Breaking In

     Exciting times are afoot with my photography business.  I recently took the opportunity to share space with a couple of friends in a building that I could alter to my heart's content.  I have been searching for a long time to find a space suitable to use as a studio and affordable enough that I could get it off the ground without selling any of the children.

     When I was contacted by my good friend Adam and told there was a warehouse attached to the office that he would be leasing, I could sense the excitement in his voice at the chance that I might be interested in utilizing it as a studio to shoot cars and whatever else I felt appropriate.

     After a good couple of weeks transforming the space into something usable, it was time to shoot the first car.  Adam was holding something special in reserves for this inaugural event.  I could hardly contain myself as he said there would be a 2007 Porsche 997 Carrera 4S with every conceivable factory option on it (minus the chrono and nav) available in his list of consignment vehicles.  He and I were nearly giddy as we rolled it into the new studio to begin work.

This 2007 Porsche 997 Carrera 4S sold new

at $121,000.00 and is still as perfect as it

was the day it rolled out of the factory

     Working in a new environment always has its issues.  This new space would be no different.  I spent the majority of the first hour of the shoot experimenting with how the light would work with the walls that I had so painstakingly smoothed out and painted in a flat white.  After taking nearly two weeks to get them right, I was at a loss as to how to shoot with them to create the high key look I was after in the photos.  After a bit of frustration it came to me: 'Point your studio lights at the walls and use them as big bounces, ya ding-dong!'  Brilliant idea!  All of you experienced studio photo-magicians out there are probably rolling your eyes right about now.  Forgive my naiveté.  I aimed the lights toward the walls and I was off and running.

The white walls of the studio create a perfect
reflection in the bodywork of the car, highlighting
any imperfections or door-dings.  As you can
clearly see, there are NONE! 

The interior of a car is always a challenge when
on location somewhere outside.  I was a little nervous
as I shot these interiors, not knowing how the lighting
would work out.  All my fears subsided as I saw
these results on my camera's preview screen.

The light balance in this picture is as close to perfect
as anything I have shot.  Even the instrument cluster
is properly exposed.

The interior of this car was as important as its exterior.
Finding the right balance of light to highlight both was
absolutely crucial.  I placed a remote strobe inside
the car and triggered it with my camera's built-in
flash.  I had to be very careful not to over-expose either
element of the car to creat a balanced image.

     A conversation that occurs on a regular basis between Adam and I is one regarding the quality of the images I produce for his marketing purposes.  He regularly asks me if I would please not make them look like brochure images so that he doesn't have to keep explaining that 'Yes... It's the real car I have for sale'.  It's hard for me to build what I would consider flaws into my images so that they appear more "realistic" to his clients.  I would argue in return that if he would stop supplying me with so many incredible vehicles I might lay my standards aside for a moment.  But when faced with such magnificent works of pure art it's hard not to give them the due respect I feel each one of them deserves.
     In the end, it's going to be an adventure pursuing the perfect lighting scenarios for this new space.  As long as I have such fabulous subjects, it's sure to be an enjoyable one!

White Lightning

    Few cars hold my imagination for long.  Too many are so uninspiring.  Made to make the sale rather than to please the enthusiast, they leave me hanging like a wet towel.  Yes, you have to use a towel to dry off.  But do I have to feel like a tool for the manufacturer to dry their ravenous drool covered, sweaty, sales-hungry teeth with just so they can park another of their cookie-cutter lackluster tin can cars in some sap consumer's garage?  I want to be pampered!  I deserve to be treated like gold!  It's my money and where I choose to spend it that's driving their sales, after all!  My soapbox just grew by a few crates!  HA!!
     Bucking the tide of volume sales in exchange for giving consumers something to fill the desires of their hearts, a few manufacturers out there have given the auto world what they are REALLY after: power, finesse, control, style, heritage, and don't forget a heaping dose of  knee-buckling exhaust resonance!  Unfortunately, like everything fine in this world, it always comes at a cost.  You can typically expect to spend all of your piggy bank savings and still have to borrow a couple hundred thousand from the bank to squat yourself into one of these cars.  But not if you're smart about it.

     I recently found a shining diamond among the topaz when I was asked to photograph a 2006 Lamborghini Gallardo for Adam Heller of TrackSpec.  One of Adam's clients was ready to move into something a little different and needed to find a worthy home for his baby.  Adam called me up to shoot the ad photos.
     We picked up this little beauty from the dealership that had just given it a full service and inspection and took it to a local parking structure.  The gloomy morning clouds broke as we began our shoot.

     Lamborghini gave birth to the Gallardo in 2003 and introduced it to the world at the Geneva Auto Show that year.  Like it or love it, the Gallardo quickly made its presence known in the world of affordable supercars.  Breaking away from Lamborghini's trademark scissor-doors, the Gallardo definitely made a statement.  This kid brother to the Murcielago came packing a wallop too.  Hanging only 46 centemeters from mother earth from whence its alloys were mined was a 512 horsepower aluminum block Cosworth V10 with finishing touches placed at Györ in Hungary.  Power then was transfered to the pavement via an all-wheel drive system creating an agile machine capable of slapping the silly smile off the faces of any naysayers.

     Adam and I couldn't help but smile as we drank in this car's lines.  Having seen our share of "used" supercars and finding them all too often to be lacking, it was comforting to find one that needed nothing but a new owner.  Clearly this car's current owner understood what it meant to care for the finer things.  Not a rock chip or scratch existed on this car.  Usually I can find at least one.  Not this time.

     Prohibition was a time in the history of this country where the government told people what they could and could not do to satisfy their need to consume alcoholic beverages.  Many took it upon themselves to self govern and came up with a history making idea of their own.  Deep in the backwood hills in darkened shacks bubbling with copper kettles a new and powerful concoction was developed.   A distilled form of corn alcohol, sometimes called White Lightning, was born.  The moonshiners found it necessary to outrun the lawmen of the time to distribute their "rocketfuel" to those seeking its intoxicating effects.  We all know what they did with their cars and that NASCAR was born out of it.
     Deep in the darkened cubicles at the skunkworks of Automobili Lamborghini SpA, much like those shacks in the hills, the bubbling minds of another sort of imagineer churned out a creation that would fly in the faces of those who felt that such things should never be made manifest.  Women and children hide your eyes!  A new form of White Lightning was here!

     As mentioned previously, I had found myself in the presence of a diamond.  Brand new in 2006 you could expect to pay in the neighborhood of $165,000 for this car's intoxicating effects.  With only 11,000 miles on it however, this one won't break you in half each time you go to make the payment.  Too good to be true?  A "used" supercar that someone actually took real care of?  Believe it.

     Lamborghini stands alone in the hyper-fit and fully proficient super muscle car world.  You can attempt to compare others to what they produce, but nothing else will fit into their mold.  The sweetest thing about this fact is since no others will fit, Lamborghini has carte blanche to come up with whatever they want!  The ultimate reality is that they recognize this and have the good sense to push the envelope of what others feel can not, or should not, be done.  All praise to these free thinkers!  Keep it coming!

Jam Packed With Performance and Value

     This is the 2011 Porsche 997 GT3 RS.  A brute of a car.  And not one for your average driver.   This thing is serious!  Drivers who've just cut their teeth behind the wheel of their ratted out, over modified BMW or Honda please do yourself a big favor and stay away.  This finely crafted work of German art will hand you a whoopin' that you won't soon forget if you handle it lightly.
     The engineers at Porsche took the platform of an already incredible car (the GT3) and decided to squeeze out every last drop of performance.  By many accounts they've done just that.
    

Power is transfered from the muscle to the rubber via
a 6-speed manual single mass flywheel transmission
and 325/30 ZR19 rear tires.
If those tires happen to be the optional
specialized Michelin Cup tires as seen in this image,
you can go straight from the street to the track
without changing your shoes.

      Sure there are higher horsepower cars with greater torque.  Sure, you can pay to much for a car with twin turbos, lots more cylinders, and a seat that air conditions your butt while you listen to Vivaldi.  Sure you can drive a car that urges you to don a leather jacket and gold chains to match your greased back hair and fuzzy chest.  When you wake up from your alter ego driven daydream, however, you'll realize something.  Those cars have either overshot the mark of balanced excellence that the GT3 RS has hit squarely on the money, or they are stealing the cues that Porsche created years ago only to fall far short.    

High flow tubing allows a greater than normal amount of
air into the hungry, resonance valve controlled intake manifold.
Variable valves control the air flow as demand increases or decreases
allowing the engine to match the performance input from the driver.

    With respect to one of the competition's greatest achievements, that being the Ferrari 458 Italia, an engineering wonder in it's own right (and still one car that takes my breath away), you still can't own one for under the $250,000 mark.  The GT3 RS's base price of $135,500 (before options) gets a serious driver into a more than serious machine which can take on the competition and leave them envious at your discerning performance / value driven decision.

The Bi-Xenon™ automatic leveling headlights of the
GT3 RS create a concentrated beam that
reduces driver fatigue on darkened roads.  Couple this with
the optional cornering system that allows for up to 15˚
of lateral movement of the light source which constantly
monitors for speed, lateral acceleration, and steering angle
and you've got a light source that will guide the driver
through whatever dimly lit adventure he can dish out.

     Balance.  That's what this car is all about.  From the front to rear weight bias, to the staggered front to rear wheel setup, to the amount of performance driven engineering crammed into the price tag, I would defy anyone to find a more performance for value balanced car on the market.  This thing only exists on the consumer side of production because racing requirements state that in order for Porsche to use it on the circuits they have to produce one for the streets.  What did Porsche do to satisfy?  They put a license plate mount on it!

The staggered wheel base of the GT3 RS creates
uncompromised stability at high speeds while the
aerodynamic bodywork and massive carbon fiber
rear wing creates hordes of downforce, planting the
car squarely on terra firma when the driver gets
heavy on the accelerator.

Large cross-drilled carbon composite brake rotors straddled by 6-piston
front and 4-piston rear monoblock aluminum calipers add
to the safety features of the GT3 RS.  Carbon composites
ensure a fade free, reliable braking system when applied under
the intense heat and pressure encountered during high
performance driving situations.  Center locking hubs in place
of the standard 5 lug configuration allow for more rapid wheel
changes and a shift in driving dynamic.

Carbon fiber seats shrouded in suede firmly secure the
driver in place as lateral g-forces at speed try to remove the pilot
from his position behind the controls.

A place for everything...  Organization of the essentials is
kept in mind with the front end offering enough space for
a small assortment of tools and maybe your laptop.  Maybe.

     Let's talk performance.  Weight is 3,020 lbs.  A horsepower maximum of 450 is achieved at  7,900 rpm out of a rear mounted 3.8 liter flat six boasting a 12.2:1 compression ratio, transferring 317 lb-ft of torque to the ground.  The 60 mph mark is reached in just 3.8 seconds from a standing start.  Flat out the GT3 RS will do a reported 193 mph.  If you do the math on horsepower to weight that's one horse for every 7.1 pounds if you strap a 175 pound driver behind the controls.  Ever ridden a horse and felt a little inadequate compared to their awesome power?  Porsche engineers even took the air intake on the rear apron and turned it around to face forward, taking greater advantage of the airflow across its sleek exterior, much like the intakes on a turbine engine found on a fighter jet.

     Overall the 2011 Porsche 997 GT3 RS is a car for the serious driver looking to own a supercar that they can actually drive.  Track ready and itching for you to slam the accelerator to the floor, this car will never disappoint.  Snug yourself into the driver's seat and stare down the tarmac across the yellow 12 o'clock vertical indicator on the alcantara wrapped steering wheel and you'll know you're in for more than a treat.  You're in for a veritable feast of all things savory!

Medicinal Meandering

     Yesterday was cold.  Sort of.  45 degrees and windy.  I was feeling a little overwhelmed by life and needed a respite.  I donned my mountaineering boots, a pack with some gear, and headed for the mountains.

     As I reached the Park-n-Ride lot at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon I saw a multitude of skiers dashing out of their cars, trying to catch the bus that was pulling into the terminal across the lot.  A man in the car next to me hurriedly stripped off his jeans and nearly dove feet first into his bibs, all the while being cackled at by his female companion who was afraid they would miss their ride to the resort.  I casually slipped my pack onto my back, harnessed my camera around my neck, and meandered toward the trail at the east end of the lot.

     I had no real destination or goal to speak of.  Just a desire to smell some clean air.  It's almost medicinal to me to wander in the woods and just smell the air.  I hadn't been out for a hike in a LONG time and one was due.

     As I strolled along the pathway that cut through the scrub oak I could hear voices coming from the surrounding cliffs.  Climbers were out enjoying the first real "break" in the weather.  And why not?  It wasn't a bad day to be on the rock.  It was dry, after all.

     I made my way toward the voices and soon found myself in the area of the Crescent Crack buttress.  Amid cheers from a female voice, and grunting from a male voice, I honed in on the position of a party on a route called Mexican Crack, an unforgiving piece that tests your commitment as a climber and your skills as a rock technician.  I picked out the names "Justin" and "Margo".

     Justin was at work on traversing final 40 feet of the route.  At one point he actually jammed his left hand into the crack so well that it got stuck!  It took him a good minute or two to pull it out again.

Justin works the final traverse on Mexican Crack, 5.10a,

Crescent Crack Buttress, LCC

 After getting his hand stuck (then released), Justin hangs on his

gear and reassesses.

     In the course of watching this party of climbers I had made my way to the top of the route they were on via an adjacent dihedral in an effort to get a shot of their attempt from the top down.  As I stood at the top of the route, however, I quickly realized the precariousness of my position and abandoned my efforts.

     As I made my way back down, I spotted another party on a route called Crack in the Woods.  They were doing a link up between that route and one higher up the next face to the right called Hand Jive.  Truly a couple of classics in the canyon.

A party makes their way up Crack in the Woods (5.9) on their way

toward Hand Jive(5.8), Crescent Crack Buttress, LCC

     Justin had made it to the top of his route by this point.  I made my way over to the belay and took a few shots of Margo making her attempt at the start of the route, a casual stemming move by anyone over 5'8" tall.  For Margo, however, this would prove much more difficult as her short stature caused that she had to nearly do the splits to stem between foot holds.

     After an exhausting effort at the base of the route, Margo had made it past the stemming section and was off and running toward the upper parts of the route.

Margo makes a go of the 5.9 start to Mexican Crack.  After a tumultuous

beginning, she eventually found her way to the upper sections of

the route and blazed through them.

     I wished Justin and Margo well and made my way back down the hill to the bouldering areas hoping to get some shots there.  As I reached the area called The Secret Garden there were a few guys working a problem called Twisted.  Each of them would make an attempt, fall off, give some lousy excuse as to why they couldn't do it, then go on talking about something else.  There was one guy in the group, however, that walked right up to the boulder, grabbed the holds, and pulled himself up and over the top of the problem.  His friends all gave some encouraging cheers then proceeded to make more excuses as to why he could do it and they could not.

An anonymous boulderer attempts Twisted (V6), Secret Garden, LCC

     After a few minutes putzing about the area and not finding any quality photographic opportunities, I headed back to my car.  I had enjoyed being out in the mountains.  It was good to stretch my legs and smell some fresh air again.

     As I walked the trail back to my car I passed a family with a couple of small children presumably doing what I set out to do.  The kids were digging in the dirt on the side of the trail while the rest of the family was chattering about who knows what.  Honestly it didn't matter what they were talking about.  Climbers, boulderers, and hikers alike were all out enjoying the day.

     The snow set in again as I reached my car.  I started it up and turned the wipers on to clear the windshield and was all too aware of the fact that it had been far too long since I last got out.  It won't take that long again.

In the Studio (Session 2)

     After another session in the studio with Cameron, and a few new models, here are the results.  We attempted some different lighting scenarios and had a lot of fun experimenting.  Our models were willing to go with our ideas to create something a little different from the usual portrait set up.


     Special thanks to Mel, Mandi, and Jacky for helping us out with Cameron's run at a scholarship through the Skills USA program.

Jacky is naturally posed here in a conversational position.

Warm lighting with an amber gel over a speedlight illuminating the 

backdrop adds a comfortable feel to this portrait.

 Mandi takes on a contemplative pose in this portrait.

The green gel on the speedlight creates a sense

of "other than present" state of mind for her.

Changing the color of light creates mood in

portraiture.

 Mel was having so much fun during our session with her.

She is posed here in a strong, triangular position lending

power to this portrait while at the same time a sense of

femininity and softness.

 A blue hue to the backdrop allows a coolness to this

portrait of Jacky.  Her eyes are focused of camera as if

she's laughing at something we don't know about.  The camera 

angle is low here offering a sense of grandeur, as if Jacky is

greater than us all.

 Here, Mandi takes on a soft pose haloed by warm lighting.

The camera angle is high and Mandi's face is directly into

the camera's position elongating her neck.  This causes

her to look more slender and offers a more appealing look

than if the camera angle were to be at her head level.

 A casual pose helps the viewer to connect with the

portrait.  Here, Mel supports her body weight on her back arm

and tilts her head toward her shoulder.  Her forward arm lays

across her lap.  Again, a higher camera angle allows a slimming

effect on the model.

 In this portrait I wanted to emphasize the rule of thirds.  Mel's

body position is  also diagonal and linear leading the

viewer's eye directly to her face.  The line from her arm to her shoulder,

complimented by the line created by her hair, also adds to this

effect.  She is offset to the right of the image creating space

in the portrait.  I often like these images printed very large, almost

life size.  The warm splash of light on the backdrop creates an

interesting gradient from light at the bottom to darker at the top.

This is in direct juxtaposition to Mel's coloring which starts dark

with her jeans and gets lighter with her hair creating visual interest.

 Mel is about to go back to brunette and wanted a portrait that

highlighted her hair color.  Here the key light was placed at 45°/45°

with a smaller soft box (about half the size of the one on the key

light) below and in front of the camera position.  I metered from the

smaller light with the key light set two stops higher to create a touch

of rim lighting.  Mel dropped her head backward a bit giving the viewer

a 45° profile of her face from the top of her head.  Again, a warm splash

of color on the backdrop was accomplished with a speedlight and

amber gel placed on the floor directly behind the model's position.

This is a very feminine portrait.

     Overall, this session was fulfilling to me as a photographer and to the models as they were having so much fun posing for Cameron and I.  Having fun in the studio often lends to creativity and coming away with something a bit different than what you may expect.  I hope you enjoy studying these portraits and can use them to fuel your own creative juices!

In The Studio

    A couple of weeks ago my good friend Cameron came over to my place for some instruction on how to shoot different studio lighting techniques on a model.  He is competing in the Skills USA program under the photography category.
     This presented a bit of a challenge for me as I had a hard time rounding up a model.  I called all over the place and found my good friend Sarah willing to stand in for us.  Below are some of the shots that I took during our session.
     Sarah was easy to work with and we quickly had a number of great shots to add to our quiver for our editing session later on.  Special thanks to Sarah for coming over on short notice and spending a couple of hours with us while the tutoring session commenced!

      This first shot was done by Cameron and displays a good example of butterfly lighting.  This was actually shot as we were experimenting with the lighting intensities.  Sometimes the best shots just "happen".

      In this shot I used the 45° lighting technique with a hair light above and behind our model.  I also used a sidelight at 2 stops below the key light 90° to the model's left side.

     Here, I used a 50mm lens at f5.6 and a single light butterfly technique with a soft 48" reflector panel laying on Sarah's lap to add a bit more luminance under the chin and on the chest.

     Finally, a single light butterfly technique was used here to show the difference between using a reflector panel and not using one.  In this image the model's neck and lower face shadows are deeper, thus creating more contrast in the composition.  Sarah's pose is also more direct and upright adding strength and poise to the composition.


     We had a lot of fun shooting these images and hope you enjoy them.  To see more photos from Cameron, you can link to his blog from this page at the top right under "The Up and Coming".