Coy Little Kitten in Tall Grass - My Early Vision

A coy little kitten poses under a clump of tall Cat Tail Grass. This photo was my first ever attempt at "serious" photography. Let me explain... (Click on the image for a slightly larger view.)

A Walk Down Memory Lane: I came across this photo yesterday, and decided to publish it on my blog. I took this picture when I was 17 years old -- that was 43 years ago, in the summer of 1966. The kitten was a little barn-yard friend who followed me around during my milking chores on the family farm.

I had been in love with photography for a little over a year, and I had read every book my small town library had on the subject. I came across an article in an old Popular Photography magazine (given to me by a high school teacher) about how to improve your outdoor photos with light reflectors made from crumpled aluminum foil, flattened and wrapped around a sheet of corrugated cardboard. I had to try it out!

I transplanted the grass onto a table I made so that it would be easier to photograph my subject (hey, that also makes this my first attempt at "table-top" photography ;-). I used my father's old Argus C3 35mm rangefinder camera and a roll of Kodachrome film*. I rotated the table so that the late afternoon sun was back-lighting the grass and my kitten, and then illuminated him from the light of my homemade reflector (placed between the kitten and the camera, and slightly to the left).

My little kitten friend was a real sweetheart that played well to the camera, don't you agree?

BTW, some call this foxtail grass, but my neighbor calls it "cat tail grass" -- wouldn't that be a coincidence!

*I only took two or three shots on that roll, so it was a couple of months before I finished the roll and could afford to have it processed, in order to found out if I had been successful.

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Dramatic Portrait of an Actor / Model - My Vision

Earlier in the week I had been photographing glassware using a portable table-top background cyclorama, similar to a Kaiser studio kit (but one I had built myself, using translucent plexiglass, and light from underneath with strobes). I asked Gerald, the model / actor, to step over to the table-top cyc, lean over and rest his arms on the table-top background. The effect was quite dramatic, and similar to what one might see in a theater production. (Click on any image for a larger view.)

This Kaiser portable table-top studio background is a small cyc (cyclorama) that you can buy for about $1300. I build one myself using a translucent white plexiglass sheet (about 3/16" thick and about 3 x 5 feet), and a 2x4" wooden frame (minus the attached lights you see in the photo below). I would then light the table from underneath using strobe lights. It was great for doing glassware photography.


Self-Learning Tip: Always look for the catch-lights in the eyes, and you can often figure out how a photographer light a subject. You could do something similar to this by using a light table, or a lightbox positioned below (and slightly camera left) and pointed upward.

Sidebar: Some time ago, a talent agency asked me to photograph some of their clients. They mainly wanted "head shots" for their talent books. Although the money they were offering to pay me wasn't that good, I saw it as an opportunity to experiment with people who were willing to try new things, and built portfolio images for both of us. Since some of these people had backgrounds in theater, they also had access to some interesting wardrobe pieces, which can really help liven a portrait. "Trading" talent has been a tool I've used over the years to increase my experience and build my photographic reputation. This image is part of a series that has resulted from these talent trades.

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Gypsy Fortune Teller - My Vision

Linda and I had a lot of fun creating this photo of the Gypsy fortune-teller with crystal ball and reading cards. Linda is my wife and the stylist for this shot. She choose all the fabrics and gathered all the props for this image, to help create the illusion of coming into a fortune-teller's shop and receiving a psychic reading.

(Click on any image for a larger view.)

The slightly blue halo emanating from the crystal ball is produced by a Nikon #1 Soft (flare) filter. This image was scanned from film, and there is virtually no Photoshop work done to this photo.

Here is the studio lighting (all strobe) set-up for the Gypsy fortune teller photo (that's Linda, sitting just to the left of where the model had been sitting):

1. Main light - a 48" x 48" soft-box (slightly below the model and pointing up to simulate the lighting coming underneath from the crystal ball.
2. Fill light - 36" x 36" soft box.
3. A projection spotlight to illuminate the eyes of the Gypsy model.
4. The crystal ball had a light coming up through a hole in the table.
5. Camera position through that narrow slit (made by two scrims that keep light from spilling onto the foreground -- the table and cards). There are three other scrims in this set-up, and they are covered with black velvet cloth.
6. Not shown, are lights behind the draped fabric backdrops, positioned to shine through the fabric.

Sidebar: Some time ago, a talent agency asked me to photograph some of their clients. They mainly wanted "head shots" for their talent books. Although the money they were offering to pay me wasn't that good, I saw it as an opportunity to experiment with people who were willing to try new things, and built portfolio images for both of us. Since some of these people had backgrounds in theater, they also had access to some interesting wardrobe pieces, which can really help liven a portrait. "Trading" talent has been a tool I've used over the years to increase my experience and build my photographic reputation. This image is part of a series that has resulted from these talent trades.

You can also view my "Most Interesting" images on Flickr to see more of "My Vision".

Ballet Legs Perspective - My Vision

This is a wide-angle photo of a woman's legs - with her upper body disappearing from view through the principle of diminishing perspective.

Below, is the studio set-up for this image. Photography was done with a Mamiya RB67 film camera, using a 50mm wide angle lens (similar to a 24mm on a full-frame 35mm SLR camera).

(Click on any image for a larger view.)


No fancy Photoshop work was used here, just straight photography and good lighting.

Sidebar: Some time ago, a talent agency asked me to photograph some of their clients. They mainly wanted "head shots" for their talent books. Although the money they were offering to pay me wasn't that good, I saw it as an opportunity to experiment with people who were willing to try new things, and built portfolio images for both of us. Since some of these people had backgrounds in theater, they also had access to some interesting wardrobe pieces, which can really help liven a portrait. "Trading" talent has been a tool I've used over the years to increase my experience and build my photographic reputation. This image is part of a series that has resulted from these talent trades. (Debbie Cox was the model for this shot.)

You can also view my "Most Interesting" images on Flickr to see more of "My Vision".