All-in

I couldn't be happier, what a great way to end the year on such a good note.  I had a wonderful photoshooot with Tony Burrus and Tinesha Matthews as my stylist.  Tony has big plans coming up, it's wonderful to meet people with great drive and passion in what they do, it only inspires me more to bring that out in their pictures.  I Look forward to working with this gentleman more.
This is just one of the many great shots that we took, I used my Lensbaby Composer Pro to give this a more artistic look.

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Day 72/365

Food for Thought

My fiance Ashley helped me with some of my photography tonight.  Her job on the set was food stylist.  What an excellent job she did, she's always game for my photography adventures.  I was watching some videos last night about food photography so I decided to try it out with dinner today.  We made chili covered in tater tots and cheese....MIGHTY HEALTHY....sometimes you have to splurge, you are only here for a short while anyway. 
For the set up it was pretty simple, one light source, a soft box umbrella with a canon flash.  I also used two reflectors to add some fill light to the dark shadows of the chili.  It's really intricate work and it's nice to be able to set up how you want the food to look.  I meant to take a picture of my set up but I forgot and didn't remember until I had broken everything down.  I want to add a picture of how I set up my stuff from now on and maybe it will help the six people reading this blog.  I did a horrible job of doing a rendition of the set up in Illustrator but you will get the point.

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  Day 71/365

Up in Smoke

Just trying some different things, I was looking through some content online and came across some smoke pictures and decided to give it a shot.  I used just one flash and a black poster board for the background.  The goal was to have it as dark in the room as possible.  I used two incense sticks for the smoke.  Basically I just set my camera in front of the smoke, a flash to the right of the camera, and a black background.  This is the result, basically you just keep firing until you get a good result. 
I took the image into photoshop and inverted the image, so now the background was white.  I then played with the color and this is the result. 

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Day 70/365

Let's go Diving

I was playing around again with the water in a tank and wanted to use one of my lego pieces.  I dropped this poor guy in the tank at least 40 times.  I set up the focus in the area where the lego man will be dropped but it is still hard to get maximum sharpness. 

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Day 69/365

Inspiration

I get a lot of my inspiration from reading books, watching movies, and paying attention to the world around me.

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Day 68/365

Always an Upside

We all die.  The goal isn't to live forever, it's to create something that will.

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Day 67/365

Vanity

Beauty is but a flower, which wrinkles will devour.

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Day 66/365

Practice, Practice, Practice

Finished up most of my work from these last couple of shoots so I had some time to play around with something I have been wanting to try for awhile now.  For the set-up of this shot I used a strip box with an alienbee strobe above a plastic container that held the water.  I also used two canon flashes, one to the right of the camera and one to the left of the camera with grid spots on each.  I also went to the store and bought some black poster board to use as a background.  I had the strip box above set to 1/2 power and each of the two flashes set to 1/16 power.  My camera settings were f/11(for  overall sharpness) and 1/200(to freeze the action) at ISO 100.  It took me about 50 takes to get this shot, and I'm still not completely satisfied with it.  I dropped everything from marbles to lego men in that water.  I will come with some better images another day, it was fun trying though.

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Day 65/365

Shadows of the Past

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

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Day 64/365

Bath Time

I've been away all weekend for a friend's birthday and then a christmas party.  Great to see old friends and family, I love this time of year. 

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Day 63/365

A Basic Necessity

I was washing my hands and then I started thinking about how thankful I am that I have clean water.  How I have a place to call home.  A telephone to call someone.  A car to get me from place to place.  Food in my refrigerator  Some people have none of these things.  Some people don't know where there next meal is coming from.  Where they are going to lay their head at night.  Where will they wash their hands.  Sometimes we forget about the small things, like water, which are big things for other people who lack it.

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I just had a meeting yesterday with the organizer of Speak Up magazine Matt Shaw, and we are going to collaborate and come out with some work that will definitely make you laugh, cry and hopefully gain a little knowledge about the homeless situation going on here in Charlotte.  You can also check out their website to get more information about them and their cause.  I will let you know next Thursday as the first edition of this piece is going to be ready.

Be Thankful

Day 62/365

Revolt 2: The Unwrapped Edition

Last night I went out and took some photos for the lovely ladies at Revolution EGO They put on an awesome hair show as well as a great fashion show, with great styling by Duppandswat  I also picked up some great artwork from the lovely and always huggable Carlleena Person  You definitely don't want to miss the next Revolt: free food, free entertainment and free to be yourself.  More pics to come shortly, sooner than later, but not too soon, like an in the middle between not right now and later on.

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Day 61/365

Mmmmmm.....cat poop

For the same reason we don't eat cat poop, our dog shouldn't either.  One, it's cat poop.  Two, you will get hives all over your body and even on your butt, which will itch, and in turn, make you drag it on the carpet everywhere.  Three, it will swell up your face and throat and make you look like a turkey.  Four, it's cat poop.

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Day 60/365

The Black Rose

I haven't had much time to do much of anything besides edit photos, so here is something that I shot over the weekend.  There is something about a rose that is on the verge of dying, with it's petals so delicate and withering away, that is so beautiful.  The death of beauty as we know it. 

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Day 59/365

The Mask We Wear

Reveal your true self and only then will your soul start to shine.

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Day 58/365

Carrigan Farms

My fiance, my future mother-in-law and I went to go look at the venue where we will be holding our wedding.  What a beautiful place Carrigan Farms is.  We sat down and chatted with the owner of the place and everything seems to be falling into place quite well.  We got something in store for y'all, just wait.

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Day 57/365

Still life

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One light.  One life.  One dream.  One love.  One heart.  One soul.


Day 56/365

Sleeping with my eye's open

If you can't see the dream in your head, you will never know how to get there.  Dreams are made through hard work and dedication. 

I decided to take a little drive after work and look for some inspiration.  I came across this scene not too far from the house.  It's a combination of three images bracketed at 0, +1 and -1 exposure value and combined into an HDR(high dynamic range) image. I looked up the company Dover's Super Market but I couldn't find anything about them.

Day 55/365

The Hand-Me-Down

This camera was my dads, given to me by my brother for me to use, it is the Canon A-1.  I have only used it on a couple of occasions and one of the times, I messed up and opened the back part up before the film was all the way rewound and it ruined my whole roll.  There are two lenses that I received with the camera, a 75mm-300mm f/3.5-f/5.6 telephoto zoom lens and a 50mm f/1.2.  The 50mm is pretty much what I use with this camera and it is a super fast lens, I'm sure this one cost a pretty penny back in the day.  The Canon A-1 was introduced to the world in 1978, right before I was born.  It was the first camera in history to have an electroinically controlled exposure mode which a lot of traditionalists were mad at because they said that the camera too much "automation" and it ruined the art of photography.  I never got the chance to ask my dad about his camera and what exactly he used it for.  I don't remember any photographs hanging on our walls but I do have a lot of pictures from my childhood but I'm not sure with what camera they were taken with.  I always wonder if I got my love of photography from him, maybe it runs in the family.  Maybe he just bought it because it was the new thing to have (which he was known to do.)  I'd like to think it was because he had the intention to change the world with it, just like me.

For this picture, I used one strobe and one canon flash.  For the main light I used my strobe with a 7" reflector on it with a grid spot, camera left, at about a 45 degree angle pointed down.  The grid spot helps to diffuse and direct the light in a more concentrated area.  I wanted the camera to stand out and make it the focal point by using the two lights.  The second light was a Canon 580ex flash positioned camera right, behind the Canon A-1, with a grid spot on it also.  The only thing I wish I did differently was to add a white reflector to the right of the camera to open up the shadows a little bit. 

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Day 54/365

It's all in the eys

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

Pablo Picasso

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Day 53/365

On a mission....

to be the best I can be, whatever that is.  The best fiance, son, brother, friend, photographer, artist, blogger, etc.... 

For this picture I used a softbox directly behind me and shot it into the camera, which in turn, made the background completely white.  I then had a strip light in front of me to light the front.  When shooting into light like this you have to be careful and keep your f/stop pretty high, mine was set at f/11, to keep the edges nice and sharp. 

day 52/365

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Hot sauce and fire

Boy I love me some hot sauce, I think it adds flavor to every meal.  I love all kinds of hot sauce, from mild to burn your face off hot sauce.  One christmas my sister and niece got me a bottle of hot sauce and it was called "colon cleanser", I loved it, I used the whole bottle.  My face gets sweaty just thinking about hot sauce, I can feel it getting all warm.  Just thought I'd share that with you, now you know something that you might not have about me.  Anyone else care to share something personal about them....hmmmm?

My nephew came over and we had fun playing with some strobes and flashes.  The shot of me with the hot sauce we used a total of 5 all together.  One main light beauty dish camera right up high and about 45 degrees to the subject.  The second light was a strobe with a grid spot on it to the left of the subject to light up the back of the hat.  Light number three, a flash was used to light up the hot sauce bottle from the back and was located to the back, right of the subject with a grid spot pointed in the direction of the bottle.  Light number four was also a flash which was left, and behind the subject to add a little rim light and to light up more of the hat also with a grid spot.  The fifth light was positioned on the floor pointing up to skim across the background to light it up a little bit.

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For my nephew's shot, we used a three light set up and a silver reflector.  Two lights were on both sides of him about a foot away.  The third light was blasted towards the back of his head for the rim light.  I wanted this shot to play with a little more shadows.  Apparently he likes lighters, he doesn't smoke, but decided he would like to play with them.  That is something about him you might not have known....care to share something personal yet?

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Day 51/365

I'm Baaaaaack!!!!!!

Sorry for the 3 people who keep up with my blog, I've been battling the flu for the last week.  As you can tell from the picture I have been on plenty of meds.  I must say one thing about the medicine, my dreams were very vivid and slightly scary, not sure if it was the Nyquil but I'm thinking it was.  I haven't had the urge to do much of anything photographically, just been working on my website and trying to get that together. 

This photograph right here I used a classic rendition of Rembrandt style lighting.  You can tell because there is a triangle highlight under my right eye which is an example of this specific technique.  One side of the face is lit well from the main light while the other side of the face interacts with the shadows and highlights to create this geometric shape on the face.  I used another light from the back of me to seperate myself from the black background and give a highlight on my right shoulder.  They say this style is good for people with round faces because the shadows add dimension and slims the face, but that's truly subjective.

Day 50/365

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In case y'all don't know him, get to....

Introducing my man Eric Hill, a super stand-up guy.  He is someone who is always willing to give his time and efforts into causes for the greater good of mankind.  While our relationship is still in its infancy, I see big things happening between us, lots of growing and learning.

Here is a shot from our little shoot today.

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Day 49/365

This is about the only thing....

....that gets between my and my baby.

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Day 48/365

Solitude

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"There is more to life than increasing it's speed."  Gandhi

Day 47/465

The battle of the ugly sweaters goes to....

I would like to say that all three of us had a blast doing this, but I would be lying.  They were skeptical at first, asking me too many questions like "Daddy, why I got this ugly sweater on daddy?"  "Daddy, why come I have to sit on this stool?"  I told them to keep their traps shut and just obey my commands. 

Before I started though, as you should with all of your models, I made sure they had enough water in their bowls.  Nothing worse than model with a dry mouth, slobber hanging everywhere, it's just not a good look.  I placed them both on my posing tool and began by giving them some simple instructions.  "Eddie, chin up just a tad,"  "Frank Frank, your back foot is too far back, bring it forward a couple of inches."  They were having nothing to do with it, they were planning their escape from the beginning.  I kept it short and sweet, I popped off about 8 shots and then let them recover from their traumatic experience.  Life is tough when you're a dog.

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Day 46/365

Redefined

You don't have a soul.  You are a soul.  You have a body.

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Day 45/465

ALONE

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ALONE

Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don't believe I'm wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

There are some millionaires
With money they can't use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They've got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Now if you listen closely
I'll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
'Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

MAYA ANGELOU

Day 44/365

A little action....

....to end my afternoon of work.  I was pulling off of hwy 49 in Concord onto 601 and was about five minutes from the house.  I was stopped at a light and all of a sudden, two fire trucks came screaming by heading down the ramp back onto 49.  So, being my adventurous self, I took chase.  I could see as I was heading down the highway ramp, about two miles out, thick clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky.  As I pulled up onto the scene a couple of firefighters were already on the scene.  Most of them must have just gotten there because they were still trying to get the hoses connected to a fire hydrant.  The fire was intense, I could feel it all the way across the 4 lanes of road and a median.  The building looked like a mechanic shop, but you really couldn't tell from all of the smoke. 

I don't bring my camera with me too often and today just happened to be one of those days I did.  I wish I had brought my telephoto lens because all I had was my 50mm prime and I was pretty far away.  Better than nothing though.  The fire pretty much ate up the whole left side of the building, there wasn't much the firefighters could do to save it.  It took them about 30 minutes or so to finally get the blaze under control.

Here are some pictures of the event.

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Day 43/365

Can't stop me

I understand that your property is your property, but when it's a vacant cornfield in damn near winter, I say all is game.  I was merely 20ft on this person's field when he was coming home from work and I guess he didn't like it, even though he has about 20 acres of grassland.  He pulled over his truck and asked if I needed any help....not unless you want to hold my other camera for me, or walk around the other side of that hill to see if there is a better perspective of the sun setting.  I mean come on, I'm taking pictures, not shooting animals, or slaughtering cows or out here destroying property, I'm documenting the world for when your kids get older they have something to remember about our country.  Seriously.  So what do I do....grab my telephoto lens and shoot from the road, problem solved.

This shot was taken a little after sunset where there was just a little light left in the sky.  I put the camera on Bulb mode and set my intervalometer to 1min and 15sec.  You can see as the clouds leave their traces in the sky from such a long exposure.

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Day 42/365

They say it's good luck....

....to get pooped on from a bird, well I wonder if I should play the lottery since it happened to me from a flock of geese.  I was taking pictures at this lake that I frequent and all of a sudden, I felt drops which I thought was rain, WRONG.  When I wiped my face, to my surprise, the back of my hand was a greenish brown, YUCK.  I looked up and saw a flock of geese flying by, one looked down at me and flicked me off, NICE. 

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This shot is a 20 sec exposure at f/22 to get maximum depth of field.  Day 41/365

Rich thoughts

It is usually a surprise to discover that most ugliness we see in other people is a direct relflection of our own nature.

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Day 40/365

Seeing the world with a new pair of eyes

My little friend Harrison, who is 2 years old, received some new eyes this week.  You would think that a kid his age would just keep taking off the glasses and throw them around but never once did I see him fiddle with them, only to adjust.  Here is a shot we took today, as I was photographing the Buckner family, of him having some fun in the fall leaves.

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Day 39/365

HDR plus long exposure

I was working on my long exposure at a stream.  I wanted to make sure that I captured all of the tonal range so I bracketed my exposure at 0, -1, and +1.  I then took my exposures into an HDR plug-in for some minor adjustments and then brought it into photoshop for some sharpening and the black and white effect. 

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Day 38/365

Master Your Craft

Whether your passion is painting, poetry, music, modeling, washing clothes, serving people, cleaning toilets, photography....do it to the best of your ability and practice, practice, practice.  Take every chance you get to improve your abilities.  Never take any job for granted.  Become the best "you".  Follow your own path.  Study the "greats".  Study books.  Study people.

I learned something about myself in this picture, shadows do not work well on my nose, they make my nose look a hundred times bigger than it is.  That is something that you have to take into account when you are photographing people.  Not everyone looks good in the same light.

Technical Info:

Lens:  50mm 1.4 set at f/8 for 1/125sec.

Lighting:  Beauty dish overhead, with a silver reflector in front to add just a little bit of fill light.  2 canon flashes, opposite of each other, pointed to the back/side of my face at a 45 degree angle.  You can see where the brighter highlights are on the sides of the face from them.  1 strobe pointed at background to make the spotlight behind my head.

Details:  I wanted this portrait to be a little dramatic with lots of shadows.  I was pretending I was a soul musician as I got into character.

Day 37/365

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Creatadome

Today Ashley and I  received our Creatadome from Moyeh.  If you haven't gotten one of these hand crafted pieces, please head over to her facebook page and inquire about them, they are warm, cozy and one-of-a-kind.  Moye is an inspiration to my art and I look up to her body of work.  Please check out her website http://profileartistmoye.com/ and you will see what I am talking about.

For this shot I used a three light set up.  For the main light I used a really big softbox camera right and the power was set to 1/2 power.  For the hair light, I used a strip box and the power was set to 1/4 power.  This is typical for these type of shots, usually you do a 1:2 ratio on the power between the main light and hair light.  All factors can be changed, this is just a starting point and it really depends how far your light is away from your subject and what-not.  For the spot light behind my head, I used a off camera flash with a grid over it and pointed it at the wall behind me. 

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For this shot of Ashley, we stepped outside and used some sunlight for some beautiful hair light.  I also used a canon 580ex flash on camera to add some fill light to her face.  My settings on camera were f/4.5 at 1/200 and iso 200 and the flash setting were set at 1/16 power set to manual.

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Day 36/365

To the Mountains

I went to the mountains this weekend with my fiance Ashley for our friend Christine's birthday.  The campsite that we stayed at was near Asheville.  There were about 15 other people who came to celebrate and about 7 dogs....AT LEAST.  Once the sun dipped below the mountain top, it got chilly really quick, thank god for adult beverages to keep you warm.  All I have to say is, say NO to Sailor Jerry.

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Sorry I missed saturday's post because I had no internet access up in those hills.  Day 35/365

"Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome."

I found out today an old friend passed away.  I learned from facebook of all things when I was sent an invite to her viewing.  I wish I didn't live so far away so that I could go and pay my respects.  It saddened me to know that she left three children behind, one who was just 6 days old and also a husband.  I still remember her generous smile, the picture is stuck in my head.  We all die, I understand that, but......

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Day 34/365 RIP Kate Jones Belcher

I love the winning, I can take the losing, but most of all I Love to play.

Well the first season is over for my friend, head coach at CHMS, Oneill Palmer.  I'm sure he has walked away with a ton of respect now for what it takes to be a football coach.  I'm sure he has learned a hundred lessons along the way also.

This game was tough to watch, I felt it from the beginning that there was a storm-a-brewin', and I'm not talking about the dark clouds that came rolling through.  The game started off well, with an onside kick recovery and a touchdown to follow, but that was about it for the highlights.  It seemed as though the defense could not stop the run at all, and the other team was just running right over them.  A bunch of mishandled snaps, some dumb penalties, and some costly turnovers cost the Cavaliers the game.  Not to mention the refs didn't help at all, with at least 5 missed penalties, and trouble spotting the ball where there should have been numerous first downs, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.  You lose some, you win some, but live to play another day.
 
Overall it was a good season, plenty to build on for the next one.  This picture is from the only score of the game for the Cavaliers.

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Day 33/365

REVOLT

I went and shot an event tonight for some of my friends Kelley Carboni-Woods, Tinesha Matthews, and Jessica Stanton.  They are owners of a natural hair salon called Revolution EGO.  The event went great, it started off with two different spoken word poets and ended with a hair, and fashion show.  There were two other visual artists there showcasing their work Carlleena Person and Chdwck, both dope ass artists. 

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Day 32/365