A Few Odds'n Ends

I know, it's been a while since I posted any speedlinks, but I thought I'd keep it brief today with some quick hits:

• Following up on the great success of our first workshop, Fed and I have set a date for a Get It Off! Shootshop. I took a few days to blog it, as we wanted to offer it to repeat offenders first, but here's the site. As I write this, there are only two spots left!
• Very intersesting discussion via John Harrington's blog and the Globe re:an iconic image of the new president.
• This has probably been a long time coming, but I just signed up for Twitter.
• One of my favorite photographers just bought a D3X.

That's it for now, I gotta bail, my house is about to be thermal fogged (skunks, begone!)

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Artist

Every once in a while, my job becomes really easy. Someone steps in front of my lens who dominates the frame. Kevin "Artist" Chambers is one of those people.

After last weekend's Strobist meet, Mark and I just weren't ready to stop shooting. During dinner at RiRa's, we concocted a plan to shoot some more, despite the foot of snow and forecast for more. (Doug: "I don't remember this street having a median." Mark: "It doesn't, that's all snow.")

Fast forward 90 minutes and we're unloading Mark's truck at the back entrance to a local college's theatre, trying our best to be inconspicuous. After a few minutes of setup and at least a half dozen phone calls (I mean, it's not like we were going to shoot each other), Artist walked into the room.

Some nicknames just fit. Too Tall, The Bus, Magic. Artist. At first I was a bit skeptical, to be honest, "What's his name?" "Artist." "No, his real name." "Well, it's Kevin, but just call him Artist." Well, Artist just fits.

Like Magic, who made his teammates better but just being on the floor with him, Artist made me better just by stepping in front of my lens. I can honestly say that I've never had such a difficult time sorting my selects post-shoot as I did with Artist. Every frame could have gone in the gallery.

The gallery. Right. Normally I'll share an entire shoot here, but only a few frames will make the cut for my site. In this case, I decided to go all out and give Mr. Artist his own gallery.

So without further adieu, I give you the Artist Series.

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Toys, toys, toys...

Anyone who knows me or reads this blog with any amount of reguarlity knows how much of a geek, er, fan I am of playing with all kinds of lights and modifiers. Basically I found the Strobist light (pun intended) and became a devotee to the nth.

So this week when I picked up some new toys, er tools, I couldn't wait to test them out. And god knows self portraits are getting old.

So when my good friend Shyla finally decided to make the trek back to the East Coast after a western holiday, I jumped at the chance to spend some time shooting with her and my ever-reliable partner in crime British Rob.

A apologize for getting a bit tech heavy here, so if you're not one of my photographer-readers, you may want to tune out for a bit.

These first two of Shyla were shot with my Alien Bee 800 and a 36x48" Chimera softbox. A light that big, that close (just out of the frame to the right), totally wraps your subject in soft light.

This third shot of Rob was taken with a 10 degree grid spot. Grids really focus the light, sort of like a really direct spotlight would on a stage actor. I can really see this being a useful tool going forward in my work.

We went back to the softbox (and 14-24mm lens) for this fourth shot of Rob (and a little pop art in the processing).

Rob's wife got him an Orbis for Christmas, so we had to break that out for some fun. In this next shot the Orbis is hooked up to my SB-800, with the Alien Bee beauty dish providing fill and background light, camera right.




Lastly, these final two shots have the Bee to the right of the camera aimed at Rob's radiator, with the Orbis camera left for fill on his face.

Check late tomorrow (late, as in AFTER Jack. Tick, tock. Tick.), for shots from another shoot with the Bees (this time in the snow!)

(And yes, I know my grammar in that last sentence was absolutely horrendous).

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Aziza & Imad: Married

When my good friends Tony & Anna over at Team Yu asked me to join them for Aziza and Imad's celebration, the day after New Year's, I jumped at the chance. Lesseee (as Joe would say), Indian wedding? Never been to one. Great couple? Check. Nearly 400 guests? That's what I call a party!

Aziza & Imad, thank you so much for including me in your day, I had a blast! (And extra special thanks to your bridal party & Tony for the pyramid!)

-Doug Levy - Framingham Wedding Photographer -

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MKD - Just a Teaser

Some of ye loyal blog readers may have noticed a recent addition to the "Friends of the blog" on the right side of this page a week back or so. I should have given them a proper introduction earlier, what with all the hangin' out we've been doing of late, so without further adieu (a significantly underused word, btw), meet Mike and Kate. (Not to be confused with James and Kate).

Mike and Kate are the brains behind MKD Photography up in Acton, and earlier this week when Kate said they were having some trouble getting new photos of themselves for their new blog, I jumped at the chance to shoot them. (Apparently the tripod/self timer technique wasn't really workin' out for them.)

So if you're looking for another blog to add to your reader (even if you're like me and you have, you know 80+ blogs you subscribe to), check out their rockin' new blog here.

I mean, how can you not love photos of kids with cameras? Emmie just got that pink camera for Christmas, but she's already booking weddings for 2026, packages start at $10,000 for 8 hours of coverage.

Well I'm off to edit the second of two weddings from this weekend, but stay tuned for a few year ending posts I've got planned, as well as some kickin' photo adventures in Maine next weekend.

(And I know, I know, there are no photos of M or K in the slideshow, but their clogs do make an appearance :-)

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Critique Night!

So last night, BS (Before Snow), I headed over to MKD's for Critique Night. The idea was that a group of photographers could get together, show a bunch of images and get constructive feedback.

I was a little unsure of how it might go, but was certainly interested in seeing it play out. Kate said that her and Mike used to do this regularly in an art class they took in college and it worked out fairly well. Well I'd say last night worked out more than fairly well! Not only did I get some great ideas and insight into how other photographers work, compose and see images, I got a few fun snaps of my own.

It's always interesting to me to talk about creativity. It's one of those things that I know how my brain works, but the fascinating part is hearing other people talk about how they think through the creative process when they're looking through the lens. (And to hear that most people are right eyed. I mean, really? I never gave it much thought, and I knew right eyers existed, but when I pick up a camera, viewfinder meet left eye. It just makes sense.)

(The wicked cute baby you're seein' is Ellinor, Megan's 6-week old). She'll begin offering wedding packages, "Photography by Elinor" in 2029.)



Anna Yu and Christina, excuse me, DiDi (she's changed her name to protect the innocent):



Who can resist beads?



Emmie hamming it up.


Kate and Emmie.




Then when I got home - I picked up this bad boy off of Ebay. I know, I know, I gotta stop buying stuff, like that new copy of Photoshop CS4 that just showed up...

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A quick note for the weekend

Rich and I are heading to NYC for the weekend, but I wanna leave you with this, from Don Gianatti.


"If you aren't making calls today... someone else is.
If you aren't working on your portfolio today... someone else is.
If you aren't showing your book today... someone else is.
If you aren't adding to your web site today... someone else is.
If you aren't marketing today... someone else is."

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My best friend I've never met

Velvet self-portrait, Death Valley 2008

My best friend I've never met has a tumor, and she'll travel. Well Doug, that's not vague at all. OK, OK. Let's back up here for a second. First off, that's the name of her blog - "Have tumor, will travel." It's worth reading for tales of her adventures alone, like the time she made friends with a homeless Navy vet in San Francisco or the time she witnessed the apocalypse.

My best friend I've never met...where do I start. Well her name is Velvet. Yes, that's her real name and yes, we're moving on from here.

We've never met because Velvet lives pretty much as far away from Boston as you can get in this country without going to Hawaii. She dated a buddy of mine from umpire school for years and years and we "met" through him.

A few months back, after much, much, much persistence on my part (and her dad's (he takes pretty cool photos too, btw)), Velvet bought her first camera. Sadly, it's a Sony, not a Nikon, but hey everyone can't be perfect. (But if I win that $207 million Friday, she's getting a D3, like it or not). I think you'd never know it unless I told you (hey I'm all about dishing secrets here), but Velvet's only been shooting for a few months - I mean are you kidding me?

Since JUNE of 2008 alone, she has managed to more or less hit the Outdoor Photographer dream list of national parks, becoming the poster child for why a national parks annual pass is a good idea. Not to mention that one could most likely devote an entire career to shoot in any of these parks, but check out this list:

Crater Lake National Park
Death Valley National Park
Joshua Tree National Park
Zion National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Kings Canyon National Park
Sequoia National Park
Yosemite National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Petrified Forest National Park
Redwood National Park
Saguaro National Park

Jealous yet? Yeah. Exactly. Talk about taking your new hobby (and car) hobby to heart.

By this point you're probably wondering about the "have tumor" part. Well unfortunately not everything is not all sun and surfing in Southern Cali. A few months back Velvet was diagnosed with a non-malignant brain tumor. She's doing ridiculously well (I mean, if I had a brain tumor I'd probably, well, I don't know, be curled up in a ball somewhere. I sure know I wouldn't be able to function anywhere nearly as well as she has).

I'm often asked about sources of inspiration, usually as it pertains to my photography. In this case it's just Velvet. If she can somehow manage to teach herself to shoot, walk abandoned dogs every week, make it to more national parks in six months than most get to in a lifetime and still manage a "regular" job. (I say "regular" because well, nothing about her is regular) with a brain tumor, it kinda takes any excuse the rest of us might have right out of the equation, doesn't it?

I will say there is one (selfish, I know, I know) thing I'm hoping for in 2009 - actually meeting this girl in PERSON. I don't think that's too much to ask.


For more Velvet - check out this kickin' video of her pet turtle, Yertle (how cool is that?), her Flickr stream or her blog.

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Congrats to a new friend!

I just saw this pop up in my Google reader and had to throw up a quick post. My new friend Houser (warning, he shoots nudes, do don't go clickin' while you're at work) was just featured on the Photopreneur blog! Congrats man, that is so wicked cool! That's all for now, more TK as they say in the biz.

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Cody: Portraits

Yesterday I headed over to Mike and Kate's house to shoot with Cody, a model we met at the recent Maine Strobist Meet. We had originally planned to shoot outside, but with the windchill hovering around 25 or so, we only got outside for a few shots (note Chase wrapped in fleece on Kate's back below).

We ended up spending most of the day in the studio with Cody, messing around with different backgrounds and Mike and Kate's kickin' new ringlight (check out the catchlights in Cody's eyes, and the reflections in the bubbles, how cool is that?)








Mike with an SB-800 and his new strip light/softbox.




Baby Chase all wrapped up while mom fires away.











Thanks so much guys - I had a blast and look forward to shooting with you both again soon.

* I mean, how can you not love photographers who have the B&H catalog in their bathrooms? Mike and Kate ROCK.

-Doug Levy - New England Portrait Photographer -

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Got Shot by Shyla

Maaaaaaaaaaany more to come, as she shot almost 1,000 photos of my ugly mug, but here's one from today's shoot with Shyla. Check her blog later or tomorrow for more from the shoot. Homegirl can shoot.

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a night out with Shyla & Fed

(Loooottttts of photos today, but well worth the read/scroll :-)

I headed into Davis Square last night to grab some yummy BBQ dinner with Fed and Shyla at Redbones.

After dinner we stopped by the Diesel Cafe for some coffee (hadn't been there in a year, good times, good times) before heading to Harvard Square to play in a parking garage. What? Play in a parking garage? Yeah well, there's a cool mural there - that we managed to not shoot at all - because, well, we were distracted by the British-style red phone booth.


(Hmmm, maybe we should have invited British Rob.)

What do you get when you mix three photographers with a cool red booth at 11 o'clock on a weeknight? (Totally sober, believe it or not).




James screams as he sees a pedestrian coming (I may have had a run in with one...)




You know today's his birthday...




Yo, buddy. Yeah, you. Would you believe that light is just her natural glow?




No comment.




It felt like, um a photobooth.







Car! Game on!



Quick, hold my legs, shit, don't drop us, take the picture!




Moments before Doug tells Shyla, "My body doesn't bend that way."




Moments AFTER, "My body doesn't bend that way."






No Federicos were harmed in the making of this photograph...


We'll just go ahead and leave out the story about the ninja possum that I almost ran over on the way home...

Lots more on James' and Shyla's blogs I'm sure, including a photo of

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One more from the Fed Shoot

One more from last night's shoot with the Fed. Thanks again to James and Kate - we had a great time!

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Contest Winner and some hot links

First, the hot links (gotta make you wait for the good stuff):

• Annie's at it again, this time for Vanity Fair's February issue shooting the cast for the upcoming Indiana Jones movie.
• As is the Luminous Landscape, with a very very well-written D3/D300 comparison (can you tell I want a D3? Because I do. Will I be getting one? Probably not).
  
• My favorite photo podcast, I don't know how it took me this long to mention this, Inside Digital Photo Radio.
  
• Did you know Vincent Versace is on Flickr?
  
• Lastly, I bring you the work of Greg Gorman.
  

Why Gorman? Because of his use of light. Hard light mostly, which is not easy to master, plus many of the images have that old Hollywood film-noir look. AND, most importantly, the Gorman site is the winner of my inspiration contest. It was recommended by Nina Beheim of Seattle, so congratulations Nina, you've won a 8x12 print of your choice from my site.

Thanks to all who sent me links, here's a list of the links you all were kind enough to submit.

• The work of Alain Briot.
  
• The lessons of The Little Prince.
• Ed Pierce
• Uber wedding photographer Joe Buissink.

Then there's this, from Velvet, which is perhaps the best, as inspiration itself is a constant battle:

"You told me once that your idea of success was something that can never be attained--and that that attitude kept you inspired to always grow, learn more, and do more. it sounds to me like the idea of never being satisfied is your personality. the bad news is, that's very frustrating, and you may find your head bruised, from where you are continually beating it against a brick wall. the good news is that you will never, truly, be finished...and there's no better way to stay young than that...in life as well as in art."

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So you want some blogs?

So...thanks to Chase Jarvis and Jason D. Moore I hereby give you all the photo blogs you could ever want (insert evil laugh here).

• Chase's link here.
  
• Jason's link here.

For the record, the Strobist is my favorite.

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Wednesday Speedlinks

To steal a page from the Strobist with some Speedlinks:

• David at "My Life is Somewhat Interesting" - coins a new relationship term.
• uber photographer Chase Jarvis tells you how to travel with gear aplenty, including info on getting an extra carryon bag. That's right, a third carryon bag on flights. Check it out. As a side here, we have almost all the same gear (minus the two $5k D2X's he shoots with). If Chase can make images like these with his Nikon gear, I think should have no problem with some lighthouses.
  
• And Coke Zero will let you make your own victory/end zone dance. Go ahead, try and top the Ickey Shuffle - (I wanted a You Tube link for this, but as Ickey predates the Internet age...no dice, unless you want to watch an "crazy guy" do it, in which case, click here.)

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So I think I have a problem

Thank you Chase Jarvis. No, really, thank you. As a direct result of your recent blog post I have added another 15 blogs to my Google Reader subscription. I'm up to 72 blogs, 71 of which are photo related. So, as they say, "Hi, my name is Doug, and I have a problem." Or something like that.

So, to that end, I link you to another one of my new blog additions, commericial/editorial shooter Andrew Heatherginton's blog, "Whats the Jackanory?" Today he blogs a very cool behind-the-scenes You Tube video that goes behind the scenes at a Rolling Stone cover shoot with the newly reunited Police.

So, what are my "must reads" - the blogs I couldn't live without? There's two. The best lighting blog on the Web, aka, "The Strobist" and the Photoshop Insider blog, by Scott Kelby.

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