Category Archives: Color

Cameras, Color, Digital cameras, Events, Photography, Washington DC

High Heel Race, Dupont Circle, 2014 – Part 3

October 30, 2014 dcphotoartist Leave a comment

Now that I’m in to the thick of posting the HHR photos, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves for the most part, and just indulge in a little occasional snark about the subjects as the spirit moves me. Ergo:

Doesn’t the guy on the right look kind of like a young Val Kilmer in drag? Back when Val Kilmer didn’t look like a liver sausage.

I think you could caption this one, “rescue me”!

I think someone was interpreting the giant christmas tree/butt-plug on display in Paris.

American Horror Story: Freak Show hits the streets.

To indulge in a little more technical info about the photography itself, I’m using a Gary Fong flash modifier which looks a lot like a frosted tupperware container whose lid is suffering from mid-life belly sag. Regardless of the appearance, it’s truly the best flash diffuser I’ve tried. It does a fantastic job of softening cast shadows from the flash and spreading the light more evenly, which is a huge plus when shooting in an environment like the HHR – outdoors, at night, under street lamps.

Cameras, Color, Digital cameras, Events, Photography, Washington DC

High Heel Race, Dupont Circle, 2014 – Part 2

October 29, 2014 dcphotoartist Leave a comment

Miss Bette Davis, in da house! This is my friend Rit Lon, channeling Baby Jane Hudson, perhaps Ms. Davis’ most infamous role.

Church Ladies at the Races!

This poor little tourist lady I don’t think quite realized what she was getting herself into when she asked to have her picture taken with a drag queen.

There are actually a lot of straight men who participate in the High Heel Race. Here’s one who is obviously a first-timer in heels, resting his feet before the big event. He was part of a group of friends participating to raise awareness for a friend of theirs who was competing in an ironman/ironwoman contest to raise money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

Who knew Angry Birds did drag and drank their liquor through a straw?

Cameras, Color, Digital cameras, Events, Photography, Washington DC

High Heel Race, Dupont Circle, 2014 – Part 1

October 29, 2014 dcphotoartist Leave a comment

Last night I went to the annual High Heel Race in Dupont Circle. It’s a tradition in DC going back to the mid-80s of taking over several blocks of 17th Street, getting all tarted up in the finest (and I use that term extremely loosely, as you’ll see) drag, sashaying up and down for two hours to see and be seen and get lots of attention, culminating in a thirty-second flurry of activity as men in heels and outrageous costumes RUN three blocks.

I’m going to deviate a bit from my standard protocol in posting these and instead of arranging them in logical or thematic groups, I’m just going to post these as a stream-of-consciousness bit in the order in which they were taken. It gets a little overwhelming to manage so many images. Maybe after they’re all posted, I’ll come back through and do a separate “best of” post edited down to a top ten or so.

I’ve seen Cruella deVille here before at past Races and/or in the Pride parade.

Miss Tina Turner says, “You better be good to me!”

The “husband and wife” were celebrating their Virginia gay shotgun wedding to commemorate the instatement of Marriage Equality in Virginia thanks to the federal courts.

Even one of the Nationals’ bubblehead mascots got in on the fun.

This shoot was a bit of an equipment test, as I had bought an external lithium-ion battery for my flash to test out. The battery is a Bolt brand Cyclone PP-310 battery (I ordered mine from B&H, but you can also get them through Amazon, but I don’t think there’s actually any savings at one over the other). It will provide up to 500 full-power flashes on a single charge. I know when I was shooting the Mummers’ parade in Philly a couple years ago, the combination of the sheer volume of shots (I think I took around 300 pics) plus the cold weather really put a strain on my flash and the batteries were failing partway through. I didn’t want to have that happen again, so I invested in this Bolt external battery pack, which can be clipped to my flash bracket or worn over my shoulder on a strap. Being able to keep the battery in a coat pocket would be really helpful in cold weather.

Anyway, the battery performed flawlessly – I shot over 100 images last night, and it barely put a dent in the battery’s capacity. It was still showing four out of four power levels at the end of the night. Another plus- I was expecting it to be heavy, as I remembered the old Quantum batteries that used lead-acid batteries being noticeably heavy, even the small capacity one, but it almost feels like an empty plastic shell, the battery is so light. It’s quite the contrast to the rest of the rig (Canon 5D with vertical grip, Stroboframe flash bracket, 580EX II flash, off-camera TTL cord, and Canon L 24-105 f4 zoom lens).

Cameras, Color, Fashion, Medium Format Cameras, Photography, Portraits, Washington DC

MODEL SHOOT, GEORGETOWN – THE FILM EDITION, Duos

October 26, 2014 dcphotoartist Leave a comment

Ok, well, two duos and a single. I couldn’t leave well enough alone and stick strictly to the article title, as there was one image left that needed to be used.

At least the odd single is in the same location, same lighting, same film. So it kinda-sorta fits. All three are, as tradition, shot on my Rolleiflex 2.8E, with Kodak Ektar 100.

Cameras, Color, Medium Format Cameras, Photography, Portraits, Washington DC

Model Shoot, Georgetown – the Film Edition, “Nuclear Age”

October 25, 2014 dcphotoartist Leave a comment

While we were out scouting a location, Grayson saw this bit of graffiti and said, “I want my picture taken next to a sign that says, ‘Nuclear Age Sucks Shit’. The colors were cool, the message edgy, and the model was inspired, so who was I to say no? I’m going to keep it on my list of places to shoot.

The Anarchy symbol made for a kind of halo in purple for Grayson.

In this case, the diffuser wasn’t big enough to soften the light on the whole scene, and the hard-edged shadow on the wall made perfect sense given the message of the mural – the shadows recall the kind of shadows cast by the blast of a nuclear weapon.

In this last shot, I moved in tight to get the golden mushroom stenciled on the wall. It just seemed a fitting counterpart to the rest of the graffiti.

Again, all shots were taken on Kodak Ektar 100 in my Rolleiflex. It gives punchy saturation when you need it without being over-the-top.

Cameras, Color, Medium Format Cameras, Photography, Portraits, Washington DC

Model Shoot, Georgetown – the Film Edition, Portraits

October 25, 2014 dcphotoartist Leave a comment

Here are five portraits I did of the models last Saturday. Trevor and Grayson were easy to work with, and I would be happy to give a reference for them to anyone who wants to work with them.

All images were shot on Kodak Ektar 100 with my Rolleiflex 2.8E. I wanted to make a point out of this because I hear lots of people saying “I can’t get good portraits with Ektar – I don’t like the skin tones”. I haven’t had to do anything special to get these, other than the obvious minor retouch to remove a pimple or two (these guys are in their early 20s after all). For the shot of Trevor in bright direct sunlight, I used a white diffuser disc to soften the light on his face. Otherwise these were just natural light. The shots of Trevor in the aviator jacket were taken in open shade in an alley, so no diffuser was needed, as was the shot of Grayson wearing the black cotton top and the one in the white mesh hoodie.

Black and White, Cameras, Color, Medium Format Cameras, Photography, Washington DC

Neighborhood Walkabout – 9/21/2014

September 23, 2014 dcphotoartist Leave a comment

I’ve been past the PanAm Market for years and wanted to photograph the outside, but never got around to it. Several times I’ve walked past and been on the verge of taking a photo but gotten the hairy eyeball from patrons or folks just hanging out on the sidewalk in front, so I’ve moved on and not taken the shot. This time there were not so many folks around and I was able to get a clean picture of it.

After scanning the negative I noticed that there’s a kid’s hand on the window that looks somewhat disembodied. All the security bars on the windows and doors make it look like a prison rather than a store, which was certainly NOT my intent. But it is what it is, and there’s no changing that. The kid was sitting by the door and holding it open for people with full carts trying to get out to their cars.

I’ve photographed Barbara’s Beauty Salon before, close up. This time I shot from across the street, to include the crosswalk stripes and more of the context of the neighborhood. I think you can really see the “Ajax Was Here” phenomenon in this shot. The Premium Title company to the right is brand new and spiffy looking, Gloria’s Pupusas to the left is cleaner, newer and bright and busy. Barbara’s, I still can’t tell if they’re even in business.

Here’s the older photo I posted of Barbara’s for comparison:

Black and White, Cameras, Color, Medium Format Cameras, Photography, Portraits, Travel

Portraits – William Quach

September 18, 2014 dcphotoartist Leave a comment

Two different portraits I took of my friend William, who toured me around Toronto on Sunday of my weekend visit. Both were taken at the Distillery District, one black-and-white, the other, color. I cropped the black-and-white one because there was some lens flare in the upper corner, and I think the vertical crop is not only complimentary to a portrait in general, it is flattering to the sitter.

Both images, of course, were shot on my Rolleiflex. It makes for a great environmental portraiture camera. One of these days I’m going to get the Tele-Rollei to do some tighter head shots, but for now, this is just fine. The b/w image was shot on Kodak Tri-X, and the color on Kodak Ektar 100. I’m normally brand agnostic when it comes to film – I shoot whatever produces the look I like. For a slower b/w emulsion, I’m happy with Ilford FP4+, and for a really slow emulsion, Ilford PanF. For years, until they discontinued it, I was a huge fan of Fuji Reala when it came to color. Since it went away, I’ve shot Kodak color emulsions almost exclusively, though. I used to like the super-saturated colors in Fuji slide films, but now I prefer a somewhat more subtle palette, which I get from Ektar (which is still a saturated, contrasty emulsion) or even moreso from Kodak Portra (mostly Portra 160, but the 400 and 800 also have their uses).

Black and White, Cameras, Color, Medium Format Cameras, Photography, Travel

Toronto Bike Culture, Revisited

September 16, 2014 dcphotoartist Leave a comment

Ok- I’m getting better organized now, and here are my Toronto bike pictures. And trikes, if you count the pedicab, but it’s non-functional, so I’m not entirely sure it counts one way or the other.

The Toronto Bikeshare program gets first on the playbill. They’re quite popular and fairly ubiquitous. I don’t know that it’s any cheaper than riding the streetcars, but it certainly is better exercise.

A lone cyclist on her way downtown, early in the morning. The overhead lights for street car traffic control are lit, because another block or so ahead and the normal King Street traffic is closed off due to the opening festivities for the Toronto International Film Festival.

This bike was spotted locked to a bike stand over by the Ontario Opera Company headquarters. It had a suitably retro vibe to it, which both pairs and contrasts nicely with the brick former factory building behind it. It feels like it’s going somewhere on its own, just from the way it’s standing by itself.

Here’s a study in contrasts – the cyclist on the road bike approaching the dude with the custom chopper bicycle.

You saw this one before, but under a different heading. This bike with its multicultural basket was spotted outside the TIFF Bell Lightbox theater complex, headquarters for the Film Festival.

And two views of the pedicab, in all its rusted glory. I’m still baffled as to WHY it was where it was.

Cameras, Color, Medium Format Cameras, Photography, Travel

Toronto Streets – More Random Images

September 15, 2014 dcphotoartist Leave a comment

I’ve called this one “Because, William Shatner” because the woman on the street is striking a similar pose to the cardboard cutout of William Shatner in his Captain Kirk uniform in the second story window. Which is there for no apparent reason beyond the fact that William Shatner is Canadian. And the jerk in the BMW seemed to think it was ok to park on the sidewalk underneath the Captain Kirk cutout, despite the no parking sign on the pole. Because, William Shatner… you see where this is going.

Across the street from the watchful gaze of the Cardboard Kirk, stands this sculpture. The first time I saw it, back in June, I thought it was an ice cream cone that had been dropped on its head. This time, I saw the tape measure embedded in the sidewalk and the signs proclaiming the area “Toronto’s Fashion District”, and I realized it is a thimble. But I still think whatever it’s sitting on looks nothing like anything relating to fashion, sewing, fabric, or otherwise so much as a stack of smashed ice cream scoops. Or maybe weird Italian cookies.

The aforementioned stylized tape measure, embedded in the sidewalk. I tried to capture the sparkly gold glitter in the tape measure, but it didn’t quite work – the glitter tends to record too bright and washes out.

And over on King Street again, we have the For Your Eyes Only “Gentlemen’s” club, aka titty bar. At least they’re showing their civic pride with the skyline emblazoned on their front doors in steel cutouts.

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