Published Archives

This is a portrait I took for a story in The Flare, the student newspaper of Kilgore College. The story is about two students who bought a van for about $850 and trekked to Alaska and back this past summer. Aaron and Maverick very off-the-beaten-path types, so it was easy to get them to ham it up for the camera, and it paired well with some nice light to make one of my favorite editorial portraits, despite the challenging time and light restrictions I faced.

I went from having a weekend to plan for this photo to having barely a couple of hours because one of the subjects had to be at work. I had to think fast and keep it it basic. The van was clearly going to be in the picture, as its role in the story is almost as big as the subjects’. However, it was out of gas and we were unable to properly repark it for better lighting. No bother, though, as we teamed up and pushed it essentially into a ditch-type area across the road from their house.

Yes, I had a van pushed into a ditch so I could get better lighting. It was still there last I heard, though I’m sure it’s been moved by now …

I tried a few token shots inside the van and in front of it to see if I could get anything interesting, but it all seemed rather bland and cliché. So Aaron and Maverick happily climbed on top to try some pictures up there (which I had hoped would happen at some point).

The sunlight and sky in East Texas have been spectacular in recent months, but even so, the early afternoon sun was an overwhelming backlight. I fixed this by having my friend and Flare editor, Meagan Brown, hold a flash pointed at Aaron and Maverick. I used this to balance the light, and I also took advantage of the ability to pop a strong light on them to crank my aperture up around the f/18 range, creating the starburst pattern in the sun. From there, it was just a matter of letting the subjects be themselves. The photo was intentionally slightly underexposed due to the challenging lighting conditions, but this was easily fixed in Lightroom 3 with very little loss in quality.

With a little on-the-fly creativity and by letting my subjects be themselves, I overcame a challenging situation to produce a dramatic and revealing portrait for a publication in less than an hour.

This is my cover for Charm Magazine‘s September/October 2010 edition, available all over East Texas beginning Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010. I’m pretty sure it’s my first magazine cover, which is awesome.

The website will probably update at some point during the day, and you might see some photos there. Also, I’ll share more of my work from this very fun shoot very soon, along with sharing my insights from the evening of work.

Now, I need to pass out from exhaustion, but I just wanted to share this cool news.

While attending classes at Kilgore College, I’ve had the fortune of working for the various award-winning publications based there. Chiefly among them, The Flare and The Flare Magazine.

The above photo is of retired KC instructor Hubert Pollick, and his wife Elsie, in their home, among Hubert’s various diplomas (including his from KC) and family photos. I shot it for a profile that was included in The Flare’s “Voices From The Past” series. It was lit by a Calumet Travelite 750 bounced off an umbrella at camera right, with a fill on left from a VAL (voice assisted lightstand — fellow staffer Taylor Cammack), holding a bare Nikon SB80-DX, bounced off the ceiling and the white card. I chose the spot because it beat the heck out of sitting at a table, and was ready-made with numerous relevant memories. I was actually squeezed in a small doorway for their bathroom, as this was shot in a hallway.

See more portrait work I did in the Spring 2010 semester after the jump! (more…)

Michael Jackson tribute. SEE IT LARGE!

The Kilgore College Rangerettes hold Revels annually as a campus-wide talent and variety show. This year’s theme was “Backstage Pass,” and featured a variety of dance numbers and skits based on “the world of dance.” I helped document the annual event as a photographer for The Flare, the newspaper of Kilgore College.

It’s fascinating to see these women (“ladies,” if you want to stick to their tradition) practice endlessly to perfect their dances and routines. If only everyone had the discipline and dedication displayed in this organization …

Click on the jump to read about the challenges of photographing dancers, and for a link to the set! (more…)

You could say I’ve been busy … and I have. I’m working my way through edits though, and I will surely have tons to share over the next several days. And after I’m done with that, I will have even more to share from shows and other shoots. Until then, stay posted for more photos, updates and news! Thanks!

Oh yeah, the wedding was GREAT. Possibly one of the best things I’ve ever been to, especially as far as being so happy for the couples, families and so on. Congratulations to you all! Thanks for the opportunity to document it.

Also seen at Gomez Hyatt: http://gomezhyatt.com/2010-01-27-eisley-rocks-double-dupree-wedding/