If you can't stand the heat

This shot was taken for the next issue of UCA Magazine. We try to feature a faculty or staff member that might have an interesting hobby that may or may not be related to their job. Robert Hall, the executive chef for the school, competes in food competitions around the country, so we decided to feature him.

I knew for the photo I wanted some cool lights but especially big flames. Liberal applications of heat and bourbon provided the flames, rendering what food was in the pan pretty inedible. But, it made for a cool photo!

I've been pretty inconsistent in my blogging lately, in part due to my work schedule but mostly due to laziness. I hope to snap out of that and start adding some more stuff on a frequent basis.

Fun with shop lights

I found a post on the Strobist website discussing glamor lighting techniques. Since the class I was teaching this week was dealing with lighting, I thought this would be a great opportunity to try it out.

Julie was photographed using two fluorescent work lights placed on either side of her. It was a neat glamor light technique that really highlighted her eyes, don't you think?

Valerie was photographed using the same two lights, but placed to the camera's right. It made a big, soft light source for some neat directional light.

Marianna was photographed with the same setup, but I moved to one side to shoot against the light, which was creating a nice, soft profile light. I was pretty pleased, and the class was impressed!


The last subject was Alicia, who was photographed using two tungsten lights that Valerie brought along. They were two reflectors that could clamp to lightstands, or furniture, doors, etc. I set them up at 45 degree angles for a few shots, and then decided to try to cross light her, using one light at camera right and at left in the background pointing at the camera. It made a great accent light that created a rim of light on the right side of Alicia's face.

It was an excellent and eye-opening experience that showed just what you could do with some inexpensive lights and some attention to detail.

Purple wall shoot #1

Purple wall shoot #1
Originally uploaded by mikekemp_f5

I recently was called upon to do a fashion shoot in a store that had yet to be opened. The purple walls grabbed my attention right off the bat; I knew what my background would be!

The models were easy to work with, and I got a chance to experiment with the lighting a little bit. I was very pleased with the results.

Purple wall shoot #2

Purple wall shoot #2
Originally uploaded by mikekemp_f5

A photo from a recent fashion shoot. Using black paper taped over the windows of the yet-to-be-opened store worked pretty well against the purple wall in the background - not to mention having a great model to work with.

Purple wall shoot #3

Purple wall shoot #3
Originally uploaded by mikekemp_f5

This is one of several photos I took during a recent fashion shoot for a women's magazine published locally. She is a business owner who I've actually photographed several times over the years after she won numerous pageants. I was very pleased with the way the photo looked, and her experience in modeling certainly helped pull it off.

My girls

Here's a couple of shots of my daughters that I shot this weekend:

Katie's 11-year-old portrait is actually not too far off her birthday, which was in August.

Sarah, on the other hand, is now closer to 6 1/2 than 6.

My first post!

Since it's about photography, I s'pose I better stick a photo on here, huh?

I shot this recently in my yard. The spider built an enormous web beside my house, only to have it gone by the time I returned from work.

I'm starting this blog to show some of my photos to everyone. Some will be related to my job, some that I just like, and others that I did in a spurt of creativity. Hope you guys enjoy!