I teamed up one afternoon last weekend with Tim Wood to shoot some new images of Jennie. It satisfied everyone on all sides of the camera. I ended up with a few more, but this diptych was my favorite. When Tim and I compared versions (This is his.) after we’d done post, it was cool to see the vastly different directions we’d gone in. I’m looking forward to the collaboration again sometime.

EDIT:

Tim suggests (in the comments) that I add this image to the post. It’s one of my immediate favorites as well. I’m hoping to go through the batch sometime next week.

He’s rarely mad and always smiles.

Old Lens from KEH: $ 0.59 (plus an exorbitant shipping fee)
Dead Ladybug from the Faculty Lounge: $ 0.00
Making a photograph using a J.R.R. Tolkien poem
that most people attribute to the Grateful Dead: Priceless

I had to freelens this one, but I ordered an adapter ring which should get here soon, meaning more macro stuff. Stay tuned.

Headshots are about making people look their best but occasionally, if you snap enough, you can catch people looking like themselves.

I should say that before I decided to post these, I asked Duncan Phillips and Tony Scida (pronounced “sky-day” according to his twitter handle) if they minded these candid looks. They consented and even smiled about the images themselves.

We had a great time and I think we had some pics that’ll look good on their website.

Duncan Phillips takes a moment to wax poetic.

Tony Scida, a Nikon user, openly scoffs at my use of Canon equipment.

Thanks, guys, for letting me show off some of the funny outtakes!

Anyway, it means dusting off the old Olympus Pen EF that a friend gave me some time back. She’d found it in the trash while she was living in Japan and it served her well for a long time. The reason it’s such a neat little box is that it shoots half frame images on 35mm film. This makes it perfect for making diptychs in-camera.

Here are a few I did last week on a cheap test roll. I’m planning on shooting something more like fashion on slower film to see what I get. I have high hopes.

Click through it to see it larger.

Well, here’s one of mine. This was at my son’s impromptu birthday party because the snow made it so no relatives could visit.

Right after I shot it I thought, this is gonna be hilarious. Then I showed it to her parents. They laughed too. It’s the kind of picture they can trot out when her friends come over when she’s 16. It’s perfect slide show fodder for the rehearsal dinner at her wedding.

I didn’t do anything to it despite thinking there must be something it needs. I think that starkness makes it work.

We wanted to represent him a way that wasn’t the boring shot of a newsman with a microphone so we elected to have him serving breakfast, along with the news. To someone in the shower. I mean, isn’t that what you want? The news as early as possible? Besides, don’t you like Corn Flakes?

We shot a fair number of other things that day, but I liked this best. We also shot this over the summer. Back when it was warm. And we saw the sun… Ah, memories.

Maybe eventually Richmond will dig out. We’re hoping that Jim Duncan, Andrew Freiden, and Tom Patton have something good to tell us by the weekend!

Oh, and check out these guys, all updatin’ their site and all! ‘Member the shoot with them a few weeks ago?

I did manage to sneak out (and almost freeze my fingers off) this past Saturday to sneak a few pictures. It’s funny how such beautiful stuff as snow can bring a city like Richmond to a grinding halt.

There was ample sledding at local Forest Hill Park.

The local playground didn’t look as inviting as usual. More like something out of Silent Hill.

There’s just something about a bit of blue filter and a snowy road scene that just evokes desolation. You’d never know the sledders were just down the way.

I thought the images looked a lot like pieces from a film so I borrowed some post process techniques and made them look like this.
Thanks for visiting. I’ll try to update more frequently.

One of those shows that’s both sensational and revolting is Hoarders, a new bit on A&E. The show spotlights people across the country who keep too much stuff, and that’s putting it mildly. These folks often refuse to throw things away. Their houses become suburban trash heaps, where all manner of things are just stuffed into rooms or piled high as the ceiling.

That’s where they guys at Clutter Cleaner come in. Clutter Cleaner is the brainchild of Richmond entrepreneur Matt Paxton. He and his crew (Colin, Woody, and James) show up and help people decide what to keep and what to toss. They toss a lot. They worked mostly locally until the folks at A&E found out about them. Now they fly all over the place and do it.

I got to spend some time with them working on a few images they needed for their website and heard some amazing stories. One was about a man who was storing his own poo in plastic bags in the attic of his house. Another was about a woman who had collected so much stuff that she’s forced herself to live in her kitchen. It’s as creepy as it is fascinating to hear about and see.