 | | | | | Welcome to this month's photo show and tell! Before this blog turns its focus on photography, I'd like to shine a spotlight on some of my notable models: the artist Donny Smutz (above) and the songwriter Michael Shoup.
After starring in this photo for a RORSHAK shoot (discussed here), Donny packed his bags and headed north to make a splash in Chicago. I'm proud to have commissioned Donny to spread some of is imagination on a canvas for a piece of my own. If you are interested in investing in art, or have a bug to get an amazing gift for a loved one, consider contacting Donny for a commission of your own at www.donnysmutz.com. (I dare you to think of a finer gift than receiving a commissioned painting from a prodigious artist? Just watch this clip from his Nashville art show to get a feel for the gravity of his influence.) Here are some samples of Donny's recent works that have already sold and are dressing walls of intrigue in posh domiciles about the world:
 On the songwriter front, my friend Michael Shoup, whose face has graced a number of my shoots, is releasing his solo project this Tuesday, November 2, 2010. If you've got the ants in your pants, however, he has a free download available now at www.michaelshoup.com . Here is Michael from two eras: on the left with his pop rock band Philos, and on the right in my studio looking absolutely fabulous for the album shoot:
Wedding Highlights from 2010 This month, I'm highlighting a portion of some of my favorite selections from this year's wedding work. For many years, weddings have served to secure my food and home and allow me to explore creative avenues in regards to experimental lighting, using different lenses, extending shutter times, etc. Some tools and techniques employed in the following few images are worth noting, and should pertain to any shutterbug with a nerdy technical funny bone. Sun for Separation
I love these three images not only because my brides were spectacular, but because so many elements in the landscape helped to complete the image. For each of the three images, sunshine is shining on the backs of the bride, helping to define the edges of shoulders, separate the hair from dark backgrounds, as well as casts a wonderful foreshadow to further the design. Funky Optics In the following image pair, I pulled out a popular toy that artsy college kids everywhere are experimenting with: the Lensbaby. The Lensbaby delivers a pinhole-like aesthetic, having hardly any optics, and uses different sized aperture rings that fit magnetically into an accordian-style mount that connects with a normal SLR camera. For these two pictures, the edges are very blurry as a result of using a large aperture ring. My appreciation belongs to these chaps who ventured out with me into the January snow and were full of cheer regardless of suffering blue finger tips.
PAR-TAY
The following image is the result of finding a neat workaround I discovered while shooting an event with less than ideal ambient light: I keep my shutter open for around 2 seconds, and fire a flash independent of the camera like Rambo delivering judgment to an enemy foe. The results can be messy, but sometimes they can be entirely unique and wonderful:
Thank you for reading this entire letter. I do hope that it was worth the time you put into it! The archives of all of these emails can be located here. Cheers! Rory | | | | | | | |
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