Photo Journey

Modelshoot: Brenda

Last week Sunday I went out with a new model to a local park and shot a number of pictures there. Below are two results; the following link will take you to a Flickr slideshow of 16.

http://www.flickr.com/... .../sets/72157606145467932/show/with/2664689413/

Her name is Brenda. When I went to collect her from her house it was raining so hard we thought we had to postpone the shoot. Then, amazingly, the rain stopped and the sun came out. So we drove to the park, where everything of course was wet.

I shot everything with a Nikon D300, and three lenses: Nikon 28-70/f2.8; Nikon 85/f1.4 and Nikon 70-200/f2.8. Most of the pictures used an off camera-flash (sb-800 on a stand with an umbrella, fired with Pocketwizards). In most pictures I also used a 6'x2' silver reflector. Brenda did her own make-up. I used the Auto WB.

I PP'd the photo's in Lightroom. I must admit I am a big fan of strong contrast and deep colours. Some of the images were also retouched in Photoshop (skin, etc...)

Judah

This amazing 13 year-old is my son Judah. He was going away on school-camp the next day and had a bet with classmates that he would turn up with his hair cut short. Just before Sophie cut it all off, we took some pictures...

Info: I took these images with my SB-800 and a white umbrella. Later I also used my Bowens 500. Nikon D300, variety of lenses.

Jacobikerk, Utrecht

Last night, while the rest of Holland was watching the Dutch team play another match in the European Soccer Championship, I had the opportunity and privilige to photograph this ancient church building. It dates back to the 15th century. It still houses the Dutch Reformed Church. Every Sunday a congregation gathers there of about 600 people — most of whom are under 40.

The road less travelled

I just entered this image in a photo competition on DP-Review. The topic of the competition is 'The Road Less Travelled" after the popular poem by Robert Frost. I doubt this image will win, because some very good images get submitted to these competitions. But it's the first time I have entered a photo competition ever, and I think I might learn something from it...

Click the image for a larger view.

Photo shoot: Anchors for TV show

A fun assignment today: I shot Paul and Geraldine, the anchors of a new TV show in The Netherlands, ‘The Expatshow.” A great occasion to use my new set of Flash lights (see bottom picture), The Bowens Gemini 500 W. They even brought a make-up artist and art-dirtector. Here are the best pictures of the day – most of them without any post-processing.

The flash-set worked well. I like the lay-out of the buttons. I have a set of Pocket-Wizards which work every time and which give great flexibility. I bought a large soft-box with the set (80x120) which was very helpful.

 

Abigail

Here are some photo's I took of my sister in law while on Holiday in England. We were staying a beautuful country home with these wide stairs. I was looking for an opportunity to try some of Strobist techniques I am learning. My sister in law Abigail, who is quite beautiful, was more than happy to pose for me. Here are some of the images I liked best.

Porlock beach

We are staying in a little town called Porlock Weir (on Exmoor, an hour South-West of Bristol). Here are some images I shot on the beach the first day we were here.

Horizons

Wow - I can't believe I haven't posted here since March 26th... I have been really busy with lots of projects, including finishing this website. But I am in England right now for 10 days of holiday and I am doing lots of photography. We are staying in a really nice place with all of our English family on the edge of Somerset and Dorset. Our house overlooks the Severn, which separates the South-West of England from Wales. Here is an image of the house we are staying in.

And here are some panorama's I shot this morning. I got up at 7 AM and drove up the hill. That's where I shot these images. Enjoy!

Pictures of rain

I know, it sounds boring. But here are some fantastic pictures taken in very rainy circumstances (not by me!). I can't wait for summer when I can do lots of photography again. I always think that you cannot take good pictures when it is rainy and drizzly. These pictures prove me wrong — and I should know better. Have a look...

Interior Design Photography

Last Tuesday I photographed the building of the Rijksacademie (National Academy) in The Hague. This is a nice building! The National Academy offers training and conferences to Government Offices and Ministries. They need a new event photographer. They invited me in the afternoon to come show some of my work. They also asked me to bring my camera. Turns out they had invited another photographer that morning and gave us both the same assignment: photograph our building — and we will choose the best one between you.

Now interior Design Photography iss very different from event photography. I feel I am a pretty good event photographer (have had plenty of opportunities — but Interior Design Photography (like Architectural Photography) is very different. I want the job, so I tried hard. But I did find it frustrating: Interior Design Photography, for instance, will use Wide-angle lenses a lot, which need to be corrected for. But how do you correct for them? Photoshop has a Lens Correction Filter, but it is difficult to use. And when do you use Perspective Control?

Anyway, I have uploaded my pictures to Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogierbos/sets/72157604054979922/show/

Here are a few of the shots.