Monterey Car Week

Well I spent the past week or so at Monterey Car Week 2008 photographing many amazing cars. The weather was cold to a desert dweller as the fog seldom lifted at several of the venues, but it was worth it to have a chance to photograph so many amazing cars.

I took my time and drove from Phoenix to Monterey. I went thru Yosemite on the way out and Death Valley on the return trip. Both parks provided some beautiful photographs - it was a photographers dream drive. I timed my over nights so that I would hit both parks in the early morning when the light does such amazing things.

Even outside the events the cars were amazing. Every time I turned around there was some amazing car driving by, from Ferraris to Cobras. As my hotel was located at auction central, the cars for both auctions were often parked or driving by the front of my hotel. It was all I could do to keep myself from running inside to bid on some of these amazing cars. Not sure why, but I think spending $2-3 million on a car might put a hole in my budget.

The best thing about the week was the chance to see some amazing cars and spend time with some good friends. Everyone enjoyed seeing some very rare cars.

Orcatek Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Headshots in Black and White

With almost everything being in color in photography today, the fine art of a great black and white headshot is slipping away. It seems that photographers are usually reserving it for fine art photographs. Whereas I include it in my glamour and boudoir work, black and white also has a place in portraits and headshots.

The tonality of a black and white image adds a special depth to the images that just can't be done with a traditional color photograph. It is even more important that the photographer control the light with black and white to create those moods.

Color has become a crutch for some photographers, so worried the perfect red they overlook the other key elements to a photography. Black and white, with the constraints it poses, forces the use of all a photographer's skills to get a great image.

Digital photographers have it even tougher. A portrait / headshot shot in black and white digitally does not have the same available range as film. Some of the typical techniques to work around this in landscapes such as HDR, do not work practically with a person whose expression and eyes are key and move just the slightest bit between frames.

There are other techniques that a skilled digital photographer can use to work around this, but it is a skill that takes time to learn.

Orcatek Headshot and Portrait Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Underwater Glamour and Boudoir Photography

This week my most interesting shoot was a glamour and boudoir shoot that the client wanted to shoot a portion of it underwater. Many photographers had told her they couldn’t do it. Since I do a lot of underwater photography when I travel, it was no problem to did out my gear for my camera and be her underwater photographer.

The water was very warm making the water feel great for both of us. Her hair floated around in the water creating beautiful glamour pictures that just would not be possible any other way. The patterns the sunlight made on her skin created some very interesting looks.

Being in the water created a very intimate feel to the photographs that was both sexy and playful. She was having a great time doing the poses we created, even risking losing her contacts by opening her eyes. The shoot was so much fun it ended up running a bit long, but the final result was worth the extra time it took.

This was the first request I have had for a boudoir photography session underwater, but after seeing the photographs I am sure that more clients in the Phoenix area will want to add this to their shoots.

Orcatek Boudoir Photography - Phoenix, Arizona