The Art Of Seeing

Girl power

Well, she bugged me till I allowed her to finish the shelf. Finish she did, carefully hammering in the last dozen nails.

As I sat back, I could not help reach out for my camera. I turned the flash off, and slowed down the shutter to catch the hammer in motion… Then I clicked. 

Werewolf Magnet

 

This time I managed a decent shot under 10 minutes. Last time, the experimentation had taken over an hour. f/11, 1/40s, ISO200, tripod with a remote.

Hold a camera in the palm of your hand,

and the night is just an hour …

(apologies Bill)

( BTW, notice the gigantic frog on top of the Space Needle? )

Tuscany

The hills in Tuscany are always described as “rolling”. I fond the chant funny till I saw them. They do roll ...

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.