Jeff Gordon & Kasey Kahne: Go-Kart Challenge Photoshoot BTS

My friend Clint Davis is an absolutely incredible photographer with somewhat of an online following, and it was about time he had a behind-the-scenes video showing what goes into some of his shoots. When he booked this shoot, it was a perfect fit for his first BTS video.

I did some minor assisting, and took some BTS photos of my own, but for the most part I did my best to capture what it takes to do a job like this.

Linhbergh, another photographer that I have much respect for, was also there as the main assistant.

In addition to the shoot Clint was doing, there was a film crew on location to produce the video below, and we got some great shots behind the scenes of their production.

BTS Production Photos

Be sure to check out Clint's blog to see more photos!

I also want to give a shout-out to Douglas Sonders for featuring the video on FStoppers!

The Zack Arias Misc. Workshop

Zack is an amazing teacher, so when I saw him post a link to attend his first workshop in a couple of years I immediately signed up. The day was split into two sections - a relaxed lecture and shooting. Zack would set up a light, explain a few things, and give us some time behind the camera. We could each direct the model and move the light around, all while he gave us instruction.

It was an incredible experience to have someone that knowledgeable give me some hands-on teaching, and it helped me see things with a new perspective.

Here's a few photos from the first setup.

...and a totally flattering behind-the-scenes shot of our model, Julia, nomming on a donut...

These next two photos are a great example of what I meant by "seeing things with a new perspective." This is a great reminder that camera only sees what you tell it to see. This could be anywhere, but it's just a wall in Zack's studio, and nobody is going to know that I was sitting next to a refrigerator unless I tell them.

Zack, teaching away...

Afterwards, Zack invited all of us to his house for dinner where we were treated to a delicious meal prepared by his wife. Their four boys were also entertaining to say the least.

Exhibit A:

It was nice to get away from my desk for a day to learn from one of the greats and meet some incredible photographers. I had a blast!

Film Friday #09: Up the Path at Windy Gap

I love the dynamic range that medium format film provides.

This is one of my favorites from a roll of 120 up at Windy Gap last October.

Film Friday #08: Dad at the Lake

It's been a long time since I did a "Film Friday" post, but it's back with a portriat of my father.

Some of my best memories from growing up are from being at the lake with my Family, and it was nice to go there for Independence day last year. I had one photo left on a 120 roll from a previous trip, and I was trying to figure out a good shot to end it with. I saw my dad reading on the porch and grabbed the portrait you see below.

If you've been to the lake with us over the past fourteen years, you'll recognize the hat.

Mamiya 645 Pro-TL, 80mm f/1.9 @ f/4, Portra 400

Jason’s BMW from The Price is Right

Back in August I got a call from my friend Jason in California that he was on the Price is Right. Not just there, but on the show. I thought he may have won a blow-dryer or something lame like that.

Nope.

He ended up winning a BMW! I couldn't tell anyone, and I didn't even tell my fiancé. I told her that he won a $90,000 BMW and she said "No way, they give away Kias on that show."

The show finally aired in November and here's how it went down:

The circumstances are kind of amazing, aren't they?

The car was delivered last week and the first thing we did was a photoshoot.

Malachi’s Second Birthday

My friend Kayla has one of the cutest kids on the planet.

I captured Malachi running around, opening presents, and sitting in awe of Shrek 2 throughout the day. I ended up making a photo-book for Kayla and it turned out great. I know it sounds cliché, but processing these images in black and white really does make them seem timeless.

These are a few of my favorites and I've also included a few images of the photo-book.

Those are a few of the images that made it into this book for his mother.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta

Dr. Sanjay Gupta was in town to answer questions and report on the implementation of the ACA or "ObamaCare" as a part of a tour he's doing with CNN. I saw him on the sidewalk downtown next to his tour bus, asked him a couple of questions, and as he was being taken to his hotel I asked if I could get a quick portrait of him. I had about ten seconds to get a good shot, so I took one frame, gave him a little direction, and took the second. Fortunately I didn't mess anything up!

When I took the photo of his face I left a little more headroom than normal, then took two more photos: one tilted down a bit, and one of his torso. I stitched those three images together in Photoshop and it resulted in the final crop below, a 43 megapixel stitched portrait that has the same characteristics of a Medium Format photo. This is often referred to as the Brenizer method.

He was very polite and I'm glad I was able to take his portrait.

Here's another photo of Dr. Gupta talking to a Greenville resident about the ACA.

101 Legends of the Dragon Tattoo

My friend Kat and I have been trying to figure out a creative project to do for a while now, and she came up with an idea for a ridiculously fun shoot. She created costumes for some of her favorite characters from video games, television, and movies. We spent the better part of a Sunday shooting these and had a blast! I took the photos and she took care of any Photoshoppery such as the plumbob above the Sim.

Character List

• A Sim
• Blue Barracuda Team Member, Legends of the Hidden Temple
• Alex, Clockwork Orange
• Lisbeth Salander, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Cruella De Vil, 101 Dalmations
• Beetlejuice

Enjoy!

Our friend Maggie tagged along to take care of hair and makeup and I was able to grab a few fun portraits of her as well.

I can't wait to see what Kat comes up with next. Check out her website here.

Film Friday #07: Ed Silvera

I've been very busy over the past few weeks and I haven't made the time to post a Film Friday, but now it's back!

I took this last June while working as the DP for an independent feature film. Ed (left) paused for a photo before talking to Director KT Terry (right) about the next scene. During the production of this movie was when I got back into shooting film and this was one of the first rolls I got developed.

Minolta X-700, 50mm, f/4, Fuji Superia X-TRA 400

Sweetwater Brewery

Back in April I visited the Sweetwater Brewery in Atlanta, Georgia with a group of friends and I made sure to bring my Mamiya 645 Pro-TL. I ended up shooting two rolls of 120 with Portra 400 and Ektar 100. I shipped it off to Richard Photo lab, just like every other person with a medium format camera does now, and I was very pleased with the results. The negatives I scan with my Epson V600 just don't cut it compared to what I got back from this particular lab.

It was interesting to see how different Portra and Ektar looked. The Portra looks a bit flat and warm, while the Ektar is more neutral and punchy. The only editing I did was a slight bump in exposure for the Portra, and I left the Ektar alone.

Like I said, I was very pleased with the results, and now I just have to come up with a good reason to send the negatives out to California every time I shoot.

These are my favorite shots from the two rolls. Let's start with the Portra 400.

Hint: Click on a picture and use the arrow keys to navigate.

Welcome to SweetWater

On Tap

Cheers!

This guy was the subject of Film Friday #06

"Can I touch your beard?"

And now for the Ektar 100.

Film Friday #06: Sweetwater Dog

A few weeks ago I went to the Sweetwater Brewery in Atlanta for a tour and I saw this guy hanging out with one of the servers! I think he may have had a little beer himself.

Mamiya 645 Pro-TL, 80mm, f/2.8, Portra 400

Film Friday #05: Josh Norris

I recently hung out with Josh and had the Mamiya 645 Pro-TL that day. Here's a couple of shots I got with it. I was a little frustrated with Epson Scan on this roll, but I think they turned out good!

Mamiya 645 Pro-TL, 80mm, f/2.8, Portra 400

Mamiya 645 Pro-TL, 80mm, f/1.9, Portra 400

Film Friday #04: De Anne Anthony

De is one of the coolest people I know! She was one of our interns when I was over at View shooting an independent film. (See My Interns Are Awesome.)

Since it was a low budget movie, she was charged with the task of boom op and she rocked it!

Here she is taking a short break resting in the back of the grip truck just being her dang-awesome self.

Minolta X-700, 50mm, f/4, Fuji Superia X-TRA 400

Film Friday #03: Mitchell’s 2002

This beautiful BMW 2002 belongs to one of my old interns. Here it is parked in front of Central's town clock, which marks the exact halfway point of Charlotte and Atlanta by railroad. Did I mention that I love shooting with the Mamiya?

Mamiya 645 Pro-TL, 55mm, f/2.8, Ektar 100

Film Friday #02: Emily

A couple of weeks ago I got an 80mm f/1.9 lens for my Mamiya 645 Pro-TL. Last week I went though five rolls of 120 with most of the shots taken wide open, f/1.9, or at f/2.8, to test my ability to focus with it and see just how buttery the bokeh is. (It's pretty buttery.)

My sister came down from NYC for Easter and she was the subject of a lot of photos, but she's just supporting the subject in this one. We enjoyed a couple of glass-bottled cokes after brunch to keep from falling asleep and before I drank mine I thought of this shot to see  how ridiculous the depth of field is on the 80mm. I'll be posting images from the most recent rolls over the next few weeks. Have a good weekend!

Mamiya 645 Pro-TL, 80mm, f/1.9, Portra 400

Film Friday #01: Earl

Last summer I got back into shooting on film with my dad's old Minolta X-700 from 1981. Since then I've purchased a very cheap Nikon FG30, and in December I got my hands on a Mamiya 645 Pro-TL. I have a lot of frames that I haven't put online, so I decided that I'm going to post one of my favorite film shots every Friday!

This first Film Friday picture is of my friend Earl hanging out at the tailgate of the Clemson vs Carolina game this past fall. He wasn't smiling like this after Clemson got beat, trust me.

Minolta X-700, 50mm f/1.7, f/4, Kodak B&W 400

My First Shot at Medium Format

I've been keeping my eye out for a good yet inexpensive medium format camera for a few months. At the beginning of the year, I ran across a great deal for a Mamiya 645 Pro TL with a 55mm (35mm full frame equivalent) f/2.8 lens!

I ordered a prism finder, some Portra 160, and all I needed was a good subject. I wasted no time asking our intern Mitchell to let me take a few photos of his 1972 BMW 2002.

I knew I'd like medium format, but I am really impressed with it after seeing these first few frames. It certainly has an unmistakable depth and look to it that you just won't find with a 35mm frame.

Not long after taking the BMW pictures, a train came to a stop across the street from the office.

I snapped this picture of my gorgeous fiance on my lunch break.

These are from the old mill that's in the background of the BMW pictures.

I was really anxious to finish this roll to see how it would turn out, so I got our other intern outside for a few shots.

I jokingly told her to see if she could have a serious look for one frame since she's always smiling. This is the only time I've seen her like this...

As I was leaving the office, the sun had just set, but I wanted to get one more shot. I took this picture of one of the guys at Pancho's and fortunately I missed focus because it was a little dark. Oh well.

This last one was taken the next morning before dropping the roll off at the lab for processing.

These were taken back in January, but between getting a V600 to scan with and a halfway decent 120 film holder, it took a while to get around to scanning them.

The Mamiya turned out to be a great purchase. I just finished a roll of Ektar 100 and I'm currently using some TMax 400. Now all I need now is the infamous 80mm f/1.9...

Kopecky Family Band at the Channel

When I was first introduced to the Kopecky Family Band, I enjoyed their three EPs: Embraces, The Disaster, and Of Epic Proportions, and when I heard their first full-length album, Kids Raising Kids, I was blown away. Their songs have been featured on Vampire Diaries, Parenthood, ESPN, and they've been selling out almost all of their tour dates. They are well on their way to being the next big thing, and I'm not the only one who thinks so. (Just use The Google to see what I'm getting at.)

Last Friday I went to their concert at The Channel in Downtown Greenville, and I made sure to bring my camera. I stayed in one spot the entire concert with my 50mm Zeiss, so unfortunately I wasn't able to get good pictures of everyone on stage. I went as a fan, not a photographer. That being said, I was able to get some good pictures.

Click on the first image and use the arrow keys to navigate.

Here are a few of my favorites:

And here are the rest that made the cut:

Be sure to listen to these guys via Spotify, iTunes, or go to kopeckyfamilyband.com get their album and see when they'll be in a city near you.

One Year With The Golf TDI

Exactly one year ago today, my girlfriend and I drove up to Maryland to purchase my practical dream car - a 2010 Golf TDI. It gets insane mileage, it's fun to drive, and I've gone 25,000 miles with zero problems. Actually one of my reverse lights went out...so I guess not zero. Just before I left the office today, I heard a train coming and took advatange of a good photo opportunity.

And after the train was gone I took some more...

Now when I say insane mileage, I mean I'm averaging between 38 and 40 miles per gallon on full tanks, you can see all of my fuel-ups here on Fuelly. I get between 42 and 48 MPG on my trips to the office! I've only had two tanks under the 500 mile mark, and that's only because it wasn't convenient to get diesel after passing 500 miles. I can go to Charleston and back with a hundred miles to spare on a tank.

Speaking of Charleston...

While it hasn't broken down on me, it's still had some bad luck from time to time.

Anyway if you're looking to get a new car, get this one. I can't wait to see how many miles I can go in this thing.

My Interns Are Awesome

Every semester, we at View get a couple of interns from Clemson to help us out. This past Summer we had four because we were working as the production company of an independent movie.

After principal photography, they had a little down time in between things to have some fun...like helping me test some Ektar 100 film on my old Minolta...

Going on Starbucks runs...

And being subject to spontaneous, continuous lighting tests...