Bridging the Gap

Bridging the Gap, a photo by Thorpeland on Flickr.

The new pedestrian bridge at the University of North Texas is open and looks great at night. This will allow people to walk from the parking lot to the new stadium.

Photo Walkin'





This past July, my friend and fellow photographer Stephen Masker, grabbed our cameras and headed out into the streets of downtown Dallas.  Sometimes it's just a great time to get out with your gear and photograph whats right there in your own back yard.  Stephen showed me a few great spots to shoot from, one being the second photo above of the trolley station in Uptown Dallas.  I captured some nice images that night.  I look forward to going again before the summer is over.

Team Photos!

The past few weeks I've been shooting team photos and headshots for the teams of the Dallas Derby Devils.  The flat track derby league from Dallas Texas.  All these girls are really a lot of fun to work with!  Although each team photo shoot is the equivalent of herding cats, I eventually get everyone in place.. posed and we're able to get a good photo.  These team photos are used each month in their game-day brochures, fliers and on the league website.    

Engagement Time

A bit out of chronological order because I have a few other photos to post which were taken previously to this one.  But, I'll get to those soon enough.  These are my good friends Brian and Jessica.  They're getting married this summer in Cozemel Mexico and asked me to shoot their engagement photos.  We had a great time just walking around town, shooting where ever we found a spot with nice natural lighting and a pleasant backdrop.  A lot of sessions like these I've brought along some off camera flash to fill in shadows and give things a more polished look.  But this time I decided to travel light.  One camera, a couple lenses and just use the available light.  I think we came away with some very nice photos.  

Tea Party

From a recent concept shoot for my friend Lisa.  She did a great job with costume and props.   And of course posing for the camera.  It was a fun shoot and I'm still working my way through the photos from it.

Getting the Word Out

Sometimes at a pre season kick off party, you just have to go the extra mile to get the word out.  

Frozen Black

Another week, another nice car!  As part of a project a fellow photog and I are working on, we had the chance to photograph this limited edition BMW M3 "Frozen" Black Edition.  Beautiful car!

Someone Call 911

I recently had the opportunity to photograph a very nice Porche 911.  This one had a number of body and engine modification.  Very sweet ride and sounded really mean as it rolled up into the parking garage for the shoot.   

The Mafia

When I showed up to shoot The Mafia's team portraits (roller derby team), I knew I was in for a fun evening.  They had full costumes for their individual portraits and real weapons as props! It was a true technical challenge shooting this many people.  But I went home feeling like I captured it well. 

Seniors!

Spring always means Senior Portrait time!  I really like doing these because they're always a fun age group to work with.  Although, the guys are usually kind of beat down by the idea of having their photo taken... while the girls go all out. hah!  But, I still enjoy shooting both. 

The Virgin Wolves

While walking around the Deep Ellum Arts Festival I came across the Virgin Wolves performing.  Withing seconds, I was an instant fan.  They were great!  Full of energy and with a great sound.  And that lead singer can rock it... no joke.  She's got some serious vocal power.  Check'em out!

Speed of Sound

Back in early April I joined a bunch of fellow photog friends in the Dallas area for a photo-walk at White Rock Lake.  I hadn't been down there in a few years and forgot what a really cool place it is.  For those who have never been, it's really like a Central Park in NYC... but for Dallas.  You've got urban sprawl everywhere.  Then, tucked away just off the road, is a small lake with trails and things to do.  It's very cool.  I think I'll visit it more often.  ;-)

Great Accidents

This is my friend Lucky Lou.  She doesn't like her photo being taken, so I have to be sneaky.  ha!  This is by far my all time favorite photo I've taken of her.  She was talking to another friend of ours and I just shot from the hip with my camera and this is what I got.  It's just such a genuine photo of her, laughing while listening to a funny story being told.  

Derby Portraits

I've been shooting a few Roller Derby team photos and headshots lately.  They're so much fun to do!  This is Cherry Cyanide Slammer.  She may be a pretty face, but don't mess with her on the oval track.   :)

Woof!

It's a fact, you just can't walk past a cute pup and not take it's photo.  This is Coco and she's very photogenic!  

Bridge to Everywhere

It had been a while since I loaded up the camera gear and went for a photo drive as I like to call them.  I pretty much just drive around the countryside, looking for anything interesting.  I came across a new park I had seen but not yet explored.  There were some trails so I went for a little hike.  I found myself under these bridges and thought it made an interesting shot. 

35 Denton!

This past March I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the staff photographers for the 4 day music festival called 35 Denton.  It's kind of a mini SXSW.  But don't let that fool you.  Many of the bands at "35D" were headed south to Austin to play there as soon as the festival in Denton ended.  The crowds were great, music rocked and I had a blast shooting!!

Danielle Dorell

Danielle contacted me about shooting some portraits for her.  She was going to be starting up her own Youtube channel targeted at motivating young women to be creative and productive.  She arrived at the shoot with her own hair/makeup stylist and we had a great session!

Boxster

A coworker and I took his pretty red Porche Boxster out to the lake to take a few photos.  Very nice car that can get up and go when you want it too!

Woman in Red

Sometimes all you need is a camera, empty bike trail and a pretty girl in a tight red dress.  On this brisk January afternoon, Lacy was happy to strut her stuff for the lens.  

War Paint

Some of the derby girls take their bout-day face paint pretty seriously.  Hayley, here, did a great job!

New Years Shenanigans

I spent New Years Eve with some good friends which of course meant a few fireworks and sparklers in the street at midnight.  It was a fun evening with good people, good food and good photo opportunities.

A New Bridge in Town!

This is the new Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge just outside downtown Dallas Texas.  At the time of this photo, it wasn't open to traffic yet.  So, my friend Mike and I drove out... hoped the barriers and took some photos.  This is a very cool structure and I hope to return and shoot it again once its open.  (Which it is as of this writing)

Catching Up!

Ok the next few posts are going to be short and sweet.  I've been so busy I've neglected this here blog and I really like to keep it up with what I have going on as far as photography is concerned.  

To start things off, this photo is from this past January when I was invited to shoot the Certifiable Derby Training camp held in Dallas, Texas.  Hundreds of women from the region attend to learn from the nations best skaters.  It was a 3 day event and they all went home bruised, tired but better at their sport.  It was great fun to watch!  And if you haven't checked out a roller derby "bout", find out if there is a local league where you live and GO WATCH! It's a blast!

Fun With Photography!

Back in December I contacted one of my favorite models to see if she'd be up for something a bit un-conventional.  A different type of photoshoot with the theme of "The Dream".  Being the creative, fun type Isabel is... she was all for it!  She already has kind of a Tinkerbell look, so I knew she'd be perfect for this idea.

Her and I met down at a local historically marked location called the Old Alton Bridge.  I felt this was as good of a dream location for this theme as any.  To help achieve the dream-like feel, I decided to shoot the entire session using the Lensbaby 3G lens.  This cool little lens device allows me to move the focal point around the frame to choose where i want it to be sharp, giving the rest of the image a dreamy feel to it.

Using a tripod, shutter release cable and a chair, we shot scene after scene.  Each photo in this series actually requires two photos.  The first is the bridge or wooded scene, with no one in it.  The second frame is Isabel standing on the chair pretending she's floating away.  Later, with a little Photoshop magic, the two photos are merged and the chair removed.  Not a difficult thing to do, but the result is fun and something different than the norm.

I still get people asking me, "how did she do that"?   haha  I just smile and say, "I just pointed the camera at her and told her to float"!   ;-)