Wednesday, December 22, 2010

The Lunar Eclipse 2010

Lunar Eclipse
Taken at approx. 2:45 AM EST December 21, 2010

So, I arrive home on Tuesday at about 2:00 AM and its freezing cold with strong winds. I have a dying hot water heater that I'm trying to keep alive, a sleeping girlfriend that has been only getting a few hours sleep a night because she works extended hours in retail during the holiday season, and three hungry and curious cats to tend to as well.

So the question is, should I make the effort to lug my gear out from the bedroom and set up on the porch where it looks like I might have a decent attack of it through some tree branches?

Well, considering that this event has not been seen for 372 years where there is a winter solstice and a total lunar eclipse and being in awe of this spectacle as I gaze up into the clear night I decide its worth the effort.

So, this was actually shot through some thin tree branches that were swaying back and forth in front of my line of vision. I was using a 500mm lens mounted on a heavy tripod, but the strong winds were still quite challenging to hold steady during the long exposure. With these challenges the image is not quite as sharp as I would have liked but it still came out quite acceptable I feel.

This moment is just as the Earth was about to completely shadow the moon, and you can see the remaining unblocked sunlight still kissing the very right edge of the moons surface, The orange and red hues are from the suns light filtering through the earths atmosphere causing these blood moon colors and effect. Heavy volcanic activity and ash in the earths atmosphere lends to this color.

In the end, the water heater was fired up, the cats were fed and happy, the GF got her sleep and has some images to see as viewed from our own back porch. And I got mine ;)

Sunday, December 12, 2010

The Darenzia Files

Darenzia
Darenzia in custom latex burlesque style outfit by Venus Prototype

Darenzia

Darenzia
Darenzia wearing a striped pencil dress by designer Lady Lucie

Darenzia Pinup

Darenzia Pinup
Darenzia pinup. Printed latex lingerie, with choker and gloves by Atsuko Kudo.

The fantastic (and sweet, funny and beautiful) Darenzia was here this past October for a half day of shooting. It was pretty much an open shoot meaning no real theme involved other than me asking her to bring along some pinup and Alt/latex fashion outfits. I brought in Julia Dalton-Brush and Masae Satouchi to work their styling magic on her.

We looked through the pieces that Darenzia brought with her and I was immediately taken with this printed latex lingerie. I just knew that would be an amazing piece shot in high key with the pinup style aesthetic I had in mind. The other two outfits chosen were the striped pencil dress by designer Lady Lucie, and the burlesque style latex dress which was custom made for Darenzia by designer Venus Prototype.

The team managed to pull off three fantastic looks looks for Darenzia in the time and really did a fine job. Most of the time goes into the styling during these shoots, with as little as 20 minutes of actual shooting done for each look. When Darenzia walked out onto the set for the first shoot in the printed latex lingerie, within 10 minutes I knew I had what I wanted and it was back to the girls for the next styling.

Darenzia is a blast to work with and I love her sense of humor. We look forward to having her back again in the near future.

Darenzia (model)

Masae Satouchi (Hair styling)

Julia Dalton-Brush (Makeup artistry)

Atsuko Kudo (designer)

Venus Prototype (designer)

Lady Lucie (designer)