Author Archives: charrcrail

Now, about this shoot of the group of models at the ice cream parlor. I call the photo Fashion Ennui cuz that’s how they look, bored to tears. Tough shoot. The girls were great, but the make up and stylist stuff was ridiculous. We had the location for three hours and arrived by 7am to set up and test lighting. I had to have the pictures shot and and the equipment broken down by 10am– the time the ice cream parlour opened for business. By the time the make up and clothes stylist people released the girls I had twenty minutes to shoot and two costume changes and re-posing to deal with. I was none too pleased. I also had to be in Fairfield for a press conference at 11:30– a full hour drive from where I was and they wanted me to be early. Yikes.

Got it done just over the time slot but the owner was cool, whew! In the last five minutes insanity ensued as people behind the scenes kept yelling out directions to the girls and all I could do was try to talk louder than the others to direct the girls. Kevin says he’s buying a bullhorn for the next shoot. Good idea Kev!

Meet Jennifer Smith, one of the local TV anchors in Sacramento, and a totally talented fun woman. Got to shoot her today with a few more local media types. Got this cute outtake of her preparing for the shoot. Go Jennifer, you are beautiful!

I think I finally figured it out! There is the coolest technique that I have seen three photographers do but I could never figure out how they did it and none of them would tell either. The one I spoke to at length was so non-specific despite all my questions and some (very) minor pleading. Obviously it’s considered a prized trick. And it is! Well, today while fooling around in Photoshop, my favorite occupational hazard, I stumbled upon the very look they were doing and it was so unexpectedly simple I almost don’t believe it. I’m not gonna tell either. This is a picture of a local art gallery owner, Shirley Dubnick of Solomon Dubnick Gallery, and I used it as a test. Now I will refine the technique further, and am eagerly working on it, but for the moment this is a very good start!

Marya has a long lean body that photographs beautifully. Her long pale blonde hair is elegant and lovely. There is an Eve-like quality about her and she moves and poses so gracefully. In contrast to Elena she wanted pictures of herself that conveyed more emotion– wicked, intense, quirky too. Sometime soon the final images will be part of my portfolio and can be found on my website…

Elena is tall and dark-haired, has a strong and powerful amazon quality about her. She is mainly a photographer who only recently began to model both because she is beautiful and because she wanted to know how it felt to be in front of the camera. Her work is great too. She has a wonderful artistic eye. Most photographers want to use her dark features and stong looks for darker pictures– “the vampire look” she called it. She was delighted to have some photos that convey the sweetness of her true personality and she really lit up when we did these simple pin-up kind of pictures.

The Russian women were fabulous! So nice, so full of great ideas and so fun to photograph! We worked hours and hours, one then the other back and forth, and if we all weren’t so exhausted we would have done more more and more. View the chaos that is my living room and the poor tired women taking a break before the next round…

This is life in my house today… the kitties loll about and sleep in delicious comfort while I toil cleaning up preparing for guests– beautiful russian women I am photographing today. Oh to be a house cat… this is Toby, one of my two beloved gigantic felines under the amazing quilt Karin made. My friend Karin, also a cat lover, adores pics of kitties (particularly tabbies) and inspired me to elevate my own precious ones to the public arena… This one’s for you darling Karin!

I was going through some pictures from the past month and came across this one– I just think it’s cool– Larger Than Life, a KISS cover band cool enough to be in the Tribute bands documentary movie you can see playing on cable these days. They played at the Roadhouse with a band out of Oakland, the Servants and a local band, Strangehouse. It was a great night for fun and music!