The above shot is taken from atop the  building on the southeast corner of the Square in Athens Alabama.  Many thanks to Buzz Estes for the access.  Over one thousand cars were at the event and the weather was great, abiet a bit warm later on.  With the help of my assistants El and Court we shot some car portraiture and it went quite well.  Embedding people with their cars I think is great but very hard to light as the light  is in constant flux.  All in all I am pleased with the results.  Two blocks each side of the court house were blocked off for the cars and I believe next year four will be needed as the show will only continue to grow.  A lot of fine metal in attendance.  A gallery has been posted on the Featured Images section of the site….check it out….

The beautiful old Hudson in the shot above says come on down.  Tomorrow April 25th is the HUGE show of the year.  Cars from all over will converge on and around the Square in Athens, Alabama.  Expectations are around one thousand of these vintage autos will be there.  I’ll be there shooting the cars and their owners using two strobes and a four foot stepladder with the help of Ellery and Courtney as my assistants.  The show runs from 8am to 3pm.

In the photo above you can see how a shot is made.  The shot shows how some of the shots in Brooke’s gallery were made.  My wife is holding the main strobe (to high in this shot) and a fill speed-light is off to the side.  The fill light was acting up some and did not fire via the wireless trigger as it should have.  Flash distance,power,shutter speed,ISO, and f stop all have to mesh together to make a photograph.  And you thought you just picked up a camera and took a picture which you can do but you will rarely get a high quality image.  No matter how good today’s cameras are or will be, the person with what is called the “eye”  will always come away with the shot…the “eye” is a gift from God, some will get it and others will not.

Rodeo Queen hopeful Brooke looking good in the woods, in the shot above.  We did a second shoot to get the required BIG hair this past Saturday.  We shot in the outdoor studio and some with small strobes, like this shot in the woods.   The quality of light and location using the big strobes outdoors in a studio setting can’t be matched by the small strobes or in the indoor studio for that matter.  I will post a “outdoor studio” shot later.

The above shot is of Brooke a contestant in this years upcoming Sheriffs Rodeo.  The Rodeo has become a huge draw here in Limestone county over the last 2o or so years.  The title of Rodeo Queen is much more than a beauty pageant I have learned via Brooke.  You have to be able to demonstrate riding skills, interview well, and a host of other things as well, in essence a lot of work.  We will be shooting again to get her application shots just right.

The band of models in the shot above is from day two of the Nashville workshop this past weekend.  The lighting here is all natural and is a technique used a lot in New York due to shooting permits.  Not quite as cool as day one but they were still a bit chilled, being thin is not always a good thing.

This afternoon I am shooting a Rodeo Queen contestant and I hope the lessons learned  from “The Don” come into play.

In the shot above are the models who went above and beyond to work with me/us on a Lighting Essentials workshop this past Friday and Saturday.  We call it the band because that is what it looked like to all of us.  Eight photogs shooting the models one at a time while the girls were troopers and were actually freezing in a stiff cold wind.  But great shots came out of it. I learned more from “the Don” in two days than I could have found out on my own in in two years.  Old school but staying new and fresh at the same time.  Go to www.lighting-essentials.com to check him out.

Old truck,old beer….as in the shot above you gotta love the old rides.  The big show is coming up.  I talked to Roger of Roger’s Portraits yesterday and he says if last year is any indication, this year will be huge.  A thousand cars in and around the square in Athens  will be a packed out affair….cars will be coming in at sunrise to get a good spot, with I imagine the largest spectator crowds at 10-2.  I have my crew but am still working on the model, takes a special talent to take the gawks of a lotta people and still hit the pose.

In the above slightly stylized photo you see one of at least 200 cars that showed up for the monthly cruise- in.  This is a growing event as I remember last year when it started you might get 25 cars to show.  A lot of fine metal to look at and admire.  I have loaded a cruise- in gallery on the photo page.  Kinda hard to shoot as they are tight together and folks milling about, along with ever changing light.  Good practice for the BIG show that comes up the 25th of this month (April).  They are expecting over one thousand cars for this event.  I am in the planning stages for using a car model at this show, I have the approval of the event organizers but now I have to try and put together a team to pull it off.