16
Dec
2009
Livin’ on the edge
It pays to be my friend. Clinton has now been in front of my camera 3 times. Previously with a gritty downtown LA theme, and also a cowboy/western theme. This time he wanted a fashion theme. I wasn’t sure what he was going to wear until he knocked on my door… Pointed black shoes, grey wool slacks, leather gloves, and a matching grey wool beret? 1920′s here we come! Which would go PERFECT with my loft’s atmosphere since it was built in the 1920′s and well maintained since then.
Most notable about The Chapman building are the beautiful 13 floors of marble stairway. You just don’t see that anymore unless you’re in a 5 star hotel. I was trying to get a lot of depth, so placing Clinton at the very edge of the frame while looking down gave me the look I wanted.
The roof is the main attraction of any downtown building. A quick jump over a neighboring wall and we’ve been transported from The Chapman’s green grass, lawn chairs, and jacuzzis to a tattered and worn down roof… perfect for that old rustic feel.
Clinton survived the “jump” 
Of course the above image is a composite. One of him jumping, and another over the edge of the building. Now personally I turn into a spineless puddle of mush when it comes to heights, so crawling over the railing and hanging my camera 5′ beyond the ledge made me just a tad queezy. But I’m very happy how this image turned out.
On to the behind-the-scenes shots.
My lovely trusty and beautiful assistant Lauren snapped some shots on her iPhone of the stairway. Just goes to show how beautiful and well restored this building has been kept for over 80 years.
The finished shot spans 3 floors. On each floor was an AlienBee strobe. Since the marble is practically white, the power had to be set relatively low, and constantly adjust each light to get the balance I wanted… With each tiny adjustment meaning I had to climb 3 flights of stairs, I got a decent workout in!
Pulling back from a ledge shot you can see what I was working with. Yes I wasn’t lying about shooting on a ledge, that 2nd photo wasn’t a composite folks! Mad props to Clinton risking his neck for a shot! Where I’m taking the picture from is just about how close I like to come to a high ledge! Both feet on solid ground. Also note that in the final pictures, I edited out most modern elements such as cars and new buildings.
I’m very happy with how this shoot came out. So how about getting in the Christmas spirit and give the gift of comments 
27
Aug
2009
From neat to street
Time to break in my new AlienBee lights (1 ABR800, 2x AB1600), and trusty PocketWizard transmitters. I feel like I’m just picking up the camera and shooting cars 5 years ago, and feel that inspiration and drive once again. So now it’s shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot. Not all of my shots will be exactly what I want, but eventually I’ll get closer to that goal.
Next on my list is Jolin Barot, middle name Ripped. Not an ounce of fat on this joker! Makes my 75-rep push-ups and 50 mile bike rides seem like an exercise in relaxation. But first the “neat” shots, all button’d up and iron’d out sitting on the couch in The Chapman lobby. One great thing about photography is you can take a normally mundane location, add a little bit of lighting, and turn it into a portfolio piece. While shooting this location, at least 20 people walked inches behind my back doing their daily business.
Now the street shots. Same guy, sans the shirt, and literally 30 paces out the back door from the lobby. And instead of loft-dwellers, we had bums and liquor store employees passing by.
A few steps back shows what I was working with. Shooting against walls can be tough when trying to pull off rim lighting. But like i said shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot.
Big thanks to Tanisha from Lowrider Girls for hooking up the shoot, and of course my girlfriend Lauren for assisting me again and again and again. Click over to my main website to see the high-res shots.
