Studio Lights vs Speedlights

Spent some more studio time with Chris Knapp from Nikon and Brittany again last week to experiment a little with some "big lights" and "small lights". The portrait of Chris was taken with three Elinchrom studio lights and Brittany was lit with two Nikon Speedlights.

This was a great opportunity to work with the new SB-900 along with an SB- 800 and an SU-800 Commander. The accuracy and the versatility of these lights made for some beautiful results.

A Mixed Bag In One Weekend

It may be obvious to some why I'm calling this post "A Mixed Bag". Shooting some of Claudio's guests and one of mine yielded some interesting faces in different lighting scenarios.

1) First image of the famous fine art photographer Robert Farber. A chance to shoot a portrait of a talent as Robert was a wonderful opportunity.

2) Harbajan Singh came all the way to NY from PA as our guest. We thank him very much for his participation and patience.

Sat Sri Akal, Harbajan Ji.

3) Two looks from the same lady in different lighting. 

Also, being able to shoot with Claudio again always makes for an interesting afternoon!

A Different Path

Other than culinary, I've been involved in other disciplines of photography lately. Incorporating Nikon's Speedlights as an alternative to the larger studio strobes in situations where these little lights have a practical edge. 

Most recently, I've been working with Designline Construction Services, creating some interior images as well as environmental portraiture.

All images posted here have been created using Nikon's CLS and Speedlights.

Thank you Designline Construction Services for all your business.

Flashes Of Hope

Flashes Of Hope is an organization that provides charitable photographic services to children with cancer at certain hospitals. I was approached by Nat Clymer, the local representative and NJ-based photographer, to participate in this program, along with other members of the ASMP NJ chapter.

Over the course of the year, I  do a lot of work for non-profits and charitable organizations, including the Lymphoma Research Foundation, but this shoot put quite a bit of my life in a different perspective. Gave me almost the same feeling I get when I return from India - be grateful what what you have Verdini!

The kids are allowed to pose by themselves, family members and certain hospital staff, if they wish. I would watch some of them smile, especially the little ones who really don't know what's going on other than they're not feeling well.

If any ASMP photographers are asked to participate, please consider the offer. The ASMP-NJ chapter will be hosting Nat on Jan 14th to speak about the organization and to have a few photographers show their work and briefly comment from their sessions.

A Special Guest

Last week, I invited Christopher Knapp of Nikon to my studio to shoot. He was generous enough to bring along a model with all the necessary qualities and accessories. Great fun and plan on another shoot next month using the "noir" look. Not much to say other than we captured some beautiful imagery with the use of the Claudio Basso plain white background lighting scheme. Claudio's workshops were worth every penny...

The Many Voices Of EBC Radio

Kul RaaJ Anand: EBC Radio Program Director, Voice-Over Artist and a man of many other talents, truly an amazing personality. Witnessing his many talents and voices, he is a chameleon of sorts. I've seen other radio personalities on the air performing, but Kul Raaj takes to creating his 

many moods and voices through physical animations. It's amazing how he can go from one voice, instantly to another that doesn't even sound like him.

With all these different personalities, there was no specific lighting setup that would've captured his many voices and moods, so I chose three. All were shot with Elinchrom lights using either grid spots, softboxes or the 53" Octa.

Oak Tree Road Section Of Iselin, NJ

I typically get to this area of NJ approximately twice a month, where there is a large Indian population. I've been doing a personal project here just shooting some of the locals and the transplanted Indian culture. I frequent some restaurants and sweet shops that treat me like family (I'll post some from my favorite sweet shop in the near future), but there is a place called "Food Town", part of the Shalimar group, where the chicken tikka is perfect every time! Many times, restaurants will serve it smiling only to bite into it and the chicken has the consistency of wood. Ali is the tandoor chef and felt it was time to capture him preparing my order - The master at work! Thanks Ali for the great meals. See you in two weeks!

Hollywood Noir

Being a big fan of the old Hollywood portraits of George Hurrell, I started experimenting with my own style in the studio. Playing with different types of lights and modifiers, working with different models, it's a different approach than I'm used to in my commercial world. I'll be posting more as time goes on...

New Personal Project - Sardar Ji

Started a new personal project a few weeks ago. Every month, one of the Sikh temples (Gurudwara) in NJ has a change in their spiritual musicians known as Ragis. I've noticed over time some of them have faces that would make for great portraiture. Depending how far this goes, perhaps some day I'll put together a show. Until that time, readers of my blog can view them at www.davidverdini.com under the gallery "Sardar"

This first image was shot side-lit with two Nikon SB 600 flashes and a Nikon SB 800 as the commander. Meeting Joe McNally a few months ago at B&H (see previous blog entry) really inspired me to use these little lights.

This Ragi was lit with conventional strobes (two Elinchrom heads on a white seamless). It's a pleasure to work with these Ragis. Not one of them whom I've shot have had their formal portrait done. So these portrait sessions for them are a special time spent.

Sikh Warriors

Last night I attended a Sikh cultural event. It was mainly for the children of the NJ Sikh community, but there were performances by some of the adults as well.

Watching these "warriors" perform almost seem to defy gravity. Reminiscent of the Matrix at times the way they flew through the air.

The lighting inside the room was absolutely horrible. The Nikon D3 performed flawlessly without any flash!

Assisting Claudio Basso's Fashion Workshop

Last year I started as a student of Claudio Basso's. This year I became one of his assistants for the original Fashion Workshop I attended. It's funny how things happen. 

 

On the second day after the shoot, everyone was encouraged to ask the panel questions. The panel consisted of:

From left:

World Famous Fashion Photographer - Claudio Basso

Fashion Designer - Loris Diran

Model from Ikon Agency - Geoconda

Celebrity Hairstylist - Dan Riccio

Fashion Stylist - Elle Horton

Ikon Model Agency Founder & CEO - Cynthia Aktipis

Celebrity Makeup Artist - Anita Nouryeh

Br. Prabodh Chaitanya of San Jose, Ca., visited NJ this past week and I had the privilege of creating his portrait. His presence and teaching left me with a different perspective towards life that will remain with me forever. 

Hari Aum Prabodh Ji

Verdini's Portrait By Claudio Basso

My portrait done by Claudio Basso at the Power of Light workshop.

Claudio Basso - The Power Of Light

Attended Claudio Basso's "The Power Of Light" two-day class in NY this past weekend and what an eye-opener that was. I left with a tremendous amount of lighting knowledge from the Master. Relatively simple lighting sets that yield amazing results.

I had the extreme honor to photograph Claudio's good friend and artist, Santo Bruno (www.santobruno.net), using a high-key approach; the result was beautiful.

Towards the end of the second day, the "Image Award Winners" were announced and one of my submissions (upper right) was chosen as first-place winner for "Extraordinary Image" by Claudio. 

Thanks to Keith Rinearson for the above image of Claudio and me.

Met Joe McNally at B&H

I attended the one of the B&H events in NY with Joe McNally. It is amazing how he controls light, especially his work with the Nikon Speedlights. I just have the SB-800, but after seeing what can be done with these lights, I plan on getting a few to work wirelessly and create some new projects. 

Elected To NJ ASMP Board

Was elected to the Board of Directors to the ASMP New Jersey chapter (American Society of Media Photographers). This is a great honor and I'm looking forward to making my contributing efforts in education and the monthly salon. 

www.asmp.org

www.asmp-nj.org

Indian Movie Star - Sonia Gill

I had the extreme pleasure to photograph Indian movie star, Sonia Gill. She is here in the US filming a full-length film, and I was offered a two-hour photo shoot with her and her make-up and hair stylist. Truly a wonderful experience to work with a such a warm and down-to-earth lady. Hopes are that I may have a future session with her.  Thank you Sonia!

Working With Dan Macey

Had the experience to work with food stylist, Dan Macey today. We were creating images that may be used in a future cookbook. Hopefully, I'll have more news in a few months regarding these images.