Airport Shoot: Take Two (One for me)

Getting involved with photography groups gives me a bunch of new challenges. The first challenge I came across was shooting with a bunch of other photographers around. I get kind of self conscious when I'm being watched–even when no one is watching. I encountered that during the first shoot I went to at Stroker's Biker Bar with the DFW Midcities Strobist Group.

Last Saturday, we had another MeetUp at McKinney Airport. This is the second time the group has met up at this airport, but it was certainly a first for me. It was certainly great to see familiar faces from the last shoot at Stroker's. And even better to meet new people.

Having familiar faces there helped with the nerves. I pretty much realized that everyone there is in the same boat as me. We're all there to learn new things, learn from each other and share our experiences. One new challenge I faced is that we were put on a time frame where we could only spend 10 minutes with each model.

The other challenge is the heat and humidity. Its starting to get warmer here in Texas and when you are in an airplane hangar with no breeze, it gets hot. Here's the first set I shot in the hangar. This is Crystal in the nursing uniform. I was kind of frantic realizing that I had limited time, so I didn't get to do as good a job as I would like. A few good ones turned out, but most of the ones I shot, I wasn't really happy with. I'm glad I got some decent ones though. I was more nervous more than anything because people were watching. Hopefully, I can have a better start next time.




This is Bernadeta. Scott and I met Bernadeta in our other MeetUp group. She expressed interest in modeling so Scott invited her to come along to try it out. I think she was a natural. Like in karaoke, during the first song you're pretty nervous, but the second song goes much better since you've worked out the nerves. Bernadeta is the second model I worked with, and being that I knew her, this became a better situation because I was a bit more relaxed and I could focus alot better.




One of the other challenges was the wind. It was pretty breezy which was nice, but when you want to shoot with an umbrella, its a pain in the rear. So I shot these with a bare flash. to fill in the shadows the sun would create. Chris is a fireman and a friend of Crystal's. He was filling in for some of the models that dropped out. this set kind of reminds me of the movie Pearl Harbor.





I was wrapping up for the day because I didn't want to spend a lot of time processing more images than I have to for this shoot. I had my fill after shooting Chris. I was speaking to the organizer's wife asking for advice on certain situations when a model, Ricky, came up and asked if I was free to shoot. I didn't want to say no in front of the organizer's wife, so I reluctantly said yes. And I'm glad I did. Otherwise, I never would have had the opportunity to get some of these shots.








After shooting Ricky by the pool. I had put my camera up and started helping out Scott by holding a reflector for him. After we got done, I noticed a photographer photographing Ricky by the bay doors. The sun was just coming down, and it was creating a natural soft box between the floor and the garage door. So I grabbed my camera and my 50mm prime and started shooting. This was all natural light.



We had to get Bernadeta in the action too...




I had a lot to learn that day, but the most important lesson I learned was to never pass up an opportunity to shoot because you'll never know what you'll end up with.

Check out more photos from this shoot on my new Flickr site... http://www.flickr.com/photos/gzamora_photographie

GZ

Mara Conflict

Has it really been a week??? Geez, for those of you who are reading this blog, sorry. I have been really busy, working and shooting. The good part is, I have new stuff to post. I'll be posting older stuff as well.

My friend Ben asked me if I could come out and photograph his band so they can have some new photos for their band to put on their site and maybe an album. That band is Mara Conflict. Last Tuesday, Ben called me up and said that they were having practice and that I was more than welcome to come and hang out and maybe talk about what they were thinking about for their band photos. So I figure, why not bring my gear along and see if I can get some cool shots. This is how it turned out...

The lead singer wasn't able to make it, but they practiced anyway. Now, I used to be in a band and we practiced in an airplane hangar. These guys rents their own space in a warehouse for musicians. Its like their home away from home. I was pretty jealous. These first set of pics, I was trying out some a new look. Playing with action scripts in Photoshop. Makes things faster.

I personally like the high contrast and the vignetting going on in the photos.









For this set, I just did a standard duo tone with a warmer gray color. Just so you guys can see their faces. This is Ben.


Dylan, also a friend of mine, is the drummer.


You guys have to forgive me for forgetting these two guys' names. I'm pretty bad with names. =\
I love the way this photo turned out.




I had my three lights set up in the room, but to get a variety of shots, I went ahead and shot with a hand held light set to an optical trigger to get these shots.




One thing I love about taking photos, is sometimes you get to photograph guys like these and get treated to your own personal concert. It did however make me miss playing in a band.

More to come from these guys.

GZ

Laziness?? I think NOT!

No, I haven't been lazy about posting photos. I have just been busy. I'll be posting more in a few days. Just trying to figure out what photos to post. I didn't realize how addicting and time consuming this is, but I'm not giving up.

In case you want to know what I have been busy with at work, I am working on a new issue of the magazine. Our 2010 Cancer Resource Guide is off to the presses. We are also working on an exciting new book project–more on that later. Also, I am off to photograph a cancer symposium later on in the week for the magazine, and next week, I get to drive to Canton, TX to photograph a metastatic cancer patient for the next issue of CURE. I get to try out my new lens that I bought from my roomie–a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 (to be exact... Tamron AF 17-50mm f/2.8 SP XR Di II LD Aspherical [IF]). I'm excited!! No more lens envy!! =)

As far as outside of work, well, I have been getting busy getting ready for my upcoming trip back home to the Philippines in October with my brother and dad. Busy in the gym that is. The last time my family saw me, I was HUGE. I was over 260 pounds when my family saw me last. The plan is to go back home to the Philippines weighing what I did in high school–which is 175 pounds. Talk about shock value.

I've got a lot of work ahead of me, but if I can consistently lose 9 pounds a month, I can hit that goal. Right now I'm trying to get back to what I weighed before the holidays, which is 215 pounds... yes, I have lost as much as 50 pounds!! I gained 15-20 pounds back of it due to a Wine-can, Honey-brined, maple-glazed, bacon-wrapped, sage-butter rubbed turkey on Friendsgiving (more on Friendsgiving later). Maybe I can post a photo of me on a weekly basis to show my progress?? Hmmm... why not?? =)

GZ