A quick shot down the street just as Grace and I left home that morning
A gray Sunday start. I recall starting this particular day in kind of a slump. Gray, foggy, a little January chill. Unmotivated, too much I should do, nothing I wanted to do, at least at that moment. We all know the feeling. A lazy moment of meh. I was slated to work as Grace's assistant for a shoot she was doing for a friend with whom she had worked in Oakland. Opportunity to meet new people and make new friends! Thankfully, when we do buck up and kick our own ass into the shower things start to feel better. Duh.
I knew I was primarily along to help out but I also brought my own equipment so I could play with something I love - behind the scenes captures. We all love those candid moments: expressions, laughter, joking, stories, everything that comes with being around playfully productive people. I also love observing people work, especially those who are passionately immersed in what they do.
Not wanting to add a bunch of complexity to the day, I purposefully put myself in a smallish box. My Nikon D800E and what is probably my favorite-performing lens I've used yet, our Nikon 85mm f/1.4. I also told myself I was going to play solely with extremely selective focus, sticking only to wide-open at 1.4 to see what I could accomplish. Completely unforgiving and it shows in most of my 264 shots that day. A three-foot minimum focus distance grips you in tight when you have limited space in which to work, and we certainly did at times. No flash, either; mainly because I didn't want it to interfere with primary lighting (not that at 1/60s and faster would really impede anything but it can be distracting). But, I wanted to practice, learn, see what was possible. Of course, I did accidentally drop the aperture a few times...
Of course, by the end of the day, I was chomping at the bit wanting to be a full third shooter, trying out my own ideas. Shooting behind the scenes is one thing while hair, makeup and other non-shooting concerns are being paid their due, but when you're between setups and the photographers have their turn you're shooting between their strobes, staying out of the way, trying to catch as many good frames as you can.
Photographer: Grace Elaine
Photographer: Andrew Zhou
Makeup: Christine Padilla
Hair: Marissa Escobedo
Model: Tarra McCurdy
Photography Assistant: Michael Pichahchy
I just forgot what I was going to add...dammit! Stupid gray matter. Oh, right - none of these images has been edited; no post-processing whatsoever.
These are just some of my favorites of Christine, Grace, Marissa, Andrew, Tarra. Thanks again for a great day...I'd love to do it again soon. I'll also try to get more of everyone in there next time!
First experimental shot after getting to Christine's studio and meeting everyone
I love checking out people's work areas - they say so much about that person's personality
Christine and Marissa working on a very patient Tarra
Chasing focus at close range
A pity nobody was enjoying themselves
Oh how I wanted to move that bottle!
This was much tougher than I thought it would be - the double-reflection
I was seeing, one from the surface of the glass, the second in the
actual metal-mirror-surface were competing even during manual focus
attempts
Speaking of focus...
Then there were the other people I really wanted to make up and stage...
I love the palette on the wrist!
Andrew and Grace having fun at their equipment's expense (making the best of things)
Andrew cocking his hips and camera, inadvertently posing for another camera he likely forgot was there
That poor umbrella...
I had so many ideas for this shot but cramped spaces with furniture that was chained down added complexity to getting things done...
Finally a decent, candid shot of Mr. Z!
I should refrain from comment
My cheeks ache just from watching all the smiles on Marissa
What? What'd I do?! You're not even supposed to know I'm here...
That body suit really challenged Tarra; holding it together in places added some fun
Always touching up!
Looking for a good, candid angle...
Got it! Kinda...
Busted.
All hands on deck
Mz McCurdy hamming it up
Good actress, too...I know I'm not funny
I couldn't escape the 'DeRP' on the license plate...she was looking at me, likely wondering why I was laying on the pavement doing what looked like photographic yoga/contortion
I really wanted to explore more with this lil Vee-Dub
Fim
©2015 Michael Pichahchy
