Photo of the Day: The Grinder Diptych

September 15, 2012 by 2 Comments

Inspired by Mustang Matt’s Honorable Mention in The Lucie Foundation Awards, I finally took the time and necessary steps to combine the two images into a final diptych.  The portrait of the DeWalt Metal Grinder required rework, exchanging the original yellow vignetted background for a strong maroon in order to coalesce with the light inside the aged Mustang.

Location: SCCA Studios, CK Studios and On-Location

Camera/Lens Specifics: Canon 5D Mark III with Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Zoom Lens and Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro Lens

composite w/variety of settings, ISO 100, tripod.

Post: Adobe LR4 & PS6

Filed Under: Art, Bainbridge Island, Cameron Karsten, Commercial Photography, Diptych, Environmental Portrait, Photo of the Day, Photography, Product Shoot, Seattle, Still life Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Photo of the Day: DeWalt Metal Grinder

July 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment

DeWalt metal grinder with sparks

Location: SCCA Studios and CK Studios

Camera/Lens Specifics: Canon 5D Mark III with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro Lens

composite w/variety of settings, ISO 100, tripod.

Post: Adobe LR4 & PS5

Filed Under: Art, Bainbridge Island, Cameron Karsten, Commercial Photography, Education, Fire, Photo of the Day, Photo Shoot, Photography, Product Shoot, SCCC, Seattle, Still life Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Seattle Central Creative Academy: Photography Assignment (Fill Light)

April 25, 2012 by 4 Comments

Tobacco-smoked meat; it’s what’s for dinner.  This is my “still-life food” shot for an anti-smoking advertisement.  Originally I sought to make the meat look like a heart hooked and strung-up over a smoking ashtray, but the meat just looks like meat.  Next time, I’ll get a realistic-looking heart and blacken it a little more to show the ill-fated effects of smoking cigarettes.

Window light was the light source to camera left and an off-camera Canon 580EX II Speedlite bouncing off a silver reflector was the fill at camera right.

Location: CK Studio, Bainbridge Island, WA

Camera/Lens Specifics: Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro Lens

100mm, 1/10 sec at ƒ/6.3, ISO 100, tripod mount.

Post: Adobe LR3 & PS5

Filed Under: Art, Bainbridge Island, Cameron Karsten, Commercial Photography, Education, Food, How To, Photo Shoot, Photography, Product Shoot, SCCC, Seattle, Still life, Washington Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Seattle Central Creative Academy: Photography Assignment (High Key Product)

April 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

High Key photography is a classic product set-up: bright subject, with few shadows and nice highlights.  To go with au naturel consumerism, Tom’s of Maine toothpaste came into play.

The idea was to showcase the “Crystal Clean” result after using Tom’s.  Somewhat pleased, I don’t feel totally successful with the project.  The crystal in my model’s hand appears too large and the actual toothbrush on the right feels unnatural due to the lack of the bottom of the brush.  In the end, the photographer decides about his/her image, while the audience decides on their individual experience.

Location: SCCA Studios, Seattle, WA

Camera/Lens Specifics: Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro Lens

variety of settings, ISO 100.

Post: Adobe LR3 & PS5

Filed Under: Art, Bainbridge Island, Cameron Karsten, Commercial Photography, Education, How To, Photo Shoot, Photography, Product Shoot, SCCC, Seattle, Still life, Sustainability, Washington Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Seattle Central Creative Academy: Photography Assignment (Dark Glass)

April 4, 2012 by 1 Comment

While on break, I had three weeks to come up with a composition for dark glass.  When I was young, my grandfather gave me this old Kahlua bottle, and for years I burnt a candle in the crown.  So, with the ambience of candlelight, I created an evening scenario with the added smooth tasting digestif White Russian.

I shot the bottle, and from there worked around the composition.  And since it was an old bottle, the label was long removed.  Therefore, I took today’s bottle, captured the label, and masked it within PS5, shot the tumbler with the White Russian, added reflections and a tabletop, brushed in the smoke and took my archived image of a wood stove fireplace to fill the background.  The text was selected from the label and fit within the frame.  Complicated but well-worth the time, as well as multiple White Russians consumed throughout the process.

Location: CK Studios, Bainbridge Island, WA

Camera/Lens Specifics: Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro Lens

variety of settings, ISO 100, tripod mount.

Post: Adobe LR3 & PS5

Filed Under: Art, Bainbridge Island, Cameron Karsten, Commercial Photography, Education, How To, Photo Shoot, Photography, Product Shoot, SCCC, Seattle, Still life, Washington Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Seattle Central Creative Academy: Photography Assignment (Clear Glass)

March 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

To light this image of Stranahan Colorado Whiskey I used a giant soft box and placed two Profoto lights inside facing each other to blow out the background.  With two large black cards left and right of the bottle, the edges became defined.  Then with one Speedlite below and slightly in front of the bottle, which rests on plexi glass, I fired it to highlight the label.  One final softbox was placed directly behind the camera and raised to hit the bottle at a 45 degree angle.

There were four exposures composited in PS5: bottle, label, cap and pour.  To wrap it all up in post, the image was masked with a white background.

Location: SCCA Studios, Seattle, WA

Camera/Lens Specifics: Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro Lens

100mm, 1/160 sec at ƒ/22, ISO 100, tripod mount.

Post: Adobe LR3 & PS5

Filed Under: Art, Cameron Karsten, Commercial Photography, Education, Food, How To, Photo Shoot, Photography, Product Shoot, SCCC, Seattle, Still life, Washington Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Seattle Central Creative Academy: Photography Assignment (Floral)

February 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment

To depict the differences of diffused light and hard light on flowers, I created the following composition of an unknown flower species.  Upon completion, the differences observed are slim.  Diffused light – left.  Hard light – right.

Location: SCCA Studios, Seattle, WA

Camera/Lens Specifics: Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro Lens

100mm, 1/200 sec at ƒ/5.6 & ƒ/11, ISO 200, tripod mount.

Post: Adobe LR3 & PS5

Filed Under: Art, Cameron Karsten, Commercial Photography, Education, Environment, How To, Photo Shoot, Photography, SCCC, Seattle, Still life, Washington Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Photo of the Day: Beer’s Essential Ingredients

February 26, 2012 by 4 Comments

Water, cracked grain and hops flowers from the hop vine.  Three essential ingredients make the base of any beer.  Add yeast and time, and your alcoholic beverage is ready.

For this shot I used the exact same lighting set up as the previous entry, but took two exposures for the final.  One for critical focus on the dried hops and cracked grain, and another for the water pitcher.  In PS5 I combine the two images with layers and masks for the final cut.

Location: Cameron Karsten Studios, Bainbridge Island, WA

Camera/Lens Specifics: Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro Lens

100mm, 1/5 sec at f/10, ISO 100, tripod mount.

Post: Adobe LR3 & PS5

Filed Under: Bainbridge Island, Cameron Karsten, Commercial Photography, Education, Food, How To, Photo of the Day, Photo Shoot, Photography, Product Shoot, Seattle, Still life, Washington Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Photo of the Day: Odin Brewery

February 25, 2012 by 1 Comment

Two fantastic beers by Seattle’s Odin Brewery: Freya’s Gold and Odin’s Gift

Lit with two Q-flashes both camera right and camera left diffused with softboxes and sheets, and one Canon Speedlite with a orange gel on the backdrop.  One LED flashlight placed behind the bottle illuminating the rear.  Mist covered the plexiglass which the bottles sat upon, while condensation formed after freezing the bottles and placing them in a room temperature environment.

Location: Cameron Karsten Studios, Bainbridge Island, WA

Camera/Lens Specifics: Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro Lens

100mm, 1/30 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, tripod mount.

Post: Adobe LR3 & PS5

Filed Under: Cameron Karsten, Commercial Photography, Food, Photo of the Day, Photo Shoot, Photography, Product Shoot, Seattle, Still life, Washington Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Seattle Central Creative Academy: Photography Assignment (Environmental Portrait)

February 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

To create a narrative environmental portrait, I had three fellow photographers with one Elinchrom and two Triton strobes, as well as a lonely Speedlite.  The Tritons were placed behind the subject through the doorway, with the Elinchrom resting beneath the camera pointed at the foreground and up the stairs.  The Speedlite, attached to a PocketWizard, was placed directly at the feet of my subject (aka Tre).  And once the exposure and lighting was perfected, I placed a handful of potato starch in Tre’s right hand.  One.  Two.  He lobbed the starch over his head.  Three.  I released the shutter, capturing the four flashes while dragging the shutter to 2.5 seconds in order to absorb the ambient light and the fall of the potato starch.  The effect?  A man and his dog, come upon the viewer and suddenly something mystical transpires.  The man is not who we think he is.  Neither is his dog.

Location: U District, Seattle, WA

Model: Tre Williams

Camera/Lens Specifics: Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM Zoom Lens

24mm, 2.5 sec at f/11, ISO 400, tripod mount.

Post: Adobe LR3 & PS5

Filed Under: Art, Cameron Karsten, Commercial Photography, Education, Environment, Environmental Portrait, Food, How To, Photo Shoot, Photography, SCCC, Seattle, Still life, Sustainability, Washington Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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