The Munchkin's Notebook

Last weekend I got to work with the lovely Vida Muerta on building her portfolio, with some standards.  Standard images are simple images with simple backgrounds (black, white, or gray) that encompass a head-shot/beauty shot, a ¾ length image, and full-length image that show off the model’s basic look.   I did a simple two light set up for these photos with a grey backdrop (see left).  I used two Phottix Indra 500LC Strobes, one in a square soft box with grid and the other in a socked beauty dish set to the sides of the model.  I shot using my Canon 70D, an 18-200mm lens, and a radio trigger to activate the strobes.  I thought about shooting tethered, so there could be some instant feed back for my model, but my in-home studio is not conducive to corded tethered shooting.  So, in lieu of shooting tethered, half way through the shoot we stopped and reviewed the images and reviewed them again at the end of the shoot. This is a note to models, do not...

On April 21, I participated in my first fashion group shoot hosed by Allie Taylor Affairs at Barr Family Farms.  This is group event was different then previous group events I have participated in for three reasons, one it wasn’t a cosplay event; two I had to schedule specific times with the models that were attending the event in stead of just working at random; and three the event lasted all day compared to about three hours.   I enjoyed the event, except for the weather which was rather cold, breezy, and cloudy with the threat of rain.  However, since the sky was cloudy, I was able to capture moody skies as my background in several photos.  Finally, one of the nice items about this shoot, is that photographers that participated can submit their photos to RealmMagazine which will be running a special issue showcasing the event.  I did submit photos for consideration but will not know for a month or two if my submissions are to be included in the featur...

This year at Katsucon I got to shoot a cosplay concept I have wanted to shoot for several years, a Hannah Alexander  desi gn .   What makes these designs special in my opinion is that   HannahAlexander   takes a character, like a Disney Princess’s cloths and interprets its as art nouveau fashion. So, the character is re-imaged in a dress along the lines of a late 1910 and early 1920s evening gown. The designs are extremely intricate, beautifully colored, and just simply stunning.   Thus, I have been wishing to be able to shoot one of these cosplays. At this recent Katsucon, I had the pleasure of working with Sara Cosplay who made the Hannah Alexandra version of Merida from Brave.  I have worked with Sara Cosplay several times in the past, and she does impeccable work.  She made this gown herself, including the intricate burn in designs on the velvet.  So, because of the cosplay and the cosplayer, I wanted to be able to do an elegant shoot ...

ISO 400, Focal Length 18mm, Aperture F8, Shutter 1/20 On January 26 and 27, I attended my first convention in Ohio, Ohayocon , and have to say it is very different vibe from the Washington, DC conventions I attend.   First, I have to say getting my badge/wristband went relatively smoothly, parking didn’t seam to be an issue at the convention center it was held at, and the vendor room (after I found it) was spacious and didn’t feel congested.   However, I didn’t feel like there was the same level of energy, at this convention compared to the previous conventions I have gone to.     I was expecting the convention to be similar to something like AnimeUSA , small but lots of energy, collaboration, and, meeting new people and a fair bit of cosplay. I felt it was a little more like AwesomeCon (DC’s comic con) where people go panel to panel and there isn’t much cosplay but without the excitement and big-name guest of a comic con.   ISO 400, Focal Lengt...

On January 20, I did a lovely sunset shoot with Vida Muerta in a field of Concrete Corn in Dublin Ohio.  The field contains 109 ears of corn that are about 6 to 8 feet tall and are tribute to Sam Frantz the inventor of hybrid corn.  It is a very interesting field and in my opinion a great place for an artistic/editorial photo shoot.  The theme for this shoot started out as a noble unseelie fay crossed with Game of Thrones due to the shoot being in winter and the cold industrialized feel of the concreate corn.   To obtain the look, I rented a parachute dress and Vida Muerta enhanced the dress based on my mood board with horns; a flower crown; elf ears from AradaniStudios - Elf Ears, Costumes, and More ; a staff from Nebuleux, LTD - FatedFires Collection (Dr. Dee) ; a corset from The Violet Vixen , boots from Son of Sandlar , and a lovely Russian fox pelt from the Lost Viking Hoard . All these items together with the make up and hair artistry provided by Katie...

I’m starting off 2018 in a new city, Dayton, so I have to grow my network of models, cosplayers, and fellow photographers.  I had good network in Washington, DC and would like to build a similar network here in Dayton area.  Thus, my goals are a little simpler this year, and focus on building a network of people to work and collaborate with. General Photography Goals 1. Find or start a Dayton (to include Columbus & Cincinnati) cosplay and photographer group. I really enjoyed working with the DC Cosplayer& Photographer group, in Washington, DC. I was able to make several friends and work with some amazing cosplayers.  The group also let me work on my photography on a regular basis, and work in some interesting locations I might not otherwise get to work in.  I also enjoyed the group because of the number of cosplayers that showed up at each event, so you could work with multiple people in the setting, and everything was done on a TFP (trade for pri...

The year of 2017 was an interesting year for me, I felt as though I did more photoshoots, however only ended up editing about 642 more photos then last year. In 2016 I edited 5,851 images and in 2017 I edited 6,475 images, noting this is the number of photos listed in Lightroom, not the actual number of photos I took over the course of the year. This year I was only able to do the Katsucon convention, because they moved Anime USA to December, which is a hard month due to the holidays. However, I did do more cosplay work outside of conventions due to meet-up events with the DC Cosplayer and Photographer* group and more individual shoots.  I also did three non-cosplay conceptual/fine art portrait shoots this year, of which two photos from those shoots were shown in an art gallery in Alexandria, VA.  I also worked in some landscape and travel photography, during my vacation to Scotland and Acadia National Park, in both cases I was not overly happy with my results. So now let’s ...