With Guns Drawn

After some success with my first still life, I decided to try it again. This time instead of tools, I shot guns (epic pun). When my grandfather passed away, he left his collection of guns to my cousin and me. I gotta say, it's quite an arsenal. Historical guns ranging from an 1887 Springfield bolt action to a German 1943 Walther P38 my grandfather brought back from the War. If there is a zombie apocalypse anytime soon, you know where I'll be.

M4 Bayonet used on my grandfather's M1 Carbine

1894 Winchester Repeater

On a totally different topic, I have been working on a project for my anthropology class about the 1906 Ultras. I have blogged about them before, but if you missed it, they are the supporter group for the San Jose Earthquakes. They are loud and proud, rain or shine.

Tools Of The Trade

Over the last two months or so I have had the pleasure of working at Leftspace Studios. It is an incredible rental studio in San Francisco that provides a workspace for some really amazing photographers. It's awesome to have photographers that I really admire working in the room next to me. It's a constant source of inspiration.

This week I really wanted to try something different. I have seen a lot of great still life photographers come through the studio, so I thought I'd try my hand at it. I've never really done a still life, but I'm pretty happy with the result. I acquired some of my grandfather's old tools and I think that they fit perfectly with my narrative. Enjoy.

Here are two color variations.

Anti-Hero

Since my last post, I've continued to work on my lighting style.  I have been struggling with the narrative, but the technique is improving every time I try a new set up. Check it out.

When I first began to conceptualize my project, my dear friend Jack turner was the first person that came to mind. Jack is the epitome of class. GQ through and through. He was fortunate enough to let me photograph him this week. The pictures came out exactly as I had envisioned.

I photographed Jack at BlueSky studios. A fantastic rental space in the Dogpatch neighborhood of SF. This is "The Grid". It is a series of panels and robotics connected to Profoto D4 power packs. The best part is, you control the entire thing via iPad. Awesome technology. Check out the videos and walk through at BlueSky's Grid site.

Here are some other lighting tests I was working on, featuring two colleagues of mine.

Devin Begley. His site HERE

David Bush. His site HERE.

My first attempt at a composite, ever. I have a LONG way to go.

I Watch the Watchmen

So I'm starting to think about what I kind of project I want to do for my thesis. I want to do something that is going to push my lighting skills. I've always admired the lighting in movies adapted from comics. Here are my first attempts at mimicking this look.

Lighting On Location

I don't really have much to say. So please enjoy what I've been working on.

A Long Time Ago...

I wish that I was better at updating my blog. I should be doing it every week as opposed to doing it once every couple of months. But I'm busy and distracted. What do you want from me??

A lot has been going on since my last update. Went to Italy and the East Coast. Started a new job. A new semester began. It's been crazy, but I've been learning a lot and I'm loving every minute of it. So here is some of the stuff I've been working on. Enjoy.

I was going to start with stuff from the summer time and work my way back up to the present, but I really wanted to start off with this shot for some reason. My friend Alex and I working with some strobes up at Brook Knoll School.

Alright. Travel back to Italy. Near the end of our trip, Urbino held the Festa Dello Studente. A three day festival dedicated to the students at Urbino University. It's a great way for everyone to wrap up the end of the year and let lose. I mean, a huge party sponsored by the city? What is better than that? The photos below are of a band called Nidi D'Arac. They are from Puglia. That chick was SHREDDING that violin. Pretty great show.

A month ago I got the opportunity to work for a company that every (male) photographer dreams of working for. I got to shoot an assignment for Playboy. I'm not going to go into details about the exact assignment, but I'll describe it like this. Cyber Girl of the Year and The Gamer Next Door, Jo Garcia. Zombies. Pub crawl. Major, MAJOR win.

I've been working as an onset photographer for the latin drama, Hacienda Heights. It's been a really interesting experience. This industry is one that I knew nothing about. Here is a little sneak peak.

Random picture of Devin at Brian and Dan's birthday party.

These next few are shots from my location lighting class. We've been working with Profoto 7b kits ranging from one bare bulb to three light set-ups. Awesome packs. Can't wait to continue to learn how to utilize their awesomeness.

Kenny Chiu

David Bush

Devin Begley

From cameras with love - SB