Stock Photography

Working for my current employer, I get the opportunity to do quite extensive traveling as a contractor for the EPA. It's all of this traveling that gets me the opportunity to visit various places, mostly along the East coast, and get some great stock and travel photography. Once I get settled in to a new city, I immediately go on line and look for nearby nature preserves and research the city's history. This usually gives me enough information and locations to go shooting for a few weekends especially the nature preserves as I love to camp out and wait for the perfect shot. Not only does this let me relax in my element of looking through the view finder but it also has let me build up a nice collection for R&B Photography and my portfolio. The attached image was taken at Tifft Nature Preserve in Buffalo, NY. It is located in a very industrial area where I never would've stopped if it wasn't for Mapquest telling me that this was the place I was trying to find (this is where the research was very helpful). After realizing that I had quite a collection of travel photography, I decided to see if I could go ahead and sell the better ones as stock. After researching and asking on forums for stock photography sites, I ended up applying at Photoshelter (http://www.photoshelter.com/). I went through the process and they reviewed and commented on my images and were happy to report that they had been accepted (I was so happy). I am in no way associated or sponsored by Photoshelter but if you are looking to get into stock photography jump on over to their website and check them out.

Brenda & Carlos

I had an engagement shoot last Saturday for a wonderful couple. Brenda is a friend and co-worker of mine (yes I still have a regular job while R&B Photography gets off the ground full time) and she approached me to take her engagement shots as she and her future husband Carlos are getting everything in order for their upcoming wedding ceremony. She told me this great story of how she and Carlos would go visit this outdoor amphitheater located in downtown Tampa accross the canal from the University of Tampa when they started dating. We decided to go ahead and shoot the engagement shots there as it had sentimental value to them both. It was located next to the Tampa Museum and little did we know that the museum had been torn down and was in the process of being rebuilt as a bigger and better version of itself. When we got there, the place looked abandoned, the grass was taller than the remaining concrete benches that were still standing. There was construction safety fence and caution tape everywhere and I could see in their faces as they arrived (I was already there with my assistant) that they weren't too pleased. I immediately greeted them and told them that it would be ok as I had already scoped the place out and found some good places to take some shots. I ended up using just my 24-70 f/2.8L USM and a reflector to control the shadows on their faces. They ended up having a lot of fun and we got some wonderful shots and turned a bad situation into a good one. I can't wait till their wedding day, I know that it will be a great event.

Harsh Florida Sun

Mark and I shot this wedding under the harsh Florida sun here in Tampa. The sun down here can be brutal at times by washing out colors and creating some serious hot spots with out a trace of detail in them. You have to pay a lot of attention to the light meter in your camera when shooting outside under ever changing natural light. Mike and Ariana's wedding began at 4:30 in the afternoon and due to the placement of the gazebo where they were married, we had the sun in our eyes for 90% of the shots. Very tricky lighting that called for a lot of control and composition but overall I think we did great and kept the client happy. In this shot I had to do a lot more post processing than I like, but, I think that the back lighting worked great. In fact, I think it made the shot. I like how you can see the rays of sunshine flowing between them adding a great effect to the whole image. Just goes to show that no matter how much attention you pay to all of the little details, sometimes the best things are pure luck!!!

R&B Photography Mobile Studio

I wanted to share with everyone my first real experience with my mobile studio. I shoot with Canon equipment so the numbers and names that I rattle off will be Canon related generally. My mobile set up consists of 1-580EX II, 1-580EX and 2-430EX's, light stands, shoot through and bounce umbrellas. I also used my mobile backdrop system on this shoot as well. I am using a Canon 40D paired with the 580EX II mounted on camera as a master. This combination lets me control the other flashguns completely from the menus in the camera body itself. This was also my first time really trying this new wireless system out and I was very pleased with the outcome. Both Mark and I have similar set ups and are very happy with the capabilities of the small strobes and feel confident that they will keep the clients very happy. The model in the picture is my sister Theana whom was very patient with Mark and I as we "honed" our strobist style skills and the look in her face is 100% genuine. Talk about rolling your eyes. That is what makes this picture to me, how real her expression was. This was all done in the living room of a house with natural and ambient light coming in from all directions and is why I wanted to test it there to see how well the small strobes would perform and control the lighting.