Nieces Shoot

My niece, Savannah, spent some time over at my house this weekend so I took advantage of the opportunity and did a shoot with her and my other two neices, Gaby and Tessa.  We had a pretty hefty list of ideas but quickly found that there was no way we were going to get through them all and some just weren't going to work with a high energy toddler.

Savannah is 17 months old and, while absolutely adorable, has a very short attention span.  It is pretty hard to give direction and take your time with a toddler who is dying to get up and run toward the camera to play with the buttons!  Luckily I had lots of help.  Gaby and Tessa were absolutely brilliant.  They helped to hold her as still as possible while my mom and sister entertained her from behind me.

We didn't get a ton of pictures but the ones we did get were definite keepers (you can click on the images for larger versions).  Here are some of my favorites.  All of the images from the shoot will soon be up on iStock.

Deep Creek Model Shoot

Two weekends ago I gathered with 9 other iStock photographers in McHenry, Maryland at a fantastic lakefront home on Deep Creek Lake. We were joined by an incredible group of models - many with theater backgrounds - perfect for a stock shoot.

We started out the first night shooting a local conference center. We had the opportunity to shoot some shots in a conference room, at the hotel check-in counter, and out in the hotel lobby. Here are a few images from the resort:

The first full day was a shoot at the rental house on the lake.  We split into multiple groups and moved throughout the house and out by the lake.  It was an exhausting day but very rewarding.  I can't say enough about how great our models were.  I focused on relationship challenges - a theme that has worked well for me in the past.  Having some experienced actors and actresses as models really made this a lot of fun.  Here are some shots from the house:

Our final day was at Deep Creek Lake State Park.  We rotated among three tent sites.  Unfortunately I had to leave half way through to get back to Richmond in time to finish up some work but it was certainly fun while it lasted.

While I may not have taken any super sellers on this trip, it was certainly worth attending.  As I often find at iStock gatherings, the opportunity to hang out with and learn from other iStockers was priceless.  Thanks to all of the iStockers and models who attended!

Nashville, TN

I headed out Saturday for Nashville, TN for a conference for work (no, not a photography conference, this was a media finance conference for my real job).  The conference didn't officially begin until first thing Sunday morning so I had all day Saturday to explore Nashville.

You never would have guessed that they just endured such a tragic flood.  The city was clean and crowded, live music coming from each of the honky tonk bars on Broadway.  Everyone was upbeat and friendly.  While I am not personally a country music fan, I found the city to be quite wonderful. 

My research had shown that the best place for cityscapes was from Shelby Street Bridge - an absolutely beautiful pedestrian only bridge - which crosses the Cumberland River and leads from downtown Nashville to LP Field - home of the Tennessee Titans.  My scouting efforts showed the same.

As most of your know, I like to show up an hour early for my nightime cityscapes (skyline) - gives me plenty of time to set up and pick just the right spot.  This didn't work out quite as planned this go round.  I set out from my hotel for the bridge but found the sidewalks of downtown Nashville to be absolutely packed.  Turns out there was a James Taylor concert right next to the hotel.  I bobbed and weaved my way through the crowd (walking in the street quite often) and managed to miss a turn and wander all over downtown.

I finally arrived at my spot breathing hard and frustrated - only to find that I had based my calculations of what time to arrive on Eastern Standard Time - Nashville is on Central Standard Time!  I was there an hour and a half before twilight.  Way to go genius!

Being there early did have one perk.  I was able to meet a guy named Tanner.  Tanner was there with a bouquet of flowers.  Come to find out, his girlfriend was in Nashville visiting some friends.  He had flown into town and lined up with the friends that they bring her up to the bridge.  He planned to surprise her and propose!

As I was waiting for the perfect light, he was waiting for his future bride.  Twilight came on time - she did not.  I was growing more and more nervous for the guy.  He seemed like such a great guy and it would have ruined the night if she didn't show up or if she said no.  I was envisioning having to tackle him before he could jump off the bridge or something along those lines.

But she did eventually show.  When she saw him she was more excited than anyone I have seen in my entire life.  The answer was definitely yes.  That made the evening great regardless of my cityscape success.  Tanner - if you read this - congratulations!

But on to the cityscape.  Nashville cityscapes tend to look a little funny.  If you shoot from down by the river, you end up having to aim your camera up to a point that the buildings all slant to the middle of the picture.  The Cumberland River just isn't very wide and the buildings are quite tall.  The only way to get a straight on shot is to shoot from the bridge. 

But shooting from the bridge puts crosses a huge slant from the left hand side of the picture down to the right.  This leaves a lot of sky on the right.  The advantage in a night shot is this gives you a lot more of the deep blue that comes at twilight.  Overall, the Nashville cityscape isn't absolutely fantastic but it is quite cool.

Tampa, FL

I had the privilege of meeting with fellow iStocker, Joe (CJMGrafx) this evening.  We ate dinner at Bennigans - yep, there is still a Bennigans in Tampa!  I had a Monte Cristo in honor of my brother Dave (well, it was really because the Monte Cristo is just plain AWESOME, but we'll pretend it was solely out of love and respect for my brother).

After that it was off to my favorite Tampa Cityscape location (believe it or not, I do share my favorite locations with select people).  My goal was to try to nail a night cityscape panorama by taking multiple shots, post processing identically, and then trying to stitch the images together.  I don't have time tonight to go through this process (it is going to take a LONG time) but I did want to give a sneak peak of how Tampa looked this evening.  This really is one of my favorite cities to shoot - it is beautiful!

Oreo - Best Cat in History

Today I break from my normal posts about photography to pay tribute to the coolest cat ever to walk this earth. Our dear cat Oreo died yesterday, April 24th. His passing was quick and he died with his head in my hand - the last gift I could give this dear cat that will always be one of the best friends I ever had. I lack the skill with words to properly convey all that was Oreo but I owe him so much joy and feel I must try.

My brother Gary found Oreo on our driveway 2 1/2 years ago in the middle of winter, freezing and on the verge of death. He was only a few days old but we immediately knew that he was special and we couldn’t bear the thought of not making him a part of our family. We nursed him back to health but found out that he was FIV positive – the feline version of the Aids virus.

The vet warned us that our time with Oreo may be short and that we should seriously consider whether or not to keep him but there was no question in our minds, Oreo was already a member of our family. He had to be segregated from the other cats because of the virus and therefore moved into the basement. The basement is the part of the house I call home so Oreo and I spent countless hours together.

We quickly discovered that Oreo was not an ordinary cat. For one thing, he played fetch just like a dog. Throw a piece of paper and Oreo would run and grab it, bring it back and drop it by your feet, and then nudge your foot until you picked it up and threw it again. Oreo was ultra affectionate. He loved to jump on my lap, wait for me to rock back in my office chair, and then fall asleep lying on my chest. Occasionally he would stretch out and lick my face as if he was saying “I love you.” He would follow you around, always wanting to be with people. He rarely misbehaved and when he did, it was out of innocence. You couldn’t help but smile whenever he was around. He was everyone’s absolute favorite.

At just 2 years of age, the FIV virus has stolen Oreo’s life but it cannot steal the amazing memories that we all have of Oreo. All who knew him can say without hesitation that his or her life was richer because Oreo was a part of it. As hard as the pain of this loss is (I can’t seem to make the tears stop flowing), those 2 years with Oreo have been worth every tear. To Oreo I can simply say thank you for bringing us such joy. You were quite simply the best friend any human could ever ask for.

Washington, DC

We took off for Washington, DC yesterday for a really long day trip.  We left at 7 AM and didn't return until almost 11 PM.  The plan was to drive to Springfield, VA to catch the metro to the National Zoo.  After hanging out at the zoo for a couple of hours, we were going to take the metro downtown to hit the monuments, White House, and then do dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.  After dinner we would head for home.

What I wasn't expecting was the crowds!  The metro was bulging with people packed in like sardines, the zoo was so full it was tough to even get up to the exhibits to see the animals.  There was no possible way of getting pictures in downtown DC without loads of people in them.  The wait at the Hard Rock Cafe was 90 minutes - much longer than our stomachs were telling us they could handle.  I guess the combination of the beautiful day, it being the last day of spring break, and the National Cherry Blossom Festival brought the crowds.

But, all in all, it was still a great day.  The animals we saw were cool.  My personal favorites were actually the Prairie Dogs.  I know, not all that exotic, but they were really neat animals.  Plus they seemed to love posing for the camera.  They were probably just trying to figure out why the psycho with the camera was making weird kissing noises at them like they were cats.  Here's one of my favorites:

There was no way I was getting any stock shots in downtown DC but we did still brave our way through the crowds to see the Capitol, the Washington Monument, the WW II Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial.  Here's a shot of the gang at the Washington Monument:

On our way to the Hard Rock, we swung by the White House.  We were almost up to the fence when a couple of Park Police started yelling at the crowd to get back.  They cleared the whole area in front of the fence all the way back almost 100 yards.  We stuck around a while to see what was happening.  One of the police officers said they didn't have a clue.  Apparently they received a call from the Secret Service telling them to clear the area but they didn't pass on the "why."  Actually, he made it pretty clear that there is a bit of animosity between the two groups and they don't really communicate well with each other.  There were also some guys up on the roof with telescopes.  It was all a bit odd.

After finding out the wait was 90 minutes at the Hard Rock, we took the metro back to my truck and headed for home.  We still needed food so we stopped at the good ol' Silver Diner.  It was AWESOME.  They actually had a lot of veggie food and the milk shakes were unbelievably good.  It almost made up for the lack of Hard Rock.  So despite all the modifications to my original plan, I think we all agreed it was still a good day!

Virginia State Capitol

Have you seen the Virginia State Capitol yet this spring?  They have planted some absolutely beautiful tulips and other flowers that just pop when placed against the bright white Capitol and a blue sky. 

One of my flames on iStock (a flame is an image with 100 or more sales) is a picture from two years ago of the Capitol with the tulips.  In that case, I had gone down to the Capitol at lunch to take the shots and ended up lying down in the middle of the grass in a suit (coat and all) to capture the flowers and the Capitol.  Today I was at least in shorts and a t-shirt.  I think I like this year's even more than the one from two years ago.  Here you go:

Another part of the mission in downtown Richmond today was a self portrait for iStock.  iStock is about to celebrate their 10th anniversary and is putting together a website with portraits of all of their contributors.  We were each tasked with providing a self portrait that defined us photographically.  My original thought was to do an artsy shot in studio with dramatic spot lighting.  That was cool but really didn't do much to speak to my photographic style.  I decided to address it from a different angle.  What is it that I am known for in photography?  Well that was easy - cityscapes.

So I had my nephew, Gage, swipe my camera and shoot some shots of me in front of the Richmond cityscape.  I think Gage did a good job!

Norfolk, VA

I ditched work at noon yesterday and headed for Norfolk, Virginia.  Well, actually I headed for Portsmouth, VA to shoot Norfolk from across the Elizabeth River.  Norfolk and Portsmouth are pretty cool places to visit due to all of the ships and the rich Naval history.  Norfolk isn't huge but it does have a pretty cool skyline as well.  I had never been to Portsmouth and didn't do a ton of research (I know, that's not like me - but this was a last minute decision) so I really didn't have much of an idea where I was going.  I figured that since I was arriving around 2 PM, that should give me plenty of time to explore and scope out my spot for my night shot.

The first challenge I ran into was parking.  There was a ton of street parking with parking meters but I didn't find a public lot.  I only had one quarter which was worth a whopping 15 minutes of park time.  I dropped in my quarter and went in search of a longer term solution.  That's when I had a God moment.  I was about 100 yards from my truck when a man says, "hey, don't I know you?"  Come to find out, he is someone I had just struck up a conversation with the week before while visiting my dad.  We chatted for a few minutes when I informed him that I needed to head back to my truck to try to find somewhere else to park.  The man responded that he lives in a high rise apartment right there on the waterfront and I could just bring my truck there and he would let me in the parking garage as a guest.  The garage was just 50 yards from the spot I picked as the best spot for my night cityscape.  Coincidence?  I think not.

I set out to explore and wandered all along the waterfront to see the different views of Norfolk.  Along the journey I saw some cool ducks hanging out on a retaining wall along the river.  Every time I tried to get closer to them, they would walk further down the wall.  I finally ended up lying on my belly facing the ducks.  Every minute or so I would use my arms to inch forward.  I felt like I was on some military black op sneaking up on the enemy.  Two of the three ducks were not impressed and took off but one let me eventually get close enough for a cool shot with the city in the background.  Only downside was that my arms itched the whole rest of the day (make sure you click on the below picture - he was a cool duck!).

After exploring the entire waterfront and bantering with a lady shooting with a Canon (I hope I didn't insult her too bad), I found my way back to the high rise apartment.  I couldn't find a spot that I liked better for my dusk cityscape.  I hung out on a park bench and enjoyed the water as the sun moved lower and lower in the sky behind me.

Sunset was scheduled for 7:28 so I moved into place around 7:00 to set up my shot.  One thing I didn't anticipate was the drop in temperature once the sun dropped in the sky.  I had set out at noon in just jeans and a t-shirt and was actually a bit hot throughout the day but that same jeans and t-shirt left me shivering along the water once dusk hit.  I was literally dancing around rubbing my arms trying to warm up.  Quite a sight for the passing boaters, I'm sure.  Luckily I didn't keel over the freezing air (it was probably only 60 degrees out - but it sure felt cold) before getting my dusk shot. 

I did have one moment of panic.  About 10 minutes before the ideal light, a tugboat pulling a huge barge moved right in front of my shot.  The tugboat pulled away from the barge leaving it right in front of me.  It would have completely botched my shot.  Luckily, the tugboat was just repositioning and pulled the barge on down the river 3 hours later (ok, it was probably only 5 minutes later - but it felt like 3 hours!).

As the river cleared and sky darkened, I snapped Norfolk at dusk:

The great thing about Norfolk is that it is close enough to head back almost any weekend.  I want to try a slightly different angle that will move the buildings closer to each other and decrease the width of the river which will hopefully help some with the reflections.  Overall, though, a good experience!

Savannah Shoot

I had the opportunity this afternoon to shoot with Savannah and Amy.  We didn't start shooting until 3 PM and Savannah hadn't had a nap all day.  Needless to say, this made for an interesting shoot.  Most of my ideas required that Savannah be awake and happy but this time was VERY limited.  But you work with what you get and I ended up with what I think are some really cute shots of Savannah sleeping.  I pulled my comforter into the studio and laid it out over my reflective floor panels.

Savannah shots are especially important because all of the royalties that they generate go into a 529 plan toward her college education.  I started with shots when she was a newborn and have (admittedly, a bit too slowly) added to the collection over the past year.  She broke the $500 mark a few weeks ago.  If she could continue at this rate (with no growth) she would have somewhere between $14,000 and $23,000 (depending on rates of return).  Not too shabby.

On to the pictures:

Citylypse 2010 Summary

After 2,200 miles, $42.25 in tolls, $237.23 in gas money, $41 in cab rides, and 8 hotel rooms, Citylypse 2010 is officially over.  I am back in Richmond recouping after a very long trip.  8 cities in 9 days was quite the ambitious challenge but we proved it was possible. 

I now have cityscapes up on iStock from Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, & Louisville.  Cincinnati & Columbus will follow.  Now we just have to wait for the sales to kick in.  That generally takes a month or so and it will take a year or so to find out whether or not the shoot was profitable.

Thanks to all for following along and for the feedback.  Here is a summary of the cities I visited: