Don't Laugh....My Ghetto Tabletop Studio

One of my favorite things to shoot is anything on my kitchen table - usually with a strobe hanging off the light above the table. I haven't shot anything on my table lately but it all came together when we had to stop at Walgreens and then Staples before we headed home. Julie bought me some beer and I picked up some white posterboard.

I have shot lots of things on that table and always use the same things - white posterboard or copy paper as the background and as reflectors and colored paper for a snoot. Below are a few shots of the set-up and the final shots. The first is the original with a little dodging to the corners and to the upper, middle part of the label. The second is the same shot but with some added space to give a better comp....easily done with the crop tool in Photoshop. Make sure your color is set to white and that the crop ratio is cleared, drag the crop to the ends of your image and then just keep going til you get the size you like, hit apply and you have a new canvas size.

I used 2 SB-600s (thanks Brian for the loaner, I will return it soon) - one directly above the subject about 3 feet up, zoomed to 50mm and fired via CLS at 1/2 power. The other was camera left and slightly behind the subject, zoomed to 50mm, fired via CLS at 1/40 power and loosely snooted with a piece of blue colored paper. I torn apart one piece of posterboard and placed the pieces to get a nice bounce from the 2 strobes.

It makes me pretty happy that I can make something look kinda nice with just some posterboard and paper.

The Walk Between Football Practice Pt.2

Julie and I walked around downtown this evening while Marcus had football practice....I am really happy how these came out. Most shot with my Sigma 10-20mm but also used my Nikon 18-70mm kit lens for the rest. We walked around for an hour and I took about 60 shots....These are some of my favorites. I am already looking forward to next Monday so Julie and I can go for another walk :)

Occifer....That Ain't My 1933 Ford

I was asked to shoot a sweet ride so I of course jumped at the chance....Bill, Julie & I arrived at the park and set things up. We had a few people come over and admire the car ask a few questions about the engine, etc....Then came the "douchebag" with the dog off the leash. He began to rant and rave about us driving the car on the grass - If he had just expressed his want of us moving the car off the grass we surely would have. But he became a little hostile and started to videotape us and take pictures of my license plate. He then proceeded to call the police - still with dog off the leash witch is illegal....Did I mention that there are car shows on that grass all the time. This is already longer than I wanted it to be but to shorten it the police showed up the "douchebag" met em in the parking lot and they talked for a few seconds and the police officer drove away. Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be douchebags....No grass was harmed in the making of these photographs.

Matanza....Wasn't That In January

It was but I never really got around to posting any of the images due to the fact that they were pretty graphic....It is the butchering, cooking and enjoying of a pig. For a while there I was rethinking my love for pork and then I remembered where BACON comes from and no longer gave a fuck. Thanks to our good friends Josette & Scott for the invite - I hope to do it again next year.

Blood, Pig Heads & Guts below....Proceed at your own risk.

Villanueva, New Mexico

Spent the afternoon in Villanueva, New Mexico....most of the time was spent at Villanueva State Park - only had a few minutes to spend driving through town. I have been twice and still haven't nearly had enough time to look around as much as I wish - seems to be lots of cool places to shoot. First shot is an old tractor right outside the State Park, the second is Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and the last is of the Pecos River from the bridge located inside the park.

The Walk Between Football Practice

Julie & I took a walk near the Rio Grande Nature Center while Marcus was at football practice on Monday. It wasn't too hot, the company was great and there were plenty of interesting things for me to look at and photograph. The first shot of the tree limbs was duplicated, flipped and merged in CS5....The last one is very simple and somewhat plain and odd but Julie & I really dig it.

My Son, My Dad & My Daughter

I love him so much....he is smart, handsome, athletic, courageous, polite, kind, funny, confident and stubborn....all those things make him who he is and I wouldn't want him to change any of them. I love you Marcus.

1. My Dad was a postman for 33 years and worked at the same office the entire time from 1953 - 1986 (4th. & Candelaria). 2. He was given an award by the mayor for saving a man from a burning home while on duty (1963). 3.Taking Andrew, my little brother, for his first haircut at his best friend Joe's house (1986). 4. With Martin, Lisa, Lynn and Tina....(1969). 5. Family portrait session by Olan Mills (1983). 6. My Mom & Dad (1958). 7. Korean War MP (1951).

There is no plan on having more children so Indie will be our last....She is our daughter and we have become so attached to her in the last 3 1/2 years. She is smart, loyal, a great watchdog and is very pretty :) I would not want any other dog in the world.

Happy Father's Day

I'm Stocky (a.k.a Fat) & I Sell Stock

I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to have extra time to do what I love and get paid for it....My stock photography through The Getty Flickr Collection has been going well and I am glad to say that for the month of May another 8 images sold. The images are below and were sold to The Onion, Lendrum Fine Art, Lusth I.D., Mar'ot Images, My Chemist, ACP Magazines and 2 unnamed companies. Click the link above to see all of my images available through The Getty Flickr Collection. Thanks

Film

How I love you so....Wish I would shoot you more. And Yes - I still look at the non-existent LCD on the back of the camera from time to time. All of these were shot using a Nikon N6006 and Kodak BW400CN film - except the lovely blue sky and monkey bars shot - Kodak 400 and a Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim. Still have a 1/2 roll in the N6006 - not even sure what is on the first half.....Only one way to find out :)