You're now my pet project

This used to be a phrase used by an old roommate for whenever we had done something to slight him which might warrant revenge. Nothing to do with photography at all.

My normal MO is to find a photography project that interests me, try it briefly, post a few shots and then never repeat that kind of project again. This list would include
- macro shoots of hotwheels toy cars
- star trails (too much light pollution in the city)
- sunsets (too early to wake up)
- model shoots that had little purpose or aim (I expected her to flake)

Being an artist of any kind, whether it be a painter, musician or photographer, requires a level skill and perfection for one subject before moving onto the next. There are varying degrees of effort required to move up a level. For instance, in photography with a little practice, a practitioner can move from "You really suck!" to "You got lucky a few times with these shots" and even to "spouse makes a photo you took as her Facebook profile picture." Buying more expensive equipment rarely affects your level of skill.

Taking it to the next level however also requires additional persistence, practice and patience. That's the level where people you know tell others you don't about your work. That's where unknown people follow you on Twitter or Flickr to see the latest photo you've created. After tens of thousands follow you, even if they are just a niche (like other photographers), you've taken it to the next step. You have moved beyond peer respect but into the realm of Artistic Authority. Media start to ask your opinions on trends in your field. You are asked to speak at conferences or sit in on panels or write brief comments in books written by others.

Moving into the final stage of mastery, your work has become so well known that you become a household name where you do something so well that normal, everyday folk can not only recognize your name when it comes up - but they can even recall your name when presented with your work. If someone were to ask for a list of famous photographers and your name falls into a list that includes Ansel Adams, Annie Leibovitz and Henri Cartier-Brosson, chances are you've moved into a realm of skill that few will ever surpass.

There are perfectly good reasons why I should never achieve that kind of fame or skill. But focusing on the ones that sound like cop-outs (X keeps me from pursuing better photography, where X could be my job, family, house, hobbies, friends or equipment) won't actually help me improve. And I certainly don't want paparazzi hanging outside my home hoping for a photograph (ah irony).

But striving to take it up a notch, to move to the next level, where random strangers retweet or comment on my photos - maybe I could get there. Like Steve Martin said to a question of his success: "Be undeniably good... I always say, “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” If somebody’s thinking, “How can I be really good?”, people are going to come to you."

Modeling Shoots Lessons Learned

I finally managed to schedule in a photo shoot with a local model/actress from Toronto. I was aiming to enhance my portfolio with something edgy, and figured the local "grafitti art" near a school would be a little more interesting than the white or black backdrops I usually used.

Jasmine arrived on time, and we headed to our shoot location, not far from the Go Station. We were on location and setting up within 15 minutes of meeting her. Smooth.
=> Lesson learned: use professionals and they show up. Using models from Craigslist or teenagers from Model Mayhem have highly variable (negative?) results.

We ignored the dark clouds on the horizon, knowing the forecast told us no rain was coming.
=> Lesson learned: weather forecasting is an inexact science, even when the predictive timeframe is < 1 hr

I quickly set up using my two lights, stands and an umbrella. Within taking my first few shots, the flash, transmitter and stand hit the mud.
=> Lesson learned: even in sheltered outdoor environments, wind will find an umbrella. Luckily, everything continued to work. Maybe use light modifiers that don't catch the wind.

I switched from soft to hard light for both flashes (the plan was one of each). It was necessary to be a little more careful with the direction and power of the lights to avoid hot spots on the grafitti and avoid any harsh, horrible shadows on Jasmine's face.
=> Lesson learned: whatever you planned, expect you'll need to change it up on the fly to play nice with the environment.

I dropped to ISO 200 to darken the available ambient light, and used the harsher direct flashes to make the pictures "edgy". In hindsight, the grafitti was a little hot, so the eye is drawn to the grafitti first and not the model.
=> Lesson learned: take time to review shots on something bigger than a camera LCD screen.

About 75% the way into my shoot, I realized I was still shooting JPG so I switched to RAW. Later, after reviewing the photos on my netbook however, the exposure and white balance were where I wanted them, so RAW wouldn't have added any value.
=> Lesson learned: shooting RAW helps to contain WB and exposure mistakes. Next time, I'll leave myself some wiggle room.

Recycle times were a bit of a problem (I learned later) where 2-3 of the 100 shots didn't flash correctly. Could have been the transmitters, but probably likely the batteries in one of the flashes didn't recycle fast enough.
=> Charge batteries the day of, not the night before.

By 7:30pm, I was starting to be pelted by raindrops. Jasmine was in a better spot and stayed pretty dry. Eventually I called it, we packed up quickly and within minutes we were heading back to the Go Station.

Softboxes

I took some time out to tape together another softbox using a tin dish and a $2 shower curtain. I estimate it reduces.the.flash output by 1 stop. It also just hangs.off the.flash without any real rigging. Won't work outside probably, but it looks like it'll work indoors.

A little small, perhaps, but it smooths out the light a little bit. Might work as an accent light tho.

Now to catch Kaylah!

Touring on the Flashbus

No, its not a bus that goes.around baring parts of themselves to the public (maybe it does actually, have to check). But mostly its a seminar by two well known photogs that have made their living taking pictures with flash. Most everyone has a camera these days, be it in their purse or in their cell phone. Not all those cameras are ideal for off camera flash. But for those of us with a dslr, taking the flash off camera allows the photog to layer light throughout the picture, and create something that pops.

For $100, a bunch of us canucks went down to Buffalo to see Joe Mcnally and David Hobby speak. They informed and entertained. David went through the tasks.of.creating a shot he had done.with a local tech head. Joe actually brought up audience members to photograph using a wealth of expensive, and not so expensive gear.

Pure awesome. Leaders of the next revolution in photography and I got to be in the.first row.

Mind bending.

Sporty Spice and Everything Nice

One of the joys of being a dad is that I get to do sporty stuff with my daughter every Saturday (SportBall) and Sunday (Swimming). The Mississauga community centre system is well stocked full of fun things to do with kids while they grow up, and what’s more wonderful – it’s possible to sign up for the sports stuff – there’s enough supply for the demand.

Today we played basketball – Kaylah “pushed” the ball down from my hands to get the idea of dribbling. We threw the ball through a hula-hoop and “scored” several times. And we tried to get the kids to catch the ball by rolling it along the floor, then later bouncing it to her.

Last week was hockey, with actual hockey sticks, simulating scoring and passing and I can happily report, the NHL scouts ought to be checking her out. Not only does she have great stick-handling abilities, her upper body strength surpasses mine (by scale). Is it too early to provide her with sport-enhancing “vitamins”?

We still have golf, volleyball and tennis to look forward to. SportBall is definitely worth checking out if you’re anywhere in Mississauga… and you have kids.

Otherwise you’ll look a little out of place.