Because of all the rain here this week I thought we would stay in the studio. Here is a photo that we shot over the weekend.

We were looking for a winter wonderland type of look and I think we nailed it. We shot this with a typical 4 light studio strobe setup. The key light was off to our young models left about 4 feet away, the fill light was off to her right about 6 feet away, the hair light off her right shoulder and of course the background light behind and off to her left.

With the camera in manual mode I set my ISO to 200, shutter speed to 1/200th second. I then adjusted the flashes output so that I could set my aperture to f/11 to get more detail. I am very pleased with this photo.

After the shoot I cleaned up the photo by removing any anomalies, enhancing the highlight and mid tones. Then softened up her skin and reduced the saturation. Then added a few trade secrets and look what a beautiful image we produced. Please enjoy.

©R. Mabry Photography

Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 24 - 70mm f2.8L USM lens @ 58mm, 1/200th sec at f / 11, ISO 200, Manual mode, pattern metering mode.

Popularity: 7% [?]

While on my way to a seminar in South San Francisco I noticed a few parked trains under an overpass. I made a mental note of their location because I had to see if I could find them after the seminar was over and photograph them.

After the seminar I rushed back to where I had seen them and to my surprise I was able to get up close and personal with them. The image below is the door to one of the cars.

As all of you are aware I am fascinated with all things that have rust on them. Some (my wife) feel that it is more of an obsession and she may be right. Some say obsession I say passion.

There was not a lot going on in the scene so I got in close and tilted my camera slightly to create diagonal line in an attempt to generate some tension in the photo. I also used a shallow depth of field to pull the eye down and to the left and put focus on the rust that is on the wood.

I hope you find as must fascination in this photo as I do. Please enjoy.

©R. Mabry Photography

Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 70 - 200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens @ 140, 1/60 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100, Aperture priority, pattern metering mode

Popularity: 8% [?]

A couple of weeks ago I talked about when I was out driving through the country and I came across a pasture with a couple of horses(see Sometimes You Just Have To Stop And Pick Road Apples), well here is one of them up close and personal.

I like this photo because it begs the question what is the horse thinking of and what is he feeling at the moment in time. Hence the title “Why The Long Face“.

I did enhance the photo by opening up the mid tones in the eye to make them more visible. I also added a vignette as well as global enhance of lowering the color temp, raised the brightness and increased the contrast. Please enjoy.

©R. Mabry Photography

Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 70 - 200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens @ 200mm, 1/1250 sec at f/2.8, ISO 200, Aperture priority, spot metering mode

Popularity: 5% [?]

Last weekend Remy Gervais and I took our photography group “Sonoma County Photography Group, aka, SoCoPhoGro” out to Jack London State Historic Park located in Glen Ellen. Let me just say how wonderful this park is to photograph. There is something for everyone to photograph or just take a hike and enjoy the park. Subjects range from the smallest mushrooms (picture below) to the valleys and lakes not to mention all the historic buildings.

Jack London State Historic Park is a memorial to writer and adventurer Jack London, who made his home at the site from 1905 until his death in 1916. The park was once part of the famous writer’s Beauty Ranch.

The park contains the cottage residence where he wrote books, short stories, articles and letters while he oversaw various agricultural enterprises.

If you ever get the chance to visit make sure that you set aside as much time as you can. Take a picnic and sit and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

Here are a couple of links for information.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=478
http://www.jacklondons.net/directions.html

The mushrooms you see below are growing on the top of a 4×4 fence post adjacent to the Wolf House. I used a Canon 580EX Speedlite with a dome diffuser. By using a flash I was able to darken the background and make the mushrooms pop. Please enjoy.

©R. Mabry Photography

Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 70 - 200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens @ 200mm, 1/50sec at f / 2.8, ISO 200 Aperture priority, -1EV, pattern metering mode, Canon 580EX Speedlite Flash in TTL mode, with a dome diffuser.

Popularity: 4% [?]

On day I was out driving through the country and I came across a pasture with a couple of horses. Now, this is a common thing in Sonoma County, but what made me stop was the horses in the field. I am not an expert by any means but I believe them to be Clydesdale.

Being true to my word I am never without a camera in hand or at least nearby. So after photographing the horses for a good hour I noticed the fence surrounding the paddock.

The rusted barbed wire holding some of the fence up was lit up beautifully by a shaft of light coming through the fog and the green from the pasture contrasts the rust color perfectly.

I had to get this photo to ad to my “Rust Series” that I have been working on for years. Please enjoy.

©R. Mabry Photography

Camera specs: Canon EOS 30D with Canons EF 24 - 70mm f2.8 lens @ 70mm, 1/8000 sec at f/2.8, ISO 1000, Aperture priority, -1/3EV, pattern metering mode

Popularity: 8% [?]

This photo was taken on location at a wine warehouse in Napa. There were stacks of shining new and pristine oak barrels just waiting for the wine. I shot this close up using existing natural light coming down from several small sky lights. This is why I needed to use an ISO of 1600.

Cheers and Happy New Year!

©R. Mabry Photography

Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 24 - 70mm f2.8 lens @ 70mm, 1/50 sec at f / 2.8, ISO 1600, Aperture priority, Center-weighted metering.

Popularity: 9% [?]

This image is a lot of fun.

This image was shot by one of my students. He wanted to shoot the green snow flake ornament on the tree. As I looked at the setup I noticed that there was a slight blue cast to part of the background, which I liked.

I started playing with my Canon 580EX Speedlite as remote flash triggering it with a Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2 and shoving it inside the tree. The resulting image was interesting but not what I had envisioned.

I pulled out a full CTB (color temperature blue) gel and placed it on my 580EX Speedlite and dropped the power to 64th power then had him try again. This time we were close but not quite there.

The flock on the fore and mid ground was too blue so I bunched up some of the white bulbs closer to the ornament and suggested that he drag the shutter by dropping the exposure to 1/15th second to allow some of the ambient light to fill in the scene. I also dropped the power on my 580EX Speedlite to 128th power and viola… a photo was born. Please enjoy.

©R. Mabry Photography

Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 70 - 200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens @ 200mm, 1/15sec at f / 2.8, ISO 1000, Aperture priority

Popularity: 11% [?]

Here is another photo from the “Blessing of the Olives” adventure. This door is from the “The Blue Wing Inn, Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma Complex” across the street from the Mission.

I love old hardware, the older the better. It wasn’t until I took a trip to Italy that I truly discovered my passion for photographing old hardware. If I had the chance to spend a year traveling to collect more images like this I would jump on the chance. Anyone want to sponsor me in this endeavor? 365 days, 365 cities, 365 photos… think about it.

The day was overcast so I had to adjust the contrast and brightness in post production, but only to enough to enhance the photo. Please enjoy.

©R. Mabry Photography

Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 70 - 200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens @ 120mm, 1/200sec at f / 2.8, ISO 200

Popularity: 9% [?]

The Blessing of the Olives marks the beginning of the three-month Sonoma Valley Season of the Olive. This traditional ceremony gives olive-lovers the chance to attend various olive-theme activities, such as olive oil tastings at The Olive Press.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the “The Blessing of the Olive” at the Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma. The image below are olives on the church alter.

The light coming in from the church windows lit the alter table with a wash of warm light so I had to spend a few minutes getting up close and personal with the olives. I wanted to use the available light so I bumped up my ISO to 1000 and set up with the window off my left shoulder. Please enjoy.

©R. Mabry Photography

Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 70 - 200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens @ 200mm, 1/50sec at f / 2.8, ISO 1000

Popularity: 12% [?]

Here is one of my fine art collage pieces. I love this style of fine art as it keeps the eye moving and the mind guessing.

By layering multiple photos, adjusting opacity, and using different blending modes I am able to create this type of imagery.

I learned this technique form Jim DiVitale who I think is the world’s best at this type of art.. I hold Jim DiVitale in the highest regards and an instructor and a photographer.  All I can say is that he is a creative genius.

I know that this piece pales by comparison, but this process inspires you and makes your mind bend in directions I never thought possible. I have a great many things to learn from you Jim. Thank you.

Please enjoy.

©R. Mabry Photography

Popularity: 13% [?]