Photo Shoot with Yoko

Today during and after w*rk, I took pictures of my assistant, Yoko. OK, I haven't been shooting people for years on end, but I have never photographed someone who was so natural in front of the camera. This time I was using my zoom lens, but even when I took pictures of her with my normal lens last week, less than a meter away, she never shied away from the camera and always looked straight on. Amazing! I think she's a natural at this. The first shot was taken at dusk with sun setting in the background (that's the orange hue in the background) with my softbox, while the second one was taken in the afternoon from our w*rkplace where the windows are textured and a little polished, creating a beautiful diffused light.

She confided that as a kid she would jump in front of a camera any time one was around, and it certainly shows. She has joined my company this month, and we've only worked, let alone shot, together for less than that, and every time I take the camera out for a planned or impromptu shoot, she readily accepts and looks great all the time. I can only wish that all my models will be like her in the future!

And mind you, she had a cold today and still looked this good. We had thought about going to my friend Sylvain's bar to do a photo shoot, but as she was sick, of course I obliged and let her go home. Expect some more pictures of her in the future! Thank you very much, Yoko.

Diane Orrett Photoshoot

As previously mentioned, yesterday I had a photo shoot with Diane Orrett for Kansai Scene magazine. I must have been more nervous than I thought because I woke around 4:30 and unable to fall asleep again. After an hour of tergiversation, I headed out the door for a run. And it did help me.

I got a call from her around 8:00 asking with we could push back the meeting time by 30 minutes to allow her neighbor, who is a kimono professional, to tie her obi, the sash of a kimono. It was fine with me, and it did give me time to relax a little more.

After getting lost a little, I arrived at her place, and as always, she was very friendly and courteous. Not long after, her neighbor came with his wife and another assistant, whom I believe is their daughter. It took them 10 minutes to set up, I took a few shots then, and then I started preparing for the shoot.

We spent some time indoors shooting, and then headed outside. It was cloudy most of the time, providing good light, and as she lives in an old neighborhood, it wasn't too difficult finding locations. I said "too" as the first spot we went to, a grumpy old woman interrupted, saying that for some unknown reason we weren't allowed to shoot in front of an anonymous brick wall. After leaving her behind us physically and psychologically, we had no problems finding other locations, whether it was in front of some of her favorite shops, in a shopping arcade or in small back alley.

All this time, people stopped her to compliment her on the dazzling kimono she was wearing, some recognizing her from her TV appearances. She also knew many of the shop owners, and she engaged them in friendly and lively conversations. One thing is for sure, she leaves no one indifferent, and save for that grumpy one, all the reactions were positive. We even had another obatchan (old lady) follow us as a groupie back to her place. Since we did not want her to learn where Diane lived, we dove into her neighbor's house to thank him and get rid of the groupie. The plan worked and we retreated to her place.

Even if there are 3 or 4 shots I wish I would have taken, this first 'real' photo shoot produced some good results. I will probably upload one or two in the future on www.terophoto.com in my portfolio section, but I'll wait at least until the magazine comes out. In the meantime, even if it is far from the best one of the day,  I leave you with the only shot I had time to take in front of the forbidden wall.

HeadSpace @ Absinthe, 2010-04-17

For its first installment, the HeadSpace art performance party was a blast. Great performers, eclectic art, big friendly crowd, what more could one ask for. Well, the visit of an old friend certainly helped. Okaeri, Yann.

You can check out more shots here. The colours were created by putting two gels side on my strobe, using a snoot with a separator in the middle. Without it, the colours blend and the effect is a little less interesting. I'll need to refine the shape and size, and understand what's wrong with the connection (many misfires), but it can definitely create some interesting effects.

Fun With the Gels

No post editing at all. Shot as is.

The green one is meant to resemble Gachapin, a popular character in Japan these days.

Wish You Ate It

I taught my friend Patrick how to use his new flash off camera. In exchange, he invited me over for dinner and gave me some awesome pastries from his workplace. I couldn't resist to use my strobes and shoot two of the desserts. The chocolate one above has been my favorite so far, not that the fruit one below was bad in any way (actually it's my wife's favorite), although we still have one to eat. Some photographic days are better than others.

I used a snoot for my main light, and I put on gels with a half-opened snoot for the background strobe. I'm not 100% satisfied (there's always room for improvement), but I hope they look delicious to you, because they tasted so to me!

Kansai Scene Photo Assignment

I got an e-mail from Chris at Kansai Scene magazine to take some pictures of Diane Orrett, a very funny English rakugo storyteller. I saw her perform once and often met her around town, and we had already discussed photos before, so I won't be in uncharted territory.

Sadly I can only shoot her on Sunday, which was my only free day this weekend. But at least it's for a good cause, and I'm excited at the prospect. Wish me luck.

Velcro by The Meter

I went to a DIY store this morning to buy some velcro for my gels. I love the name they gave it in Japan, magic tape! I would argue that all tape is magic, but that's another thing. By the way, my grandfather played with the concept of adhesive tape before it was released. He always liked to tinker with things, and I guess that's where my new fascination with building and arranging strobes come from.

In any case, coming back to the velcro, unbeknownst to be, you can buy it by the meter, choosing which sides you want. It makes sense that you can buy it like this, but it was a surprise nonetheless. At ¥320 per meter, it is much more economical than buying packed strips. After some considerations, I think I should have bought both sides, but I can always go back, it is not very far. I'll upload some shots of my fitted gels in the next few days.

By the way, this idea came from www.strobist.com, an excellent site if you are exploring the world of off-camera flashes. It's unbelievable the amount of FREE information on the site. Online photography schools charge you for less information, although pros will review assignment pictures. The strobist is all about DIY, and thus it fits my style very much. I have not finished reading through his lessons.

They're Here

Came from the HHH tonight and found my gels packs in the mailbox. I ordered them form Midwest Photo Exchange (MPE) and the service was FAST! I'm really glad I didn't order the more expensive service. It came in an envelope, which might explain the expedient delivery. Prior to ordering, I had inquired about ETA and price for delivery, received two different quotes, and when I did order I got a third quote. Using the e-mail from the cheapest quote (in this case, delivery time was not an issue), my order was processed, shipped and delivered in less than week. No complaints from me here! It was my first time ordering from them, and I am more than satisfied.

And I am very pleased with the products I got. Adorama does offer a cheaper sample pack of Roscoe gels, but being a sample pack, you only have enough of each gel for one strobe, if it's head isn't too big (it might not fit all strobes). The MPE packs on the other hand gives you enough acreage for 3-5 strobes, with the ability to easily put on some velcro at the ends of the strips to attach on you equipment. To each, her/his own, I'm delighted with what I got.

I guess I will go to bed soon so I can wake up early and have time to play around with my new toys tomorrow morning. Sweet dreams are made of colored strobes...

Welcome!

Welcome to Terophoto blog, used for communication between my website and you. I hope I will manage to entertain you through my photographic endeavors. But don't read me too much; instead, go out there and shoot for yourself!

In the next weeks and months, I may have some very interesting photographic adventures and opportunities. Model shoots, extreme sports, live concerts, cityscapes, landscapes, who knows what I'll shoot next. But one thing is for sure, I will be capturing images. I hope you will enjoy them with me.

I'm leaving you with some pictures I took last weekend, when coming back from a photo exhibit where I had two pictures, I missed my last train. Since I had my camera, a walk of usually one hour turned into one of two and half hours...