The Munchkin's Notebook

Empty at 11:30Am on a convention Saturday This year I decided to check out a new summer convention, Station Unity , which is a sci-fi and fantasy-based convention held at the Gaylord National Harbor.  This is the same location that Katsucon is held in the winter, so I was very familiar with the location.   I went into the convention expecting a fair number of people overall, just because it was in the same place as Katsucon, and people wouldn’t freeze to get photos.  However, I was wrong. This is only the second year for Station Unity, and from my perspective the convention was poorly attended.  I base this opinion off the time I was there and several observations. First, I was scheduled to be at the convention Friday through Sunday staying at the Gaylord on Friday and Saturday night. I ended up checking out of the hotel on Saturday and only staying till about noon, due to the lack of people and interesting panels.  I was supposed to go back on Sunday, b...

On August 6 th I did two lovely water sessions. For this session I used: Photography Equipment Props/Miscellaneous Cannon 80D Trigger 2 strobes 2 c-stands 1 Backdrop stands Black backdrop Blue tarp Sandbags 1 medium octa box 1 rectangular soft box 1 light stand 1 speedlight 1 extra small octa box Circular polarizer 120x60 inch inflatable pool Water 6 bricks River stones Floral foam Fake flowers and plants Ladder Kitchen pot Smoke genie Towels     The set up When I do a water shoot, I become very concerned about safety, because water and electricity do not mix.  So, it was very important things were grounded, sandbagged, and secured in place. Let’s talk about the pool first. The pool is a large inflatable kiddie pool, that we place on top of work out mats, on screened in porch. I then placed a large 12x20 backdrop across/in the pool, then proceeded...

On July 16 th I did a session with Lena Volkova.  This session was inspired by pink lawn flamingos, Amy Winehouse, and the song “Trailerhood” by Toby Keith . For this session I used: Photography Equipment Props/Miscellaneous Cannon 80D Trigger 2 strobes 2 c-stands 1 Backdrop stands Black Backdrop Silver Backdrop Sandbags 72-inch Umbrella Umbrella sock 1 rectangular soft box Soft box grid Step ladder   Lawn chair Astroturf 5 bricks Pink table Pink flamingos Margarita glass Sunglasses Steamy romance novels Green foliage Wood garden beams Beach towel Styrofoam blocks   The set up To make the set for this shoot and give it that trailer park vibe, I started with the background. The background had to be silver, while I would have loved to have half a trailer or some corrugated metal, a silver backdrop works in a pinch.   To avoid sun streaming throu...

On July 24 th I did an old Hollywood inspired session with the lovely Laci .   This session was inspired by several of Lindsay Adler’s YouTube videos where she walks through how she got the old Hollywood look, using a fresnel lens modifier and an optical spot. Also, this was a perfect time to work with Laci, as both she and I are fans of the vintage Hollywood look.   When I reference the term old Hollywood or classic Hollywood look, I’m referring to the style pioneered by George Hurrell in the 1930s and 1940s. This look relied on precision lighting, spotlights, and dramatic shadows.  I also used the works of Clarence SinclairBull and Milton H.Green as references for this session. For this session I used: Photography Equipment Cannon 80D Trigger 2 strobes 2 c-stands 1 dome reflector 1 Set of barn doors 1 30-degree grid 1 50-inch umbrella with sock 1 strip box with grid 1 flag 1 light stands 2 speedlight 1 ...

On July 23 rd I did a session with the lovely Jennifer (Instagram: thenext.jeration ) out at the McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area sunflower fields.   She chose to cosplay as Rapunzel from Tangled for this session.     For this session I used: Photography Equipment Cannon 80D 1 light stands 2 speedlight (1 acted as a trigger)   Now sunflower sessions can be hit or miss depending on how far the sunflowers are into their bloom, how tall the sunflowers are, time of day, and weather.   But mostly it comes down to how the sunflowers look and the weather.   Thankfully we scheduled the session right at peek bloom and only a few of the flowers were past peek.   Though I don’t believe the fields were as lush as in the past. The weather was good, and I’m glad we did a morning session as it was already hot out at 9:00AM.   Camera Settings For this session I used ISO 200. My aperture ranged from F7.1 to F16, wit...

On July 17 th , I attended the D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots ’ meet up at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum in the Old Town area of Alexandria, Virginia.  This location is a historical site made up of two buildings a tavern, which has been in operation since 1785, and the former boarding house/hotel.  We had access two the two large ballrooms within the museum, the stairwell, and the outside of the build. We were unable to shoot in the tavern proper as they were preparing for brunch service. For these sessions I used: Canon 80D 1 Speed lights Trigger Light stand Extra small soft box 18-200mm lens This shoot was a mix of indoor and outdoor locations, with most images being shot indoors. For this event I used an ISO of 200.   My aperture varied from F4 to F11 with the most common F-stop being F8.   I was keeping my F-stop high just for depth of field as I was shooting both singles and duos. My shutter speed ranged from 1/25s to 1/640s, with the most common speed b...