Like all good conspiracy theories there is no direct evidence but I think the photos speak for themselves.
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My first conspiracy theory
Friday, January 8th, 2010Cool tree, colder model (42F)
Thursday, January 7th, 2010I’ve shot this tree before but not being a landscape photographer I always felt something was missing (cue the lovely nude model).
It seems that models shooting with me in the winter time have about a 50/50 chance of becoming hypothermic. The wet mud didn’t help when the model lost her footing and came down the roots the hard way. Luckily she wasn’t hurt but it was clearly time to move on to something less treacherous.
We’ll probably come back in the summer, 13 minutes of shooting time wasn’t quite adequate for figuring out the best angles.
For the camera geeks. All images were shot with the 5DmkII and 16-35 f/2.8 L. The tripod was necessary since the I was shooting 1/15 second at f/4.5, ISO 800. Next time I’ll be using more primes and a stepladder.
Rated ‘N’ for Nudity
Bharatanatyam shoot behind the scenes
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009Tara Sengupta is a student at Anita Menon’s Anjali School of Dance. The purpose of the shoot was to create invitations and programs for the young dancers upcoming Arangetram.
An Arangetram is the debut performance of a Bharatanatyam student and only happens after years of dedication to the art. If you’ve never been to one I highly recommend it. I’ve seen many performances by students of Anita and have always been impressed by their preparedness and choreography.
Info for the performance:
Date: Mar. 27th. Saturday
Time: 4:00 pm (seating at 3:30 pm)
Location:
Performing Arts Center
PCC Sylvania Campus
12000, SW 49th Ave.,
Portland OR 97219
You can RSVP via email: info@anjalidance.com or call Anita Menon (503.705.2169). The event is free but RSVP is required
It will be a while before I can release more images as the client requested exclusive use until the invitations are ready.
Now for all you camera geeks! We had 2 hours to shoot before it got dark. We ended up with six different location settings and 450 exposures. I knew we’d need to move fast so I improvised and commandeered our baby cart. That’s a Profoto 7B pack nestled in there. My helpful assistant Mark stood in until the young dancer showed up. I used a 22″ silver beauty dish to the right for key and a medium softbox left for fill. The background was exposed just enough to get really good color saturation. The 300mm lens was chosen to give a really dramatic scene compression, I think it worked.
Camera setup: 5DmkII w/300 f/2.8 IS L. 1/160 second, f/10, ISO 160.
The importance of traveling light
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009It’s a great idea unless you’re traveling with an 18 month old, his grandmother, your wife and unborn child. Add sixty pounds of camera gear and things start getting complicated.
Most of these images were from an extended trip to South India that was cut short due to my oldest son exploding out of both ends for 22 days straight. Ever try to change 13 leaking diapers on a twenty three hour flight? That’s an elite club that I’d rather not join again.
Don’t worry, he’s much feeling much better now.
Swifts at Chapman School
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
September is the time experience the annual swift migration at Chapman grade school in Northwest Portland. Each evening thousands of Vaux’s swifts swarm around the chimney jockeying for a spot to roost. The boiler is shut off for a few weeks until the birds have moved on, dress warm kids!
I came to shoot still pictures but soon decided it would be a good opportunity to try out the video capability of my 5DmkII. After a late night crash course in 5DmkII video editing workflow I’m pleased with the results and excited about shooting more video. The footage can be a little rough as I was experimenting with the controls, not thinking I’d end up with something worth posting.
Shooting towards the end was in VERY low light. For all you camera nerds out there, my guess is the settings were around ISO 3200, f/1.4.
Lenses used: 35 f/1.4L, 70-200 f/2.8 IS L, 85 f/1.2 L.
More info can be found on the Audubon Society of Portland web site
Top 5 Bollywood music videos of all time
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009I have several image posts still in the pipeline but didn’t feel this one could wait any longer.
#1 Dhoom Tana from the movie Om Shanti Om.
A 70’s period film sets off with Bollywood junior artist Om Prakash who wishes to someday play a lead role. Through his zany onscreen antics he ends up meeting and being taken by film star Shanti Priya. One day Om eavesdrops on a tense conversation between Shanti and her producer Mukesh Mehra. He is crushed upon discovering she is secretly married to the rich man.
During the same meeting Shanti informs Mukesh that she pregnant with his child. Mukesh realizes her viability as a movie star has been comprimised and understandably decides to remedy the situation by burning Shanti alive on a stage set along with doting admirer Om, who tries in vain to save her.
In a wild twist of karmic fate, Om is reborn as the son of a legendary film star. He goes on to become a successful star himself and one night after receiving a lifetime achievement award he experiences the flashbacks of his past life and its tragic end. He soon vows to bring Mukesh to justice through song and dance.
Great Movie, Great Soundtrack with 32 star cameos IN A SINGLE SONG (beat that Hollywood!).
#2 Dola Re Dola from Devdas
Devdas is a young man who returns from law school to visit his wealthy family, but before stepping into his own ancestral home, Devdas visits Paro, his childhood sweetheart who has kept a flame alight while awaiting his return. Now that’s loving devotion!
A firestorm of jealousy is ignited as Devdas’ mother Kaushalya realizes she will not be the first one to lay eyes on her son after his many years away. Class differences and the fact that Paro is totally hot (hey, she’s played by former Miss Universe Aishwarya Rai) throws Kaushalya further into a rage as she successfully plots to publicly humiliate Paro’s family.
Paro’s mother retaliates by marrying her off to an even wealthier, emotionally vacant, not-hot older man with three grown children. Devdas argues with his family then runs off to a brothel, endears himself to one of the brothel ladies, then dies of alchoholism on Paro’s doorstep.
Oh well. At least the costumes, sets and choreography are incredible.
#3 Chaiya Chaiya from Dil Se
Young Amar meets mysterious girl Meghna, chases her across India to confess his love, gets beat up by her brothers and thrown in jail. He is released in New Delhi and beat up again before she comes to him. Meghna has two confessions for Amar. First, she also loves him (yay!), and tragically second, she’s a suicide bomber on a mission to kill the Prime Minister (buzzkill!).
Amar deftly recognizes the situation as being particularly awkward. In the end he announces that if she can’t come (away from the suicide mission) with him, she should take him with her (into that great mushroom cloud in the sky). Together, they detonate the explosives packed around her loving bosom.
I often wonder how many extras fell off the train.
The leading man in this film Shahrukh_Khan (the Tom Cruise of SE Asia) was also the leading man in the first two movies on the list. Curiously, the woman in the music video is not the person that plays the female lead in the movie.
#4 Sanobar singing Meri Beri Ke Bar
Not a movie but a track from a DVD found in a music shop in Bangalore. If it’s good enough to be my ringtone, it’s good enough to be on the list. I’m pretty sure I can see a midget’s hands peeking out from the mechanical bull.
#5 Bluffmaster from the movie Bluffmaster
Hip Hop video from a movie about a con artist who ends up being the one conned throughout the entire movie by his “bluffmaster” fiance.
Extra credit goes to the lead actor in the movie Abhishek Bachchan (Son of Amitabh Bachchan, the Sean Connery of SE Asia) who actually sings the vocals in this track.
Rumor has it that when Mr Bachchan married former Miss Universe Aishwarya Rai, there was a film playing in theaters that had a scene with her smooching actor Hrithik Roshan which was summarily cut from all the reels.
2009 Portland Adult Soapbox Derby
Sunday, August 23rd, 2009It was a fine day for the 13th annual soapbox races on Mt Tabor Park. A great chance to get out there and be a kid again. This is if as a kid you whiled your days away drinking cheap beer and building soapbox cars resembling oversized rodents, bird nests, and 80’s pop culture television shows.
There was of course blood to be spilled. Thankfully they had an expert band-aid applicator on site and plenty of coolers stocked with 12oz pain suppressants.
If you’d like more info, visit the official site of the PDX Adult Soapbox Derby
More images of the race are available at my other site, Large Life Photography
