Speedway series

I decided at the spur of the moment over the weekend to run up to Caraway Speedway in Sophia NC. This is just outside of Asheboro, lots of good signs to get there, hard to find the highway when you leave. I was expecting a small town junky track but was surprised by how nice the facility was. I have to say everyone was so nice at the track, they tried to feed me and give me drinks, they even helped carry my equipment around. I even met some famous racers Jimmy Johnson and a few others, I'm really bad with names. I think my favorite shot is the guy eating cherry pie by the track. I made the mistake of getting trapped in the pits for the first 150 lap race ( If you follow this blog you know how much I love racing ). The thing about being in the pit when the race starts is..... unless your on top of an RV or Semi you can't see what's going on. It felt like 500 laps to me ...... I had a good time and met some great people. Maybe 2 or 3 more tracks and I'll be done with the Speedway Project.

Tech info.- I forgot the Multi-cart and started off with the Profoto and AB's, but just to much to carry. Ended up with the 2 AB's and Vagabond and the PW's, still a lot to carry. It got real overcast towards the end of the day so I shot available light.

Speedway series 2 of 3

Speedway series 3 of 3

Paying property tax

I walked up the street to pay the property tax on the studio, grabbed the camera and these are some of the people I met along the way.

In print the National Jurist

Image from a recent shoot that made it to print for the National Jurist.

Bail Out ?

Bail Out ? No, Bail Bondsmen. Some head shots for bail bondsmen, This ranks up there with one of the smallest spaces I've had to shoot in. I ended up shooting through the receptionist window. Not how I would of lit head shots but once again I had to match existing images. Felt like I was in some ones living room.

Knock Knock ?

Knock Knock ? Who's there ? Oh, it's Russell come to show me his new outfit. I'm trying to recover from my hard drive crash 4 weeks ago and battling the software demons of Extensis Portfolio 8.5.3 ( I'd been running version 5, and to get to the new version I had to go to 7 than 8.5.3., after downloading the software and countless calls to the west coast, they tell me there is a bug in version 8.5.3 and I have to run in DEMO mode. Should be fixed in 30 days ..... I've got @ 100 DVDs to catalog and it runs slow and no rhyme or reason as to what files it will read).
It was a nice break when Russell showed up. I was meeting with a new assistant in the area. What up Eli ? Thanks for the help. We went around the corner and did some shots, direct sun and an AB 800 full power for fill. I like Russell's new outfit, I've been shooting him for @ 5 years. He's 67 years old, has live at The Sir Walter for 20+ years, doesn't eat breakfast but has 2 eggs, bacon and hash browns for lunch.

found objects

Every few months I gather stuff I've found outside the studio and do some still-life shots, real simple and clean, either on black or white. Softbox camera left and cris-cross grids for back light.

Kinda Crazy

I've been doing work for "Big Tex" for the past 7 years, time for some birthday photo's. I feel almost obligated to do snap snots at his party, but truth be told I kinda enjoy it. How many people get to check out the late night hip-hop culture, especially if your caucasian like me. I didn't feel threaten but felt welcome, I knew who wanted their photo taken and who didn't. I tried to set some lights up outside but the rain from hurricane Bill played havok. I know these images are flash on camera, but I do think there is artistic merit in them. I don't think it's the subjects but what's going on around them. I got home @ 3AM and smelled of marijuana and my ears hurt from all the bass. I must be getting old ...................

Kinda Crazy #2

Up the street at another club, there was a crew from Girls Gone Wild. This guy was so wasted he kept falling down.

ID please

Part of a campaign to prevent underage smoking. Shot on location at Running Jims Convenience Store in Durham NC. We had the store for @ 2 hours but customers came and went as usual. Client was looking for selective focus and lots of blur. Took advantage of the available light and had 2 Profoto heads bouncing off the back walls and ceiling for fill. ISO 400 between f 1.4-2.8, 1/125-1/25th. Big thanks to Directions for the talent.

Oh Heck Video

Looks like Christmas came early at Bryan Regan Photography
A quick trip down to Wilmington NC to pick up some new gear. P2, Redrock, 2 HMI's and other Misc. stuff. It's a multi-media world we live in these days. When I was in school we shot everything on Super-8, 16mm and VHS cam corders. Time for me to join the 21st century.

Kits

I shoot alot of these kits and it's not just throwing the stuff down. You never know what's in them till you open the box. Everything is rigged with foam core and shims to prop it up. I go up and down the ladder not stop moving stuff around.

products & headshots

Getting the place kinda clean. Products & headshots see post below.

Coming or going

Don't know if I'm coming or going these days. Been really busy, shot @ 40 Gigs of files over the past 10 days. The computer is running 24-7 processing, burning and archiving. I think I work best when I've got 3 or 4 projects going on at once. Got a product shot than a headshot and have to pack for location this week-end.

secret location

Back at the secret location. Sorry about the blur, but I can say no more ........

Breaking Eggs

I like to show my successes and failures and I'll be the first to admit this was a total failure. I had 5 eggs left over from my Goodberry shoot and thought it'd be cool to shoot an egg breaking at the moment of impact. My timing was off and I didn't sync at the right speed , this was a half-ass attempt so don't try this at home. I still think it's a cool concept and will revisit it one day when I have more eggs to break.

Seeing Red

I'm glad the McCarthy era is over. The other night I got to hang out with the Secretary of the Communist Party Of China. I don't usually do "grip and grin" stuff but it sounded fun and was for a corporate client. The function was held at a private residence and all the big boys and girls attended, Senators,Representatives,Secretaries, Committee members and Mayors. The guest of honor arrived with his delegation ( entourage ) @ 40 people. I didn't know exchanging business cards was such a big deal, I've got a ton that I can't read. It was a nice function and I was treated as more of a guest than hired help. A great time was had by all. I think my favorite shot of the night is the dog with an American bandana in front of the Chinese flag.

A Crazy Day

Kids, doctors and a very tight set. A really great concept once we got it down. 4 pediatrician looking straight at camera and we just let the kids be kids and cause chaos. Some great shots once it's all put together. I seem to be into this high key cross back lighting theses days, hard to tell from these images.

In Print

What's that sound ?

What's that sound ? The sound of me shooting in very tiny rooms over at blazing sound and music. They are part of Trail Blazer Studios. If you don't know about these guy's check'em out a one stop production shop. They do have 2 rental studios, one with a 40 X 50 hard cyc-wall.
I got the dust off the hotlights, most shots were through a door or from a corner. I ended up with 2 Arri a small photogenic, 2 small flashes gelled to tungsten fired by PW and a 60 watt clamp on work light.

Grease Monkey's

So I'm feeling a little better about my personal projects. Shot some stuff for my "Grease Monkey" project and I have to say I'm pleased. I only shot @ 20 images but it felt right. Small soft-box with grid from upper left and back lit with a reflector.

Speedway series fan appreciation night

Headed out to Wake County Speedway the other night to work on my Speedway series, and to be honest my heart just wasn't in it. Seems like I'm in a funk with my personal projects these days, maybe I should give them a rest and re-visit them in the future. I had no idea it was fan appreciation night. They had these big blow-up bouncy things for the kids and behind it they were burning trash, the photo's don't do it justice. I snapped off @ 1800 shots and going through them I actually found some I liked. I swear I'll never shot a car going around the track again .........

Misc. Tech stuff - Arriving early is the key, I'm able to set-up some lights usually an AB 400/800 or Profoto set-up. I really need an assistant, just alot of gear for one person to carry even with the Multi-cart. I think of myself as a production type person but once the practice starts there's no time for set-up. I'm slowly getting use to shooting on the fly with available light. Even with the Nikon D3 I try to stay below ISO 400, I shot some stuff at 1000 and it looked like crap with all the noise.

Speedway series 2 of 3

Speedway series 3 of 3

Raleigh at night

I've been getting alot of request from my Raleigh Stock Photography website
for festival and crowd shots. Thought I'd head to Moore Square for Raleigh Downtown Live and try and get some images. The event was put on by Live Nation and no DSLR's were allowed in the park. Some random shot walking to and from my car.

dusting off the hot lights

Been awhile since I used the hot lights, got to get the dust off. I have some very SMALLl interiors to shoot next week. Not sure how it's all going to work. I've geled all my small flashes to tungsten maybe that's all I'll need ????

Souls of the Past

A fun time was had by all ...............

Russell Before

Did some shots for Russells (aka- Wild-thang) band - Souls of the Past. Before he got all dressed up.

heashots

Seemed to be the week of headshots, nothing fun or exciting, corporate or matching existing shots.

Slims last days

My neighbor Slim hasn't moved out yet, but all 9 other people have. He's just hanging out in a house with no power, it must have been 120 degrees inside. I think he had a cup of beer in every shot.

Golf in the Neighborhood

I drove up the other day and the neighbors where out drinking and wacking golf balls. What a photo op. I had to grab a light/camera and snap some photo's. I don't think any windows were broken or cars struck by flying golf balls. I haven't laughed that hard since I saw The Hangover.

It's all good #1

Oh honey , sticky stuff all over the place. Some shots and set ups from the Goodberry's shoot.

It's all good #2

Some drips and drops. Kinda funny, I shot some stuff over the weekend with my 60mm and looked at the this AM and they were all soft and out of focus. Hmmmm ......... I looked at the front of the lense and it was covered with dried cream and milk. I synched at 1/4000 with the SB800, somehow part of the profoto flash snuck in. Not sure what the flash duration is but it did ad some light ?

Speedway Series Race Night

Yea .... No rain, and racing. I got to the track around 5PM when the pits opened. I learned I need to travel lighter. I had 2 heads,stand, battery and it was a pain to drag around. I enjoyed the people/characters more than the actual race. Still not sure about the racing, I'll give it afew more chances before I call it quits.

Speedway series 2 of 3

Random speedway shots

Speedway series 3 of 3

Random shots around the speedway