White Christmas (almost)

Here in the midlands of South Carolina, we have always dreamed of the elusive White Christmas and in 2010 we got our wish. Well almost. The snow came a day late, but it was just as sweet. Indeed, this was the first time ever for significant Christmas snow in Columbia since records were first kept in 1887.

The great part about snow in this part of the world is that it rarely lasts on the ground more than a day or two.

The photo above is a composite of three images, blended together using an HDR program called Photomatix. The process brings out the colors in the shadow areas while allowing details to come through in the high lights.

Merry Christmas,
-- Steve

Merry Christmas

This is our miniature schnauzer Tucker, aka the LBD (Little Black Dog). I set up the studio last night for a portrait session, and before taking everything down we set Tucker in front of the lights and posed him in his Santa outfit. He didn't much care for this arrangement so I had to work quickly. Anyway the results are quite amusing I think.

Lighting setup: Alien Bees 800 w/ Large octo-box left, SB800 w/ Lightdome sx softbox above, Photoflex multi disk reflector right, sb800 w/ Honl neutral density filter left rear. Camera: D200, Lens: 50mm f/1.4. ISO:200.

Thanks to all of you who have supported us over the years. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Carolina Gas Transmission pt. 2

I have been continuing my project for Carolina Gas Transmission, finishing up the last of the people photos. This one was out on some right of way north of downtown Columbia. The weather was iffy, it had rained all night and more was on the way. We caught a break in the weather just after sun rise and got the shot.

The setup is pretty much the same as what I have used for the other portraits. I used the Photoflex Lightdome XS softbox with an SB-800 for key camera left. A second sb-800 camera right and behind for rim light. These portraits are going to matted and framed for the Field Ops Center, so I want a consistent look to the lighting.



This one was shot with the same light setup. The location was a measurement station near our corporate heaquarters. It was mid day, but we were working in shade so I was able to use the lights to balance the ambient.

Thanks for looking.

--Steve

Carolina Gas Transmission

Most of you who know me know that photography is not my full time job. I work days as a systems administrator for Carolina Gas Transmission, a natural gas pipeline company and subsidiary of SCANA. Occasionally they ask me to shoot photos around the company for various uses. Today I traveled around the area with a couple of co-workers shooting some company facilities and rights of way. I was also commissioned to shoot environmental portraits of two of our employees.

The one above was one of my favorites. We found a spot of shade outside at one of our compressor stations and set up a couple of SB-800s on light stands. The key light was camera left with a Photoflex Lightdome XS softbox. The second was camera right and slightly behind with just a snoot. A reflector disk was held low camera right by one of my travel companions. Post processing in Lightroom and CS4.



This one was shot inside one of the compressor buildings. Same lighting set up but this one has a darker look and feel to it.

Oh and yes, it was hot out there today :P

Thanks for looking.

--Steve

All in a days work

Summer is always a slow season for portrait shooting, at least for me anyway. Last night the drought was ended as I shot three different subjects over the course of about three hours at the home studio. Each one was uniquely different and called for its own lighting and post production style.



To start off I had a portrait of a young girl to commemorate her first Holy Communion. For this I used my Alien Bees B800 with the large octo-box camera left as the main paired with a 43” white reflector disk for fill. This is a really good set up for a traditional portrait, nice soft light from the octo-box, soft fill from the reflector. I added a rim light, an SB-800 with a snoot, camera right just behind the subject and another SB-800 on the background. Both SB-800s were dialed down to about 1/32 power. Very minimal post processing, just a little WB adjustment and a little sharpening in Lightroom. The final prints will get a little more attention.



Next up, a sports portrait for a high school senior lacrosse player. This called for a more dramatic lighting set-up. For this I removed the octo-box from the AB-800 and attached the standard 7AB/R reflector and set it up on axis with my subject. SB-800s were used again as kickers left and right with snoots to avoid any spill. Post processing included the Topaz Adjust Photoshop plug in, plus retouching, masking and high pass filter in Photoshop.



Finnaly, a basic head shot for a model portfolio. For t his we left the studio and moved to the den which has french door style windows looking into the back yard. This was the simplest set up of the evening, just an SB-800 with a shoot through umbrella camera left for key. After a few shots a decided to add the reflector disk camera right. I used a longer lens for this one, an 80-200 f/2.8 and opened the aperture all the way in order to kill the depth of field. Minimal post processing in Lightroom, the final image will get a little more attention.

When this was all done I was pooped, but very satisfied. Not sure I could do this every day. Photography is hard work.

-- Steve

Topaz Adjust

Shem Creek Shrimpers

I downloaded some really cool software from Topaz Labs over the weekend and tried it out on some photos that I took while on vacation recently. The programs is called Topaz Adjust and it is a plugin the works with Adobe Photoshop. The program is very easy to use and can create some pretty interesting effects as seen in the photo above. It can also be used with restraint to render more subtle effect.

Here are a couple more that I played with...


Rising Storm at Shem Creek


Botany Bay Beach Tree

I think I am going to purchase this program when my evaluation period is over. At 49.99, it's hard to go wrong.

--Steve

Planet Edisto

I have been playing with a Panorama program called PTGui. This image was made from 115 separate JEPG files that were combined using the software. PTGUI is a very complicated program, but I found a pretty good tutorial that helped with the learning curve.

Enjoy,
-- Steve

Haw Creek Valley

We decided at the last minute to go to Asheville for the weekend. My parents and aunt and uncle were at the mountain house for an extended weekend (it's nice to be retired). Mom and I hiked over to a rock escarpment that overlooks the Blue Ridge Parkway and Haw Creek Valley near Asheville. I shot a few panoramas, this one is an eight image stitch done in Photoshop CS4.

Thanks for looking,
--Steve

SCANA Campus

I spent the last couple of days at the SCANA corporate campus in Cayce attending a class. During a break I slipped out and shot a few of the environs. This one was multi-image stitch using tone mapping HDR software called Photomatix and a panoramic program called Autostich. In all I think there were 36 separate images used in this composite.

Click on the image for a larger view.

--Steve

AWS Services

I spent some time with my old friend Summers Duffie today. Summers recently partnered with with Dan Walker to form AWS Services, Inc. providing site maintenance, silt fencing and hydro seeding services for the construction industry. I met Summers and Dan at the site of the new State Farmers Market outside Cayce and we shot a few environmentals for their web site.

All of these were done with a single SB-800 plus a shoot through umbrella. Camera was the D200 with several different lenses.

Oh, and should you require any construction site prep or maintenance, you can catch up with Summers and Dan here.


Summers


Dan


Summers


Dan


Dan and Summers


Dan and Summers

http://www.awsservicesinc.com/

Thanks for looking,
--Steve

Trey Webb

My good friend Trey Webb just opened his State Farm Insurance Agency. Very excited for Trey, and honored that he asked me to shoot photos of him and his team. I spent a little time with Trey in his office, and we shot a few photos just to get a feel for the space. This one was my favorite. I'm really looking forward to working with Trey and his team.

Here's Trey's website. Check back often, as he will be updating it with some new photography in the next few weeks.

--Steve

Senior portraits

Spring is here, and now is the time to start thinking about senior portraits for the teens and Easter photos for the younger ones.

This year I am introducing some new packages for seniors. All of these packages include our basic print package which includes 1 5x7, 6 4x6, and 8 die-cut wallets from each session, or a credit for prints. Other print sizes are available a la cart from our web site.

Senior Package 1 - $150*
• One studio session (one outfit)
• One location session
• Basic Print Package from all sessions or $50 voucher for prints

Senior Package 2 - $225*
• One studio sessions (two outfits)
• Two location sessions
• Basic Print Package from all sessions or $75 voucher for prints

Senior Package 3 - $350*
• One studio sessions (two outfits)
• Three location sessions
• Basic Print Package from all sessions or $100 voucher for prints

Senior portraits are a great way to commemorate this special season in the life of your teen. You can mix and match these sessions to include a formal look, a casual look or a glamour shot. Capture your senior in a team uniform, with a musical instrument, engaging in a favorite activity, or with a favorite pet. The possibilities are endless.

I am also available for standard sessions at our regular rates of $50 in studio and $75 on location. Please visit our web site for more pricing details.
Http://www.stevewsealphotography.com

*Payment is required when the sessions are booked.
Satisfaction guaranteed.

Gear Bag

I often get asked about the equipment and software that I use and this got me to thinking about the importance of using professional grade equipment and knowing how to use it. I also read a thought provoking post over at Digital Pro Talk on the subject of photographic professionalism and its relationship to the gear we use.

The post included a youtube video from an episode of Judge Joe Brown where a really lousy wedding photographer gets sued by a disappointed bride. It’s pretty funny to see the unprofessional professional get her comeuppance, but also very sad to see how upsetting this was to the bride. The photographer in this case was shooting the wedding with a Canon Rebel and a consumer grade lens. Questioning by the judge, who was very knowledgeable by the way, revealed that she was not very competent regarding the proper use of her gear. Furthermore, She delivered the prints to the bride in the Wal-Mart parking lot where she had them processed. Sheese.

The tools that we use as photographers are very important. We must be able to rely on our equipment to perform, and we must have backups in the event something fails. Many photographers out there who are advertising themselves as pros are working with an amateur camera like a Canon Rebel or Nikon D3000 and with no backup. They often don’t fully understand the capabilities and limitations of their gear, and often shoot in P-for-Professional mode.

Don’t get me wrong, these entry level amateur cameras are capable of producing stunning images. I myself have a Nikon D50 which I use as a second body, and as a go to in some situations. But relying on this equipment as your primary is risky and therefore unprofessional.
After thinking about this for a while I decided to post a Gear Bag section on my web site, not to be a show-off or to brag, but to demonstrate that the equipment that I use is up to the job. Is my gear the best available? Certainly not, but it is high quality, dependable, and capable of producing excellent results in the right hands.

Finally, I am always looking to improve the quality of my cameras, lenses, and lighting equipment, in fact, most of the profits that I am making go right into purchasing more and better equipment. I will keep my site up to date as I make major additions to my bag.

--Steve

Pirates of the Gulf of Mexico

I had a great weekend in Venice Florida with my old school mate Keith. He celebrated his 50th birthday with a pirate theme party. It was great fun, and I met a bunch of cool people. Before making the trip I asked Keith what he thought about setting up a photo booth and taking shots of the party guest in their costumes. Needless to say, he was all in.

Keith and I set up a back drop on the back porch away from the high traffic areas. We used a bed sheet, an old hammock, and some party decorations. We also placed a couple of potted plants on either side to frame the scene. Once most of the guests had arrived, we started sending them to the booth.

For the set up I used the Alien Bees B800 with the large octo-box as the main, and an SB800 with a shoot through umbrella as fill. The AB was fired via cyber sync radio trigger and the SB800 via SU-4 slave mode.

This was a really fun little project, and a great way to save memories from a special event. I'd love to try this for Halloween!

--Steve

Plantation Partners

Sharon and Patti are teaming up to focus their real estate efforts on Longcreek Plantation, our neighborhood in Blythewood, SC.

We shot this for them yesterday afternoon as the sun was getting low in the sky. I used the D50 with a high shutter speed (Something over 500, but I don’t remember exactly) and fired an SB-800 through a white umbrella with a sync cord at camera right. The high shutter speed clamps down on the ambient light allowing the strobe light to separate the subjects from the background. A little post processing with Lightroom and Photoshop, and I was done in plenty of time for dinner!

--Steve

Image retouching

OK, so I am huge fan of Adobe Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS4. I can't function without them. Many photographers will tell you that they hate working with either of these programs. I can understand that, these are very complicated applications, but the creative control that they offer cannot be ignored. The key is to not over do the process so as to give yourself away.

This video is an example of how I took an already good image and polished into what I think is a real jewel.

--Steve

Evan 2010

Evan is one of our favorite subjects, and it has become an annual tradition to make a series of portraits of him. I hope this continues for may years. Evan's mom always wants something a little different every year. This time we went with a combination of hard key and soft fill with a kicker on the hair. The black background and black turtle neck renders the classic floating head composition. I think it really a accentuates his strong facial features.

-- Steve

High Dynamic Range

High Dynamic Range (HDR) is a techique that involves making multiple exposures of a scene while varying the exposure values, then combining the resulting images using tone mapping software. You can get some pretty interesting results like this one that I shot from the watch tower over our family beach house at Edisto on new years eve.