Honestly, I thought I would never work with Karah Leigh Cannon. I first saw her in an image published by my friend and photographer Lana Wilson. I was astonished and immediately reached out. A blond bombshell with a fantastic look that could stand in for any Marilyn Monroe piece. At the time, I had zero professional work and I was still in my infancy as a photographer, Karah never corresponded. I finally had the chance to meet her at a Derby Fashion show, it was a quick discussion and we spoke about working together, but nothing came to fruition. It wasn't until Micah and I started the beauty book sessions that we really wanted to pursue Karah as a model and it just so happened that Karah stumbled into Lana’s studio one day while I was assisting on a shoot for Nfocus Magazine. I quickly took advantage of the impromptu rendezvous and discussed our plans for the beauty book. Karah was on board and agreed to shoot, after we wrapped I left with a sense of pride and clapped my hands on the way out. I’m not sure why I was so excited, but perhaps it was some form of pseudo goal to work with Karah and I would soon be accomplishing that.
A month passed and we were finally in the position to schedule a shoot with Karah. At first our ideas were all over the map, but when the time came we had honed our ideas into a solid style and lighting. It would be a extreme modern take on a vintage time line.
The evening before the shoot was spent cleaning my studio and setting up what would be our first set, a true photography challenge. I wanted dramatic flash lighting but also some extreme bokeh which resembled city lights. I bought 150 red Christmas lights and strewn them across a dark cloth background the positioned one Alien Bee about 15 feet away from the backdrop, with enough room to shoot Karah from a long focal length. I still had to bring in the ambient light from the Christmas lights, so I turned my Alien Bee to its lowest setting, opened my aperture to f/4, positioned my test subject a.k.a roommate and took the shot. The results were just OK. I made a few adjustments and saw my “test subject” getting frustrated, so I gave up and decided to test it on the fly in the morning, which is exactly what I did.
We started at 10am on a Thursday morning and dove right into hair and makeup. Karah being a makeup artist herself got along fine with Micah and the two connected on many topics. I took advantage of the time researching light setups and balancing ambient light. I probably switched modifiers maybe 4 times before settling on one strip box set on a overhead boom with a grid. This would be my first attempt.
Micah wrapped up the first look and I was excited to get started. The first look was a “preparatory” stage in which Karah looked as if she was prepping for a evening out, the looks would progress into ultimate beauty. We positioned her in front of the strip box and I asked Micah to hold a silver reflector for bounce. The first attempt was an absolute failure. I wasn't happy. I switched modifiers to a beauty dish. Second attempt, failure. I just couldn’t nail that dramatic look and light with the ambient bokeh in the background. At that point I explained to Karah, that it was purely experimentation, but was confident we could lock it in. Finally, I attached 37" Octobox with a grid and popped off a few shots, way better. The light was full, but gave a sort of mysterious spotlight to Karah’s face. Nevertheless, slightly frustrated, I sent Karah into the second look.
I didn’t browse through those shots, I didn’t want to face the fact that I may have blown that set. Moving on, I broke down the dark background and pulled the Christmas lights to expose a seamless white background. Shockingly enough, this would be my first time shooting on white ever! I had always used fashion gray or some other color, so white was a new venture.
Karah came out of the second look stunning. Glamorous and powerful. She stepped onto the seamless under a 3 light, clam-shell setup. Karah’s expressions were downright flawless, her attitude cast a captivating, foxy beauty, she knew her looks and what her face could ultimately do. 50 frames later, I was upbeat and convinced we had scored the shot.
The next set would be a challenge, I would be shooting a red vinyl backdrop that emitted strange reflections from indentations. So to avoid those reflections being too apparent and distracting, I setup three lights, one on the backdrop and two beauty dishes in the same clam-shell setup about 10 feet out. Within 15 minutes, Karah was ready and I had only started testing. Needless to say, that backdrop proved it was absolutely worthless, but I knew I had to make it work, as I needed that pop of a orange-red. After a few light adjustments I had the setup locked in and we fired away. I had decided to purchase a turquoise old phone as a prop and Micah had the ingenious idea of having her hold it above her head. This was it and we all I knew it.
As I pulled off the last shot, I gave a deep exhale of success and celebrated with high fives all around. 4 shoots and months later we had finally wrapped our beauty look book. I could barley contain the excitement, I had accomplished a goal and worked with models that I had been eyeing since I first started photography. A true triumph indeed.
I decided to really experiment with these shots in post. I did a few things outside of the box and really explored my inner graphic designer. With the help from Google Translate I decided on “Die Heute” as the title. German for “Then Now”, it tells the story of exactly what we wanted to express with these images.
Now, several weeks after the shoot, the response has been beyond anything I have ever posted on Facebook; a growing 439 likes and nearly 40 comments across the three images. A fantastic way to close up a amazing shoot and project. Expect a wrap up blog and video once the book comes to print.
Cinematography isn’t something I take lightly. Just like photography it requires an extreme amount of time and attention. I’ve done a lot of videos… some I’m proud of, but most I look back and think “what was I doing?”. Filmmaking is not something I necessarily want to make a career out of, but it’s something that has always come completely natural to me. As a creative infant I would shoot movies in my backyard with an 8mm camera and a bottle of ketchup, using firecrackers for explosions and pine cones for grenades.
I eventually made the grave mistake of leaving that 8mm camera outside in the rain and I never owned another good camera until 2 years ago with my first DSLR. Over the years following my creative infancy, I kept my editing chops up by cutting up various videos using stock footage or footage I had filmed with my small DVR camera, nothing serious.
When I switched on the live view of that DSLR camera 2 years ago and pressed record, I was hooked. The quality was astounding and I felt has if a whole new world had opened up. I started simple, recording videos of my dog or some nature stuff outside, then moving onto documentary style videos. My first big project with my new found appreciation for video was with Josh Eskridge and his behind the scenes documentary “Exposure”, the flood gates opened. I was being approached constantly for video work, on top of my photography. A year and a half into it; I had made a short film, several music videos and was being contracted for major commercial jobs and one of those being, Z Salon & Spa.
Z Salon had planned a big photoshoot with photographer Lana Wilson and the videographer had backed up for whatever reason. Lana referred me and I was brought into the picture a week before the first shoot. The project would be submitted to Aveda for a contest in which the winner would be featured at Aveda Congress in Minneapolis, MN in 2013. The pressure was on and Z Salon had taken a gamble with me. I needed to bring everything to the table, something both edgy and unique. There was no clear direction except they wanted a look that brought energy to the stylist’s with the aesthetic of a “high-fashion” behind the scenes.
The first official day of filming was the photoshoot with Lana Wilson. I’m not sure the ladies of Z Salon knew what they were getting into when I warned them about my steady cam shooting style… That being, “running around like a madman”. The day moved quickly and I filmed absolutely everything. 4 models, 3 looks each, 12 looks total, my head was spinning by the end. When I sat down in my car and cranked the A/C the exhaustion finally hit me, but was confident in the footage I had shot.
Filming days two and three were a breeze, but unfortunately I didn’t have as much room and space to play as I did on the first session. Nevertheless, I made the best of it and pulled off some absolute stellar shots. Soon after I was brought in to do overdubs and capture some audio for the overall flow of the video. I experimented with the setup by using an cheap wireless microphone and my good ole’ iPhone. In post, I blended the two together for a sharp and rich overall sound. I was pretty impressed and plan on using that setup more for future interviews.
After three full day sessions the filming was complete, but the fun had just started. Once I imported the footage and start cutting up sections, I hit a big wall. The music wasn't doing it for me. I had a selection from Adele and it didn’t have the energy I really wanted, so I closed up the project and put it to rest for a week.
The most difficult portion of the project was finding that right element of music. I scoured the internet and listened to dozens of royalty-free tracks. It wasn't until I was driving home from a shoot in Atlanta that Spotify stumbled on a remix of deadmau5 - Raise Your Weapon… The beat was solid and the groove was there. I played the track over and over for the remaining 4 hour drive. I was convinced this was the track.
When I returned home, I immediately dove in, head first. I had the music nailed and the rest came with ease. I put time into the color grading and effects like never before, I paid attention to details and really put in that extra step to make the video flow flawlessly, but keep the raw feel. Like a giant puzzle, it all came together with the film burn and black & white sequences. Fortunately for me, Z Salon loved it and all are confident about the contest. I absolutely love working with Lori, Denise and the Z crew. They have become a great clients and I’m looking forward to producing many more projects with them!
Nearly 50 hours of time was put into this short and every second was worth it, as this is probably the finest piece of video I’ve shot and cut together to date.
Below are the images that came from the actual photoshoot. Lana did a fabulous job capturing the aura of the styling. Click a pic to view her website.
Funny enough, this is how I spend the majority of my time outside of shooting. When people look at an image in “Vouge” or “Glamour”, most don’t realize the amount of meticulous time it takes to edit and re-touch one photograph.
I received such an enormous response on my last blog post from photographers all around, I figure I would continue the pattern with this beauty photoshoot “Le Rebelle”. Although my eventual goal is to teach workshops and break my workflow down in live tutorials, there is a first for everything.
No need to dive into details of the shoot, the images speak for themselves.
I’ll get to the point, this post won’t an overly long drawn out storyboard of the photoshoot. I’m not going to dive into details and I’m not going to share much through words. This post will contain fragmented sentences.
What this post will entail is how I got the shot… One of these images received the most response I’ve ever had on any image and I figured this would be the perfect time to show everyone just how the shot came to be. This is a post for photographers or aspiring photographers.
I had never worked with Erin O'Lash or Alidia Roorda, so I was excited. Our MUA for the day, Isidro Valencia was going to play with a palette of insane color blast and I had the full intention of stepping out of the box. We setup two seamless backdrops, one with a turquoise color and the other white. My first set was with Alidia on the turquoise backdrop. I had used the turquoise for a shoot last month with Leah Cultice, so I changed the entire fabric of the image but simply placing a splash of red on it.
After we wrapped the very beautiful Alidia Roorda, we moved onto Erin O'Lash. As soon as she stepped in front of the camera, I was floored. Her expressions and movements were spot on. I had no trouble capturing the shots I did. First, we setup in front of a frosted glass sliding door, I wanted a high key, angelic look. Within the first few shots, I had the shot nailed, but something was missing. I needed an extra catchlight, so I grabbed the disassembled the silver beauty dish and held it up right under Erin’s chest, I took the shot. The blue eye shadow and metal headband popped off the white flare and the beauty dishes gave the parallel catchlights I needed.
The last set required some work, work meaning waiting. I wanted to try and shoot with only ambient light, but a hard ambient light. So, we waited for the sun. It had to be in the perfect spot and had to but just right. The clouds were heavy that day, but once we got our window of time we took it and I fired away, scoring the shot below. The intense shadows on Erin’s face were caused by the hard lines on the door frame.
I have decided to share my “straight out of camera” shot and my edited shot to show you what I did in post…
Cropped in the image, removed any and all blemishes with the patch tool and healing brush. Used the clone tool to to remove and stray hairs or distracting background noise. Re-touched the skin, using a combination of median and high pass filtering. Brought out the eyes using the curve tool and layer masking. Brought out the highlights using the curve tool and de-saturated the entire image by 10%. Threw a film burn screen on the image and gave it some motion blur. Lastly, I added on a small violet color fill. I ended up with nearly 12 layers on this image.
Looking back, this shoot was a complete experimentation for me. I definitely made some mistakes, but learned from them. Despite the failures, I came out with some compelling images and in my opinion one of the better beauty shots I’ve ever captured.
Without some amazing photograhers I know sharing their knowledge I wouldn’t be where I am. If you have any questions regarding my lighting or post processing, feel free to comment below or shoot me an email: info@claycookphotography.com
The concept continues. My original intention wasn't to drag this concept as far as it has gone, however, with both Scooter and my schedule, its worked out better if we simply take our time on each individual shoot. With three shoots under our belt, I’m looking forward to wrapping this series up within the upcoming month. It’s been nearly 6 months to when we first started this project.
When I met Amber Nethery, I knew I wanted to do a shoot with her, I just didn’t know what. So when I came up with this idea of “Fiction” and needed alternative models, she was at the top of the list. Her and I have a great relationship and I knew it would be a lot of fun to finally work with her. Scooter and I didn’t have a solid plan going in, but by now I was used to it and just rolled with it. This would be the first “Fiction” shoot in my home studio, so I was both nervous and excited all at the same time.
For nearly 8 months I had been saving this old tube television set for the proper shoot and concept. When “Fiction” came a long, I knew I finally would have the opportunity to use it. From the beginning I had had this vision in my head of the subject smashing the TV and glass flying everywhere. However, I wasn't all that confident that I could replicate that vision to reality.
The date was set for a weekday evening, our schedules were so hectic that we only had one day within a large window to make the shoot happen. As always, Scooter and I didn’t touchbase until the day before the shoot to discuss the concept and look. We tossed a few ideas back and forth and he gave me a preview of the wardrobe. I have to admit that when I first saw the outfit, it didn’t blow me away like some of the others. Nevertheless, I knew we could make it work.
Amber came straight over from work and Scooter and Tammy arrived shortly after. After the last session with Tammy, I trusted she could pull out some quality work and Amber was up for anything. As she went into hair and makeup, I had a once over of the outfit; It was pinned in quite a few places and looked rushed, but I could see the vision there. The first look was different, a hair blowout in the back and smoked out cats eyes, I was on the fence. It wasn't until Amber slipped into the outfit, that everything clicked. It was like placing the last 4 pieces of a puzzle together, once they came together and you could finally see the completion, it was a breath of fresh air. I had to push the energy to get there but, once Amber stood in front of the backdrop, Scooter perked up and the game was on.
I thought I knew Amber fairly well. Quiet and cryptic, she upholds a equivocal persona, but she has a side that many can’t tap into once they develop that psychological pattern of who they think they are. In other words, Amber brought out an inner fire and passion that I simply didn’t see coming, she took direction and with swayed with flawless vigor. The poses she pulled didn’t come at ease and many models would have buckled in an instant. She had done this before.
The energy in the room had taken a leap forward and within an hour the images had become my favorite of the entire series.
The second look was the biggest challenge. Maintaining the overall theme of the “Fiction” series, the second look would be manic and crazed involving some heavy use of Photoshop. This time around I wanted to explore the vision I previously spoke about. Glass, flares and color everywhere. We started with smashing the TV, surprisingly it wasn't an easy feat. Initially, starting with a baseball bat, when that didn't succeed we moved onto an iron hammer, that did the job.
With the broken television setup and Amber ready to go in her “crazed” look, we tried a few positions, many requiring the assistance of someone holding her! Amber rocked it out and used her “horror movie” background to portray some incredible expressions of true screaming. I seemed to remember looking the back of the screen and the colors popping and coming alive before my eyes, the image was creating itself in my head. After nearly an hour and a dozen poses we wrapped up the shoot to high-fives and applause. I was pumped for what we had achieved, but like always, for me the work had only begun.
As soon as we said our goodbyes, the editing process kicked off. I knocked out the first image that same evening. The challenges of the second image nearly killed me and took several weeks after the shoot to reach completion. As I do with most heavy “photoshopped” images, I take a break and come back the adjust from there. It took several passes before I got close to anything I thought would work. The second image had nearly 30 layers, everything from motion blur to film burn. The vision came to life with hard work and a lot of persistence, there were many instances where I thought I had failed and simply couldn’t bring the vision to reality. However, with perseverance and patience, I’m confident we actually pulled it off.
Despite the success of the first set, Josh Eskridge and I never thought we would be doing another Searcher/Specter. Not too mention, the first experience was so fresh, it wasn't even a thought.
For nearly two years, I had been driving past this grand deserted building, as it was down the street from a friend’s house. It was surrounded by chain-link fencing and sections of the building were literally crumbling, the sight of decay was strong. I had never thought anything of it until I started photography and wondered what exactly the building was and what was inside.
It wasn't until one day in March when the pieces started to fall into place. Josh and I had spent the entire day scouting for cool locations. We had nearly given up on finding anything worthy of a photoshoot, we had scoured a few fields and old buildings but nothing of substantial weight. Our last stop was the very building that I had drove past so many times. I didn't expect any results, but we gave it a shot. We parked near a business in the back of the structure and found a small opening in the fence. We stepped through an open window and the instant smell of abandonment hit me. We were only in the first room and I already liked it. It was apparent that we weren’t the first visitors there, as the walls were covered with graffiti and colorful tags. Our sunlight was closing fast and the place was pitch black, so we armed ourselves with the only artificial light we could, our iPhones.
We meandered into room after room until we hit a main room with a spiral staircase, we were floored. Jaws dropped, both of our minds literally started exploding with ideas. Although it was one of the most disturbing dark environments I had ever explored, it was also the most satisfying. We went further into the black.
I felt like a modern day Indiana Jones and heart pounding, was literally waiting for the moment when a meth-addicted-frantic-blind-homeless person would come running out for the attack. Luckily, that didn’t happen and we didn’t run into anyone lounging around. Room after room, we found a new architectural spectacle that pleased our eyes and minds. After two hours and 2% battery remaining on our iPhones, we wandered back through opened window.
I believe it was right then and there that we officially decided that this was the location of all locations. We had to do something bigger then anything we had ever done before. We had to do a sequel to Searcher/Specter and it had to be on a spectacular scale.
The plot of 9 buildings turned out was a old facility that was once home to the Shaefer-Meyer Brewing Company, a facility which operated until the prohibition in 1919. Upon which is changed hands to the Fehr Brewing Company and then the Merchants’ Ice & Cold Storage Company. It was abandoned in the 1980’s and it is on the list of National Register of Historic Places.
We officially made the announcement of the project in April 2012 at a theme party with Maui Crane, a Lexington designer.
SEARCHER/SPECTER
I would be representing the “dark” or “specter” side, a more edgy, dark and dramatic imagery. While Josh would be the “light” or “searcher” side, a more natural, contrasted counterpoise with beauty and light.
Not only would it be a great narrative through imagery, but also a great way to cross promote each others work. An 100% team collaborative effort and something that the regional fashion industry had never seen. This was a true example of how professionals working together can create a wonderful body of work.
My style is dark, I like shooting in the dark and creating a very dramatic ambiance. So this time around, I was ready and completely enthralled.
TALENT AND TEAM
The most time consuming and thought provoking part of the entire project was assembling our team for “Searcher/Specter II - A Portrait Set”. We went back and forth on every model, had many conversations about our subjects.
One of our first picks was Ashley Brock, a model with the agency Ford Europe. I had seen her work in a collaboration called “Spy-Wear”, as I thought with Leah Cultice, I had to work with Ashley Brock. Josh and I were actually pleasantly surprised when she agreed to come on board. I thought of her as the “rockstar model”, I loved all of her work and was completely enamored that I would have the chance to shoot her, especially in a portfolio concept.
We reached out to several models, which all lead to dead ends. So for the time being we moved onto formulating the rest of the team. Our first addition for styling was Raina Trimble on hair, whom we knew could bring this project to an entirely new level. Her pieces are BIG and make a statement, we needed someone like her to make this concept shine.
In addition to Raina, we asked Lexington master stylist and accessory designer Maui Crane to be apart of the shoot. He was immediately on board, we were all confident his eye for clothing and accessories could give the icing on the cake.
It took some time and reasoning to come to terms with our makeup artist. We wanted to give someone new a shot, someone who had a big mind. We bounced around quite a few names but as time moved on we set our gaze on Bethany Hood, model and makeup artist extraordinaire. Although she did not have a large portfolio of makeup work, Josh and I had seen her creativity and style at a few Maui events, which we regularly attended. She had big ideas and we admired that.
At some point during the summer I started working with sensational filmmaker Antonio Pantoja. After a few conversations, we thought it would be a cool addition to have the entire process and shot documented through cinematography. We invited Antonio to bring on his video skills and create a story with his vision.
April 28,2012 we created the secret Facebook group. We immediately started uploading our iPhone pics of the abandoned factory. As we assembled our team through the summer months, the ideas started flowing.
We had our location, we had our concept, but we still lacked a third model and a date. After what seemed like discussion after discussion we finally landed on the agreement of Alessandra Keedy. Both Josh and I had seen her work from a few photographers and really admired her look and technique.
With the small team we had assembled, I knew this would be big and was nervously excited, but a date had yet to be set.
BREAKTHROUGH
Scheduling this project wasn't easy. My schedule was absolutely crazy and Josh had picked up a lot of weekend shoots, not too mention his crazy travel schedule. After 2 months in hibernation, the vision started to progress again and dates started to be thrown out. We landed on September 2nd, the official date. We had exactly one month to get the project in motion. I can’t really speak for Josh, but I’m confident we both felt pretty nervous about the shoot. This was to be the most intense concept we had ever done, we weren’t even close to being prepared for it. We didn’t know if we could even get the entire team into the facility.
PREPARATION
The date was nearing and the entire team was in the game and interactive. We had to make a last minute change to our lineup replacing one of the models. The replacement was an easy choice, a stunning model with Puerto Rican roots, Melanie Hernandez. We quickly realized that we would be working with no one from the local Louisville area. Every person, with exception of Antonio, Josh and myself was from outside of Louisville, KY. For me this was an amazing feat. A regional powerhouse. When we brought Melanie on board, her excitement for the shoot gave it the energy boost it needed.
However, at that point 2 weeks passed and nothing had been prepared. It was the week of the shoot and I think Josh and I were both worried. The ball had to get rolling, Josh and I setup a planning session and sat down for some beer and pizza on August 28th, 5 days before the shoot and ironed out absolutely every detail.
For myself, this project couldn’t of come at a worse week, I was between jobs and the busiest time of my entire career. I was shooting nearly twice a day on top of my dayjob. The savior of the shoot was Josh, who had taken a vacation week off work and had ample time to prepare in my absence. Nevertheless, we had to step this up, we had make this better then the first.
After the 2 hour meeting, we decided to hit the factory. This time around 1:00 in the morning. It was far more eerie with zero ambient light pouring through. We managed to scout the place and plan out a few sets. We even climbed the 13 flights of stairs to the top of the building which overlooked the Louisville skyline. At that moment, I had regained confidence in the concept. We planned to re-visit the site one more time Saturday, September 1. The day before the shoot. Nevertheless, there were still so many concerns, from the wardrobe and weather to the safety of our crew in a crumbling factory.
Josh said it best, a literal “logistical nightmare”.
We had to find some wardrobe options. We called in a favor to our friend Scooter Ray and Josh ran around for a few hours during the week to check out some options at several boutiques. The day before the shoot, I only had a small 3 hour window to get what needed to get done, as I had a shoot booked later in the afternoon. Fortunately, for me mother nature worked in my favor and the shoot was rained out, which provided the entire day for preparation. It was a true blessing.
We ran all over city; General Eccentric, Nitty Gritty, Apricot Lane, Ace Hardware, Kroger, JoAnn’s Fabrics and Missy Brown’s apartment to borrow some necessary gear. It felt like a blitzkrieg of preparation, battling the clock. We were able to pick out all the entire wardrobe, giving us tons and tons of options.
We also had the opportunity to re-visit the factory for the final time before the shoot. Unfortunately, the place had been locked up pretty well since we had last visited. So we had to cut an opening in the fence, as well as create an entrance through the outer window in which every team member would have to enter with a 6 foot ladder. We spent a chunk of the day in the factory, analyzing every crevasse and crease of light. We broke down each of our sets, testing with example shots and compositions.
We left with a sense of satisfaction, we grabbed a quick beer and returned back to Josh’s loft to prepare for the hair and makeup madness that was to start at 8:30am. We spent some time discussing plans and I hit the road home. I was worn out, but hardly slept. I don’t think I had ever been so excited for a photoshoot.
EXECUTION
To Josh’s surprise, everyone arrived at his loft early, ready to rock. I immediately slammed a Red Bull and the party started. Maui dove into the clothes and Bethany and Raina started gathering their ideas. We staggered the models arrival so we wouldn’t have any downtime. Ashley Brock was up, her first look was to be a Searcher. She tried numerous outfits until the perfect match was made, a cocktail dress from Apricot Lane. She went into makeup as Raina started on the process for her hair. Of course, Josh and I were documenting the entire process and it must of felt like paparazzi!
Shortly after, Alessandra arrived and she would begin as a Specter. After introductions, Maui provided her with several outfits to try on. We worked together to come up with an amazing outfit. Black leggings from Scooter Ray and a black top from Apricot Lane. She followed Ashley into hair and makeup.
Among all the hubbub, Melanie arrived. She would begin as Searcher, in a dress from General Eccentric. Raina had magical plans for her, but it would take some time.
Last but not least, my video partner in crime, Antonio dropped in and was on top of things, capturing b-roll and miscellaneous behind the scenes within the first 5 minutes of arrival.
After 5 hours of preparation and packing, we finally had everything ready to head off to the location. Unfortunately, mother nature was not on our side for the day of shoot, as it was pouring down rain. Howbeit, we escorted the models to the cars with umbrellas overhead and caravanned over to the location. Upon arrival, I turned on my headlamp and Josh and I inspected our setup before escorted everyone inside. One by one we guided each team member, through the hole in the fence and up the ladder through the small 3’ by 4’ window. At this point, I was already soaking wet and dirty. The shoot had even started and I kept thinking to myself; “Well, this is going to be the longest day ever.”
We unloaded 3 cars of gear and setup our staging area near the window entrance where the most light could be found. Once the styling team was settled, Josh and I started hauling all of our gear over to the main factory floor, down the epic spiral staircase. This open floor became the photography staging area for all of our gear. I made a quick run through of the entire place to make sure the area was clear and if anything had changed with the rainfall. Sure enough, there were pools of water everywhere, so I had to find alternate routes to several of my locations.
With models ready to go, I started my first set with Alessandra, we headed to the middle of the building and started in a large expansive staircase that covered 4 floors. The area had a small section of natural light creeping in, so I figured I would just fill the space with a small speedlight and a Westcott Mini-Apollo. It worked beautifully, until my speedlight misfired. I happened to notice that misfire as I scanned through the images on the LCD screen. The ambient light provided a darker portrait, but far more intense. So I setup a Westcott 40" silver reflector and bounced some natural light. Alessandra moved in a gracious manner, she created stunning lines and ran with every detailed instruction I gave her. Her expressions played off the concept and I could tell she had given some thought into the project. Because of her technique, we nailed “the” shot within the first 10 minutes.
We moved upstairs to a spacious upper level room, with lofty ceilings. I fully planned on capturing the vast open look of the room by shooting wide at 14mm. About that time Antonio had re-joined us from a client shoot and began capturing his story. This would also be the “levitating” set. As Josh did in the first installment of “Searcher/Specter”, I would have the models look as if they are drifting in the air, posed to mimic a ghost. I had never done anything on this level of digital photography, so it was great new experience which I gladly accepted as a challenge, as did Alessandra!
The entire process is done in Adobe Photoshop, simply taking two shots, one of the model on a ladder, posing as if she was levitating and the other shot without the model and ladder, all on a tripod. Then, blending the shots together and masking over the the ladder with the background image. Pretty simple technique, the most difficult part is making it look realistic. The model has to look as if she were floating and it’s not easy to pull off with heels on a 4 foot step ladder.
Alessandra nailed the levitation set. She even suggested posing techniques and formations herself. I spent about 30 more minutes in the room working with her, then moved back down to the gear staging area to check in on Josh and the progress of his shooting. He had wrapped Melanie and was working with Ashley on the spiral staircase, I went to the front room where the styling was staged and got an update on progress. 30 minutes. No problem.
I moved my gear around and began setting up my second set, which was outside. Thankfully the rain had subsided. After a quick break I headed back to the staging area. Melanie’s look was fantastic, with the feathers and sticks protruding from her hair and dark contrasting eyes, she looked literally evil. We went onto the roof of the first building and I setup for the first composition which I had had in my head since we started scouting the area. The rusted pipes created amazing leading lines and I combined that with an 85mm f/1.4 lens, magic. We pulled off several sets, including the “zombie walk”. The idea was to have Melanie literally walk like a zombie and move the light with her, creating a slight motion blur. It worked beautifully. Melanie created strong lines, I was blown away by her effortless and dramatic poise. She lived through her character, the expressions were flawless.
We moved downstairs and prepped for the levitation scene after a failed set(on my part) at the top of the stairs. With the ladder in place I wedged myself between two pipes and setup my tripod. Melanie grabbed the pipe above her head and bent completely backwards over the handle of the ladder. I fired off my shutter like a machine gun. Even though I was shooting at a high ISO, I believe the grain worked in my favor. As I had done with the other sets, I used one off camera speedlight for dramatic fill. Just like that, Melanie was a wrap and it was onto my final model Ashley.
By this point nearly 5 hours had passed and time was running out. I hadn't planned to shoot on the top roof when I first entered, but I had to give it my awe. I had to give everything to this concept, all my energy. So, I went ahead and carried my gear up to the top roof of the factory, 13 stories above ground floor. When I reached the top, I took a breather and composed myself. Prepped my set and walked back down. When I returned to the other side of the factory, Ashley’s look was still being prepared, so I went to check out Josh and his “light painting” set with Alessandra. We shared some of our images and I was completely thrilled with what we had captured. My feet hurt, I was soaking wet and covered in decay, at this point, I was ready to knock out this last set and get into some dry socks.
By approximately 6:15pm Ashley was ready to go and I hit my second and final wind. We climbed up story after story and stopped at several points through the way up to take a few shots on the different levels. It was more of a strategy not to kill the entire team on the climb up. Not too mention, Raina had badly injured her foot the day before creating a piece for hair.
We arrived on the roof and stepped out on the lower platform. I had the light ready to go and we started snapping away, set after set, all of them on the roof. I could tell Ashley, being a model for Ford Europe, was a true professional. She understood the project and I had to give her little to no direction as her expressions and poses were stunning through every shot.
After we rocked the first shot, we kicked out the ladder for the levitation image. We spent some time on the poses and I really played with composition. We even had Brian, Ashley's boyfriend, assist on the shots to help her balance. All the while Antonio was running around in the background capturing some time lapse stuff and filming b-roll.
30 clicks later, I was spent. We moved onto one more set and then headed back down the stairs. Honestly, at that point, I was glad it was over. I had never worked so hard on a photoshoot in my entire career. Although, I tried not to show it… exhaustion had set in and legs began to dramatically shake. We packed up the gear and started transporting everything outside and into the cars. It was a true team effort and I feel extremely blessed that we pulled it off like we did.
We arrived back a Josh’s and took a celebratory shot of vodka, reviewing the events of the day. Antonio got some amazing footage, I was confident in my shots and I knew Josh’s images would be nothing short of stellar. 12 hours earlier we had started styling, the shoot was a complete success.
SUCCESSION
With all the behind the scenes camera uploads and Instagram photos, Josh and I had to move quick. We met the following day to go over plans and come up with a teaser image to release the first image set the following day.
The post process is an extremely important element to my photography. Coming from a graphic design background, I like to use certain techniques to enhance my images and make them just that more interesting. Popping color, re-touching and adding texture. I spent meticulous hours on each image, trying new things and really thinking outside the box. During a few editing sessions I had to walk away and return back to it a few hours later, only to change the entire feel.
Nevertheless, I truly believe these are some of my personal favorite images I have ever created and I have the entire team to thank for it. This was a collaboration that will not be soon forgotten. The bar was raised with the first project and I’m happy to say we leaped right over that bar with this.
It’s not very often when someone strikes you as Leah Cultice did with me.
I first took notice of Leah in “Spy-Wear”, an incredible portrait set from the like-minds of Gunnar Deatherage, Bil Brown, Claudia Susana, Steve Squall and Micah Ruelas among others. She had a mysterious poise and stature, but expressed stunning beauty in every image. I was extremely intrigued. Then Leah popped up in a few images from Lana Wilson, that was it. I had to work with this model.
When Micah Ruelas and I started the “Beauty Book” project we had a few names in mind and Leah was always on my list. Around the time of the first shoot, “BELLEZA”, we started thinking about the next set. Leah came to both our minds. I immediately touched base with her on Facebook and we locked down a date. However, I would be traveling to her home in Beavercreeek, Ohio. I didn’t care, the pros outweighed the cons. We only had a two day window before she left for the west coast. The time was now.
Three days later we were on our way to Beavercreek, Ohio. I really didn’t know what to expect. I only knew what I wanted to get out of it, a solid model relationship and some stellar images. The drive was pretty easy, other then the normal photographer/MUA banter, Micah and I passed the time by discussing the hair, makeup and our expectations for the images. We wanted color and we wanted pop. It had to be ELECTRIC.
Beavercreek, a small subtle town, seemed like a normal nice neighborhood. When we arrived we were greeted by Leah’s Mom, Susan. She showed us the house and we setup shop immediately… right in the middle of the living room. Since we we’re only doing beauty shots, I didn’t have to worry about wardrobe or the location. Simple backdrop and a couple of lights, I actually brought a mobile studio.
Hair and makeup started and I planned out my sets. I wanted the cleanest look I could possibly achieve. The setup would be simple and I was confident we could reach all our goals for the shoot.
As the first look reached completion, I was ready to go. It was almost as if I was a Olympic runner, on the mark, waiting for the gun shot. As soon as Leah stepped under the light, it was on. Leah’s quiet and ethereal personality, fit the first look perfectly. It was elegant, quaint with a touch of spark. As I full predicited, Leah nailed it within 5 minutes.
About 95% of the models I work with require some form of direction, most take it very well, some take the direction and run with it. Others don’t and require a "puppet master" so to speak. That small 5% make me feel like I’m doing something wrong, but everything is just right. They render me speechless, there is no direction needed at all, whatsoever. Leah is a perfect example of that 5%. She knew how to use her hands, knew how to move her shoulders and moved her body, because she knew it effected her expression. I just sat back and snapped the shutter at her every movement.
We moved onto the next two looks and this is where the shoot heated up. Electric pink lips, turquoise background and platinum hair. My lighting was spot on with the beauty dish and I was in love. We snapped away and Leah moved her body as if she was in a ballet performance. 30 or so minutes in, I just didn’t have “THE” shot I had about 100 shots that could be considered for “THE” shot. I would really have some trouble narrowing these down to just 3 images.
And I did. Upon the 3 hour trek back I quickly realized that these were probably the best straight out of camera images I had ever created and the small team of three we had that day had everything to do with it.
I had a terrific time with Leah and the family. I wish her the best of luck on her journey to Los Angeles and stardom. Thank you to Susan for opening up your home and thank you Leah for being apart of our project.
I quickly became jealous. Never-mind the $50,000 budgets or the $10,000 cameras, how did these photographers capture these images?
That is the exact question I asked myself while I breezed through an ELLE magazine and saw an incredible makeup advertisement. I wanted that, I wanted that look, high fashion glamour with some old classic romance. Almost film noir.
With that said, makeup and hair stylist; Micah Severo Ruelas and I decided to take it upon ourselves to create a series of beauty shots that we could potentially use in our portfolio in a hard bound book, much like we did for “GAGA - A Portrait Series”. Roughly 3-4 different shoots with nothing but headshots and close-ups that resemble those commercial advertisements.
After some discussion we decided on a few models, one of them being Iris Hernandez. I had worked with Iris on a recent short film and really liked her presence and care-free attitude. Even though she had never done anything like it, I really felt she had the look we were going for. We wanted to combine both the noir lighting techniques with a Spanish beauty theme.
The day before the shoot, Micah and I went out to both Hobby Lobby and Jo Ann’s fabric store to get some props and pieces for the shoot. After about a 2 hour search we got what we needed, but my night had just started. I had to start experimenting with light. I returned back to my studio and started at square one with some techniques I used in the cinematography world. Putting thin stripes of black duct tape over a light source to create the illusion of large Venetian blinds. After several failed attempts I moved to YouTube tutorials and came up with nothing other then a few people chatting away on their webcams.
I ditched the duct tape idea and just grabbed a set of my plastic blinds that were hanging in my basement window. When I shot an Alien Bee B800 through the blinds, it created the shadows I needed, but they just weren’t direct enough. I needed a harsher light. That’s when I decided to throw a speedlight in the mix. BOOM.. 100 self portraits later, I had my noir light. At this point it was nearly 2am and I needed rest. The experimentation would have to wait until the shoot itself.
This shoot was a lot of “new” for me. It would be the second time shooting in my new studio, the first time tethered to my computer and not to mention the new world of lighting I was experimenting with.
As Iris went into hair and makeup, I started playing around and planning out my sets. I had a decent inclination of what I wanted to do, but I knew that most everything would be off the cuff trails. The first look was spectacular, bold red lips with a up-do and red rose. We jumped into the set and started cracking away shots. I was pretty impressed with the lighting, although it just didn’t get the dramatic lines on her face like it did with mine. After messing around, my assistant Josh Eskridge suggested I simply take away the Alien Bee and just use the SB-800. Once I did that, it was dark, but the dramatic lines were more apparent then ever. After 40 or so shots, we moved onto the next set and Iris hit her stride.
I wanted a less technical setup, but had to keep the noir feel. We decided to move a Alien Bee B800 overhead and camera left with a 20 degree grid. Then I taped a metal wall art frame with some crazy Celtic design to my two stands and shot a SB-800 through it to create the awesome shadows on the background. This setup ended in some of the best out of camera shots of the session.
We blazed through sets and experimented all the way through. I’ve never been apart of a shoot where a felt more clueless on how the outcome was going to be when I snapped the shutter.
One of my favorite sets was shooting an SB-800 speedlight through a 2 inch slit in a cardboard black canvas. It took nearly 20 minutes to nail just one shot I could work with. We finally nailed it. That result and final black & white edit is definitely my favorite of the entire session.
After we wrapped up, I sat down to start the re-touching process. I hit a serious wall. A wall that lasted for more then 4 days. I couldn’t get it out of my head, what was the problem? Why aren’t my images good? I just couldn’t figure it out. I tried everything I had to make my pictures just as good as anything you would see in the magazine. It finally came down to me as a photographer… Simply stop trying to compare and start creating. I heeded my own advice and edited the best I knew how. At that point I had edited nearly 5 images and decided to roll with the 3 seen below.
I want to thank Iris and Micah for being so patient while Josh and I played around with such experimental lighting. It challenged me, broke me down and I believe it has played a role in my progression as a photographer.
It took me a moment to regain my thoughts, you’re jumping over that? A bar which towered over my head. It seemed more like a pull up bar then something you would jump over. I was clueless. When Mike Edwards skipped and bounced over the bar, I was floored and really couldn’t believe what I just saw.
I had never really gotten into track and field much, the only time I would watch would be every four years at the Olympic Games and high jump was one of those events that I would simply skim over. It all looks too easy on TV and I never really understood how high that bar really is. Nearly 8 feet off the ground. It didn’t hit me until I saw that height in person.
I had worked with Mike on two different occasions, both for fashion shoots. Not only is Mike a model, but a fantastic athlete. Mike being from England, I was immediately attracted to his story and how he came to be in Louisville. I quickly realized, it was nearly impossible to nail the guy down. He would be in Europe one moment, Florida then New York the next. Who Is Mike Edwards?
After our second shoot, we briefly talked about his goals, sports career and scholarship to Louisville. In the same conversation I mentioned I had always wanted to do a short sports documentary, something you would see in the lead-ins for the Olympics, but more personable and dramatic. Not some big budget NBC interview. We mulled it over and then said our goodbyes as he would be travelling overseas to Europe for the next few weeks.
A couple of weeks later I received a call from Mike asking about that conversation we had and really pursuing the short documentary. He would be leaving for a competition in Europe again and only had a small window of time to get it knocked out. Simply a passion project, it would all be pro-bono. After a brief consideration, I was in, I only saw opportunity there. We set a shoot date.
I had shots planned and ideas in my head, but would go into the filming without any sense of direction. Only thing I had to reference was a 5 minute Asics commercial I had found. The commercial was somber and well done, but not inspiring. I needed the all of the above, the total package.
I had just 5 hours with Mike and then he was flying out for the 3 weeks. When we arrived on the UofL campus, I didn’t know where to start. I felt rushed. The weather was dreary and the sun wasn't peering through clouds like I wanted. Upon parking we walked over to a stair case and just started shooting. Again, without a set plan, I just wanted to get things moving.
We jumped from location to location and just filmed sequences of him walking, sitting and doing normal everyday stuff. Around that time is when the story came to life. Let’s break it down and show a normal practice routine. From everyday life and warm-ups to closing with the actual jump. But the inspiration would come from an overdubbed speech.
I still wasn't sold on the footage I was getting, it seemed boring and continuity issues were everywhere. But, with a solid narrative in mind, I could get a grip on my shots and start working on a direction. I decided to amp up the footage, we would need to move off campus and we did just that. We drove over to the Louisville Skate Park to grab some candids and close-ups. Then moved downtown to 4th Street Live! to grab the opening sequence. Like always, we recieved a few gawkers asking to be in our apparent “rap video”.
We returned to the University campus to start shooting all the warm-ups and jumps. At this point, I just let Mike do his thing. No pre-prepared shots. Dress change, warm-up and jump. Documentary style I would be filming the entire process. Fortunately, the sun had started to peak through the clouds and I was a happy camper. But, I was also drenched in sweat, the air was humid and filming Mike’s every move it only got worse.
Despite the heat, we pushed through and knocked out some incredible sequences. Mike was gracious enough to jump more than the 3 set standard for shooting purposes. As the sun was set we grabbed a few final closing shots and wrapped up the shoot 10 minutes over our 5 hour target. We headed back into the locker room where we decided to go ahead and record the audio.
In the past, I've actually had more luck using an iPhone and the Voice Memo app to record spoken word speech then I have any other professional system. It has its faults, but it in a rush there is nothing that can match it. I asked Mike a series of questions and off the cuff Mike recorded nearly 15 minutes worth of audio. Some sections were good, others not so good, but I would have to make sense of it in post production.
After all hauling all my gear, running around and laying on the ground all day, we scanned through my shots. I beyond excited to start splicing the video.
Sure enough, I was too excited. Instead of maintaining my original plans of meeting friends for drinks, I decided to stay in and edit the entire film that same Friday evening. I really pushed myself on this project, tried new techniques and new software. By late Friday evening I had something pieced together that I could call my own. By Saturday afternoon I had it rendered, uploaded and sent off to Mike. He loved it.
Months in the making, between his travels to Europe, Florida and New York we were able to create this featurette that I couldn’t be more proud of. I have a complete new appreciation for the athletes that work everyday towards their ultimate goal and I truly hope that this piece surges Mike’s path to Rio De Janeiro in the 2016 Olympic Games. Enjoy.
In the past year, meeting Josh Eskridge has not only been a blessing but an extremely fulfilling creative and collaborative avenue. We’ve become close friends and our ideas keep getting better and better. From the documentary “Exposure” to “Searcher/Specter a A Portrait Set” and now to this project. I really can’t thank him enough for trusting me with his beautiful visionary projects.
In late May, Josh sent over a video from Elle Magazine with Kristen Stewart. I fell in love with the aesthetics and energy in the video. Black and white, harsh lighting and a calm voiceover, it really grabbed my attention. Inspired from the video, he wanted to bring a photo shoot to life on the topic of androgyny. I was instantly into it.
Using modern digital photography and double exposures Josh wanted to give the illusion that one person was actually two separate people, a male and a female interacting with each other. He immediately brought on board our friend Micah Severo Ruelas for hair and makeup and the model Morgan Hawley had been set from the start.
Although it would be a technically challenging shoot, doing shoots of this nature can only make you stronger. Breaking the mold and stepping out of his comfort zone, Josh would only be using hot lights and modeling lights and I had the full intention of avoiding everything I normally do when filming.
We discussed several options on locations and finally ended on the Culbertson Mansion. A 19th century historic estate filled with antiques, paintings and beautiful accommodations for guests. I had shot there for “GAGA - A Portrait Series” but, we felt it would fit the concept well enough and would create the perfect setting for dramatics. But, from the start there was a looming black cloud over this shoot and many times it looked as if it just wouldn’t happen. Thanks to Josh's persistence and effort, the shoot was finally etched in stone.
When the day finally came I felt unprepared, like I normally do going into any photo shoot. Nevertheless, I would be around friends and in a comfortable environment, also with the option to really explore outside the box and experiment. I’m sure Josh felt the same. Hair and makeup had started before I arrived and once loaded in, we promptly started planning the sets and setting up the gazillion lights I had brought in.
My initial thought was to drop everything and start filming whatever I could documentary style. But I stopped myself and instead meticulously planned my shots accordingly. After Josh and I came to somewhat of an agreement on the set locations inside the Culberston Mansion, I hopped over to hair and makeup and planned the first shot. Morgan had never been apart of something like this, so I had to give her a quick rundown on how to act and react and give her caution that I would come inches from her face with my camera lens without warning. Sometimes running full speed. For Micah this was another day in paradise.
My only intention was to do the majority of the shots handheld and give it a very raw attitude. The rest would come as we moved along. First shot, I grabbed my camera and moved back in forth in a box formation almost as if I was dancing, pulling a hard focus in and out. After about 10 seconds of doing that, I think Micah was like “oh, here we go again” and Morgan just laughed. Time to play.
After Micah finished up with the astonishing first look, we wandered out onto the grand staircase where the first set was ready to go. It was HOT. I started sweating a pool when I arrived and the fact that there was zero air conditioning the main foyer of the mansion, made it all that much worse. Thank goodness they had towels. In between Josh’s dynamic setups, I had the opportunity to grab Morgan for a few miscellaneous sequences; A long winded stedi-cam shot from the end of the hallway, several close ups and a few abstract scenes.
Morgan never seems to let me down! She has a confidence and fortitude that is unlike many models. Her down to earth temperament and likable personality can raise the moral in seconds. Off camera, buoyant but quiet. On camera, her presence can be heard for miles.
We blew through the first few sets and I had some great handheld material. Far more abstract then anything I’ve ever done. A lot of pulled focus and quick moving cuts. The shots were so different that I was pretty nervous to show any captures to the team. As soon as we reached the point at which we setup multiple cameras for double exposures, the shoot started moving at a snails pace. But, the lighting had to be perfect and the camera had to remain in the perfect composed position. It took work.
Three cameras on three tripods in various rooms in the mansion, if they moved the shot would be ruined. We had to pay extreme attention to make sure we didn’t touch or nudge any of the tripods as we worked and I filmed.
Normally, I would have documented the entire process, but I didn’t want it to turn into another “behind the scenes” short. But rather a short film that anyone could appreciate and enjoy without the technical jargon. Just beauty. I took my time and calculated the sequences. In, out, below, behind I was shooting from everywhere and we really played with the constant lighting. Directing light through a white plastic bag to using a straight edge to create a dramatic shadows, gear was scattered all over the place.
By the second look and I was getting worn out. The day had trucked along and I was recovering from a house warming/studio opening I had hosting the night before. The rooms hadn't cooled down and I still had no clue how I was going to cut this video up. Only thing I was confident in was the footage I was shooting and I suppose that was enough for the time being.
As we closed with the final set on the staircase, I real got wild. I accidentally ran my camera and slipped it down the side of the wall. A beautiful mistake. I liked the look so much I posed Morgan and re-enacted the slip. I slid my camera down the length of the wall, it bounced and moved all over. I asked Morgan to give a quick glance as I moved the camera downward. That would be the ending shot in the film. For some reason, right after that shot I instantly knew the direction I would proceed in post.
Roughly after 10pm we wrapped the shoot and I headed home to import the footage. I would step away for nearly two weeks then finally return to the footage.
When I did return to the footage I had a clear vision in mind. Old, classic, projector. I started editing in color, then eventually color graded the entire track into black & white. The inspiration flowed from there.
My original thought was to have some random French acapella track in the background. But didn’t know how or where to search. After some deep scouring I found the missing piece. I just happened to stumble on La Vie En Rose by Edith Piaf. Perfection. The rawness and innocence of the song blended with the artistic taste of the footage was utopian. I started splicing to the track and everything flowed. But, it was still missing something. Taking a nod from Antonio Pantoja and our recent work, I decided to add in a gallery of sound effects and film burn. It was exactly what the short needed.
I’m glad we decided to push through that looming black cloud, a spectacle of beauty emerged from it. We are proud to present Mon Autre Moi. My Other Self.
Growing up I wanted to be Steven Spielberg. Filming short movies with a 8mm video camera and using ketchup as blood and firecrackers for explosions, I did it all right in my backyard. Music eventually took over my life, but film making had always stuck with me.
I think Antonio Pantoja and I have more then just like minds, according to many we’re the new kids on the block and “came out of nowhere”. Several months ago I started noticing his short films pop up all over my Facebook news feed, some were better then others, but all had rock solid potential. Without hesitation I touched base with Antonio and had some friendly conversation, but it wasen’t until one particular video for the company “Street Moda” that just absolutley blew my mind and I told myself, I had to work with this guy.
THE 48
The 48 Hour Film Project was something I had wanted to do for years, but never took the initiative to bring it to a reality and simply didn’t take the time to get involved. The 48 Hour Film Project is an event where 50+ teams of filmmakers draw one genre out of hat and have 48 hours to film a 4-8 minute short film, the screenplay, script, filming, editing and rendering has to be done in that time frame. If you don’t follow a specific set of guidelines then your disqualified. The Louisville winner goes on to compete on the national level in California, the winner of the national contest goes onto Cannes Film Festival in France. When Antonio threw out the project on Facebook for this years 48, I jumped on the opportunity immediately. I had no clue what I would be doing, all I know is I wanted in.
This was our first 48, but we were confident in our work enough to know we really had a shot at winning, at least on the local level. The crew we had formulated consisted of top artists from both Lexington, KY and Louisville, KY. We immediately scheduled a meeting, it was a small team at the start, but little by little actors and actresses were cast and the final core consisted of 13 creative minds. However, we knew our niche. The film would be realistic and probably very dark. Comedy was out of the question.
DAY ONE - GENRE
Even though the movie “The Dark Knight Rises” had debuted at 12:01am, it felt great to sleep in and get a good nights rest, I would be in for a long weekend. At the time, I didn’t exactly know how little sleep I would get over the weekend but, I was amped and prepared. I arrived at Antonio’s at 5pm, the entire team gathered for some small conversation about the hours ahead and Sam Elliot was upstairs composing an amazing score without evening knowing the genre. An hour later we headed out to the drawing at The Bards Town, a local pub and eatery where all 52 filmmakers would meet to go over the guidelines and draw genres. I was nervous and it felt as if my heart was beating out of its chest. We made some agreements, if we pulled “Holiday” “Vacation” or “Comedy”, we would throw it back into the hat for a chance at a wild card genre.
Luckily, we didn’t have to do that, right out of the gate we pulled “Horror”. It was like a shotgun blast, as soon as the text came through the ideas started to flood my brain, almost going into overload. Once Antonio came down from the drawing, we headed back out to his house and came up with several plot lines based upon some ideas we had shared in the group. I was confident we had a winning story, it was psychological, it was deep and very horrifying.
Once we returned to the house, opinions started to surge the room and the story quickly got away from what the original plot was. We ended up scratching the idea. Pizza arrived and we took a break. Ideas were being thrown out left and right and every now and then we’d come across a gem, then to be eventually shot down and/or written on the marker board with the others. Nearing frustration, I came to a waking awareness that we needed to cut out the bullshit, the dialogue and make a horror film that’s simple, edgy and to the point. I constantly pushed the theme of simplicity. No character building, just 5 minutes of pulse pounding dramatic horror. Mostly inspired from the short film “T is for Talk”, where 6 unidentified characters are put in a room and subjected to a twisted game of “Simon Says”. First we had the idea of people/demons being at a table and then the environment actually turning out to be Hell, that it morphed into several other plots. At some point well past midnight, our special effects artist Emily Jones brought up the riddle “Green Glass Door”, brilliant. By combining the two concepts of a riddle and a simple twisted game, we had a winner. Everyone loved the idea and we had our synopsis.
6 random people are suddenly placed in a room and each are given a clue. If they guess wrong they are killed with the answer to that clue. If they guess correctly they are released. The answers are all formed from the basis of the riddle “Green Glass Door” i.e. all the answers will have double letters. In our case; ball, bullet, needle, hammer, noose and dagger. Only one makes it out alive…or does he just move onto round 2?
By 5AM, we had the story in place and the characters solidified. We had a VERY small shot list but, my brain was zapped and I knew I had to get some sleep before the big day. We had written out a list of props and costumes that we would need to purchase in the morning. There was still some unease about the story and how to bring it to life, but I left with confidence. We had a story that could win, IF they get it.
DAY TWO - 13 HOURS IN - PREPARATION
By 9am I was up and packing up gear for the long day of shooting. All my hot lights, cameras, tripods, extension cords, sliders and plexi-glass. I called Antonio and the crew was at Peddler’s Mall picking out props and costumes. I met them there.
Cruising through the aisles we picked out a few appropriate pieces and knocked out about half our list. However, we still needed some essential items, especially a projector. We headed over to Wal-Mart and had zero luck. I got on the phone and made calls everywhere, either out of stock or far to overpriced. I suggested to Antonio that we simply put out a status on Facebook. Within an hour we had locked down a projector and had nearly all the props we needed to start filming.
Because of our plot line we were lucky in the fact we only needed one set, one location. Although we are were slightly nervous about finding the right spot. It had to be dark, scary and something right out of “SAW”. Antonio was convinced that the basement of Mellwood Arts Center would provide the perfect setting. With a few calls we had it locked down and the pieces had fallen into place. I had backup plans, but I’m really glad that the basement worked out for us.
Hair and makeup started as soon as the crew arrived at Antonio’s house. But, we were behind schedule. Antonio and I were able to sit down and get the hints created and burnt to a DVD which were to be displayed on the projector as a part of the story. We rushed it, but what isn’t rushed on a 48 hour project!?
Jordan, Antonio's wife, was running around all over the place… picking up on props, ordering the catering, getting forms signed and being the overall awesome runner that we needed to get the little jobs done. Honestly this project wouldn't of happened if it weren’t for her. When she arrived at the house with the ball-gag, I thought to myself; “Well, here we go!”
My goal was to start filming at 2pm, we didn’t leave the house until 2:30pm.
DAY TWO - 19 HOURS IN - FILMING
When we arrived at Mellwood, we immediately unpacked and went to the basement, it was pitch black. Perfect. We turned on our cell phone lights and started scouting the area, it was huge and completely trashed. Perfect. The smell of old paint and mildew was strong. Items had gone untouched for years and it was very apparent. The first thing that came to my mind was POWER. We had to have power. We brought a few battery backups, but nothing that could really push the massive hot lights we fully intended on using.
Clearly creeped out, most of the crew walked back up to the light. Antonio and I stayed and scoured the area for the perfect setting. I felt at home, abandoned exploration is something I love doing and as a photographer, I try scout on a regular basis. We stumbled into a few rooms that would work, but just didn’t have the scale that we wanted. I happened upon a room that I think the crew wanted to avoid because it was wet. But, there was a small platform that was dry and the smooth ceramic wall tile was just perfect. It reminded me of a prison bathroom that had decayed over years. I was convinced this was our location.
While the others loaded in gear I immediately start running around looking for power in the decrepit basement. The more I scouted the more switches and overhead lighting I found, soon enough lights from our cell phones were no longer of use and the basement was 80% lit. There was power running, but no outlets. Nearly every outlet we came upon, the power was cut. We happened upon one outlet that looked to be connected, I was stoked. So much that Antonio and I gave each other high fives and luckily we had nearly 200 feet of extension cabling. I ran cords all the way through three rooms in the basement and when I finally tested it… nothing. I was out of options and broken down. At this point nearly two hours had passed, the mangled table and chairs were being assembled from areas in the basement and hair/makeup was almost complete.
Already stressed, I took a short break and gathered my thoughts, really took in the lighting and came up with a game plan. Let’s try to power the projector and the DVD player with the battery backups and place the table directly under one of the florescent overhead fixtures, which is exactly what I was going to do with my lights. I observed the lighting and removed one bulb, we had our perfect set light. But, I still wanted some kicker and background light. So, I moved to the battery backups for a glimmer of hope. None of the batteries had enough power to handle the wattage the projector, DVD player and hot lights. Without the projector, we were screwed. It played and essential role in our story. We had to have power. At some point we would have to make do, but I wasn't having it.
5pm. All of our talent was sitting at the table ready to start filming. Antonio was getting a few screen tests and luckily I had my photog side kick Josh Eskridge there to help with the search for power. At the back of our set we had a direct route to stairs which led to the outside courtyard of Mellwood, Josh luckily stumbled on an outdoor outlet two levels above us. We ran 150 feet of extension cords to the basement and soon enough had our projector rolling and some background lights fired up. It was a breath of fresh air.
We would start filming with no screenplay, no script and hardly what you would consider a shot list. This entire film would be off the cuff improvisation, having only the backbone of the story to guide the actors and shots.
Antonio and I quickly came to realize that we work really well together. Using two cameras at different angles of the same sequence played in our favor during post processing. We both had ideas and shots in our mind. From the close-ups to the death scenes we rattled through the first few sequences with blazing speed. We wanted to be thorough with the shots, but also didn’t want to be filming at sunrise. The scenes looked amazing right out of camera. The overhead florescent light played perfectly off the actors faces and we we're grinning after each shot, I seemed to think I even gave a few manic laughs I was so happy at how it looked.
Unfortunately, Antonio had to leave for a client shoot scheduled at 9pm. It was Saturday, 8:30pm. The entire crew took a break and sat down for some awesome Mexican food that Jordan had so graciously provided for us. After a munching down a few fajitas, I walked around, settled my mind and sat in comfort of my air conditioned car for an hour or so, while the others covered in theater blood went for coffee. I was already exhausted and we were only 40% done with filming. I thought to myself, I could start filming before he got there and at least get some shots nailed out, but I didn’t want to overstep my place and I knew that we needed the full team energy to make the shots happen.
Around 10:30pm I returned to the basement, by myself to start planning out shots and the rest of the evening. I was extremely anxious and ready to start filming. A few crew members started wandering down to the basement also anxious. At 11pm I notified the team to get ready to start filming, minutes later Antonio was back on set and we started with the Jill Olsen(played by Laura Lee) death sequence.
I hit a second wind. Although at this point everything was completely improvisational our actors and actresses did a phenomenal job showing fear and anguish through what little dialogue we had planned. We kept thinking of the reality of the situation… If you were in a 5 minute life or death situation would you want to take the time to get to know the person beside you?
Once again, Antonio and I tagged teamed shots. For me it wasn't until the plastic bag scene, where I finally realized we had something magical going on. I showed Antonio the captured scene, Bethany’s emotion just blasted through the back of the camera. We were stoked.
Their were some major obstacles to overcome during filming. Our “first death” actress with the ball-gag, Brittany Baker, had to leave during our 3 hour intermission. We had to shoot everything as if she was still there. Also, filming at a major wedding venue… Go figure, there was a extremely late running wedding reception directly above us blasting music at full volume. It seemed as if the DJ was drunk himself and the party never stopped. It killed us on the audio end, we had to record much of the audio in post and overdub many of the screams and dialogue. Antonio had an on camera attachable Rode directional microphone and I was recording with a Azden wireless microphone that was set under the table at waist level. Despite our challenges, it seemed to work out just fine.
It was nearly 3am and we finally saw light at the end of the tunnel. We had finished up all the deaths and had just shot the final scene, which in the end we ended up not using and leaving it up to the viewers imagination. I was covered in sticky theater blood, dirt and sweat. Thankfully I brought a change of clothes. At this point in a normal everyday shoot, I would go home import the footage and go to bed, but for Antonio and I the night had just begun.
DAY THREE - 29 HOURS IN - EDITING
Loading out of Mellwood moved quickly and it was as true team effort. Todd rode back to Antonio's with me and all we could think about was crushing back a cold adult beverage. We stopped by a gas station, receiving weird looks from everyone and arrived at our destination. Antonio was importing footage and was ready to rock.
I hopped in the shower after a few beers. Third wind, GO. First thing was first, we listened to the score Sam had composed. Antonio and I were both blown away and knew this would take us to the next level. The tracks were perfect and we felt we had everything we needed to start cutting up clips. We cracked away at it, throwing out ideas, splicing everything, gathering sound effects. As the sun started to rise, we were only a minute into the film. We hit a brick wall.
Since we didn’t have a strict screenplay to follow, editing would be the key to telling the story. We knew we wanted quick cuts and intense imagery. But at this point, nothing was making sense. Instead of focusing on the scene one by one, we unknowingly blasted through by making the entire film look like a big trailer. We had to get some extended scenes in there with dialogue to make this a true short film.
We hit our stride once we made it at the halfway mark and were cutting up the suffocation/hammer scene. I felt nervous watching it and Antonio had to stop for a second to regain composure. I smiled, we really had some “killer” stuff at hand. We did however have a lot of good laughs at the expense of our actors. It was nearly 11am, the rest of the splicing came easy to us and Antonio was smart enough to color grade as we trucked through the editing, saving us a lot of time.
We worked, worked and worked some more with zero breaks. Antonio didn’t even eat breakfast until the film was sent into rendering at 3pm. And around that time, I didn’t know what I was looking at anymore. We thought we had a good story, but exhaustion had set in and its tough to judge your own film without stepping away for a period of time. After the first render, we weren’t sold. Empty space needed filling and it was extremely confusing. We visited a royalty-free sound effect website and just started downloading every horrific sound we could. By strategically placing these sounds into the film it amped the intensity tens folds and really brought a new life into the short for us. With some small adjustments and cuts, we came to our final render. We wouldn’t make any more progress on the film and only had two hours before the deadline.
The crew returned to Antonio's at 5:30pm for a private viewing and to sign all the necessary paper work. Everyone was impressed and proud.
DAY THREE - 48 HOURS IN - COMPLETION
We turned in the packet with our film at The Bard’s Town and walked away. It was 7pm Sunday evening and the 48 was over. My eyelids felt as if they had ten ton bricks hanging from them. But, the conversation didn’t stop there. Ideas kept flowing out and at that point we discussed marketing the film. We had to make the project look like a real big-budget film, and Antonio came up with the brilliant idea of the tagline “Will you solve the riddle?”.
I finally returned home at 9pm and for some reason started editing a different video project, my roommate came into my office and said “you probably shouldn’t do that”. I fully agreed and immediately went to bed, feeling quite delusional and almost as if I was drunk.
After a solid 8 hours rest, I returned to my office Monday and came up with 4 movie posters from various behind the scenes images and cinematic stills. That evening Antonio pumped out a trailer which received over 1,000 views in 24 hours. The hype was out and people were all over it.
Thanks to the awesome-sauce of Joey Goldsmith, we were able to get a couple of the posters printed at full quality and hang them in the theater, the reaction was solid and many were surprised we went that far for a 48.
PREMIERE
The film debuted on a Wednesday to a nearly sold out showing. The reaction was exactly what we wanted, edge of the seats, no distractions and people glued to the screen. The film played through perfectly and good a round of applause. We recieved a great response but after a few discussions we don’t think anyone got it. At least we could say the the film was visually top notch.
The encore on Thursday was so-so, not nearly the crowd we expected and the film played very dark, compared to the night before. Different projector, different settings. However, it still received a great response and during the post showing Q&A we were able to explain what the riddle was and I believe it opened the eyes of many.
After all was said and done, out of 52 teams our film placed second runner-up and recieved 5 awards one being "Best Cinematography", which for me takes the cake. I couldn’t be more proud of our first performance in the 48 Hour Film Project.
Our team was stellar and exemplified professionalism and hardwork.
Antonio is not only an amazing filmmaker, but an awe-inspiring person. You will see many more collaborations from him and I in the future.
I’ll start with a disclaimer; this post isn’t for the casual reader. I’m going to dive into my methods unlike anything I’ve done before. Why? A lot of post processing fun went into the following images and I want to share the knowledge, after all, I wouldn’t be doing this if others didn’t share the wealth.
Before I dive in, let’s start with some background. When the idea “Fiction - A Fashion Series” with Scooter Ray finally came to fruition a few months ago, I had two models in mind and one of them was a 6'6" UofL high jumper named Mike Edwards, from Manchester, England, here in Louisville on scholarship. I first met Mike on a editorial shoot for The Voice Tribune back in April, I really dug his calm ambiance and tone, but it gleamed through photos, many times stealing the show. We stayed in touch for the couple of months to follow and he went overseas to several track competitions. In the meantime I was working up this Fiction series.
At some point we scheduled a date and it looked like it just wasn't going to happen with Mike, he would still be in Europe. But, when Scooter and I sat down and decided to take our time and do this thing right, we happened to nail down a date during a small window of time which Mike would be home in Louisville before he left for Paris, France.
Just like the Taylor Brynne shoot, things moved quickly and the date came sooner then we expected. Once again, I was freaking out for no reason. Scooter and I had another great discussion and the ideas were on the table. Within two days we had the outfit prepared and the concept planned.
Day of the shoot, started off pretty frantic, I had 20 minutes to pack up get to Home Depot and then downtown, I was racing and so was my mind. I walked into HomeDepot with the intentions of picking up a small $10 piece of plastic glass and walking out. What I found was several options and my ONLY option was a large $75 piece of acrylic plexiglass. The others were soft glass and weren’t crystal clear like I needed. I bit the bullet.
At my fault, we arrived about 15 minutes late and walked into Josh’s loft, who once again let us use his studio. The beauty of working with a male model is the zero need for hair and makeup! With a few touch ups and some hair treatment, we jumped right into the first set.
Going into these sets I knew it would be a gross amount of post work, but with that intention I setup one light and just rolled with it, nothing over the top. 10 minutes into the first set I realized I had to make it more interesting. It was sort of empty and nothing was really intriguing about the images we were shooting. I happened to bring a few random black cables and we decided to wrap Mike up in them, it really added a interesting dimension to the image. There was something off about it which I liked.
45 minutes later, we moved onto the next set. Ever seen Minority Report or Ironman? I wanted Mike to be in some form of 3D environment with a digital display in front of him. But with a twist, I wanted the screen to look wet as if it was shorting out. Insert $75 acrylic plexiglass and a oil/water mix in a spray bottle.
We tried several methods and even attempted some double exposure techniques, but all came up short except for one small group of images that really were compelling. Although I’m sure it was pretty awkward, Mike pulled out all the stops and did a phenomenal job. I really enjoyed working with him in the studio, he really took direction well and ran with it.
After we closed up the session, I showed off the raw photos to Scooter, Josh and Mike. The response was OK, but Scooter and I also knew the work had only begun.
I have never done this, but as seen below I have the SOOC(straight out of camera) and the edited image for comparison and show just how much color grading, masking and blending was done to reach our vision…
First set. I really want to strive for consistency throughout all the Fiction images and that being the first image B&W. I always shoot underexposed, because I can always bring up the exposure, I can’t save a blown out image. Mike being 6'6", nearly reached the top of the seamless backdrop and I like to shoot low to high, therefore pretty much all most shots were wide and a lot of ceiling. Not sure the reasoning behind the off center composition, probably just a lazy error of shooting in front of the light stand.
I had about 100 images to work through and I chose this one because of the position of his hands and the expression of his face. It was dark and almost lifeless, which I really liked. I did some preliminary color correction in Lightroom, cooled the white balance, added contrast, brought up the exposure and then imported into Photoshop. Before I even went into B&W I did some major editing. I cloned out all the background(which took a lot of time) and centered Mike in the image. I then created a layer mask over Mike and really hit the shadows and details. Once it was all cleaned up, I did some re-touching and cleaned up some lines. The image looked good. So I de-saturated the entire image to B&W and started the final phase of blending. I added two color fills, a slight orange and a light purple. Then I added two layers of a sound wave image that was motion blurred 100%, turned the blending mode to Screen. Then I added the titling and the image was complete.
Second set. I really procrastinated on this image. I knew it would require some effort. I started the entire process by de-saturating the colors, bringing up the exposure and fill light. Then cooling the white balance and adding contrast. Imported into Photoshop. I took the clone tool and removed any unnecessary background, I wanted to fill the frame with gray. Once completed, I re-touched the skin and did some dodging and burning. I had my image, but the fun had only begun.
I ended up spending a great amount of time finding the perfect images for layering. Some were high-resolution royalty free, others we’re low resolution Google images. No matter, they would all be motion blurred anyway. Some of my search words were “digital”, “display”, “bitrate”, “binary system”, “blueprints”, “touchscreen”, “sound waves”, “3D fireworks” and more. I came up with a set of stock images that would work perfectly, I laid them overtop one after another and blended them until I had it right. Most were set to Hard Light, Screen or Overlay. Once all the layers were in place I did some minimal color balance and dodged the darker areas. I then added two color fills to really bring out details. I stepped away from the picture for about two days and came back on it. I did some minor tweaks with the color and added in some more motion blur on Mike’s face as if he was moving. In the end there would be nearly 30 layers on the image.
It didn’t exactly recieve the response I had hoped, but I’m very proud of the photo and the fashion. There is much more to come of this series, so stay tuned.
Since that day I’ve worked with Mike again on an amazing video project which is set to debut in August. Be sure to leave a comment below and tell me what you think of the images!
Months before I began “GAGA - A Portrait Series” I conjured an idea to create a portrait oeuvre inspired from films like The Matrix and Minority Report. I wanted props! Broken down devices, microchips, glass, cables and cords. Something you would see in a outer worldly music video or high-budget movie. But, I also wanted the fashion and wardrobe to shine and come out through the photography. I wanted to create a brand and staple, something recognizable and pieces that speak louder then words. Now, with the response I had received on GAGA, I had to step up the game.
When I approached a few friends and peers about the idea, I didn't receive much feedback, so I shelved it for a later time and moved forward with GAGA. At some point after the new year(2012) I started doing some serious brainstorming, I decided to connect with friend and fashion designer Scooter Ray with the idea. After a series of phone conversations we aptly titled the project “EPIC”. He was on board and I was glad to have his excitement behind the concept.
Months passed and once GAGA wrapped up I knew that things had to start moving, so I setup a meeting with Scooter. The ideas flowed out like a waterfall, by the end of the meeting we had plans in place and notebook full of intentions. The next day I started casting models, but I didn’t want the standard bombshell or pleasant brunette. I needed striking, bad, tattoos, shaved heads, short hair, the rebels and the renegades. The first model I confirmed was Taylor Brynne, a stunning alternative model from Columbus, Ohio. I had admired her work for sometime and was waiting for the perfect concept to approach her about working together. When I contacted her about it, she was game and we booked it. The other castings followed and we had a fabulous team ready to rock. The shoot would take place in one day, 4 models, a custom built set and a whole bunch of props. This was April 20th, 2012
Fast forward to June 1st, 2012, one week before the shoot and only ideas had been prepared, I was a nervous wreck. Scooter had been involved in several shoots over the course of this preparatory stage and I was underwater with weddings. We were busy people and we let things slide. But, It stopped there, I scheduled a meeting with Scooter to lay it out on the line. What was to be a short to the point meeting turned into a 5 hour rendezvous, going over mock-ups and designs. We came to reality with the situation and concocted a game plan that would work out to our advantage. I immediately went to the team and plot out the following plan:
1. We will be shooting this as a SERIES. The line is so fantastic that we want to focus on each outfit individually. The series will include 3 female models and 3 male models.
2. We will be shooting ONE model at a time. Most all of Scooter’s designer lines are shot in one day, with 3-6 models and is usually hectic. We want to really focus on each piece and each model and spend the time to really make this line shine.
3. Each model will have two looks on their shoot, a high-fashion “euphoria” look and then a manic and broken down “unhinged” look.
4. Every shoot will be studio based. Scooter’s clothing has never been shot in a studio, so we really want to bring it back to basics and counterbalanced with some interesting props and modern digital photography techniques.
5. These outfits will be sold online.
6. The series and clothing line will now be called “FICTION”
June 8th, 2012. Day of the shoot. Surprisingly I wasn't nervous at all. With the blueprints we had drawn out, I felt very prepared and working with one model and two looks was a breeze. My goal? Two spectacular images and bringing our vision to life.
With my current move into a new studio, we asked Josh Eskridge to use his studio for the shoot. He was gracious enough to let us use his home and studio for the day. I have little studio experience, so this set would be a true challenge to overcome. Luckily Josh’s knowledge of studio lighting is unmatched in this region. While we waited on Taylor and the team to arrive we played with several setups for the first look until we found “the one”. An Alien Bee AB-800 with a Octobox diffuser directly overhead on a boom. One light.
Taylor arrived, we made our introductions and sent her into hair and makeup. I left the room and let Tammy Wiseman and Scooter do their magic. Occasionally I would lean over and grab a peek. After the clean look was complete, I was ready and I was in love. This is everything I had imagined. I started by putting Taylor in the mindset of what I was looking for as far as posing; mechanical, futuristic, classy. Things started slow then eventually picked up the pace… click, pose, click, pose. Her expressions saw right through the lens. Taylor is as professional as they come, it was refreshing to work with someone that not only took direction well, but explored the boundaries of that direction. What I was seeing on the back of the camera was far better then I expected. Nearly 150 images later, I knew I had captured “the” shot. Onto the second look, this is where the real fun began.
Tammy Wiseman, our hair stylist, really stepped up her game and just blew me away with her styling on this shoot. I was really pleased and I can’t wait to see what she does with the others. And well, Scooter’s makeup never lets me down! The second look was spot on, crazy and raving mad.
In our meeting Scooter and I had came up with the idea to use film and crazy lighting to bring out the manic side of that particular look. The day of the shoot I headed over to my parents house and grabbed 10 old VHS tapes from the depths of storage room. I also threw a bunch of my band’s stage lighting into a box, just for an added punch.
In preparing the set for the second look, we broke the plastic covering and unwrapped all the tapes and threw film everywhere in the camera’s line of sight. At some point I had the bright idea to blow the film everywhere with a high-velocity fan, which turned out to be beautiful and annoying all at the same time. The film got caught in Josh’s fan not once, but twice, causing us to halt everything and unravel 15 feet of film tape from the fan’s under carriage. Nevertheless, the results were worth it.
Taylor grabbed the handfuls of film and just like that, things worked, she was in her element. I couldn’t of asked for a better model to tackle this difficult vision. 30 images in and I knew I had it, but we kept going! It was too much fun.
We eventually ended with a celebratory bash and I couldn’t help but show a few close photogs the results of the day over beers.
These shots were probably the toughest and most interesting post process job I had ever tackled. I knew it had to be outer wordly, but I wasen’t sure how to do it. The first image came within a few hours, simple, black and white. But, the second image took a couple of weeks, I would edit, then come back to it, make some small changes, then come back a day later. I was just never happy, until I made a key change and decided to add the light trails with some swift photoshopping. I had never done anything like this and I didn’t know what response I would receive, but I was confident enough in my work to display it. I literally clapped my hands in success and knew it was ready for upload.
Without further ado, I present the first set of 6 in “FICTION - A FASHION SERIES” from the like-minds of Scooter Ray and Clay Cook.
Derby time in Louisville, KY is crazy. Local fashion is at a peak and its a busy time for everyone in the industry. I usually don’t blog about anything other then my concept work, but this shoot was exception. I won’t go into detail like many of my other shoots, but I’ll tell the story the best I know how.
Fitz Fitzgerald is a well known clothing stylist in Louisville and when he approached me about shooting for The Voice Tribune, a local publication. I was more then honored to take on the job. It all came together very quickly.
I was pleased to find out that Ashley Smith, who had been one of my “GAGA girls”, would be the female model. Having a familiar face on the team really made the experience that much better.
Everything had been setup beforehand. 21C Museum & Hotel was the confirmed location and in the back of my mind I thought “Man, this is wild. No scouting, no phone calls, just showing up and shooting”. Which is exactly what happened.
When I arrived, I met the crew and Fitz was preparing the looks. While we waited for hair/makeup, I went around and scouted some areas in the building. It was my first time in 21C and its a pretty cool place. Although, I had seen many shots in the museum before, it was exciting finally get to take advantage of the artistic and contemporary place that it is.
I wanted these images to be stunning and worthy of publication. Quietly in my head I scanned through the knowledge I had learned over the past year and decided to experiment with some kicker lights. I really wanted a slick commercial feel, but with a taste of angelic drama and high-fashion. I wanted light everywhere, but I didn't necessarily have the lights to do it. With some quick testing, I ended up with a cross light setup for all the indoor looks.
We started in the back gallery hallway. A more casual look, but very Derby-esque. Things moved quickly! I had never been apart of a shoot where I was simply the photographer and the creative director was at the helm. I always give direction to the model behind the lens and I did, but in this instance most of the direction came from Fitz, which really took some pressure off.
Because we were pursuing a certain look, Ashley didn’t have the freedoms like she did on the GAGA shoot, but she nailed it and gave off an impressive performance. Mike Edwards a 6'6" UofL high jumper, really didn’t have to do anything but look cool and that is exactly what he did. We blasted through the set and within 20 minutes, the models were onto the next look. We would head outside.
It just so happened that a white Mercedes had been rented for a couple staying at the hotel and it was parked directly outside the front entrance. We took full advantage of this. Fitz posed Ashley and Mike on the side of the car and I setup one light and bounced the sun with a reflector. Snap, snap, snap, done. Onto the next look. Yes, it was that quick.
Hair and makeup would have to be changed so I had sometime to experiment. The next image was a formal “Barnstable Browns” look and would be shot on the long metal steps down from the hotel to the museum. Thankfully, my light stand from “Cheetah Stand” raises to a towering 12 feet and I could really get some great exposure on the models faces. I decided to stick a kicker light at the top of the steps for a nice rim light. Then I placed my high-velocity “model” fan at the bottom of the steps. I tooled around for about 30 minutes and keyed in my light. I was confident in this setup.
When Ashley and Mike gained their composure on the steps, we turned on the fan and Ashley’s dress flew up as if being suspended in air, I think I heard a few “ooooh’s” and “ahhhh’s” from the crew. I sprayed the shutter hoping for the perfect shot. At some point during the set, I knew I had nailed it. I showed everyone several of the captures and walked back to the dressing room. Energy was high and I was damp with sweat from all the commotion.
That was it. Show was over. I packed up, threw all the gear in my car, cranked the A/C and took a deep breath. I felt like I had accomplished something great and didn’t come down until the next day.
Even though post processing is essential to any publicized work, once I imported the photos, I was proud that I really captured what I originally sought out to capture. Bringing a vision to life with little to no post processing is always and will always be a major goal for me as a photographer.
Thanks to The Voice Tribune, 21C Museum & Hotel, Fitz Fitzgerald, Ashley Smith, Mike Edwards, Diana E Ray and AJ Brock. Cheers to Derby 2012.
Even though many locals of Louisville, Kentucky dislike the tourist atmosphere of 4th Street Live, I’ve always been one to have an absolute blast in clubs like Angel’s Rockbar and Hotel(now Mosaic). For those that have no clue what I’m speaking of, 4th Street Live is a mall of clubs and restaurants, like the comedy club The Improv and restaurants like the Hard Rock Cafe. Try and go down there on Derby or New Years and it’s shoulder to shoulder.
Ever since I started photography, I sought an interest in shooting in the club Angel’s Rockbar. It’s a “rock” club that has contemporary seating, great lines and an ultramodern VIP section. When “GAGA - A Portrait Series” came around, I knew Rockbar had “The Edge Of Glory” written all over it. Even though “The Edge Of Glory” video took place mostly in a fire escape, I could draw from several other videos like “Marry The Night” and “Pokerface”. Conveniently enough, a longtime friend of mine, Andy Paul, ran the VIP area for Angel’s Rockbar, within a few conversations and calls, I had the place locked.
Sarah Klensch was one of the first models I signed on. January 3rd, 2012 I received a message on Model Mayhem inquiring about my work. Browsing through her portfolio, I noticed she had worked with friend and photographer Lana Wilson. After some quick conversation and a couple weeks passing, I asked her to be apart of the series.
Scheduling “Edge” was hell. I felt bad for Sarah when we had to re-schedule her shoot and bump her on several occasions. I had to work with Andy on the dates and since Angel’s Rockbar was corporately operated, things had to be by the book. When I was finally able to lock down a date with Micah and Sarah, it would be the day after the one of the biggest games in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, Louisville vs. Kentucky. Rockbar was a no go.
So… plan B. But, I had no plan B. I racked my brain and came up with several ideas. Made the calls and most of the ideas fell through. However, I was able to land the Melwood Arts Center, thanks to a friend who would let me use his studios name for permission. The entire shoot would take place outside and on the buildings roof.
Day of shoot. I awoke to thunderstorms and the shoot had to be cancelled. I didn’t feel safe directing a model in heels up a wet fire escape and on a roof with possible lighting. In the back of my mind I thought, will “The Edge Of Glory” ever see the light of day?
By Tuesday we had managed to clear our schedules and book the shoot for the following weekend. This time at our original location Angel’s Rockbar. It was finally happening the way we had imagined and “Edge” was to become the final song in the entire series, which I felt was fitting.
During our shopping escapade at the downtown thrift store for “Love Game” we managed to pick up a few pieces for “Edge” which I couldn't of been more happy about. Black bathing suit and gold chain belt. We would gather inspiration from the “Marry The Night” video and use a bedazzled jean jacket to complete the outfit. Our vision was finally coming together and I was excited to share with Sarah what we had in store.
Friday, I decided to take some of my tax return and hit Wal-Mart for some items that I’ve been needing for sometime. Duct tape, a high-velocity fan, extension cord reels, and emergency blankets. Yes, emergency blankets. Hold that thought, we will return to this later.
Saturday, I was feeling great about the shoot. Location was locked in, Sarah and Micah were on the way and even though it was raining, I didn’t have to worry about the weather.
The hair/makeup transformation would begin and by the time of completion it quickly became my favorite from the entire series. Micah brought it to my attention that I’ve made that statement after every look is complete, but this time it was different. Sarah actually looked like Lady Gaga herself. The mint lipstick just brought everything together. I never knew I would get so excited over a woman’s makeup, guess its all part of the natural progression into the world of fashion.
We loaded up the car and headed down to 4th Street Live. We were a bit early so I decided to start at the top of the 4th street parking garage which I had scouted the night before. The rain has seized and the overcast sky would be perfect for the ominous "New York City" feel.
Sarah had little experience in modeling and hadn't done much in the field of high fashion. This was new ground, but once her groove was found, she popped off poses and fierce expressions that require some serious talent. She held poses and followed direction with pause. She was brave enough to sit on the side of a 12 story parking garage if that says anything about her will. It was refreshing to work with new talent and it truly felt like a team. Micah had been a great assistant in posing the models throughout the process. We had to think like the fashion icon and a normal question asked would be “What would GAGA do?”.
Once nailed the set on the top of the garage we headed back inside to Rockbar. When I first arrived I was a bit overwhelmed, but I had visited Rockbar the night before to plan out my sets, so I was prepared. We started in the long red staircase.
Because there was no break in the steps lighting the staircase sets properly was tough. I had trouble working in my light and after 10 minutes of shooting I still wasn't happy. But like Sarah, I had to find my groove. I pulled off my strobe transmitter, I relied on the natural chandelier light. I had to crank my cameras ISO, but the results we’re finally there. I eventually used a diffused speedlight for just the right amount of fill light where I could see dramatic results.
We banged out the staircase steps and moved upstairs to the long wall of white couches and then to the VIP cabana’s draped in red curtains. Since the birth of the “GAGA - A Portrait Series”, one image had stuck in my head, I didn’t know what song it would be for nor did I really care, I just needed to capture it. That being, a bright kicker light through the red curtains and the model standing with a fist in the air. My first vision was to create a silhouette, but after I had setup all my lights, the image was too awesome to change. About 10 minutes into the set I asked Sarah to raise her hand in a fist and output a powerful and solemn expression. That capture was to become the last image in the entire series, displaying prestige and beautiful confidence.
Back to the emergency blanket. I wanted to shoot against something bright, shimmery and silver. My first instinct was to look for backdrops for studio use, but then I randomly thought of my old wilderness survival books, insert the $3 emergency blanket. Once crumbled up, the foil texture would throw reflect light everywhere. So for the last set, we hung up the blanket on the large white couch and I had Sarah step 10 feet in front of it. I sprayed a ABR800 ringflash on full power to the side of the blanket and a beauty dish 45 degrees camera right. Results were almost there. I turned my 70-200 lens to 155mm and stood way back. Snapped the shot, within several captures we had it. The emergency blanket gleamed almost like a wall of sparkling lights and I was a happy man.
Just like that, we wrapped the entire portrait series.
I have so many people to thank, it deserves its own wrap-up blog post, which I will be posting within the next couple of weeks when this entire project comes full circle.
After leaving Rockbar, we arrived back to my home, I gave Micah a hug and cracked a Stella Artois in celebration. I sat down to edit the images from the day and thought to myself, well, what’s next?
At some point early in December on a crisp Saturday afternoon Josh Eskridge, my assistant Chris Miske and I set out on an journey to find a trashy motel for Josh’s documentary “Exposure” and his “Evolution of Style” concept. We had met beforehand for some lunch to discuss initial plans for the documentary, but decided that a nice Saturday scouting wouldn’t be a bad idea. After driving over to Indiana and all the way over to Dixie Highway we settled on a small motel named Biff’s. The shoot can be seen in the documentary HERE.
During that scout we ended up passing a mysterious and large house, completely abandoned off the side of the road, well within viewing distance from the highway. We decided to take a gander. We rummaged through the house and took a stroll across the several acre plot of land with shacks and garages. At that moment we knew we had to take full advantage of this location and setup something. Something big.
The house was wrapped in vines and looked as if it had been flooded hundreds of times over. From the top floor you could see the Ohio river bank. On this plot of land laid the remnants of a shipping yard or place of business. A large concrete flood wall ran the course of several hundred feet and rusty oil tanks sat decaying. This place was a photographers dream.
A month passed and we had finally wrapped up the “Exposure” documentary, my “GAGA - A Portrait Series” was getting started and things were hectic, but we knew we had to get this shoot on the map. We told no one of our elementary plans and kept everything under wraps, even when casting the models.
Long before this shoot even came into the picture, I wanted to do a shoot inspired by an image from Joe McNally. A woman in a swamp holding a lantern, her mysterious expression told a thousand words and gave the impression that she was searching for something and something was missing. Influenced from that image I began brainstorming concept ideas, but kept it to myself until I could formulate a plan.
TALENT AND TEAM
Becky Patterson, a stunning tall brunette from northern Kentucky was first to join the team. Josh had done some fitness stuff with her before that I claim are some of his best pieces, so when her name was brought up, I was 100% game. I couldn’t of been more happy to have Becky on board and was excited to work with her. She was immediately in-tune with the project and really got things kicked off for us.
Conveniently enough, Sarah Terry had moved from overseas(Wales, UK) to Louisville, KY because of her husbands work, who happens to be Rob Terry, a wrestler in the TNA. She had sent Josh and I a simultaneous message on Model Mayhem inquiring for a photoshoot. When Josh and I discussed this, we decided she would be a perfect fit for this shoot. Browsing through her portfolio we noticed she exalted an elegance and boldness that we needed.
In late January I worked with Katie Justis on a cinematography project for Scooter Ray. An incredible redhead who has one of those “all eyes turn when she walks in a room” type energies. Josh happened to be on the set and I seem to think that a decision was made right then and there, her poise and charm was the final piece of the puzzle.
The models had signed on and everything came full circle when we rounded up our fashion team of Isidro Valencia and Liz Lane. I had worked with Isidro on the “Exposure” documentary so I was stoked that I finally had the opportunity to shoot images for his fiercely creative makeup. Isidro not only brings original and striking makeup to the table, but also a lovable humor that can raise morale in seconds. Liz is just a blast, I also worked with her at the “Evolution of style” shoot for “Exposure” and her work speaks for itself. She could turn a horses mane into a Diana Ross curls, color it silver and style it for Vouge. That woman knows her hair. Both artists were ecstatic to be apart of the project.
BREAKTHROUGH
February 11, 2012 we created a secret group on Facebook and set a date of March 31, 2012, right around the time my GAGA series would be coming to a close(or so I thought at the time). The ideas started flowing and I really like what I was seeing. Our original thought was to put the models in some elegant and outlandish outfits and counterbalance them with the broken down aura of the location. The closer the date became the more I began to think of the story.
It wasn't until March 17th, that Josh and I discussed plans for the “Searcher/Specter” concept for entire back story. I always wanted to the “searcher” theme, but never had the right resources, insert the group “Epic Abandoned House Shoot”. This was the ticket. Once I brought up plans for my concept, the ideas snowballed. Josh had been wanting to do some “levitation” images, where models, through camera composting, are perceived to be floating in mid-air and he showed me several examples, perfection. Why don’t you be the what my “characters” are searching for? Souls, ghosts, etc.
SEARCHER/SPECTER
I would be representing the “light” or “searcher” side, a more natural beautiful look, warm colors and graceful posing. While Josh would be the “dark” or “specter” side, a more edgy, contrasted counterpoise with restless lines.
Not only would it be a great narrative through imagery, but also a great way to cross promote each others work. An 100% team collaborative effort and something that Louisville fashion industry had never seen. Many photographers and models in this industry are out to get each other and knock people down to get to the top. What I’ve learned from my days in music is that only team work and keeping solid relationships alive and rich can get you where you need to go. This was a true example of how professionals working together can create a wonderful body of work.
My style is dark, I like shooting in the dark and creating a very dramatic ambiance. So this was the perfect excuse to really challenge myself and forget the 2 light setup and settle for the reflector.
EXECUTION
I pretty much packed up every single prop and piece of gear I owned. Hair and makeup started at 10am, the energy in the air was alive. It was beaming with excitement and I think everyone could feel it. It was something we had worked hard on for months and the time was now. When Liz whipped out a wal-mart bag and started making a wig on site, I was like, here we go! Then Isidro takes out a sheet of paper that had been cut up to look like Swiss cheese and started applying black makeup on top of the paper over Sarah’s face, I was floored.
We met our goal of heading out by 3pm and we packed in 4 cars and trekked out to the abandoned house. Our sets would begin by trading off models, I would begin with Katie and Josh would begin with Becky and Sarah, once Josh closed up his sets, I would begin with Becky and Sarah.
After un-loading all of our gear and getting a big stretch in, I whisked Kate and Katie away to the far end of the grounds where my infamous “concentration camp” wall gleamed. We setup shop on the outer side of the wall in a set of chest high weeds, placed one light with a diffused beauty dish, 45 degrees camera high right and popped off a few shots. Made some adjustments and ended up at 1/125, f/13, ISO 100 for the perfectly balanced shot. We borrowed a Vagabond-Mini from Josh for the flood light prop which Katie would be handling to “search” for her “specter”. We actually tried to use a fog machine but the Vagabond just didn’t have enough juice to power it. Working with Katie is always a pleasure, her posing is aesthetic and queen-like. She had a scorching hot flood light in her hand and steamrolled through it like it was no big deal. We did 5 sets with Katie in that look, mostly natural light and a reflector. After about an hour with Katie, I browsed through the images and knew I had what I needed, Katie went right into hair/makeup to prepare her “Specter” look.
There was some downtime to change up looks which gave me the opportunity to scout around for Becky’s “Searcher” shots. At this point we had company; two teenage fellows had come around curious. They seemed almost starstruck that all this was going on in there usual hangout spot, where I’m sure they get away, drink alcohol and cause a ruckus. I think everyone was like “who are these kids”. Instead of kicking them off set or ignoring them, I ended up chatting with them and Josh put them to work! One of them had a point and shoot camera and started snapping away. It was fun to have our own little paparazzi that day.
We started Becky’s sets, like Katie, on the far end of the grounds near a broken down garage and two decrepit shacks. I gave Becky a small LED light, I needed the prop to be different from the others and but still poignant. Her posing would be the thing that made or break the imagery, so it needed to stand out. As soon as I laid out my vision, Becky was on it. Boom, Boom, Boom. Her posing was technically unique and to the point, which made for some excellent shots. Because of her fitness background and stature, she pulled off moves that many models couldn’t fathom doing. It took some time to lock in the light, I had a hard sun to work with, but I played that to my advantage using it as a kicker light. After we nailed a few small sets with Becky on the grounds, we moved into the house and concluded her session with a dramatic one light set, which I ended up scraping in post.
We stuck to a schedule and knocked it out of the park. I had a few sets to wrap up with Sarah and we were done! By this time Isidro and Kate had to say their goodbyes and hit the road for previous engagements, but the rest of the team pushed through to the end.
Once I started with Sarah Terry, I really didn’t know what all Josh had shot, all I knew that it was going to be good. I had to bring my A game with these images. We we’re losing light fast, so things we’re rushed at that point. Josh had finished up with Katie and all eyes were on me to wrap the entire shoot. We started on the top floor of the house, I had Sarah hold a $20 fake battery operated lantern I had bought from Amazon.com for a previous shoot, but had never used. The lantern was clunky and almost distracting, so the composition would have to be just right or the shot was a waste. I decided even in low light to shoot mostly all natural with no artificial flash. It went against my better judgement and did what I try to usually avoid, that is, cranking my ISO above 800. Fortunately, my camera and a decent handle on noise and we nailed some solid ambient light shots. Sarah had done this before… her portfolio had been impressive and I was sort of nervous to be shooting her. But, once we got into the groove, every shot was my favorite! She had a class and rhythm to her posing almost like a ballerina.
We moved at a fast pace and 30 minutes later we were outside setting up my last shot, at this point the sun had set, so I setup one speedlight on 1/64 power and used the little natural light I had left to score a beautiful pose which was to become my final shot of “Searcher/Specter - A Portrait Set”.
Throughout the entire evening my phone was buzzing off the hook from people partying/watching the UK vs. UL Final Four basketball game and here we are in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t care, I was high on the success of the day and couldn’t wait to roll out the images. After a quick group shot, we packed our gear back in, threw on a quick change of clothes and headed down to Wicks for some beer and pizza.
SUCCESSION
Two weeks later Josh and I met and coordinated the simultaneous image upload and rolled out the coolest collaboration I had ever done. I was very proud of what we accomplished and what I gained. I reached outside of the box and challenged myself on location and in my office to develop some outstanding work that every member of the team can be spirited about.
Thank you to the entire team for an experience I shall surely not forget.
I met Olivia sometime ago on a shoot for NFocus magazine with Lana Wilson. She is super tall, blonde and demands attention with her presence, but outputs a sweet energy. Her confidence doesn’t overtake her personality, because she is one of the most humble models I’ve ever worked with.
Olivia Ross was our backup and reinforcement. We had a lot of scheduling issues and just in case a model fell through, we had Olivia ready to rock. However, the more I spoke with Micah the more we wanted to include her in the series with her own song. It was an easy choice and it didn’t take long, after a short conversation, “Love Game” was born.
I wanted to wrap up the GAGA series in March, but with the addition of Olivia I knew we would be going into April. After tossing a couple of dates back and forth we finally landed on Monday, April 9, which gave Micah and I plenty of time to prepare. Shooting nearly every weekend for a month and a half can take its toll, time quickly passes and next thing you know you’ve got 4 days to prepare for the next song.
Micah had found a dress while shopping at a local thrift store and we decided to go shopping at lunch one day a week before the scheduled shoot. It was my first time shopping for women's clothing and honestly was a bit awkward. Nevertheless, we ended up picking up some really cool pieces and had some great plans for the final two shoots. It really made me wonder how much shopping Gaga and her team do at the local NYC thrift stores; $2 glasses and $6 dresses. Micah quickly reminded me that all of pieces are expensive designer clothing. Even the ripped up leggings? Yes.
I wanted to shoot in Waterfront Park Place, the multi-million dollar high-rise condominiums right on the Ohio river. I had made some phone calls regarding the “Love Game” location weeks ahead, but all came to a dead end. A good friend really stepped in and tried to score a condo, but fell short about a day before the shoot. I was frantic. I had no location, it was Easter Sunday and the shoot would begin at 2:00pm the next day. After meeting about our cross promoting concept “Searcher/Specter” Josh Eskridge and I ended up driving around the town looking for random parking garages, architecture or anything that could be used for my vision. During our “adventure” I was able to gather a list of phone numbers and names of various lofts and contemporary condominiums. But it being Easter Sunday, contact would be pointless and the calls would have to be made in the morning during hair/makeup. Talk about nail biter.
I stumbled out of bed at 8am Monday morning, 2 hours before hair and makeup and immediately started making calls. I contacted 4 relaters, an engineering firm and construction company. I had seeked out Glassworks, The Ice House, ZirMed Terrace, Fleur De Lis Lofts, Waterfront Park Place(again) and finally landed The Merchantile Lofts, thanks to the kindness of Colin Underhill, the buildings management. But, we would only be able to use the foyer and game room, which was perfectly fine with me. It was 9:30 and Olivia was on her way. I had to grab a quick shower and get ready for the day.
We had some very cool plans for Olivia, but with Micah’s work schedule and mine, some elements couldn’t come together in time, so we had to improvise. Insert $20 disco ball. I had originally bought the disco ball for a simple light experimentation on the “Paparazzi” shoot, but the more we dove into that shoot the less fitting it would become, so when “Love Game” came around, I knew we had a match made in heaven. Little did I know how crucial of a role that purchase would become. Honestly, the disco ball saved the shoot!
I realized that with a small screwdriver I could pick off each individual mirror on the ball and there was still enough glue or sticky tape on the back of the mirrors to stick it onto another surface. In this case it would be some $3 sunglasses and with the help of eyelash glue, Olivia’s face. While Olivia was in hair/makeup I was picking off each mirror and sticking it onto the front of the glasses, with the help of Micah’s vision we came out with some killer GAGA glasses.
We were running a bit early so we decided to kill some time down at the waterfront fountains which was my backup location. Me being the guy that will do anything for “the shot” decided it would be amazing to have a kicker light exposing the water running down the steps of the fountain. The pool of water below said steps was a full blown mirage and when I stepped in I didn’t expect the pool to be up to my waist and I fell in the water, luckily I held my speedlight above my head, but I was soaked from chest down. While Olivia and Micah we’re laughing, I shrugged off the big time fail. Unfortunately, during this set, I made a crucial mistake. Not shooting on a tripod and getting the flowing motion blur of the water, that simple mistake led me to scrap the shots of this set entirely, even though Olivia performed flawlessly. With wet jeans and a damp shirt, we hopped down the street and began our sets at the Merchantile Lofts.
I had a vision for “Love Game”; I saw light everywhere, cool colors and punchy contrast. I wanted to do this a bit different then the others and really experiment with light. I wanted to spray light everywhere and create lens flares and orbs that was unlike anything anyone had ever seen, well that was the goal anyway.
Our first set would be against the contemporary wooden walls in the foyer. I knew my friend and photographer Joey Goldsmith had done some amazing stuff with Amelia Gandara in the Merchantile foyer sometime ago, so I wanted to be careful not to replicate his shots in anyway shape or form. I posed Olivia about two feet in front of the wall and placed the disco ball on the ground and sat a SB-600(Manual, Full Power) speedlight behind the ball with the bulb facing me. SB-800,(Manual Full Power) 45 degrees, camera high right with a softbox diffuser. My normal start settings; 1/200, f/8, ISO 200. And I clicked the shutter expecting nonsensical light everywhere and a under exposed joke.
When I looked at the back of the camera, I saw flares, orbs and a perfectly lit expression that eventually made it to the final roundup of shots. The cool white balance and milky layer that I would normally apply in post was already composed on the shot. I was pretty much floored, but gained my composure and gave myself a quiet pat on the back.
In came the reflector for more experimentation, we used it in a couple of shots, but then Micah came up with the idea to use the gold side as a garment! We draped the reflector over Olivia’s head like a hood. Seen in the BTS shot below, the back side of the reflector hung down behind the speedlight reflecting even more spherical flare and more orbs into the lens.
We rocked out 6 more sets, some with the GAGA glasses other without. I used the Paul C Buff ABR800 ringflash a lot more during these sets then any other GAGA shoot, using it off camera quite a bit. When we reached the last set in the elevator, the “less is more" mentality raised it’s hand. When the light setup I prepared just wasn't working, I popped off the strobe transmitter, boosted the ISO and began shooting natural light. Amazingly, the results were far cooler with ambient light then I could of imagined. The overhead lights and silver reflection of the elevator doors we’re creating a perfectly dramatic exposure on Olivia’s face.
Olivia Ross was an absolute pleasure to work with. Her talent and experience are far beyond her years, a senior in high school she already has tearsheets for days and I’m super happy to of had to opportunity to work with her on this series. Her emotional expressions and classy aura reek through images and captivate the viewer, these images, without a shadow of a doubt, surely show that. She is a true professional.
We wrapped up 15 minutes before our scheduled time and we walked out with heads held high. Arriving back to my office I busted into my office and began the editing process immediately, damp jeans and all.
In the short two years time as a photographer, I’ve scanned through dozens of modeling portfolios, but no portfolio has really grabbed me more then that of model Ashley Smith. The first images in her portfolio, were from Lexington photographer Alicia Calton and then good friend of mine Lana Wilson, both amazing and stunning. I knew I had to work with Ashley. Her look was original and her slight imperfections were the stars of the show, in turn making all of her images compelling in every way.
Near the end of my “Bond Girl - A Portrait Series” I had began networking with models for future concepts. In December of 2011 I reached out to Ashley and asked her to be apart of this concept; “GAGA - A Portrait Series”.
I began every “casting call” for GAGA the same way…Are you a fan of Lady Gaga? It was very important to me that every model involved had energy and an excitement for the project, otherwise we’d have 42 dead, lifeless images. I was lucky to have approached the right models and most responded with a resounding “YES”.
Our original song Micah and I chose for Ashley was “Monster”. We had the idea of using the death tunnel in the haunted and abandoned Waverly Hills Sanatorium. But after some brief tossing and turning, we met an agreement on Alejandro, which turned out to be more perfect and more fitting then I could have ever imagined.
It just so happened to work out that during my inquires for churches in the area for "Scheiße“, I made connections with Marjorie Dunn the event coordinator at a church-now-event-hall, The Marcus Lindsey. The place had some history and caused some local controversy by having a sign out front that read: "NOW LEASING - THE PREVIOUS OWNERS LET IT GO TO HELL”. Apparently a Louisville couple had bought the property, remodeled it into high-class contemporary lofts and turned the cathedral into an empty event hall. Sometime in February, I scheduled a meeting with Marjorie and took a tour of the event hall. The place was beautiful. Clean lines, newly furnished flooring and restored stained glass. I had to use this place, if it weren’t for GAGA, then something else down the road.
Time passed and we ran into some scheduling issues. But after some calendar “fine-tuning” we finally had our time and date for “Alejandro” locked in. After Waverly Hills Sanatorium had come to a dead end, I called up Marjorie at The Marcus Lindsey and we had our location. However, the question that perturbed me; could I pull 7 sets of photos out of this one confined event hall. The answer would prove to be yes and more.
Monday, March 26. I was completely thrilled to be working with Ashley and working in this ravishing location. The day was a beautiful 72 degrees and the sun was bright. I made a last minute decision to hit the local costume shop before the shoot with Micah as Ashley was making the 4 hour drive into Louisville. I’m a prop guy. I love props, some might think its cheesy or distracting, but I think they can sell a story, especially if your doing concept work. Fingernails, monocle, horse whip, eyelashes and a fog machine. The bill wasn't cheap, but I knew it would be worth it.
Marjorie met us at the church before her daily meetings and opened the doors, the place was ours. The hair/makeup transformation began and I started planning out sets with my assistant Kate Gregg with Pink Door Fine Arts & Portraits. I met Kate on a workshop several months back during my infancy as a photographer. Since we’ve became friends and I really admire her hard work and ideas she brings to the table. I think we have a like-mind and appreciate the same sort of lighting. She is a great assistant to have on board.
When hair and makeup had been complete and we finagled with the wardrobe, I was infatuated with the look. Big blonde hair, long black fingernails, bold lips and sharp eyebrows. This was it, this was GAGA. I could barley contain my excitement, but me being me, kept my professional composure and we jumped right into the first set.
80-200mm lens and a reflector; those simple tools really took this shoot to an entirely different level. The ambient light coming through the colored stained glass windows and the light fog from the machine was just too amazing to shut out with a small aperture. I really used ambient light to set the scene for my shots, whether that was shooting at 2 second exposures or just using a speedlight/softbox as fill.
As soon as we hopped into the sets, I knew Ashley had done this before. She wasn't rigid with her movement, but very calm and methodical with her posing. Her method is focused and smooth. She knows how little details can cut an edge between and good image and a great image. The turn in the hand or the slight squint in the eyes can make all the difference. Her initial poses were so GAGA, It felt like I was shooting the real deal.
“You know that I love you boy / Hot like Mexico Rejoice / At this point I’ve gotta choose / Nothing to lose”
My favorite image to come out of “Alejandro” was our third set and one of those “beautiful mistakes”. While I was struggling with light options, my assistant Kate Gregg was downstairs shooting some behind the scenes. At some point, she showed me a shot she had taken. I was blown away and had to capture it myself. So I got on the floor, setup a reflector and moved the composition a bit. 1/200, f/2.8 at 20mm, boom I had the shot in the first 30 seconds. The ambient light from the windows and the smog was just enough to give it a heavenly and ethereal feel. Was it really that easy? I’ve learned from some of the best photographers, that less, in many cases, can be more, much more. Thank you Kate for seeing something I couldn't see.
We were blazing through sets and when all was said an done, I had realized we had done not the planned 7 sets but rather 10! And I was worried about the amount of images?! Things had slowed down and energy was depleting, mine included. Ashley had just recovered from a bad ankle injury and there was no need to push it anymore. So we wrapped up the shoot and I headed back to my office to import what was to become some of my proudest work.
I couldn’t of been more happy with our team that day. Bravo.
Paparazzi, what a ride. Danielle Dafler was actually the first model I signed on for the GAGA series. It seemed like she came out of nowhere. A good friend Scooter Ray gave me a ring and recommended her, I immediately checked out her Facebook portfolio. I gathered Danielle had been heavily involved in the pageant circuit and had had some previous modeling experience, but nothing of the high-fashion sorts. But I was blown away by her demanding presence and almost felt intimidated by her after viewing her portfolio. Blonde, bombshell and very Marilyn Monroe. I needed a blonde right off the bat and she was it. About a week later, Danielle actually approached me. This was months before “GAGA - A Portrait Series” had even come into the light.
Some time had passed and when the concept started to gain ground I asked Danielle to be apart of the project. Her excitement and energy was exactly what “GAGA - A Portrait Series” needed. When the song “Paparazzi” was chosen for her, the ideas seem to explode.
I have never had my phone vibrate so much in my entire life! Facebook messages turned into texts turned into 2 hour phone calls. I seem to remember being photo bombed with about 40 pictures in a matter of 2 minutes chalk full of GAGA ideas and random fashion shots. It was an initiative I had never seen in any other model. Danielle is such a passionate person, when an idea like this comes along she gives it everything she’s got.
During our initial brainstorming for locations I wanted to involve a limousine and parking garage mixed with a lot of crazy lighting, but when the thought of having one location and one set came to mind, I slashed it. Around that time I really started to study Lady Gaga, her videos and all of her antics. When I watched Paparazzi for the first time, I was taken aback, I needed “Paparazzi” to be dark and de-saturated, not bright and colorful. A few days later Danielle suggested exactly what I was looking for; a dark, mysterious domain, The Samuel Culberston Mansion.
Samuel Culbertson became the president of Churchill Downs in 1928 until his death in 1948 and was a very prominent and wealthy figure in Louisville. A few days after the mansion was brought into the picture I tracked down the housekeeper Rudy and booked a room in this historic bed and breakfast.
Fast forward. The series was 2 shoots in and we came up on what was to be our most challenging weekend of the entire concept. “Paparazzi” and “Scheiße” back to back. Paparazzi wouldn't be your traditional shoot. During our trying time of scheduling hell we decided our only option was to start the shoot at 6….6PM. I knew this would be a long Saturday.
It was St. Patrick’s day. I had already assisted one session, completed a client shoot and Micah(Creative Director) had been traveling for Chanel all day. By the time we arrived at the mansion at 6pm, we were both running on fumes and things got off to a late start.
Danielle underwent a complete transformation. Micah created faux bangs and smokey eyes. Her lips looked like something out of Alice In Wonderland. It was totally GAGA. No one could have recognized Danielle after the two hours of hair/makeup preparation. I planned on taking advantage of that.
Scouting around the building, this place was creeptastic. Creaking wood and stories of specters didn’t appease any of us, but it added to the vibe of the entire shoot. I was a bit overwhelmed and slightly nervous, I didn’t want to upset any other guests staying in the mansion nor did I want to disregard interesting rooms. So I said the hell with it and decided to use every possible room available.
I was really blessed that Josh Eskridge agreed to assist on these sets. His knowledge of studio lighting really played a key role and I’m grateful for his assistance always! Lighting this place would not only test my skills, but prove to be essential in creating anything worth sharing.
Our first set began on a large antique chair setup in the corner of our suite. I wanted the all ambient light to come through and still create a dramatically lit image. Our answer? A tripod. We setup a SB-800 speedlight with a softbox camera right and a SB-600 behind the chair in the windowsill, pulled down curtain and drapes which acted as a natural diffuser. We experimented. After about 10 minutes of different techniques and camera settings, I finally reached that “it” spot. Using a remote and shooting a 3 second exposure at f/14 the results that we’re popping up on my iPad we're gorgeous. The only thing that was in my way we’re the faux bangs which created a nasty shadow over her face. So Josh stepped in and popped an Alien Bee with a diffused beauty dish from below and BOOM, we had perfected the image. Those same lighting techniques were carried on throughout the rest of that shoot.
At a 3 second exposure, the model has to remain perfectly still or the camera will create a motion blur that isn’t appealing to the eyes. Not many models can maintain like Danielle did, especially at late hours. Danielle knocked it out of the park. Once that first set was complete, I think her anxiety and nervousness had all subsided and the only thing left to do was pose. From that point on it was smooth sailing.
Set after set, time slipped away and by 1:00am we were wiped out. I could barley keep my eyes open. I knew the “Scheiße” shoot with Brianna Newman would be an even longer day, so after 6 sets, I called it a night. It was a fun, sober St. Patricks day, full of trial, error and Red Bull.
Micah and Danielle put in a lot of time and effort into this look. She dyed her hair platinum blonde, she ordered one hell of a wardrobe and even had a one on one modeling course with Micah. What Danielle lacked in high-fashion modeling experience was made up quickly by her drive and spirit to create a compelling image as a team. The images need no introduction.
It all started over drinks one late night at a small Louisville dive bar called Cahoots. Micah Ruelas, Kaityln Tew and I were discussing models for GAGA series and we happen to stumble upon conversation about the model Brianna Newman. Her name sounded strangely familiar, we whipped out our phones and started stalking her Facebook profile. I realized I had seen her photography and modeling sometime ago during my infancy as a photog. So on January 23rd, I asked her to be apart of this wild and crazy concept. When she agreed with a lot of excitment, I couldn’t of been more happy. Our original song for Brianna was to be Government Hooker, but the more and more I looked at her work I just kept imagining a stunning, tall, powerful woman in red and black, it had to be Scheiße.
“I, I wish that I could dance on a single prayer / I, I wish I could be strong without the scheiße, yeah”
Everything for Scheiße came together fairly easy. As time passed and we had knocked out two other songs for “GAGA - A Portrait Series”, I was confident in both Micah’s ability to sell the look and my ability to create a compelling image.
Last year, I was hired to shoot a music video for a band out of Cincinnati; Rose Funeral. The concept was dark and had some controversial themes. The setting for the video was slated to be a church. After scouring the internet and making several connections via voicemail and email, came in contact with Bob Weber who owned a large abandoned church in Newport, KY. The Grace Methodist Church was built in 1866 and had been completely abandoned for sometime. Previous owners had used it for raves, parties and has always been a hotspot for police. It’s considered one of Newport’s most endangered buildings. The church is lays on the same block as Bob Weber’s place of business Dickey’s Glass. Being the stand-up guy that he is, Bob let us use the church all day with some simple paperwork and direction. I made a point to be 100% professional, keep things on time and “shoot the shit” with him to remain on his good side incase I wanted to return to the church in the future!
After the GAGA concept had come to fruition and Brianna has signed on, I did some research and made a few calls to churches in the Louisville area, all dead ends. All the abandoned churches had been sold off or had owners that weren’t feeling “creative”. So, lo and behold, I decided to give Bob a call. After some conversation he was more then happy to oblige and just like that we had a church.
Despite the scheduling issues, when the 18th of March came around I could barley contain my excitement. Brianna had worked with some top Kentucky fashion photographers and I was excited to be included on the list. I knew had to step it up and bring my game.
Brianna’s car had run into some troubles, so we would have to pick Brianna up from Lexington then drive up to Newport for the shoot, then back down to Lexington and back over to Louisville. It was to be a very long day, but I just knew it would be so worth it. We wrapped up the shoot for “Paparazzi” about 1:30am late Saturday evening and had to get up and high tail it over to Lexington by 10:00am. The next morning, we arrived at Brianna’s home a little late and bolted off to Newport, KY. Following my trusty iPhone GPS, I botched and missed the turn on I-75, soon enough we were on our way back to west to Louisville rather then north to Newport. I adjusted the GPS and it directed us to travel back roads all the way up, so that’s what we did, finally arriving in Newport around noon. What was supposed to be about a 2 hour trip turned into 3. But, once we settled at the Grace Methodist Church, I think everyone was energized and ready to rock it out.
By 12:30pm, Micah began preparing Brianna’s look and I scouted around the massive building for my 7 sets. I was creating images in my head using imaginary lighting and posing, one by one I came up with a game plan for each of the sets. At some point during the hair/makeup preparation I noticed a large piece of red polyester cloth draping over some piece of furniture. I took it off and looked over at Micah, the ideas just flooded my brain. “Can we use this?” I rhetorically asked to Micah. He nodded.
Micah did an outstanding job with the look on this song. It truly spoke to the core of Lady Gaga with its demanding power and confidence. Once we wrapped that dark red polyester "cape" around Brianna’s waist, I had to crack a insane smile.
We started the first set right on the altar, I had borrowed an ABR800 Ringflash from Josh Eskridge for Paparazzi, so for Scheiße I really wanted experiment with it and I did! For the first set I used it as an off camera fill light and it worked fairly well that is until…
The church had no water, heat, air conditioning or power. I ran extension cords from my car through the building to power things such as a curling iron and blow dryer. When I decided to run the 320 watt ringflash on that same power strip, it didn’t like that at all. After about an hour of use, the fuse in my car decided to blow and that was it for the ABR800(I didn’t have a Vagabond). I was really blessed to get the shots I did before things went kaput.
As the shoot progressed we played with a lot of ambient natural light and I was using my tripod quite a bit. Shooting a 1 or 2 seconds exposures on f/22. It was something I had never done before, but the results we’re fantastic as long as the model remained posed as ice.
It was no big deal for Brianna. Being a photographer herself she has a massive advantage. She knew where the light was coming from and could predict movement before I even spoke. Other then Gaga herself jamming through the boombox speakers, the set was pretty quiet because there was no direction needed. Brianna knocked it out of the park. I seem to remember repeating “Fabulous”, “Great”, “Awesome”, “Hold That” and “Wow” quite a bit. She is hand down one of the best models I have ever worked with and I’m proud to of had the opportunity.
We moved quickly and were knocking out set after set. At some point, I noticed the sun had moved the shadows on the floor from the giant stained glass windows. I knew we had to start wrapping up to make the 3 hour trek back the Lexington and Louisville for it was getting late in the afternoon.
We closed up the day in the bell tower, which had to be accessed from a short flight of questionable very steep steps. I knew it was the perfect setting for the vision I had with the red polyester cloth floating behind like a cape. One light, one softbox at a camera setting of 1/50, f/14 and ISO 400. I sprayed and prayed. Brianna grabbed the ends of the cloth and swung it back over her head well over 20 times until I was confident we had the shot. I was nothing but smiles from that point on.
Just to add to the fun, as he did in “Heavy Metal Lover”, Micah decided to step in some shots with Brianna and play model.
We couldn’t of had a more beautiful day and I’m confident the images show that. The drive home was short and sweet, but everyone including myself was worn out and wanted to get home to enjoy some much needed time with Netflix.
P.S. Yes, that is my rottweilers training collar Micah is wearing.
