Back from Spain, and Maryland. Spain obviously wasn't enough of a vacation for me, so back on an aircraft to Maryland I went, just days after returning to the windy city from Madrid and Sevilla.
Priceline.com served as my travel agent thanks to a recommendation. And after naming my own price, I received a super-early departure time, a small plane, and I had to check my carry-on at the gate, preventing me from perusing my book on Tufted Titmouse tweeties and other songbird species of North America; which I had forgotten to transfer from duffel bag to cargo shorts. The alternative: window-seat exposures with my Canon SLR of small alien-figures ripping apart the left plane engine via an access panel in the top of the wing (Twilight Zone reference, and totally irrelevant to this blog entry).
I was able to pick up a couple of unexpected event gigs in DC, which was much welcomed!
Now, armed with creative ammunition from both Maryland and Spain, I'm eager to get back to work so that I can travel again in the near future!
Upcoming shoots include an entire website of jewelry, both modeled and shot individually; a lifestyle editorial shoot for an airline magazine; a coffee shop; a super-stylized portrait of a friend/colleague; a race car driver in Tampa; an ex-football player in Tampa. Busy is good!
I'll end with a quote--paraphrased--which I heard from a guy in the airport:
"A beer at 10-o'clock in the morning is quite odd..but two beers is not."
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
"I'm In An Elevator"
The elevator fiasco concluded after about 55 minutes of heated tension between a claustrophobic friend who hates elevators, another friend who thought it was funny to jump up and down in the elevator in order to freak-out the first friend even further, and 4 additional friends who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Real names will not be used here in order to protect the guilty from tar and feathering.
As the heavy metal door to the deathbox was pried-open, a muscular man's hand slid in to push the monolith aside as our lungs filled with fresh air from the 15 1/2 floor. My first field test of the Canon 5D Mark II camera was a success, and included video, audio, and stills shot on-location in a real elevator; with real people!
Video from elevator
Real names will not be used here in order to protect the guilty from tar and feathering.
As the heavy metal door to the deathbox was pried-open, a muscular man's hand slid in to push the monolith aside as our lungs filled with fresh air from the 15 1/2 floor. My first field test of the Canon 5D Mark II camera was a success, and included video, audio, and stills shot on-location in a real elevator; with real people!
Video from elevator
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
"Nice Treatment"
More and more now I'm hearing people in the industry use the word "treatment" when describing the photographer's final piece: "I wonder what treatment or filter he used", or "I love that kind of treatment". The workflow a photographer chooses determines how the final, stylized photograph will render.
Phase One's Capture One Pro for instance, processes RAW images completely differently than the way Adobe products process them. In addition, the process through which images are retouched or stylized, be it from (what I like to call) scratch, where one uses only native Photoshop adjustment layers and filters to achieve a stylized effect, or with the help of 3rd-party plugins such as Kevin Kubota's toolkit, the modern-day photographer appears to be slacking on scrutiny: doing less and less in production, and relying on the magic of digital imaging software. So does that mean that retouchers should get paid more, and or at least get credited? Do Photoshop skills alleviate the need to be a "great" photographer? Do they eliminate the need for superior lighting?
Phase One's Capture One Pro for instance, processes RAW images completely differently than the way Adobe products process them. In addition, the process through which images are retouched or stylized, be it from (what I like to call) scratch, where one uses only native Photoshop adjustment layers and filters to achieve a stylized effect, or with the help of 3rd-party plugins such as Kevin Kubota's toolkit, the modern-day photographer appears to be slacking on scrutiny: doing less and less in production, and relying on the magic of digital imaging software. So does that mean that retouchers should get paid more, and or at least get credited? Do Photoshop skills alleviate the need to be a "great" photographer? Do they eliminate the need for superior lighting?
My New Pet
So I now have a pet crow whom I've named "Edgar". And although he typically sources his own food, mostly worms and tsetse flies, the occasional slice of bread flies from my second-story window and into his world. And yes, I'm well aware that the "raven" was associated with Mr. Poe, not the crow. But upon his startling caw at my clumsy cornerturn into his wooded cranny nook one day last week, my mind flashed first to Hitchcock, secondly to "The Raven", finally to his current name, "Edgar".
It's dusk. Edgar perches ten feet above my squeaky brass-handled window on a rusty metal roof beam, searching for movement on the ground of my "secret garden" below, glancing sporadically to see what I'm doing inside my studio. Although it lacks in botanical variety, the overgrown land is blanketed by twining vines of Creeping Charlie, whose shiny coat reflects the dark-blue sky and millions of unnamed stars. And when it rains, the ivy leaves hold the weight of the fresh water, creating bird baths and water cups.
It's dusk. Edgar perches ten feet above my squeaky brass-handled window on a rusty metal roof beam, searching for movement on the ground of my "secret garden" below, glancing sporadically to see what I'm doing inside my studio. Although it lacks in botanical variety, the overgrown land is blanketed by twining vines of Creeping Charlie, whose shiny coat reflects the dark-blue sky and millions of unnamed stars. And when it rains, the ivy leaves hold the weight of the fresh water, creating bird baths and water cups.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Industry Night Columbia College Chicago
An amazing turnout at Columbia College in Chicago tonight for Industry Night: an evening showcasing graduating students' portfolios. And everyone was invited!
"I had no idea it was going to be as big as it was; I was quite impressed!" said Chicago photographer Adam Daniels. "Great job @ccjuhlin and team for putting it on!"
I had noticed that several members, photographers and assistants, from the Chicago/Midwest chapter of ASMP-American Society of Media Photographers (@chimwasmp) were on the 5th floor at Columbia: to support the very talented photography students; to explain the benefits of being part of a growing team of photographers whom are ASMP; and to search for bright new photo assistants to mentor, and/or hire!
Here are some business cards--shot with a Profoto 300w/s Compact with barn doors (to prevent spill & fill from my white walls--I collected throughout the evening of some very talented individuals. If yours isn't in here, my apologies for having not picked it up, or for loosing it when going for cash in my pockets for the red-line ticket home.
Keep up-to-date with industry nights at @industrynight on Twitter! And as always, @chimwasmp for your local Chicago/Midwest ASMP Chapter!
Sincerely,
Adam Daniels Studios
adamdaniels.com
"I had no idea it was going to be as big as it was; I was quite impressed!" said Chicago photographer Adam Daniels. "Great job @ccjuhlin and team for putting it on!"
I had noticed that several members, photographers and assistants, from the Chicago/Midwest chapter of ASMP-American Society of Media Photographers (@chimwasmp) were on the 5th floor at Columbia: to support the very talented photography students; to explain the benefits of being part of a growing team of photographers whom are ASMP; and to search for bright new photo assistants to mentor, and/or hire!
Here are some business cards--shot with a Profoto 300w/s Compact with barn doors (to prevent spill & fill from my white walls--I collected throughout the evening of some very talented individuals. If yours isn't in here, my apologies for having not picked it up, or for loosing it when going for cash in my pockets for the red-line ticket home.
Keep up-to-date with industry nights at @industrynight on Twitter! And as always, @chimwasmp for your local Chicago/Midwest ASMP Chapter!
Sincerely,
Adam Daniels Studios
adamdaniels.com
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
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