One of my resolutions this year was to shoot more personal projects. I tried a 365 project a while ago and it was great at the beginning, but I found myself going outside and taking a photo of something dumb just to have a photo for the day. It wasn’t very productive and it became more of a chore than something that I got satisfaction out of. This time around, I have decided to do a 52 Project, so a photo about every week for the year. The point is to plan ahead, make arrangements, and take the time to create something that I really like.
My wife had suggested that I take photos of our friend Kendal who is a dancer. I am also mentoring a young photographer who is also a dancer, so I thought it would be a good idea to have everyone in on the shoot. We had a great time and I learned a lot about dancing. I hope you enjoy.
Thanks to Tim Dyk for assisting/throwing stuff.
Camera: Canon 5D Mark II
Lighting: Einsteins
After hearing about Help-Portrait more than a year ago, I know that I wanted to host an event. But, I didn’t just want to host an event, I wanted to team up with an organization or two that were already doing great work. I guess I wanted to help both individuals and an organization. A friend of mine from grad school, Ellie, works at an international organization called World Relief. They help refugees settle into life in the United States. World Relief helps thousands of refugees every year by helping them find jobs, teaching english, find housing, and adjust to everyday life in a place that is often times so different than what they are used to. I really respect the work that they do and the method they do it, so I was honored that they were willing to let me set-up at their Christmas party.
This year, Help-Portrait encouraged the photographer volunteers to encourage people to share their stories and photo online. But, since World Relief serves refugees of war and persecution, none of the clients wanted to share their stories. Even so, we had a wonderful time, spoke some Amharic, took a lot of pictures, and saw countless smiles. I can’t wait for my next Help-Portrait event. I respect the work and people of World Relief greatly. Keep up the good work!
Andy and Julia are one of my favorite couples. Whether is be playing Nerts at our house, trivia, or just hanging out, we always have a great time. I was honored to be asked to shoot their wedding. What a wedding it was! Urban Light Studios in Greenwood is a photo/video studio that has a great environment to get hitched and take photos. The great combination made for a lot of ideas. Actually, there were more ideas than we had time for! Good luck in the future, you two. Laura and I love you guys and are so happy to be among your friends! It was obvious from all the people and words at your wedding that your influence is wide and deep.
It was really good getting to know Kerstin and Mike. They met through mutual friends and when Mike was deployed with the Army to Iraq, they stayed in touch and grew their relationship. He is currently based here in Washington, but their wedding will be back in their home state of South Carolina before Mike is deployed again. Best wishes to the two of you. I thoroughly enjoyed being your engagement photographer.
Thanks to my good buddy, Timothy Dyk as well for his assistance. He is part of a project called Sex and Money: A National Search for Human Worth, and will be touring around the United States this summer. Check out his blog, http://timothycdyk.wordpress.com/ and find out how you can get involved!
I really like the Kodak Portra 400NC film. Normally, I shoot with a Pentax SP II, but I got a Ricoh Rangefinder recently so I tested out some Ilford Delta 3200 B+W and some Portra, but the Ricoh isn’t very reliable, which is unfortunate.
I am getting married in 2 weeks and I couldn’t be more ready/excited. I am excited for the wedding day, but I am excited for what comes next. I am excited to spend every day with Laura. Excited to share our lives in love together. I never expected that I would be with someone so perfect for me. In my head, I always figured I would have to settle in one way or another, but I am not. I am blessed beyond belief.
My church asked me to talk about poverty a little bit to tie into a message about how much money we spend at Christmas and what we spend our money. He asked us to think about how much we spend on people or how much people spend on us that is wasted because we don’t like the gift or whatever.
Anyway, he asked me to put something together for the service, kind of like a voice from within Northshore (the church i go to). So, I asked Devin to help. We shot it all on a Nikon D300s, 50mm f/1.4 with a RØDE microphone with video lights in front of a huge seamless backdrop.
The song is Needles and Thread by Sleeping at Last.
