Last week I made a journey around Indiana to see several of my friends before I left for India. It was great connecting with friends I had not seen in years. I hadn’t seen Allie in probably over five years, but I had suggested doing a shoot together a while back. We went out in Ft. Wayne, IN looking for a good location to shoot. I lost the sun a little faster than I anticipated so I did more shots with flash than I intended, but I like the results.
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Yesterday my dad dropped me off in Cincinnati with all of my bags for heading back to India. I planned on staying with my good friends, Casey and Jeremiah, before flying out the next day. When Jeremiah came to pick me up he asked, “Why are there so many expensive cars in the parking lot here? Oh, I guess this is an expensive hobby.” He met me at Lunken Municipal Airport where my dad had dropped me before taking off again in his recently restored French trainer four-seater airplane. My dad has an expensive hobby.
I realized I’ve never taken very many photos of my dad or his planes, so I took this opportunity to document this flight. This plane is temporary, at least until he gets his RV-10 kit plane up and running. He has probably another 2 years work to put into it before its done.
My dad, the pilot.
Flying over Lake Monroe.
I would love to do a photo study on clouds as seen on their level.
The Skyline of Cincinnati in the distance.
The Final Approach.
I’m packing again. This is getting to be the norm I guess. I am leaving my home this morning and flying out of Cincinnati tomorrow afternoon. It’s been a while since I’ve updated. I’ve been busy traveling around and seeing friends. I’ve been shooting a lot, but haven’t had much time to edit. Once I get back into my routine in India I’ll have some editing time and get things updated on here. Be well, my friends.
I wanted to do some more fashionesque photoshoots since I got to Mumbai. That’s why I painted my walls white. Besides the few Couch Surfing portraits I did, I did not really take advantage of my situation. The friday before I left Mumbai to come back to the states for a visit I went to a party and met Jazba. I asked her if she’d be interested in doing a shoot before I left and she said she’d love to. Finally, on tuesday, our schedules lined up and she came to the studio, err, my living room. She brought a lovely black dress she had bought at a thrift store for $5 that was perfect.
Not only is Jazba beautiful, she is also a very talented model (these are not one and the same).
I am finally getting around to editing more of my trip to Washington State. Here are some of the finals.
View from Mt. Erie near Deception Pass. It was a beautiful day and location to climb. Click on image to see large.
Mt. Erie from across the lake near sunset.
My favorite spot at Deception Pass.
The second peak of Big Chief in Squamish, BC shot from the bald first peak. That was a pretty incredible hike. Class 4 hiking.
The view from the first peak looking back over the Strait of Georgia which connects to the Pacific Ocean.
I am glad to be working again.
Yesterday I did quick head shot of a business professional in Indianapolis. It’s not the travel and adventure stuff I have been doing, but its still fun problem solving. This doesn’t have a fun story to go with it, so I’m providing the How To…let me know what you think and if I should keep doing these.
I showed up about half an hour before the subject was supposed to arrive. I selected an open space in the office near a window for the location. The light spilling on the white background can only help, no negative. And since I’m shooting at f/8, 1/125s, and ISO100, my lights should over power any ambient lighting.
(A) I brought with me a travel background kit and a simple king size White bedsheet as the backdrop. Maybe its not “professional” but afterwards, no one can tell the difference. I also carry a black bedsheet for low key photos.
(B) I placed an AlienBee 1600 behind the sheet shooting back towards the subject. This will blow out the center more than the edges. It doesn’t really matter since it’s going to be an all white backdrop, but it reduces clutter around the “studio”. This is roughly 2 stops above (F/16) the key light.
(C) Next I set up my White Lightning 1600x with the 42 inch Brolly Box, a shoot through translucent white umbrella with a reflective backing that keeps light from escaping out the back. I place this very close to the subject to get the best quality light from the brolly box. The subject has glasses so I have to adjust the height and position of the light above and further to the right. (f/8)
(D) I set up my Canon Speedlite 580EXII on my tripod behind and to the left of the subject. Using my Cybersync radio slave it will fire along with the studio strobes. I set it on 1/32 power which put it about a stop and half above my key light, the brolly box.
(E) I had a VALS (Voice Activated Light Stand) holding my 32inch reflector on the left side of the subject bouncing light into the shadow side of his face so it is not void of detail.
(F) The Subject stood roughly 10ft from the backdrop which minimizes the amount of spill light coming from the back light.
(G) And I shot with my 50mm lens which requires me to get pretty close to the subject for a headshot. I like the dynamic this creates with the subject, but it would be best to shoot around the 70mm range. Even though 50mm is normal and does not distort the subject, 70mm is a little bit more pleasing to the eye.
My grandpa is not who he used to be. I remember him always laughing, always pestering or pinching. I remember how hard he would try and to what lengths he would go out of his way to help someone. That seemed to be what he lived on: helping others. Over the past several years his health and memory were fading gradually enough, but suddenly in January he had a heart attack that put him in a nursing home. Now, at age 89, it is hard to recognize him as the same man sitting slumped in his wheel chair or fighting sleep in his recliner. It’s been difficult for me to watch this once strong, proud man deteriorate. I tend to distance myself rather than watch up close. I would rather remember him as I did as a kid, riding in his horse drawn buggy or helping me to feed the neighbor’s pigs.
Grandpa loved horses. Anyone entering his nursing home room could guess as much by the yellow plaid blanket inlaid with the heads of horses folded over the back of his chair and the multitude of horse posters covering the walls. He spent so much of his life caring for other people as well as his horses. Now he struggles to have enough strength to do simple tasks like shaving. He has to rely on others to take care of everyday needs. I know this is hard for him since he wouldn’t let others help him if he could do it himself. I feel like it was yesterday my mother yelled at him for climbing into the attic to open the air ducts or trying to till his vegetable garden. No one could do it like he could.
This series speaks about self-reliance. You are never strong enough to do it alone forever.
I was unsure about going to see him. I did not know whether he would recognize me; grandma had warned me he may not. When I found my mom pushing him through the home in the wheel chair suddenly became a bit more alert. “What’s with all that fuzz?” he asked in his typical jovial tone referring to my recently grown long hair. But that was the only coherent thing he said the entire time I was there. The nurses moved him into his recliner and he spent the rest of our time there moving in and out of sleep.
I am leaving again for India in a few weeks. I do not know whether I will see Grandpa again before he moves on. I do not know what the next few months hold for him or myself. His existence here is limited. It’s no doubt hardest on my grandma. Living by herself is lonely. Separated from her love, she is unsure of her own existence or what to do next.
All of us have limited time. I’m ok with that.
Sometimes I need inspiration to shoot. I have barely picked up my camera since I came to Indiana in March. I get stuck just doing my thing not looking for creative outlets, but my soul suffers. My good friend Katie Collins (katiecollinsphoto.blogspot.com) from Nashville, TN came up to hang out for a couple of days. One thing ALWAYS happens when we hang out. Photography. She’s an incredible muse and encourages ideas. Even when I’m on the other side of the world I’m bouncing ideas off of her.
Friday night in Bloomington, IN Katie and I set out to attend a photo gallery opening and meet some friends near Kirkwood. I break out my Orbis Ring Flash and we go to work flagging down strangers and friends, asking if I can get entirely too close to them to take a portrait with my 16-35mm wide angle lens. With this absurd plastic dish inches from their face I ask the subject to make a funny face. People outside of bars seem to be much more willing to do funny, silly things than people in day to day life. I like shooting in this atmosphere.
Test shot #1
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Examples of using the ring flash as a off camera key light.
Greetings from Indiana. It’s interesting being back here. My two weeks in the Pacific Northwest were great and added to my desire to live there…soon. Leaving for Indiana was hard. Even from the airplane window looking over the flat farmland, I found myself grimacing. I was not ready to be stuck in the flat, dead lands of the midwest. I was excited to see friends, but the reverse culture shock was severe. Since the initial shock, the effects have faded. Seeing amazing friends, climbing in my home climbing gym, and standing on my sister’s property overlooking beautiful rolling hills bounding off into the distance have returned me, all of me, to this place. Maybe it is good to be home to some extent. To be recognized; loved. This month will go too fast and I will find myself on a plane heading back to Mumbai. I am excited for the next move. I am not sure where it will take me, but right now I’m hoping its the Pacific Northwest – namely, Portland.
I finished the paperwork today to do some substitute teaching while I’m back. Sometimes I love it. Sometimes it’s hell.
Here’s a portrait I took of my friend Tiffany using a window as a back light and my Orbis Ringflash on my Speedlite 580exII as fill. I shot Tiffany with my 50mm at f/1.4 while Ed, her crazy 60 something year old roommate watched over my shoulder. He likes to talk.
The next day we saw online there is plenty of climable rock on the nearby Mount Erie, just north of Deception Pass. Following the ambiguous directions we find a few bolted routes near the lookout at the top of the mountain. With beautiful views of the surrounding lakes and shoreline, we jump on the easy yet energizing sport climbs. Only at the bottom of the mountain looking up do we see that we were climbing just around the corner from a massive amount of climbs. Ah, well, next time.
We drive to Vancouver, BC for a few days and stay with Chris, a friend I met in Hampi over New Years. He encourages us to spend a day hiking on the Big Chief in Squamish. We take his advice and spend an afternoon scrambling up the intense Class 4 trek. The bare top of the first peak scares us as we both slip at the same time, our imaginations full of images of us sliding over the edge. Luckily nothing happened and we get off the mountain in time to meet Kevin, another friend I met in Hampi. The climbing community in this area is great, and I cannot wait to be closer.
Speaking of, I am unofficially planning on moving to Portland within the year (or so) to pursue my refocus of adventure sport photography. I love India and I would love to stay longer, but my passions are pushing me towards adventure sports,and the availability in India is…limited. The Pacific Northwest has almost everything I could ever want to pursue. And it doesn’t hurt that many of the companies supplying gear to these sports are based in Portland.
Meeting with Phil Borges was a definite highlight of my trip, and encouraging for my plans to move into this area. I do not know what the future holds, but whatever it is, I sure am looking forward to it.
These last two weeks have been somewhat of a whirlwind. I’ve started hanging out with a great new group of friends and been active all over the city. I’ve been trying to prepare for coming home, but it really gets shifted to the back of my mind. Now, 12 hours before I fly out, I still cannot concentrate on packing.
Monday I participated in the annual holiday of Holi. Holi is a festival of radiance (Teja) in the universe. During this festival, different waves of radiance traverse the universe, thereby creating various colours that nourish and complement the function of respective elements in the atmosphere. My new friends got together to cover each other in colored powders. It was a grand mess and oh, so much fun. I will post more photos later, but here is a taste.
I am excited to be at home and see my friends and family, but I have mixed feelings. I love being here and hate to leave for two months. Making great friends right before I leave is how it always seems to work for me. But I will be back before I know it. One thing I am really looking forward to at home is having running water 24 hours a day. The current situation is a drag.
I will update you on the other side…
I’m in the process of putting together a portfolio of my climbing photography to show to companies. When editing I get so interested in the masks I create when messing with layers. Sometimes they’re abstract and sometimes they are just incredibly graphic. I really love this example.
In the last three days I’ve hosted six couch surfers, none of which have actually stayed over night. An Indian doctor and three girls from all over Europe came about 8am and slept on the floor till 4pm, when they left to take a bus to Goa. Last night, two girls from the small, little known ex-USSR country of Belarus arrived here about 11:30pm and left for home at about 2:30am.
They were good company for their short stay, and allowed me to continue my ongoing project of photographing all my guests (I missed the first group because they left while I was asleep).
I really enjoyed living by myself, but I realized that there was an entire room getting almost no use so I opened my apartment up to a couple from New Zealand coming here to work for an NGO. Nigel and Alexandra (Alex) moved in in the middle of January. It’s been great having roommates (and people to look after the apartment while I’ve been traveling). My friend from college, Derek, has been staying with us since the first of February, leaving occasionally to travel. Nigel and Derek took off tonight for New Delhi, so I decided to continue my stated intent to photograph everyone who sleeps on my couch through Couch Surfing or other connections.
Derek is traveling around the world for a year. He’s blogging about his experience on a website called 1earthavenue, exploring the idea that we are all just neighbors with those across the earth.
The four of use shared tight quarters for the last month. Luckily all of us survived.
Badami is a tiny town, though anything but quiet. The streets are overwhelmed with the sounds of cars, busses, rickshaws, horses all honking, and people yelling. I left the busy street and climbed up inside the cliffs enjoying the peace and quiet and making friends monkeys. I climbed and sat amongst the family. They took little notice of me, almost immediately accepting my presence.
Click on image to see larger. A panoramic view of Badami and Bhuthanatha temple. 
Steps from the ruins of the fort above Badami
Woman doing her laundry in the lake with the Bhuthanatha Temple in the background
My return from my recent trip to Badami was uneventful besides it taking almost 24 hours for me to get back to my apartment. I took one train from Badami to Bijapur and another from Bijapur to Mumbai. In Solapur a beautiful young woman with two beautiful kids got on board and took the seat opposite me. We conversed in broken English and Hindi and she showed me the pictures of the rest of her family. I had finished my book and was tired of writing so I decided to do a quick sketch of the woman holding her son next to the window of the train. This is a bad representation of “Sanju’s” beauty.
