Alexandra at the SS American Victory

The SS American Victory shoot took place on April 17, 2010 aboard an old WWII era supply ship. The ship is permanently docked just behind the Florida Aquarium in Tampa, Florida. It was a fantastic location to take a handful of models and snap some really unique shots in one very active afternoon. Over the course of six hours I was able to photograph 5 models: Tia, Alexis, Crystal, Regina and Alexandra. By the end of the day I was exhausted from the Florida heat, since the interior rooms didn’t circulate much air. I walked away with many great shots to add to my portfolio and look forward to working with some of the models that I met with that day.

Alexandra was the final model that I met with that day, and we only had a limited amount of time and energy to get a few final shots in. We discovered the captains quarters near the rear of the ship, which was probably the best location that I found all day. The room had plenty of light and props to work with. Unfortunately we had to rush the session because Alexandra had to leave, but I think we walked away with at least a couple keepers.

Tia at the SS American Victory

My first pinup girl of the day, and I was fortunate enough to have the pleasure to work with this wonderful woman. Tia brought a lot of positive energy and professionalism to the shoot that kept my spirits up as we shot in a hot room. She didn’t require much direction and came prepared with many poses fitting the pinup genre.

Crystal at the SS American Victory

Crystal probably had the most unique poses that I shot aboard the SS American Victory. I’m guessing that she is hoping to fill her portfolio with more fashion work, which is something that she seems to be suited for. She has a long, slender body that may have been over-elongated by my wide lens. Her hair stood out among the other models. I give kudos to her make up artist for coming up with an interesting style, but not-too-interesting that it becomes distracting.

Crystal was very willing to take direction, though I was not providing her with much input at that time of the day. I took her to the same room that I shot Tia in, trying to reproduce some of my better lit shots at different angles. I think the indoors shots resulted in a couple good photographs, but it took a lot of mediocre shots to get them. God bless digital for allowing me to take a hundred shots just to get 1 great one.

Alexis at the SS American Victory

Regina at the SS American Victory

As I recall, Regina was my wife’s favorite model from the SS American Victory shoot. She had more spunk and character than any of the other models that we worked with that day. I suspect that she has a background in acting in the theater because she was able to tell a story through her poses. I was only able to spend a short while working with her due to inclement weather, but I look forward to having another opportunity to work with her.

Molly’s Wedding

Molly Johnson and Michael Philips celebrated their marriage on January 2, 2010 at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, OH. The above video was edited together using footage taken following Molly around on her wedding day over several hours. The result is something called a “wedding trailer”, a brief collection of some of the key moments and emotions from the day. Wedding trailers are becoming a popular choice for couples selecting their wedding video packages because everything is edited down to a nicely packaged video that you can share with your friends and family.

I was only on video duty for this wedding, so most of my stills are candids taken between video takes. I also skipped color correction and touch-ups on the photos because they weren’t taken for professional purposes.

Music

Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol Calling by Leona Naess

Tech Specs

Canon 7d Camera Body Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM (majority of shots) Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS USM (all ceremony shots) Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM (chapel exterior) Tascam DR-100 (ceremony audio)