Is it Spring yet?

Yeah, I know. I got it. I live in New England and it snows a lot. I'm very aware of that but it still sucks. If I could move far away to place that never snows, believe me, I would. Sadly right now that isn't a possibility so I have to deal with it. Yesterday I was bored and felt like shooting a few photos. My camera is in the shop right now so I grabbed my mother's Canon Rebel XS that I have to teach her how to use and I walked around her house and took some photos. All photos were taken with the kit 18-55 lens.

I wanted to see if I liked the Canon interface in any way. I'm pretty much convinced I am going back to Nikon soon but I still wanted to see if I liked using a Canon at all, even if it is a lower end model.

Photo Story // Haley in Studio

Click to see largerThis was the fifth time I worked with Haley Giovannani. The first time we shot was July 2010 and we've been shooting pretty consistently ever since. This time around we shot in studio so I could try out some different lighting techniques. I am very lucky to be using my friend Bob Karambelas's studio. He has been very kind to me in letting me use his space and teaching me about studio equipment. Check out his live music photography here.

Strobist: 86" PLM umbrella with diffuser overhead as main, 24"x32" gridded softbox camera left for fill, and 8" reflector with grid at back right for hair light.It was a really fun shoot and we tried out a bunch of different light setups. Underneath each photo I will list the Strobist info of what lighting equipment we into each shot.

Strobist: Norman Tri-Lite projector about 40 feet away with strobeStrobist: Norman Tri-Lite projector about 40 feet away with strobeStrobist: Norman Tri-Lite projector about 40 feet away with strobeStrobist: Norman Tri-Lite projector about 40 feet away with strobeStrobist: Three Einstein 640ws lights with 7" reflectors, green, red, & blue gels; balanced approximately to whiteStrobist: Three Einstein 640ws lights with 7" reflectors, green, red, & blue gels; balanced approximately to whiteStrobist: Einstein 640ws with beauty dish on upper right hand side, reflector underneathStrobist: Einstein 640ws with beauty dish on upper right hand side, reflector underneathI absolutely love working with Haley and I'm sure we'll be working together again very soon.

Check out Haley on Model Mayhem to see more of her work.

 

Mother Africa: the exhibit

Today is the opening of Mother Africa, a gallery show featuring work from photographers, painters, mixed media artists, and more around the theme of Africa. I have 10 photos showing in this exhibit. February 1st - 3rd from 5 to 7 pm will be gallery receptions featuring music, dance, and a showing of a documentary film. The exhibit is at the URI Feinstein Providence Campus at 80 Washington Street in downtown Providence. If you are downtown be sure to stop by and check out the exhibit.

Third Thursday's Live Hip Hop @ The Spot Underground 01.20.11

The first Third Thursday of 2011 was Ladies Night. Female poets and emcess from Southern New England came and graced the mic with their talent. It was great night and without further ado, on to the photos.

Check out more photos from Third Thursday on he brand new Third Thursday fan page on Facebook.

Add Muffin on Facebook to be updated on next month's Third Thursday.

Add Spot on Local Music and The Spot Underground on Facebook to learn about upcoming events.

Behind the scenes of my first shoot of 2011

My first shoot of 2011 was a big one. Two models, hair, makeup, use of a fully equipped studio... it was pretty awesome. Here are a few photos of the hair and makeup process and then check out the video below to see more behind the scenes action.

Lauren (makeup artist) and Michaelle hanging out.

Bob (studio owner) being my text subject.

Hair and makeup on Maria (model).

Erinn (hair stylist) fixing Michaelle's outfit.

Video time! I'm going to try and film more behind the scenes footage of my shoots.

Sully's Cafe at The Green Room with Ross Livermore

Shawn and I crashed this week's recording of Sully's Cafe at the Green Room podcast with special guest, Ross Livermore of the Ross Livermore Band. Ross talked about his band's upcoming CD, past residences at local music venues, and future plans. He also played three songs, which were all fantastic (When I Fall Down was my favorite). Ross was kind enough to give me a copy of his band's EP. I already listened to it and it was really great. I'm a big fan and I can't wait to hear the new album, coming out this summer.

Here are some photos taken during the recording of the podcast.

Become a fan of Ross Livermore Band on Facebook. Also become a fan of Sully's Cafe on Facebook and check out the Sully's Cafe website. 

EDIT: You can listen to the podcast here.

The Bull and the Butterfly

It's weird when New Year's Day is on a Saturday. All the partying happened the night before on Friday. There were probably two trains of thought for New Year's Day. First was to stay home and recover from the night before and second was enjoy the long weekend of partying. I already knew where I would be spending my Saturday night because my friend Sully of Sully's Cafe asked me to swing by and check out his friend Ricky Valente's new band The Bull and the Butterfly. I didn't get to stay for the whole show but I left the show a fan. I love Ricky's voice and the band sounded amazing.

Before I left the house I was going to grab some batteries for my flash. I suppose something shiny caught my attention because I left the house without batteries and didn't realize until I was in front of the band shooting. I decided to go without using the on camera flash and just ramp up the ISO to 1600. I think the photos came out well. Thank goodness for Noise Ninja. I can't live without it.

Follow Sully's Cafe, Ricky Valente, and The Bull and the Butterfly on Facebook and check out all 20 photos from the show on Flickr.