Pilates.

Awhile back I posted this image because for a not-so-limber fella like me, it was amazing to behold.

I went back a couple of weeks ago with an assistant to actually shoot the bendy lady and we got some amazing stuff. The client and model, Sylvia Nofsinger, is a pilates teacher here in Richmond. She’s good. Really good.

What struck me the whole time was that it was hard for me not to just watch. I suppose that’s the hard thing about being a photographer of any stripe, though. It was hard not to just stare. She’s in such great shape and her ability to contort her body into so many interesting shapes is just amazing.

I suppose for fashion photographers the impulse is less pronounced but I wonder how sports shooters and (since we’re being honest) folks who shoot people completely naked-ish can pay attention.

At any rate, hats off to people who can teach pilates and people who can be amazed at the things they photograph but avoid being gawkers.

Light Fare At Can-Can.

I carry a camera of one type or another with me all the time. Occasionally, it’s a film camera. There’s a romanticism to film that I like. Sometimes it’s a digital camera, a small point-and-shoot or a somewhat bulkier DSLR. I always have my phone with me, and you’ll have to remind me to show you some of the stuff I’ve seen with it sometime. Today, it was the DSLR.

I was meeting an old friend, the one who blogs. I’d cancelled on her earlier this week and, after giving me no end of e-shame (to include a blog post about standing her up, after which she went on a proper date, thankyouverymuch), we conspired to meet at what I’d almost blithely described as “the French place in Carytown,” Can-Can.

Though it’s been a bit drizzly here in Richmond lately, the light’s been beautiful. There’s so much to see, when you know what to look for. I figured that the light would be nice near the front of the restaurant to snap a few images for fun. In fact, every time I pass that place I marvel to myself how wonderful it would be to shoot a real portrait there, and then I never do. And I didn’t today.

What I did shoot however, were some images of the space, which always makes me wish my wife and I had more time to just lay about and spend money without a care in the world. Sadly, we have to work. But in addition to having beautiful light and being a fun place hang out and have a lazy Paulaner, Can-Can has great food.

We noshed and talked about old times and old acquaintances and did a fair amount of people watching, after which we parted ways. The general manager knows both of us from restaurant circles and bade us a nice evening as we left.

As I come to the end of this post, it occurs to me that there may even be a “she said” version of these events, and so there is. Check it out and have a good weekend.

A Hitchin’.

I should say that I don’t often shoot weddings.
Honestly, I’m as nervous as the brides and grooms are up to the day the event happens and I’m always afraid I’ll start watching the ceremony instead of documenting it. I never do, but it’s one of the things I worry about.

I put that fear aside a little while ago and shot a wedding with Joe’s help. We got some AMAZING results. Since it was a Brainchild Collective project, Joe’s doing post on the images, but this one is surely one of the best.

I’ll pop a few more up when I get them.

For what it’s worth, the ceremony was here, and this was the post about their engagement pictures.

What Did You Say?

It’s been a long week.
I’m not listening anymore.

Have a great weekend!

The Hazards of Personal Music Systems.

We played around with a recipe for fake blood to come up with this shot. It took a good deal of lighting and the best friend of one of my model buddies, but it came out pretty well. It’s amazing how good a mens’ room in an old classroom building at VCU looks in pictures. I’m pleased with the results.

The idea was that his headphones (and perhaps the music) were so loud that his ears began to bleed. There are several other images, and this is a very rough post-process (In fact, Joe at Brainchild Collective will undoubtedly do a better job on it later), but it’s a kind of work I’m interested in trying more of. I’ve got a couple of other projects like this in the wings for the summer. Keep watching.

Wishing for Warmer Weather.

With Christmas a day away and temperatures dropping into the 30s overnight, I found these negs I’d shot back when it was warmer.

I’ve always loved this laundromat.

A Lady, Darkly.

The first time I met Tatiana, she was still an undergraduate in college. These days, she’s a bartender and a graduate who’s thinking about law school.
Fortunately for her, she’ll always have a second career.

Star Catcher.

Black and white film images.
It might be worth it to go back and have the flash fire for a set of these. Not sure yet.

I can say with certainty that I’m happier with them (despite the lack of clouds).