Stepping Back - V

I saved my favorite for last. The fall colors, the sky, the road and the early 1900s house with peeling paint all came together on this one.

Stepping Back - IV

Stepping Back - III

So this one might be in between, but it is farther back than say, the chipping paint on the rotting wood I would have shot otherwise.

Stepping Back - II

Stepping Back - I

Generally I shoot rather tight. Little to no wasted space and up close and personal. Knowing this, I'm challenging myself to go wide when the situation presents itself. So today, tomorrow and for the next handful of posts I have a series of photos that take a step back and scope out the whole scene.

Yogurt

Very rarely do I crop photos into squares but sometimes it just feels right. I like where the shadow of the bowl fell and how the bottom right of the photo is a pure white that eventually darkens to reveal the photo's edge. It's lit with a single light with an umbrella on it - nothing fancy. This was one of the first few food shoots of mine at the magazine. So what did I learn? Ya gotta work fast with ice cream. Really fast, especially in the middle of summer.

Dougherty Ferry Car Fire

 

 

First and foremost no one was hurt. The fire took place at the intersection of Dougherty Ferry and Carmen Rd. in Ballwin during evening rush hour on Tuesday, September 14. Traffic was stopped in both directions until members of the West County Fire Department were able to control the flames. The driver, Jay (first name given only), said he smelt oil, heard a bang and then quickly pulled off the road as flames emerged from the front of the car.

Leather

Too bad the USB scratch and sniff device hasn't been invented, yet. This chair wasn't the subject of any assignment, it just happened to be there right by the subject. This serves as a self-reminder not to get caught up in the assignment to the point I miss making a (totally unrelated) photograph.

There is nothing significant about the chair. The lines of the plastic, the texture of the leather and the stitching combine with the light (and lack of light) for a simplistic image. Lack of light - I might explore this phrase further.

Food + Photography = Foodography

Food photography is a pretty big part of the job. The magazine keeps readers in the know about new, unique or just plain tasty dishes and drinks around town. Naturally, photos are needed to visualize what the writers so eloquently describe.

I photograph the food on location at the restaurants. Transporting the food back to the magazine's photo studio just wouldn't work. If we did transport, dishes just wouldn't look the same as they would when they are delivered to your table. So, I take the studio to the food.

Have you seen the Domino's advertising campaign about photographing their pizza's right out of the box? They bash on food styling techniques showing pizza's with screws going through them and whatnot. Food styling is an actual job in and of itself that takes some painstaking steps to make food look fantastic, but I digress. While the commercial annoys me on several levels, that "out of the box" style food photography is what I do.

The chefs serve me a fully edible plate just as they would serve it to you. Ok, maybe there's a little more attention to detail, but hey it's going in a magazine. You would clean up your house before guests come over, right? Same thing, just with food.

Before the food is in front of me though, I've got a general idea of what my first few shots might be and have my lighting set up. I write that casually, but the light is what makes the photograph and takes time and careful consideration for appropriate results. With the right light and some compositional creativity, you get a picture:

If you are curious, the above mountain of fried oyster goodness was reviewed on STL Mag's food blog, Relish. There is another photo there too. Until next time, eat well friends.

Gateway

As most if not all of my family and friends know by now, I landed a full time job that started at the beginning of June. As some may have noticed a slowing in blog posts, that would be the reason why. The job/gig/adventure has the title of staff photographer at St. Louis Magazine. The joy/thrill/euphoria of landing the position still grabs ahold of me, shakes and then pushes me out of a chair, letting me know I'm not in an Inception-like, lucid dream.

So now, I bring you (more) photos. I don't plan on posting things that will be seen in print. That's what the print version is for (and I guess the mag's website). However, there are far more photos made than what's in print. I find many of those photos fun to look over, and so I will share them with you. My hopes are that maybe, just maybe it will be fun for you too. Cheers!

Bird watching

I've always been intrigued by hummingbirds. Their ability to hover in the air in addition to their incredible acceleration is, simply put, just cool. This was my first time time photographing birds, let alone hummingbirds. I think I'll try again, perhaps with some different techniques and see what happens.

Neglected

Sunken Treasure

And very tasty treasure at that.

Shots from the studio

Walking through Pinnacles Youth Park

Which one of these is not like the other?

Think that frog is hard to see in the picture? Try finding it within all the brush along the banks of the creek.

Note: cowboy boots do not make for good hiking boots.

Baseball, Beisbol

Call me strange, but after some moderate to heavy usage I think a baseball develops its own sort of character. Maybe this is the baseball fan inside me speaking, but I love getting up close and personal to reveal the details, be it torn threads, scars, or dirt embedded deeply into the surface.

Shooting the Moon

Mandatory springtime flower photos

Because what's a photo blog in the Spring without a few flower photos?

Nationalism orchestra rehearsal

I've been working for Maestro Alex Innecco (of Carpe Diem) this week. He and the 9th Street Philharmonic Orchestra will have a concert at the Missouri United Methodist Church this Saturday. For more info, check out the calendar page.