PHOTO | MOUNTAIN BIKING

We had an awesome weekend out on Whidbey Island at the Budu Singletrack Series Ft. Ebey mountain bike race.  Here's some of my photos!

W.O.W. EVENT

Every year at the beginning of March, there's an awesome event in Seattle at my favorite bike shop.  It's called Women on Wheels.  It's a female only cycling and fitness show that attracts more than 400 female cycling enthusiasts.  This year, House Wine donated the wine for the event and my team, House Wine Racing, was on hand to work the bar!

This event was an absolute blast and we met some great people.  It won't be long before I have exciting news of the future HWR women's racing team!

And of course some tasty House Wine.  If you haven't tried it, you should.  It's amazing wine from the Columbia Valley of Washington State.  It's well-priced and a great bang for the buck from one of the best wine regions in the country!

We also got to showcase out new gear kit!  

It was a great night and a really great time with the lady cyclists of Seattle!

PHOTO TONALITY | MUSIC

One of the best challenges in photography for advertising or promotions is telling a story in one image.  This can be accomplished through various changes in subject, posing and light.

But how do you make it different in a portrait for sports versus music?  Or fashion versus home & lifestyle?  Babies versus dogs?  Men or women?

Last summer I did a branding project for a Seattle rapper named Bingx.  He's got a great singing voice in addition to writing cool and catchy lyrics.  At this point, he was still looking for collaborators, investors, management and exposure.  We got together and worked to create a few pieces to tell his story on paper.

Bingx can flow as hard as any rapper...and sing smooth verses and chorus lines with a unique delivery. He can hang with anyone, but didn't want his brand to look "gangster."  His songs aren't about pimped-out Cadillacs, dealing drugs or mistreating women...and he did not want to be included in that group.  Some are about struggles, but he wanted his image to be a real guy with soft edges and a soul for music.  He wanted to convey real experiences and connect with a broader audience.  We decided to have the message of these images be "inspired."  We wanted to deliver his motivation and passion for music.

We worked to capture images that were tough enough to be associated with rap music, but deep and caring enough to show a serious artist.

These ones came out of a recording session for his song, "I Wanna Hold You."  You can here the pre-studio version of that song below.

Video link: Bingx YouTube

 We also cooked up a few mock-ups for web graphics with the same vibe.

This was a fun project and I believe the photos we got were everything Bingx was looking for in his image and branding.  He's an artist and uses his talent to deliver a passion for music and life.

Video link: Bingx YouTube

PORTRAITS | SISTERS!

Some of the best portrait subjects to catch amazing chemistry and character come from dogs, babies, moms with babies and more.  One that I love shooting is SISTERS!  

This is Chloe & Kenzie.  These are two of my favorite people.  They could not be more alike and could not be funnier than when they're together.  That spells trouble with a capital "T"!!!

I got to do a photo shoot for a recent project using C&K doing what they do best...goofing around!

 Big sister advice??  Not sure....

 Meditating is always a good way to get relaxed and ready to model.

 Hey!  No telling secrets!

 Kenzie being funny.

 Chloe being serious....

And...when all else fails, shoot with no photographer....

I've done a lot of posts recently talking about "leftover" photos and outtakes.  I've explained in a photo shoot of 300-500 shots, you may have 10-15 of the best you will actually want to use.  The rest were tests, tweaking the styling or light...or trying out different angles.  They are left to be deleted or save for a rainy day project.  That's often the case with product photography.  You have to find the best way to bring it to life.

With subjects like Chloe and Kenzie.....I took 500 photos....and I want to use 400 of them!  They didn't waste a single frame.  You can fake the life and character the chemistry of sisters bring to the photos.  Obviously they made my job very easy...I didn't even have to stay behind the camera or keep my eyes open to know they were going to produce something great!

If you have a sister, capture these kind of moments!  It's worth it!  Or come to Seattle and I'll shoot them for you.  You'll want to have them to look back and laugh in years to come!

PHOTO ART "COOKING WITH LEFTOVERS" - ROSE

Last week I did a post called "Cooking With Leftovers" where I showed how you should never overlook your extra photos.  Often times, in a shoot of a few hundred, you may only use 10 or so.  I like to go back and challenge myself to find light or composition test photos I would never otherwise use and turn them into something cool.

This is a bottle of Brian Carter Abracadabra Rose I shot a year or so ago.  We're nearing rose season and I figured it would be a fun subject.  Rose wine makes for a very difficult subject because of it's translucency and bright color.  Too much light turns the whole background pink...not enough makes it dark and orange/brown like you see below.

As mentioned, this photo was for light and position testing.  There is very little light balance because it looks like I was still setting up equipment.

To enhance the photo, I first adjusted the contrast and tone of the image.  I then worked through the contrast to get rid of those overly-warm hues.

 I then kicked the contrast way up and dropped the background shadows.  A little further work with the mid-tones and shadows and this is where I landed.

I took out some of the harsh light reflections and cleared up the glass texture.

This still isn't something I'd publish, but it's always a fun exercise to see what you can make of things you would've otherwise forgotten.  

This doesn't have to be specifically photography...it could be other art, music, clothes.  It's fun to challenge yourself to find new ways to re-use things that were "leftovers" from the past.

You should try it!