Apr 30
Details |
ISO 200 … 48mm … f/5.6 … 1/640 sec
Intent |
Landscape
Comments |
A lone Cyprus tree at dawn on the hilltop looking over Dillon Beach.
Apr 29
Details |
ISO 1000 … 70mm … f/5.0 … 1/50 sec
Intent |
Growth spurts.
Comments |
I like to capture the little things sometimes…
Apr 26
Details |
n/a
Intent
Documenting a Party at Supperclub
Comments |
Beautiful girls appreciating each other.
Apr 24
Details |
ISO 1600 … 70mm … f/2.8 … 1/50 sec
Intent |
Portrait
Comments |
This is Gorman’s Swiss chef, Ueli, standing in the studio watching the slideshow.
Apr 23
Details |
ISO 200 … 200mm … f/4 … 1/500 sec
Details |
ISO 200 … 70mm … f/4 … 1/400 sec
Intent |
Personal Work
Comments |
These images were made in the yard at the Bed and Breakfast where Tyler and Draper where staying in Albion.
Apr 22
Details |
ISO 200 … 70mm … f/5.6 … 1/160 sec
Intent |
Snapshot Landscape
Comments |
Friday at Gorman’s was great. I arrived at 2, just in time for a plate of magnificent food from his Swiss chef, Ueli. There to greet me was his assistant, David Heisler, who recently appeared on the Janice Dickenson Modeling Agency show. Also there, co-teaching for the week, was his retoucher, Rob Carr. Sadly, Megg was absent. Apparently she got a huge modeling gig and wasn’t available. Go Megg! After lunch, I hung out and caught up with Tyler and Draper, who were out from Colorado. I made some images in the field in front of their place before heading back to the ranch. As the sun started setting, the wine began to flow in regular Gorman fashion and amongst the selection was a fantastic Zin called The Prisoner. After socializing a bit, we all migrated to the studio for the remainder of the evening. Before dinner, we watched a video that showed the week in review, along with a few others that including one of all the students’ best work. There was a newbie there named Michael who showed great promise. We’ll keep an eye out for him in the future. The night ended with some incredible music. Mathew Shoening performed a solo set of songs he’s produced with an Electric Cello and a series of loops that he creates layers and plays over the top of. It was amazing. What a great way to start the weekend!!
Apr 19
The following statement appeared on the Nikon websites:
Termination of D3 Digital-SLR Camera Firmware Ver. 1.10 Download
On April 15, 2008, an announcement was made on the Nikon website that the Ver. 1.10 firmware update for the D3 digital-SLR camera was available for download. However, it has been confirmed that when the following settings are applied with the updated firmware, image data may, in some rare cases, be corrupted. Therefore, we have terminated the firmware update download. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused.
* Release mode: Continuous high speed (CH), or Continuous low speed (CL) with Custom Setting d2 set to 9 fps
* Image area: FX format (36×24) or 5:4 (30×24)
* Image quality: NEF (RAW) or NEF (RAW) + JPEG fine/normal/basic
* NEF (RAW) recording>NEF (RAW) bit depth: 14-bit
Apr 19
I just came across this a minute ago and thought it was worth referencing.
Apr 19
Details |
ISO 200 … 70mm … f.4 … 1/1250 sec … Manual
Intent |
Action sport shot
Comments |
Here is another shot of Layla flying high, but with a tighter crop.
This image is discussed in fredmiranda.com’s photography forum here.
Apr 18
Today I’m off to Greg Gorman’s ranch house in Mendocino where he’s hosting a workshop this week. I’ve taken two of them and they are amazing. My friend Tyler Stableford (who I met at the my first workshop) and his assistant Draper are there. I’m heading up for the week’s end dinner party, slideshow and music performance. Megg Morales is there modeling again and so is Sam. It’s always cool to see other photographer’s images of models that I’ve worked with before. Look for photos next week!
Apr 17
Apr 17
Details |
ISO 400 … 14mm … f/5.0 … 1/90 sec
Intent |
Portrait
Comments |
This is DJ Sol, an international DJ, who just returned from spinning the rocks off a ridiculously luxurious beach-side wedding in Cabo. The image was created at 5:30am in the South Beach during the Winter Music Conference. Rare vinyl and his own mixes can be found at www.solsoundmusic.com
Apr 16
I recently got contracted to document the future Tony Hawk Foundation celebrity fundraiser events.
In 2007, the exclusive event raised over $1-million for the Tony Hawk Foundation to further its work to bring high-quality, free, public skateparks to kids in low-income communities. Co-chaired by Tony Hawk, Lance Armstrong, Ron Burkle, Benicio Del Toro, Jon Favreau, Leeza Gibbons, Mat Hoffman, Jimmie Johnson, Robert Kotick, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bob McKnight, David Spade, Shaun White, The 1,000 guests enjoyed a family-centric carnival atmosphere, including games and activities, plus a Vert Demo by Tony Hawk, Bob Burnquist, Andy Macdonald, Jean Postec, Mat Hoffman, and Kevin Robinson, and music by Me First And The Gimme Gimmes.
2008 will see me at this and the newly added event to be hosted by P. Diddy somewhere in the Hampton’s this summer.
More info about the Tony Hawk Foundation is available here.
Apr 15
Details |
ISO400 … 24mm … f/5.6 … 1/15 sec
Intent |
Kibbles n’ Bits
Comments |
During a hike up Cataract Falls on Sunday, we hit a patch of light coming through the forest that I knew would be a good spot for panning action shot. I had Adam hold Squiggy back until I was all set up. Then he let go and I tracked her as she ran down the stairs, creating a nice motion blur.
This image is discussed in fredmiranda.com’s photography forum here.
Apr 14
Details |
ISO 200 … 75mm … f/4 … 1/2500 sec
Intent |
Action water shot
Comments |
Here is Layla being thrown high in the sky by her Dad. I brought my SLR with me on the off chance that something along these lines would happen. The first time he threw her in the air, I saw the light hit all the water droplets and she was clearing the trees! So I went and grabbed the camera and laid down on my belly at the edge of the pool. He threw her up about 10-15 times before pooping out. There are some more good ones coming…
Apr 14
[taken w/ iPhone]
Over the weekend I was at the swimming pool at the Hills Club with my friend Charlie and his daughter Layla. It was gorgeous. Pretty much a perfect day. The water in the deep end was a bright blue that attracted me to it like a bear to honey. Being the photo dork I am, I walked over to the edge of the pool and snapped off a couple of shots. I love to watch light refract on water. When I find puddles and streams, I try to get my camera as close to the water as possible. What’s amazing is how when framed up right, a reflection becomes a liquid version of reality. In some photographs it is even difficult to distinguish between source and reflection.
While we were there, Charlie started throwing Layla up in the air and from where I was, the whole scene was backlit. I caught her in mid air and will post those shots later.
Apr 13
If you’re looking for a good hike, the Pacific Coast Trail out of Muir Beach is great. But it’s an ass-buster. Here’s a shot of Adam, Paul and Squiggy from a few weeks ago. Today’s shaping up to be a cooker, so I’m heading for the Steep Ravine Trail that’s well shaded. Look for a shot in the next few days.
Apr 12
The guys over at Photojojo had an interesting post that I thought worthy of mentioning here.
They show you how to make very unique images using any old vintage camera.
http://photojojo.com/content/photojojo-original/through-the-viewfinder/
I like using my Lensbaby lens to get similar results without having to carry two cameras. See my post on selective focus, where I photographed a Rolls Royce…
Apr 12
Picture credit: Christie’s Images Ltd 2008
A Nude of Kate Moss by Irving Penn was just auctioned off for $91,000 with the money going to charity.
Apr 11
I have often thought about doing this, but never had the need to. Pretty cool. On American’s Next Top Model, they had a room of them that went off all at the same time, for the creating of a 3D image.
Apr 10
Be a swimsuit photographer for a few minutes. Sports Illustrated and Taco Bell have teamed up for some cross marketing promotional fun.
Give this a shot. You’ll get a kick out of it!
Apr 10
SAN JOSE, Calif. - April 2, 2008 - Adobe Systems Incorporated today
announced Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta, a public preview of new and improved functionality to be delivered in the next major release. Lightroom is the professional photographer’s essential toolbox,
providing one application for managing, adjusting, and presenting large
volumes of digital photographs. Lightroom 2.0 beta will feature
enhancements such as dual-monitor support, localized dodge and burn
correction and will be the first Adobe application to support 64-bit for
Mac OS X 10.5 Intel Macs and Microsoft Vista 64-bit operating systems.
“Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta provides early access to requested
improvements over version 1.3 and continues our ongoing dialogue and open communication with the photography community,” said Tom Hogarty, senior product manager for Photoshop Lightroom and Camera Raw. “We’re excited not only for our existing customers, but also for the general public who will have an opportunity to take Lightroom 2.0 beta on a test run.”
Lightroom 2.0 Beta has some significant improvements including:
• Localized corrections
• Improved organizational tools
• Multiple monitor capability (Such as for viewing your pictures in grid view on one monitor, and displaying them as full screen on the other; or Loupe view on one and grid on the other.)
• Flexible print package functionality
• 64-bit support (for better memory management)
• Improved Photoshop Integration
• The beta works on all computers with a valid license for 1.x. New users can use a 30 day trial.
• The 2.0 Beta will not(!) import catalogs from version 1.x.
• Use 2.0 Beta with caution as it is not a final release. Best you continue to use 1.x for your productive work. The final 2.0 release version will provide a way to convert 1.x catalogs to the new version.
Full press release here.
Lightroom is my primary photographic oriented application… and I LOVE it!!!!
Apr 10
My brother sent me this the other day. It’s hysterical.
The outrageous part about it all is that it’s totally real. Check this:
Apr 10
People often ask me what I shoot with and my response is a little bit of a story. Those of you who know me personally might chuckle at that. Sometimes I feel the need to create such a foundation for my answer that it turns into a long story. Annnnnyway, so here you are, about to be victim to such a response. And you didn’t even ask! My first SLR was a Canon Rebel that Andre Agassi was endorsing. It came with this cheesy acid wash cloth cover with a neon green stripe running through it sideways. Are you kidding me? Even then, it was lame… and quickly disposed of.
That camera lasted for a long time. But then Nikon released the first digital SLR, the D1, for $5000. I bought one used for $2400 in 2002, which went lemon and Nikon sent me a refurbished one 
Great, big, solid tank of a camera, but only 2.7mp. It killlllllled me to put so much time and effort into creating an image that was only going to be 2.7mp. So, I bought the D100 when it came out a couple of years later but quickly fell victim to shooting with a ‘pro-sumer’ body. It just wasn’t the camera I needed. That year, Canon release the 1Ds Mark II at 16.7mp and, having missing the user interface on my old Rebel, made the switch and never looked back. I bought the 5D just over a year ago and absolutely love it. Of course I’ve got my eye on the Mark III…. I’m in the process of writing a page about all the equipment I use. Look for that soon.
