Tag Archives: Photography

Another Band Photo Phoot: The 48*

Posted by on February 2, 2023 No comments
Candid from the shoot

One of the members of Throckmore asked if I could do another quick photoshoot at Area 15 in Las Vegas for a new up and coming band: The 48 (name still in progress). Before heading out to the location I did a little more research and got a good shot list together of poses and props that I thought would make some great shots.

Bringing a spare Guitar is always good

Area 15 is an amazing location with lots of interesting background and environments. The biggest boon to the site was the colors so I really wanted to focus on them and make the photos pop. We shot primarily in the Emporium Arcade which was a dream with all the games, tables, and murals. Knowing this going in helped a ton.

Skee-Ball as a stage? Sure, why not.

The 48 is a fairly new band in the Las Vegas area focusing on original rock songs. The three members were great to work with and came in with their own ideas for things they were looking for. We went over my shot list and compared notes to incorporate everyone’s ideas. The end result came out fantastic!

The Hover Guitar (don’t worry, the guitar is fine)

Click the below image to view the Gallery on Flickr for all the photos from the shoot:

The 48 Flickr Gallery

* The band is still working on an official name, so this may change.

Totally random photo shoot: Throckmore

Posted by on January 31, 2023 No comments

Since moving to Vegas we have managed to stay pretty busy. The usual house stuff and random projects in what is my normal life. One of the things I have been looking forward to in this area was getting out and doing more photography gigs for local artists. We have a few friends that perform around town and in between fixing house stuff and normal work I did manage to get out and take some shots. One of those friends, SJ, posted about some of my photos on a Las Vegas Musicians group a few months ago and it was cool!

Not Throckmore… This is Sarah Jessica Rhodes

Flash forward a few months and I got a totally random message about a local band that had scheduled a photoshoot but their photographer canceled on them at the last minute. They wondered if I would be available (the next day). I thought, “Sure, why not?”

I spent the next few hours looking up the location we were meeting at on Google Maps, and checking out where there might be a few good places to shoot nearby. Since I didn’t know the band, or that side of town, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Things that would be good to know going into this would be… Are we shooting indoors? Is there a good backdrop? Should I set up lights? Not knowing any of this, I packed up all my gear, including my pop up backdrop and lighting.

In talking with the lead guitarist, who set up the session, I learned that they are a Rock/Metal cover band named Throckmore (https://throckmore.com/) (working on their own stuff too) and they are still fairly new to the scene. We agreed on a general look to the photos and the rest was completely improvised. We met at a dive bar in East Las Vegas and I had the quick chance to walk around and find some good locations nearby. The manager of the bar said we could use the alleyway behind the place and we set up shop.

The chain-link fence and stone wall worked great for some grungy backdrop as well as some used kegs that the bar let us borrow.

From there I talked them in to a quick drive to a desert area. The sun was just settling into the golden hour and we had some great clouds.

It was great to get to know the band and they were all super cool with the last minute change and making stuff up as we went along. They all were fantastic to work with and I highly suggest that if you are in Las Vegas, you should look them up and attend a show!

After all the photos were done we even managed to do a quick flyover with the new drone and got some video that they may use for future stuff.

Shot with DJI Mini 3

Overall, it was a great, last minute, experience! Enjoy the rest of the photos!

Sarah Donner and the DoubleClicks

Posted by on October 7, 2014 No comments

Ventured out of hibernation to attend the Sarah Donner and DoubleClicks concert.  Had a great time and enjoyed actually setting down the camera for a bit.  I have a lot of pictures of The DoubleClicks from various other concerts, but this was the first time seeing Sarah Donner.

Enjoy the shots!

Adventures at Baltimore Comic-Con!

Posted by on September 9, 2014 No comments

This last weekend I went off to visit Baltimore and see what their Comic-Con had in store.  I wasn’t dressed up as anything as I was mostly there to promote the comic and take lots of pictures.  Both of these things were done!

You can see the photos here:

Project Nerd Prints

Posted by on May 19, 2014 No comments

I have attended a lot of conventions.  One of the things I love to check out is the Artist Alley.  This is where the various comic/fantasy/painter artists hang out and have tables and do sketches.  You can walk by and visit with them, browse their artwork and even have them do a sketch for you.

From an photography artist, this made me a little jealous.  I love the idea of sitting in a booth or table and doing on the spot artwork for people, or having elaborate mat-boards for people to browse through.  But as we all have learned, I am still in the early stages of drawing, and I don’t really have some printed artwork that I can display…….

or do I?

Castle in a Panic (P365-173)I went through some of my older photos and noticed a theme.  I have a lot of nerdy prints that I have taken over the years.  Some of these would look cool hung up in a study or in your geeky nerd cave.  So I have decided to compile them all into one place, and then offer them up “Project Nerd Prints”.

If I am at a convention I will try and have some of these printed out and available, as well as having the ability to do on the spot portraits.  This is coupled with my working on sketching.

If you think of something that would be a good Nerd Print, please pass the suggestion on and I will see what I can do.  Please feel free to browse the full gallery over at Flickr and some of the selected works below.

Project 365 status: Complete!

Posted by on January 2, 2014 1 comment

Reflections (P365-31)What a year!  As you have probably read in my New Years post, this year has been quite the roller coaster.  So many ups and downs that I probably would not have even remembered them all if I hadn’t been doing this project.  On of Dec 31st 2013, I took my last Project 365 picture.  It was one that we had planned, probably from the beginning of the project.  My buddy Louis and I both started P365 on Jan 01 2013 and have had lots of conversations through the year about “What should I take a picture of?” and “I am out of ideas!!” also “Why did we agree to this!!”.  In the end I am glad we stuck with it though.  I look back on some of my earlier shots and can actually see a lot of progression in technique and style. (Quick Edit: Louis wrote up his post about P365 over on his site: http://www.gamutofgeek.com/i-need-to-figure-out-my-picture/ )

There are a number of types of shots that I don’t know that I would have done had I not been forcing myself to take something every day.  By the end I really started to see myself shooting in 4 different categories:

  • Life event – Something significant happened that day and I wanted to document it.  Usually this was something like a concert, or event we went to see, but occasionally was something like “we went to see a movie”.
  • Outdoor Artistic – This was when I wanted to capture something outside in good lighting, and usually had to travel to get, or at least spend some time getting the right shot.
  • Indoor Artistic – If weather was a limiting factor, or I just couldn’t get out, I typically went for a new style or technique. These shots often involved a lot of set up and there is a certain style to them.
  • Lazy – Let’s face it, getting a shot every day is tiring.  Some days there just isn’t much to shoot and life has beat you up.  So I would just grab the camera and take a picture of something/anything.

We had some pretty lenient rules set in place before we started:

  • Using the DSLR was primary, but falling back on a Cell phone was ok (Sometimes you just don’t have your good camera on you)
  • Midnight was not the cut off, before you went to bed was.  (When we started, Louis was working a late shift and would often be up till 2-3am)
  • Try and do something different each day

One of the big issues I had in the project was the time change when I was going to and from Kuwait earlier in the year.  There was actually a huge scare involving day 35.  You see, I apparently suck at numbering.  I was constantly getting my day number mixed up (until I found this website to help me with it) so I would usually use the picture from the day before as a reference.  Well, with dateline crossing and time shifts, also being up after midnight, my numbers were always getting messed up.

Emergency Breakfast! (P365-35)Some time in August, I went into the Flickr set and did a manual count, only to find that my pictures were off by 1 day.  Not just the numbering, but the actual total count was missing one.  I was crushed.  I traced the issue all the way back to Feb 5th.  This was the day I traveled back to the states from Kuwait and apparently lost almost an entire day in the process.  I freaked out and started looking everywhere for any pictures I may have taken.  Thankfully I found that I had taken a picture of my breakfast that Sarah made me.  The time frame matches up and I was saved.

After that I was much more diligent about numbering.

So now that I am done, I am planning on taking a small break from carrying my camera around everywhere I go. (Even though Sarah bought me an amazing new camera backpack). Now it’s on to projects that I can focus the theme.

Some advice to anyone willing to try P365?  Do it, but go out and explore!  Work on something new each day, be it a location, a technique, a style, etc..  Explore Flickr and find some types of shots that you want to try and then do them.  Most importantly….. document your life with it.  Lots of stuff happens around you, grab a picture of it, but don’t forget to experience it too.  When you have the picture, put the camera down and enjoy the show with your own eyes too.

Enjoy the pictures!

 

Coffee Shop Portraits – Manassas Parade

Posted by on December 8, 2013 No comments

This weekend was the first real test of my project idea, “Coffee Shop Portraits”.  The idea is simple, set up in a local shop and take photos of patrons.  They end up with a nice photo, and I get some experience shooting portraits.  I was pretty nervous going into it, but the reception was pretty good and I think it went pretty well.  It wasn’t the huge influx of people wanting their photo taken that I had feared, since most folks just wanted to come in from the cold, get their drink, and get back out to the parade.  While there was a good sized line though, there were enough people interested that I had a good time.

The setup was very simple.  I shot using my [amazon_link id=”B00FOTF8M2″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]D600 [/amazon_link]connected to my [amazon_link id=”B0042X9L6A” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]SB600[/amazon_link] speedlight for external flash.  Inside the camera was an [amazon_link id=”B002UT42UI” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Eye-Fi Pro 8GB[/amazon_link] card that was set to transfer the RAW file to the computer. I had my [amazon_link id=”B00FG7MVJU” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Surface Pro 2[/amazon_link] connected to a large LCD monitor so that people could watch the processing and provide input.  I processed in [amazon_link id=”B00CH6ATMO” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Lightroom 5[/amazon_link] which was set to watch the import folder and automagicly bring up the last imported files.  So within a few seconds, I could take a shot and then start editing it.

People seemed to love the process just as much as the photo.  Watching the editing and providing a little extra input was great, and at the end of the day, I didn’t have to go home and work on a bunch of photos, they were all done!

I think for future versions of this project, I may have some templates set up so that I can just upload the files to my site and e-mail out a link to it.  Overall I was very happy with the results and the owner of the Coffee Shop (Grounds Central Station) was very pleased with the extra attention and uniqueness of the project.

You can see all the photos here: https://www.wizzersworld.com/gallery/index.php/Gig-s/Coffee-Shop-Portraits

Buy My Art!! (Please?)

Posted by on November 10, 2013 No comments

After much prodding and poking, Sarah finally convinced me to open up an Etsy store to sell some of my prints.  You can find it here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FancyNameStudios.  Buying a print is just a fancy way of saying “Hey, I like your stuff, keep doing what you do!”

Capture

It’s essentially just some of my favorite shots that I have taken over the past few years.  If you know of something that I have shot, and would like a print of it, please email me. (See that “contact tab up at the top?  Mash it!)

You can see the rest of my work over on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wizzer/

 

Gadget Review: Surface Pro 2

Posted by on October 30, 2013 2 comments

Surface (P365-296)Ok so one of the benefits of finding a job again is that I have income again!  Which means I can afford to get some of the things that have been needing a refresh.  My laptop, for instance, is my main system that I do most of my photo processing and ….pretty much everything else on.  It’s an Asus republic of gamers behemoth laptop that I bought back in 2009.  (hey, in computer years, that’s ancient!)  It’s served me very well and I still use it for all sorts of home use.  The problem with it is that it’s giant.  Yeah I know it’s a laptop, but it’s big.  Way too big to actually take places and be mobile.  I have been planning to replace it as a home system with a full desktop that I can update as needed for gaming and general home use, but that means I still needed a laptop.

Today’s tech trends seem to be leaning towards the tablet types, and I love my iPad for it’s portability and ease of use…but I can’t run Lightroom on it.  Yes, I know I can process pictures on it, to an extent, but I can’t really do all of the things LightRoom allows me to do.  So running native Windows apps was very important to me, but I liked the idea of a portable tablet.

Enter the Surface Pro 2

Norman Who? (P365-302)I wish Microsoft knew how to market this device.  It really is an amazing piece of tech, but it’s just not getting the market share it deserves.  For starters, it’s not an iPad replacement.  I still use my iPad all the time for general browsing at the couch or in bed.  The iPad is lighter and much simpler to navigate.  (Not to say that Windows 8 is complex, it’s just different, and I bet it would be easy to adjust).  No, the Surface is a laptop replacement.  Plain and simple.  You can use it with or without the keyboard, but with is much easier, which just makes it a small laptop anyways.

I have had it for a week now and here is what I have been doing with it.  For starters, I have left my iPad at home, to force myself to use the Surface for everything on the road.  It fits nicely in my camera bag.  I bought the 256gb version with 8gb ram and the i5-4200 “Haswell” CPU.  I have installed LightRoom, Photoshop, Steam, and a few other “new computer essentials”.  Most of my latest P365 shots were processed on the Surface, as well as the latest RnR Comics assembled there.  So, that being said, here are the Pros and Cons I have found in the week of use.

Pros:

  • Windows 8 in touch screen format = Easy to use
  • Nice bright screen with good color
  • Stylus makes everything better
  • Small and Light enough to carry in the bag
  • Powerful enough to run everything I have thrown at it (it’s only been a week)
  • Battery life = Amazeballs for a laptop

Cons:

  • A little heavy for extended handheld use
  • Windows App library limited
  • Screen is still small for serious LightRoom use, but good for Portable
  • One more USB port would be good
  • Slight screen edge drift with the stylus.

Overall I am really happy with it.  It does exactly what I bought it for and I hope to get a lot more use out of it.  I am thinking of doing a future project (after P365 is done) where I sit in a coffee shop and do on the spot portraits, processing and all.  More on that later though.

if you have any questions or want to know something specific about the Surface pro 2 that I didn’t cover here, please ask away in comments or via facebook or twitter!

Gainfully Employed

Posted by on October 7, 2013 No comments

Green (P365-279)After 3 ½ months of searching during one of the worst times for a govt. contractor to be searching for a job, I finally landed a position!  Sarah also started a new job as well.  It’s been a super stressful few months and I am really glad for the emotional support of my friends and family during that time.  But hey, that’s done and I have joined the productive society again!  I am now working in a local (to Northern VA) hosting company doing Tier 3 Windows support.  Should be interesting getting back down in the support weeds.  Who knows, it may lead to a whole new variety of twitter jokes.

Sadly, this does bring an end to my series of “Cover Letter” jokes.  please feel free to go back and see the hilarity that ensues when you try and add the wrong things to cover letters.

Pebble (P365-275)In the month since I went to shoot the LADEE launch, quite a few things have happened.  One of the reasons I haven’t written much since then is primarily due to the crappy depression that accompanies something like unemployment.  (That and the lack of sleep, irritability, feeling of worthlessness….you get the picture)  So lets see if I can shotgun these out.

We started doing a Webcomic over at RetroNickRadio!!  It’s really cool and you should go read it.

I went to shoot some Roller Derby!

Two Words….Midget Wrestling. (yeah, that happened)

Sarah and I celebrated our return to work with a trip to Universal Studios.

We got to attend a great concert by Wil Wheaton Vs. Paul and Storm

And finally, two of our super awesome friends were finally allowed to be married in Maryland so we went to wish them well.

The next month should prove interesting as I adjust to a new work schedule (read that as “Actually working again, and not in my Pajamas”)