The Fight

The creation of this image began at the studio when a friend, Colin Foster attending the Hallmark Institute of Photography needed to get some shots for his final portfolio submission. Colin wanted to shoot a fight scene similar to many on the internet. I was concerned about copying the work of others but Colin explained that students often replicate poses and lighting setups as part of the learning process. Colin and I shot the same models in the boxing scene but we both added our own backgrounds. Here is Colin’s version

THE STUDIO
I got my daughters, Brooke (L) and Kara (R) to come by for a few hours. The make up artist was Aimee Dorsey from Model Mayhem and her passion is gruesome-ness.

They were shot separately with both acting the part of being hit, then the hitter. Colin and I took turns shooting them.

D3, ISO 200, F13, 1/200sec.  24-70mm at 70mm

THE PIER
While on vacation in South Carolina I visited the pier in Garden City and felt it had many of the qualities I wanted for the fight scene. Lighting with depth, dark areas and great symmetry and perspective. This shot was taken about 5:30am during a time when only people fishing are allowed on the pier.

I set up on the empty pier and shot 5 images at 1EV spacing. I ended up blending in the single -1EV image with the HDR because Kara and Brooke were shot with a black background and a dark pier scene was needed to avoid problems blending the flying hair.

D3, ISO800, 0EV=F10, .6sec. 24-70mm at 48mm, tripod

TYLER and BECCA
Tyler and Becca modeled the next night on the pier to add to the fight scene. The job was for Tyler to look surprised as Becca alerted him to the fight. It was kind of a “hey look at that” moment. Notice that she’s pointing and grabbing his arm at about the same time he notices the action. I chose a specific spot based on the lighting, then during breaks in the crowd they would walk forward and strike their poses. The girl in the white skirt was fully visible in one of the shots so I included her in the final image.

D3, ISO 4000, F2.2, 1/60sec. handheld, 50mm (fixed)

FISHERMAN
The next night I walked the pier with my 50mm lens and even on a D3 it’s small enough to be stealth. I shot fishermen doing their thing on the pier. I was hoping to get someone bringing in a big one but that never happened. I left the pier about midnight. The fisherman’s bucket was white and I used Hue/saturation to colorize it close to Brooke’ hand wraps.

D3, ISO 4000, F4.5, 1/13sec. handheld, 50mm (fixed)

The final image is a composite of 4 images for the people, 2 of fish plus the HDR image. Total of 11 images.

We Can Do This

SeaStudios came to me for some images to use in a video they were producing. I had no idea who they were, until now. Sea Studios Foundation is dedicated to raising environmental literacy and motivating action in the US and internationally to address urgent threats to our planet’s health.

I don’t think many people would disagree with the fact that what we are doing to our earth is unsustainable – Tim Pawlenty, Govenor of Minnesota.

This high quality video production certainly raises awareness of our need to control climate change. Please watch this 14 minute video, your earth needs you to care. http://www.seastudios.org/ahead2_video_flash.php

The video is full of wonderful photography and video clips. Many images are HDR (see if you can pick them out) and I suspect many flickr users donated them.

I typically allow non-profit organizations to use my images at no charge, and for causes you believe in, I urge you to do the same. Your donated photography can be used to increase awareness and make a difference.

Here are my two images used in the video: