El Dave Photography

Filed under: Things I Never Considered.

You guys have played Halo, right? Running through the first stages, shooting and exploding Grunts with wild abandon only to get bored and start trying to smash them with the butt of your rifle. Pretty fun, yeah?

Have you ever stopped to think about how the Grunt feels? Me neither. Well, not until Grunt Ultra shuffled into the studio. Two regular grunts "secured" the door and the lot of them swept in, guns drawn. Because of a previous incident, firearms aren't allowed in the studio. My assistant, Reflector, told them that they would have to put their weapons away or leave. We don't want any trouble.

"Trouble?!" And then they panicked. Limbs flailing, plasma going everywhere, it was a mess.

Grunt Ultra sighed and slumped in his armor, shaking his head. "Every time! Every time!" He whipped around at Reflector, "Listen camera guy, I need help-"
I interrupted, "Actually, I'm the photographer. Reflector is my assistant."
Ultra looked at Reflector, then at me, then back to Reflector. "Um, I think not. He is clearly the camera. Now, Mr. Camera," another big sigh, "I've got... problems. It's the Brutes, you see. They think because they're big they can do what they want and they can just hit us all the time and-"

I'll spare you the entire story. Cliff's Notes version: Years of bullying by the Brutes has left the poor Grunts with something of a self-esteem problem, to the point of them developing phobias en masse. They collect them like baseball cards. This little Ultra, hoping for a confidence boost wanted a couple shots to hang around his bunk.

Let's see how this goes...

Dramatic lighting!


Turn to your left so I can get a shot of that cool backpack. What's in that thing, anyway?
"I need Methane to breathe!"


Oooook. Don't think about cow farts. What's your favorite map, Ultra?
Ripping his helmet off in what I assume was enthusiasm (and not cow farts), "I love Blood Gultch!"


Alright, big guy, we're almost done here. Gimme a roar!
There went the gas mask, "RAAAAAAAR"


Reflector burst in holding a Brute Spiker handgun. "Hey Dave, check it out! I'm a Brute!"
Grunt Ultra, his bravery completely forgotten, screamed and ran.


Reflector?
"Yeah Dave?"
...nevermind.

Be good,
-Dave

oh, you can take a penny
you can put one upon each eye

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Last weekend was all about getting the new space finished. It started with casting a huge number of Hirst Arts plaster blocks. I'm pretty sure I'll be finding plaster dust on everything I own for the next few years...

The hardest part was trying to decide how to paint them. I tried sponge painting, priming and then basecoating, washes; you name it, I probably tried it. In frustration, I put the painting on hold for a while, which led to me setting up the lights and reflectors and taking a portrait of Jorge-052 from Halo: Reach.


(click image for larger view)

Right. Yeah, I'm very happy with how that turned out! The new studio really sings and I think this first shot is a good example. Did I mention that this is straight out of the camera? Because, yeah.

Going back to the plaster blocks, I remembered the can of metallic spraypaint that I bought specifically for the blocks and went to work spraying. 20 minutes and some superglue later, I ended up with this:


(click image for larger view)

To give a better idea of what the set looks like, here's a full view of my little table:


(click image for larger view)

What do you think?

Be good,
-Dave

she's got a bottle and a paper
so she can forget her name

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WARNING: You must wear a hard hat for this blog post.

Here's a little behind the scenes look at one of the sets I'm working on for upcoming shoots. One of my goals has been to really focus on building a new and improved studio space where I can have elaborate sets and experiment with new techniques. To that end, I've started ordering plaster molds from Hirst Arts. The first one to come in was mold #301 "Starship Wall Mold" and I couldn't be more pleased with it!

Initial pre-mold prep:


I'm soaking the mold in a solution of tap water and Jet Dry rinse agent to decrease the surface tension. This lets the plaster flow down into the cracks and crevices, giving you a better finished piece.

The fun bit:


The first time I poured the plaster, I was way too high up and plaster splashed everywhere. Make sure you do this in a clean area (more clean than my desk). You don't want to be finding dried plaster months from now!

Scrape smooth:


Using my scraper, I wipe the excess away. This is the part I like the least, to be honest. The container says the plaster sets in 20-30 minutes, but my first run resulted in soft, easily broken bricks that I had a difficult time removing from the mold. I've found that giving it a full hour is perfect.

Pop out the pieces:


He he he! Look at the pieces!

Test assembly:


Each piece is flat and smooth, so they're easy to assemble in as many different ways as you can imagine. I just stacked these pieces into an impromptu wall section to see how they look. As you can see, the detail is great! I'm really very impressed with how the pieces turned out.

Let's put it all together now:


What do you think? Are you as impressed with these blocks as I am?
I can't wait to see how they look painted!

Be good,
-Dave

it came across the land
like the spanish influenza

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Apologies for the short post, but with summer coming to a close, it won't be long before access to the outdoor studios will be limited.

With that in mind, work has begun on some new indoor studio space. New backdrops are under construction, lighting rigs are getting hauled in and some promising new clients have signed on for shoots.

Halo Reach's Emile is just a teaser of bigger and better things.

Please pardon our dust.

Be good,
-Dave

I'll take my chances on the land
I'm not doin' time

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Every summer, when it gets so hot that you just can't stand it, these guys show up. Not only do you have to contend with the heat and humidity, you have to constantly check for laser sights, wrist blades and throwing discs.

And man are they jerks.

Their English is really bad, so they tend to work with an interpreter. This poor guy tried holding the door open for the Predator, only to be picked up and shoved through the studio entrance. I guess it was afraid of booby traps or something.

"Mister, ah, Dave? My client is interested in having some shots taken. You know, to sign at conventions."

To sign at conventions, the Predator clicked. It sounded like it was mocking him.

As I gathered up my gear, I asked if Reflector if he was ready. "NOPE." He hasn't been the same since the Bionic Commando shoot went south...

We started off slow, with just a couple quick snaps to get him used to the camera.



Apparently, that was the wrong thing to do, because those arm swords started swinging a little close to my face.



"Hey, that's a cool mask" I said and moved in for a close-up. "Uhhhh, Dave? I, um, I don't think you should be doing th-" Click.



And then it started yelling.


"The, ah, Predator would like to negotiate on your price."



Did I mention that Predators are jerks?

Be good,
-Dave
(Today's post inspired by Edward Lee's excellent Predator pic)

your heart is in my pocket
and there's a lie inside my hand

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I love portfolio work for celebrities. Even pseudo-celebrities. The hurried phone calls from their agents, run ragged trying to meet their demands. The awed hush that comes over the studio when they finally arrive.

Or not.

Monev the Gale fell out of the public eye several years ago. I mean, let's face it, Trigun didn't end well for the guy. Sure, he got a cool action figure made and made an appearance in the anime, but publicity is all about the now. So when he came into the studio, I'll be honest, I was surprised.

"Dave, you gotta help me. My career has completely tanked and I can't get anyone to return my phonecalls. I need some shots for my portfolio." He kept looking at the floor while we spoke. A real shame to see a guy broken like that.



Stepping over to the outdoor studio, he seemed to perk up a bit. A little awkward at first, but he fell into his groove pretty quickly.



Fortunately, we only had a single incident. Reflector sometimes forgets that he isn't the boss...



We needed one more; something for him to sign at events. This one had to be a stinger!



BAM!

Be good,
-Dave

Even though you think
I might just set you free

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Godzilla (ゴジラ, Gojira) is a fictional Japanese dinosaur, first appearing in Ishiro Honda's 1954 film Gojira. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Company Ltd. The monster (daikaijū) has appeared in numerous other media including video games, novels, comic books, television series, and an American remake. An American reboot is currently in the works by Legendary Pictures.

With the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki still fresh in the Japanese conscious, Godzilla was conceived as a monster created by nuclear explosions and a metaphor for nuclear weapons in general. As the film series expanded, the stories took on less serious undertones portraying Godzilla in the role of a hero, while later movies returned to depicting the character as a destructive monster.
(Courtesy: Wikipedia)

One of the most interesting parts of being a photographer is the variety of subjects. I really don't know what I'm going to be working with from one week to the next. So you can imagine my surprise when my able assistant came in with this week's assignment.

What am I supposed to do with Godzilla?! Ok, ok. Deep breath. You are a professional. You can do this. Try not to think of Hank Azaria...

Let's start with a profile shot. That's always good.



There, see? You can totally do this. How about a vintage-y, black and white look? Something dignified, but still showing off his age.



Good. This is easy. Textbook portraitu- GIGAN OUT OF NOWHERE.



If they start fighting, I'm-



-out of here!

Be good,
-Dave

How do you know you?

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