Takin' a break

Apparently, it has been a week since I last blogged.

A week ago today I left Flagstaff to visit my family for Thanksgiving. I had copious amounts of seriously good food and I didn't do anything even remotely resembling work.

I am now settled back in Flag, it is -3 degrees outside and I'm working on a whole bunch of stuff.

This week I'm doing two shoots for my tabletop studio class. I have two group presentations and one individual presentation to finish up and Saturday is Help-Portrait, so I'm scrambling all over the place to get the workflow, volunteers, printer, food and everything else set up.

Long story short, this week is busy for me and I probably won't be blogging a whole lot.

See you on the other side, assuming I survive it all!

Creepy portraits with Christie

I did my first shoot alone with Christie last week. We had fun and I got to try out a new style of lighting.

These first two were a blast. I set up my Einstein outside with a 7" reflector and nuked it through the blinds at full power. I was going for the whole "someone is breaking into my house at night" feel, and I think I got it across, more or less. It was actually 1:30 in the afternoon and the sun was shining bright.

I've had this shot in my head for a while now. I keep a punching bag and some gloves around because it is far healthier to punch a bag than to punch other people. Setup is pretty simple - again I have the Einstein out, but now it has a 20 degree grid on it. Still full power or close to it - The camera is at f/22, 1/250sec and ISO 100. I had to darken it a little in post production, but not much.

Here we went for a more emotional, sad, dispairing sort of mood. No gun anymore, and I kept the color balance on this more or less the way I shot it.

I have more plans for miss Christie, and I look forward to working with her in the future.

My new Einstein arrived, so now I have a working strobe, a softbox, a reflector (which it doesn't come with) and a 20 degree spot grid. Next in my shopping cart is the Vagabond Mini Lithium battery that will let me move my setup out into the world for location shoots.

Have a great Tuesday!

Flagstaff Guide to Winter Driving

During my walk to and from school this morning, I observed a list of rules that drivers in Flagstaff seem to be adhering to after the first snow of the season. I wrote them down for you!

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1) Snow is the scariest shit ever. Avoid contact with it at all costs.
2) Snow tires are stupid, especially for two-wheel drive vehicles. Your chromed rims are all that matter.
3) Scraping ice off your windshield is a waste of time and thus, money. Don't bother. If you must, scrape a hole about the size of an infant's fist and keep your head really close to the windshield
4) Ice scrapers are expensive. Just use your fingernails to scrape the ice off your car.
5) If your vehicle is not accelerating fast enough, repeatedly mash the accelerator. To the floor.
6) If your vehicle is not moving at all, push the accelerator to the floor and keep it there. Eventually, your tires will melt a hole through the ice and catch pavement.
7) Aftermarket body kits are designed to function as snow plows.
8) Drive at speeds less than 15 mph or greater than 45 mph to ensure traction.
9) The faster you go, the better traction you have.
10) The only surefire way to stop your vehicle is to roll it. Multiple times. Brakes are overrated.
11) Talking on your cell phone while driving is the only way to make sure that you will be able to call 911 when you adhere to Rule #10.
12) Sharp yanks on the wheel are more effective than slow turning motions. They also help with rule #10.
13) Never ever ever scrape the rear window. Nothing happening behind you could possibly be of any importance.
14) The laws of physics do not apply to you.
15) The laws of physics do not apply to other drivers.
16) Don't worry about stopping distance - all vehicles regardless of weight and speed stop in the same distance on dry roads and on ice.
17) Your front bumper is a great place to hook tow cables.
18) Cops don't go out in the snow - you won't get pulled over for driving like a moron or for crashing into someone else.
19) Snow plows will yield to your puny compact car. Every time.
20) Just because the car in front of you spins out on the ice, it doesn't mean the roads are slick.

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Just off the top of my head. I'm sure I'll think up a few more...

Feel free to add via the comments section below!

Portrait: Noelle again

Noelle was kind enough to model for my and sport my ghetto-veil during class on Thursday.
This first image is my favorite, though I like the other two of her a lot as well.
Light setup was fairly simple - one beauty dish more or less on axis (a little to camera right, if I'm being honest) and a 20 degree spot grid camera left and behind Noelle

I was lucky enough to have two lovely assistants to help figure out the veil, which is actually the mesh bag that enclosed a bunch of clamps I purchased recently. Worked out fairly well, I think.

While I had the lights set up, I figured I'd get one more shot in.

Suffice it to say, she wasn't very enthused about modeling for me. A fun portrait nonetheless.

It is a cold and snowy morning in Flagstaff. The roads are icy, so I'm hiking to school - a 50 minute walk that takes me about 10 minutes on a bicycle.

Have a great Monday!

Important announcements!

The moment you've all been waiting for...

1) The Flagstaff Help Portrait event has a way for you to donate online via PayPal! CLICK HERE!

I'm pleased Help Portrait is making this happen and annoyed at the hoops we have to jump through to get the money. If you don't care about the tax-deductible part of your donation, it's easier for all of us if you send the funds directly to me. All the donations I receive will be spent solely on Help Portrait items. This year, we need between $100 and $200 to purchase photo paper. As far as I know, everything else is being donated. If you feel the need, you could just buy the paper and ship it to me, as long as it gets here before Dec 3, which is our setup date. I'm guessing we'll need 3 rolls, which would allow us to print up to 450 portraits at 8x10. Any paper that isn't used this year will be rolled over (couldn't resist) and used next year.

2) My 80-200mm f/2.8 push/pull lens is on eBay - the auction ends NOV 28 at 5:00pm PST

My padre is selling it with his account since I can't be bothered to mess around on eBay. I promise, it's the same lens.

To set the mood right for Friday, here's a food shot I did yesterday in my tabletop studio class.

I'll be doing a couple shoots outside the studio this afternoon. I also have a portrait from yesterday to show off in the near future. Stick around!

Help Portrait 2010: update

Hello world!

Here's what I know so far regarding this year's Help Portrait event in Flagstaff, AZ

Things are starting to come along. We have six photographers signed up, with room for four more. We still need three more runners and one more person to handle the front table. We still need more people! If you are considering volunteering, please know that you do NOT have to be photographically inclined to volunteer! There are plenty of jobs that we don't need photographers for.

The process to get the event catered has begun. We are looking for donations totaling $200 to pay for the paper we are using to print as well as miscellaneous supplies. Help Portrait is a non-profit organization and donations are tax deductible. A link to donate online will be posted shortly!

The advertising gurus have been up to their neck in the processes of making things happen. We've put out info to the local shelters and schools, newspapers and radio stations, assisted living facilities and of course NAU. In fact, I'm going to be on TV tonight for a short interview with the NAZ Today crew at 6pm.

If you want to volunteer or donate, please comment below or email me! matt@vaultphotos.com

Portrait: Debra

I've shot with Deb before - she was the zombie last spring.

This weekend, we decided to do something a little less morbid

Not quite a glamour/beauty shot, but definitely different. Right as I was getting into my groove for this shoot, the softbox fell off my broken Einstein and we had to quit for the day.

I'll probably see if I can make it up to her by doing another shoot in the near future. Hopefully without anything falling on her.

Looks like my new flash will be here on the 18th. I've got two portrait shoots this weekend, so hopefully I'll put it through its paces and come up with some non-studio shots.

Have a lovely Monday!