The Invisible Black Background

So, I thought I’d try the technique described here to create an “invisible black background” with Nikki the “supermodel.” First we tried shooting inside, but the flash was lighting up the furniture and wall behind her. So, then we moved outside in a shady area in my backyard. I think it would have been better to try this in the evening rather than in the middle of the afternoon because in order to get the background completely black I needed to close the aperture down so far that not enough light from my flash was getting to my camera to light her up. And when I opened the aperture up more the bright spots coming through the trees were showing up in my background. So, most of my photos ended up with a very dark background, but not completely black. It took some trial and error to even get everything close to right, but I did end up with one image that I really liked after a little bit of editing (mostly of the background, not Nikki).

Nikki

Nikki

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Loudoun Business Connection Mixer

Tonight My BNI group will be having a mixer at Main Street Landscape in Haymarket from 5-7pm. It should be a fun time and a good way to meet some new people in the area. Thanks to Craig for organizing the event! If you’d like to come as my guest, let me know.

UPDATE: Here are some photos from the mixer tonight. It was a fun time and a beautiful place!

Jaime, Stacey, Dan and Debbie

Jaime, Stacey, Dan and Debbie

Craig

Craig

Debbie and Tad

Debbie and Tad

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Franciscan Monastery in HDR

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to join some friends to photograph the Franciscan Monastery in Washington DC. I used a technique called HDR (High Dynamic Range). Basically, I took multiple shots of the same scene at different exposures in order to capture both the bright highlights and the dark shadows and then I combined the images using software which results in one highly detailed image. Below are some of my favorite images from the shoot.

Franciscan Monastery

Franciscan Monastery

Franciscan Monastery

Franciscan Monastery

Franciscan Monastery

Franciscan Monastery

Franciscan Monastery

Franciscan Monastery

Franciscan Monastery

Franciscan Monastery

Jesus

Jesus

Crucifixion

Crucifixion

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Back Splashes

On Thursday, I did a shoot for Collins Tile & Stone featuring tile back splashes. It was some beautiful work in four bathrooms and a kitchen.

Kitchen Back Splash

Kitchen Back Splash

Bathroom Back Splash

Bathroom Back Splash

For the shot below, I had to lower the tripod down low enough to not be seen in the mirror and I hid behind the partially open door and used my wired remote to trigger the camera.

Bathroom Back Splash

Bathroom Back Splash

Bathroom Back Splash

Bathroom Back Splash

Bathroom Back Splash

Bathroom Back Splash

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