Manny Pacquiao for ESPN
This shoot with the legendary boxer / former senator of Philippines / genuine man of the people @mannypacquiao for @ESPN was a new record for me in terms of speed of shooting (which seems appropriate given the speed at which Manny fights). Only four minutes elapsed from the time I took my first portrait of Manny to the last portrait…
Recent Work
I have fallen behind when it comes to blogging, but still wanted to update it periodically. Here’s some of my favorite work from the last six weeks…
New Work: Nov. '24 to Feb '25
I used to be better about blogging regularly, but life happens, and the more I fall behind, the more daunting the task is of catching up. In an effort to at least loosely keep my blog followers informed (few as they may be), here’s a batch of new work that I’ve made over the past two months…
My 2024 Photographic Recap
I continued in my exploration of photographing different liquids, and soon ventured into working with epoxy resin…
Images From the November Creative Portrait Workshop
Last week I hosted another one of my Creative Portrait workshops, in Columbus, Ohio. Students came in from Toronto, Portland, Asheville, and San Francisco to learn some of my lighting and camera techniques. Big thanks to @westcottlighting for providing the strobes, transmitters, and light modifiers, and to @nanliteusa for providing the LEDs.
My next workshop is January 25-26 and is at a discounted rate until December 15. There are only five spots FYI. More info, here.
Multiple Exposure Portraits with Roarie Yum
My studio is located within @thefort614, which is a 130 year old warehouse on the south side of Columbus. It used to be the home of the Seagrave Company, which used the space to manufacture fire engines and other rescue vehicles, for over 60 years. Every square inch of the building has a glorious patina that can’t be faked. The cracked plaster, distressed flooring, and sun-faded glass is something especially rare in this fast growing city, populated with new builds…
Images From the May Creative Portrait Workshop
Here are some of my favorite images from my latest Creative Portrait workshop. As you can see, we covered a braod range of techniques over the two day class.
Multiple Exposure Portraits with Rigid Textures
Last year I explored fluidity quite a bit in my work, and this year I’ve been gravitating towards rigidity. To create these images I wandered around taking photos of a range of textures, which I used as a base layer to make in-camera multiple exposures in two portrait sessions.
Processing Trauma: Photo Shoot with Covid Nurse
Meris is a nurse that witnessed profound trauma during Covid. She kept a journal as a way of processing all that she experienced, which included journal entries and collage art. When she asked me to take her portrait and mentioned the journals, I suggested that I could photograph some of the pages and use them to make in-camera multiple exposures (seen below)…
Liquid Strength: Multiple Exposure Photo Shoot with Bodybuilder
I started the session by photographing a mix of oil, seltzer, and ink, in a variety of different glassware…
Machine Shop Photo Shoot with In-Camera Multiple Exposures
My inspiration for this shoot was two-fold: the movie, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, and the cover of The Industrial Culture Handbook…
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.
Eyes 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)…
We 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…
Images 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.
Fluid 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.
Zenith 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…
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