There will be blood

Last season, one of the standout shows at Red Branch Theatre Company was “Carrie: The Musical” staged by TYA, their teen professional company. This was the first show since the theatre renovations and the depth of the stage area changed everything for productions at this great little theater in Howard County, Maryland. There was new depth and and it was used to spectacular effect in this show.

Keeping with Red Branch’s mission to be socially conscious in its productions and outreach, the bullying elements of the Carrie story were used as a jumping off point for discussions of how we treat each other both in the meat world and on social media.

Carrie: The Musical at RBTC TYA

Carrie: The Musical at RBTC TYA

Besides being wonderful creatives and great folks, it’s this mission that really excites me about my relationship with them. You’ll read me writing about that often.Carrie: The Musical at RBTC TYA
So, this show was back in January, why am I writing about it now? Well, because I’m trying to blog more and because I was recently asked for images from the show for a review Stephanie Williams was writing for the theatrical blood company that provided the gooey effects for the big scene at the dance.

I’m trying to be better about getting compensation for my work when someone asks for it. In this case, since I was originally compensated by the theatre, I felt it was reasonable to ask for something for them. In this case, the nice people at Gravity Momentum were willing to give Red Branch some free blood (which I understand will be very useful next season!)

So, here is the review and my photos and just in case it disappears
Carrie Review at Gravity Momentum

 

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

On the edge


before
after

 

On a senior portrait shoot this past weekend I had a subject that was both beautiful and accommodating  So, we went a little off the beaten path to get some edgier shots.  This was as much fun in post as it was to shoot.

The late afternoon Fall light was kind of going away so I filled with on-camera flash (I was having a little pocket-wizard issue) softened with a large Rogue Flashbender with diffuser and a 1/2 cto gel on the flash.

In post I leveled it out in Lightroom and then brought it into OnOne Software’s Perfect Effects 4 where I applied the Arkham preset a couple times with different masks, some tonal contrast and something else that presently escapes me.

I think the final product has the intrigue I was hoping for without taking away from the lovely features of my subject.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

When is it no longer a photograph?

[beforeafter]
before
after
[/beforeafter]
While working on this image, my wife commented that it wasn’t a photograph anymore since it no longer looked just like it came out of the camera. Well, I don’t know about that, but it does fulfill my vision of what this shot was supposed to be.Yes, I added the clouds to enhance the rather lackluster sky and brought out the colors in my mind. Those of a later day shooting opportunity I didn’t have.The bracketed shots were merged using the ‘Merge to 32-bit HDR’ plugin from HDRSoft for lightroom. Tonemapping was started in Lightroom and completed in OnOne Software Perfect Effects . There was a little bit of masking in photoshop to replace the sky.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail