Fiona, my Daughter put me on the spot for the interview part… I may sound a bit unprepared. What a nice walk.
Make sure to check this out in HD, where it shines in all it’s 720p glory.
Just a quick post… these guys were big and serious. I took the kids (and my camera stuff, of course) out to UCONN, and we decided to stop and say “hi” to the cows. This guy was inquisitive, but kept staring us down. A kind of “Hi there, don’t get to close to me…” kind of vibe. I was shooting these to see how well I could do a Lightroom adjustment for totally blown out sky exposures… a ton of the blue came back in after I tweaked the values.
After a rousing and exciting meeting with my fellow AIGA NHVT boards members, three of us stayed behind and decided to get a bit of springtime sun, and exchange some shooting tips and techniques. We were all jazzed to be able to walk around Vermont Surplus, which is really an architectural surplus shop, and take some shots. I was concentrating on practicing my setup and shooting for HDR (high dynamic range) shooting, and another one of us (Michael) was working on his single (wired) strobe shooting.
For me, being a professional photographer is about shooting, experimentation, and more shooting. Taking risks on your own time, and experiencing the excitement of catching something just right. It’s great to be able to share these moments with other photographers that can lend an eye, hold a flash, tilt a reflector, you name it. I always walk away from shoots like this wishing I had more time. The completely immersive surroundings of the old doors, statues, vases, doorknobs, dressers, stained glass… man.. there was just too much. And that was only the first floor (at least it looked like there were two floors.)
Here are some quick roughs of ideas I had for HDR conversion on these shots… now to do them in high resolution. I generally prefer to work with smaller resolution versions of the images to quickly tweak, process, and reprocess the HDR effects to create a baseline. Then I go back in and do the full resolution version… I usually save the profile when I’ve worked it through to save time. Anyway, enough of that jive… check these out and tell me what you think. Want to see more? Let me know. Want to buy a big ol’ print? Contact me, and we’ll get you rolling.
Keep shooting.
It’s a process… the set up, the scenario, the models, the gear, the weather. All of these things are pieces of the big puzzle. I can say there’s no better feeling than to know that the people that you hire and have around you are quality, driven people. Active participants.
Permission from local law enforcement was granted, and we were able to do some great shooting right here in Madison. The weather was cooperative, everyone was ready to go and on time, and we got a ton of great shots.
Did we have a lot of guns and gear there? Yes we surely did.
Did we get the job done? You’re damn right we did. Special thanks to Anne Skidmore for her incredible assist in lighting and setup, and to Katrina Coravos for making an appearance and being a great hostage!
HDR rendering continues to absolutely blow me away. Here are a few I thought I’d screw around with. If you want to know more about HDR and my process, let me know, and I’ll post up a tutorial or a walkthrough.
Remember, prints are available, and inexpensive! Contact me with questions!
Maple Sugaring pictures probably aren’t usually dark and semi-foreboding, but what the hell…
I had the pleasure of breathing in the sweet steam of boiling sap, and having a little sample of the sweetness as well. These shots were taken in the afternoon, as the fire was starting to cool. Steam was thick in the air, the fire was hot; I was loving it. Totally awesome. Check them out.
Better late than never… I had a great time at UNH on the 19th of February…
Max Brooks, author of The Zombie Survival Guide, and of my favorite (most definitely on the top 10 list) World War Z.
Here’s a snap of Max and I… I wish I had a pose like him, but time was short, and I was trying to get a book signed, too.
Check out some Flickr Zombie Invasion Pics here.
It’s always nice to get on the road and see another workspace, another studio. Here are some shots of my good friend (and client), Jason Rosen’s studio. Jason is the creator of Monsterwood, a fantastic project that has some of the most visually powerful characters I’ve seen in a long time.
So there’s a quick look at the studio, and some of Jason’s work. Without a doubt, it was fun as hell to get in there and shoot… as well as work with Jason on some Rovettidesign business.
Check out Jason’s website, www.kingjovis.com
Eaton, New Hampshire is a favorite place of mine. It’s just a few minutes down the road from me, and there’s a lot to do and see there. From swimming and fishing in Crystal Lake, to having a hearty breakfast at the Eaton Village store (Phil’s breakfasts are quite possibly the best deal for many miles, and fantastic), you’re bound to have an eyeful of New Hampshire beauty and a good bit of fun.
These shots are from a recent outing in the freezing cold with Duane Dale… we decided to take a ride out to the Little White Church, and lose feeling in out fingers shooting a few different angles. My main goal was to do what you see here, which is some HDR (High Dynamic Range) tests in snowy, low light conditions. I’ll be explaining HDR at some point here and at the AIGA NHVT blog.
The Little White Church was a great place to shoot, as it has a bunch of hard lines, some really nice imperfect, flowing glass windows, and the light seemed to be just right. Check them out, and feel free to weigh in on what you liked, and didn’t like. You can learn more about the Little White Church at http://www.littlewhitechurch.com. (Feel free to tell them that they need Rovettidesign to do an overhaul of their website.)
More Eaton shots are coming when the snow melts.
