My inspiration for this shoot was two-fold: the movie, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, and the cover of The Industrial Culture Handbook…
Read MoreTechnicolor Rainbow
Here’s the set of images i made of @larryrobertson during my last Creative Portrait workshop. I have learned that my images benefit from me waiting to color grade the files until I have the time and energy to really explore the possibilities of what they could look like.
Shelby X Creative Portrait Workshop
I had a blast hosting a sold out workshop at my studio this past weekend. Thank you to my students for coming from places as far away as Boston, Seattle, and the Cayman Islands. Shout out to my incredible models (@yesandso seen here) for making it easy to turn these techniques into moving art.
Read MoreEyes and Ears and Mouth and Nose (Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes)
It’s been nearly five years since I’ve photographed @kate_sweeney and it was interesting to see the parallel in tone with our last shoot (third eye vibes)…
Read MoreWe Are More Than the Sum of Our Parts: A Photographic Pushback Against Artificial Intelligence
Many AI images look are impressive at first, in a too-good-to-be-true kind of way. Interiors brag gravity-defying architecture, or scenic terrains depict features that have never before been seen on this planet. However, there is inevitably an element that seems off when viewing these images. They are too perfect, and lack the tactility and weight that feels believable, a phenomenon referred to as the uncanny valley. This begs the question, are AI images a success or a failure? Are they successfully creating visions of an ideal human or world according to some programming and an amalgamation of stock imagery, or are they a failure in coding, with the author lacking the awareness to include nuance and imperfection in their vision? Its these details that, I’d argue, that inform us that a person or a place is real…
Read MoreImages From January's Creative Portrait Workshop
Here are a handful of my favorite images from January’s Creative Portrait workshop. I’ve been teaching workshops since 2011 and have been slightly modifying the format each time until I found the current iteration. I now cap the two-day class at five students, which allows for more hands-on time and exploration of each technique. Since there are endless variations that can be created from any one of the techniques that I teach, I start by showing the class three iterations, and then I guide them, one at a time, in helping them fold it into their own visual style. This allows students to really retain the knowledge, as well as work it into their personal style.
Read MoreFluid Portraits Commission by Unsplash+
These images were all created using in-camera effects. No Photoshop was used— only color grading in Lightroom.
I was recently commissioned by Unsplash+ to create a library of fluid portraits. Last year I began working on a new body of images where I explore fluids and in-camera multiple exposures. My Canon 5DIV allows me to select an image from my memory card and overlay it on my viewfinder, when in “live view”, which allows me to intentionally compose multiple exposures. Even though I know more or less how the fluid and the portrait will merge, there is always a moment of surprise when the final image pops up on my screen. As you can see in the gallery below, the same fluid shot will produce wildly different results depending on how the subject is light, the clothes they’re wearing, their hair, the complexion of their skin, etc. This makes each image a one-of-one.
Read MoreZenith Pilot Big Date Flyback Editorial for Road & Track Magazine
I’m excited to share this editorial that I did for @roadandtrack magazine. I’ve been working with fluids such as food dye and ink a lot lately and decided to use them in this shoot to create an elemental feeling, fitting with the theme of the issue: air. I find a still life to be harder to photograph than portraits because there are no happy accidents. All you get out of a shoot is whatever you put in.
Huge thanks to @cassidyzobl for the trust and opportunity. Swipe for #BehindTheScenes
New Flower Portraits and a Fine Art Print Sale
Historically, whenever I create something that I’m really excited about, I immediately get overwhelmed (this latest shoot is case in point). I’ve thought about reasons why it may affect me in this way, and here are just a few…
Read MoreI Discovered a New In-Camera Glow Effect
This was my first shoot exploring a new technique, and I’m ecstatic at the potential. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I’d love to shoot a music video in this style, so hit me up if you’re in the market for one.
Read MoreLess Is More: Slowing Down with Sondos
Lately I’ve been intentionally slowing down the pace in which I engage life. Though I’ve never been good at being still or meditating, I have found lately that stillness is what I’ve been craving the most. My favorite pastime these days is to sit in what others might call silence and listen to the sounds of the world around me. Crickets chirping; the wind moving through the trees; jets passing overhead; neighbors listening to a ball game on their porch radio. If I can manage to stop thinking about each individual sound, I can start to hear them all as one, and accept my place within it.
Read MoreIn-Camera Multiple Exposures with Liquid and a Model
Here’s my latest exploration with combining images of fluids with in-camera multiple exposure portraits…
Read MoreImages from the August Creative Portrait Workshop
This past weekend I held my latest Creative Portrait workshop at my Columbus studio. We kicked off the weekend exploring color theory and shadow sculpting…
Read MorePhoto Shoot with Ballet Dancer Caitlin Valentine
I had a lot of fun exploring my new @nanlite_global Pavotubes. I set them to rapidly change through the prismatic spectrum while @bemycaitlinvalentine danced. I explored a range of techniques from long exposure to using prisms to shooting through reeded plastic. I’m super excited to explore the lights in greater depth.
Read MoreProjector Photo Shoot : A Collaboration with Digital Artist Christopher Royal King
I recently collaborated with musician and digital artist @christopherroyalking. He created a bunch of images that I used to project onto @_soniaconstable. These images were created strictly with in-camera effects (no photoshop was used)— a fact that I especially pride myself in, in a time of AI-generated imagery.
Read MoreMy Colorful Portrait Shoot for Tech Industry's Sidebar
Back in January I had the privilege of working with Sidebar to create a library of images for their new website launch. I’m so grateful for such a wonderful opportunity and true collaboration with the team at Sidebar as well as the designers and creatives at Mackey Saturday that developed the campaign. Big thanks to @elizabethcareysmith for art directing, @kyleameeks for assisting, @xixstudios for hosting, and all the subjects for bringing power and joy to the shoot.
Read MoreImages From Latest Creative Portrait Workshop
This past weekend I taught a 2-day Creative Portrait workshop at my Columbus, Ohio studio. Students came in from Utah, Arizona, Texas, and New York. It was an intimate time of learning, experimentation, and creativity…
Read MoreElastic Plastic: Exploring a New Material with Alayna
Here's some recent work with @a.bean.sprout. It's been a couple years since our last collaboration and was a great time of conversation and art-making. I especially had fun exploring shooting through a piece of plastic that my friend @davidtsigler salvaged from an old Mac monitor. The red in that first image is actually a warped reflection of the red shirt I happened to be wearing at the shoot. My mind is still pouring over the possibilities that this material affords me.
Read MoreImages From My Latest Creative Portrait Workshop
Last week I taught a two-day photography workshop called The Creative Portrait. I taught my students a range of innovative camera and lighting techniques that allow them to capture subjects in creative ways. Here are a few of my favorite images from the weekend.
Read MoreTangerine Dreams: Soft, Hazy Nightmares with Cecily
In this shoot with Cecily I explored hazy, vibrant lighting, tapping into old sci-fi and 70’s horror film vibes…
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