great time was had by all on our vacation. The park is very family friendly and the staff was great.

Mountain shots

Had a great time hiking in the woods.

Highland Games

Kinda hard to run around and get good shots when you got kids with you. I think my girls were a little to young to enjoy the games maybe we'll be back in a year or two.

Mulch and bark - Dirty Jobs

Got to hang out where they make mulch and bark. A lot of fun to see and photograph the process, they do this on a very large scale, it's organized chaos. I've never shot somewhere so dirty and dusty, I'm still finding dirt and dust in places I never knew existed.

More Mulch

More Mulch

More Mulch

It really did look like some sort of alien landscape ....

Roadside attractions

How could one not stop to see the world's largest frying pan ? Rule #1 - If your shooting in a place you've never been before always leave early, you never know what you might see.

Buckleyboo is back

Buckleyboo is back, a great product for children. Some product shots and kids with products. When kids are involved it's always crazy.

Merging merge

Had about 10 copy kit shots, the black boxes are always tricky because of the reflection. I shoot the complete image and pull everything out except the box and place a black card below to get rid of the reflections. 2 images and hold down the magic shift key and a layer mask and it looks great.

headshots

Can you get 5 days of work done in 3 days ? You can try. Some headshot set-ups. The location set-up was kinda cool with the double hard back light, had to keep it simple in the studio, client has to match the set up out of country.

Got the floor painted

Yea, I got the floor painted ..... The studio looks really nice with a new coat of paint. Industrial Enamel / Alkyd Coating at $55.00 a gallon.

4th of July

Getting over my sickness, I haven't been that sick in along time ......... Had a blast over the 4th with the family.

I have a fever .......

I have a fever today, the sickness has run rampant through our house, both girls the wife and now me. I've got at least one more day of feeling like crap. My plan today was to work on the corner series ( what you see is what you get today ) and start prepping to paint the studio floor over the 4th. I'm waiting on the mail,UPS and phone calls, I think I double booked Mon. and Tue. I GOT to figure out what's going on. I'm out of town shooting next Wed. and trying to sneak to Grandfather Mountain and the Highland Games on Thur. with the kids for along weekend. I've got a birthday party to take the kids to tonight at 5:30, the wife is out of town at a funeral. What aday, what aweek, it's all good tomorrow is a new day and I've got my PMA ( Positive Mental Attitude ).

In Print Business Week

Some shots and out takes from the current issue of Business Week of Dr. Anderson shot in New Port News VA.