Had a chance to work with five different models last week. I was pleasantly suprised that all the scheduling worked out. Now I'm still overloaded with editing, but slowly making headway. Here are some samples of 3 of the girls. Probably the best shots with each. If anyone wants to comment.......PLEASE do!!!
Sara from ModelMayhem.com MM# 744639 Taken in Richmond, VA on 7/27/08
Guess I need a serious update here since my photography is starting to bear fruit.
A couple of weeks ago (how time flies) I had the immense pleasure of working with Roxy in Roanoke, Virginia. We had met at a custom bike show and she had expressed a desire to do a photo shoot. She arrived at the designated meeting place driving a hot rodded 1967 Camaro which really amazed me. I had recommended doing an urban type of shoot using the downtown area so I left my car and rode with her to our first stop. Was one of the most enjoyable days I had in quite some time as she seemed to enjoy being in front of a camera as well as being one of the nicest people I've met in years. She did bring 3 outfits as I had recommended for variety. 5 hours later and more than 350 photos later we ended up at Awful Arthurs for something cold and wet. Also fixed her laptop by installing an anti-virus program and ridding it of some nasty stuff. Here is one of the best shots of the day:
I've also joined up at ModelMayhem and OneModelPlace to do the networking thing. All my photos appear at Flickr and some at DeviantArt. For the couple of you who actually read this the links are below when you really get bored.
OK........So before I do any more LJ catchup I need to post about my photo shoot with two amateur models, Summer & Samantha last Saturday. Photos are being processed and will come later. I'm still a novice on the editing, so bear with me.
The meeting was arranged for 11 AM at one of the Marriott hotels in Roanoke, VA. Its a 2 hour drive for me when in the afterburner mode so I left at 8AM. Old saying I heard many, many years ago, "If you can't be on time, be early" always impacted my way of doing business. Also by arriving early I could check out the place as it was chosen because Summer wanted to also do some swimsuit shots. The pool was indoor with keyed access for hotel guests :-( There was a nice courtyard which would work for some outdoor casual shots. There was another Marriott next door that did have an outside pool, but also keyed the same. One more hotel next to it, a Holiday Inn that had an outdoor pool which was open for access. Sure, you were supposed to be a hotel guest, but who was to know we weren't.
I had been in contact via cell with Summer and asked if there was any problems being on time to call me. Around 9:00 I get a call saying Summer would be an hour late due to getting stuck sitting her sister's kids. Since the original plan was to shoot with one then the other I thought......no problem. However Summer was picking up Samantha so that meant they would both be an hour late. At 12:30 with neither showing I called Summer and got number not in service. Called the number she called me from (her sisters) with no answer and left a message. Got a call at abour 12:45 saying they were on their way. They pulled up at almost 1 PM.........two hours late!!! No......."sorry we are late" of anything. Had them both sign model release forms and away we went.
So we did some shots at the Marriott Courtyard then went over to the Holiday Inn. All the time it seemed like they were in a rush to get done. Summer got one call and I overheard her say I'll be there as soon as I can. The original plan was to do 2 hours with each. Just barely got one hour with both. Most shots were done swapping off so I got some of each alone with a few done together. After what they felt was the end of the swimsuit session they both jumped in the pool. They quickly changed and the parting comments were how soon I could get pictures sent. Needless to say these will certainly not be my best efforts, but a learning experience.
I've also talked to two women that work at my local car insurance office to do some shots one afternoon during their lunch break. One is a knockout, but I made the same offer to both. Might even do some family shots with one of them. Hey........for what I want to do you have to have a varied portfolio.
Got my first chance to really put this new camera to work on Saturday. Attended a Bike show sponsored by the "Downtown Dolls" club for charity. Talk about a photo extravaganza! Almost 1200 photos later......LOL. Got a chance to meet a lot of the riders who entered their bikes as well as many of the dancers who graciously posed for photos. HOT bikes and HOTTER women......I think I was in heaven.
OK............so it was dismal at best for this past weekend.
I had scheduled my first shoot for Sunday which got canceled. The girl had to go out of town (don't have all the details yet) and as it rained all day yesterday it would have been scubbed anyways :-( Originally I had tried for Saturday which was a gorgeous day, but she was going to her Prom that evening and really didn't have the time.
Knowing the weather might be bad on Sunday I also emailed another local model who I have met online at another website. Hoping that even on short notice we might be able to work something out for Saturday. Sent her the email on Thursday.......no reply. Contacted her via the website I met her at and she claims she never got the email. Sent her another test email and also asked her to send me one just to make sure I hadn't mistyped the addy. Of course it didn't come back saying user did not exist, so............guess it went off into cyberhell.....LOL. Anyways.......got the email figured out and didn't shoot Saturday. Since I work every other weekend I'll have to wait another 2 weeks and hope the weather cooperates. The second model said she was also starting a new job today and would let me know her schedule as I'm always off every Wed and Thurs.
OH........yeah, tried to set up a wireless network at the house on Sunday as everything is currently hardwired. Thought my laptop already had a wireless adapter installed, so........spent way too much time trying to get it to work before actually opening up the case and finding out, NOwireless adapter. Got one ordered and should be in later this week.
In the power industry around the clock coverage is always necessary as I'm sure all of you need electricity 24/7 so........Today is the start of my 5 day work week. OH...and in case you don't know me well enough yet, that means five 12 hour shifts with this rotation being nites. 7 PM to 7 AM.
Just finished my two days off. With all the warm weather it was busy doing overdue outside work. Borrowed a chain saw from work to cut up some of the downed pine trees. OH yeah........loads of fun. I'll be aching for a week. Also put up new lattice around my entire deck. The existing stuff had been slowly deteriorating. That flimsy wood stuff. Now its all white plastic material. Looks pretty good if I do say so myself. Me and my Dremel tool can do just about anything. Also had a termite treatment done for the house. Supposed to be good for 12-15 years. Had been seeing evidence of them getting closer to the house so better safe than sorry.
Think I'm just about caught up here at LJ, so everyone enjoy their weekend!
My dream of doing some professional photography is getting closer to a start. With the recent purchase of a Nikon D70 and inspiration from echiyoko , jennafurless , and scottchurch I'm raring to get going. I've also added a Nikor 55-200mm lens, Sigma 18-35mm lens, as well as a SB-600 flash unit. The fun part starts soon when I actually get some time off to do some actual shooting. Have already contacted a local model for some TFP work later this Spring. Perhaps by then I'll have a little more understanding of all the camera's features. Currently working on creating business cards with my own logo. Still have a fairly steep learning curve as far as editing goes. That will probably be my greatest challenge. I realize the industry standard seems to be Photoshop, but I've never liked any Adobe product, not to mention the cost of their latest product. I'm leaning toward this Corel product. http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satel…
Now that the weather is finally starting to be seasonable, the task of clearing out fallen trees is near. Back during a past wind storm I lost the tops out of several Southern pine trees. The plan was to get my chain saw working and at least reduce what was on the ground. Of course it did not want to cooperate and I ended up breaking the brittle fuel line while attempting to ensure it was not clogged.
I've always got work to do on my vehicles, both preventive and corrective maintenance which requires warmer weather. Maybe with any luck some of that can get done this coming week. My five day work week ends tomorrow then its 5 days off before starting back on nite shift.
Been a sort of blah week..........Nothing terribly exciting.
Friday is the start of my work week and it had its highs and lows. Was notified by the vet's office that Esher's ashes were availble to pick up. He deserved a private cremation after the many years of joy he gave me. It was the quietest ride home I ever had with him.
The high point of the day was receiving my new/used camera via UPS. With so many great photographers and models out there as inspiration I've decided to get back into photography with gusto. This is what I ended up getting after doing some serious research and budget considerations.
Nikon D70
I'm just itching to try it out, so stay tuned!
And the downer was being back at work on nite shift (7PM-7AM)
First off, I want to thank everyone who commented on the passing of one of my family members! He will certainly be missed and always hold a special place in my heart. I will still have to deal with the ashes from his cremation. Save that for another day soon to come. It was not one of my more cheerful weekends.
On a ligher note, did anyone catch the first half of the Westminster dog show? The conclusion starts tonight on the USA network at 8 PM for all you dog fanciers. Its an annual event I rarely miss. I still have two other dogs as well as a cat to pamper. The boys are almost 2 years old now and I'll try to get some more current shots of them soon. This is a stitched photo I created at a little over 1 year old.
Bear & Rascal
One would never guess they are brother Australian Shepherds. One smooth coated, the other rough coated, two totally different personalities. They also have "Alpha" dog issues and have been kept seperated for over a year after trying to kill each other. OH, that was after the third and most serious confrontation resulting in one ripped ear, a close call on eye damage, and blood everywhere from other assorted neck and chest punctures. Vet bills are killers!
I know not everyone is big on Valentine's Day, but if you are, this is for YOU!!
chipper
2 days of rain
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