By the Time I Get to Bellefonte

Last Thursday, Oct. 22, Drew, Teresa and I flew back to Bellefonte, PA for a relative's wedding on the 24th.  About a month prior, I posted a Travel Notice/Casting Call on Model Mayhem letting models that I would be available to shoot on Oct. 25, and I received a response back from a Penn State student stating she would like to work with me.  We went back and forth to make sure she wouldn't cancel and that lugging my camera gear on three jets wouldn't be in vain.  Hmmm...shooting gear.  Here's a list of what I pack in by Camera backpack that weighs 27 lbs.  I know, because I weighed it at the airport:

• Nikon D700
• SB-900 and SB-600 Flashes - Remember I dropped my second SB-600
• HONL Photo light modifiers: CC Gels, Color FX Gels, grids, snoots, speed straps
• Nikkor 24mm-70mm, 50mm, and 70mm-200mm lenses
• Batteries and chargers
• 48" collapsible reflector
• Collapsible Gray Card
• Sekonic Light Meter

To be honest I planned to take my camera since I wanted to practice shooting a wedding even though the relatives already had a photographer hired, but I also wanted some pictures of the Fall Colors.  We don't experience the full effect of the "Changing of the Seasons" in Bakersfield.

So we left Bako around 6:00 PM and with all the changes ended up in at the Philadelphia Airport at 6:30 AM Eastern time.  Drew was a real trooper, and didn't complain one bit with all the waiting around in the wee hours.  I whipped out my camera to take some shots of the airport, but none of them had any really nice architectural lines.  Of course I turned the camera on Drew, who was a good sport.  I believe this was shot at ISO 1600 using my 50 mm Prime lens at f/2.8 since I noticed that shooting at f/1.8 doesn't provide Tack Sharp focus.  Anyway, we arrived in State College, PA at 10:00 AM and headed to the parent's house.  The weather was cool and drizzling, but still a nice change from the dryness of Bako.

The following day we headed to the Church armed with my gear, I decided I 'd use my prime lens for a majority of the shots, but I really wanted to see how the photographer posed the wedding party.  She had two Canon camera bodies, one with a 50mm and another with a telephoto lens.  All of her shots were done with On-Camera flash and not even a bracket.  I managed to stay out of her way and keep all my Strobist comments to myself. LOL After the ceremony, as the photographer was posing the wedding party, the cloudy day gave way to intermittent sunshine. I happened to turn around and catch the Flower Girl fixing her bouquet.  This was shot with mixed natural and incandescent light.  No light modifiers were used to create the spotlight, but rather the window from upper portion of the church.  Anyway, the wedding went off with a hitch. Pun intended.

Sunday was photoshoot day with Penn State Alum, Kelsey (a.k.a. Bkklove on Model Mayhem).  I guess I must have silenced my cell phone because she TXT'ed me at 1:00 PM saying she was there and I didn't see the message until 15 minutes later.  Ooops. She found her way to the Fire house where Teresa's Dad volunteers his time.  We shot for about 2 hours in and around the Fire Hall, which gave her three different looks.  Kelsey is 5' 10" and exotic looking, with Hazel eyes and definitely outgoing and takes her modeling seriously. I always find it interesting to shoot a model taller than me, actually I enjoy it because I don't need to scoot down to give them the appearance of height.  We shot both inside and outside, for the indoor stuff we used an SB-900 with a Color Correction Green Gel, and a HONL Photo 1/4" grid to counter act the Fluorescent lights and control the spread of light from the flash.  For outside we used the gold reflector.  I definitely need to acknowledge my Human Light Stand, Tom, who is Teresa's Dad.  We have an inside joke that he has to learn to be my key grip so when I land the Sports Illustrated gig, he can accompany me.  For being his first time on a shoot, he did a really great job keeping the light where it needed to be.  Thanks Tom!!!

So what did I learn?
On the Wedding front: 1) Have a checklist of shots you want.  It is a pretty hectic day and you really want to deliver. 2) Have two camera bodies with different lenses and flashes and 3) buy the portable dolly/step-ladder that Kelby shows in Vol. 2 of his book
Honestly, I'm not confident enough to shoot weddings, but I'm sure I will be within a year.
On the model shoot: Only one real key thing for me and that was to relax.  It felt like I was on a deadline and I just couldn't get into the shoot.  I'm not sure if it was the environment, new model, or the guilt that I was supposed to be on vacation.

A big Shout Out to Kelsey for taking the chance to work with a perfect stranger. You're a brave and wonderful kid that reminds me of Megan Fox, but with normal thumbs!!! See you next year Bkklove.

Anyway, it was still a fun trip and I took some nice pictures.  Kelsey said she would be up for a shoot anytime I came to visit, which is cool, but I just don't know if I can lug that backpack across the country.  Maybe I'll just rent some lenses and only carry the body, an SB-900, and my prime lens.

Thanks for reading and That's A Wrap!!!