The Munchkin's Notebook

On April 30th I did neon inspired session with model, Anastasia and MUA, Caroline .   The whole session revolved around the neon fabric I bought over a year ago and finally was inspired to use. Equipment Cannon 80D Trigger 1 strobe 1 c-stands 1 boom arm 1 Backdrop stands black backdrop Neon fabric overlay Sandbags 1 beauty dish 2 tiny soft boxes 1 curved reflector (gold) 3 light stands 2 speedlight 1 posing stool The set up For this shoot I knew it would be all about the make-up and how it went with the background, so I did a basic beauty set up, using a modified clamshell set up.   For the modified clamshell I attached a beauty dish to a boom arm so I could get the light high and almost directly above the model, then placed a curved reflector on a light stand below that to reflect light up and fill the shadows. I then place two speedlights with tiny soft boxes to either side pointed at the backdrop but fea...

I have now spent a whole year in Dayton, Ohio and accomplished a lot in 2018.   But it is now time to look to the future and photography goals for 2019. General Photography Goals 1. Expand the Dayton-Columbus-Cincinnati Cosplay Photo Shoots Group In 2018 I started the Dayton-Columbus-Cincinnati (DCC) Cosplay Photo Shoot Group which currently has over 100 members on Facebook.  I hosted five meet-ups for the group. The goal for 2018 is to double the number meet ups and find interesting shoot locations.  I also want to bring in some additional volunteers to help do location scouting and help with some of the other aspects of the group like check in and supporting the groups social media sites.  If you are interested in joining the group you can look us up on Facebook at Dayton-Columbus-CincinnatiCosplay Photo Shoots Group or on Instagram @DCC_Cosplay_Photoshoots . 2. Book paid shoots outside of conventions Currently all my paid work comes from sessions...

Today I went to the US Botanical Gardens to see the orchid display. This year the theme was “Orchid Symphony.” The display was not as big as nor have as many orchids as previous years.  However, the moss instruments covered in orchids and the timing of the fountains to the classical music playing was nice.  The music and water fountains provided a relaxed atmosphere in the main gallery of the gardens, which is why I think many people were sitting on the benches admiring the beauty of the flowers.  I went within the first hour of the gardens opening for the day so it was not crowded yet but by the time I left a lot of people were starting to come in. I used two lenses inside the gardens an 18-200mm and a macro 60mm lens.  At past orchid displays many of my shots were macro shots, however this year the displays were not conducive to macro photography.  So my main lens was the 18-200mm at an 800 or 400 ISO on manual mode, without a tripod.  No tripods...

Today I spent some time working on my Photoshop skills, by removing annoying backgrounds from photos and creating collages. I used the photos I took at Katsucon for this exercise since, I thought I took some nice portraits but the backgrounds were distracting and full of random people.  I created my own backgrounds for most of these pictures except in a few cases.  You can see some of the final results here:  http://munchkinphotos.smugmug.com/Portraits/Cosplay .  I also worked on creating some collages. I made two for my Munchkin Photos Facebook page cover photos. The most difficult part of the process was identifying which pictures to use and showcase the variety of my work. I also made one of compilation of images depicting the same lady cosplayer showing different expressions. This was a simpler collage since it was all the same person, though the sizing of the images was a bit challenging.  Overall I think the collages came out ok. I now plan on u...

I like high speed photography, but I am limited to what I can do within my studio space and with the equipment I have.  So I usually focus on dropping things, this weekend it was gelatinous cubes and colored water.  The gelatinous cubes were a new for me, and still require refinement to the gel composition.  I bought clear Knox gelatin and made two batches.  (I did add food coloring to the mix for contrast.) The first batch was a little mushy while the second batch was firmer like a Jell-O giggler.  The softer batch worked better, providing more deformity while tumbling and a better splat upon impact.  As I dropped the cubes and sphere I hit the shutter release button.  The squishy cubes lasted for about 10 drops depending on the height of the drop.  While the very firm sphere appeared indestructible.   I may try this again, possibly throwing the cubes against a wall instead of dropping them. Firm Sphere Impact Squishy ...