View allAll Photos Tagged paulcbuffeinstein
Day 318
"That Neighbor"
We all have or had a neighbor like Mrs. Nitz. She's always making sure the neighborhood kids don't walk on her grass, keeps the ball if it falls in her yard, she knocks on the door if things are a little too loud, and she doesn't like people in general. I digress. I am currently working for a company which manufactures all sorts of metal pipes, filters and widgets. I've almost finished the job, and the sulfur and green powder are two of the last products to shoot. I thought this should be the final image I present to the client. Good idea? I used my trusty Light Blaster to project an image of a farm house on the white background, though because of the macro lens, it is rather blurry. My key light was initially a tightly snooted speedlight, directly above our farm maiden. When I realized that the Light Blaster was leaking light on to Mrs. Nitz.....I liked the light, and went with it. With the yellow background and the sulphur, the image sort of painted itself. It had the warm, afternoon summer tones I was going for......and it was all lit with one light. Oh, her wooden platform is a tongue depressor. I admit, I do respect her attention to detail. Thanks for sweeping through!!
#sweep #sulfur #powder #holipowder #farm #farmhand #summer #sunlight #lightblaster #figurine #miniature #tonguedepressor #doll #hills #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #farmscene
Day 165 of 365
"Imagine This"
Only 200 images to go! So, my wife saw her ophthalmologist today, and it was suggested that she try some daily contacts. Upon showing me this diminutive time machine/iron maiden, I knew I had my subject for today's posting. But how to light the little doohickie? For some unknown reason I knew I was going to snoot a green-gelled speedlight at the background. I have no idea. As for the contraption itself, I stuck a strip bank directly overhead, and shot into my shiny, black tile beheath the.....thing. The horizon line vanished nicely, as the tile simply reflects the background. Lastly, the nut-like thing at the bottom was very dark, so I had to do something to bring up the exposure. On the last frame, I hit the screw with a focused flashlight, and composited it into the image of the widget and background. Ta-dah......? Thanks for saline by!!!!
#contactlenses #contactcleaningthing #timemachine #ironmaiden #whatdotheycallthis #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #canon580exII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #stripbank #
Here is the second of the two dirt portraits I recently shot. So, there is a strip bank (a long, rectangular light modifier) at camera-left, wrapping around just enough to light the left eye. There is a snooted speedlight behind me, bringing up just a little exposure on the black seamless background (you can see it over the camera-right shoulder). In my hands is a piece of foamcore, and it is covered in dirt. With the camera remote in my hand, I tossed the dirt up, and triggered the camera. I like the bit of dust at the bottom, and the fact that some of the dirt is still in focus. This is one of the two I selected. Thanks for stopping in!! #dirt #dirtface #portrait #manportrait #soil #dust #yousillytwit #canon5dmarkIII #stripbank #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #mudmask #pocketwizard
Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story.
Day 31 of an Unknown Number
"Gillian"
My friend recently reached out to me, informing me that this week was the first anniversary of her breast cancer diagnosis. She has fought back, and has an incredibly upbeat attitude about the whole thing. Take it from a guy who does not always have the most positive attitude.......optimism can go a long way......or so I'm told. When I asked Gillian if she minded if I revealed her medical condition, she responded, "Use any words you want; 'single mastectomy', 'one stripper breast', 'cancer', 'lover of dogs.'" Now that's the right attitude to take! Back to our photograph! Directly above Gillian's head is a large diffused umbrella. It lights her hair, shoulders, and our background canvas. Her key light is a medium Octa bank at camera-left, at the classic 45/45 angle. At camera-right is a piece of white foamcore, used to fill in the shadows. In post, I went back-and-forth as to whether or not I would go black and white. In the end, I did, and I'm pretty happy. I think Gillian said it best when seeing the portrait. She told me, "That is a beautiful photo of me....I teared up. That is how I look in my head!" Believe me, I didn't include the quote in order to pat myself on the back. I am simply so happy that I was able to assist in creating a portrait which moved the client. That's my job, right? Damn, her response got me choked up. To be honest, I just set up the lights, and took the photograph. She did the rest. Gillian, you are awesome, and thanks for sharing your story with me. To my other friend who is dealing with the same diagnosis at this very moment....I wish you the best. She is having her procedure today. I will be posting her before and after images in the coming weeks. Thanks for stopping in. By the way, we shot this portrait without telling her husband. This is probably a surprise. Surprise!
#breastcancer #cancer #cancersucks #chemotherapy #portrait #studioportrait #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #octabox #pocketwizard #blackandwhite #survivor #canceralsoblows #disney
Day 295 of 365
"Portraits 295"
I see this Bougainvillea plant every day at my daughter's school. Sure, it is pretty, but how does one do anything unique with the little guy? I imagined the flower would look pretty sexy against a black background....but then thought I should try it against a white background. Finally, I decided to go with both. I thought I would attempt to do something in-camera that looks as though it was done in post. So, could I create two different backgrounds in-camera? With the white background pulled down, I then placed a piece of black board behind the camera-left flower, close enough that the light working on the white background would not leak on to the black board. There is a medium-sized softbox at camera-left, and it is just inches away from that flower. By only using one light on both flowers, this was also a demonstration of the Inverse Square Law. That is to say, by having the light source so close to the camera-left flower, the light falloff is abrupt, leaving the camera-right flower considerably darker in exposure. However, by placing it against the brightly exposed white background (lit with a Paul C. Buff Einstein strobe), the flower is lit from behind. So, even though the camera-right flower is darker, it has a similar level of contrast, being against the bright background. The only post work performed was extending the stem of the camera-right flower. It was a bit lower than the other, so I wanted to raise it a bit. I could imagine this concept with two people of different skin tones. Hmmmmm. Thanks for stopping by!!
#blackandwhite #flower #bougainvillea #pinkflower #bloom #contrast #pink #ebonyandivory #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #pocketwizard #plant #flowers
Day 38 of an Undetermined Number
"Forcepped Smile"
My first photograph loaded to and uploaded with my laptop!!! They said it couldn't be done. So, we had some odd jobs around the house to do, so I bought a soldering kit. In order to see what I was/would be doing, I purchased a helping-hands magnifier. Naturally I soon realized that the little hands could hold one's mouth open, and that the magnifying glass might make for an interesting visual element. With no willing victim...volunteer, I was forced to be my own guinea pig. I used my new Mountdog pop-up ring flash as my key light, and it is powered by a Paul C. Buff Einstein. I have a snooted Canon 580EX II at camera-left, and it is my second key. Actually, the ring flash is used to fill in the shadows of the 580, but because of the close proximity of the camera, it became the key. There is a strip bank over my left shoulder, and it offers a little edge light. Lastly, there is a second speedlight aimed very low on the white seamless behind me to create the gradient. There are black flags on both sides of me, preventing any ambient light from brightening up my cheeks. I used a wider lens than normal, just to add that additional element of discomfort. Well....that's the story. Thanks for stopping by!!!
#portrait #man #studio #forceps #magnifyingglass #smile #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #paulcbuffeinstein #paulcbuffinc #canon580exII #ringflash #mountdog
Clearly Farmers Francois and Martha did not see this coming. Well, they are about to have a little more iron in their diet!!! So, I was about to shoot another image with my miniature friends, when I saw this glass with iron filings in it. The small filings in the front resembled plants or vegetables, and those directly over the magnet resembled a monster. What was I to do? I stuck a bare strobe directly overhead, and shot away. Shooting with my 100 macro lens, the background creature went completely out of focus, so I went with a smaller aperture, and partially brought it into focus. Very simple lighting in accord with some fun textures. As for the strange striations in the image, I attribute it to the imperfections in the glass. Thanks for sticking around to read this!! #farmers #miniature #ironfilings #monster #magnets #magnetic #blackhole #lookout #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein
Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story.
Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story.
Jared and I met up to shoot some portraits. While we were shooting, I made sure to shoot some film, and with the Hasselblad I only made 2 frames. One Polaroid, and one real frame. I gave Jared the polaroid, and knew that this frame came out solid! I love this one! I can really dive into it!
strobist: Paul C. Buff Einstein into 22" socked beauty dish to camera left. Powered by Vagabond Mini and fired with Pocket Wizard Plus II's.
Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story.
This was one of the first serious frames I made with my new Nikon F100. I ran a cheap roll of Rite Aid film through it in a day to see if it works, and it does, so I bought some Fuji Slide film! I love that camera, and I love shooting film! I'm glad I finally invested in a good scanner!
strobist: Paul C. Buff Einstein into 22" socked beauty dish to camera left. powered with a Vagabond Mini and fired with pocket wizard Plus II's.
Day 358 of 365
"Ben"
Today's subject arrived on my doorstep this evening. Not only is Ben a fantastic singer.......but I also call him a friend. Ben and Elana dropped by to give our kids some hand-me-downs, and I grabbed Ben for a very quick portrait. I already had the look in mind, so lighting only took a couple of minutes. I shot some of the images for Ben's previous promo package, and I had a new look in mind for today's mini shoot. I planned to keep it simple. He's got this great hair going, and I thought it would look great in silhouette, against a blown-out background. I then thought that snooting his eyes alone would be the final touch on the portrait. We shot about ten exposures, and this was my favorite. Once I heard the baby crying....I knew the shoot was over. Thanks for dropping by!
#portrait #benjamindaniel #singer #canon580exII #canon5dmarkIII #tamron70-200 #studioportrait #musician #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #silhouette #blackandwhite
Choreographer & Dancer Kash Munbodh lives by rhythm and music. Please see his port at: www.facebook.com/kashstep - Copyright 2011 by David K. Smith of DKS Media Solutions - Website: www.dksmediasolutions.com/ - Email: info@dksmediasolutions.com
Day 199 of an Unknown Number
"My Inferiority is Complex"
I believe I came up with the image's title before I thought of the image. I stuck a grid on a strobe, and played for the next thirty minutes in order to place the light in the correct spot. When working for a hard shadow (and shadows in general), there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First of all, a hard shadow requires some distance between the light and the subject. Also, a small light source is required, as one does not want the light to wrap around the subject, resulting in a soft shadow. However, given that my studio is approximately the size of a garage, I could only push the light back so far. In addition, the angle at which the light hits the subjects will dictate the the distortion of the shadow. While a more angled light location helped in separation between the subject and the shadow, it also results in a stretched appearance. As you may have guessed, this is a blending of two exposures. I made a point to maintain the same location, as I wanted the original shadow and the laughing shadow to remain consistent. In post, I simply had to swap out the heads. The grid on the strobe created the vignetted effect in the corners. Thanks for stopping by!!
#portrait #man #sad #sadman #silhouette #shadow #laughingshadow #studio #studioportrait #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #pocketwizard #paulcbuffeinstein #grid #paulcbuffinc #selfesteem #inferioritycomplex
Day 37 of an Unknown Number
"Image 37"
Today's image was a lesson in selecting a perspective. I decided I would photograph an onion skin I had stashed away for a future shoot. The only problem was, I had no idea how to approach the shoot. Should I shoot vertically or horizontally? Should I shoot the inner or outer side? What lens should I use? After some experimenting, I nixed the "shooting into a bowl" perspective, and walked around to the side of the skin. Much more interesting! That is to say, I think it was. Not only did I like the lines of the skin from this angle, but I also got to play with how our subject is perceived. What do I mean? Well, we are actually looking into the bowl of the skin, but from the side angle. Because of the way the human eye works, one might assume we are looking at the outer edge of the skin, and not the receding area of the skin. Because we perceive brighter things as being closer to the eye, our perspective is fooled a bit. The fact is, the far edge of the skin is brightly lit, whereas the near edge is almost in shadow. In reality, we are not seeing the outer edge of the skin at all, but our eye sees shadow, and therefore assumes it is the back edge of the skin. Make sense? In regards to the lighting.....you are looking at it! There is a strip box above the piece of black Plexiglass, and I changed the angle of the light until it made me happy. If I rotated the light a few inches either way, the onion skin would be floating in blackness. Are you still looking at it? Excellent. Thanks for stopping in!!
#onion #onionskin #skin #cells #macro #red #lines #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #plexiglass #vegetable #foodphotography #perspective #paulcbuffeinstein #paulcbuffinc #pocketwizard
Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story.
Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story. Mara characer played by Tara Platt.
Day 311 of 365
"Eye to Eye...to Eye.....to Eye....to Eye...."
Yes, I may have used my macro extension tube for this portrait. The initial concept for today's image was to freeze our young subject with a blast of canned air. If inverted, canned air becomes a freezer-in-a-can. Good times!!! Unfortunately, once frozen, our Musca domestica was unrecognizable. So, I went with the thawed version today. We used three strobes for this one. There is a softbox at camera-right, one at camera-left, and a ringflash on top of the camera. I really wanted to make sure to light all the intricate parts of the diptera's visage. Who knew there were so many parts to the face of a cyclorrhapha?!!! I attempted to focus stack several layers of our friend, but even the computer could not tell where on whisker stopped, and another began. Therefore, I only used two layers. The second one only defined the outer edge of the eyeballs. I have no idea why people are so disgusted by these things!! Thanks for flying by!!
#fly #housefly #disgusting #proboscis #insect #macrophotography #macro #closeup #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #paulcbuffeinstein #paulcbuffinc #rayflash #ringflash #pocketwizard #canon
Day 253 of 365
"Victory for Mankind"
I'm not saying that the electric fly swatter is the greatest thing since sliced bread.......but I've never witnessed a piece of bread kill and cook a fly at the same time. We shall let history decide. We have occasional periods of massive fly infestations, and we still don't understand why. I have carnivorous plants, we've used fly paper, spray, fly bags, I've fixed the screen, I've taped every hole to the outside world....but the flies continue to invade our home. So, I just discovered the electric fly swatter, and I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that it has changed my life. Ironically, there is not a single fly in the house, but I'm sure that will change in the near future. I should certainly digress. The lighting was accomplished with three strobes. I used my trusty Light Blaster to project an image of a bull's eye target on the white seamless background. Next, I positioned a speedlight with a purple gel behind and beneath the swatter. It is the complementary color to the foul yellow color of the swatter, so I thought they would work nicely together. Lastly, I tightly snooted a speedlight to light just the company's name. Very lastly, heed the warning on the tag....this is NOT a toy. Assuming the device used just enough zapping power to down a housefly, I had to play the role of human guinea pig and test it for myself. Have you ever smelled the odor of burning human flesh? Ok, it did not hit that hard.........but it hurt. Please be warned. Thanks for buzzing by!!
#flyswatter #bug #fly #housefly #electrocution #productphotography #bugzapper #deadfly #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #canon580exII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #lightblaster
Day 172 of an Unknown Number
"Price of a Snack"
Unfortunately, I found today's model under our recycling bin. He or she had clearly been there for some time, and apparently had been caught off-guard during a meal. My apologies. The question is, what in the hell was our subject eating? It looks like an enormous snack!! I mean, he/she was partaking in a Fred Flintstone-sized tidbit!! I digest. Our key light was a strip bank at camera-left. Then a second strip was brought in on the camera-right side, just to fill in some shadows. I originally shot this with a ringflash, but did not care for the reflection. He/she was reclining on a piece of white Plexiglass. Thanks for stopping by for a morsel!!
#lizard #fredflintstone #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #foodphotography #animal #dragon #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #stripbank #studio #portrait #petrified
Yay!!!! Today is a milestone....about one-third of the way through the year!!! I hope I can think of a few more concepts. Anywho, someone was force......volunteered for a portrait sitting. Technically, she IS strapped into her chair, so she really had no say in the matter. With that said, she was smiling and laughing through the entire shoot. So why did I select this image? Because it was the vision I had before the shoot. The song, "Tears of a Clown" came to mind. Our key light is a gridded beauty dish, right down the center. Then my patented (no patent) strip lights are working both sides from behind. I love the rim lights on her chubby cheeks. She was an awesome participant today!! Thanks for hopping by!
#bunnyears #rabbitears #babyportrait #portrait #baby #girl #studio #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #striplights #boosterseat
Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story. Mara characer played by Tara Platt.
Day 10 of an Unknown Number
"Image 10"
Today's image was a spec project. I was asked by a potential client if I could shoot a product in a style similar to their sample image. Though I was not paid for it, the shoot took about five minutes. Also, it gave me a reason to shoot something in the studio. We both win!! The sample images supplied all showed products with hard, crisp shadows on white paper. That made the assignment relatively easy to recreate. That is because hard shadows mean.....small light sources!! All I had to do was to position the key light at the "correct" distance to create the quality of shadow I desired. So, I placed a snooted (without grids) speedlight about four or five feet at camera-left, and it created the lovely shadow. If I had brought the light any closer, the shadow would have soft edges, and that was not the assignment. With that said, given the small size of the light source, I knew it would leave unattractive specular highlights on the glass. Specular highlights are simply the direct reflection of the light itself on the subject. I don't know about you, but I don't care for tiny dots of light in my images. Therefore, at the last minute, I brought in a strobe with a long strip light, and moved it in very closely on the same axis as the original speedlight. It delivers that fun swish of light at the bottom of the neck of the bottle. Had I had more time to play around with it, I would have brought the light directly next to the bottle, and it would have supplied a nice, even highlight along the entire bottle. Again, I was not being paid, and......nobody cares, aside from myself. In post, all I had to do was to mask out the bottle from the first image, but use the lovely, sharp shadow. Start to finish, the project probably took about twenty minutes.....but don't tell your client that. Thanks for stopping by for a drink!!
#skyy #vodka #alcohol #foodphotography #drinkphotography #bottle #blue #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #canon580exII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #pocketwizard #stripbank #drink
Day 260 of 365
"Spoon Bending"
Any Uri Geller fans out there?!!!!! No? Alrighty, then. I was writing a potential client about photographing flatware, suggesting that we shoot against a black background, and not white. Because we typically define metal with the use of highlights, shooting on a light background can result in overexposed backgrounds. So, I thought I'd put my lighting where my mouth was......? I first placed a piece of plexiglass on top of a piece of black felt. This provided a shiny black surface on which to photograph my spoons. I then lowered a medium Octa almost straight down upon the spoons. An Octa is an eight-sided box of light. This large light source is literally a couple of inches above the spoons. This was done to fill as much of the reflection surfaces with the light. Because I was shooting with a 100 macro lens, my field of view is very small. Though the background is simply a piece of plexiglass on a top of a piece of black material, it is the direct reflection of the light that becomes our background. Without that direct reflection, the surface would truly be black....but then the lighting would most likely be very specular and uninteresting. If the camera were lowered a bit, one could see the end of the glass, and it would fade to black. Though the gradient was sort of cool, I decided to keep the surface consistent. I initially focused on the foreground tip of the spoon, but then everything behind the tip was completely out of focus. I then decided that the bend in the spoon was more interesting. I added the two additional spoons at the last moment, just for some symmetry. Thanks for dropping in!!
#spoons #silverware #flatware #reflection #tabletopphotography #productphotography #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #pocketwizard #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #octabank
Day 277 of 365
"Who Shall I Be Today?: An Ode to 'Westworld'"
My Body Kun DX Set (Gray Color Ver.) finally arrived!!! I know....it IS exciting. The little articulated action figure is used by artists to render specific poses. He comes with a gun, sword, and a laptop. The laptop is very imposing. Sure, he can shoot you or cut you up.......but he can also destroy your online credit. I have named him Super Choppy Martial Arts Credit Killer Man. As for the lighting......we have only one light working. It is a strip bank at camera-left, and it is aimed well in front of him, thereby allowing most of the light to pass Mr. Super Choppy Martial Arts Credit Killer Man. I wanted to show off his physique, and this lighting allowed his muscles to really show through. I used a piece of foamcore directly opposite the light, and it delivers that sliver of an edge light at camera-right. When I got him against the black background, I thought of the storage facility on HBO's "Westworld", where they keep the decommissioned robots. I am planning more scenarios with Mr. Man in the future. Thanks for chopping by!
#bodykun #figurine #actionfigure #martialarts #killer #geico #model #man #studio #portrait #westworld #dynamic #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #striplight #blackandwhite #pocketwizard
Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story. Mara characer played by Tara Platt.
Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story.
Day 223 of 365
"Women"
My sister and niece have moved to Los Angeles from Germany!! Their friends visited us before heading off to Vegas, and we took a moment to shoot a portrait. Our key light is a large diffused umbrella at camera-left. I would have used my large softbox, but I was too lazy to assemble the thing. There is a bare beauty dish behind our subjects at camera-right. If gives the edge light, and a subtle separation from the grey background. Lastly, there is a ring flash on-camera, just filling in the shadows created by the key light. I cooled things down a tad in post, as I felt it contributed to the bad-ass attitude of these women. Thanks for stopping in!!
#portrait #studio #women #girls #canon5dmarkIII #pocketwizards #canon24105 #paulcubbinc #paulcbuffeinstein #umbrella #beautydish #germanyinthehouse #edgelight
Day 328 of 365
"Balls and Bokeh"
Tinkering yet again with some of the products from an ongoing job, I am working on showing the scale of the company's products. These are the larger ball bearings used as a coating for some of their metal tubing. As I understand, some of these little guys were attached to the Mars Rover. I had envisioned a bouncing wall of these tiny spheres, but timing it was near impossible. I could have used my Mumford Time Machine to trigger the shutter off of the sound of the balls hitting the Plexiglass, but that is a whole production. I also didn't want thousands of tiny balls on the floor. Yes, one can slip on a few of these things. So, I focused on the tip of this pen, and corralled a few of the balls around the pen tip. As I dropped a pinch of them on the glass, one little guy managed to hide in the nib hole. Since I've been having so much fun with it, I attached my macro extension tube to my 100mm macro lens, and focused on the tip of the pen. Because the depth of field is so small, everything outside of that field blurs rather quickly. Despite what one might believe, I performed no post work on the image. The bokeh (the dreamy appearance of the out of focus balls) is natural, and works nicely with the reflection in the Plexiglass. Our key light is a strip box, very close at camera-left. One can see the white highlight in the edge of the tip of the pen. The second light is a bare speedlight, and it is bouncing off of a white seamless behind the piece of Plexiglass upon which the pen lies. I gelled the speedlight with a purple gel, and because the glass is simply reflecting the paper, the glass appears to be purple. The slight gradient from top to bottom is the result of the light illuminating the lower part of the paper, and the light dissipating as it reaches higher on the paper. Thanks for dropping in!!
#balls #ballbearings #marsrover #pen #macrophotography #depthoffield #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #macro #plexiglass #gels #purple #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #stripbox #pocketwizard
Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story.
Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story. Mara characer played by Tara Platt.
Day 335 of 365
"Still Life 335"
There is a great scene in "Papillon" where Steve McQueen's character, in an effort to ingratiate himself to the stranger, shares a cigar with a leper. When the infected man asks how McQueen knew that the man suffered from dry leprosy (the non-contagious version), McQueen replies, "I didn't." I love that scene! Anyway, the film came to mind when I saw this tiny squash in the kitchen. With a model with such texture to her dermis, the lighting makes all the difference. One obviously wants to accentuate the texture, not hide it. Also, this was a perfect opportunity to use chiaroscuro lighting. What the hell is that, you ask? Look it up! In reference to photography, it basically means to create a gradient from dark to light, and back to dark and light. In this image, the camera-left section of the background is dark, then the edge of the cucurbita is light, then it fades to dark on the camera-right side, then the camera-right side of the background is light. In this case, I believe the image explains the term better than I. Our key light was a strip bank at camera-left, and it is very close to the squash, and it is feathered to towards the camera, in an effort to prevent any of the light hitting the dark side of the background. Our second lights is a beauty dish at camera-right, and it is used simply to light the camera-right section of background paper. One squash, two lights, so many memories. Thanks for stopping by!!
#squash #vegetable #food #foodphotography #chiaroscuro #renaissance #lighting #papillon #stevemcqueen #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #striplight #beautydish #canon100macro #macrophotography #gourd
Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story. Mara characer played by Tara Platt.
Day 59 of an Unknown Number
"Drosera Binata"
As I searched for today's subject, I spotted one of my sundews on the windowsill. For those of you unfamiliar with the drosera, it is a carnivorous plant which uses sticky leaves to wrap around their prey, and slowly digest the buggy goodness. Technically, the leaves are covered with tentacles which have a gland that produces a sticky mucilage. Insects spot the glistening dew (mistaking it for nectar), land on the leafs, and are slowly coiled and eaten. Fun stuff!! I digest. Anyway, I went with one light for this set up. There is a strobe directly above our friend, and it has a modifier attached. It is a simple dish, and was used to confine the light to just the area above our subject. Nature is beautiful......even when it enjoys some meat on the plate. Thanks for flying by!!
#sundew #carnivore #carnivorouslant #drosera #droserabinata #meateater #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #macro #canon100macro
Day 163 of an Unknown Number
"Image 163"
I just completed a little DIY project. Actually, I half-finished it, and it is 7.5 feet tall. I made a V-flat! What is it, you ask? It is basically a black and white foam core wall that folds in the middle. It can be used to block light from hitting your camera, or as a foldable background. Very exciting stuff! I am going to make second one when I have the time. I managed to get this lovely woman to pose for me, as I am tired of being my own subject. She gave me about five minutes to complete the project. I asked her to step back as far as she could into the V-flat, and to give me her best melancholy expression. Apparently, all she had to do was to think of our morning with our five-year-old. Fun times!! Anyway, our light is a gridded beauty dish at camera-left. About half of the light is blocked by the left panel, and it is aimed at the camera-right side of the V-flat. This allowed for just a strip of light to hit our lovely model. I love it!!......the woman and the inanimate wall of foam. Thanks for stopping by!!
#portrait #woman #studio #vflat #studioportrait #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #canon24105 #pocketwizard #beautydish #grid
Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story.
Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story. Thacher character played by Yuri Lowenthal.
Day 159 of 365
"Rose Under Glass"
I recently picked up a can of Crazy Aaron's Liquid Glass.....and then I couldn't find it. Actually, when you open the can, you might think you were duped into buying an empty vessel. The stuff is completely clear, and has the consistency of a stiff slime. When rolled into a ball, it looks like your standard rubber ball. However, once it is allowed to relax, it sinks into a puddle of.......nothing. With that said, this is an image of a rose stuck in this goo on my shiny black tile. Oh, it is also standing vertically. The only give away is the outer edge and the tiny air bubbles along the stem and flower. As for the lighting, there is a large Octa at camera-left, right up against the tile. It supplies a majority of the light, and also delivers the highlight on the upper-left edge of the goo. There is a snooted speedlight at camera-right, and it is aimed at the rosebud. One can view the light falloff at the bottom of the frame. Thanks for stickin' around!!
#crazyaaronsliquidglass #slime #goo #rose #flower #floral #petal #leaf #superfineart #canon580exII #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #octa #pocketwizard #bubbles
Day 362 of 365
"Portrait 362"
Today's image came to me in a vision.......a vision in the form of my phone while looking at Instagram. That is to say, I was inspired by a fellow photographer. I was taken by the shooter's use of a red rimlight against a somewhat golden key light, and the dark eyes. I deconstructed the inspirational image, and along with my subject, we came up with this silly portrait. Watch out Tinder users!! Just kidding. I'm not even sure if I get that joke. On to the lighting!! Our key light is a strobe with a dappled reflector over our subject's right shoulder. It delivers the harsh light to the camera-left side of his face. Next, there is a strip bank with a red filter working on the camera-right edge of his mug. We had to play around with the power on this one, as we wanted some intense saturation without blowing out the exposure. Next, because I don't own a blue background, I was forced to strobe the grey paper with a blue gel behind our lovely model. It just offers enough light to separate our model's head from the background. Lastly, there is a ring flash on the camera, filling in the shadows a tad, and delivering the catchlight in the otherwise dead eyes. Thanks for taking a look!!
#portrait #man #studioportrait #intense #sad #redandblue #rimlight #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #canon580exII #rayflash #ringflash
Day 76 of an Unknown Number
"A Thing of Nightmares"
When your friend posts an image of a creepy-crawly recently found in their home, one naturally requests that said creature not be disposed of......right? Well, perhaps I am in the minority. The hand-off went down like a scene in a Grisham novel. We agreed to meet at the park.....we both have kids.......so it seemed plausible. She handed me the baggie with the insect, and I brushed the side of my nose. After that.....our kids played together, none the wiser. When I returned home, I quickly realized my model was........expired. Last time I do business with her! I slapped on a little (very little) makeup, and we prepared for our shoot. I initially shot from directly above, and while everything was in focus, I did not get a great view of this mug. So, I decided to go low, and lit from above with a long strip light. I tilted the light up on the front edge, resulting in the gradient appearance of the light. I feel it helps to force the eye to look more at our subject, and less at the overexposed background. I used my 100 macro lens along with my macro extenders on the lens. It creates a very shallow depth of field, focusing on just the face of this tiny monster. While the backside is also interesting.......he's missing a few legs. Thanks for creeping by!!
#creepycrawly #maybeacentipede #macrophotography #animal #insect #antennae #monster #creature #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #striplight #gradient
Day 288 of 365
"Enjoy the Flavor....Through Your Neck"
I've never once inhaled a cigarette!! I tried once in my youth, but it was unsuccessful.....and completely disgusting. However, when traveling, I enjoying picking up unique and eye-catching souvenirs. I found this pack in Thailand. The image on the pack brought to mind a warm country breeze, so I Light Blasted an image of such a scene on the background. The pack itself is lit from camera-left by a small softbox and speedlight. The pack is being lit by the back edge of the softbox, allowing the light to wrap around the pack, much like the way smoke fills a room when all the windows and doors are closed. The light is also positioned in this manner to avoid any of it from contaminating the lit background......much like the way in which the 4000-plus chemicals in cigarettes absorb the oxygen in a room. I kept the lighting simple so one could inhale the tang of the image. Thanks for taking a photographic break!!
#cigarettes #smoke #packofsmokes #thailand #visitthailand #vacation #productphotography #canon5dmarkIII #canon580exII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #softbox #lightblaster
Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story.
Day 207 of 365
"Portrait of Woman in Front of Canvas"
Today's portrait is of a woman in front of a canvas. We used three lights for this one. Our key light is a very snooted speedlight at camera-left, and it is just out of frame. It is focused directly on her visage (face), and nothing else. The closer the light, the tighter the focus. The second light is a ring flash (around the camera lens), and it fills in the shadows and lights her body. Lastly, there is a beauty dish lighting the background. The background light is actually supplying a little hairlight at camera-left, and that kiss of light on her right tricep. I actually did flag the light, but just a tad of light crept around and gave us the rim light. It ended up supplying a little separation. I don't mind it. Thanks for stopping by!!
#portrait #woman #ladyportrait #studioportrait #studio #orbisringflash #canvasbackground #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #canon580exII #pocketwizard #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #dress #whosthatgirl
Day 186 of 365
"Chalk Up!"
Anyone who knows me is aware that I am an avid pool player. In the days before children, my team actually made it to the nationals in Las Vegas a few times. Those were much simpler times. I digest. Anyway, I was playing last night, and an image came to me. My friend dropped a talc bag, and it made a lovely cloud when it hit the floor. Though I don't own a talc bag, I knew that I could get a similar image with chalk. My key light here is a strip bank, directly at camera-left. I used a strip bank because it is slim and vertical.....like my pool cue. I added a piece of white foam core on the camera-right side, just to fill in the shadows. A large light like a strip bank produces a beautiful quality of light, but it drops off quickly, leaving the camera-right side of the cue in the dark. The old Inverse Square Law at work! Lastly, I snooted a speedlight, and stuck it directly above the cue tip, looking straight down. This would guarantee that the chalk would be frozen when I snapped the shutter. While my shutter speed was only 1/125th of a second, it is the strobe that freezes the motion. I placed a small pile of chalk on the tip, blew on it as I snapped the camera remote, and came up with this. I believe I took ten exposures, and this was my favorite. Hindsight, I would have shot wider in order to capture the entire cloud of chalk. However, I also wanted to really go macro to show the detail in the chalk. Here is a happy compromise. Thanks for following my post!
#pool #billiards #poolcue #cue #chalk #poolchalk #tip #ferrule #sports #poolhall #canon5dmarkIII #macro #canon100macro #pocketwizard #mcdermott #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #stripbank