Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Mermaid from Atlantis





   model - Kai     photos - Zorian  

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to photograph a beautiful Mermaid, visiting from the mystical continent of Atlantis.  It was truly an honor. 

Kai, is a working model, that is wearing an incredible mermaid costume, created by her mother for Halloween.   Kai’s mother, Julie, designed and created this Atlantan Mermaid outfit, to be functional for trick or treating.  It has a fish tail skirt instead of a “fish tail”, to allow Kai to walk from house to house, go to parties and not flop around like a fish out of water.  The fabric on the skirt looks like scales, the shell pearl encrusted top and the crown  are fit for an Atlantean Princess.

Normally, I love to find natural light that is magical, without a lot of modification.  In this case I decided to add an off camera, portable flash.  This allowed me to keep the magic of the “Golden Hour”  and still bring out the sparkle and texture in the outfit. 

I had my assistant move around to different spots while I was shooting, adding just a whisper of fill light, where I thought it was needed.  I filtered the Sony HVL-F58AM flash with a Rosco, tough UV filter and Rosco, 1/8 cto, held in place, on the flash  with an old bicycle tire that has been cut into pieces like a big rubber band.  This method of adhering the filters to the flash, is easy and quick.  I think, it is far superior to tape because there is no glue residue left on the flash that will attract dirt, sand and all sorts of junk.   


Friday, November 4, 2011

The Chair


 A fabulous chair creator, Island Time Design,  made this wonderful beach chair from the wood of an old recycled picnic table.  It is regal, spacious and very comfortable.  The chair has a umbrella holder, a drink holder and the arms are wide enough to rest a book or a plate of food.  It is the perfect beach chair.

These photos were taken with natural light, in the Golden Hour, the hour before sunset.   The months of October, November and December, when the days are warm with gentle breezes, are the Beach Rats, favorite time of year.  The Beach, with all of it’s ever changing beauty and very few people.  Perfect!




  
   model - Aria   photos - Zorian   make up, styling - Aria
The Chair,   sweater - vintage, pants - vintage, jewelry vintage and Ebay.


Friday, October 14, 2011

Magical Places



     
Great photographers have a knack for finding wonderful locations with beautiful light.    When the light is magic you don’t need a lot of extra lighting modifiers and more time can be utilized making magical pictures of fabulous models.

Magical places, change with the time of day, the seasons of the year and the weather.  When you find one of these places consider the time of day and make sure that the duration of the magical light is long enough to complete the shooting of your idea. 

Magic is Magic and it is heard to explain.  I love shooting beauty and fashion, so I am always hunting magical locations with the quality of light that I think is magical.   What I consider magic, a light that makes the model look beautiful, other people my consider very muggle ( a la - Harry Potter).  

In this photo, a wonderful magical location for beauty, the light is coming from the rear, a dark green background, and a ton of fill coming from the crushed white shell on the ground in front of the model.  For me, this is pure magic. 

   photography - Zorian     model - Aria     make up - Aria     styling - Aria   

    Cherry blossom crown available here.  


Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Afternoon Delight




   model - Aria   photos - Zorian   

   We were out and about on a thrifting-vintage hunting adventure in the beautiful down town district of Saint Petersburg.  It started to sprinkle and we were in need of shelter and refreshment.  We were ready for a coffee, a mid afternoon pick me up.  Earlier in the day we had come across an Italian cafe and espresso bar, Moscato’s Bella Cucina,  and decided to go back and check it out. Sitting outside underneath an umbrella we watched the people scurry around in the rain, as we enjoyed hot cappuccinos.  I must say this was the best cappuccino that I have had since I was in Milan.  We decided to get a cannoli to accompany our cappuccinos. The cannoli’s arrived with such a beautiful presentation.  Decadently dipped in chocolate, served with whip cream, garnished with fresh strawberries and dusted with powdered sugar.  We will definitely be returning to our new favorite cafe, the prices were very reasonable, the food was amazing and the service was stupendous.

Aria’s vintage floral dress is beautifully accessorized with a romantic peony blossom necklace by Chloe at laromantica. Nail polish by OPI in Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees and vintage mother-of-pearl marcasite ring. Cappuccino's and cannoli by Moscato’s Bella Cucina.  

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Portrait of a Friend

   photo - Zorian  

Carrie, a good friend wanted a new portrait,  natural light with a romantic "dreamy glow".
I love shooting natural light.  Especially backlight.  I love the way the eyes can be
illuminated and the way the light plays around the silhouette. 


Sunday, December 5, 2010

Chromogenic Film Test 2 XP2 Super


  Chromogenic film is B-W film that has a color negative film base with out the color couplers. 




  photos - Zorian 

I love shooting film.  Chromogenic film (color negative B-W film) is a pleasure to work with.  
It is developed in C-41 color negative chemistry on a machine.  The film chemistry and 
development time is very consistent.   Once, you get your film exposure calculated to match 
the machine development,  it is extremely easy to be consistent in the final results.  
There are 2 different kinds of Chromogenic Film, that are still available, Kodak 400CN Pro 
and Ilford XP2 Super.  This was Ilford XP2 Super developed in Kodak C-41 chemistry 
and color scanned.  
I find this combination, creates a wonderful tonal range.  What I love about this process, 
is being able to tone the film. 
I toned this film in Lightroom and in Photoshop,  using many different techniques.   
When printing in the darkroom I used to Selenium tone  and Sepia tone a lot of my prints.  
The tonal range in the finished print, was so beautiful using Ilford film.    
Now, I love using the same  toning ranges in Lightroom and Photoshop.  
Have you ever tried using either of these films?  What are your thoughts?