Here's a new image series I produced to add some variety to my portfolio. I captured some harvesting shots last fall and decided I needed to get some representing the planting process.
There is often a whole lot more going into any given commercial image than a camera man and a subject. As usual I was the photographer in this instance. However, I had considerable help throughout the entire process. Alex Neukomm contributed his creative expertise in the area of art direction. Kevin Schick and Emil Bandy were the farming experts because as you might have guessed I am no farmer. Sierra Candler did a fine job behind the BTS camera. I am looking forward to getting that video together sometime soon. In addition to that I would be remiss in not giving credit Brian Niesen for his excellent farmer modeling skills, to Lenna Candler who helped out with food, and the Schick family for letting us take over their farm for a few hours. With all their help the creation of these images was made possible, thanks!
Recently hit the country roads with my friend Steven to capture some new commercial images for my portfolio. Steven was awesome in his color coordinated get-up. If you remember we did a Mtn Biking series back in 2010. This could sort of be considered continuations of that series. I'm hoping to add more "biking" pix to my portfolio over this summer. We'll see if I'm able to get around to it.
Tis the season to dawn Realtree® attire, paint your face, and hit the stands in pursuit of that trophy buck. Went out on a rainy thanksgiving weekend with my friend Brad to capture some new images for my portfolio as well as just have fun.
We shot this series with a single battery powered strobe bounced through a small umbrella.
I finely made my way back up to Milwaukee for the second time. It only took me a year or so, but I made up there again. Anyway, I toured the museum and walked the streets with some fantastic friends having a great time. However, you don't visit my blog for my anecdotal commentary of my life. Due to this fact here are the pix from the escapade. Enjoy!
If you're wondering how I could visit Milwaukee and not take pictures of the incredible museum itself then you missed the part about this being my second time. Check out my pix from the first trip.
As you can imagine it's really hard to find places in Illinois that don't look like... well... Illinois. What I mean by this is... It's hard to find locations that aren't just endlessly flat. Thankfully, with Peoria being a river town we have some bluffs that we can work to our advantage in creating the illusion of be on-location in the exotic locales throughout the United States.
Here's a few results from our photoshoot shot out at Camp Wokanda, A boy scout camp just North of Peoria a little ways off highway 29. Since Wokanda was located right on the river valley bluff we had some best looking "hills" illinois has to offer. I hope you enjoy this small series.
If you or your business are looking for a commercial lifestyle photographer I would love to discuss with you what Black Olive can offer you. We're a small company based out of Peoria IL. We are available for assignment worldwide.
After re-watching our Film+Fashion photoshoot video I realized that it had received 1300+ views since this January when I posted it. While for some YouTube video's this isn't any great feat, for my lowly channel this was big. After investigating I found source of the spike. Our video was posted on fstoppers.com blog. Apparently the consensus is... I'm a hipster. Kind of odd since my whole purpose for the shooting film was to gain experience with a medium and I hadn't had experience with. Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool to get our video introduced to a bunch of photogs as a "great" video. Don't know if you'll appreciate it as much as I did, but hey, I don't care!
Spring is slowly taking over winter one day at a time, but this past weekend was the first weekend I was able to get out and shoot without my jacket and that means a lot. Windy? yes, but that just made it interesting. This past Saturday I hit the streets of Peoria, IL with some old and new friends. Kirsten Krupps and Brian Robbins joined us to model and I had the opportunity to shoot beside Dirk Jaegle, and Justin Dwyer.
We spent a short piece of time experimenting with a concept I have for another, more involved, photoshoot. Can't wait to get out for that one. Anyway this was my first experience working with Kirsten and Brian and I have to say I'm looking forward to doing more shoots down the road. After shooting on the bridge we had the opportunity to go aboard the Spirit of Peoria for the remainder of our time which we didn't pass up. All I can say is if you're wanting a sweet classic venue here in the Peoria area check out what the Spirit has to offer.
The thing I love most about the commercial photography business is the opportunity to be challenged and to experiment with something different. I just got back from the first of a mulit-part photo shoot with Michael's Italian Feast. If you're familiar with my portfolio you'll know that I haven't shot a lot of food before... actually before tonight I hadn't shot any. Here's a couple "Behind-the-scenes" phone images to give you an idea of what's to come!
Considering the time constraints I feel like I walked away with some great images which I'm super excited to see on their new website that'll be coming soon.
In Christ,
David Price
Black Olive Photographic
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Once I start a project I like to wrap up the loose ends quickly. So here I am, before my previous post is cold in its grave posting the semi-conclusion to the Film + Fashion photoshoot. I say "semi" due to the fact I still have not developed the film from this little expedition. That detail is dependent on others to make happen and therefore must wait. Anyway, it got me thinking. Why not release the BTS from the shoot now along with the digital images that were shot and then re-release it along with a developing BTS video once I get that developing bit taken care of.
Project Background
Some of the "why" questions regarding this shoot will not be answered in the BTS video. I didn't think on my feet fast enough to talk about that on set. So, I'm going to take the opportunity to answer them now. Why film? well, I am a product of my generation and while I'm a photographer, I have actually never shot/developed film before now. I didn't go to school specifically for photography and therefore never had the opportunity handed to me.
However, the fascination with film as grown over the years and after literally 4 book boxes full of old camera's being dumped in my lap I couldn't pass up this opportunity to give film a whirl. Dirk Jaegle, friend and strong film advocate, came along to provide insight and shoot alongside. Needless to say we had a blast.
Throughout the entire day we tested out 5 cameras: • Argus 35mm w/ a 50mm f3.5 lens
• Spartus Full Vue (120 film)
• YvigAlander Billiant (120 film)
• Tower (120 film)
• Agfa Isolette (120 film)
Another camera that you'll see a lot of throughout the video is the Kodak Dualflex IV. Unfortunately this camera shot 620 film which is harder film stock to come by so we weren't able to give it a run at this point, but it made for a great prop.
The Video
As always I was blessed again by Matt Blick of Cellar Media doing the BTS filming. Matt and I have done several gigs (Mission: Acquire, Herbie vs Challenger, Archer and Zowie) together and I love the work he produces.
This past weekend I invited some photography friends out for some experimenting with some old film cameras I received as a gift (see post: "unexpected gift"). We were blessed by the presence of two wonderful models, Caitlan and Alyson. Both models, surprisingly, were only in the area for a short period of time. One was from Idaho and the other - L.A.. To say the least... it was a fantastic happenstance. Due to the cold January weather here in Illinois we set up a black seamless in a large warehouse and hunkered down for a day of shooting.
Here's just a tiny preview of what is to come... unfortunately we won't have the film developed for another couple weeks, but hopefully this will tide you over until then. Oh and Matt Blick of Cellar Media, my favorite BTS guy, came and shot some footage for me. I hope to throw something together for you shortly!
The Centralia Mine Fire is a Peoria, IL based independent rock band. I have had the opportunity to watch these guys over the years develop into the band they are today. However, before I get too sentimental here's the live music video Matt Blick of Cellar Media and I created for them. Enjoy!
Since my introduction to Matt Blick of Cellar Media, I'm am really starting to get into making these short films. This past weekend I work with Matt and a crew of other highly creative and talented people up near the quad-cities. In 48-hours we produced a great little short filled with excitement, adventure, suspense, and action. In addition to my roll as gaffer (lighting person), I was also turned out to be the "acting coach". Since we were working with a 10 and 12 year old it somehow fell on my shoulders to coach these young actors before each shot. Thankfully I had a lot of help from Kelli who did a tremendous job at making sure they were costumed up and ready to go when needed. To say the least I had a blast working with these Kids. They both had a lot of energy that they poured into their parts and really made my job a lot easier. I hope you enjoy the film!
Credits: Emily Soria - Zowie Garret Auberg - Archer Kelli Hedding - Alien, mom Hans Bluedorn - writer, producer, editor Matt Blick - director, DOP, color correcting Jason Stanford - visual effects Aaron Auberg - bubbles Andrew Anderson - bubbles, smoke David Price - acting coach, music, lighting, Alien food sounds Nathaniel Sisson - sound design Kelli Hedding - costumes, child wrangler Ethan Anderson - crowd control Helena Bluedorn - food Noah Richardson - second camera Bruno Rosas - alien design Auberg's - location
Many thanks to Cellar Media for capturing the day so vividly. As you know, creative collaboration is something I love being apart of and this project is a great example of that. With all the people coming together on such short notice and being willing to work to make this happen, I consider myself blessed. Thanks guys! You can't help but smile while you watch this... I guarantee it!
Creative Director - David Price (Black Olive Photographic) Behind the Scenes Director - Matt Blick (Cellar Media) Herbie Owner - Wesley Garrard Herbie Driver - Hannah Finley Challenger Owner - Dan Stone Challenger Driver - Kyle Motsinger Assistants - Caleb Finley, Jacob Guenther, Aaron Blick,
This past weekend was the culmination of a project that was a long time coming. Herbie vs. Challenger was yet another personal project in my series of story-driven collections. I have an instant fascination for vintage memorabilia, Herbie not being an exception. When I found out from a friend that he had restored a 64' VW bug to Herbie glory my imagination kicked into high gear. However, until I could find a contestant worthy of standing side by side with this American legend I was at an stand still. Wesley, the Herbie's owner, and I combed the streets looking for options. "Would this mini cooper work?" perhaps. What does the owner say?
Until a month or two prior to the shoot we didn't have any workable options to move forward on. I then noticed a 2010 yellow challenger sitting in a drive on my drive to and from Peoria. It was a perfect melding of past and present and it's bright yellow exterior would pop in any photo. It had the energy needed for the theme.
Production:
In the way of production we were faced with a couple of hurdles. First off... location. We had to find a great scenic location while finding a rural enough road to minimize traffic congestion. This was difficult, but we managed to find some great spots just outside Hanna City. See my earlier scouting post for location photos.
The theme/plot:
What can I say, I wanted to create an action series that involved somewhat cheesy to best recreate the classic Herbie feel. My villian (Kyle Motsinger), I didn't want him to be seriously evil, but I wanted him to be more of a lovable villian. A character with a devious foundation and a structural frame of egotistical arrogance. For Herbie, I wanted a character that appeared inexperienced at first, but who in fact had a few tricks up her sleeve as well - Red Bull anyone?
I am working on a project coming up here in the next couple weeks that I am really excited about. Black Olive Photographic along with the assistance of several other highly creative individuals are going to be producing a street race themed photo shoot. Going head to head we have the lovable Herbie and in opposition a 2010 Dodge Challenger. While this scenario is promising all by itself I am going to trying and throw in a commercial element for fun. Something that gives it a little bit of pop and energy.
Anyway one of preliminary tasks of a photoshoot is to scout out a location to shoot. Below are a couple of shots from the area I'm thinking of shooting at. Can't wait till next Saturday!
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