The Twisted Viking

Last weekend, I shot my first wedding for some friends. It was pretty interesting and I’m still working through all the photos, getting the good stuff separated and touched up where needed. Aside from a little bit of tweaking, most of the shots turned out just how I liked them and I was graced with some great sunset light since the wedding was outdoors. I’ll put those up sometime eventually.

That’s not what I’m writing about today. Last time I started throwing down with the first step of off-camera lighting, actually taking the damn flash off the camera. Logically, there has to be a next step and a next step after that. As the post’s title would dictate, this is the first next step. I started digging a little deeper into what I could do with what I have. Basically, I have one actual light, a bunch of white foamcore posterboard, a table, a white wall, and a pineapple roughly the size and shape of a human head. What can I do with these? Let’s see!

These images are all straight out of the camera with absolutely zero tweaking. First, I put the client (pineapple) on the edge of the table with the flash standing on the ground between the table and the wall pointing up at the back of the pineapple at an angle of roughly 75 degrees. I put a piece of foamcore behind the flash to keep light from spilling onto the background. What I got was pretty much a rim (separation) light.

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I’ve made a headfirst plunge into David Hobby’s Strobist philosophy of lighting. I’d been reading the blog for, well, a really long time and made a move to get some gear to facilitate that a few weeks ago. About 5 weeks ago, I went to an all day workshop put on by Hobby and Joe McNally about getting maximum benefit from small photographic flashes used off-camera. Part of the benefit of this style is that it’s very portable equipment. Because of that, it’s possible to take high quality light to locations that might have been next to impossible. This philosophy was born from a photojournalistic perspective, the need to shoot editorial photographs in a variety of locations. Being that I have no real focus on what I do, the versatility interests me.

I’ve seen a lot of really amazing shots from people all over the world that have taken to the idea of applying the ideas of small-strobe photography and I decided I want in.

I’ve got some equipment, some book (or Internets, whatever) learnin’, some live demos from guys that know a hell of a lot more than I ever will…it’s time to shoot!

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Not that this thing gets a whole lot of traffic. Just in case anyone’s out there looking, here I go.

The 52-week project had to go on hold, sadly. I still really like the idea but I need to plan things better before taking on something with that kind of scope. Here’s some of what I HAVE been doing.

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So I haven’t updated in a few weeks. I’ve been sticking with the project, however. Week 2 was Angles. I wasn’t satisfied with my results so this will definitely be revisited later on my own or, more likely, incorporated into other projects. Honestly, I’m not even going to repost it here because it’s pretty weak.

Week 3, however, was a different story. The assignment was “repetition”. I shot a bunch of stuff but these were the ones I liked most.

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The first week of the year long project is done. The theme for the first week was depth of field. My shots illustrate both shallow and deep fields at extremes.

I love shooting downtown.

It’s just before midnight on New Year’s Day 2011 and almost time for a new challenge.

Starting tomorrow, I will be co-administering a 52 week photography project with my friend Jon. The goal of this project is one theme per week for 52 weeks. Subject matter or technical skill, those that are participating will have to interpret that week’s assignment and submit between 1-5 photos to the Flickr group.

It’s about pushing to learn and break out of a rut. I’m really excited to see what we can all create as a collective.

On 12/21, my mother and I drove out to Dedication Point and Swan Falls Dam. Apparently, this canyon was carved by a combination of volcanic explosion, the resulting wall of water, and glacier activity. The dam itself was built in the 1901 as a hydroelectric plant. Both locations are contained in the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see any really cool hunting birds but did get some really cool scenery.

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My dad and I went back out at dawn on Christmas Day to the dam at Lucky Peak in Boise in the hopes of getting some more sunrises. Unfortunately, it was ridiculously windy so I didn’t get a whole lot of good stuff what with the tripod blowing around. I think I managed to get a few better than decent shots though.

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I just got back today from a week long trip to Idaho to visit my parents for Christmas. No, I am not from there originally, they moved there in October 2008 when my father got a job there. I’ve now been there in December for the last three years and it’s always fun…partially because of the family and partially because being able to look around and see snow-capped mountains wherever you turn your head is a stark contrast to the flatlands of Indiana.

Though I live in one of Indianapolis’ northern suburbs, driving 20 minutes in any direction puts you precisely in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Despite this, being in a valley surrounded by mountains, I was amazed at just how big the sky is out there. The prairies full of sagebrush stretch a few dozen miles between the foothills that surround the Snake River Valley.

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So last night/early this morning was the first Winter Solstice full lunar eclipse in 450 years or something like that. Lucky for me, I wasn’t at home in Indiana when it was visible as everyone I know said there was a snowstorm that completely covered the sky. That’s too bad because it was REALLY cool to watch.

In my parents’ back yard in Boise, ID, there were only wisps of cloud and it was a remarkably crisp and clear evening. It was also fortunate that I decided to leave some non-essentials at home and throw my tripod in the carry-on. Best decision I could have made, hands down.

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