Uploads from flatworldsedge, with geodata

Gianna (Stranger #25/100), Las Vegas Venice

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:20:19 -0700

When Gina and Gianna asked me to take their picture together in Venice Las Vegas, it seemed only fair to also pitch them in the idea of a portrait for the project.

Fortunately they agreed, and we got three quick frames for each of them before security intervened to move us along. Shooting with reflector and on camera softbox, it must have looked like a model shoot.

As always when shooting strangers that know each other, I'm posting as a single session. Gina did a better job with the reflector, and as she went first my exposure wasn't quite dialled in, so I've posted Gianna. Even shooting at ISO 1600 you can see the slight grain from boosting the under exposure - there's an atmospheric gloom in the casino, which doesn't help!

Gina - please do email me for your portraits. Gianna - I hope you like this one. Hopefully you both had a great day. Thanks for taking part in the project.

This is portrait #25 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Baleria (Stranger #24/100), Las Vegas Aria

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:15:41 -0700

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

Baleria agreed to have her portrait taken just across from the new, silver frontage of the Aria casino in Las Vegas. All in I saw just five people say yes to a portrait, versus some twelve rejections. Maybe it was the heat, or number of touts, or lack of locations, but Vegas was very hard to shoot strangers in.

That made Baleria's stopping all the more appreciated. She was on her way to meet friends for a hen party; hence the fantastically presented hair. We chatted about her life in Stuttgart and holiday to family in Mexico; a great, energetic conversation that indicates she's every bit as full of energy as the 4,000W smile suggests.

Baleria - thanks for stopping and taking part in the project. Have an amazing time in Chiapas and safe travel home.

This is portrait #24 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Jarnail (Stranger #23/100), London Soho

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Sun, 05 May 2013 12:16:05 -0700

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

Just a quick post, due to intense work which has kept me away from Flickr for a couple of weeks, whilst my grandfather's recent death has taken up some personal time as well. Jarnail was a great guy to meet and I feel hugely guilty that sharing his pictures has been delayed.

We meet in Soho after a day shooting with bomvu. His incredible turban and Canon camera (good choice, sir) stood out and necessitated my asking for a moment of his time and a portrait.

It turned out Jarnail is a model for a traditional music and cultural troupe, and that came across in his fantastically intense eye contact and posing. My first few shots were a little wayward as I experimented shooting full length, but after a good twenty minutes learning about the significance of his turban and Sikhism in general, we took a moment to grab some headshots. There's one in the comments, perhaps a nicer crop with the extra step back. I went with the main shot though, as the other has a slightly distracting lady and bag, and the impact of Jarnail's challenging stare is a notch higher.

Thanks for taking a moment to stop Jarnail - and for your patience whilst I processed your shots. I how you like them and hugely encourage you to get involved in the project yourself. You'll love it.

This is portrait #23 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Natalie (Stranger #22/100), London Soho

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 09:47:41 -0700

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

This weekend seems like it's going to stand as the start of spring in the UK. I spent it shooting with bomvu. Part one was a great model shoot that Colin organised with the fantastically talented Saffron - photos to follow. Part two's Strangers session was less successful; I think at one point we were 6-0 in terms of rejections...

It was late on with the sun dipping behind rooftops that Natalie and Andy put an end to that ghastly losing streak.

They're a fantastic couple, with tonnes of good humour and stage presence. Andy was visiting Natalie, down from Scotland for the weekend.

Andy's holding the reflector in this one, with fill from an on camera softbox. In the comments there's a close up with the flash dialled down. Things were pretty rushed; by the time we'd met the shadows were visibly closing across the street. With no background at hand and two foot beam of sunlight I figured a powerful backlight was a neat way of catching the summery vibe to the evening.

This is portrait #22 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Onai (Stranger #21/100), Venezia Arsenale

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 23:24:47 -0700

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

Onai and Helen were wandering through the Arsenale when I stopped them for a shot. At the start of my project I was always concerned with asking couples, but it's quickly become my preference. People understandably seem more comfortable interacting when they have some backup, and an extra pair of hands is much appreciated when you're juggling reflectors and so forth.

Helen's helping out on this one with a gold/silver reflector to bring some extra light into this tight shaded corner of worn brick.

Tempting as it was to shoot Onai with shades deployed, I prefer the connection without them. In this case, shifting then back allowed for a reflected Arsenale tower to come into shot. Onai noted this appropriate, as he's (also) an Arsenal supporter. As we chatted he referred to the new ground correctly as The Grove, adding further evidence of his quality of character.

Onai and Helen - Thanks for stopping guys and for following up by email. Glad you like the shot!

This is portrait #21 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Tristan (Stranger #20/100), Venezia Rialto

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 05:01:18 -0700

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

Tristan Rà is a French painter currently working in Venice ahead of a December exhibition in Zurich. I'd hugely encourage everyone to check out Tristan's work here.

Tristan - thanks for your time, thoughtful conversation and email. Really looking forward to seeing how your Venice project evolves.

He let me interrupt his work on the Rialto bridge, where he was painting "small" 4'x4' canvases which he'll take back to his studio to transform into vast final versions over the rest of the year.

We chatted in an enjoyably juggled mix of English, French and Italian over fifteen minutes, noting the vast assortment of tools we both used in pursuit of our respective art forms (reflector, softbox, etc. vs. oils, thinners, brushes, etc.).

Having taken a few quick shots whilst he worked, and not wishing to intrude too far with the light changing, I suggested a final shot with eye contact. Tristan rounded on the camera with storm-front level intensity and a twinkle of a smile. He noted with a wry smile the abstract feel graffiti behind him and that he felt it appropriate, and then we were done.

In terms of any image, it's easy to dream up extra kit that would have been nice to have. This is one, however, where I feel the need for a second flash goes a little further. The reflector and on camera softbox give a neat fill, but I'd love to have shot a rim light between Tristan and the backdrop to give a little more drama to the separation.

This is portrait #20 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying their weekend. I've been off Flickr for the last week and a bit, so am looking forward to catching up.

Rain Shadow (Blea Tarn Rain Clouds), Lake District

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 04:45:52 -0700

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

A quick posting as I try to keep on top of a New Year's resolution to upload more the shots I'd normally let slip into archive. This one's deeply imperfect, but the rain drops splashed across the front element kind of capture the grim weather I enjoyed that afternoon.

I went for a slightly heavier black and white processing than normal, so any thoughts on that would be appreciated! Too much?

Slowly catching up - hope everyone is well.

Walking On Water (Peverill Point Long Exposure), Swanage

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 12:13:53 -0700

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

I've still got a couple more strangers shots to post from Venice, but thought I'd mix things up a little. The project is already overwhelming my Photostream!

Here's a quick long exposure from last night, out on Peverill Point in Dorset. I used a flashlight/torch to paint in the seaweed and spray - it could certainly be more even, but I only got one go before the sea reclaimed my vantage point.

The light from the left is a mix of blue hour and Bournemouth's light pollution. The shots that followed were a little too orange from sodium vapour lighting.

UPDATE 2: (!) Still not quite happy with the banding, I switched to a SOOC version of the sky. From my monitor that leaves just one patch of banding at the top of the screen. That's uploading to Flickr as a 11.8Mb file without any tweaks - no noise reduction, no WB, no sharpening, etc. I turned everything off. It's better but still not perfect! Shot at ISO on the 5D MKiii so, really shouldn't have an issue, but there we go.

UPDATE: This is my second upload of this shot. The compression on uploading the first brought out a lot of banding, that was unapparent in the Lightroom version. I get a lot of issues uploading skies, and note contacts saying the same thing, so hope it's an issue the magic donkey is working on. I added 2% noise and a brush>splatter filter to the sky in an attempt to protect it this time round. It looks fine on iPad, but if I lower my head on the desktop monitor it still looks a little harsh. Commentary on this front would be hugely appreciated.

Hope everyone is having a great Easter!

Snow Patrol (Jessica In Snow), Rickmansworth Aquadrome

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:16:31 -0700

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

Quick post from recent snow. Jessica is reasonably keen on it, and somewhat tolerant of the cold. Thinking maybe a tighter crop would be better on this one, pulling in the top right corner.

It's the last week of the quarter, so my Flickr access is sporadic at best this week. Look forward to catching up with people on the other side.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Naomi (Stranger #19/100), Venezia San Marco

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 09:06:49 -0700

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

The Venice trip marks a milestone in my (early) 100 Stranger's Project; the point where my approach has (perhaps temporarily) crystalised to (a) find a background (b) determine exposure (c) wait for the right stranger (d) shoot.

In some cases that gobbled up a little too much time, waiting for the right stranger to come by. In this case, Naomi turned up and kindly agreed to join in.

She was over from England on a photography trip with 100 others, and had just taken a solo trip out from the rest of the group. This is just inside one of the side alleys running parallel to the "Bridge of Sighs". Naomi is holding a gold striped reflector and I've shooting with an on camera softbox, to get a decent exposure in the shadows. It was a little tricky to judge - thank you Naomi for being patient on that front. It felt important to make sure the distant light of the alleyway was darker than her face, to make sure the emphasis was correctly balanced to give her centre stage.

Thanks Naomi for taking part in the project - as per our chat, I can't recommend it enough and really hope you decide to start one of your own. In any case, hopefully you got some great shots of Venice on your trip.

This is portrait #19 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Giovanni (Stranger #18/100), Venezia Arsenale

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:43:39 -0700

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

I met Giovanni on the Riva Ca di Dio, at the turning up to the Arsenale. He saw me spot him from some distant, and watched me walk the few hundred feet up to him with a sombre smile.

Whilst he was mid Sunday morning ritual - a walk up the Fondamenta Forni to stand and smoke looking out at the busy channel - he agreed to stop for a moment and allow a portrait for the project.

Not wanting to disturb his ritual I took a couple of steps to get a nice smooth background of Venetian building front. The chalky orange seemed to fit with his shirt and tinted spectacles neatly. I took a couple of shots straight on, but with the curve of the glasses it was impossible to avoid being reflected. A couple of steps to the side allowed for their reflection to shift to a nicely Venetian bridge - hence going with this shot without the eye contact.

A little while later walking back along the front I saw Giovanni smoking and we exchanged a solemn, but friendly, wave that made me feel a little 0.5% more rooted in this fantastic city.

Thanks Giovanni for allowing me to intrude on your morning - I hope you enjoyed your meditations on the lagoon.

This is portrait #18 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Apologies to my contacts for my sporadic presence - we're working quarter end at an Amercian company, so things are very exciting, but outrageously busy!

Niamh (Stranger #17/100), Venezia Arsenale

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:08:30 -0700

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

Update: Such is the weight of hugely appreciated opinion/discussion, I've decided to replace the original post here with a re-edit. Please see the comments below for the original and SOOC components. Thanks to everyone for their commentary - fantastically enlightening.

Like so many of my strangers, Niamh was racing to work when I interrupted her day with a request to take her portrait.

Niamh's from Toronto, currently enjoying an internship at the Peggy Guggenheim. That sounds amazing.

She had a little way yet to race to get to work, so after taking a handful of shots in the shade at the end of the Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, I felt I'd intruded enough.

Unfortunately the best of the series by far, with her amazing hair drifting in the breeze off the lagoon, was kind of wrecked by a poorly composed background. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but having thought long and hard, I composed an alternative angle on the background, matched exposure and shot a backing plate.

The image above is a composite of that new background and the best of the series. Both images are in the comments.

I' m not sure if that's entirely in the spirit of the project, but I wanted the best shot possible. Having made a mistake, I hope this puts it right to some degree. Clearly the perspective/scale is a little broken in the end result. I'd really appreciate people's feedback on this front; I can kind of see a few sides of the argument, and some extra angles would be of huge interest.

Niamh - thank you so much for stopping. I really hope you like your portrait, and can forgive me for messing up the background! Have an amazing time in Venice - it sounds like an incredible opportunity you have there, and was no doubt very hard earned.

This is portrait #17 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved.

Have a great week!

Pietro (Stranger #16/100), Venezia San Marco

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 10:39:51 -0700

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

I'm a bit of a slave to backgrounds for my stranger portraits, and having seen this ace shop front glowing through the grey pillars of San Marco square, I camped the spot for half an hour waiting for an appropriate stranger.

Pietro was that man.

He was smoking a black cigarette with a look of focused thought. I explained the project to him, and how so far I'd taken portraits of Londoners and New Yorkers. He gave an exact nod, and stated "...and Venetians." Flicking his cigarette straight into a bin three of four metres off with effortless precision, he straightened his jacket and we started.

He didn't want to check his shot on the LCD, saying he was too old, with a wry smile.

There's a car colour for the Fiat Punto in Italy titled "Intellectual Grey". If I didn't name my shots by formula for my project, that's what I'd call this portrait.

Thanks Pietro for letting me take your portrait, and for the elegant intelligence you shared.

Tech wise, this again used on camera fill flash with a little softbox. Perhaps I over exposed the right side of Pietro's face, but generally the flash is serving me well. It's fun to have a portrait in Lightroom and play the "shadows" slider end to end without noticing a change to peoples' faces.

This is portrait #16 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved. I can't recommend it enough.

Hope everyones having a great weekend.

Renato (Stranger #15/100), Venezia Fondamente Nove

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:02:08 -0700

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

Renato's another Venetian local; kind enough to break his Saturday walk to chat for a couple of moments and take a portrait together.

He was a superbly no nonsense chap, with intense, polished style - as hopefully illustrated in the shot.

Renato - Thanks for taking part in the project. Your style is immense.

We only had time for three frames, and I was thinking chiefly about getting the flash settings right (even eTTL it's a new ball to juggle), so I wasn't at all sure with the composition of this. It felt at first like the wall was running the wrong way, but it's really grown on me. I think the hat line and collar somehow threads it together with the soft diagonals. It'd be interesting to know what people think.

This is portrait #15 of my 100 Strangers Project - check out the group page and get involved. I can't recommend it enough.

Hope everyone is having an incredible week.

Greta (Stranger #14/100), Venezia Fondamente Nove

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 00:03:32 -0700

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

Greta was walking to work along Venice's Fondamente Nove as I leapt off the ferry from the airport. I'd just fitted my new flash and softbox, and looked up, saw her walking past at point blank range and asked if I could take her portrait. Which kind of surprised us both, it happened so quickly.

She was very unsure - noting that her hair was in a state and that she was running to work, but she agreed to one shot. That meant no reflector, carefully chosen background or checking of the LCD. Having never used the flash for a stranger portrait before, you can imagine I was just a little relieved with how things came out.

I'm a huge fan of purple and turquoise as a combination, and so the combination of the hazy Venetian canal and Greta's insanely appealing hair really pleases me! In the little chat we had Greta explained she was a Venetian local, so I'm really happy the shot places her there.

Greta - I hope you like your portrait. Grazie mille! Thank you for being part of my 100 Strangers Project. I really appreciate your stopping on a busy morning.

Greta spoke English, but the whole trip was made massively easier by my kind colleague Davide Bussola who invested a lunchtime translating some key 100 strangers project phrases with me.

Box Room (University of East London), Tower Hamlets

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:12:31 -0800

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

Despite a complete obsession with street portraits at present, I'm still shooting my usual long exposure stuff too. This is one from a night out in Docklands with Seitrams, looking across a puddle at the University of East London.

The white balance in this was a bit of a challenge. In the end I just left it pretty much as shot - a dirty light polluted glow, slightly green from all that fluorescent lighting. It feels somehow Soviet to my eye.

The low POV is just with the camera sat on the floor. Sitting your camera on the floor, with a cable release, is one of my favourite long exposure options and great for travel shots when you might not be taking a tripod everywhere.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying a bright end to the week!

Erica (Stranger #13/100), NYC Times Square

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 12:45:33 -0800

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

Erica and her friend (sorry; I forgot her name!) were in Times Square checking out the lights ahead of a Broadway show trip. She's a Long Island native, hosting her visitor from Portland. I feel bad not recalling her friend's name, as she was massively helpful holding the giant golden reflector to the right of this shot. That bounced back light from a giant video advertising board to the left of shot, at a neat 45 degree angle up.

As well as appreciating Erica's taking part, she was hugely patient waiting for the video ads to scroll through - I was shooting without a flash, and only a couple of the ads were bright enough to light the shot. Thank you Aerie for an insanely bright peach/white advertisement that offered about two stops more light than the average, and about three more than Bank of America's grim navy blue offering.

We did a quick run of shots looking up Broadway - first going for a neutral look. When Erica and friend reviewed them on the back of the camera, though, she said how much she'd prefer to be smiling, so we fired off a few more frames. This one was the best.

Erica - thank you again for being such a great sport, and agreeing to become Stranger #13 in my ongoing 100 Strangers Project.

In terms of processing, I've included a (near) SOOC version in the comments below. There were a few distracting highlights in the bokeh which I went on to correct in Photoshop, but the main change was to the white balance to give that slightly aqueous glow.

Evan (Stranger #12/100), NYC West Village

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 01:41:10 -0800

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

Evan works in a West Village hat shop and agreed to take five minutes out of a quick circuit around the block between shifts to become Stranger #12 in my 100 Strangers Project.

He's a really engaging guy, and clearly massively talented. He's a sculptor and artist as well as a fashion designer, living in Harlem having moved to NYC from St Louis. As we chatted about his work and art, his energy and enthusiasm came through as intense as the late afternoon sun lighting this shot.

Evan - thanks for taking the time to stop and chat on a cold day! I hugely enjoyed our encounter, and hope you like your image! Thank you for taking part in the project.

Regarding the light in this one, I went into the shot with the constant "move to the shade / find diffuse light" mantra churning round and round in my brain - but I chose to disregard it. The warmth and intensity of the end of day sun was just too tempting. I'd seen this shop window opposite the Magnolia Bakery and wanted to use it. I'd hoped it would reflect a bit of light back to the right side of his face, and Evan is holding my reflector just out of shot below his face. I know it's not classic portrait light, and not the most flattering, but thought Evan had the looks and character to stand up to it and win!

Prashant (Stranger #11/100), NYC High Line

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:16:06 -0800

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

This is Prashant, who kindly agreed to be Stranger 11 in my ongoing 100 Strangers Project.

Whilst an incredible learning event, the 100 Stranger's Feb 2013 meet up in Brick Lane did have an impact on my thoroughness of interrogation/conversation. The general MO was about taking pictures, so I fear I channeled an excessive amount of my energy into accosting and directing Prashant and his girlfriend as they strolled down NYC's High Line. That's something I realised after shooting this portrait, and which I've corrected on subsequent shots (to come).

So embarrassingly I can't tell you more than they had the feel of NYC locals, enjoying an intense intellectual discussion before I ambushed them. Prashant's associate was incredibly game holding the gold reflector in harsh wind; the day we shot this was maybe -10C with the wind. That glow is light, not heat! Wanting to get the street art in the backdrop, and shooting from the narrow overlook, demanded a wrestle with a hard winter sun for backlight. The reflector is maybe a bit harsh bouncing that light back in. I figured we'd need to warmth of the gold side to give Prashant equal stage with the bright rainbow backdrop, yet perhaps a more diffuse white side would have given a more even tone.

Prashant was a great guy - he took the shoot very seriously, yet with a cool sense of humour. He also put up with dazzling himself by removing the shades. When I first saw him the shades gave him a fantastic edge to go with the sharp discussion, yet I much prefer the shots without them. There's a keen intelligence to that gaze, and I think it better expresses the focused character that came across when we spoke.

Prashant - thanks so much for agreeing to be part of the project. I hope you had a fantastic day after we'd met and that you like your pictures!

Sorry to my contacts for recent inactivity - hopefully the above note of holiday explains things! Look forward to catching up soon. Hopefully you're all fantastically well.

Nimbus Of Winter (Pair Of Swans In Snow), Rickmansworth

nobody@flickr.com (flatworldsedge) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 15:33:05 -0800

flatworldsedge posted a photo:

Another quick, recent shot to show I'm managing to take some pictures beyond my 100 Strangers Project - though I'm finding that incredibly addictive.

Shot from the water - good wellingtons are part of every photographers essential kit, I reckon. I really like the nimbus of snow around the lead swan's intense expression, and nearly went with a hard close up to emphasise that. However, unusual as the diagonal out of shot feels, I really liked the main image as it was.

Having some minor issues with Flickr's map tagging - maybe to do with Chrome? Will try to correct this one in another browser... but for those unable to sleep for the half mile dither, it's on the lake to the south of the point tagged!

Hope everyone's having a fantastic weekend.