Street Portrait

Dr. Doug – Terlingua Ghost Town

Adobe Lightroom, Big Bend, Desert, People Photography, Photography Technique, Portrait, Portrait Photography, Sony α900, Street Portrait, Texas, Zeiss Lenses 4 Responses »

Nov 182010

Dr. Doug, Terlingua ghost Town, Terlingua Texas. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f2.8 for 1/500 of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to todays post. I will be out of town again for a week and thought I would get this story up before heading out. I would like to introduce you to Dr. Doug, a man I am glad to call an acquaintance, and one I would be proud to call a friend. Dr. Doug leads guided mental health sessions and group therapy from the porch of the trading post at the Terlingua Ghost Town. Whatever your issue just grab a bear, have a seat, and just let it go. If you have time stay and watch the sun set for his expanded sessions. I met Dr. Doug during my last Big Bend workshop. Craig Tanner, from The Mindful Eye, had asked us to shoot a series of portraits of workshop participants, and if time permitted, grab one of the local inhabitants and shoot a portrait of them. Craig was really pushing my buttons on this assignment. I just do not consider myself a people photographer, with more of an inclination to shoot rocks, plants, and landscapes. I find that human interaction from behind a camera is tough for me. It is a learned skill and I do try to engage people who interest me whenever I can. When we operate from a place of fear we can invent all kinds of stories that keep us from overcoming that fear. The trick is to recognize it, accept it as irrational, and work proactively to overcome the fear. Easier said than done.

Well, if I had not tackled this assignment I would not have spent a great afternoon drinking beer and talking about everything and nothing with Dr. Doug. It was a chance meeting that would have gone by and I would have been the loser. I had finished shooting my partner, so I bought a Lonestar and found an inviting seat in the warm, afternoon sun. Within minutes here comes this charismatic character with a long beard, befitting a civil war general, who sits down beside me. We started talking and soon we were trading our stories, laughing, toasting, and just soaking up the Texas afternoon. This went on for some time when I finally got up the nerve to ask if I could shoot a few portrait shots. “Why absolutely”, he said. A couple of beers and about 30 shots later I got this one. It is Dr. Doug to a “T”. The deep, caring eyes, draw me in every time I look at this image. To me it says a lot about this man who has experienced so much of life.

I started with basic shots to feel my way into the shoot and then moved in close. Close is where the magic seems to happen. If you and your subject can move past this comfort zone, or “discomfort zone” as I like to call it, I believe portraits that capture a persons real personna can be achieved. Doug turned away for just a second and as I moved in for a tighter, more intimate shot he turned back to the camera, raised his eye and I tripped the shutter.

The image was shot RAW and processed with a preset called Aged Photo in Lightroom. From there I applied my own processing tweaks in Photoshop.

Thanks for stopping by today. I’ll see you in about a week.

Bob

Von, Hawaiian Street Artist – Lensbaby Portrait

Flash Photography, Hawaii, Lensbaby, Lensbaby Photograph, Lensbaby Photography, People Photography, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Portrait, Sony α900, Street Portrait No Responses »

Sep 182010

Von, Hawaiian Street Artist, Shot with a Sony α900 and a Lensbaby Composer. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f4.0 for 1/2000 of a second with off camera fill flash set to TTL mode.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. On my various trips to Hawaii I have had the good fortune to meet and spend time with some fine street artists in Waikiki. Meet Von, a carver of traditional Hawaiian weapons, ukelele player and crooner, and weaver of interesting stories. Every night Von would appear and set up his display along a wall adjacent to the Marriott. I was introduced to Von through my friend Kala, who weaves coconut palm fronds, and shares the same location near the hotel. Now I will admit to you that photographing people is something that sends me into a cold sweat. But I am trying to overcome this fear and the only way is to simply ask. My approach is to spend time with the individual first, to get to know them, and watch what they do. I am trying to build up a comfort level, and courage on my part to ask permission. When Von referred to me as “bra”, the Hawaiian term for brother, I knew I was in the fold and he consented to let me take some photos. He is one of the most heroic individuals I have met on Hawaii and I could imagine him as a warrior in the time before the arrival of Europeans to the Hawaiian Islands. His weapons are carved from Koa wood, a traditional, and scarce material that grows high on the slopes of the mountains. The shape and size of the wood blanks informs Von of what the weapon will become. Each blank is hand carved and receives hours of sanding till the wood is smooth and the iridescent sheen of the Koa shines in the sun.

The photograph was made with a Lensbaby Composer with the f4.0 insert. This is a good general insert for street photographs. I focused on Von’s face and asked him to continue to work on the spear. After several takes he looked up at the point and this was the shot. I used an off camera flash set to high speed sync and TTL mode. I shot in manual mode and under exposed by 1 stop to darken the background. The RAW file was processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. The black and white conversion was toned with a dark brown. The combination of the Lensbaby’s selective focus and the duotone processing of the file gives the image an old world look which I thought was appropriate for my old world friend.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

Hawaiian Hula

Flash Photography, Hawaii, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Portrait, Sony α900, Street Portrait No Responses »

Jan 262010

Image 1: Hawaiian Hula, Waikiki. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Sony SAL 70-300mm at 300mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f5.6 for 1/60 second. Flash set to TTL and High Speed Sync.

Image 2: Hawaiian Hula, Waikiki. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Sony SAL 70-300mm at 300mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f5.6 for 1/60 second. Flash set to TTL and High Speed Sync.

While on my nightly walks through Waikiki I ran across a hula company performing along the beach. I stayed to watch and shot a few images.

Since I arrived late I could not get a front row position to shoot and unfortunately ended up standing behind the musicians. In a case like this you have to look for opportunities and deal with the hand you were dealt. I found a gap between the musicians and waited for the dancer to move into position.

Having the longer lens here was a plus. I wanted to freeze the motion as much as possible so I set the flash to TTL and High Speed Sync so I could play with the shutter speed a bit. I put the lens at the lowest aperture to blur the background.

The images were shot RAW and processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.

Thanks for stopping by.

Bob

Tommy

Hawaii, Portrait, Street Portrait No Responses »

Jan 252010

Image 1: Tommy weaving a palm frond bowl. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 70mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f4.5 for 1/750 of a second. Flash was set for TTL and High Speed Sync.

Image 2: Tommy in Waikiki. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 70mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f2.8 for 1/550 of a second. Flash was set for TTL and High Speed Sync.

Image 3: Intricate bouquet of flowers woven by Tommy. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Sony SAL 70-300mm lens at 200mm. Images exposed at ISO 100 at f6.7 for 1/30 of a second. Flash was set to TTL Fill Light Mode.

I met Tommy on the streets of Waikiki. He is a soft spoken man who weaves inticate and beautiful bowls, hats flowers, and other whimsical creations using palm fronds.

He has been training with a master weaver for only a year but his work has a level of craftsman ship that belies this short time. Using only a small pocket knife Tommy strips the leaves from the stems, folding and weaving them together into a final piece of art. No glue. Everything is held together by the weave or special knots in the stems.

If you are in Waikiki you can find Tommy in his usual spot down near the Marriott.

Mahalo from Waikiki, Bob

Chris Sebo

Hawaii, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Portrait, Street Portrait No Responses »

Jan 252010

Chris Sebo, artist. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Sony SAL 70-300mm lens at 70mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f5.6 for 1/2 second. Flash exposure set to Rear Sync.

Chris Sebo laying down a run of paint on a new work of art. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Sony SAL 70-300mm lens at 70mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f5.6 for 1/2 second. Flash was set for Rear Sync.

This is artist Chris Sebo at work on the streets of Waikiki. An amazing artist, Chris creates his paintings using ordinary spray paint. I had the opportunity to spend a little time watching Chris and he graciously allowed me to shoot a few images.

He works incredibly fast, blending his colors across the canvas using cardboard, crumpled newspaper, bottle caps and brushes to create paintings that are other-worldly.

To capture the dynamic way he paints I used a flash unit set to TTL Mode and Rear Sync. The combination of Rear Sync with a 1/2 second exposure allowed me to capture the motion.

To see Chris’s art go to www.seboart.com

Mahalo, Bob

Graffiti Portrait in Old San Juan

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, Street Portrait No Responses »

Dec 302009

As the thermometer continues to drop and we prepare for yet another potential blast of winter weather my mind drifted off to some warmer climates I have visited. I have made several trips to Old San Juan in Puerto Rico and have fond memories of walking along the Paseo, drinking cafe con leche in the Plaza de Armas, and listening to the ocean crash into the rocks below the old forts. On a Sunday stroll through the city I discovered this beautiful piece of graffiti painted on a large roll up door. It is not normally visible during the week since it covers up the entrance to a local business. I passed it several times in an attempt to get a photograph but there were always cars in the way and I could not take the shot. Luckily on the day before I left I found a clear shot. As I was shooting this little man walked up and struck a pose. A few shots later he was off to his destination. At first I thought he was the model but later learned the portrait is on a famous Puerto Rican basketball player who now plays for the NBA.