Crystal

Crystal, originally uploaded by austinspace.

I don't know how we found this most perfect light, but this shot just thrills me. Crystal wanted to do a Fall shoot and I've always wanted to shoot along the trees on Manito Blvd on Spokane's South Hill so we went up there on a Friday afternoon. The day was cloudy so this little bit of sunshine was very, very welcome. Within a couple of shots it was gone. Luck is the phototgrapher's friend...

Adrienne Mondrian

Adrienne Mondrian, originally uploaded by austinspace.

I've been painting a lot of women lately. I should be painting my house.

I had the idea of taking the simple geometric shapes of Piet Mondrian's work and applying it to the curves of a woman, and was lucky when Addy agreed to be the canvas. Even luckier, my friend and model Kaitlin agreed to come over and paint Addy.

The process took about 2 hours to complete, from head to foot, using washable paints from the kids' craft section of Walmart. Keeping my Flickr safe for all viewers, you can't see the amazing job Kait did here, but you can appreciate the otherworldly look that Addy brought to it. If only every photoshoot was this creative and fulfilling!

Suzy

Suzy, originally uploaded by austinspace.

Argh. Suzy is one of the most stunning women I've ever photographed, but she is also one of the most frustrating. It's hard to take a photo that will please her. This one barely passed her inspection! I consider it a challenge to find out what she really wants (she has some model aspirations) but it's hard when the subject is so vague.

In this shot she's actually lying on the floor of my studio, where I recently got a sheet of grey background paper donated to me by my buddy Eric as payment for finding a model for him to shoot. He also gave me confidence to use my Alien Bees strobes, and it's been kind of weird but exhilarating to shoot brightly lit models these last couple of months.

I think Suzy's a classic pinup model. What do you think?

Kaitlin

Kaitlin, originally uploaded by austinspace.

I might have a touch of SAD--Seasonal Affective Disorder--to go along with all the other crap of getting older. Photography in the winter gets harder and harder for me to bring myself to do, and though I can always shoot in my cozy warm studio, there is nothing like a warm summer evening when the light gets perfect and even the insects dance in delight.

This shot of Kait was taken in July, but thanks to so many photoshoots the last three months I'm just now editing all her photos. Fortunately Kait is one of the coolest people I know and doesn't mind...too much...how long it takes me to go through the photos.

I think part of the beauty of this shot is the fact that my lenses are always dirty, causing the light refraction in the lower two/thirds of this pic. Ha.

San Diego Comic-Con

San Diego Comic-Con, originally uploaded by austinspace.

Silver at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. We've shot each year for the last four years after I spotted her as the Corpse Bride and she found the photo on my Flickr stream. It's always a pleasure to see her and her friend Kit at the Con, and no matter how crazy and busy it gets there, we manage to find each other.

This shot is taken between two large blue vents on the upper level of the Convention Center in San Diego. The light when she moved there was just perfect. People compare it to the painted comic book art of Alex Ross, and though I agree with the lighting, Silver is way more beautiful than the version Ross does of Power Girl.

Autumn and Eve

Autumn and Eve, originally uploaded by austinspace.

Erin came to me with the concept, and even brought the apple and a lot of leaves which I supplemented with leaves from my front yard.

Lighting with Alien Bees in front of her and behind her. I edited out my foot, which was visible on the right as I'm standing near the apple and shooting this without looking through the viewfinder. A simple crop and image rotation finished this off.

No, she's not nude; there is a hint of the orange/red fabric above her shoulders that kept her strategically covered during the shoot.
More to come from this shoot!

Sister

Sister, originally uploaded by austinspace.

All hail natural light! All hail the Magic Hour!