Bulb Exposure at the Union City Lake

The idea was to photograph the fountain at the Union city lake at night using only the spotlights next to it for illumination. After taking several shots I realized that the fountain as the singular subject was boring. It had no context... Although this is definitely not a photo I would enter in a contest or post on Flickr, it does show how pulling back a bit can make a subject more interesting. For instance, you find out it is not a stand alone fountain, the location is a park and the water is very still on the lake. I also decided that I should do a longer exposure to show more detail in the surroundings. To get a better idea of what I am talking about please click on the image to view the larger size.

Look Shiny!!!

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic

I spotted this amazing old car while driving through downtown Union. The reflectiveness, bright color and great detail just pulled me in. It was parked in the middle of a good size parking lot making it easy to find the best angle for detail and curve defining specular highlights.

Night Train

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic

I shot this 38 second exposure near The Landing in Washington Missouri. I was out scouting locations and this train engine rolled up and stopped just across the street from me. I managed to get two shots off before it pulled away.

Studio Lighting Test

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic

This is a test shot taken in the corner of my basement studio. My photog friend Kurtis was kind enough to be the model. The objective was to do some lighting and posing experiments for a future promo shoot for a local musician. This shot was a two light setup. The main light was a 24x24 softbox and the background light was connected to a set of barn doors along with a short grid. Fill light came from a gold reflector (right). The background light was set nearly against the back wall to help bring out some of the texture and to help balance the image. I am hoping to use this technique against a more interesting wall. I am not sure about the exact pose just yet but I do like the way his foot leads you into the rest of the image.

Photos for Javier Mendoza's new CD "YOU"

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic

I met Javier in front of the Art Museum in Forest Park for this shoot. The goal was to get some new images for use inside the CD cover of his newest studio CD. He told me he was looking for some fairly tight head shots from multiple angles that would show "honesty"..... He also wanted the shots taken outside with a stone background to give them a more Spanish feel.

Due to scheduling conflicts the only time he had available was 6:30 PM. Knowing that the light would fade fast, I packed a light stand strobe and shoot through umbrella just in case.

By the time I got everything set up the sun was already going behind the trees so we scrambled to get done.... I am glad I took the strobe and stand but I was finding myself wishing I had two or three more. It got too dark by about 7:30 to get the kind of shots he was looking for so we packed it in.

In my opinion we got a few keepers but I wish we would have had more time and more light......

Studio High Key Portrait

This is my first high key portrait. I shot it using a white muslin background lit by an unmodified Interfit EX150 flash head. The subject was lit with the other EX150 (softbox) to frame right set about 2 stops slower than the background. I elevated the key so as to get a catch light where I wanted it. Fill was provided by a white reflector.

I can't wait to do some more experimenting!

Daily Photo 2-6-2009 "In the Headlights"

On our way through town after eating at the local Mexican restaurant, my wife spotted a small groundhog. I quickly put on my 300mm lens and we pulled as close as we could without scaring him out into the street. I took a few quick shots and my wife then attempted to scare the animal back away from traffic hopefully preventing him from getting hit.

The only light in this shot is from the car headlights and the ambient from the street lights.

Daily Photo 2-1-2009 "Candy Lamp"

This shot wast taken at a Mexican restaurant called Zapata's on Manchester road. I just liked the colors....

Daily Photo 1-31-2009 "IPhone Key Light"

Looking over at my friend Kurtis I noticed the key effect his Iphone was putting on his face and squeezed off a few shots. It's amazing what you can accomplish with just a little light and a really fast lens.

Daily Photo 1-30-2009 "Flower Macro"

I shot this using my Tamron 17-50 with a Kinko 12mm extension tube attached. The tube allows for extremely close focus. In this shot the lens was about a 16th of an inch from the outer petals. I used my Sunpak flash as a key light and a white card for fill.