Louisville, After the Apocalypse

On a recent trip to Louisville, I was astounded by the lack of people in the small historic neighborhood where we were staying. Even on the drive into the city, I noted a lack of traffic, an eerie stillness, and the shaky feeling that even those folks who were still here may just be lost souls.

Of course I exaggerate. But truth be told, Louisville was nothing like what I expected. Sure there were lots of people down in the more modern part of town. But in this pocket of the old quarter, it was block after block of urban decay, with only a bar or restaurant dotting a corner to signify anyone might be there.

Two separate afternoons, I walked several blocks around our inn and imagined an apocalyptic narrative as I snapped photos. I never saw another human on the streets.

Louisville, December 2011

Louisville, December 2011

Louisville, December 2011

Louisville, December 2011

Louisville, December 2011

Louisville, December 2011

Louisville, December 2011

Louisville, December 2011

Louisville, December 2011

Louisville, December 2011

Louisville, December 2011

Louisville, December 2011

Equipment used: Leica M3, 50mm Summicron, Kodak Portra 400 NC, Plustek OpticFilm 7600 film scanner 

Moon over Columbia

Ninth Street Bridge, Columbia, S.C., Dec. 2011

Halloween Bash: 701 Center for Contemporary Art

A former student of mine, Kat, who does a lot of marketing/social networking goodness around the area, recently asked me if I'd be willing to come out to the Halloween Bash at the 701 Center for Contemporary Art to shoot some images for their "Casket Photo Booth." It was an offer I couldn't refuse.

The "booth" was basically a "green" pine box coffin with a nice staged area sponsored by the folks at Greenhaven Preserve, a cemetery dedicated to green burial. The photo area was pretty popular once folks noticed they could actually jump into the casket and have their photo taken. I was amazed at the variety of costumes and over-the-top behavior. I ended up turning in more than 300 images for Greenhaven's Facebook page. 

A couple of my favorites are below:

I tried to keep the lighting simple. Originally I'd planned to go with underlighting for a ghoulish effect, but it became apparent early on that the situation was unpredictable. I went with two softboxes instead. The main was camera left and the other was at right and low at a reduced power for fill. Everything was shot with the 24-70mm f/2.8L.

With a volunteer assistant fetching me subjects and beverages, and lots of great planning by the event organizers, this was one amazing event!

Portrait: John Z for TEDxColumbia

John Z, Columbia, S.C., October 2011National Professor of the Year Dr. John Zubizarreta, photographed for TEDxColumbiaSC.

In the interest of full disclosure, the design of this photo isn't entirely my own. John Z wasn't available when the other TEDx speakers had their portraits made, so when he arrived back in Columbia, I was given a task to create a portrait in the style of the other TEDx headshots.

Breaking down the lighting elements in a photo is something I enjoy. I probably could have just called the original photographer and asked him how he staged his images, but a quick look at the photos told me all I needed to know -- it was pretty much a basic three-light setup. An analysis of the catchlights revealed what appeared to be the standard key light and fill. The background looked like white seamless with a single spot light behind the subject to create a nice gradient effect.

I couldn't put my hands on any white seamless with my deadline, so a white wall would have to suffice. I aimed a Nikon SB-26 at very low power at the wall at fairly close range and used the flip-down diffuser to spead and soften the light a bit. For the key light I placed a Canon 580EX in a satin-silver umbrella high and to the right of the camera at about 1/8th power. Since I didn't have a third light for the fill, I simply used a Wescott silver reflector on the other side. I think I shot the image at 1/200th, f/4, 100 ISO on a Canon 50D with the 24-70mm f/2.8L. The lights were fired with Pocket Wizards. 

I exported the final image out of Aperture and brought it into Photoshop for high-pass sharpening and to vignette the background a bit more.

Pretty straightforward!

The Most Dangerous Game: Women's Flag Football

I experienced "Ludy Bowl" for the first time this past weekend, and I won't soon forget it. It's a powder-puff football contest. Flag football. It's kind of like roller derby with a pigskin.

Ludy Bowl is one of the grandest traditions here at Columbia College. It pits first-years and juniors against sophomores and seniors. Often with smashmouth results. This year's contest was Sheriffs vs. Outlaws. The latter team won in a victory decided by a single point. Final score in what was largely a defensive battle: Outlaws 13, Sheriffs 12.

It's getting rough...The Sheriff's run one in for 6JubilationThe Outlaws rethink their strategySprint for a long TDPlayer downTaking the leadGet away!My thoughts exactly!Penalty flags fly after an aggressive hitCoach isn't happy...

Recovering on the sidelines
Running out the clock

Outlaws winVictory

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

Equipment used: Canon 50D with 70-200 f/2.8L, Canon 20D with 20mm f/2.8