Deardorff 11x14

This photograph is part of a collection of large format portraits that I have been creating over the last few years. The subject is Mitch Brantley, a falconer. I photographed Mr. Brantley for a magazine a few months ago. I decided he and "Mad Max" would make a great addition to the collection, so I returned to the same field off an interstate highway to shoot with my 11x14 Deardorff.

Despite the strong winds, I was able to set up a 12 x 12 Matthews overhead frame to soften the late afternoon sun. I positioned a large Chimera on camera left as my main light and a 22" silver beauty dish (no diffusion and no grid) on camera right as the fill. I placed two flash heads with silver reflectors behind Mr. Brantley (and slightly to each side) to provide a bit of separation light.

I used a 480mm Schneider lens on the Deardorff and shot 10 sheets of Kodak 8x10 Tri-X.

Here is a diagram of the set up:




Here are a few behind the scenes photos:

Citizens Bank

Here is another image produced for an ad campaign for The Citizens Bank. The campaign features business owners and community leaders who do their banking with Citizens.

Our subject was Mrs. Clarine Barton. We positioned her in front of a historic building. My assistant and I set up a 12 x 12 Mattthews overhead frame with an artificial silk to soften the early morning sun on Mrs. Barton. I used a large Chimera on camera right as the main light with a medium Chimera over the camera as fill. I also used two flash heads with silver reflectors on either side of Mrs. Barton to give a little side light and help separate her from the background. Both of these heads were flagged to prevent lens flare. The image was shot with a Canon 5D II.

Here is a rough diagram of the lighting:




Here is the final billboard:

Smoke Free

The assignment was to shoot a series of portraits for Smoke Free Florence. These images would be used for TV commercials and billboards. I worked with Kerry Floyd from Media Source 1.

Kerry envisioned dramatic b/w portraits against a black background. We decided to use a large source of light with very little fill. I positioned a large Chimera to camera left very close to the subject. A medium Chimera was boomed over the camera to provide minimal fill. We boomed a small Chimera over the subject to provide a separation light. Finally, I used a small negative fill panel on camera right very close to the subject. I shot these with a Canon 5DII and a 70-200 f/2.8 lens.

Here are a few of the finals:

Large Format Film

While most of my work requires digital capture, I still love to shoot film, preferably large format - 8x10 and 11x14. A few months ago, I photographed Boot Arreola for SC Living magazine. After shooting the digitals for the client, I set up my 11x14 Deardorff and shot six sheets of 8x10 Tri-X.

For lighting, I used a large Chimera from camera left and a beauty dish with 30 degree grid over the camera for fill. I also bounced one head into the ceiling for a slight fill on the guitars in the background.

Here is a behind the scenes photo:





Here is the final image:

Citizens Bank

Client: The Citizens Bank
Director of Marketing: Margi Fleming
Art Director: Jeff Smith




This image is part of a series of photographs produced for The Citizens Bank. The portraits are primarily used for billboard advertising. They feature business owners who do their banking at Citizens.

The subject is Mac Tyner, who owns a hardware store. We shot this just behind the store in front of a storage building.

My assistant and I set up a 12' x 12' overhead frame above the set with one flash head on a boom to simulate an overcast day and to provide a bit of a separation light for the subject. The main light was a large Chimera on camera left. Fill was a 22" beauty dish boomed in front of the subject and just out of the camera frame.

I used a Canon 5dII with a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens.

Here is the final ad:

Boot Arreola, Luthier

Client: SC Living Magazine

I was asked to create a portrait of Boot Arreola. Boot builds custom guitars - acoustic and electric - in all shapes, sizes, and from many types of wood. In Boot's store, he creates these works of art in a workshop in the back of the store. He has a showroom up front. Minutes before we produced this image, he was working at a saw in the back. When I had the lighting set up, he brushed away the sawdust on his clothing and stepped on to the set. A few minutes later, he was back in the work area, creating another beautiful guitar.



The main light was a large Chimera on camera left. Fill came from a 22" white beauty dish with a 30 degree grid. I also positioned another head on camera left behind the main light and bounced it into the white ceiling to give a little light to the guitars in the background.

The camera was the Canon 5dII with a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens.

Golf Business

Client: Golf Business Magazine
Editor: Ronnie Musselwhite
Graphic Designer: Dave Alexander

Golf Business has been a client for many years. Ronnie Musselwhite asked me to photograph Todd Miller and Victor Grubb. Both men are head golf professionals. Since their courses are relatively close together, I scheduled both shoots for the same day.

The weather did not cooperate for an outside shoot with either subject. For the following shots of Mr. Miller, we were inside a villa located on the property.



For this image, I positioned a 22" silver beauty dish with 15 degree grid on camera right to light Mr. Miller's face. A medium Chimera over the camera provided a slight fill. On camera left and slightly behind the subject, I placed a small Chimera strip. Finally, I boomed a head with a 30 degree grid over the set to light the painting on the wall. The camera was a Canon 5dII with a 50mm f/1.4 lens.



The second image is very simple. I positioned Mr. Miller just a couple feet away from a plain wall, then boomed a medium Chimera over him, just out of view. I used a Canon 7D and a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens.

When I arrived for the shoot with Victor Grubb, it was still raining so we ended up shooting in a meeting area in the club house.



For the main, I used a large Chimera on camera right with a 22" white beauty dish with 30 degree grid boomed over the camera for fill. Two small Chimeras provided separation lights on either side of Mr. Grubb. Finally I positioned a head with a 40 degree grid and red filter to light the gray wall in the background. I used a Canon 5dII and a 24-70 f/2.8 lens.




To give the Ronnie and Dave another choice, I also produced this image. Mr. Grubb is sitting at a table in front of a sliding glass door. I was able to use the soft, diffused light coming through the glass to light Mr. Grubb. A small silver card provided fill. Even though I was shooting at 1/60 at f/3.2 with a Canon 5dII and a 50mm f/1.4 lens, I still needed an ISO of 1000 to make the shot happen. Although I love my film, you can't beat digital's ability to perform at high ISO's.