38 At The Garden Camera Test
THIS IS JUST A TEST
Well, actually, it's not. I say that so there is no expectation, a free-of-judgment area, an extra credit on the quiz.
When someone gets photographed by, the guesswork is already taken care of. I spent a few hours planning the lighting and composition, So the seat was already warmed up to get their pictures. 70% of the time, the test shot ends up being THE shot. In preparation for open studio, I spent a couple of days in the studio testing and making sure things looked halfway decent. Sometimes when I prep, the image looks different from what I initially thought, so it takes a few tries to get it right. After a few hours of finetuning, I had my good friend Aaron sit in. Within five minutes of the test, we got these two images which I love! Sometimes the test is the real test, not the shoot day.
Slate 7
Came across this slate a few weeks back. I thought the idea of it was incredible. A slate that can be programmed to anything you need on the fly. I could see myself using this for multi-camera productions or shoots with multiple sets.
From the site.
“ TRIBE7 CONTINUES TO INNOVATE WITH A NEW ADDITION TO THE BLACKWING7 FAMILY – SLATE. THE SLATE CONCEPT IS AN INDUSTRY FIRST – A UNIQUELY RE-USEABLE, DIGITALLY RECONFIGURABLE CLAPPERBOARD THAT REQUIRES NO CHARGING OR EXTERNAL POWER TO OPERATE.
SLATE HONOURS THE TRADITIONAL PROCESS OF “SLATING A TAKE” WITH STICKS THAT CLAP AND A BOARD TO WRITE ON, BUT ENHANCES EASE OF USE, FLEXIBILITY AND ERGONOMICS THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF E-PAPER DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY AS A CONTEMPORARY ALTERNATIVE TO THE BOARD.”
Two Equals One BTS
I had the pleasure of working on videos for Jimmy & Irene over at Two Equals one. Photos by Dorian Gray
2021 McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration® Gospel Tour
I had the wonderful pleasure of being the Director of Photography one the Howard University segment of the 2021 McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration® Gospel Tour. Our segment was directed by Sir The Baptists and produced by his team at Tymple. I thought this would be a good shoot to test out some Sigma Cine glass so we shot all sigma with the exception of C camera ( 😅 I left the PL mount at home ). We shot on the RED Monstro Gemini & Komodo.
PENTAX 645Z
This camera is a weird camera and though it takes the boxes it's a very clunky camera that's hard to use. I think that's why most photographers pass this camera over. With the lack of auto focus points, sync speed and screen quality it makes for a hard sell. It’s strength lies in the sensor ( which is currently in the top 3 of all digital cameras). The images when exposed correctly are stunning. I am still figuring out exposure but I am starting yo get the hang of it. 20 shoots with this thing and I will feel like a Canon.
After taking it with me to my wedding I am really growing to like the images coming out of this camera. There images were all shot in Palm Springs, CA
MGM Bright Spot Commercial BTS
DIrected a Spot for MGM NATIONAL HARBOR. ( Unit stills Tremont Media )
Neighborhood Nature
I come from a sports background. What does that mean? It means that training has been ingrained in my mind and in order to succeed you must practice. I would spend hours at the court either working on a move or working on my jumpshot or even my handle. When I found was that the more I got in the gym the easier it was for me play. Moving into visual storyTelling created a need for the same framework. So I had to find things that I could do to train my eye and to sharpen my sword. What I came up with was just going out and shooting. I treated my camera like it was a basketball. I will go around my neighborhood and shoot plants. I would shoot plants as though they were people I would shoot plans as though I was filming a commercial but more importantly I was shooting plants to get reps. I find myself in the same position looking to build back that habit of exercising my eye. So I went out in my neighborhood and I filmed some trees, and it felt good. Really good! One thing I realized is that you have to continue to work and maintain what you have. So I find myself shooting things that I would never post or practicing things when no one's looking. I never lose sight of the blessing that I have and I'm grateful to be in this position I am in today. So anyone who finds themselves on this page and has a passion to do something make sure you get your reps no matter what level you're at. And last thing I want to thank my friend Brittany. I stop blogging for a while and it didn't really seem important but she reminded me that she looks at it and that other people look at it as well. So for that thank you Brittany and if you're reading this 😃.
WEBBY NOMINATION!
Mental health is something that is near and dear to my heart. Having been in therapy since 2014, I see the benefits of talking to a therapist and getting to know myself. I've seen so much change over the years through the realization of my shortcomings but also the discovery of my strengths. I am so grateful that my friend Trivell Miller brought me on this project. If you get a chance or have the time please watch it and let me know what you think. And if you or somebody you know find yourself thinking about going to therapy, I recommend taking the dive. You will not forget it. This project by Thrive Global x Creative Theory sponsored by Salesforce
If you would like to vote here is the Link
RED MONSTRO
We recently picked up a RED Monstro 8k fresh off a Major film set. Whenever I get a new camera in a spend the first few weeks testing frame rates, battery life, operating weight and image quality. I used the 35mm SLR Magic APO MicroPrime . Here are my finding thus far:
The 8k image is flat out amazing
The lenses must be full frame to use the full sensor
It’s not much heavier than the other DSMC2 cameras
It Drains the battery faster ( not by much) than the other RED cameras we have
Quasar 4FT Crossfade
Testing out some Quasar Science Crossfades. I love everything about them except for the third party mounts.
Fire Drill Friday - The last shoot of 2019
I had the pleasure of . accompanying Ai-Jen Poo of NDWA to capture Jane Fonda’s “Fire Drill Friday”a push for climate change. We started off at the church, went over the days itinerary and hit the road running. There was a group of powerful women, security protecting them and about 40 people walking in front to grab a photograph of them. I was able to capture this image after the 3rd time we shopped for a group picture after the rally and before . the civil disobedience . What I love about being a photographer is the knowledge gained from the projects I work on, It brings greater purpose to my work.
Jovanna
Testing out some creative filters with Jovanna.
#YOUTUBEBLACK Creator Summit 2019
I had the amazing opportunity to shoot my second YouTube black creator summit. The most interesting part of this job is the amount of time I get with each creator and the dope images to come out of it. Last year when we shot the creative's we had a whole afternoon planned for just portraits. I was able to use one large soft box To give a very soft and even light across each creator. This time around was a little bit different, we did not have an 8 foot soft box available to us and we change the background depending on what the creators wanted. A beauty dish is a very soft yet hard light, so when you are adjusting you have to be very specific. In my case , we didnt Have much space to shoot the photographs so the subject had to be close to the background. This means that the main light will be casting a shadow on the background and I had to choose how I wanted that to look.
Lighting
2 x Profoto B1
1 x Beauty Dish
1 x Umbrella
YOUTUBE BLACK ‘18
LIGHTING WORKSHOP | NATIONAL UNION BUILDING , WASHINGTON D.C.
I led a workshop on photo and video lighting alongside the Kingdom Creatives Conference. I love talking about why I light and how to craft images. I find that the separator is not being able to create a good image but to create a good image 10,000 times under different circumstances. I always stress studying and practice and workshops are a good way to do so. I talked about 3 main ideas during the workshop: Soft light vs.hard light , what motivated light and shaping tools.
Hard light Vs. Soft Light
A hard light source is a source with a narrow beam angle, think of this as a flashlight or a strobe with a reflector. A soft light source has a wider beam, think cloudy day. Though I almost always create soft light I prefer to used hard light…Why? Hard light can be modified to to be soft but softlight cannot be hard…When in doubt use hard light.
2. Motivated lighting
when lighting a subject always ask yourself these questions:
What story do I want to tell?
Why am I using these lights?
do they add or subtract from the vision?
I tend to have a preference of lighting I want to used but It doesn’t always make sense, these questions keep me on my toes.
3. Shaping Tools
Softbox
Beauty Dish
Parabolic Umbrella
Your homework is to look these up and see the difference…GO! 😊
Special shoutout to my good friend Gabby for being our amazing model 😊
SUBSCRIBE IF YOU WANT TO SIGN UP FOR THE NEXT WORKSHOP
IMAGES FROM THE CLASS
PHOTOGRAPHY LAB AT APPLE CARNEGIE LIBRARY
(Photograph of Ni’MA Ford Taken in LA )
I had opportunity to be apart the Apple Carnegie library’s #Storymakerfestival commercial. I've never been in front the camera before talking about my work or what it means to be in DC creative. I remember walking into the building super excited and having tons of energy….The only issue was my mouth and my mind did not operate on the same frequency lol. The lights turned on and my throat went dry. I found myself stuttering over my words and drawing blanks. I left feeling unprepared but I ended up coming back again for second day to get some pick up shots and there was some improvement. Thank God for second chances. Moments like that remind me of how serious I can be at times. “ Nah ma Sarwu” which translates to “ It will be ok Sarwu ( pronounced SAA-WOO, my african name).
TRAVELING PHOTOGRAPHER DUBAI: THE VILLA
So…here is the thing. Dubai IS HOT! I mean like spicy African pepper hot, like New York J train in the summer hot. I just remember sitting down outside melting while admiring the view…Weird i know lol. I went to dubai to shoot the new PINK LABEL collection. That part was fun, well…90%. You see, I was trying to be “Mr.Photographer with hair on his chest” climbing on things to get the shot. Well the shot looks dope. Getting the shot meant slipping off a table, hurting my groin, breaking my camera, and living to tell the story lol.
P.S. yes she ACTUALLY fell. BTS below
