New lens and neo-noir.

In addition to seeing some much-missed friends while in Southern California last week, an absolute highlight was getting to shoot with my friend Sarah, who has a knack for looking effortlessly in home in front of a camera. It was a rollicking good time of messing with lighting, gritty backgrounds and moody expressions (and putting my new 50mm to use).

This next photo? An absolutely happy accident. It's a little soft, but still...after an accident like this, I can pack up and go home.

Nerd note on this one: Backlit with a Canon 580, fill light provided by an iPhone 4.

This week...

No work makes Jack a dull boy. So...the other day I and and a photog friend (and former co-worker) took a few hours to work on portrait technique and, since a photographer should have portraits of themself, shot portraits for each other. I've got a bunch to work through, but here's two of Fran I like very much. I used to be all about shooting with natural light, but in the past year I've started introducing more controlled light into my portraits.

The Fashion Focus

I had a blast yesterday, shooting portfolio images for two friends who do hair and makeup. I also couldn't have asked for a better, more dramatic sky to use as a background. Lots to sort through, but here's three initial picks.

some are white light

i'm a night owl. which doesn't jive well with having a job that requires me to be up and functional in the morning. but every so often i can't resist staying up late and indulging in the meditative stillness of long-exposure night photography.

what's interesting to me is how much i'm drawing from this image that i didn't see when i framed and created it.

despite gathering storm clouds, there is a cool stillness in night air laced with the scent of sagebrush.

and even on the darkest of roads, there is still, sometimes, light. like a spear shot from heaven, guiding us.

these are dark times. but we are not hopeless.