Grosse Ile Airfield Video

Heres the long awaited (two days and change) video of our meetup! Check it out, and we'll see you at the next one.

Meetup IV success!

Meetup IV at the Grosse Ile Airfield was an absolute and stunning success, and we had a blast hanging out with some great photographers and models in a one of a kind location. Planes, snakes (and snakes ON planes), motorcycles, and oddly enough a hearse and casket were just some of the attractions this time. See everything we did and a slideshow after the jump.



Getting nearly unlimited access to a decommissioned military hangar is a great way to bring out some unique shots, and as always, this group did not disappoint. Everyone outdid themselves in their new work, and we're impressed with the variety of work getting put into the pool. We even had a celebrity appearance, Paul Mobley.

We tried a few new elements for this meetup, and everything came out great. We've gotten this down to an art and science, and we're ready to get right back to planning the next meetup in late August. Also, look for a video of the meetup, coming soon.

Meetup July 2009

We're looking forward to sunday with our hugely awesome meetup planned at the Grosse Ile Airfield. I'm immensely excited for some of things we have planned, this one is going to be beyond anything we've done yet. And don't worry, we're still looking at planning one more before the summer is over.

Apart from planning this meetup and getting ideas for the next one, It's been pretty busy with everything else going on. I'm in the process of packing up to move home, so I can pack up and move to Massachusetts at the end of August. I've had to put some of my personal work on hold to spend some time with my friends and family, so these meetups are really my only chance to work at all, apart from the occasional odd job that falls in my lap.

I'm also looking into producing a series of how-to videos for lighting, model interaction, and some cool DIY projects I've been working on. It was good getting the blog up and running, now we're going to kick it up a notch and make it even better.

Sneak peaks includes my latest project, a giant psuedo-softbox that I'll be using to shoot planes, cars and people this weekend, an editing how-to for photoshop, and our long awaited meetup video to make us look cool.

Strobist Ann Arbor Meetup IV

Thats right, we've had so many meetups I've had to go to Roman numerals. And as you can see by the lovely picture to the left, we have something that most meetup organizers only dream of; A de-commissioned airbase with a hangar for us to enjoy. We're also hearing some rumors of some equipment that will be available for props, pun intended.

We've been trying to get one of these for a while, but sometimes what we need is hidden in plain view. In this case, a member who has been to nearly every meetup just happened to know someone who happened to work at said hangar. He just hadn't seen the posts on flickr where we begged people to help us find one that would be open for use. More after the jump

The success of the last meetup is going to be hard to follow. We had a great location despite the mishaps, weather and other forces of nature, and we had a really great set of models, in addition to the types of models without legs. Or warm blood. But I think with what we have planned for this, it's going to be completely off the charts.

Scott, our snake handler is going to bring his menagerie for us again, and that's just the beginning. His custom bike shop Ghost Werkz (myspace) is also home to some great bikes that he'll bring in to be shot, as well as a couple friends who do some stunt riding.

We're working on how much leeway we have around the airfield, there's a whole bunch of stuff we want to offer that we just need to make sure is kosher with everyone involved. If this location works out well, I'm sure we'll want to come back...immediately.

In the meantime, don't forget to sign up now. No limits on models or photographers, we just need to know how many people to expect.

Strobist Ann Arbor Meetup Tres

The third Strobist Ann Arbor meetup was another great success. We had some great new models and photographers, and a returning group of people that we can count on to make things run as smoothly as they do. Our location, obtained last minute thanks to Steven, wasn't quite what we were expecting, but everyone made the best of it. Snakes, a band and a Kung-Fu master rounded out our attractions, making us fairly popular in the neighborhood for the day.

We've been doing these meetups for almost a year now, and after 3 full blown meetups and some smaller workshops, we feel pretty confident in our ability to plan these guys. We would like to have an easier time getting locations, but we're getting better at working our contacts to land us some cool spots.

Get some more info for next time, and see some more pics from the day after the jump.




All of our photographers have greatly improved since we saw them last, and we're seeing some really impressive work coming out of these meetups now. Working with new people is always a great way for everyone to learn and get new ideas, and sharing a setup with someone gives us opportunities we might otherwise miss out on. We have a core group of photographers that are really showing everyone what Strobist is all about, and these are some of the same people that are teaching at the AMP workshops as well.

We're already planning the next meetup for mid to late July, and we're penciling in plans for August as well. Getting locations is all we need to have confirmed before we start the signup process again. The more we do these, the better they get, and we're also pretty sure we're one of the most active Strobist group in the US right now. While most meetup threads on Strobist revolve around a lonely cry for someone to organize a shoot, ours is all about signing up for the next big event.

We've also started a dual mailing list for AMP and SAA, signup here for more news on meetups, workshops and other events being planned.

Strobist Boot Camp II

Strobist is to blame for me being a photographer, among other things. And while I was one of the late early adopters, I did see the site evolve into more of a product-oriented commercialized blog instead of a discussion on technique. Of course this isn't unusual, nor could I begrudge David of making a living off of all the work he puts into it, but it was still with some excitement that I saw new lessons for us to follow and try out technique were being posted.

The new bootcamp assignment was little more than a warm up stretch for a lot of us, but since my approach to headshots has been a little disjointed, I thought that taking time to plan out a well done headshot would be good for me. Of course, all my intended planning went out the window when my subject just happened to be hanging around while I was teaching a private workshop.

More after the jump.

Don Castle, another photographer at the Russell Industrial Center was watching me teach about studio lighting when I figured now was as good a time as any to get the assignment done. My student had only worked with one model for the day, and I wanted him to see the difference in lighting modifiers. Thankfully, he was up for a quick sitting. This portrait was shot with two lights, both WL 1600's. The main light was a high right softbox, giving some nice, soft but directional light. It was positioned keeping in mind that Don would be wearing his glasses. I didn't want to spend all his time fiddling with the light get rid of the reflections. The fill and rim light was another softbox over his shoulder, filling in the left side of his face, and providing a nice little highlight on the side.

The only mistake I could see was that we really didn't have enough light in his eyes, partially because he was squinting a little while I caught him laughing, and also because the main softbox was coming in a little high. Lowering it would have fixed that, but I really liked the falloff top to bottom.

And with the exact same lights and setting, throw in someone with a little less character in the face, and that nice fill on the left side becomes a vampire-worth highlight. The eyes are much more visible, though perhaps not as wise. Also, what the heck is up with my hair?

So while I didn't really plan as much as I would have liked, I got a lot out of this basic exercise. A new 2 light setup instead of my usual 3, an interesting subject who's full story I have yet to hear, and the knowledge that I can pull this off without having to spend hours planning. I work better on impulse than careful planning in most cases.

Techno X Watches

Not all that long ago David Hobby blogged about doing pro-bono work as a way to practice skills on subjects you might not otherwise get access to, and to help out your local community. I had the chance to shoot some menu items for a new restaurant across the street from me, and all I took in exchange was eating the food they wanted pictures of.

And that turned into this shoot, for Techno X Watches (site not fully up and running yet). Gorgeous diamond encrusted watches, and lots of them. If i hadn't done the shoot at the restaurant, he never would have found me, and a free job has turned into an ongoing opportunity.

Business practices aside, heres the full spread and how I did it after the jump.

I think I may have mentioned that I usually forget to take a setup picture when I do something cool. This time was unfortunately not an exception. A pair of sawhorses were supporting a sheet of glass that I had intended to use to make reflections, but ended up causing double images to appear, a big no-no.

A sheet of metal from my basement with a black paint job on one side saved the day. While it was dirty and scratched to hell, photoshop cleaned it up very nicely. Two white foamcores on either side provided some fill light from the small softbox directly above the watches. The light was being supported by a background stand, convenient, but just one way to do it. I would have preferred to be using my boom arm that was being borrowed.

The sawhorses and metal sheet were removed for the shot above, it was just the softbox and two cards on the sides. The position of the watches was the most important factor in composing this shot. We needed to show as much of the face as possible, on three watches facing different directions. And angling them wrong would cause the entire face to blow out because of the reflection.

This shot was done on the black reflective surface, with the cards and softbox remaining the same. Getting the right angle of the camera was the only hard part, while trying to make a compelling reflection that did more than just fall off.

In fact, the photography itself wasn't the hard part. The lighting setup remained somewhat static, usually only changing to fit in the swords vertically, or to bring in a second light for a little fill occasionally. The hard part, again, was the editing. For all the product photography I've done, theres been a certain amount of dust to deal with. And despite our best efforts, these guys were coated in it, even immediately after being wiped with a clean jewelry cloth.

Editing at 300% means you're covering an annoyingly tiny area, and each speck of dust has to be individually removed. Next time, I'm bringing canned air. The other challenge was a slight blue color cast on the inside of the faces, from the light going through the crystal and reflecting around off the interior of the watch. A brush set to saturation and on black removes all the color, but on diamonds and silver, you can't even tell. It makes the diamonds pop and look crisp and colorless like they should.

All of these pictures are (hopefully) going to be used in some promotional material for Techno X, so here's hoping that this is a tutorial for my first international campaign.

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AMP Workshops

After a bit of a gap where I had to concentrate on school and getting the next Strobist meetup going, it's time to get another AMP Workshop going. The last workshop was really great, with four of us instructing over 20 people on location and studio lighting, products, wedding, and general portrait photography. The next workshop will also feature a photoshop segment where we'll show different techniques for editing your shots from the day.

We really wanted to make this class exceptional, and to be a great value as well. Offering the day long class for $100 per participant is going to include a whole bunch of stuff that wasn't available at our first workshop, or even at the Strobist meetups. We're also limiting the size to 15 people so we can really get hands on with everyone and make sure we cover anything you ask for. More details after the jump.

While some workshops out there are really just expensive lectures, we wanted to make the whole experience as interactive as possible. Right from the start, everyone is using high grade equipment, so nothing besides a camera is necessary to bring. Making sure everyone is comfortable using their camera is covered during the workshop setup, so even if you're a complete beginner, we can help you get right on track and shooting along with everyone else.

The intermediate and semi-pro level shooters will be more interested in the freedom we give our participants in how and what they want to shoot. We always bring in a large selection of models and rotate them frequently, so everyone will have unique shots instead of the same one over and over. We encourage dynamic interaction and want to make sure everyone gets a chance to try something they wanted to personally develop.

The locations change nearly every time to give new backgrounds and creative influences to each workshop. Some will be held in studios, various buildings, homes, and others outside in local parks and city streets to ensure new material for everyone. The classes change as well, depending on the guest instructors and available materials for each workshop. Our main classes for the next workshop are portraiture, product, location, and wedding photography.

So if you really want to get into a workshop that will give you the best experience in lighting and photography, the AMP Workshop will not disappoint. Everyone from beginner to semi-pros will learn something new, and take away an amazing experience. Participants are limited to 15 per workshop, so be sure to sign up before all the slots are taken.

Sign up using the form below, or at alexminkin.com

Date

July August

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Meetup numero tres

Like the last quickie iPhone post says, we're up and running towards our next meetup on June 20th. Its being held at the Russell Industrial Center, which caters to the Detroit creative community, and it's one hell of a location. Tons of cool stuff is going to be at this meetup, you won't want to miss it. More after the jump.

Previous meetups have featured classic cars, motorcycles, ninjas and a over a dozen models for our photographers to work with. But this meetup is going to be even bigger and better, and some of the talent we're booking is out of this world. Not only are the models even better with some of our favorites coming back, but we're getting tons of non-traditional models to come as well. Suffices to say that its going to get a little hot in there.

We're not putting any limits on the number of people allowed to sign up like in the past, we're going all out to make this the best Strobist meetup ever. Its a long standing goal of mine to get our group featured on the front page of the real Strobist site, and this might just do the trick. We are still asking people to shout out and let us know who to expect, especially when planning food and how many regular models we'll need to keep everyone busy.

Details of the meetup like the time (10am to 8pm) and location (1600 Clay rd., Detroit) are available on the flickr page along with the sign up thread, which also covered a few FAQ's. More bits of info will get posted here and on flickr as we move closer to the date of the meetup. Keep checking back, and don't forget to sign up.

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June 20th meetup

Quick post from the back seat of the car via iPhone. The next strobist meetup is being held in the Russell industrial center, June 20th 10am to 8pm. Signup is at the flickr page, and this one is going to be huge. More details to follow.




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