The Play Time Fashion Show took place at the club Numbers in Hillcrest, California, on September 10, 2009. Jeremy Butts organized and MCed the show as a student project for the fashion program at the California Art Institute. He did a fantastic job of getting a good selection of sponsors to donate outfits and resources to the show. There we about 30 or so models each wearing at least two outfits apiece and a crowd of some 300 people in attendance at the show. He arranged for food, drinks, and a DJ to keep the masses happy. His only unsolved problem (just days before the show) was that he didn’t have anyone to do videography or a dedicated photographer. That’s where I come in!
It just so happened that I was at the right place at the right time to hear about Jeremy’s problem. Jeremy asked C on short notice if she could shoot some video of the event and also if she knew of anyone who would be willing to take pictures. She then asked me if I was interested in photographing the event. I might have taken a bit more than a New York second to say yes.
I arrived about an hour early on the evening of the show so I could find a good place to set up shop. The club looked great with a very long semi-circular runway that passed through two distinct rooms. I found an unobtrusive spot where the models were guaranteed to pause for a moment on the runway. The DJ booth was also directly in front of me; which meant that I could also use the color changing light panels on the DJ booth for an interesting background. The location was great except for one small detail: the light where the models would pass through was poor at best. In fact, the entire club was much darker than I was expecting. I was hoping to use only ambient light for the shoot, but that was definitely not going to happen.
Luckily, I had my off-camera flash setup with me. I mounted a 580 EX II flash on a stand with a shoot through umbrella and a couple of Pocket Wizards and I was ready to go. After a couple of practice runs with the models, I was all set and confident that I had everything I needed. All of the attendees were seated, the lights dimmed further, and the music started to crank. The show was ready to begin.
Jeremy took the microphone and gave a brief intro, and then the models started down the runway.
Canon EOS 40D + EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM @ 57 mm — f/4, 1/50 sec, ISO 1600 Continue reading “Play Time Fashion Show” →
I couldn’t let a mythical place like this go unexplored. So as the sun was getting a bit low in the sky I set off for Mast Park. I parked in the Walmart parking lot and walked toward what appeared to be a wall of thick brush. However, as I approached I spied a well cut path leading through the bushes and began to follow it. Although easily traversed, the path wound this way and that and wandered to and fro. Occasionally, I would entire stands of bushes and trees covered in the spun silk of web worms, giving the branches and leaves an eerie glow in the filtered sunlight. Continue reading “Mast Park”