The Art Of Seeing

Why I bought SB-600 …

 

Normal Flash

Fill Flash

What was I thinking all along ? It’s a steal at $260. Don’t forget to buy the cables for off-camera flash. More on that later…

Studio lighting …

I got curious when my friend Sid told me about two good fellas in Seattle.

Neil and Ravi are running a neat operation. They are brokering an active relationship between models who want to keep their portfolio updated and amateurs looking for interesting subjects.  I tried to multiply the money they charge the photographer per shoot by an estimate of a volume they can garner and still could not figure out how they they pay the rent of their fabulous downtown studio. Obviously this is not a business. This is a love affair.

I am used to shooting with available light. The sun follows its trajectory. I decide when to catch it  and where. The rest is frame. Shooting in a studio is a whole different ball game. You get to play God. The direction, extent and amount of light is your call. The variables outnumber the constants. The complexity is non-trivial. Thankfully Neil and Ravi are close by. They play assistant, worker, expert, counselor, subconscious and all of the above, seamlessly and interchangeably.

Donna was peerless. Through the evening her inner beauty was on display. We capture only a small part of what we could see. Sorry lady…

 

 

 

 

Rainier

Every day that Rainier is visible (and the sight is not common), we see a different tinge, a new facet, a special side...

Seattle Sunset

Seattle city lights

Only an umbrella in the foreground can complete a Space Needle in the back.

Snow show

Slippery Slope

Skiing is counterintuitive.  It defies common sense in every which way.

You get up in the wee hours of the morning. You swaddle into so many layers of clothes that you can barely scratch your elbow. You lug a plethora of equipment - skis, poles, gloves, ski-mask - to the base. The anti-walking things on your feet called ski-boots are are leaning into your shins as you grunt up the slope. You time your hop to get into a ski-lift that won’t even stop for you. The cold cuts to the bones as the precariously dangling chair whizzes into the mist. You somehow tumble out when you are supposed to.

You are on the top of the slope. Fresh powder stretches all the way to the bottom, guarded by the greenest of mountains. Adrenalin trickles into your bloodstream. You sense a delicious tingle in the toes. The sun peeps out.

Suddenly everything makes sense.

Moonography

A full moon and a clear sky in an uncommon combination for Seattle. Enough for me to  ignore the biting cold and setup my tripod on the driveway.

This was the first time I was pointing my lens heavenwards, so I took some help.

Nikon D60. Nikkor 55-200 f/5.6 ISO-100 EV0.

Lightshow in Volterra

 
I almost missed the sunset. So busy were we eating. I ran back to the apartment to fetch me my D60. I framed my shot. The Sun or the sky? That’s the choice the situation presented me.

Unless I was willing to suspend myself 20 feet above ground.  Between a balcony ledge and a window sill. With several glasses of vintage Sangiovese working on my innards.

If only all decision in life were so easy. Sangiovese or not. Like Tiger Woods would say.

First shoot.

Then lets talk.