Got up just before dawn on my second day in Varanasi. Took a few shots of the sunrise, then started photographing the pilgrims coming down to bathe in the Ganges. The girl in the orange dress had come to Varanasi with her family. She wasn’t shy at all. She lit a floating candle, then beamed for the camera.
A doctor friend of mine lent me some medical scrubs. So, at the end of a couple of recent shoots, I asked the model if they wouldn’t mind wearing something a little more clinical. Models: Amanda with makeup by Summer Johnson (above) and, Talisa with makeup by Mallika Sharma (below).
A couple more shots from my studio shoot with Joseph. When shooting a client whose musculature is so defined, you can use light to really show off the amazing anatomy of the body.
And now for a public safety announcement, or a personal rant depending on how you look at things. I dislike branded camera straps. I hate camera straps that show the model number. I know that many camera owners are passionate fans of their own team, and proud to own a particular high-end model. However, wandering around a country where the average per capita annual income is $1219 and blatantly advertising the fact that you are holding a US$1500 dollar camera is not a good idea. (And yes I do believe thieves will know the value of different camera models.) My advice is to change your camera strap to something less obvious. I have a simple black PacSafe strap I can easily attach and remove. It’s also not a bad idea to give your camera a makeover so that it looks a little older and beaten up. An opportunist thief is less likely to want to steal your gear, when there are pristine brand name cameras that would be much easier to resell. I put a few pieces …
A bright beauty image of Tomoko. This type of shot seems to be pretty much standard for cosmetics particularly in Asia. Model – Tomoko MUA – Summer Johnson-Makeup Artist Pentax 645D HD PENTAX-D FA645 MACRO 90mmF2.8ED AW S Lighting – White background. Octabox powered by Profoto Pro-7a as the main light. Small softbox as low fill. A medium size strip softboxes on both sides adding rimlight (powered by Profoto compacts). A fifth compact aimed at the background. Strobes triggered with PocketWizards.
Model – Talisa Galarza Makeup and Hair – Mallika Sharma of Glam Girl Sharma Pentax 645D HD PENTAX-D FA645 MACRO 90mmF2.8ED AW S Lighting – Charcoal background. Beauty dish powered by Profoto Pro-7a as the main light. Small softbox as low fill. A medium size strip softboxes on both sides adding rimlight (powered by Profoto compacts). A fifth compact aimed at the background. Strobes triggered with PocketWizards.
Joseph eats all his vegetables, so grew up big and strong. A Clydesdale of a man, in both strength and temperament. Pentax 645D with HD PENTAX-D FA645 MACRO 90mmF2.8ED AW S Lighting – Charcoal background. Octabox powered by Profoto Pro-7a as the main light. Small softbox as low fill. 2 medium size strip softboxes stacked on left side adding rimlight (powered by Profoto compacts). Another compact aimed at the background. Strobes triggered with PocketWizards.
I was lucky enough to test out a prototype of the lens a couple of months ago. It’s big, heavy, and a lot of money. It’s also tack sharp, and with shake reduction built in, quite possibly the perfect travel lens for a 645D shooter. As I have an upcoming trip that would be ideally suited to this lens, I bought one last week, and have been using it both in and out of the studio. Here’s another image of Rie in the field of cosmos flowers. Camera settings were 1/200 f4.5 ISO400 I shot the image handheld. The bokeh in the background looks great and the sharpness of the image is excellent. When you open the image up at 100% you can see how I took the photo by looking in her eye. There’s me in the middle holding the camera. To my right is the farmer who wandered past and was press-ganged into holding a reflector. My friend, Shawn Miller, is standing just out of shot. He’s holding a Lastolite diffusion panel, the …
Model – Alexis Makeup & Hair – Summer Johnson Pentax 645D with HD PENTAX-D FA645 MACRO 90mmF2.8ED AW S Lighting – Charcoal background. Octabox powered by Profoto Pro-7a as the main light. Small softbox as low fill. A medium size strip softbox on both sides adding rimlight (powered by Profoto compacts). A fifth compact aimed at the background. Strobes triggered with PocketWizards.
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 