We don't talk about the first time Nathan Spencer stopped by for a photo shoot. Let's just say it didn't go well. This time, however, I was invited on a "ride along". Seems pretty cool, right? Swinging around on buildings, whipping dudes with that robot hand, I was super excited.
...did you know he has a desk job? He literally stares at spreadsheets all day.
(Click to see larger)
This week's shot features Nathan Spencer by NECA and is, in a way, an example of my signature style. I've been told before that this type of portrait is recognizable as "my style" and, to be honest, I resisted that for a long time. No idea why, really.
After thinking about it, I realized that being told I have a unique, recognizable style is a great compliment and I should probably not be such a pain in the butt about the whole thing.
Be good,
-Dave
Can't wait to see you.
|
It has been a busy couple of weeks! First, I would like to congratulate my cousin's basketball team for making it all the way to 2nd place in the AAU girls national tournament! I flew out to Virginia to cheer them on and I was asked to help photograph the games. Let's be honest, shooting a bunch of 6' tall teenage girls is about as far as you can get from 6" action figures, but it was a great experience and I really enjoyed doing it.
Second, Wizard World Chicago is this weekend and I can't wait to get in there with my camera. To be honest, I'm so excited for the show, I'm having trouble concentrating on what I'm supposed to be writing here...
Gears of War, courtesy of Gearspedia:
Gears of War is a science fiction video game franchise, created by Epic Games and owned and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The two games that currently make up the series take place on the fictional planet Sera and focus on a war between humans and creatures known as the Locust Horde. In Gears of War, the protagonist Marcus Fenix, a soldier or "Gear" in the Coalition of Ordered Governments, leads his squad on a mission to deploy the Lightmass bomb and destroy the Locust Horde in their underground strongholds. The sequel Gears of War 2 takes place six months after the events of the first game, and follows Delta Squad and the COG army as it launches an assault directly against the Hollow in an effort to end the war.
This was taken at the Chicago Botanic Garden, inside their Test Garden. I stood Fenix in the plant bed and turned to face the sun so I would get that great silhouette and snapped a bunch of shots.
All I had to do in Photoshop was add a thin gradient (yellow/blue) to make the sunlight pop and the shadows sink just that little bit more. Otherwise? Yeah, that's all I did.
I'm going to an EXIF Convention:
| Camera: | Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi |
| Exposure: | 1/4000 sec |
| Aperture: | f/5.6 |
| Focal Length: | 55 mm |
| ISO Speed: | 400 |
| Exposure Bias: | 0 EV |
| Flash: | Off, Did not fire |
| File Size: | 2.7 MB |
| File Type: | JPEG |
| MIME Type: | image/jpeg |
| Image Width: | 2592 |
| Image Height: | 3888 |
| Encoding Process: | Baseline DCT, Huffman coding |
| Bits Per Sample: | 8 |
| Color Components: | 3 |
| X-Resolution: | 72 dpi |
| Y-Resolution: | 72 dpi |
| Orientation: | Horizontal (normal) |
| Software: | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows |
| Date and Time (Modified): | 2009:08:03 19:24:02 |
| YCbCr Positioning: | Co-sited |
| Exposure Program: | Aperture-priority AE |
| Date and Time (Original): | 2009:08:02 18:51:34-05:00 |
| Date and Time (Digitized): | 2009:08:02 18:51:34 |
| Metering Mode: | Multi-segment |
| Color Space: | sRGB |
| Focal Plane X-Resolution: | 4433.29532497149 dpi |
| Focal Plane Y-Resolution: | 4453.60824742268 dpi |
| Custom Rendered: | Normal |
| Exposure Mode: | Auto |
| White Balance: | Auto |
| Scene Capture Type: | Standard |
| Compression: | JPEG (old-style) |
| Global Angle: | 30 |
| Global Altitude: | 30 |
| Copyright Flag: | False |
| Photoshop Quality: | 12 |
| Photoshop Format: | Optimised |
| Progressive Scans: | 3 Scans |
| XMPToolkit: | Adobe XMP Core 4.1-c036 46.276720, Mon Feb 19 2007 22:40:08 |
| Orientation: | Horizontal (normal) |
| Metadata Date: | 2009:08:03 19:24:02-05:00 |
| Creator Tool: | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows |
| Format: | image/jpeg |
| Color Mode: | 3 |
| ICCProfile Name: | sRGB IEC61966-2.1 |
| Viewing Conditions Illuminant Type: | D50 |
| Measurement Observer: | CIE 1931 |
| Measurement Flare: | 0.999% |
| Measurement Illuminant: | D65 |
| Color Transform: | YCbCr |
| Flash Return: | No return detection |
| Flash Mode: | Off |
| Flash Function: | False |
| Flash Red Eye Mode: | False |
Be good,
-Dave
|
Leonardo's bio, courtesy of Wikipedia:
Leonardo (or Leo) is one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). He is distinguished by a blue bandanna (although originally all four Turtles had red bandannas) and his weapons are two ninjaken (literally "ninja sword"), which are universally referred to as katana. Leonardo takes after his sensei, Splinter, in taking ninjutsu very seriously. He spends much of his free time in practice and meditation. He has a strong sense of honor, and is a strict follower of the BushidÅ code. He often speaks for his brothers and tries to keep them in line, making him the de facto leader of the team, and often the lead protagonist of various TMNT stories. In the fourth feature film, "TMNT", Leonardo is stated to be the eldest of his brothers, although the relative ages of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are not officially stated.
Leonardo was produced by NECA Toys.
When I was a kid, Leonardo was my favorite. Not really because of his personality (since he was a stick in the mud), but because swords are really, really cool. Years later, after reading the comics, I gravitated to Donatello, but I don't have his toy yet, so I won't digress.
FUN FACT: As a boy, I planned and designed my own future dream home. It was Leonardo's head. I had such big dreams.
This shot was taken at the Chicago Botanic Garden, inside their Enabling Garden. In Photoshop, I first duplicated my Background layer and desaturated it. Then, using a layer mask, I painted over the desaturated top later, revealing only the red bandanna and sword grips underneath. A quick bump to the Background layer's Red saturation, then flatten the image. Duplicating the Background layer again, this time I ran it through a Sumi Ink filter to soften the black lines and make it look more like an illustration.
My favorite part of this picture? His mask. I love the way it turned out
Genetically reborn in the sewers of EXIF:
| Camera: | Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi |
| Exposure: | 0.017 sec (1/60) |
| Aperture: | f/5.6 |
| Focal Length: | 50 mm |
| ISO Speed: | 100 |
| Exposure Bias: | 0 EV |
| Flash: | Off |
| File Size: | 2.5 MB |
| File Type: | JPEG |
| MIME Type: | image/jpeg |
| Image Width: | 2592 |
| Image Height: | 3888 |
| Encoding Process: | Baseline DCT, Huffman coding |
| Bits Per Sample: | 8 |
| Color Components: | 3 |
| X-Resolution: | 72 dpi |
| Y-Resolution: | 72 dpi |
| Orientation: | Horizontal (normal) |
| Software: | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows |
| Date and Time (Modified): | 2009:04:18 01:57:32 |
| YCbCr Positioning: | Co-sited |
| Exposure Program: | Aperture-priority AE |
| Date and Time (Original): | 2009:04:12 12:35:17-05:00 |
| Date and Time (Digitized): | 2009:04:12 12:35:17 |
| Metering Mode: | Multi-segment |
| Color Space: | sRGB |
| Focal Plane X-Resolution: | 4433.29532497149 dpi |
| Focal Plane Y-Resolution: | 4453.60824742268 dpi |
| Custom Rendered: | Normal |
| Exposure Mode: | Auto |
| White Balance: | Manual |
| Scene Capture Type: | Standard |
| Compression: | JPEG (old-style) |
| Global Angle: | 30 |
| Global Altitude: | 30 |
| Copyright Flag: | False |
| Photoshop Quality: | 12 |
| Photoshop Format: | Standard |
| Progressive Scans: | 3 Scans |
| XMPToolkit: | Adobe XMP Core 4.1-c036 46.276720, Mon Feb 19 2007 22:40:08 |
| Orientation: | Horizontal (normal) |
| Metadata Date: | 2009:04:18 01:57:32-05:00 |
| Creator Tool: | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows |
| Format: | image/jpeg |
| Color Mode: | 3 |
| ICCProfile Name: | sRGB IEC61966-2.1 |
| Viewing Conditions Illuminant Type: | D50 |
| Measurement Observer: | CIE 1931 |
| Measurement Flare: | 0.999% |
| Measurement Illuminant: | D65 |
| Color Transform: | YCbCr |
| Flash Return: | No return detection |
| Flash Mode: | Off |
| Flash Function: | False |
| Flash Red Eye Mode: | False |
Be good,
-Dave
|
Courtesy of Wikipedia:
Gears of War is a third-person shooter video game, developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was initially released as an exclusive title for the Xbox 360 in November 2006 in North America, Australia, and most of Europe, and included a "Limited Collector's Edition" with added content and an art book titled Destroyed Beauty that detailed much of the game's back-story. Despite the initial statements of Xbox 360 exclusivity, a Microsoft Windows version of the game was developed in conjunction with People Can Fly and released a year later, featuring new content including additional campaign levels and a new multiplayer game mode; a Mac OS X version has also confirmed to be in development.
The game centers on the soldiers of Delta Squad as they fight to save the human inhabitants of the fictional planet Sera from a relentless subterranean enemy known as the Locust Horde. The player assumes the role of Marcus Fenix, a former prisoner and war-hardened soldier. The game is based on the use of cover and strategic fire for the player to advance through the scenarios; a second player can play cooperatively through the main campaign to assist. The game also features several online multiplayer game modes for up to eight players.
The Gears of War toys are produced by NECA.
I don't know if you can tell in the picture, but the water he is wading through is iced over. I had to break a hole so he could stand!
All I did in Photoshop was tweak the colors a little bit and paint all the little lights. Pretty straightforward and easy to do!
BOOM! EXIFSHOT!
| Camera: | Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi |
| Exposure: | 0.067 sec (1/15) |
| Aperture: | f/11.0 |
| Focal Length: | 50 mm |
| ISO Speed: | 400 |
| Exposure Bias: | 0 EV |
| Flash: | Off |
| File Size: | 5.0 MB |
| File Type: | JPEG |
| MIME Type: | image/jpeg |
| Image Width: | 3888 |
| Image Height: | 2592 |
| Encoding Process: | Baseline DCT, Huffman coding |
| Bits Per Sample: | 8 |
| Color Components: | 3 |
| X-Resolution: | 72 dpi |
| Y-Resolution: | 72 dpi |
| Orientation: | Horizontal (normal) |
| Software: | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows |
| Date and Time (Modified): | 2009:02:13 13:20:25 |
| YCbCr Positioning: | Co-sited |
| Exposure Program: | Aperture-priority AE |
| Date and Time (Original): | 2009:02:13 13:23:41-06:00 |
| Date and Time (Digitized): | 2009:02:13 13:23:41 |
| Metering Mode: | Multi-segment |
| Color Space: | sRGB |
| Focal Plane X-Resolution: | 4433.29532497149 dpi |
| Focal Plane Y-Resolution: | 4453.60824742268 dpi |
| Custom Rendered: | Normal |
| Exposure Mode: | Auto |
| White Balance: | Manual |
| Scene Capture Type: | Standard |
| Compression: | JPEG (old-style) |
| Global Angle: | 30 |
| Global Altitude: | 30 |
| Copyright Flag: | False |
| Photoshop Quality: | 12 |
| Photoshop Format: | Standard |
| Progressive Scans: | 3 Scans |
| XMPToolkit: | Adobe XMP Core 4.1-c036 46.276720, Mon Feb 19 2007 22:40:08 |
| Orientation: | Horizontal (normal) |
| Metadata Date: | 2009:02:13 13:20:25-06:00 |
| Creator Tool: | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows |
| Format: | image/jpeg |
| Color Mode: | 3 |
| ICCProfile Name: | sRGB IEC61966-2.1 |
| Viewing Conditions Illuminant Type: | D50 |
| Measurement Observer: | CIE 1931 |
| Measurement Flare: | 0.999% |
| Measurement Illuminant: | D65 |
| Color Transform: | YCbCr |
| Flash Return: | No return detection |
| Flash Mode: | Off |
| Flash Function: | False |
| Flash Red Eye Mode: | False |
Be good,
-Dave
|
"I crush your head!"
Marcus Fenix was produced by NECA Toys. Bio from Gearspedia:
Marcus Fenix serves in the military of the Coalition of Ordered Governments, and is the main protagonist of Gears of War and of the sequel Gears of War 2.
Few have given more and lost as much as Marcus. A promising soldier during the Pendulum Wars, he saw everything change on Emergence Day. Marcus bravely fought the Locust for ten years, then, during an intense battle, he abandoned his post to rescue his father, Professor Adam Fenix. But he was too late. Marcus was tried for dereliction of duty and sentence to 40 years in Jacinto Maximum Security Prison. Incarcerated for four years before being released to fight Locust again, Marcus was later promoted to sergeant. Along with the rest of Delta Squad, he won a battle for humanity by detonating the Lightmass bomb and destroying much of the Locust Hollow. With his reputation restored, Marcus now focuses on finishing the war against the Locust, and helping his friend Dom on his own personal mission.
What looks like a rocky crag is actually a jagged tree stump where the tree had snapped in half. Just stand the figure in there, pose appropriately, and snap the shot.
In Photoshop, I ran a little Urban Acid, then desaturated slightly.
Welcome back to the EXIF, soldier.
| Camera: | Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi |
| Exposure: | 0.001 sec (1/800) |
| Aperture: | f/2.5 |
| Focal Length: | 50 mm |
| ISO Speed: | 400 |
| Exposure Bias: | 0 EV |
| Flash: | Off |
| File Size: | 5.1 MB |
| File Type: | JPEG |
| MIME Type: | image/jpeg |
| Image Width: | 2592 |
| Image Height: | 3888 |
| Encoding Process: | Baseline DCT, Huffman coding |
| Bits Per Sample: | 8 |
| Color Components: | 3 |
| X-Resolution: | 72 dpi |
| Y-Resolution: | 72 dpi |
| Orientation: | Horizontal (normal) |
| Software: | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows |
| Date and Time (Modified): | 2009:02:13 13:08:21 |
| YCbCr Positioning: | Co-sited |
| Exposure Program: | Aperture-priority AE |
| Date and Time (Original): | 2009:02:13 13:17:49-06:00 |
| Date and Time (Digitized): | 2009:02:13 13:17:49 |
| Metering Mode: | Multi-segment |
| Color Space: | sRGB |
| Focal Plane X-Resolution: | 4433.29532497149 dpi |
| Focal Plane Y-Resolution: | 4453.60824742268 dpi |
| Custom Rendered: | Normal |
| Exposure Mode: | Auto |
| White Balance: | Manual |
| Scene Capture Type: | Standard |
| Compression: | JPEG (old-style) |
| Global Angle: | 30 |
| Global Altitude: | 30 |
| Copyright Flag: | False |
| Photoshop Quality: | 12 |
| Photoshop Format: | Standard |
| Progressive Scans: | 3 Scans |
| XMPToolkit: | Adobe XMP Core 4.1-c036 46.276720, Mon Feb 19 2007 22:40:08 |
| Orientation: | Horizontal (normal) |
| Metadata Date: | 2009:02:13 13:08:21-06:00 |
| Creator Tool: | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows |
| Format: | image/jpeg |
| Color Mode: | 3 |
| ICCProfile Name: | sRGB IEC61966-2.1 |
| Viewing Conditions Illuminant Type: | D50 |
| Measurement Observer: | CIE 1931 |
| Measurement Flare: | 0.999% |
| Measurement Illuminant: | D65 |
| Color Transform: | YCbCr |
| Flash Return: | No return detection |
| Flash Mode: | Off |
| Flash Function: | False |
| Flash Red Eye Mode: | False |
Be good,
-Dave
|
Captain, the hard drive failure has been contained, and we can resume normal blogging speed.
Kratos, according to Wikipedia is:
Kratos is the fictional protagonist of the God of War series. The character first appeared in God of War, released in 2005. In this game, Kratos is on a quest for revenge, a theme continued throughout the God of War series. The series has become a flagship title for the PlayStation brand, appearing on both the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, with a PlayStation 3 game in development.
This particular figure was made by NECA Toys.
Since I've never actually played God of War, I don't have much more to add (Although if I sell enough books, I could afford a PS2...).
I wanted to try something different with Kratos that built off of what I learned from Jaganatha and using the flash. Placing the figure right in front of the window, I triggered the flash, completely surrounding Kratos in light.
Taking him into Photoshop, I used my lab color tweak to make his colors pop and painted his eyes. Duplicating the layer, I added a radial blur to the background in order to have light spilling over him.
I have to confess, I am really excited about this figure (despite his soft joints) and can't wait for the sub zero temperatures to subside so I can get out and take more shots!
THIS! IS! EXIF!
| Camera: | Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi |
| Exposure: | 0.005 sec (1/200) |
| Aperture: | f/5 |
| Focal Length: | 50 mm |
| ISO Speed: | 200 |
| Exposure Bias: | 0/3 EV |
| Flash: | Flash fired |
| Orientation: | Horizontal (normal) |
| X-Resolution: | 72 dpi |
| Y-Resolution: | 72 dpi |
| Software: | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows |
| Date and Time: | 2009:01:16 12:47:26 |
| YCbCr Positioning: | Co-Sited |
| Exposure Program: | Aperture priority |
| Date and Time (Original): | 2009:01:16 12:56:05 |
| Date and Time (Digitized): | 2009:01:16 12:56:05 |
| Shutter Speed: | 500948/65536 |
| Metering Mode: | Pattern |
| Color Space: | sRGB |
| Focal Plane X-Resolution: | 4433.295 dpi |
| Focal Plane Y-Resolution: | 4453.608 dpi |
| White Balance: | Manual |
| Compression: | JPEG |
| Image Width: | 3888 pixels |
| Image Height: | 2592 pixels |
Be good,
-Dave
|
Taking a quick step back from the usual today and trying something different. Just as a fun experiment, I wanted to see if I could take photos like some of my friends, and today I'm trying to imitate Jaganatha.
First a little info about Marcus Fenix, courtesy of Wikipedia:
Marcus Fenix (voiced by John Di Maggio) is the main protagonist of the series. He is first introduced as an inmate, serving a prison sentence for abandoning his military post in order to make a vain attempt to save his father, Adam Fenix. Prior to the Locust Invasion, Fenix is noted for having a famed military career, during which he played a notable part in the Pendulum Wars. Despite this, Fenix is left for dead in a dilapidated penitentiary, until Dominic "Dom" Santiago, his friend and former comrade, saves him in the first act of Gears of War. After being freed from prison, Fenix is immediately reinstated into the military and is assigned to serve with Delta Squad. He is later promoted to sergeant and becomes commander of Delta squad shortly after their previous squad commander, Lieutenant Kim, is killed by General RAAM. Fenix leads his comrades across the ruins of Sera, in an attempt to activate the light mass bomb against the Locust. One of the goals when being designed by Epic games was to be an "intelligent bad-ass", to summarize the style of the game at one glance.
Fenix, along with the other Gears of War figures, is made by NECA Toys.
What drew me to Jaganatha's work was his pop portrait style. Funky angles and swirling lights made it really look like he was hanging out with these figures. A drunken Cobra Commander complaining about the Joes; an awkwardly stoic Galactus standing by the wall because he lacks the social graces to mingle. The one recurring thing that he does so well is his use of the flash, and that's what I've attempted to do here. This is probably the first time I've used the flash on my camera and I'm pretty sure the first flash send a cloud of dust into the air.
Setup for this consisted of getting Fenix to stand still with his chainsaw gun raised and use the flash. Taking him into Photoshop, I added the blue glow on his gun and shoulders (with a little blurring for the shoulder lights), then played with the RAW white balance, setting it to Flash for that great orangey, red light. All in all, not too technically difficult, but amazingly frustrating to capture as much soul as Jaganatha does.
It's funny because EXIF works for Bungie:
| Camera: | Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi |
| Exposure: | 13 sec (13) |
| Aperture: | f/5.6 |
| Focal Length: | 55 mm |
| ISO Speed: | 100 |
| Exposure Bias: | 0/3 EV |
| Flash: | Flash fired |
| Orientation: | Horizontal (normal) |
| X-Resolution: | 72 dpi |
| Y-Resolution: | 72 dpi |
| Software: | Adobe Photoshop 7.0 |
| Date and Time: | 2009:01:09 08:17:26 |
| YCbCr Positioning: | Co-Sited |
| Exposure Program: | Manual |
| Date and Time (Original): | 2009:01:01 21:18:31 |
| Date and Time (Digitized): | 2009:01:01 21:18:31 |
| Shutter Speed: | -242512/65536 |
| Metering Mode: | Pattern |
| Color Space: | sRGB |
| Focal Plane X-Resolution: | 4433.295 dpi |
| Focal Plane Y-Resolution: | 4453.608 dpi |
| Exposure Mode: | Manual |
| White Balance: | Manual |
| Compression: | JPEG |
| XMP Date and Time (Original): | 2009-01-01T21:18:31-06:00 |
| Image Width: | 3888 pixels |
| Image Height: | 2592 pixels |
Be good,
-Dave
|
