I met Baron Batch at a show I was playing with the Hogg Maulies in Lubbock nearly a year ago. I didn’t know much about him at that time other than his work on the football field. That night, I found out he is also a photographer and writer, and since then, we’ve been able to hang out quite a bit, talk shop, discuss life, and eat a few lunches (generally my favorite meal of the day).

Baron’s also highly involved with I Am Second, an organization focused on providing inspirational life stories from a wide variety of people that have re-concentrated their focus away from thinking inward and toward God and a more Christian lifestyle. Baron’s involvement with I Am Second is and has been notable, inspiring a weekly column in the Lubbock daily newspaper and several appearances at organization events across the nation. We’ve talked about this involvement quite a bit, as well as his dedication to use his skills as a photographer and communicator for humanitarian purposes. In fact, he’s headed to Haiti in less than a month to visually document a mission trip he’s involved with.

In one of our recent conversations, I told Baron I’d love to post his I Am Second video on this site, but I needed to have some original portraits to go along with it. We set up a time, shot for four hours, moving from the harvested cotton fields of West Texas to the studio, and produced some nice images. The shot above turned out as our joint favorite, and it was the very first TEST shot of the evening. Some things just happen well as accidents!

I’ll have more about our shoot in an upcoming Field Lighting, but I want to showcase Baron’s message in one of the several I Am Second videos available on their site. Whether you’re religious (no matter what type of religion) or not, we can all appreciate and learn from messages such as this one and the others. In the spirit of the season, I think it’s appropriate to reflect outwardly, realizing there are many, many things about this life that we don’t understand (and don’t have to understand), yet we’re directed to where we’re going at whatever speed we’re moving. I happen to agree with my friend Baron here:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S17t6-YQ7T0

Sorry about the two week plus hiatus. It’s been a whirlwind of shoots, photo prep, and finishing out the teaching semester at Texas Tech. However, as my good friend Sabrina Henry wanted to do, there’s no need to send the search party yet! More to come!

The Junction courses are about to wrap up, and although there are many photos and stories to share, getting to sleep four hours every night is catching up on us! So, I’ll just share a shot of my class, the A-Team! I ended up with four in the videography course, and they are working their butts off! We paired up with Wyman Meinzer’s photography course for 95 percent of the shoots, and hopefully I’ll have images up from the flash flood we caught today soon!

With that, more to come! Enjoy the action above!

Each Spring, I spend two weeks photographing in the Hill Country non-stop, and quite a bit of that is taken up with flowers, lush vegetation, rivers, and…er, flowers. Last year, I decided to do something different (in my book at least). You could say my inspiration came from Joel Sartore’s images of rare animals on black backgrounds, only I didn’t have a black background for the flowers I was photographing. All I had on me was a few Canon Speedlites and some Pocket Wizards. That’s all you need to knock those backgrounds to black, or at least close to it!

If you turn your flashes (I’m being brand-generic here, you’ll have to find your flash operator’s manual to decipher for your own gear) on high-speed sync, you can use insanely fast shutter speeds to kick the ambient light out of the frame whilst popping your subject with an ultra-fast dump of light! Most of the images in this post were actually shot at 1/8000 at f/2.8 with the ISO set to 50 (approximate, there are a few variations).

You can reverse engineer most of these light setups. I used two lights at back 45s on the Mexican Hats, and for the others, I just handled one flash to pull all the weight. TIP: use a sturdy tripod and a shutter release! A macro-lens or extension tubes don’t hurt as well!

Here’s a before and after look at how powered-up your flash will actually go (depending on when it  was made…I’ll let you figure that out).

Before:                                                                                       After:

Also, shooting with high-speed sync activated will drain your battery faster than normal, so it wouldn’t hurt packing extra batteries.

This is a fun technique, and it complements the repertoire of tools you keep in your flower shooting bag! Try it out next time you’re around a field of bluebonnets or pinwheels!

When I posted last about James Watkins’s hands, it struck me that most of the posts regarding lighting and photoshoots (in my world at least) revolve around using some sort of artificial lighting technology. I love using lights, and if you’ve read this blog enough, you’ll know that I’m a diligent user of several gonzo-sized sticks of dynamite-like photons, er, I mean studio and flash strobe systems.

What doesn’t get paid its due in this world of gear, gear, and more gear, are those times when “lights” aren’t needed. Take for example the photograph in the previous post. Uninhibited by gear, I was left able to just simply find the light. Although it doesn’t present itself to be as simple as we all would really want, when you do find it, you’re more likely to find it later! I was shooting an assignment for a magazine on the art classes held every summer in Junction, and I spent a great deal of time working in the pottery class, taking advantage of the beautiful, directionally diffused light coming in through the screen windows (below is a shot of the interior of the studio where the class was working). The shot in the previous posts, as well as the one above and one below were taken of Mr. Watkins in the right-hand corner of the building you see here. Non-directional light flowing in from everywhere, and the highlight kicker touching his hands came from the window to which he was sitting closest.

Directionally diffused lighting that occurs naturally offers soft, wrapping light that is more subdued in intensity, giving your camera (and you) a break in dynamic range limitations. The values in the shadows and highlights come a bit closer, and you’re able to capture detail in both areas more easily as opposed to shooting outside in direct sunlight at high noon (blech). In essence, it’s a naturally occurring softbox or scrim.

And this light rocks! It can be soft and subdued, or even more dramatic, particularly when it is more directional, such as the shot below taken in the evening. Notice that nice highlight on the artist’s hands.

Basically, this light is coming from behind and nearly level (in terms of the sun) with the window it is passing through. That nice, warm evening light makes everything dramatically tangible, and it’s something that many folks using artificial lights strive to recreate! Hats off to those who do!

So there, it’s always a good practice to review the light given to you naturally, particularly if you’re on assignment and needing to move faster than your assistant (or yourself). In this case, I don’t think artificial lighting would have done this work any justice, especially given the subject and his artwork!

It’s been a little while for a Field Lighting post, but I have a few in the bag. Assignment work and research has been keeping me away, and it looks like it’s just going to get heavier in the near future, but hopefully I can squeeze in a few remnants of my existence on the World Wide Web during all the work!

I don’t know if I’ve ever written about on-camera flash, and Lord knows I don’t advocate it much, but every once in a while, it comes in handy (besides the occasional wedding)! The above photograph was taken on a Lesser Prairie Chicken lek where Blake Grisham and Nick Pirius were conducting research on this seemingly dwindling and fragile species. We sat in the pickup some 75 yards or more away from the lek until we were sure all the birds had flown off. We then drove up slowly, trying hard not to disturb any birds that may have been caught for analysis. If a bird is located, then it’s out of the pickup and quickly to the bird, back to the truck for measuring, banding, radio-collaring, etc., and then released. This literally does not take more than five minutes sometimes. The point is to not traumatize the bird or negate it’s surroundings in any obtrusive way while still ensuring proper research is conducted to help the species later down the road (the bird has a sock over its head to keep it calm).

OK, you can imagine this happens in a short amount of time, and by all means, less time than it would take to set up lighting for all the images taken from piling out of the pickup to scurrying back and through analysis. Enter the on-camera flash. Mobility is definitely the name of the game when you employ this stick of dynamite on TOP of your camera (whether it be an internal flash or attachable speedlite). My entire mentality of handling on-camera flash is the same as it were off. Constantly check your ambient, and work with it judiciously! Luckily, this bird was taken in right after the sun had set, so the sky was a nice blue, low in value, making my flash (a 580EX gelled amber) easily controlled at low settings, saving both battery and everyone’s eyes! Controlling the power on the on-camera flash can be handled in a variety of ways, just as if it were off-camera. I tend to work in AV mode with exposure compensation dialed down a bit in order to save the ambient.

The flash does have a diffuser placed over its bulb. On-camera flash is not nearly as pleasing without this affordable device. Shadows are hard enough with it on. In my opinion, hard shadows coming from the camera axis doesn’t say much in my own photography (there are others that would undoubtedly disagree, and for good reason).

This final shot is the release of the prairie chicken. Stayton Bonner, the writer for the story we were working on, was in for a very fast treat!

Dr. Robert Paine, a forensic anthropologist at the university, amazed me when we got to talking about the skull he is holding in the above image. To be brief, he described it as a multiple gunshot incident, and he explained to me that inferring from the hairline crack in the skull from the first shot, that it was definitely a homicide. I couldn’t do his explanation justice here, and in light of being accurate, I’ll leave it at that.

What I can explain, however, is the lighting! The idea for the story was to create edgy images, but not necessarily in the same light that you would see those characters on a CSI television show. That being said, it was important to interestingly tell the visual story of a science dealing with a certain unique character about it. The shot above is a composite of two images that I used to show the editor what was being shot, but both images were shot with exactly the same setup. The main light was a 39-inch Elinchrom Rotalux Octa placed behind, above, and to camera left of the subject. This kept the spill from invading the black background, which is essentially the black reflector up against a chalkboard. The second, “kicker” light on camera right was created by a Canon 580EX speedlite, gelled blue for the skull shot alone. It was powered less than the main light, used only as a tool to create an edge against the background and throw a little different color in to the mix.

I can’t ever leave the scene without a close-up, and it’s always good to take the subject’s facial characteristics in to consideration. Dr. Paine has a fairly unique face, and one rad beard. Same lighting, just a play on composition in the shoulders, and you have a quick and easy (and different) headshot.

Here’s a diagram photo (sorry for quality, iPhone pic):

As well as a backed out setup shot:

I have some more from this story, but I thought this would be a nice introduction to the lighting that went on. Simple, yet effective and dramatic!

Thanks to Dr. Robert Paine for allowing me to make a few portraits of him. It was incredibly interesting to hear him speak about what he does and how he does it!

I could be writing today about a certain announcement that a certain computer manufacturing company made yesterday about a certain device that will relatively change your life. But I’m not. Actually, there are so many blogs and news articles out there about Apple’s new iPad, that it would be pointless to the “I-wish-it-had-this-and-that” discussion that for one, I couldn’t get in to for lack of knowledge about the different kinds of processors they could put in the darn thing! Seriously though, if you are wanting to read information about the iPad and determine for YOURSELF if you need it or not, just go to the manufacturer’s Web site (you know you’re going to do it anyways).

So, for today: In LIGHT (ha) of several e-mails and comments about such imagery, I want to share a few paintings. Light paintings, that is. This is a fairly worn out subject online as well, but each quality light painting you see is something special. Glowingly, these types of images provide a unique aesthetic quality to a subject that is yes, unnatural, but also surprisingly appropriate. Remember, the name of the game is storytelling, and painting affords a photographer the ability to tell that story in a new way. Aaaand, the fun thing about painting is that the act of doing such exists outside the realm of Photoshop (not that there’s anything wrong with Photoshop, but this technique definitely pre-dates digital technology).

I learned how to paint from Wyman Meinzer, a good friend and mentor, who through his career as a photographer has managed to document the State of Texas to an extent and with such quality that is evident of his passion for telling the state’s story through images. As a matter of fact, Wyman supplied the paint job for two of these images (top image, and the boulders above)!

Painting is actually a fairly simple process, but the technique can be problematic depending on what you are painting. I have included images of structures (generally what you see painted), and if you are just getting in to painting, I would suggest starting with something large, like this set of silos I shot in West Texas. All you need is a tripod and a source of light. In the case of all of the images above, the painting was created using a normal spotlight with an incandescent light bulb. Using a long shutter speed, upwards of several minutes for each of these (notice the “star trails”), the light is applied much like paint is applied to a wall (just make sure the light source doesn’t creep in to the frame). Think how light naturally appears, and experiment, that’s the advice I was given!

Painting is just as easily achieved with the use of flash technology as well, whether it be studio-grade strobes or speedlights. Light, and how it functions, is what’s important here. The two images above and below this paragraph were taken with the use of one or two speedlights, gelled for color effect. I like shooting this way because the ambient is much more controllable, allowing for that sky to really saturate! I still use a tripod in this case, as well as a cable release (use this all the time when painting).

It’s really nice to be able to envision what you want the painting to look like before you get on location, but as we all know as photographers, this doesn’t always work out, nor would you want to limit any serendipitous ideas to be acted on once you are in “shooting mode.” This particular one came out of looking at the faint light my car lights cast on this abandoned house as I pulled up to it. Those lights were powerful enough for the time I wanted to spend with the ambient, so one speedlight gelled amber did the job.

Until next time, experiment! Learn a new way to tell a story!

I asked myself:

“Self, what have you done lately that was sincerely different compared to other work you have been shooting lately?”

I answered:

“I did photograph a piece of forensic evidence as part of a story featuring anthropologists and criminal sociologists not too long ago.”

I replied:

“Fair enough.”

I really can’t wait until this particular story is published, just to see how people respond to one image in particular. Until then, I’ll leave you with this one. I promise, there is much to be learned from forensic anthropologists, and after you do, you take everything you see on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation with a grain of salt.

More to come on this piece and others, both in story and lighting. In the meantime, if you want to make a stab at the lighting (it’s really not that hard, just reverse engineer this sucker), leave your best answer in the comments section. No prize (well, there goes the comments), just for the sake of everything that is good about lighting! Have a great Friday!

I have become a jewelry photographer here of late. From previous posts, you’d probably think I don’t photograph too much product work, however, this work is just as enjoyable, and honestly, when you have this much control over your subject, you tend to be fairly creative compared to some shoots with people…some.

I recently photographed senior rings for the Texas Tech Alumni Association. They told me I had a good bit of rein on how they look, just that they needed something fresh. Of course, you have to show how cool the rings are as well, and these are beautiful rings! What to do, what to do? Find a bit of black felt that you buy for a previous shoot, and create some big edgy light (big for the rings that is). It’s not every day you get to turn product photography into macro photography, letting the lack of depth of field you get when you throw on a macro lens or extension tubes play as much a great aesthetic component of the shot as it is in photographing flowers.

The idea behind the shots was to really highlight the individual parts that make up the attractiveness of the rings, and shooting with extension tubes allows you to jump right on top of the raised ridges and stones. Extension tubes are very handy pieces of equipment to throw in your camera bag, allowing you to switch a medium to telephoto lens to a macro-ready lens in no time. Plus, they are relatively inexpensive compared to a nice macro lens, and yet, as far as glass goes, you don’t sacrifice any quality because there is no glass inside the tubes. Extension tubes are not, however, to be confused with teleconverters, which allow you to multiply the focal length of a lens. Extension tubes allow you to focus closer, much closer, but not multiply focal length. Search B&H Photo or Adorama for extension tubes that might fit your rig.

The lighting for the shots was fairly simple. I didn’t need much space, so I just set everything up in the office on an antique card table (never seen a card table quite like it). You can see from the rugged setup shot that the light was pretty diffused from the two Westcott diffusers. The umbrella camera right serves as a bounce for the diffused light to throw some fill on the shadow side of the ring. This aspect was later assisted with adding a regular white piece of paper folded vertically in half, acting as a very small bookend, placed on the shadow/back side of the rings, just of a little more fill. This is the best part of shooting product like this. You have more control to get the light just right! You don’t always have this much time to experiment, but it is a nice opportunity to also learn from your lighting technique for future shoots when you don’t have as much time.

I have another post coming about photographing jewelry soon, one that combines creativity and systematic approach! More to come…

I love West Texas wine! I had a conversation the other day with a gentleman about a friend of his that was a supposed “wine snob.” You know, one of those folks that will only drink $60+ bottles of imported wines, letting only the “finest” wines indulge his palette. Anyways, said gentleman sent his snobbish friend a bottle of West Texas wine (variety and winery not discussed), and while it was a fine gift, the friend did not have positive reaction…at first. After a while, the friend gave in, drank a glass, and voila, decided that West Texas wine wasn’t so bad, not bad at all, well, some really dang good wine!

I mentioned in a previous post about an article I am working on for a regional magazine about the West Texas wine industry. I wanted to share another portrait from the experience. Greg Bruni, pictured above, is one of the wine makers and owners of Llano Estacado Winery in Lubbock, Texas. Bruni grew up in a California wine family, and his knowledge and techniques as a wine maker has helped shape West Texas wine.

This is one of my favorite portraits I have taken this year! The best part of it all is that it didn’t take long to get it! I counted up, Mr. Bruni and I took eleven total shots. He showed up right at sunrise, we ran out into the vineyard adjacent to the winery. The light was just impeccable for the shot. The sun rose just over his right shoulder, and a 580EX with an umbrella was placed just off the 45 on his front right. Just enough to fill in the shadow side of his face and get up under that awesome hat! Pump up the power enough on the flash, say 1/2 +.7 power, and balance it with a solid ambient exposure, and there you have it! Light makes color, and this is a very colorful photograph, telling the man’s passion for his work.

Hope you enjoy the shot, and please, enjoy yourself some West Texas wine soon! JF.