Aug 11: White Balance

Actually, 'light balance' is more appropriate.
Here's how I balanced the lighting to photograph a white-on-white-on-white subject.

The 2 important features of the subject are the quilting (stitching) and the piecework (shapes).

To capture the quilting, I need a dramatic side light to generate contrast.

The quilting pops, but the colors and shapes are invisible.

I can soften the contrast by swinging the light towards the front.

The light balance is not very good yet: bright on the left, dark on the right, too many shadows.
A softbox fill from the front right (opposite the first light) improves the balance. (please ignore the slight exposure error)

Now, I can see the shapes and the stitching. But, notice the subtle white lines (aka Seam Allowances) that criss-cross the image. These are the overlapping areas between the pieces. The quilt is double-thick in these areas, so more light is reflected.

To compensate for this, because I don't want to see the seam allowances, I need to add a backlight. I used an umbrella as a wide directional source.

From the front, the backlight produces the desired counteracting effect. The seam allowances now appear darker, as less light passes through the double-thick areas.

Balancing this backlight with the first two lights, I come up with a better image. The seam allowances are now very subtle, but remain visible enough to help define the piece work boundaries.

This final light balance produces an image that fully captures the important elements of the quilt. Both the quilting and the piece work are displayed effectively.

The set-up was about like this, exposed to include the ambient scene, (my living room), using a 70mm focal length to minimize distortion. I also used PhotoShop to square the corners and etc.

I shot this second quilt too, much more easily.

The w-o-w-o-w quilt was very difficult to photograph, but it was a rewarding challenge.

Aug 5: Her Eyes

Mesmerized.

Simple windowlight in the first two. ISO 800 2.8 1/60.
In the last, I used the sun as a hair light, an umbrella (front left) as key and a softbox (wide right) as fill.
Yes, the swing is moving. And yes, that's her normal 'cheese' smile.

Aug 5: The Grand

We climbed the Grand Teton via the Petzoldt Direct route, one of the 'Classic' Teton routes.

We began the approach at 6600', with 13,800' in our sights.

We set base camp in the shadow of the Middle Teton.

With warm temps, the snowmelt fed many creeks.

We successfully completed our route, but bad weather forced us to turn back just short of the true summit. We caught wind, rain, and even SNOW at the top, but the ridges just to the south experienced the worst of it, including lightning.

With bad weather-related accidents the week before (including fatalities), the Tetons are no place to fool around with the weather. I would've loved to stand on the summit, but that thrill will have to wait.

I also filmed a little POV of the adventure. The editing process will begin soon. I hope to have it finished later this month.

Aug 1: Punch Line

Here's my version of a cartoon strip.

Words aren't needed for the punch line.

July 31: Snap Shots

I'm working on a variety of projects now:
An ad campaign for a ski company.
A promotional book for a pool company.
A documentation/submission for a textile artist.

I've also been traveling and riding my bikes. I've taken a break from hauling a heavy pack, so here are a few point'n'shoot full auto snap shots. (unedited)

The road to CA last week.

The road home. Vanessa snapped this one.

Mill Creek Canyon, overlooking the valley.

East Canyon, a great road for cycling. And it's freshly resurfaced!

It also has a steep MTB route. Watch out for deer on the white-knuckle descent.

I'll try to get some images up from this week's studio shoots.

July 14: BCC Cars

I tried some climbing in Big Cottonwood, but my injured knee prevented me from doing much.
I made it about 2 moves up the wall before the pain convinced me that the knee is not yet ready for action.
Without a tripod or shutter release, I shot this series.


BCC Cars from Jeremy Koons on Vimeo.


I used my climbing shoes and backpack to support the camera, and a dedicated trigger finger to get the shots.
I combined them in PhotoShop to create this final image.

                    

I'd like to try again with the right gear and a different angle.

July 7: Sample Stills

I'm still organizing video and compiling image sets into timelapse clips.
Here're are a few stills from the forthcoming clips.

Sometimes in the car.

Sometimes with rotation.

Sometimes at night.

Sometimes on the bike.

Sometimes wider.

Sometimes in tunnels.

Sometimes in camp, usually tired.

Sometimes posed.

And sometimes hanging by a web.

Sometime, at some point, I'll get some of this edited, and I'll post something, somewhere, somehow.

July 5: Oregon Preview

 Returning from adventure, I have roughly 5000 new images, and hours of video.
(~125GB total media)
It will take some time to get things sorted (let alone edited...), but here's one set that works.

I can't decide what to call it.
It fits somewhere between Body Balance and Cloud Dancing.
'Stick Yoga' just doesn't quite do it.
Suggestions?

Dec '09: Head Shots

Nieces and Nephew.
Duck, Duck, Goose!

May '09: Race Cars

Seeing a friend post some nice panning images made me look back at some of mine from a year ago.
1/80 f/18 280mm  (on a 1.3 crop sensor)   100mph?

Now at 1/200

I like the second one better, with a touch more sharpness to the car. The wheels also help provide a speed reference.
But, neither is very interesting.
I'd still rather have good composition than good camera techniques.

June 11: Family Portrait

Brace yourself for something new.
I'm usually runnin' around with a 40lb pack, skiing/biking/etc, to get my photos.
This week, I shot some family portraits.

We went to Antelope Island near SLC to find some nice background scenery.

Later, when patience was running low, and the bugs were devouring us all, the composition broke down.

Notice that the baby's parents (far left) are the only ones not paying attention to the baby. Although, I expect they probably deserve a little break.

Before that happened though, we shot this headshot for the man of the hour, before he leaves for 2 years.

And one of his sister, (a friend of mine).

And brother, sis-in-law, & niece.

And, of course, the proud parents.

I used artificial lighting (mixed with sunlight) in all of the above images. The cloud cover made it difficult to get the light balance correct, as some images were in bright sun (ex: sister) and others were soft shade.
For most shots, only fill was needed. In some, like his headshot, I used the strobe as the key light.

Now, let's do some photoshop work.
In this image, mom looks good, but the cloud reflection ruins the other half of photo (and dad isn't looking).

Then, in another image, dad looks good, but mom is buried in clouds.

It proved too difficult to get this shot done right in camera. (If I had remembered my polarizer, it would have been simple. Oops.)
So, I wanted to combine the good halves of the two photos into one composite image.

Check out this screencast video of how it went.


PhotoShop Composite from Jeremy Koons on Vimeo.




And here's the final image.

June 8: PMTS Shoot

I shot a few images for Paul Mitchell The School, in SLC.
The images went out in emails to their clients.

The School wanted an image to showcase the professional products,

an image showing the new pedicure tubs,

and an image showing the facial room,

And I created this one to capture the mood.

End notes:
Good PhotoShop work should be undetectable.
I'm pretty happy the the clever lighting in the 3rd image. I used a speedlight on each individual table, then merged them into the darker (but warmer) background image. Without this composite lighting, the room is very flat.
The 4th image is also a composite. I won't give away as many details, but the candles, flowers, background, and bed are 4 individual shots, pulled together in the computer.
Take a photo of a candle using your flash and you'll see why the composite is necessary.

June 8: Click Here

I've had some images published from the Peru trip, along with images by Forest Woodward and Matt Catalano.

Check out the images and stories on these links:

http://www.livinginperu.com/blogs/features/1373

http://www.socialearth.org/social-entrepreneur-surfer-dude-puts-waves-to-good-work

http://surfermag.com/travel/reinventing_surf_tourism/

More of Forest's images: http://www.forestwoodward.com/

More of Matt's images: http://www.imagekind.com/MemberProfile.aspx?MID=964b185a-acc7-41b9-9e1e-762b71d2e09b

And, here's another image you will like.

http://kimberhansen.blogspot.com/2010/06/drifting-jeremy-vanessa-teaser.html

June 4: Women's Bike

We're selling a women's road/cruiser bike.
We bought it from Bingham Cyclery in late '08. Due to summer travel and a broken foot, it's been ridden less than 100 miles, and only in fair weather.
Stored inside.

2008 Specialized Globe City 7.

Suited for a woman about 5'0" to 5'4". Specialized says it's a '53,' but check their 'Geometry' tab if you like to see lots of numbers.
http://www.specialized.com/it/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=34520&menuItemId=0&gold_ses=

It comes with an integrated fender/rack/lighting system, which attaches easily with stock braze-ons.
The lights, front and rear, are powered by the wheels. No batteries required.

Or take them off to save a little weight.

The rear light is also a reflector, for added visibility.

The bike is basically new. With a quick dusting, it could be on the showroom floor. I didn't even clean it for the photos. Look how shiny the cassette is! I wish my other bikes looked this good.

We paid $700 for it. In it's like-new condition, I think $475 is a good price, but I'd like to sell it soon so I'm willing to negotiate.

Email is convenient, as I am often outside. Jeremy@JeremyKoons.com
Call 801-906-8588 if you'd prefer.

Thanks

-Jeremy