Dare to do it

Sometimes people are stuck in what they do.
With writers we call this writers block, with photographers….. well Photoblock?
Now how does this happen and how can we chance this?
Well this isn’t as hard as you might think (or maybe it is).
I strongly believe that the best images can be done with what you have, well let me change that to, you can do some pretty interesting stuff with props and locations you probably already have but never tried to use.

 

I will never forget a workshop I taught in the studio of a photographer, the whole studio was nicely painted and looking clean and new, one area however was not done yet, in the back of the studio there was a storage area with old wood and a small door “Yeah we still have to take that out”…. “WHAT !!!!” “Are you nuts” “That’s awesome” were my expressions, the surprised look on the photographers face gave away that he never looked at this “junkplace” as something interesting. So during the workshop we used that area for one of the setups and without wasting too much of your time… as far as I know he still uses that area to shoot. Sometimes the best locations are the ones that we just ignore because we already know them, but always remember that what’s normal for us is actually interesting for others. Also remember that “things” that shine, has structure etc. are all in basis interesting things to shoot.

 

 

In January we “sold” our computer store to focus 100% on Photography and one of the things I did not want to throw out was a half bowl we used in our store before we installed cameras, the idea of the bowl is a low cost (and very effective) way to see what’s going on in the corners of the store. Now this bowl is still hanging in our new studio and to be honest I ignored it for most of the time but was always thinking… “One day” well during a workshop last week I somehow decided this was the time, so we put the bowl on the floor and let Marie work her magic.

Marie Mei 15_-1640-Edit

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Some more Lenaa

Today a collection of some shots from a workshop with Lenaa from last week.
If you also want to shoot images like this yourself?
Make sure to register for one of our workshops via www.photography-workshops.eu

lenaa 10832-Edit

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Some cool rebates

Today a blogpost to save you all some money.
It’s the first time I ever do this via the blog, so let me know if you want to see some more of these posts (maybe once a week ?)

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Sony
As you know I love the Sony cameras and lenses, if you are like me always out for a good deal then check out these great rebates.
Up to $400.00 discount on camera/lens bundles.

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Harddrives
We all need them to backup, and we need LOTS of them, so when they are cheap it’s the time to get them.
Check out these great deals on some external drives.

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Oben tripod
Need a new tripod?
Then this deal is pretty sweet on the Oben AC1300 with Ballhead.

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Nikon D7000 DSLR camera kit
D7000 Nikon + Nikon 18-105mm DX VR lens + Ruggard Commando 35 DSLR Shoulder BagWatson EN-EL15 Lithium-Ion Battery Pack (7.0V 1800mAh)SanDisk 16GB SDHC Memory Card Ultra Class 10 UHS-I

 

 

Clarity from Topaz
without any doubt my favorite plugin at the moment, it’s just AWESOME.
Get it with a big discount till the end of the month with this link.

 

Alien Skin
I LOVE Exposure 4 and use it on 99% of my shots so as you can imagine I highly recommend this plugin.
Use code FDH1102 for a cool 10% discount on their webstore.

Beware of your shoots

Today a quick tip that might safe your life one day.
Over the years we’ve done some crazy stuff, however I (and my team) were always aware of the dangers when we shoot something that is considered dangerous. Now I see a lot of shoots online with water and for example baking flour (which I did for Kelbytraining in my class the art of dance). However I also know that a lot of people don’t really know what they are doing and how dangerous shoots like these can be. So today a few tips to make sure (although there is never a sure in these kind of cases) you don’t kill yourself or your model 😀

 

1. Wide open spaces
As soon as you start throwing stuff there is a huge chance of static electricity.
This is actually a quote from wisegeek.org but it tells you everything you need to know.

 

Air Dispersal Requirement

Flour is not prone to explode all on its own — individual grains must be separated and exposed to oxygen for there to be any risk. When stored in densely packed bags or containers, the chances of fire are quite low. Explosion becomes likely only when individual particles are suspended in the air, usually in the form of a dust cloud. Dust clouds in confined spaces both allow the starch molecules ample access to oxygen, and prevent escape — under these conditions, any heat or heat source can set the sugar molecules ablaze. In large quantities, this has a very explosive effect, and can be deadly.”

 

Now if you really want to do a flour shoot (and who doesn’t let’s be honest), make sure that you do the shoot in a wide open space, so you have a lot of room, also make sure that your strobes are far away from the area where the dust is in the air. And even then always realize that you DO take a risk, but if you’re smart about it you actually do limit the risk a lot but please don’t put strobes in the area where there is a lot of dust, because that “boys and girls” is really asking for trouble, especially in a small room.

Tampa 29 April 2012 ICEhouse - 136

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