Halloween Prank

Halloween is getting closer. I was feeling creative today and a little devilish. My oldest daughter Lisa likes to prank people, and I guess so do I. She is scared to death of this doll because it looks exactly like her Mother. She says it is too creepy. I used the doll as my main subject and lit it eerily then added fog in the background. Now I had kind of a creepy looking picture but it needed more. Then I remembered I took a picture of a cool doorway this past summer. After cutting out the doors in CS3 I had a very scary looking entrance way. I added the doll picture to the doorway. Then darken the area arount the outside to give the effect of night I sent this pcture to Lisa's apartment with the caption " Don't forget to trick or treat at my house this year". If this doesn't give Lisa nightmares I don't know what will. Whooooooooooo!

Easily color the background with gels

This still life was taken today. I used Creative Lighting System to sculpt the light to give the vase some dimension. I used a black sheet for the background and lit it with one SB 600 with an orange gel shot through a grid to get the subtle harmonizing effect. With colored gels I can effectively change the black background to almost any color I need.

Colors of Autumn

We got another opportunity to get out and shoot some fall foliage this weekend. Our trip took us to Letchworth State Park. The trees were just past peak season but still had plenty of color to enjoy. The park was saturated with photographers capturing the last bits of autumn before the season changes. Here are a few from our trip. Click to enlarge.

This interesting image was designed in photoshop using layers and transform tools. I haven't found a use for this , but I am sure it will have a function in some creative project down the road.

I had a chance to try out multiple lighting at Friday nights reception. I used the Nikon CLS ( creative lighting system) . I had two Nikon SB 600 speedlights bouncing towards the ceiling along the wall on the right and a Nikon SB 800 as master on camera. The 600's were set at ttl and one stop over. The master 800 was ttl and used for fill. The red lights from the left side are from the DJ's booth with disco lights. I think the image has a nice natural look to it.

Congratulations John and Karen

We had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of John Steckstor and Karen Kozacki. What a wonderful couple and they have great families too. The ceremony was at Redeemer Lutheran Church in North Tonawanda and the reception was at the Canal Side Restaurant in Lockport.

Everyone had a blast at their reception. A great time for all. Here are a few of my favorites from the day.

When I need to unwind I like to go into CS3 and create new things. This image was completely made up using tools in CS3. The really great thing about CS3 is your only limited to your imagination. The sky is the limit. This technique is quite advanced but I will giving photoshop tutorials in this blog. Stay tuned for future lessons and assignments. Click on image to enlarge.