R. Mabry Photography

How To Catch Light In Motion

Ray Mabry — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:01:48 +0000

I had a great opportunity come to fruition this past week that has been in the works for about 4 months.

Haus Fortuna is an incredible shop in Petaluma that specializes in elegant imported Italian ceramics and high-end housewares. They also feature local artists. I officially have over 50 pieces for sale in the retail space - if you are in the area, stop by and check them out. They are located at 111 - 2nd Street in Petaluma.

There are several pieces in my Dance of Light series which is captured using time-lapse photography and a few of Italy, of course! Below is one of the pieces currently on display titled “Atoms Racing”. Enjoy!

©R. Mabry Photography

Midwinter’s Spring Break

Ray Mabry — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:47:35 +0000

Ah… the promise of spring. During my photo shoot at Airport Health Club this past few weeks, I had a chance to capture this shot out by the pool.

Swimmers were doing laps, enjoying a break in a rainy week. I spotted this spot of yellow next to the pool. The sunny color of the fins and the pop of the lemon in the water offered an fun contrast against the concrete and blue of the water.

After the heavy storm today, I am looking forward to bright spring days ahead. Enjoy!

©R. Mabry Photography

Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 70 - 200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens @ 148, 1/6400 sec at f/6.3, ISO 800, Aperture priority, pattern metering mode

Mama Needs A New Pair Of Shoes

Ray Mabry — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:59:41 +0000

Here was a fun shoot that my wife and I did after a friend loaned us a pair of shoes she had bought for a party with a gambling theme.

Most people would have looked at the shoes and thought “interesting…”. I saw these shoes and my mind went spinning and dozens of photo ideas just started popping out.

This was a fun opportunity and I wanted to make the best of it. I shot over 500 frames of my wife wearing these shoes in different poses - all PG-13! Here is one of my favorites. Please enjoy.

©R. Mabry Photography

Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 70 - 200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens @ 200mm, 1/200 sec at f/6.3, ISO 200, Manual mode, pattern metering mode and studio strobes

Beware The Dawn

Ray Mabry — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 06:29:04 +0000

We have officially launched our NEW Fantasy Portraits! R. Mabry Photography is now offering several Fantasy portrait options, including Vampires and Angels for adults and teens, and Fairies and Pixie options for the little ones.

Here is an example of our vampire portrait shot of my sister-in-law Dawnn (hence the title). This is Dawnn’s version of a Twilight-like vampire.

What have you always imagined you could be? The dark and dangerous Vampire, or the innocent Angel?

We are scheduling photo appointments coming up in March and April for Fantasy Portraits. Sign up or call if if you are interested. We will be emailing out our next studio dates in a few weeks.

Sign up to be notified of the next Fantasy Portrait schedule

Call for more information: 707-578-1390

This makes a great gift. (hint, hint…)

Can’t get to Santa Rosa? We can also take your photo and make it into a Fantasy Portrait! You send me a high resolution portrait and we will do our magic on it and return a print of your new portrait back to you.

©R. Mabry Photography

Camera specs: Canon 1-Ds Mark II with Canons EF 24 - 70mm f2.8L USM lens @ 40mm, 1/200^th sec at f / 13, ISO 200, Manual mode, pattern metering mode and studio strobes.

Winter Wonderland Portrait

Ray Mabry — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:30:39 +0000

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.

Sleeping Giants

Ray Mabry — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:53:43 +0000

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

Why The Long Face

Ray Mabry — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 04:31:03 +0000

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

Mushrooms Of Plenty

Ray Mabry — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:20:24 +0000

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.

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.

Sometimes You Just Have To Stop And Pick Road Apples

Ray Mabry — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:30:37 +0000

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.

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

Cheers and Happy New Year

Ray Mabry — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:00:13 +0000

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!

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.