Thursday, December 29, 2011

Raising the Crane




























Little Destiny and her big sister Ashley had to have wondered "how in the world did this happen?" A whole hour had passed and they were only on number 11. That means there is only 339 more cranes left to finish.












I believe that 2011 was a very interesting and yet very important year for me as an artist. I also believe that this project is just what I need to prove myself right. Okay, back to the paper cranes. I had never made one, so I YouTubed it and after watching the video 3 times I knew I would be needing help with this. Coincidently my friend Adobe was visiting home for the holidays, so I stopped by to see her. Her sister Ashley and I started talking and I asked her if she knew how to make paper cranes? She said no, but if I could show her plus compensation she'll be more than willing. She wanted my iPhone 4 since I am looking into upgrading. It didn't take little Destiny long to say she wanted to help after hearing how Ashley were to be compensated ( of course Destiny also drove a harder bargain). Nonetheless, the deal was made, Adobe had agreed to manage the project and after an hour of folding sheets of white paper, they had to be wondering if they had bitten off more than they could chew. Adobe asured me that they would focus and complete them before I needed them. 2 days later they have just about hit their target. This is what focus and determination can do for anyone no matter what. So what do I plan to do with 350 white paper cranes? You'll have to stay tuned to my blog and find out in January of 2012. Just know that for 2012 I am raising the bar; well in this case "the crane."



How did I shoot it:

Nikon D700

105 f2.5

ISO: 1000

S/S 1/125th

Aperture: f2.5


Natural light and a bounce reflector. Sharp focus is obviously on the paper cranes positioned on the front row. The rest of the photo is bokeh from shooting with the aperture wide open.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Coffee, Wine and Bumble and Bumble

All week I rambled and tweeted about Bumble and Bumble. Many asked me what it was all about? Well it was all about a hair show for a very good cause. This photo reminds me of the the television show America's Next Top Model . Only none of these ladies are going to fade out of the picture because they were all winners for volunteering to help raise money for the Vine Maple Place (www.vinemapleplace.org), a christian organization that helps homeless families with children build lives of hope, by providing them with transitional housing and support services. This outstanding charity event took place at Ristressos Coffee & Wine located in Maple Valley, and was organized and hosted Stan Parente Salon in Maple Valley(www.stanparente.com).

For me, the show was fun because it again, reunited me with Ms. Ange Smith, the up and coming teenaged fashion photographer whom I had the honors of working with for a high school assignment (see previous blog: Highschool photographer picks up on shooting fashion early). Keep an eye out for more of her work.
I would have liked to post up all the photos to show the transitions between the before and after shots of these models, but then this blog would have be all photos and nothing to read about, and quite frankly, I enjoy writing my blogs. However here is one of the before, during and after processes. These ladies all went through very dramatic hair changes from what I saw as I first greeted them. And these changes made good only get better. Well rumor has it that Stan Parente is preparing for another show that will include his other salons. A bigger show, with even more glitz and glamor that will be nothing short of amazing. Keep an ear open for it. If you missed this one, you'll definitely want to attend the next. Be sure to check out more of the photos via my Facebook fan page www.facebook.com/bluestilling101.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

The most disciplined beating you will ever take




















































I met a very wonderful family. I mean that literally. I was meeting up with a young teenage model and her mom's name just happen to actually be "Wonderful". And trust me when I say this "it is in the gene pool" and so contagious that it rubbed off on dad, who is no easy pushover let me tell you. You see Robert Morrison owns and run a couple of dojos. Some of you might already know what I am talking about, however, for those of you who need that translated a dojo is the place where martial arts is taught. I won't go too much into his story, but I hope this blog encourage local residents to stop by and visit and all others to check out the family business website: http://www.leesmartialarts.org/. I guess it would also be cliche if I said not only a wonderful family but also a very very beautiful family, but they are. At this model meet & greet, I handed the mom one of my business cards because she blended in so well with the beautiful models in the room, and her almost 6 ft, perfect symmetry framed young teenage daughter could have easily passed for an 18 or 19 year old. The dojo happen to be next door to the Stan Parente Salon in Maple Valley, Washington, where I was meeting these models whom I would be shooting for a hairshow being hosted on December 14, 2011 at 6:30-8:30 PM at Ristrettos Coffee & Wine House. 27203 216th Ave SE Suite F, Maple Valley, Washington 98038 by the Salon owner, Stan Parente http://www.stanparente.com/. If you are in the area please do drop in and check out the show, and definitely read my next blog because that is what it will be based on; the show itself. Now back to disciplined beatings :-)



So my new friends, the Morrisons invited me to an Exhibition show that his school was hosting. The show was very spectacular. The kids were unbelievably disciplined and very well trained, and by the time it was over, every spectator had learned that martial arts is more about being discipline and exercise that leads to a healthy lifestyle as a whole than it is about fighting. But as the title of this blog suggest, I am quite sure that should someone as skilled as these young black belts and climbing can assure you, if they ever needed to defend themselves, I am quite sure it will be a very well disciplined beating.


How was it done:


Technically, I wanted to capture a lot of movement and there was somewhat decent light, so I didnt use any flash whatsoever for the event. Criticizing my own work, I perhaps could have captured some of the intense moments with a bit more sharpness, but I got so wrapped up in this show, it was hard to stop watching and change my settings. I already knew in my head that I would do a lot of layering in photoshop to create the distance of travel in the shots and it was my fortunes that the photography gods were on my side because the backdrop curtains were pitch black which made it so much easier for me to layer the photos and remove a lot of the guess work on how to make sure the backgrounds stayed lined up in post edit work. I shot this event using the following settings:


ISO: 800-1000


Shutter Speed: 80-125


Aprature: f2.8-f4


Primary lenses used:


85. f1.4


70-200 f2.8


17-35 f2.8