The Lunar Eclipse 2010

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 ;)

The Darenzia Files

Darenzia in custom latex burlesque style outfit by Venus Prototype




Darenzia wearing a striped pencil dress by designer Lady Lucie




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)

Jade Vixen photoshoot

Aviator Vixen in a metallic aviator style outfit. MU/Styling by Jade Vixen


Aviator Vixen in a metallic aviator style outfit. MU/Styling by Jade Vixen


Aviator Vixen in a metallic aviator style outfit. MU/Styling by Jade Vixen


Jade Vixen pinup MU/Styling by Jade Vixen


Jade Vixen pinup MU/Styling by Jade Vixen


Always a pleasure to work with Jade. She's great a putting together a look with outfit, styling, pose and expression. . .the whole package.

Simply shot against gray seamless, and of course white for the pink bubble-gum pinup shots.

Three images from this shoot were awarded "Showcase Status" by the powers that be over at One Model Place. Showcase Images

Photo shoot with Jessamyn

Here are some images/photographs of some of the work I had created with model, Jessamyn Rose.

Jessamyn is an international full time model. She has graced the covers and content of many magazines and has worked with many photogs over the years. Having recently moved to NYC from Australia, I was fortunate to hook up with her for a day of shooting at my studio.

Here we did some pin-up style photography. I have not got around to processing some of the other images from the shoot, but these are some that I'm very pleased with. I like the look and sinplistic focus on the characters such as the art works of Alberto Vargas, Rolf Armstrong,Edward Runci, etc.

I'll certainly be working with Jess again in the near future with some more specific ideas and concepts in mind.

Jade Vixen Nurse series

Jade Vixen Nurse 1


Jade Vixen Nurse 2


Jade Vixen Nurse 3

This is a 3 part series that I had shot with Jade Vixen. Jade is not only beautiful, but she is great at portraying characters. She can be very emotive as seen here but also is very skilled at doing her own hair and make-up which she applied differently for each of the various characters we shot of her during our shoot.

During the shoot of the nurse Vixen character we had run through a bunch of various takes with different looks and expressions, getting a feel and building up on it as we went along.

Towards the end of this set I started to have a strong idea of what I wanted from her character. To try to bring that out front, I asked Jade to act out as though the Doctor she was working with had just cut off his patients head! She took a few seconds to think about it and then just broke out with these expressions. . .she was amazing. I had to keep from laughing actually because seeing her through the lens with that look was outrageous!
It was perfect and she nailed it within minutes.

The studio light set up was White Lightning X1600 through 24x32" photoflex softbox as key. Speedlites through smaller boxes overhead and as fill, as well as some bg light.

Post processing through LightRoom and Photoshop CS4.

The Big Hair Shoot

Vanessa Freedman


Liz Freedman


Liz Freedman


Liz and Vanessa

Liz and Vanessa are sisters. We hooked up by way of a mutual friend who thought they would be great subjects for me and that they could benefit from my style of photography.
Liz and Vanessa were amazing. They were so delightful to work with and be around. They are an awesome presence to behold in person. Both are over 6ft tall and with natural hair that can fill up another foot or so. Stunning beauty as well.


We started our session late due to transportation difficulties and wound up with about an hour to work with. In that time, we were able to get much done and here are some of my favorite photos from the shoot. More to work with and I'll be getting to a few more, but this is what I have started with.


The set up is pretty much my norm consisting of a white Lightniong X1600 head into 24x32" softbox and about 4 speedlites shooting into smaller diffusing boxes.


Post processing done in LightRoom 3.0 (love the latest version) and Photoshop CS4. I'll be looking to get CS5 since it has been given so many major improvements, but most of what I do is in LightRoom and so that upgrade took priority.


The hair was backlit with one of the strobes to really bring out the volume and magnificance as well as side lights for rim and more "hair care". Definetely want to work with them again.

Motion Portrait

Reeja, originally uploaded by garyhellerphotography.

In this portrait, I was experimenting with a concept involving a long exposure while the subject is in motion. During the exposure I fire off the strobes manually. Each strobe burst will capture the subject in motion giving the effect of a layering of images in a way that depicts movement and action.
The technicals in this paticular take involves setting the camera on a tripod and fixing the shutter duration to 1 second. During the time the shutter is open, Ree Ja is moving in a somewhat predetermined and orchestrated series of movements with the key emphasis being that she look straight to the camera at the final moment. Easier said than done. . . While she is moving about during the exposure, I am firing off the strobes remotely trying to time them so the last burst is just at the final moment and when Ree Ja is looking straight at me.
Many of the takes were quite interesting and I like them all for various reasons, but this particular result really made the impact that I was after. Face is sharp, hair is flying, arms are shown in various stages of movement and of course there is a strangeness about it. I find it looks as though she is removing or replacing her head.
Ree Ja had contacted me upon seeing the result to commend me for such a successful execution and as I was answering her to thank her as well for pulling it off it struck me that her role in this will most likely go unsung and the skill and experience on her part, unnoticed.
What most viewers will not realize is the composure and awareness of concept on her part. Having experimented with this idea a few times in the past I can tell you that its very difficult to move around as much and as fast in a short period of time as was done here and maintain composure in facial expression and body position.
A lesser model would have wound up with a contorted and odd facial expression and/or had eyes half shut, etc.
Simply by looking at her hair flying in this image and the various positions of the arms during the course of 1 second we can determine that Ree Ja was moving quite a bit and very quickly as well. To maintain composure in body positon as well as facial expression is incredibly difficult. I could not have asked her for better results.


Shot against a dark gray paper background with colors adjusted a bit to bring a hue of green behind her.

Jade Vixen Pinup 3

Here is another pinup style photograph of the wonderful Jade Vixen. There are a few more from our session, but these latest three struck me first.

This was shot in a very modest sized studio on a white seamless paper background.
Background was lit by two vivitar speedlites. Three softboxes illuminating the subject. Two small square boxes (approx 20x20") lit by Canon 580 EXll speedlites proving fill and kick/rim, and a 24x32

Photoflex box lit by a White Lightning X1600 studio head used for key.

Post processing of course done by Moi to give it a retro/vintage look.

Processing done in LightRoom and Photoshop CS4.

Pin-Up photography

I had the pleasure of shooting with model, Jade Vixen. She is such a pleasure to work with and as interesting to talk to as she is to look at. She is a Penn State grad with a degree in computer science. She also shoots much of her own photos in her studio and does most all the post processing herself. Needless to say we spent a good bit of time talking shop and photo editing.

I had wanted to do some Pin-up style photography that was popular in the 30's-50's.
She brought along some costume changes and did her own hair and make-up.

This was shot against seamless white paper with a White Lightning studio head as Key and four speedlites providing backlighting, fill and kick.
All lighting shot through softboxes except the two backlights which were on either side of the background and about 5ft away.

All work here was imported into LightRoom and then more extensive processing done in Photoshop CS4. The intent was to have a somewhat old retro look with warm creamy tones.

It was much fun and there are other good ones that I have not got around to post processing yet. . .stay tuned.

Dance Photography, Westminster Arts Center

Nina Brewton


Rie Sueyoshi, Nina Brewton, Jennifer Bocian


Samara


Samara


Samara


Nina Brewton, Nahoko Sugiyama


Samara


Morgiana Celeste Varricchio


Morgiana Celeste Varricchio


Rie Sueyoshi, Jennifer Bocian

These are a few images from a set taken at the tech rehearsal of the Mosaic Dance Theater Company performing at the Westminster Arts Center in Bloomfield N.J.
Prior to the tech shoot, there were some lighting issues that the techs were trying to resolve but had not been completely ironed out during the shoot. Still, we managed to capture some fine moments of the performance.

I really enjoy photographing these dance performances. They are quite challenging due to the low lighting and movement of the dancers, but rewarding as well. Also challenging is having a large group on the stage at one time and getting the entire scene as well as isolating individuals.

When talking shop with other photogs, questions about settings and technique often come up and so here is a basic run down of how I approach this.

I used to shoot in manual mode and manual focus as I found it a bit more reliable, but lately I have been shooting in "Shutter priority" mode with auto focus while manually selecting focus points.Shutter Priority mode offers quicker flexibilty for me when it comes to changing settings.

In this performance I had the camera set to 1600 ISO. WB is set to tungsten for consistency. Using Shutter Priority mode allows me to quickly slow down or speed up the shutter release depending on what effects I wish to achieve for any given capture. Slowing down the speed of the shutter can give motion blur to hair, veils etc, while speeding it up can freeze the action. Due to the dark areas of the stage such as the black curtains I find its best to reduce the cameras exposure by about 1 stop. That would be EV -1. The black background fools the cameras meter into thinking it needs to increase the exposure. If I allowed the cameras meter to have its way, I would have lots of detail showing in the curtains and the dancers would be too bright with loss of detail. Spot Metering is not a good option in this situation. Most all cameras with any manual features at all have the ability to adjust the EV (Exposure Value). This also help to tweak out as much shutter speed as I need from the low lighting situation of theater.

I compose and wait until I think the timing is right and then fire off a burst of three or four shots, hoping everything falls into place and one of those bursts hit the right moment.

The good fun is looking over the several hundred images taken during the performance and seeing the magic of these wonderful dancers come out on the screen.

Editing and importing is done through LightRoom 2.5 and work requiring more extensive editing is brought into Photoshop CS4. All of these were cropped and tweaked to bring out the best exposures and detail in LightRoom only.

Katherine fighter pilot

Katherine is a very talented graphic artist/ illustrator with a style like a mix of Mark Ryden and Tim Burton. She wanted weird and quirky portrait shots and this is one from the batch. This was one of her personal choices.

I initially shied away from it because of the "huge" smile, but what was I thinking!

She chose it, I worked on it and this is the result. She is very happy, as am I and is even using it as her FaceBook profile pic.

Cooll!!

I am inspired to produce more quirky characters. . .

Strobist info:

This photograph was captured in a small studio using two 580EXll speedlites and a Vivitar 285HV. One speedlite shooting into a Photoflex 24x32 softbox. The other speedlite into a 33" white bounce umbrella with black cover for fill (softbox was main)The vivitar 285HV is hitting the background with a warm color gel. Post processing in LightRoom 2.5 and Photoshop CS4.

Love the grin

the playmate

the playmate

I had went upstate to Sullivan county with another photographer and friend, Georgine Benvenuto. We had nothing but bright sun and clear cloudless skies (not great for landscape and outdoor photography).
Spotted this tree swing and decided to use the blank clear bright sky and hard sunlight to create the stark and minimilist scene of this somewhat scary tree with swing.
Added a sepia type toning through some gradient mapping as well as trimming away some distracting elements and came up with something I thought worked as i imagined when I first began composing the shot in my viewfinder.
The playmate
Sorry its been so long since I have posted or visited any other blogs. Been too busy for my own good. . .

steampunk in corridor

steampunk in corridor

Did this a few weeks ago on location at an old miltary fort. Its actually a pillbox/bunker that is almost completely buried under sand at this time, but there remains an obscure path to both entrances, one of which can be seen behind me.

I had a couple of Canon 580 EXll strobes. One shooting through a small softbox to light subject and another off in the back shooting through a red gel to the wall in back of me.

A vivitar 285HV shooting from the back to light side of subject and hair. There are three rooms off the corridor one of which I placed the two lights shooting out from so as not to be in view of the scene.
It was good fun till the wild dogs decided to come strolling through. . .

Man at the Table

Well, this is what I was doing on Valentines Day weekend :)

Actually, I had been working on this SP for a few weeks and finally finished a take I was overall pleased with, and it happened to be on Valentines Day.
Thanks to Georgine Benvenuto, owner of Gallery 364 in Bay Ridge Brooklyn for putting up with my requests for her thoughts on each take as I went through the process of the concept. Georgine is a fantastic photographer as well as owning and running the gallery and its been my pleasure and benefit to have her as a friend over the years. Wonderful person too.

This is meant to be light hearted and even funny as is most of my SP that come with the intention of poking fun at myself and the characters I create.

Ok, for the strobists out there who are interested in how this was made, this was done using two 580EXll speedlites and a vivitar 285HV all triggered with Paul C. Buff Cybersync wireless triggers. No TTL, all lights and settings are manually set.

The background is a botero collapsible muslin which is about 5x7 ft and grey. I hit it with the Vivtar shooting through a green gel for the color and separation of the subject.

A 580EXll speedlite was shooting through a photoflex 16x22" softbox for the main light and was camera right about 3ft away from and just above head level of subject.
The second 580EXll speedlite was set at subject right and behind shooting through a small lumiquest softbox and aiming at the right shoulder,hair and side of face.

Canon 5D mk2 on a Slik 700DXpro tripod with Bogen Ball head using a Canon programmable remote shutter release.

I had not smoked cigarettes in about 20 years and so most of the takes had my eyes closed as I was squinting from the smoke burning them. . .not very cool glad no one was there :) The cigarette case was given to me by a friend of the family who had acquitred it from a friend who passed away. The case nust be at least 50 years old and still had about 8 filterless cigs inside. Very old and stale smelling, though.

I get asked about my post processing often and while I like to offer much information there are certain things that I like to keep to myself. Basically, I desaturate, tone map a bit with PS gradient tools, layers using "mulitply" properties and sometimes "color dodge" properties, sometimes add diffuse glow and textures and of course dodging and burning here and there.

Yes, it was another Bad Hair Day, and I had to take advantage of it. . .
thanks for looking, hope your not totally disgusted and will return again in the future;)

True Evil (self portrait)

True Evil, "self portrait"

I have been working on some self portraits of late. It really came about one day as I was experimenting with lighting and stuff and had no immediate subject available and so decided to get in on the act. I liked the results especially when I loosen up a bit and got a little theatrical :P. So, it became a theme and I am slowly putting together and full series of self portraits. I guess it will only stop when i get too miserable to look at anymore. . .

This shot was actually a second attempt. the first attempt, a few weeks earlier did not have the right perspective I was going for and some of the background was not working.

This is on a location in that old warehouse that I previously posted about. Inside a small room with some industrial equipment behind me as well as a scary and ratty looking window. Nice ugly green walls too :)

For the strobists out there that might be interested, this was done using two 580EX2 speedlites. The main light was shooting into a bounce umbrella placed directly in front and above subject(me). The second speedlite was shooting through a Flashpoint snoot off to subject left and higher than head level. It was aimed toward the hair and side of head area. The hair was something I wanted to be highlighted and stand out. Its a natural prop :).

One very useful tool in doing these SP's is Canon's programmable remote release. I can set the delay time to the initial shot, the time interval between shots as well as how many shots overall and much more. It allows me time to set things up and reposition myself and change expression between takes.

Past readers of my blog might remember me entering a Self Portrait competition/exhibition that was being judged by some high profile people.
I entered this photo as well as another later on to the portfolio as I was able to edit it the entire time..
The voting has ended and I am pleased to announce that my portfolio made it to the top 15. You can see the top 15 portfolios here.
The judges will be choosing the grand prize winner, and so being in the top 15 i think gives me some attention. some very impressive portfolios there, and it was good fun. I'll surely let everyone know if I were to be chosen.

Portrait of Eleanor

Eleanor, originally uploaded by garyhellerphotography.

Eleanor is a warm hearted soul. She is naive, good natured, caring, sensitive and fragile. She is an artist, a dreamer and a wonderful mother and Nana.
She was an ever devoted wife to her late husband, Harry.
She is vulnerable, and yet strong.
She is a wonderful person

This was also shot with two 580EXll speedlites, one firing through a softbox and another firing through a very small diffuser for fill.

I'll spare you the diagram on this one ;)

Portrait using portable strobes

This is a portrait of my daughter Christina and her beloved dog, Dior.
I had wanted to get a session with her for a while but our schedules were tough to arrange a time, but we finally got it together and I am pretty much pleased as this is about what I was hoping for.

I did not want her to look like she was posing for a glamour shot or to smile really. I just wanted a very sullen, relaxed and almost introspective feel about this.

I have been using hot shoe flashes or portable strobes because I have more of a need to be able to set up small shoots on location, such as the portrait of my son Kyle and at the same time they work extremely well indoor for various situations.
I am using two Canon 580EXll speedlites and a Vivitar 285HV flash. I also have some light weight stands, a softbox, some bounce umbrellas,snoots, various reflectors and flags and a boom stand. The flashes are all controlled by the wireless Cybersyncs from Paul C. Buff. (maker of the alien Bees and white Lightning studio strobes)They are much less expensive than the famous Pocket Wizards and do a fine job really.

In this set up, I had a 580EXll mounted in a Photoflex 16x22" softbox on a boom stand just above Christinas head and about two feet in front and to her right side a bit.
On her left was another 580EXll on a light stand about 6ft high with a Flashpoint Q series snoot attached. This was aimed towards the dogs head and Christinas left shoulder area just filling in where the main light would have fallen off, but snooted because I did not want too much filled in as I wanted this to have a mood about it. Basically, I needed to have the black dogs face and fur exposed.

Behind her is a greenish linen fabric bought in a fabric store at 4.99 a linear yard. This was secured with clamps to a couple of spring loaded poles that mount from floor to ceiling much like the expensive Manfrotto Autopoles. The whole background was about 7 ft wide and 5 ft high. I attached it so the bottom started at about her leg area as I was just going for an upper body portrait.

On Christinas left side and between she and the background was the Vivitar flash on a lightstand about 6 ft up and a couple feet over. There was a 1 ft long piece of white foam secured to the flash with a rubberband so that the light would not spill out towards the camera but just skim over Christinas head and mostly be directed back towards the backdrop to illuminte it slightly enough.

The shot was basically ISO 160, 9.0 at 1/160. I am using Duracell AA 2650 NiMH batteries to power the strobes and am always amazed at the performance of these things.Very long lasting and reliable. I use a 2 hour charger as well as a 15 minute quick charger in case I needed fast recharging on the spot. To note, I was shooting the main speedlite through the softbox at about 1/4 - 1/2 power and got close to 200 shots without changing a set of batteries and still had quick recycle times to boot.(under 1 sec.)

The most challenging thing about this particular shoot was getting Dior to stay awake. He goes right to sleep in her arms! While I was shooting, I would make strange noises and dog barks to get him to look at me or at least keep his eyes open. However, Christina would break out laughing at my ridiculous sounds and so when the dogs eyes would be open, Christina would be laughing. Finally got the moment where everything looked as I wanted :)

Attached is a most ridiculous looking daigram of the basic et up for anyone out there who are thinking of using a similar approach and might be curious as to how this was done.

Artists Lounge "Anywhere"

The Kim Crawford Artists Lounge program is winding down to the final selections. I have made my second and last selection. The contributing member whose post I chose as my inspiration is one by member Joshuart titled "Anywhere".

The Artists Lounge is a forum of which members contribute their ideas and/or art to inspire the Artists in Residence(myself and three other artists) Works that were created by the Artists in Residence from the selected inspiration will be presented and given to the member for his/her personal collection.


Title - Anywhere by Joshuart (Robert Camba)
"Wherever you stand on the earth, be still and see. There is beauty anywhere. Even an abandoned industrial plant might have beauty in the patterns of light in shadow, iridescence in an oil-polluted puddle, or just the beauty of decay. You don't have to be on a mountaintop to see beauty".

Anyone who has known me for some time knows that I am fond of abandoned buildings, neglected structures, grunge and beauty in the least likely of places.
So, with that I headed out to one of the most attractive ugly places that I know nearby to find a diamond in the rough. Lots of wonderful textures and mysterious shapes and shadows and light. Also lots of Possums running about that I must have woke up as they don't get very much human company coming around. . .


The outside of the industrial warehouse.


Getting closer, the junk piled up outside.


Closing in. . .


the entrance


some inside views


more inside


more


view from the second floor platform


"I gotta thing for you" is one piece I isolated in the debris. I love the shape and textures and subtle color of this spot. Also the commentary is. . .amusing.


"broken glass" I like the stark contrast of the panes against the glowing panels of glass. Also, the various patterns in the wire inlay of the glass as well as the bit of iron grating outside through the cracked opening.Some subtle color glowing through behind some areas as well.


"industrial view" I thought this was intriguing in an eerie sort of way. The sharp jagged edges of the corroded window panes with pieces of glass still left hanging and then the various shapes,textures and color of the inerior below. This also is full of stark contrast which always catches my eyes.

The piece that I captured for Mr. Camba is one that i'm very proud of and is titled "Industrial Love". The title actually carries a double meaning as you will get to see in the spring at the Kim Crawford Wines Artists Lounge unveiling, where all the works that were created by the inspirations posted by selected contributing members, will be displayed.