Making Pictures
A while back, I had the amazing fortune of attending the second ever Chase Jarvis Hanger meetup. Organized by the equally amazing Seattle Flickr Meetup group and Chase Jarvis, the Hanger meetup brought together over 100 photographs to “30,000 square feet of shooting space, [with] 25 models, 4 stylists, a breakdance crew, a freestyle ramp complete with BMX riders, 7 fully professional lighting stations, and a whole lotta positive vibes.” [1]
The experience was nothing short of spectacular and an excellent way to finish off my official summer break. Chase spent a bit talking about taking pictures and emphasizing the difference between taking pictures and making pictures. I had never thought about making pictures before. That became my goal for the evening. Chase also talked about how working with models is a give and take relationship. You, as the photographer, often need to provide direction, but still understand that it’s a colaborative effort and allow the model to do his/her thing too.
I spent some time shooting the BMX riders before I headed inside and worked with Samuel Tribble, Electric Fanny, and Shana O’Gorman. It was a bit overwhelming, since I was being introduced to using studio lights, backdrops, models, and Pocket Wizards all at the same time. But I managed pretty well and by the end was having a blast. There was also a prop table that had various items on it, including the gun and katana I used with Electric Fanny and Shana, respectively.
I’d also like to a moment and say that Chase and his crew are awesome. And I’m not just saying that. It has been a long time since I’ve met someone as cool and down to earth as Chase Jarvis is. He also has a fantastic group of people he works with that patiently answered my questions, even the stupid ones. My only hope is that I’d get to work with them again.
In the meantime, check out Chase’s blog. He usually has some great videos and fantastic insight into the world of photography.
Speaking of videos, I decided to try something new. I made a short (5 minute) video showing ALL the pictures I took and then showing the original picture and the final product. Think of it as an interesting look into my photography:
(If you can’t see the above video, try going to the blog post)
If those photos went by too fast for you, you can see them up close and at your own speed over at my Chase Jarvis Hanger 2 set on Flickr.
[1] http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2008/08/chase-jarvis-raw-seattle-flickr-roundup.html
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