Super Duper Tuesday

I covered Arkansas' participation in Super Tuesday for the New York Times this week. They also had me follow the Huckster around as he voted for himself and then later on his watch party. It was a long 16 hour day, but a lot of fun. It blows me away that this guy may be our vice president one day.

The Catwalk

A few images from a recent runway fashion show held at the Arkansas Art Center. The show was part of the overall Delta Exhibition, which features Southern artists.

A New Year

the '80s in '08...





Leg wamers & leotards; mullets & cocaine...the 80s are back! Happy New Year!

Model Scouting

...from a quick photo session last week. This is Lollie, a tattoo artist at Inkjunkys in Conway. I've been looking for a person with a non-traditional look for some conceptual work I want to do in the future. This was more of a meet and greet than an actual shoot, so everything was set up rather hastily (just two lights and no hair/make-up).

Go Red

A few images from my shoot with the American Heart Association last week. The photos are part of their Go Red campaign. I shot the whole age spectrum from young kids to the elderly and everything in between. I think the images are going to be blown up and hung in hospitals and other public places around Arkansas.

Creating Mood/Combining Exposures

Nothing creates a mood like a cool-looking sky. But usually the best sky is a vastly different exposure than the ground beneath. I've tried combining photos before, but never really perfected the technique. This past Fall I wanted to show my Digital Darkroom class how to make one exposure from two in order to improve the overall tonal range of a photograph.

The above image is a combination of the three below. I used the brightest image as my primary photo. I layered the darkest image over the top and created a mask to only allow the sky to shine through. I then blended the middle photo to create the rich colors. After I had my exposure I created a Levels Adjustment Layer to correct the color cast (basically a white balance adjustment). I also used a Curves Adjustment Layer masked in certain areas to open up a few of the mid-tones. There was no need to increase the saturation or use Selective Color to pump up the reds and yellows since I already had a rich tonal range after combining the photographs. You could accomplish this same technique by shooting RAW and then processing the image twice: one overexposed and one underexposed.

The image was taken at Pinnacle Mountain State Park.

D, D & D Update

I finally got a copy of the final product from the shoot with Dianna this past Summer.

Second Place

This past Saturday I got my only High School Football experience of the year by documenting Springdale Har-Ber's failed attempt at the 7A State Championship. It's a bit awkward photographing baby-faced behemoths crying, especially when you realize some of their misplaced emotion may result in a helmet to the face. Touching none-the-less.

Down in the Delta

I was in Helena about a month ago to check out the Blues Fest they hold annually. I only came to town for a few hours and there wasn't much going on yet. So I drank a few beers with Zac and then headed back, stopping off in the cotton fields along the way.

Panorama Canyonlands Composite

I've been wanting to try a panorama like this for some time and finally got around to creating one. You can easily get a copy of the print through my PhotoShelter Account; if you are so inclined.