Erica: revisited

Warning:, originally uploaded by RLHyde.

I took so many great shots of Erica on my trip out to Chicago, it was really hard to narrow it down. Since I couldn't keep it to just 2 or 3, I had to split it all up into 2 posts. Enjoy.

Office Attire, originally uploaded by RLHyde.

Erica

Comics are Hot, originally uploaded by RLHyde.

So these are some pictures that I took of my friend Erica almost a month ago. I've been dying to get these up here, but I just haven't had time until now.

I'll be adding more of her on Friday or on Saturday. Remember, for full size shots, click on the photos and view them in Flickr.

Smile, originally uploaded by RLHyde.

Erica and Emma, originally uploaded by RLHyde.

Dear Idiot

Dear Idiot, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Kathleen's sister sent her a fancy Llama finger puppet during her recent trip to Peru. This fantastic note came with it. They have a special relationship.

Llama Puppet, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Karaoke

David and Cammila: Karaoke, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Saturday we celebrated Cammila's birth by singing karaoke all night long. I kicked some ass, by the way, but I also took some photos. Above are Cammila and David, my previously un-pictured roommate, and below is Charlie Slick, the people's synthesist, singing someone else's tunes for once.

Charlie Slick: Karaoke, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

First Time for Everything

Parked Trailers, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

This is Judy, and this was her first time trying to be a model. Everybody has had pictures taken of them, but being expected to do something interesting and/or attractive WHILE someone is taking a picture of you can be a little bit . . . intense. And she was a bit tense and nervous at first, but as the night went on, she loosened up more and more. Cammila also came along for the ride to give her some pointers and bolster her confidence, which was great because I was very focused on the photography (manual focus lenses at night when you can hardly see your model are a pain in the ass; I'll be buying an autofocus 50mm lens soon, even though it's going to cost me just under 4 times what I paid for my manual focus one!).

Overall, a successful night was had by all.

Sit like an . . ., originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

The Prom Nightmare

The Prom Nightmare, pt.1, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

The prom was going so well, until the drive home. Without any warning, Cammila's date pulled off into a parking lot and pushed her out of the car. She was shocked and infuriated. What sort of joke was this? And where in god's name was she, anyway?

The Prom Nightmare, pt.2, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

It didn't take long for her to notice that something was very wrong with her surroundings. There were noises like people whispering coming from the shadows, but she couldn't make out the words. There were scraping and clanking noises. She was too afraid to call for help, too terrified to move.

The Prom Nightmare, pt.3, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

The lights went off. All that could be heard, if indeed there were anyone to hear, were a flurry of raking and slicing noises, and then nothing.

Dan

Dan, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Dan is one of the coolest people ever made. He used to be the guitarist in Out of the Water, an old band that I was in that was remarkably influential in my life. That was just the start, though. In recent years he's been in the Peace Corps in Bolivia and has worked as some sort of civil engineer (the details escape me at the moment) in Chile. Now he's back in town for a little bit, but soon he'll end up at Princeton, taking classes for the first time since he graduated from UofM. He's pretty hardcore. If anyone deserves super-dramatic, totally badass lighting, it's him!

Dan: now that you're back in the states, I expect more frequent visits. Nay, I demand it.

Through Her Fingers

Through Her Fingers (color shift), originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Kathleen and I took a walk through the Arb yesterday evening to try out a style of photography that I haven't really experimented with before. The idea is to create pastel, blown-out portraits, but still have them sharp and clear enough to work as portraits. So far I like the results. I'm sure I'll be using this more in the future.

Also, this is a slightly photoshopped version of the photo. I used a trick to add sort of a pink hue to the shot. If you click on Read More, you can view the original as well!

Through Her Fingers, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

A Tip of the Hat

To view today's picture, click on "Read More". It is behind a cut because some may deem this not safe for work.

A Tip of the Hat, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

This is another shot from the boudoir set I did with Amanda a couple of weeks ago. This is going to be the last of them I post up. I just met with her on Sunday to go over the proofs, and she has selected a dozen of them that she's going to turn into 16x24 prints (they're going to be great at that resolution), and she was exceedingly happy with everything. This entire experience has been fantastic, and I look forward to doing more paid work on the side in the future.

How could would it be to be a teacher with a Summer photography gig?

A Series of Lines that Intersect

A Series of Lines that Intersect, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Clearly I've struck upon a theme when it comes to self portraits. I haven't exhausted the possibilities with it yet, so look forward to some more surrealist/creepy stuff with me as the subject matter in the future.

David, my roommate, helped me decide which pics should go up tonight. He liked the first one here because of how my fingers are splayed out. He thinks it makes it difficult to tell which way is up, and I like that. Here it is large and on black

This second one, he says, appears as though I'm coming through a portal from another dimension. And I am.

From Another Dimension, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Swinging By

Swinging By, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

I realized quite late in the day that I needed to post up a photo for today, and the shots from the boudoir set I did on Wednesday (my first paying gig!) aren't ready yet, nor have I screened them with the client. So, as it turned out, Kathleen and I headed out to a nearby playground that we like to take walks through (and play on), but we had only about 20 minutes to get a shot off before a thunderstorm blew in. The thunder storm failed to really come our way, but it was threatening, and I didn't feel like having my equipment out, or be surrounded by a metal play structure, while there was lightning in the sky. Call me nervous.

Dish of Beauty

Dish of Beauty, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

I've been big into building my own fancy light augmentation tools lately. I could be spending many hundreds of dollars on professional tools, or I could just put together stuff for free or nearly free. Such is the case with this photo.

There are these things called "beauty dishes", which, as you might imagine, are meant to make girls look radiant and beautiful, or rather more so than usual. They're mostly out of my price range, and most of them are built for studio lights anyway, not little flashes like mine. So, I built one out of a turkey pan. Presto, awesome light. Took about 5 minutes to make.

Of course it helps to have people like Cammila on hand to let you experiment with all your new photo equipment, but hey, at least the hardware is easy to come by.

Walls of Depot Town

Blue Wall, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

I love Ypsilanti, and it seems that I love it more and more every time I spend some time around the Depot Town area. Kathleen and I spent much of the day there on Saturday (lunch at Sidetrack, a trip to Shadow Art Fair at the Corner, and some reading at the Ugly Mug), and while we were around Depot Town I noticed how beautiful these old buildings really are. I just had to get a few shots of her posing in front of them.

I think I'll definitely be using these areas as backdrops for photo shoots in the future, so keep your eyes pealed.

Red Wall, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Christa and Ryan are Married!

Reflection, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

My buddy Christa got married last Friday to Ryan (not me, different Ryan, don't worry :P). These two have been together for years, and I've seen them go through fantastic times and rougher times (mostly from Christa's perspective, as I've only hung out with Ryan a hand full of times), and I know that this marriage will work out. I'm exceedingly happy for both of them :)

The second shot here was my favorite of the night, actually. Kesha, a bridesmaid and one of Christa's closest friends, caught the bouquet, much to her chagrin. I love the expressions both of these women are giving, and I love that you can get the "Yeah, this is real great, thanks" sarcastic tone from Kesha, even though she's definitely out of focus.

Oh No She Didn't, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Railing

Recognize, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

This is my favorite t-shirt. In case you can't quite make it out, it says, "Shakespeare Hates Your Emo Poems." I'm an English teacher, and yes, I wear this to school on a semi-regular basis. Take a closer look.

This shoot was very much a learning experience. I did the same shoot on Wednesday night (different outfit), but I wasn't happy with the results. The flash on the right side of the frame was illuminating the grass more than anything else, the flash on the left wasn't bright enough . . . the shots were interesting, but not what I wanted. So I went back out on Thursday night and gave it another shot.

Everything was triggered solely by me as well. I used my remote camera trigger on a 2 second delay, so I hit the button, pocketed the trigger, and slid down the rail, hoping to hit my mark.

It wasn't always graceful. Enjoy. (Setup shot after the break, so click "Read More")

Equilibrium, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Setup: 7/10/09, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

God Gave Rock 'n Roll to You

Tribute, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

Remember Cammila? Of course you do. Well, we're at it again, doing shots for her fashion blog, and this time she wanted to pay homage to her car and, thusly, to the bands she loves the most. It's hard to tell in these two shots due to the paleness of the shirt, but it does say "Queen", which is easily her favorite band. View it large and on black to get a better view.

During this shoot, the wind blew over both of my umbrella stands a couple of times, and my silver reflective umbrella is ruined. I've already ordered replacements for both (shoot-thru is now a little wonky as well). I need to find a better way to anchor my stands.

On a completely different note, I noticed that the link to my Picasa web album was broken. I understand that some people find Picasa's web albums easier to navigate, so I've fixed the link (hover over the "Photo Streams" tab above and click on Picasa). There's a lot of stuff in "web albums" in there, but it's in reverse chronological order.

Distinctive, originally uploaded by RLHyde [breatheindigital].

"I see a little silhouette of a man"

"I see a little silhouette of a man", originally uploaded by Breathe in Digital.

One of my favorite photographers, Dustin Diaz, is fantastic for several reasons. First off, he's an incredible artist. Secondly, and almost more importantly, he posts setup shots of most of his stuff, so folks like me who are learning how to manipulate their gear can see how he works. It's really great.

This is an homage of sorts to one of his recent photos. I hope you enjoy it. Oh, and my setup shot is after the break, so click "Read More" to see how it's done.

man of (blue) steel, originally uploaded by Breathe in Digital.

setup (7/3/09), originally uploaded by Breathe in Digital.

The Promise of a Whole New World

The Beacon, originally uploaded by Breathe in Digital.

Kathleen is always happy to accommodate me when I've got a new idea for a shot that I need to play out right away. It's great to have people in your life who are eager to fulfill your creative whims.

These shots are not anything truly unique. I've seen them done many times . . . light in a fridge, light in a dryer, probably even other light in a bag shots. But I wanted to try my hand on it. If I were to do it again (and I"m sure I'll play on the theme some time in the future) I would do something different with the light that's not in the bag, but I like these shots regardless.

A Different Temptation, originally uploaded by Breathe in Digital.

One more after the break, (click on Read More).

A New World Awaits You!, originally uploaded by Breathe in Digital.

Dubious

Dubious, originally uploaded by Breathe in Digital.

This is my first attempt at a serious self portrait. Made some lighting mistakes, so this is the only photo of the night that I think really works. Looks pretty good on black.

The phenomenal Cammila helped me out with posing and with hitting the remote shutter trigger for me, and without her I don't think I would have gotten a good one for the night. Thanks!

If you haven't noticed, for the last two weeks I've had shots up on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I'm going to try hard to keep to this routine throughout the summer (don't know about when the semester starts), so put it in your calendars boys and girls, and keep checking back!

The Showdown

The Gamesman, originally uploaded by Breathe in Digital.

These are two more shots from the family get-together on Saturday. Noah, my oldest nephew, is above, and Hannah, my second oldest niece, is below. They were locked in battle using the time honored tradition of checkers as their means for dominance.

The Trap, originally uploaded by Breathe in Digital.