Night Photography: Snow

It is a quiet night. There is a mix of snow and rain falling upon us. The sound creates a soft texture as it bounces off our jackets and collects on the surfaces around us. Every step we take is a soft crunch as we pack the snow below our shoes. On occasion a car passes, music up just high enough to hear the beats inside. Seldom do we see a lone figure navigating the cold ground, carefully stepping to avoid the hidden ice. Our conversation ranges from our businesses, life, family, how busy we are, and the reasons for why we make images. I can not count how many times I have wandered around the city late at night making photos. It is refreshing to have my friend and colleague Aleksandr present as we explore. Aleksandr is an incredible photographer. One of the best wedding photographers I know. His style is something you don’t see often, unless you’re looking to have the best of the best photograph your wedding. He is not prone to street photography and was very curious as to what motivates me to make an image, rather, what I see that inspires me to press the shutter.

Every couple of images I would point out some element in the scene that I saw, something that interested me or I found visually appealing. I would make the image and share with him. I explained to him that the process, for me, is about seeing. Its not about blindly running around hoping I will get an image, it is about seeing and capturing. I spend so much of my day seeing compositions. Some days I feel like I am a director navigation a film set.

While our vision differs, both of us have a very profound ability to see, read, and utilize light to produce images. This evening though, Aleksandr was making images on a Nikon D850 in black and white. He was shooting wide on a 35mm. I had a Fuji xPro2 tucked into my jacket, where it stayed there the entire time we walked around. I had my Canon 5Ds with a Sigma 50mm in my gloved hands. I have only used my 50mm a handful of times in studio on one or twice on a commercial shoot. It is such a great lens that I wanted to try this evening on a different type of shoot. The subject matter wasn’t as important as it was to take the time to be in the moment, have a few moments to be creative outside of our daily business, and just get out and shoot. When you take the time to create for yourself it is almost always therapeutic.

New York City: Hell's Kitchen Froze Over

For the first time since July I had more than 1 day off to do nothing. Sure, the holidays just came and went, but when the holidays arrive, you're constantly running around, doing something, spreading cheer and money faster than you can make it. There really isn't to much downtime during the holidays. The weekend away was a welcomed trip. It was a break from the daily grind and the planning I have been doing for the up-coming year. 

Without a doubt, this past weekend was the coldest weekend I have ever experienced. I survived. My wife survived. We are stronger, still a little cold, but stronger. Saturday morning we made a quick "breakfast" stop at Levian Bakery. We went to the hole in the basement one off of Amsterdam. It was my second time there. We parked about 200' from the door. In the 30 seconds it took to walk from the car to the door, I was consumed with a bone chilling cold that nearly paralyzed me. Even with a sweater, a jacket, a scarf, I still fell victim to the frigid negative number temperatures. Having half a cookie is hardly a breakfast item, but it is still worth it. Their chocolate and peanut butter cookie is amazing. Sue order some bread, butter, jelly something or other. It looked great, but being that I am still heavily into a very strict diet, half a cookie was enough for me. 

We stayed at the Riu in Times Square. The Riu is a chic, fashionable, and very affordable hotel on Restaurant Row. This is not review of the hotel, so I am not going to embellish beyond the fact that it was a warm, welcoming stay in the heart of one of the greatest cities in the US. To be honest, I am not even sure if Times Square is the heart of NYC, it just seems to feel that way because of the tourism and congestion that fills the area. Being that it was the coldest day in the history of man, there wasn't nearly as many people out as you'd expect there to be. The cold obviously played a factor in that. After we checked into our room we redressed to get outside in the cold. I had with me a few different types of hand warmers. I thought they would be great to have with me to keep my hands and camera warm. I was wrong.

Frozen  hand warmers

So what do you do when it feels like it is -35 degrees outside? Well, you walk around, grab an iced coffee from Starbucks, its the New Englander thing to do. I had with me, in my front two pockets of my jacket, some re-usable hand warmers. Within about 15 minutes they were frozen blocks of some kind of solid material. 

Rockefeller Center

Times Square is a fun area to visit. There is a lot happening, a lot of people trying to get you to take bus rides, sell you hot dogs, or get you to a comedy show. We met two people in two different areas of Times Square who have connections to where we are from. This world really is quite small. Times Square is an impressive mecca of shopping, the land of massive billboards, (some day I will see my photos up on them buildings, I promise you that), and an area with a lot of talent and energy. One of the things I got my wife for Christmas, to help with this weekend away, were tickets to a Broadway show. When we were in town last December we almost saw Kinky Boots. This weekend we made a point to see it. We made our way over to the theater, scored some tickets, and got back out into the cold. We walked a few blocks, up over past the Christmas tree that was at Rockefeller Center. When we saw it two weeks ago, you could hardly walk. This weekend, there was hardly anyone there. There were however a bunch of people skating. 

iPhone 7+, Portrait Mode, processed using RNI Films app (highly recommend)

As cold as it was, there were still people out enjoying themselves. Some people were dressed inappropriately, given the temperature. Others were dressed as if it was a snowpocolypse. I wasn't as cold as I thought I would be, walking around with an iced coffee in my hands. My logic was this, yes I am from New England and I am used to the cold, but if I drink something cold, it would help me adjust to the temperature a bit more than if I was to suck down something hot. Sure, I was the only one thinking this while everyone at Starbucks was ordering a venti hot frapahlapa chia tea blonde blend. But it seemed to work for me. Call me an idiot or a brave pioneer, regardless I am a fan of cold coffee so I was just keeping within my routine. Plus, there are far more fun things to drink to stay warm, such as the pitcher of mimosas we had at a late lunch at the Bourbon Street Bar & Grille. I had some chicken wings and 3 mimosas. We started to warm up. 

Following a short trip down about 5 blocks to look for something that was closed, not open, "due to the weather," we hiked back up towards are area. We didn't want to venture to far away as we did have an 8pm show to get to and needed to be back to the hotel to get ready prior to the doors opening. After some yelping, an unsuccessful attempt at once place, we ended up at The Rum House. The dim lit, off the hotel entrance bar was the perfect spot to unwind, warm with some small bites, and cheers to a good day and the upcoming show. When I finally did decide on what to drink I had to include a pretzel. Breaking the rules of my lifestyle, the whole no carb thing, I just had to. It looked to good to pass up. We needed something to absorb the drinks we were about to have. After another warm, delicious pretzel and a drink or two more it was time to make our way back to the room to get ready for Kinky Boots. 

Hot Toddy

Sushi Roll

Squid

For someone who has photographed dancers for the last several years, its kind of sad to admit that I have never been to a Broadway play, musical, or anything. I like dramas. I love movies and films that tell a great story. I am not so much a fan of musicals. However, Kinky Boots was fun and did tell a great story. I am not going to try and be a critic and review the play, but it was good, worth seeing! Following the show it was time for dinner. The 2 hours and 20 minutes, with intermission, went by quickly. We had spent a few minutes on Yelp prior to the show so we had a place in mind. It was 2 blocks up from the Kinky Boots theater so it was going to be a fast and easy walk in the brutal cold. An'Nam is a Japanese fusion restaurant. I am a lover of Asian food. On the menu I had spotted some fried squid. It is so so so damn hard to find any kind of Octopus, calamari, or "squid" that isn't breaded. To many "chefs" are so quick to ruin the dish by breading the shit out of it. But, this squid dish was spicy, bathed in a sauce that sobered one up from an intoxicating and paralyzing frost. After some sushi, I know I know, more carbs, shhhh, sushi is healthy so no judgement...and a few other little bites of small dishes, we closed the restaurant out. Sufficiently full and ready to call it a night we jumped back into the arctic and made our way back to the Riu. 

Sunday's plan was to wake up, get the car from valet, and head up to The Met. As an artist, someone who went to school for art, this is very pathetic to admit, I have never been to The Met. I know shame on me. What a disgraceful artist and art student (when I was in school). We didn't spend as much time in the museum as I'd have liked. There were a few works that I didn't get to see that over the weekend, but we will see them in the spring..

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We really like the West Village. After grabbing a quick bite at Chirping Chicken we made our way to the West Village. If you want a quick bite of chicken with a semi southern flare, grab lunch at one of their locations. There three places in the US that I want to reside in. It goes in this order, West Village, would settle on Brooklyn, on the island of Manhattan, L.A. region of Cali, and Charleston. Obviously New York City and LA are incomparable, but both offer something unique. I am going to be writing about LA next week and make a compare and contrast to NYC as I thread my images into the article. But Cali, well thats obvious why I would want to live there for work. Charleston, well, the work I want to do, the work I like to do, doesn't really exist in their market. Charleston would be the ideal place to own a portrait studio for families, weddings, and seniors. I am not opposed to owning a studio of that nature, as I have in the past, but at this juncture in my career, shooting that type of work is not on the horizon. That goes without saying that I might not form a business in that area to do so, as that has been on a my "wishlist" for some time. Charleston is a beautiful area with a lot of cultural diversity. Of the three aforementioned places, the West Village comes in first place above LA. 

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One of the best ways to get used to an area, walk around. Just get lost, just go and explore the area and see what there is. It was cold as hell, but it was still a beautiful walk around the West Village. We did not end up having dinner in the West Village like I had hoped. With the fading sunlight and the fact that the restaurant I had chosen closed at 3:30 and didn't open again till 5:30, we decided it was time to head home.

Below are some scenes from our walks in the cold, the hotel, and The Met. I have my Fuji X-Pro II set to black and white. While Lightroom and Photoshop do not read the color profiles, it is still fun to shoot in black and white. One of these days, soon, I am going to start using Capture 1. Almost all of my shoots are tethered, so it would make sense to use the best software for doing so. Capture 1 allows for Fuji profiles to be imported. So, all of those amazing profiles that mimic Fuji Film can be shot and imported using their software. SOON! Comment, share, follow, and check me out on Instagram @jeffreybphotography

Happy New Year: 2018, a year of unapologetic success

Happy New Year and welcome to 2018. Often times when I am commuting I drown out the radio and think. There are periods where I even shut the radio off so I can focus my efforts on the tasks at hand, the decisions that are weighing on my mind, and contemplate my next moves. Yesterday after helping my wife I took a quick trip to the grocery store. By the time I had then car in park and was about ready to exit and make my way to the store, a thought popped into my head. It is kind of a mantra I am going to rule 2018 by:

"Take what you want, be who you want, live how you want, create what you want, and most importantly do nothing that requires an apology."  

If you were to ask me what the most successful thing about 2017 was, I could compare two goals that were set during 2017 and were accomplished. 

1. Accomplishing a major financial goal (a very positive thing)

2. Traveling to California, booking some shoots, and experiencing the left coast on my own. 

These two goals were a testament to my hard work, my desire to do something, my strength to over come fears, and take charge to see something through to the end. Among these two goals I also had some other major successful achievements:

I moved/upgraded my studio, purchased a dream camera (Hasselblad) and made some great images with it, had a busy and productive year, worked on some very cool shoots, had some fun, connected with some new friends, and increased my health through changing my lifestyle. There were some obstacles to over come, such as the blogged about bicycle accident, working hard to achieve the above GOAL number 1. While I did set out to make number 1 a priority, it took a lot of strength to do so. The amount of effort set forth to achieve that goal seems more like a feat of strength, rather than just simple hard work to accomplish a desired task. The last two weeks of December were a trial of patience and tenacity and were fraught with some dilemmas. The patience that were learned are going to assist with some of the decisions that will be made in 2018. 

Portrait in new studio

Portrait in new studio

For me and for my business, 2017 was a year of growth, testing, and gaining an inspired desire to succeed beyond the limits that lay before. This first week of the new year is going to be dedicated to restructuring my business plans, organizing my work spaces for an even faster work flow, laying out plans to build upon the success of 2017. While there were some unforeseeable hardships that arose in 2017, some business and some personal, with enough planning and preparation, certain things can be avoided. The lessons learned are going to smooth out future bumps in the road. In 364 days we will be toasting another great year with more accomplishments and new lessons learned. 

For this year, for 2018, I wish you the most success you can work for, I wish you the best of health, lastly, I wish for you the most amount of happiness you can sustain. Health, wealth, happiness, in that order, really. You can't build wealth if you aren't healthy and capable, you can't be happy if you aren't wealthy. Before that statement is judged, let me explain. Wealth doesn't necessarily mean you're Mark Zuckerburg fuckyou rich, it means your bills are paid, money is coming in, you're saving, your enjoying life, you know what I mean? You can't be happy unless you are sustaining all of this. Money surely doesn't buy happiness, it buys freedom, freedom allows for happiness to grow and thrive. 

And lastly, do nothing that requires you to make an apology. Do not be mean, to not be spiteful, vindictive, or hateful. The world has enough intolerance and injustice, it doesn't need anymore. If you have an ego, 2018 is a great year to let it go so you can grow to a higher being. Just remember, you literally are no better than anyone else. Even if you think you are the best, You are not. There is someone right behind you and in front of you with similar or different skills than can do the job the same as you or in a different capacity than you. Do the best that you can, be the creator and leader people aspire to be, not fear. Fear doesn't command teamwork it deters success. A fearless leader will guide his team with strength and inspire them to do their best. Be the creator that people want, the leader people want to depend on for guidance, and be the person that people admire. 

Cheers to 2018! Below are some of my favorite photos from 2017. Comment, share, and like if you're into that sort of thing.

Hasselblad 500CM: A Legendary Camera

Inspired

So I bought a Hasselblad 500CM and I am super excited. I actually bought it back in September and have been using it as often as I can. There are a few reasons as to why I bought such a camera, read on! .If you were a commercial photographer working between the late 50's and the early 2000's, you likely shot on a Hasselblad and had an awesome career. Chances are you know more about them than I do or will ever know about them. I am learning as much about them as I can because I have a goal. My goal is to use film on commercial shoots. You heard it here and now and I will say it again. I want to shoot fashion and portraits on film There are quite a few photographers that I have come across that are doing so. There are rumors of film not only staying a live, but photographers that are working hard to preserve the continuation of film. The whole "Film Is Not Dead" movement, it would seem, is doing a great job of keeping it alive.

Ive said it before and will continue to say it. I grew up during the wrong time period. Film was coming to a rapid end by the time I really discovered photography. Rather, photography was taught to me and it discovered me. Some amazing work was produced on film between the 30's and 2000's and being a photographer during those years, you weren't saturated in a market or industry like today where everyone has a camera in their hands. If you were shooting film, it wasn't about the mega pixels, it was about film speed, shutter speed, f-stops, light, composition, and most importantly, the story. It wasn't about how fast you could shoot something and post to Instagram. The process was slower and more methodical. Something I am working on achieving in my work. 

Juliane, Brooklyn, New York City, September 2017, Kodak Portra 160

At the end of the summer I, once again, began thinking about a Hasselblad. I have never used one, owned one, or really had a chance to hold one. I used a 35mm Konica sir when I was in school. My first real camera, which was given to me by my aunt, and later a 35mm Nikon N80. I did shoot a lot of medium format film, but I used a Holga, a cheap plastic camera that I used to make a lot of artistic images. Since my business has been growing so well, I thought about how fun it would be to buy a Hasselblad and use it for the purpose of art. When I began Googling Hasselblad, it became very clear that I had the gear bug. I wanted one. I started looking at the prices and was a bit put off by a few of the online retailers that were reselling them. A few years ago you could get one for a steal. Today, not so much. I was joking on social media that hipsters who never used film were responsible for the costs being driven back up. Truth is, it might be a few factors, such as people like me, photographers who want to use something they never had the means to use, people that used to use them for work and want to play with them now, or people that just want to try using film, whether they are new to it or used to use film.

I couldn't walk away from the idea, even with the prices being north of what I wanted to pay. I began watching youtube videos about them, which only fueled the interest even more. Then I started finding photographers that are shooting fashion and portraits on film. In fact, there are a lot of people who shoot on film, including photographers who shoot film exculsively. Not everyone is a commercial photographer, but some are great photographers who happen to like the idea of film as much as the results of film. It was during my Youtube research that I discovered how easy it is to process color film at home. Really easy as I have discovered. My formal education in film photography. I spent a lot of hours in the darkroom, something I miss. 

Why Film

Why not? Right? But no, for real. Film is film and film has its place in the world still. Over the last 10 years I have shot a bunch of film. I went through a period shooting Polaroid, the professional stuff that was discontinued like a year or so ago. When I was shooting it, it was stupid cheap. I was seeing packs on Amazon for less than $8.00. You could get bulk quantity, which brought the price down to about $5.75, the lowest I saw. Then, with no warning Fuji dropped a bomb and the prices went through the roof. Since then Ive used one pack and thats it.

Film has a look and feel, sometimes a grain at the higher ISO that has a texture that is to die for. Tri X 400, such a good film. I have been shooting a lot of Kodak Portra 160. It is a great film with nice tones. I will be experimenting with some Fuji film shortly as well as Kodak Portra 400. But in all seriousness, film produces something that digital does not, a tangible image that can be take right from the camera to the developing tanks to the film scanner and the pages of a magazine with almost no post processing with minimal to zero retouching, if that is your thing. Due to a computer upgrade this past January, I had to replace my film scanner when I bought this Hasselblad. I skimped and bought the mid range Epson 600. Its a good scanner, but it is no drum scanner. So again, the question, "why film?" To simply put it, each roll has 12 frames on it. That means you have 12 images to gain from 1 roll. In the age of digital, you can shoot 1,200 images in a heart beat and find the image you need. With film, you can not shoot on auto and make 1,200 images and just pick what speaks to you, you have to make the image through a strong, well lit composition in camera, and ensure that you have directed the image to be exactly what you want to see. If you are working on set and the art director wants to see something with motion, you'll need to ensure that you're on point with capturing motion quickly and effectively. It make take all 12 frames just to get that one image, but that is part of the process.

What will have been reinforced several times throughout this post is that I bought this camera to slow things down. I am in the process of developing my portfolio. I am shooting a Canon 5dS with a Sigma 85mm, using natural light as well as strobes to make the work I want to be shooting full time. I am integrating the Hasselblad and possibly other film cameras to be added, as I have a nice Nikon F4, another legend, and perhaps I will use a Helga on set...But I am using the process of shooting film and a Hasselblad to refine my abilities to direct models as well as the people I am shooting portraits of. I have been reading more and more articles about film used in both fashion and portraiture. 1 name comes to mind, a recognizable name, Platon. This dude is a legend in of himself, shooting some of thee most incredible people in the world and doing so on film. But a simple google search of photographers using film, or film and fashion, will bring up some impressive results. 

See, the thing is, with the internet and the times we live in now, we can learn so much more, that much quicker. This alone is helping people to learn about film and bring about a strong use of film in various industries, such as fashion. For every portrait shoot I do, I will shoot a roll of film. For every model test that I produce, I will also be shooting film. This is a goal that I am passionate about. Will film make me a better photographer, no, it will make me a better director, which will make me a better photographer. If I go shoot a dramatic landscape with my Hasselblad, I will get a pretty picture. If I shooting film and directing a model to pose and emote everything I want to see and do so without hammering the shutter button, I will be gaining more experience with communicating and directing, which is something I am working hard at.

First Impressions

When I sat down I was excited. I was handed a Hasselblad 500CM by the older guy who sat across from the Starbucks table at Barns and Noble. I eagerly opened the view finder and moved the camera around and looked for something to focus on. I moved my hand slowly until the image came into focus. I was happy. I was excited. I was sold. I found the craigslist ad posted in a city 90 miles away. The guy said he posted it there because he thought that market would sell faster than ours. Funny I said, because "here we are and you're selling it in town." 

In terms of a camera, a medium format system is far more complex than a 35mm camera set up. There are more components to the system. A 35mm camera has a body and a lens. You open the back and load your film. Some have lenses with auto focus where as there are others that are manual focus. A medium format camera system such as a Hasselblad have a body that takes a film back as well as a leaf lens which has the f-stops and shutter speeds in it, a lens that differs drastically from a 35mm sir lens, and the viewfinder, which can be changed out. The shutter is located in the lens, not the body such as a 35mm, which equates to that drastic difference. How the Hasselblad functions is vastly different as well. It takes a considerable amount of time to learn how to use the system, such as focusing and building the composition. If all you know is digital cameras and iPhones, expect a big learning curve if you plan to purchase a medium format camera. But for me, it wasn't about the glamour of using film, no, for me it is about how the camera functions, the process of focusing and composing, the process of setting an f-stop to work with a shutter speed on a leaf style lens. For me, it is a process of slowing down and thinking more. I want to be able to direct the shots, not let the shots be directed.

Lake Dunmore, Salisbury Vermont, Kodak Portra 160

Practice

Shoot. Process. Repeat. Film is funky and temperamental at times. It has a job, be exposed, record the image with the use of light, and be rendered in permanence through the use of a chemical process. It takes a considerable amount of mechanical skills to load film onto a reel in the dark. If you have never done so, it will take you a bit of time to be 100% fluent. When I was in school I might have ripped a roll of film or two trying to get it on a reel. Practice, practice, practice, I will keep saying it until you beyond confident and can get it done in seconds, not minutes.

Since I am shooting 120 film, the reel is wider to accommodate the width of the film. It takes a bit more effort to roll the film on to the reel smoothly. It does not go so easily when using a plastic reel. I have found that the natural curl the film has from sitting on the spool has caused the film to come to an abrupt halt when trying to load it. There are two little ball bearings on the left and right side of the guide entrance which are responsible for this. Super annoying. It took loading an unexposed roll of film in the light to figure that issue out. I am glad I did so, as now loading these plastic reels should go smoother and not take 10 minutes per roll. (Insert eye roll). The most frustrating part of this process now, is that I remember back to when I used to roll 120 film onto reels after shooting with the Holga cameras. Never did I have so much issue doing so. I feel part of the problem now is that I am putting to much pressure on myself to do so.

Robyn, Kodak Portra 160

Since I have been shooting so much color film, I have also run into the super technical dilemma of keeping the chemistry at the 102 temperature. What I have to do is run the chemistry under hot water, usually between 120-140 degrees for nearly 10 minutes before the chemistry gets to 102. By the time the developer, first step at only a whopping 3:30 (mins/secs), is hitting the film, the water temperature has dropped, which can cause the Blix, second step, to start to cool down. The Youtube video that I watched that showed how easy it was to process the film featured two guys filming in a kitchen and processing the film in basically a sink. They made keeping the temperature consistent, look easy. It is not. I am working to solve that issue. I am not sure if it is the sink itself or the hot water heater in the house... Maybe in the future I will post about it, but for now, I must deal.

Juliane, Brooklyn, New York City, September 2017, Kodak Portra 160

Lessons Learned

I have shot and processed about a dozen rolls of film. I have freaked up loading two rolls and accidentally exposed a roll of film while loading it on the reel. I can only imagine how many other people can relate. Back in the day commercial photographers would have assistants loading their cameras. The job was to get the film in the back and have other pre-loaded backs ready to swap on the the bodies when the 12th images was exposed on the roll. These assistants were the forefathers of today's digital techs and assistants. 

There is a little piece of metal that slips into the film back, the dark slide. I have forgotten to put that back in while unrolling the film from the back. I was told, thank you Youtube photographers, NEVER to take the back off while the slide is out. That is a mistake I have not made and will not make. I have seen a few frames that have this light leak that comes from the same direction. All signs point to the dark slide causing light to leak when I insert it back into the film back. If I am going to shoot the entire roll of film in one shoot, I will keep the slide out. If I need to stop shooting and put the camera away, I am forced to replace the slide in its place. 

Shoot More, Fail more, learn more, shoot more, Succeed

To alleviate the headaches of improper film loading in the camera, the processing reel, and to ensure things run smoothly and I have a 110% grasp on this new system, I am going to get some black and white chemistry and black and white film and shoot a ton. It is easier to process black and white, as you don't need to have the chemistry at a consistent 102 degrees. Plus I will reserve working in color on film for the commercial work that I want to do with the camera. It is incredibly important that I make using this camera a success. With the dollar amount already invested into the camera and the time thus far, I will not stop until I have taken this to the level I want to.  

We are expected to fail. Failure is part of the creative process. When I think back about my business, the images I have made, the projects I have started and either never completed or walked away from, I don't see a lot of failure. I do however see a lot of attempts, a lot of learning, and a lot of taking what I have learned and apply to current and future projects.  I try not to think about failures and what hasn't worked, because there is so much that I want to work, that I do not want to be brought down by any one thing. With this camera system, I want the process to be successful, not for the financial gain, but because, like I mentioned above, one of the main reasons for this camera is to slow things down and have a better directorial approach to my work. By my measures, I would say I am 80% successful.  

Juliane, Brooklyn, New York City, September 2017, Kodak Portra 160

Model Test: Jessa V

Thank you for following these posts. I have been so excited to share these photo from my test shoot with Jessa. If you have any questions about this shoot, reach out to me. Follow me on Instagram, twitter, or find me on Facebook. 

Jessa was excited to work together. It was great to connect with her. I wish her the most success. I know we will work together in the future and until then, I hope she continues to slay it!

When I think back to this shoot, the light is what really made for such great images. Sure I was using a great camera, sure I had a great model to work with, but at the end of the day, it was the light that really paved the way for us. You can't write a book and tell a story with out words. In the case of this shoot, the light and Jessa are the story. I feel like I told a pretty great story. 

Model Test: Jessa Part IV

Look at the glow in these images. Impressive. The volume of light was intense and beautiful. The first 3 of the following images are lit from the reflected, glowing, late afternoon light that was bouncing off the airstream. It was directly behind me and lit her beautifully.

The 4th images is amongst my favorite because of the glow and the pose, her gaze, and the closeness to the camera. That image and the following that are posted and the following final post, those are all lit with light reflecting off the airstream, bouncing off the corrugated metal directly across from the airstream, and coming right into the space we are in. Thee entire area was wrapped in light and I adored every moment of it.