The end of 2008 proved to be the busiest time of the year at Sierra Studio. We were booked solid from mid-October all the way through Christmas and the first week and a half of 09. We shot a big project for CVS/Caremark, Jewels By Parklane and a whole bunch of food shoots. Despite the busy schedule, I had the privilege to do some shots for Steve Layne. Dr. Steven L. Layne serves as full time Associate Professor of Education and Literature at Judson College in Elgin, IL. Steve is a wonderful author, speaker, educator and expert in reading education. Steve has been a friend for at least 20 years. We shot alot of other shots before we got to this. This was done in a hallway leading to his office. There were small halogen spotlights hanging from the ceiling that we used as kicker lights. The fill light came from above camera and came through a large Photoflex softbox. Steve's publicist wanted him to be a little more serious for these shots, so we only shot a handful with smiles. Overall the shoot went smoothly and look forward to work with Steve again.
My new website is finally up but still needs a little fine tuning. This site has a new url since I didnt want to get rid of the old one yet. I've also geared this site to be more editorial portraits and less of the other stuff. I'm really excited as I work on new projects. The last 12 years of my work have been done at Sierra Studio and so I don't own copyright on any of those images. Therefore, I can't use them on my personal website. If I've learned a lesson, it would be to never stop working on my own work, it will always be mine. This new site still has a link to Sierra Studio, where some of my other work can be seen. Please check it out at KevinScottPhotography
For anyone who know me, I am crazy about Jeeps. What they stand for, what they can do and just how much fun you can have in one. This month my new Jeep turns one. This is not my first Jeep. I still have and love my 94 which is lifted with too many mods to list. Definitely not as street friendly. There is also such a big difference in how it handles on the road and off. Having power windows and locks, kickin stereo, cruise control, automatic sway bar disconnects, electric lockers, Dana 44s front and back and a much softer ride has me spoiled. I wish it had a little more oomph at the accelerator but it did very well at the dunes this year. The best part is that with 4 doors, I can take the whole family!
Here is the main image from the Grecian Delight food shoot two weeks ago at Sierra. Grecian Delight is, I believe, the largest flat bread bakery in the country. They wanted to show the vast variety of flat breads that they make. We arranged as many sizes, colors, shapes and flavors as we could fit. As usual, I kept the light simple and tried to make it come from the direction of the window as much as possible. We really liked the texture we got across the breads and were really pleased with how the image turned out. I'm not sure how the image looks on your monitor, but it has a nice golden warm feel in the original version for print. My two favorite subjects to photograph are people and food. I'm happy to be able to shoot both at Sierra.
I'm always looking for people with a unique look, hobby or occupation to photograph. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to shoot some images of the crew at Tattoo City. I've always wanted to do a project showing people with their tattoos because of how unique and different each person's artwork is. Each tattoo tells you something about the person. This is the start of it and hope to continue it as time permits. I was able to photograph all of the artists at Tattoo City but these are just a few of owner/artist Larry Brogan and piercer Kelly LeVake. I would like to say thanks to Artists at Tattoo City for taking time out of their Fridayr night to allow me to come in and start this project. The work that they do is truly amazing.
Robert Hanson, director of Elgin Symphony Orchestra, was a pleasure to shoot. We shot several backgrounds and outfits. He was very willing to let me try different things and we had a very smooth shoot. Robert Hanson, named 2001 Conductor of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras, has been Music Director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra since 1985. Hanson came to the ESO in 1974 as assistant to Margaret Hillis and became Co-Music Director in 1983. Under his guidance, the ESO has become one of the finest and most celebrated orchestras in the Midwest.
The lighting for this shoot was kept very simple with only one main light into a large softbox on the right and a head with a grid as a kicker from back right. The shot where he is conducting we dragged the shutter about 1.5 to 2 secs and allowed the modeling lights to expose. We did the last shots by the sliding glass doors in the studio conference room. Hopefully I can work with him again and try a little more unexpected type of shots.
