Here are a few more shots of the team from FW with their “mobile command center” on our kitchen table. 🙂
Falling Whistles
A few weeks ago, Cami & I hosted the amazing team from Falling Whistles as they made their stop in Charleston along their Nationwide Tour designed to elevate the conversation in this country about the war in Congo. Wait, there’s a war in Congo?
The Democratic Republic of Congo (the country I was born in) is home to our world’s deadliest war since WWII. Over the last decade more than 6 million people have died, and nearly 1,500 people continue to lose their lives daily. Sexual violence is more rampant here than anywhere else in the world, and thousands of children are involved in the war. Why?
There are a number of reasons, dating back over a century. The conflict has been tied directly to the country’s vast natural resources. They are both a blessing and a curse, making Congo a country of great potential and a frequent victim of exploitation.
The Falling Whistles campaign launched with a simple response – make their weapon your voice and be a whistleblower for peace in Congo. Read the story and buy the whistle. Proceeds go to rehabilitate and advocate for war-affected children. Share their story and speak up for them.
Studio Portraits
I don’t get the chance to shoot in our studio that often. Here’s a couple shots from a really fun shoot the other day. Adam & Kristyn live in our neighborhood. So we bump into them when we’re out and about walking our dog and have gotten to know them over the years. They are SUCH a neat couple. So creating these timeless memories for them was a real joy for me.
One of the best investments I ever made for our studio was connecting all my Alien Bee strobes via the RadioPopper Jr. remotes. When working with a hyped up dog (you can see by that first image that it took Cami & Kristyn a while to calm down their beautiful Golden Retreiver, Sal!), you have to be able to move FAST! So when the hair light needs to be reduced and the main light needs more juice, being able to do that in the blink of an eye right there on the camera is a HUGE advantage! Fortunately Sal mellowed out and Dylan warmed up and we got some great images for them. J
(Nikon D3, 70-200 f2.8, PocketWizard Plus II (triggering camera), Alien Bees, RadioPopper Jr (firing strobes), Photoflex softboxes, Bogen/Manfrotto supports for camera, lights, and backgrounds)
Reuniting with Old Friends
It’s been many years now since I photographed Tim & Jeni’s wedding! But we continue to stay in touch. It’s so fun to reunite with clients I’ve been working with for so long that they’ve become my friends. I love seeing the changes in their lives and hear about their accomplishments since the last photo shoot. The big change in Jeni & Tim’s life is their beautiful new daughter, Emelia. J For this shoot they brought out the whole family, which was especially neat since I hadn’t seen some of them since their wedding!
(Nikon D3, 70-200 f2.8, SB-900, SB-800, Lastolite EZYBox, RadioPoppers, Pocket Wizard, Bogen/Manfrotto tripod & lightstand)
ESPN Charleston Classic Action
Here’s a handful of images from the tournament! The relatively new College of Charleston arena is well lit and a joy to shoot in compared to most venues. All images were shot with available light using a pair of Nikon D3 bodies, 10.5mm fisheye, 14-24mm f2.8, 24-70 f2.8, 70-200 f2.8, and 200-400 f4.
Charleston Classic Celebrities
While covering the action for ESPN at the Charleston Classic, I grabbed a few…ahem…celebrity shots. OK, OK, my friend and colleague, Kathleen Cartland is talking to the only REAL celebrity, Bill Murray. But certainly celebrities to me include my friend and fellow shooter, Mic Smith, hanging his remote camera behind the backboard…Clay Hadden (in blue), who’s wonderful wedding to Lisa Sewell I photographed earlier this year…and Julia & Erik Loesch, who’s amazing destination wedding to St. Thomas we photographed last year! It’s always fun to bump into old friends at gatherings like this!!!
ESPN Charleston Classic
WOW! I have been SO SLACK about posting to the blog recently. Please forgive me…this time of year can be CRAZY around here!!! J
A few weeks ago I photographed the Charleston Classic again for ESPN. This will have been my 3rd year on that assignment…it’s one I REALLY enjoy being a part of!!! Here are a few shots from the Welcome Reception held on the deck of The USS Yorktown. For anyone who’s ever been on this retired aircraft carrier at night, you know how awful the light is from those old sodium vapor tubes. The last thing I wanted was murky shadows and nasty green color casts on my skin tones. So I rigged up my trusty Radio Poppers on several SB-800/SB-900 flashes, strategically placed around the room to give me nice, clean, calibrated lighting everywhere I turned.
Studio Portrait for SCFCU
When we’re not shooting weddings and events on weekends, we photograph lots of head shots and executive portraits throughout the week. South Carolina Federal Credit Union has been sending their employees over to us for a couple years now. Jessica just joined their team and needed photos for a press release. This image was shot with a giant 6-foot LiteDome softbox to her left as the main light, a medium softbox behind and on her right as a kicker light, a small softbox on a boom above her for a hair light, and an SB-800 right behind her as a background light. I like using small wireless strobes as my background light since it’s wireless and I don’t have to worry about cables showing in the photo if I do a full-length shot. The rest of the light sources were Alien Bees, which are triggered with the RadioPopper Jr (Studio Version) radio triggers. The image was shot with a Nikon D2x (which I use exclusively in the studio), and the 70-200 f2.8.
Anchor Commercial
My “Double Your Pleasure” post about the team photos I did for ESPN got such a big response! So I thought I’d share this group photo I did last weak using the same technique. Anchor Commercial has been a client of ours for many years. One of the things they have me photograph for them each November is a group shot they put in a Christmas Card to send all their clients. Rather than setting up on the South East side of their building where they’d be squinting in to the morning sun, we decided to set up on the North West side. This provided a nice rim/back light. However, their faces were in extreme shadow. So I set up my double-flash technique with two SB-800s on each of two light stand, firing them through my favorite Westcott 43” Collapsible Umbrellas, and triggering them with my trusty RadioPoppers. Here’s the scene before everyone arrived, and the final image they selected for their card.
Double Your Pleasure
I used to love those Wrigley’s commercials…”Double your pleasure with double-mint gum”. J
At my workshops, one of the questions I get a lot is “how do you get enough power out of those little flashes for big groups”? Well, I double (or even triple) them up. I have a couple home-modified umbrella brackets that can hold 1, 2, or 3 flashes. Basically, a flash like an SB-800 puts out around 50 watt-seconds of power. So if you need more power, putting two together gives you 100ws, putting three together gives you 150. Another reason for ganging flashes together is so that you can use a lower power setting on each, thus increasing your recycle time AND extending how long you can go before replacing batteries.
This is my 3rd year photographing the ESPN Charleston Classic. The event is kicked off with a huge Welcome Dinner on the hanger deck of The Yorktown, a decommissioned aircraft carrier. At the event, I have to photograph a group shot of each team. The first year, I brought my big AlienBee studio strobes. Well guess what I didn’t think of…wall outlets are EXTREMELY rare and hard to find on an aircraft carrier! The last two years, I’ve made life so much easier by using my wireless lighting system; no hunting for outlets…no McGyvering several extension chords together…no taping down cables.
I simply set up my light stands with two flashes in each, firing into a shoot-through umbrella for soft, even illumination. Each flash is set to around ¼ power and triggered via a RadioPopper. I’m using my D3 at iso 640, f5.6 for plenty depth of field, and 1/30 of a second for ambient light in the background. If you’re still using studio lights on location, I recommend doubling up your flashes. You’ll love the freedom of going wireless!
Family Portrait on Sullivan’s Island
Last week I shot this fun family portrait session for our good friends, the McKelveys. They used to live on Sullivan’s Island near Fort Moultrie. Their kids used to play down there all the time. Since they had such fond memories from that area, we decided to do their family’s photo shoot there.
ESPN Welcome Reception
This will be my third year photographing the ESPN Charleston Classic. You can see some of my shots from previous years, including the banner image of the new Arthur Ravanel Bridge, on the website at www.charlestonclassic.com. It’s such a FANTASTIC event and I’m so honored to be a part of it! The teams arrived in town yesterday and were treated to a fabulous Welcome Reception on The Yorktown. Warren Pepper and several ESPN Announcers MC’d the event. Here are a few shots from the evening. Come on out to take in some great b-ball action…and don’t forget to say “Hi” if you see me!
