Model photography in the Northland

Today I took some time to take pictures with Chelsea, who is an awesome model. We went to this place I like close to the airport. It has an eerie thing that I can't describe, but I love. it was cold so we worked pretty fast. this time I didn't bring an assistant, and Now I remember why I don't like not having one: it's so slow to work without one. Anyway, Chelsea had a very nice wardrobe and we did a couple different sets in the same area. More to come.
These pictures are the first of a series I'm starting and that I had on my mind for quite a bit: The Roadside fashion series has the purpose to show how great fashion images can be shot practically without resources, no studio, no expensive equipment, all within 20 yards from a road, street or highway. these were shot at about 5 yards from a very busy street, at rush hour.

Jason and Mindy

This wedding was very special for me, because Jason is a good friend of mine. I had the honor of been part of his wedding. And it was so much fun! So not so many words this time, but best wishes for Mr. and Mrs. Lott.

Misty and Randy's Wedding

Well, It was a long day, drove all the way to Wichita to photograph Misty and Randy's wedding, but boy, I gotta say it was totally awesome. These guys are so cool, and Michelle and I had a ball. We knew the weather was going to be against us, and it sure was. Hot, humid, sunny. A photographer's nightmare. Things got a tad hectic, but we managed to improvise and I think it worked really well.

As a side note, it's always prudent to steer away from other photographers working in the same area (and their brides). They seem to get pretty territorial :)

On this one, we just got silly, and will include it as a bonus track (for Randy) in the album.

And it was easy to get too. You tell a bride to get a sexy look and she knows exactly what to do. I think it's genetics.

The couple was staying at the Marriott downtown Wichita. The hotel's management was kind enough to let us wander and use their facilities for some really nice pictures, like this.

It was interesting to me how for the pictures I liked the most, we used a very simple set up, no flash, and one lens only. Natural light is the best.

You can tell how much Misty likes to dance on this one. Randy was really having a good time taking pictures of his bride.

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Amanda and Drew's Wedding

Congratulations to Amanda and Drew Koester! I had the honor to photograph their Wedding at Town Pavilion last Saturday, June 20th and did I have a ball! Of course it's going to take some time for me to post the pictures, but I couldn't wait to show something at least.

They were amazing, and we got a whole lot of very fun pictures. I knew they were fun before, as I took their engagement pictures before, which I use in my galleries.

I got many comments about a little incident that happened during the ceremony, and I missed as I was taking pictures in the other way (Sorry guys!) , However, after consulting with my lovely assistant (Michelle), I found out that SHE did get this moment. So... by popular demand, here's the glorious moment, for posterity.

To give an idea of how much fun these guys like to have, check the next picture. And that was actually the censored one. (No worries guys, I won't post the ones of the "Superbad" movie)

So, after a long but very fun day, I'll be working on more images in the next few days. Check back often to see the couple doing their groceries, Drew's love for vegetables and the couple's brand choice of wine...

I'll give a free 8x10 print to anybody who guesses the wine brand...(except Amanda or Drew)

Back to my website:

http://www.earthue.com/

2009 Lenexa art festival

***UPDATE**** Just wanted to share with everybody, I did receive the honor of the first place in the 2009 Latino Art Bravisimo art contest. Of course, it wasn't the picture I thought had the best chance, but nevertheless, I'm so happy. This year's contest seemed to had better attendance, and the food was great! Thank you to the City of Lenexa and to El Centro, for making this possible. Now, here's the proof!




Getting ready for this year's Bravisimo Art Festival. Last year, I shared the first price with a very talented painter. My ghost town series was at display at the Lenexa town hall. This year, I wanted to do something more experimental.

I chose a mix of techniques. multiple exposure and light painting.
I wanted to do something at a bigger scale too, in a wooded setting. so after scouting for places, I settled for Shawnee mission park. A little side note, when going to the woods, make sure you have your bug spray at hand.


This is how it looked like to begin with:













Then, I went around the place, taking the same picture with a light source, around 30 times. the trick is to put them together. the final image is a mix of all of them, a "multiple exposure" of sorts. This is what a photographer does in the woods.













I'll post the image after I deliver it to the contest. I hope the judges like it!




Ok, these are the photographs entered into the contest.


Tho make this one, I took about 36 photographs, placing the lights at different places each time, and then put them all together into one single image. This is called a multiple exposure.
Takes lots of time and patience. in this particular case, bug repellent too. So the light in the picture comes from just two hand held flashes and available light.




This one is a cemetery in Chiapas, Mexico. what makes it special, is that this was taken with an Infra red modified camera. This is, what you see in the image is not visible light. was infra red radiation, (invisible to the eye). then, with software, that wavelenght is reapplied into the visible spectrum. this makes green foliage look white, and a very contrasty sky. Notice the little girl at the edge of the road on the left side.








This one, of course. Onions. lots of them. looks different because was lit by a headlamp, through a fifteen second exposure.
So that's it. Hope I have luck this year too!







Back to my website:

http://www.earthue.com/

Model photoshoot at the West bottoms

This is what photographers do when they are bored. They hang out with other photographers, and shoot models, if they show up. This is a clip of today's photo shoot at the West bottoms in KC.
Check out how there's groups, each one getting ready for a shoot, in different settings.

Here are some of the images of the session.

Yes, it was a pain to get that chair inflated, and yes, most other photographers thought I was crazy, hauling my box of props. Somebody even asked me where I left my sink! Nonetheless, I think adding an out-of-the-norm element to this setting worked really well.
Some models are just naturals. They understand the language of a photographer.
Of course, I had to try something for my next wedding!

As I was getting this picture set up, I couldn't help it but think of a good explanation in case the police showed up.

That's it. The West Bottoms is such a cool place to explore later, with more time. I'll be going back soon, to try other ideas. Thanks to my fellow photographers.

Back to my website: http://www.earthue.com/

Randy and Misty's engagement pictures

Randy and Misty picked a very cool place for their pictures. They like the urban setting, so we went to Wichita's riverfront area and close to the museum. After three hours driving, we were quite tired, but we got energized when we saw the place. It was awesome. the weather was super nice too, but we didn't have much light to work, so we got down to business.

After a couple pictures by the river, we decided to move to the colorful club area.


As always, Randy and Misty were such troopers, and put up with all my ideas. Of course, I wanted to try all the cool spots around!
Randy and Misty's wedding is on July 11. and we plan to use the great scenery to take beautiful images.
You can see more pictures at www.earthue.com