Clement is having fun - [35mm f1.4 1/400 iso800]
I think we all want good photos of ourselves and on social media especially we want to have photos as proof that we were at an event and part of the party. I find that a quick snapshot with your phone is fine to mark a point in your life, but usually doesn’t produce a memorable photo or
Read MoreSwing it on out - [35mm f1.4 1/400 iso800]
One of the things that I really liked about working at this festival is that I was able to collaborate with the venue to light the dance floor as best I could. They had standard theater lighting set-up
Read MoreRoundstone Harbor Black and White - [35mm f11 30s iso100]
Here is a photo that is very special to me. It was taken in a little village on the west coast of Ireland called Roundstone. My grandfather and his family came from this very picturesque
Read MoreI recently visited both Scotland and Ireland and one thing they are both known for is bad weather. I was in both countries for a week and a half in the middle of summer and we didn’t have any sunshine so they definitely delivered. Luckily Scotland and Ireland are known for certain beverages that I enjoy. I have many Irish whiskys I like but on this trip I picked up a small bottle from a shop in
Read MoreA small preview of the Chase Festival photos in the form of a sunset over Heidelberg! Heidelberg is a very pretty city and it has been preserved through all the wars. On the first night I was on my way to the venue and crossing the bridge the sun broke out under the clouds to bath the sky with brilliant orange rays of light. I was able to catch it and this is the result.
I'm currently in Edinburgh for a blues dance festival called The Spoonful. I am not the official photographer so I will probably not take too many photos and get as much dancing in as possible. It is nice to see the organizers paying a little bit more attention to the media and promotional side of things as they have a professional video team with two cameras, and also a guy walking around with a gyroscopically stabilized handheld camera. Of course they also have some studio lighting to help light the performances for the video. I am excited to see the performances when they come out.
To close out I would like to end with a colorful flower I found in Oslo last week. It was a cloudy day so the light was beautifully spread out and balanced. I was walking around town and had my camera with me (as I often do) and happened upon these small but really interesting flowers. I really like them because they have lots of details in them and have an exciting color gradient from the middle to the outside. I chose a shallow depth of field and looked for a composition with the same colors as the flower in the background.
I'm not sure what the flower species is so if you can tell me then please let me know in the comments below. Additionally I will be on the west coast of Ireland the coming two weeks so I don't know if I will have access to internet so I might not be able to blog for a while. I do intend to get some great pictures if the weather permits so hopefully that will make up for less blogging!
chasefestival.com - website for Chase Festival
thespoonful.co.uk - website for The Spoonful
Rembrant Rosie - [95mm f4 1/60 iso800]
Ruth and Mike returned to Delft for a weekend workshop aptly named: The Return. I was invited to be the photographer and was very happy and excited to showcase blues dancing in my hometown.
The Friday evening party was held at the Boterhuis, a cafe in the old historic center of Delft with a good beer selection. The room we were in was quite sparse with plain white walls and only a few things to use as a background. On the other hand the white walls and roof allowed me to use my flash to get nice, soft lighting and make the photos interesting that way. One wall had some windows that gave a view from outside or just added some shapes in the background.
For the photo above I bounced the light off of the right wall to get a nice soft light but the orientation of the dancers still gave really dramatic shadows. You can also see the classic Rembrant portrait lighting scheme here with the triangle of light under her eye.
Colorful portrait - [200mm f4 1/200 iso3200]
The classes were held in a gym hall with a bright blue floor and flourescent lighting above. This type of lighting usually doesn't color well on people and a gym is designed to be effective, not to look good so I had my work cut out for me. Fortunately the sky was covered in thin clouds and high up on one wall there was a row of large windows that gave the hall a very soft but directional light. The walls were a nicely textured neutral gray that helps make all the colors really jump out of the photo. With a long lens and minimal editing this produced a great photo.
Staying on the lighting theme the Saturday party was very challenging but also very exciting! We were in a back room of an out of the way bar with very nice atmosphere but it was quite dark. The interior had lots of interesting things hanging on the walls with couches, tables etc. which helped break down the background but above all the ceiling lamps were very cool. They made a super cool sunburst pattern of warm light over the whole room.
Cool ceiling lights - [35mm f1.4 1/100 iso3200]
To preserve this great light I was not able to use too much flash as it would overpower the lamps. It was very tough to take pictures in this dark room but I am happy with the results as the backgrounds are very exciting and I was able to use the light to accentuate the dancers in some places and to compliment the photograph in others.
You can see more of the pictures in the full album and if you like this post consider liking this post and liking my facebook page. If you have any comments then feel free to leave them below.
ruthandmike.com - website Ruth and Mike
facebook.com/DelftBlues - facebook page for Delft Blues
The Return Facebook Album - facebook album of the rest of the photos