Chris Sista - Images and Things

Getty Center

2011-09-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

Took my first trip to the Getty Museum at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Great architecture. Wall to wall inspiration. A beautiful place to spend the day with someone.

Shot with a Canon 5D Mark II and 24-70 f/2.8L lens.

Nicole at Griffith Park

2011-09-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

Wanted to break a recent unlucky streak I've had going with photos, so I called my go-to model/actress Nicole Dionne to see if she was up for a shoot. She was, so we went to Griffith Park to have some fun. We always get great stuff, and this time was no exception.

Timing and coincidence can be everything, especially in this case. Nicole was in a cowgirl mood, so we pulled over at one of the horse trails. Perfect light pouring in behind her as the sun went down. Not only that, we got even luckier when an extremely nice gentleman came by with his horse, and offered to let us use it for some photos.

Nicole then wanted to do some "Earth Goddess" shots. I protested, due to not being keen on the whole modern-hippie movement. She vetoed my protest. I'm glad she did, since I love these shots and her look fit the lighting and mood perfectly.

At the end of our shoot, she decided to play on the rocky hillside we were near. The way her dress blended in with the dirt and gravel caught my eye, and I thought it would make for some interesting photos. And after two sunset-specific setups, I needed the change of pace.

But that ended once the rocks gave way beneath her. :-)

Photos taken with a Canon 5D Mark II, and 135 f/2L lens. Post done in Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS4.

Battery Row Premiere Afterparty

2011-09-06T15:58:00.000-07:00

After the premiere for Battery Row, a new film noir serial by Jim Rhodimer, a group of us went to Jerry's Famous Deli to celebrate.

Taking these photos brought me back to my college days, when a group of us would go to an empty diner at midnight, (or later), and I would bring my camera along to take b&w film candids. Of course, we never wore 40's Noir outfits, but it still felt comfortably familiar and created a sense of personal nostalgia.

Shot with a Canon 5D Mark II and 24-70 f/2.8L lens. Post done in Lightroom 3.

Commercial #2

2011-08-26T02:07:00.000-07:00

Wow. Been ignoring the blog big time. This video has actually been live for a couple of weeks now. Need to do better at keeping up with this...

The second commercial for chrissista.com has arrived! This isn't the follow-up that was originally planned. Got about half way through filming that one, had to take a forced break before finishing it, and then realized in that time that it just wasn't working. Got the idea for a new commercial, and here it is.

Many thanks to my costar, Kair Cogswell. A very talented actress and singer that you might recognize from the "Portraits" and "Musicians" galleries on my website. She knocked it out of the park with the voice, reaction, puppetry, everything.

Check out some of Kair's work here!

Now, my other costar. The puppet. Had to seriously MacGyver her. Started with a build-your-own puppet for a foundation, added the sunglasses, altered the included princess gown into a casual dress, took fabric from the second included gown and turned it into the lips, and created my own hair from a 99¢ Store cheerleading pom pom. Even trimmed the bangs. I suppose that means I can put myself down as wardrobe, hair, & makeup in the credits. ;-)

Also, big thanks once again to Todd Drow, for being behind the camera when I was stuck in front of it. And to Rob Lanza, for reading lines and doing a scene stealing reaction in the final shot.

So here it is. Once again, if you like it, please spread it. These are made to attract new clients, and I can't do that without your help. Post it on facebook, twitter, your blog, and even myspace, if any of you are still using it. Thanks, everyone!

Here's the link to share:

http://youtu.be/O8RF8Cpcg9U

Shot with a Canon 7d, and 50mm f/1.4 lens.

My first commercial. The whys, whats, and hows.

2011-08-25T02:27:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I decided I wanted to do things differently. I knew I needed to market myself, but I didn't want to stick to the classic photographer methods of postcards or local ads. Two reasons for this. One, I hate doing things the way I'm supposed to. That's boring. Two, why use a classic method when there's all these new and innovative ways to go about things?

As I've mentioned before, I made the switch to Canon after years of shooting Nikon, because of their lead with HD video in DSLRs. So why not use these new capabilities? Why pay to air it locally when youtube will make it available to the whole world, for the bargain price of free? I make something that hopefully entertains people, they repost it, it potentially goes viral, I get some more business. Sounds like a plan.

First things first, though. What to make the commercial about? Should I talk about the quality my photography and why you should want to shoot with me?... Nah. Too pretentious, and my work should speak for itself anyway. I've seen a few photographers brag about how their headshots open doors, but I always figured that's what doorknobs are for. So I won't use that line. What I needed was to get people to see the work, and let them make a decision from there. I figured, best way to do that is to make people laugh, and push them in the direction of my website. Thankfully, absurdity is becoming a much more mainstream style of comedy these days. And since I'm a big dork with an odd sense of humor, I would be allowed to play to my strengths.

Now, what would the content be? Well, I had a few small comedy shorts that were stored away in the back of my head, so I went with those. Only difference is, I would be in front of the camera instead of behind, and I had to bookend them with promotional content. I think I could handle that. So I have three commercials planned right now. The first is embedded below. It was the first because, well, it was the easiest. Good practice, and a good way to figure out if I could handle being an "actor". The second is in production. And the third is the big one, so that will take some time to organize.

Before I go, I want to thank my good friend Todd Drow, who was the man behind the camera for this commercial. You have no idea how hard it is for me to let someone else look through the lens. I needed someone whose eye I could trust, and he did a great job.

And lastly, I have a favor to ask of you. You know how I mentioned the commercials going viral? Well, that's where you come in. If the ad works and makes you laugh, please post a link to the youtube video. Facebook, Twitter, you name it. This goes double for people in the Los Angeles area. And it goes triple for anyone with a lot of actor friends who are in the market for headshots. Thanks, everyone. I greatly appreciate it.

Shot with a Canon 7D, 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, and 50mm 1.4 lens.

D23

2011-08-23T00:51:00.000-07:00

Spent Sunday at D23, the annual all-things-Disney Expo in Anaheim, CA, right down the street from Disneyland. I'm too impatient to stand in line for hours for panels, (And The Avengers panel from Marvel happened the day before, anyway), so I just wandered around the main hall for a while.

I love the way this life-size Lightning McQueen made entirely of Legos photographs like an 8-bit video game character.

Some large props of Tweedle Dee And Tweedle Dum up for auction. Think they may have been from the Alice In Wonderland ride.

Winning artist of the worldwide t-shirt design contest signing autographs.

Some animation maquettes of elves from an upcoming Disney Christmas animated movie.

An animation maquette of Tinkerbell used for one of her straight-to-video movies.

One of the showcased artists doing a live painting.

A Lightning McQueen that will be used in the upcoming Cars Land at Disney's California Adventure.

A maquette of the new Storytellers statue that will be on display at Disney's California Adventure.

A model showing the upcoming redesign of Fantasyland at Walt Disney World.

Father and son checking out the wall of Animation.

And, finally, Mickey watching over everything.

Shot with a Canon 5D Mark II and a 24-70mm f/2.8L lens.

Trip to Solvang

2011-08-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, I decided to drive up to Solvang. The two purposes for the trip were to have a fun time with my friend Jennifer, and get some great photos. The fun part was a success, it's a cool place to visit. The photos part didn't quite work out. The cloudless sky was too flat for any exciting landscapes, which was what I mainly wanted to shoot. Got some good photos, but nothing spectacular.

First stop was Ostrichland, U.S.A. Thought it would be a lot of fun to see ostriches, but it was actually quite lame. About 15 people all showed up at once, and we were all gone within 15 minutes. All the kids freaked out when the ostriches were near them. The smell was pretty bad, and the flies were worse. And ostriches are a real pain in the ass to shoot. Even at a high shutter speed, they were moving too quick and kept ducking out of shots. Although, as each car left, another pulled in. And with only one employee, the place must be making serious bank. I think I'm in the wrong business.

Next, we took a tour of Gainey Vineyard.

And then we spent the rest of the day driving around the surrounding area, looking for photos. By the way, it's one of my personal photo quests to get a great "Lone Tree" shot. Always been a fan of that particular photographic sub-genre. I like this one for now, but the quest will continue, as I feel there's a better one out there waiting for me.

Shot with a Canon 5D Mark II, 135mm f/2L, 24-70mm f/2.8L, and 16-35 f/2.8L II lenses.

Quick shoot with Kair

2011-08-17T00:58:00.000-07:00

Small photo session with actress/musician Kair Cogswell. She got a new place, and we wanted to do some character shots before the furniture was brought in. Unfortunately, you can't get too gritty with wall-to-wall carpeting and freshly painted walls, but we tried. Props definitely helped.

Decided to have some fun with crops that differ from my usual proportions.

Also, we tried our hand at jewelry modeling. Necklace design by LILUSH.

Shot with a Canon 5D Mark II, using the 16-35mm f/2.8L II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lenses.

Downtown Los Angeles with Mick

2011-07-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

The first real test for some of my new gear. Left the wide angle and telephoto prime at home, and ventured out with the 5d and 24-70mm, my new general-range lens.

Called my friend, actor Mick Gallagher, since we had talked about doing a faux-documentary/portrait/headshots photoshoot in his new neighborhood. I thought this would be a good opportunity to test this particualr camera/lens combo.

Really like what I got. Love the new lens and camera.

Shot with a Canon 5D Mark 2 and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens.

Testing out my new 5D

2011-07-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a strong month of work, I was finally able to upgrade my entire kit. I'm now a very happy owner of a new 5D Mark 2 and a few L lenses.

Naturally, the first thing I did when the UPS guy delivered the package from B&H Photo was call a buddy to come over and help me test out the new toys. Since Jay was closest, he was my guinea pig.

Jay Preston's Website

Shot with a Canon 5D Mark 2, 24-70mm f/2.8L, and 135 f/2L lenses.

Santa Monica Pier

2011-06-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

Recently acquired the Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-5.6 lens with a suitable polarizer, and wanted to test them out. Drove down to Santa Monica, since I thought the pier would be a good place to have fun with my new additions. Probably could have chosen a better day to go. Too crowded for many clean shots, yet not enough people to really add excitement to the photos. But that just made it a fun challenge, and I'm extremely happy with what I got.

Shot with a Canon 7D and Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, with B+W MRC Circular Polarizer.

Los Angeles Zoo

2011-04-13T23:18:00.000-07:00

Took a trip to the Los Angeles Zoo today, camera obviously in hand.

Borrowed a friend's Canon 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lens, as I have yet to buy a new zoom lens since the big switch to Canon. For a kit/value lens, I thought it did a great job, and recommend it to anyone looking for a relatively low-cost zoom.

Shot with a Canon 7D and 55-250mm f/4-5.6 lens.

International Pillow Fight Day 2011 - Los Angeles

2011-04-03T01:12:00.000-07:00

April 2th, 2011 was the annual International Pillow Fight Day. It's a pretty self-explanatory event. Not sure which cities host it around the world, but here in Los Angeles the event was held at Pershing Square. It was a blast. Probably the hardest time I've had thus far stopping myself from dropping my camera, and joining in on the fun. Next year I'm going to make a point of going with a partner, so we can trade off on work and play.

*Updated on 4/4/11 with additional photos*

Shot with a Canon 7D, and Canon 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 lens.

Natalie Pt. 3: Gold

2011-03-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

Here's the last set from my shoot with Natalie. No real story here. Just lit her up with strobes and gels. This is actually the same setup from the "Period" set, so there are similarities in poses and wardrobe. Even though these are the final shots I'm posting, they're actually the first photos we took. It's funny, these didn't originally catch my eye, but now I think they're my favorite from the shoot. Go figure.

Shot with a Canon 7D, 50mm f/1.4 lens, and Aliens Bees AB800 strobes.

Natalie Pt. 2: Period

2011-03-09T14:12:00.000-08:00

This was the experimental part of the shoot. My wanting to try this was a direct result of two things.

First, I had watched a documentary about cinematographer Henri Alekan on the "Wings Of Desire" blu-ray. In it, he talked about how he gave that film and "Beauty And The Beast (1946)" their dreamy look.

Second was a viewing of the film "Everlasting Moments". The movie takes place during WWI, and it's about a woman who discovers photography, using it as an outlet from a bad marriage. I loved the look of the old photos that she took with the camera. (Wish I remembered what kind of camera it was.) It's a Swedish film available through Criterion. Based on a true story. I highly recommend watching it for any photography fans out there.

It turns out, Alekan used a fabric from his mother's leggings that he turned into a custom filter. For me, I just bought a cheap pair of pantyhose at the grocery store, stretched them over the lens, and held them in place with the lens hood. This came with some difficulties. When I first tested it out in my kitchen, I could see through the fabric, and was even able to autofocus. During the shoot, however, I was basically shooting blind. I had to manually focus on a highlight on her shoulder, which was the only crisp thing shining through. Light source and direction are apparently a huge factor in this. I'm sure I could have done it all with a simple photoshop plug-in. Or on that Hipstamatic app for iPhone that everyone seems to love. But it's much more fun to do it in camera.

I'm very happy with the outcome. As I said, this just an experiment. Now that I know the results, I want to use these newly learned techniques for something bigger. The plotting has already begun...

Shot with a Canon 7D, 50mm f/1.4 lens, and Aliens Bees AB800 strobes.

Natalie Pt. 1: Monochrome

2011-03-08T00:37:00.000-08:00

First time shooting with a new model. Always fun. Especially when you know the person before the shoot. My latest shoot was with model Natalie Garavelli. As is my normal routine, I kept things loose for our first shoot. No heavy planning, just a bit of brainstorming.

I'll definitely be planning a bigger shoot with Natalie. I had a great time working with her, and I love what we got. Matter of fact, during this session, we already came up with two ideas for next time.

Shot with Canon 7D, 85mm f/1.8 lens, and Aliens Bees AB800 strobes.

Stan Lee Gets A Star On The Walk Of Fame

2011-01-06T01:46:00.000-08:00

So, there's something about me you should know. I'm a geek. A big one. And not one of those temp-geek hipster guys. I'm lifelong.

In particular, I'm a comic book fan. I've been reading steadily since I was 13 years old, which means comics actually go farther back for me than photography. Specifically, I'm a Marvel guy. While a lot of my favorite stories have come from DC Comics, it's the characters of the Marvel Universe I've always loved. Spider-Man, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and most of all, the X-Men. And Stan Lee is the writer who created them all, along with equally legendary artists.

The famous line from Spider-Man, "With great power comes great responsibility."... That's Stan's line.

On Tuesday, he finally received a much deserved star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. And you can be sure that I was there taking photos.

Todd McFarlane was the second guest speaker at the event. This was also very cool, because Todd was hitting superstar status on Spider-Man right as I was getting into comics. As a result, he's a big part of my early years as a fan. He went on to create the popular character Spawn, and started McFarlane toys.

And LAPD was prepared for the fans.

Thanks to the 7d, I was able to quickly shoot some video of Stan's concluding statements.

Okay, I'm done geeking out. For a little while, at least. ;-)

Shot with Canon 7d, 15-85mm lens.

It Came From Planet X-Mas!

2010-12-14T02:26:00.000-08:00

This is an old, fun, weird photo set that I did when I first got into digital photography. I like to bring it out around the holidays for obvious reasons.

There's still a part of me that plans on redoing it as a short film one of these days.

Shot with a Minolta A2

Great sunset in Los Angeles last night

2010-12-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

Technically, this is Toluca Lake. But, based on facebook updates, all of Los Angeles was experiencing this great sunset.

Shot with Canon 7d, and 15-85mm lens.

Nicole And A Loft Pt. 2: Hallway and Stairwell

2010-12-03T02:49:00.000-08:00

Finishing out the "Nicole And A Loft" collection, which includes the Actors Vs. Models post, here's the remainder of my selects from this massive day of shooting. Over 1,000 shots were taken, so whittling down these groups was definitely a process. It's been a while since I shot an available light modeling session, and I forgot how itchy my trigger finger can get when I don't have to move lights or give the model's eyes a break from the flashes.

First we have Nicole flirting with the camera while frolicking around the hallway.

And then we finished up the day with some shots on the stairwell.

Canon 7D, and Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens.

Nicole And A Loft Pt. 1: The Window

2010-11-28T17:11:00.000-08:00

Since I began shooting, one of the things I've looked forward to was shooting in a nice, big loft. Huge windows, white or brick walls. Something about it always appealed to me. Thankfully, I have a friend who lives in one, and she picked Nicole, my go-to model/actress to house-sit. So, naturally, I set up a shoot.

First up are the window shots. At this point, I've shot Nicole so many times and we're so creatively in sync, that I can just say, "Nicole, do something.". She'll do something, I'll shoot it, and we always get good stuff. Today was no exception.

We take a moment to get interrupted by the dogs...

And then realize that beds are meant to be played on...

And then we wrap up the window location on a more somber note, just for a change of mood...

More to come from the rest of the loft.

Shot with Canon 7d, 50mm f/1.4

Actors vs. Models

2010-11-22T01:16:00.000-08:00

One great thing about living in Los Angeles, is that you're surrounded by actors and models everywhere you go. Therefore, you can always choose between the two when you want to shoot. When I'm aiming for a picture that's based on style, when it's more about the overall look of the photo and I need someone that can compliment that, I go for a model. When all I want to do is tell a story with my photograph, then nothing beats an actor. Sometimes you're lucky, and you get two in one.

My good friend, actress Nicole Dionne, is a prime example of that. Through five years of creative collaboration, she's given me the ability to create both style and story. In today's case, both in one day. Right in the middle of some modeling shots we were taking on a stairwell, I asked her to cry for the camera. (This stemmed from a conversation we had earlier about her strengths as an actress.) Sure enough, without any preparation, she gave me an entire series of photos, highlights of which are below. When I told her I got what I needed, she snapped right back to the fun red dress mode.

NICOLE'S WEBSITE.

Canon 7d, 50mm f/1.4 lens

Rome circa 2007

2010-11-20T20:55:00.000-08:00

Decided to go back to some photos I took while spending the day in Rome, back in 2007. That was pre-blog, so never posted them anywhere. I believe, at the time, my thought was "Does the world need more postcard pictures of Rome?". Plus, I remember feeling like I was having an off day, and wasn't too inspired by any of my photos at the time. Looking back through the photos, I still semi-believe this, but these five shots did catch my eye. So I went to work on them, along with some very appreciated help from the new lens correction features in Lightroom 3.

Taken with a Nikon d70s, and Tamron 18-200 f/3.5-5.6

Fun With Color Saturation!

2010-10-29T01:56:00.000-07:00

Had a quick photoshoot yesterday with a new model/actress named Jenna Johnson. She brought a fun, quirky attitude and wardrobe to the session, and it gave me the perfect chance to incorporate more energy into the photos. Also gave me an opportunity to really play with pushing the color saturation to high levels, which is something I've been wanting to do for a while now. Probably comes from my lifelong quest to somehow merge actual reality and cartoon reality. Very happy with the results, and can't wait till our next shoot together.

Canon 7D, 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6

Pigeons at Echo Park

2010-10-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

Tried to get some close-ups of a group of pigeons feeding at Echo Park, in Los Angeles. Got a bit too close, scared them, and suddenly had pigeons flying all around me. Thankful I didn't get christened in the process.

Canon 7D, 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6

Minto and Skittle

2010-10-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know. Who needs more photos of dogs, right? Well, sometimes I like to throw some personal photos up here. :-P

These are my old roommate's dogs, Minto and Skittle. I was around for the first two years of Minto's life, so I always felt like an owner to the crazy mutt.

Canon 7d, 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6

Union Station

2010-09-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

Union Station is a beautiful place to shoot, especially in the afternoon sun. For any local photographers, I highly recommend shooting there if you have the chance, especially if you're in the mood for some candids or architectural practice.

Shot with the Canon 7D, 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 lens.

Testing my new 7D at Citywalk

2010-09-19T23:18:00.000-07:00

Just made the big switch to Canon. I've been a Nikon guy since high school, which is longer than I care to admit. Filmmaking and video work are getting equal to photography for me, as far as focus and jobs, and I feel that Canon will always have the lead in this area.

So I moved to the Canon 7D. Had a few minutes to kill at Universal Studios Citywalk, and decided to finally test out my "new toy". These shots were taken with the 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens. In the interest of keeping it a true test of the camera's abilities, these are all straight from camera, with raw conversion using the Adobe Standard color profile. I have to say, I am extremely pleased with the results. I usually need a circular polarizer to get skies that rich.

Mick Gallagher

2010-09-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

My friend/actor Mick Gallagher just wrapped filming on Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Which means that he can't wait to shave. Before the beard was retired, though, he wanted to get some pics. I happily obliged.

Nikon D200, 50mm f/1.8, 85mm f/1.8

Prop 8 Rally in West Hollywood, CA.

2010-08-05T19:32:00.000-07:00

Hundreds meet at West Hollywood Park to celebrate Prop 8 being ruled unconstitutional on August 4th, 2010.

Nikon d200, 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6

PETA vs. Ringling Bros: A Protest

2010-07-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Olivia Munn announced on her twitter feed that she was going to take part in a protest at the Staples Center, along with PETA, to boycott Ringling Bros Circus. Specifically, the way they treat their elephants. Thought it would be a good opportunity to practice some photojournalistic photography. I can honestly say that this was the roughest selection process I've gone through in a while, once it came time to pick wich shots to display. Too many good ones to choose from. I may even do an outtakes post in the future.

Downtown Los Angeles

2010-07-14T01:47:00.000-07:00

Decided to venture into downtown LA today. Definitely going back soon.

Outfest 2010 - Leading Ladies Premiere

2010-07-13T13:15:00.001-07:00

My go-to model/actress Nicole Dionne, (Look in older blog posts for her photos), starred in a movie that was showing at Outfest, a gay and lesbian film festival that takes place in Los Angeles. Since I planned on bringing my camera to get some "papparazzi" photos for her, I decided to also grab a few shots of the building and event surroundings.

Rush gets their star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame

2010-06-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

Went with my roommate, who's part of a what is clearly a very devoted fan base. Actually saw a really good doc about the band later that night. I can honestly say I became a fan after watching it. That's Billy Corrigan introducing them, by the way.

The Secret Lovers performing at Skinny's in North Hollywood.

2010-06-26T14:53:00.000-07:00

E3 2010

2010-06-19T00:09:00.001-07:00

Got into E3 this year. For those that don't know, E3 is a huge video game expo for people in the business. Would have liked to have gotten more photos, but, I was there to play games after all. Still managed to capture some of the surroundings.

Waiting to play...

2010-05-06T00:32:00.001-07:00

Jeff of The Secret Lovers, waiting for the band's set to start at Skinny's in North Hollywood.

Friday Night Car Show At Bob's Big Boy: Round 2

2010-03-27T01:12:00.001-07:00

Had a rough time getting wide shots last week, as it was much too crowded. So I decided to take a chance and go back. Glad I did.

Stay On The Path...

2010-03-26T02:04:00.001-07:00

Friday night car show at Bob's Big Boy

2010-03-20T00:07:00.007-07:00

Los Angeles

2010-03-18T17:04:00.001-07:00

Brasalton, GA

2010-03-18T02:10:00.001-07:00

A couple of years ago, while visiting my parents in Georgia, my father took me to a town with some rundown sections. He thought it would make for some good photography, and he was right. Even though I have shots from here in my portfolio already (recognize the rusted Coke sign?), I still like to go through the collection occasionally, and find some new gems. Especially times like now, when I simply need a break from working on headshots, but don't have time to take a new photo.

Floating

2010-03-01T21:33:00.001-08:00

Everyone once in a while, I get the urge to go tinker with old photos and see what newly learned techniques I can apply. This is mostly a result of Adjustment brushes and gradients that were added to Lightroom 2/Camera Raw. They turned out to be a total game changer for me.

Ylia

2010-02-05T00:35:00.001-08:00

Nicole

2010-01-27T16:33:00.001-08:00

Nicole is my go-to model whenever I'm in the mood to just shoot. We've worked together enough that neither one needs anything from a session. This takes away any pressure, and also creates a situation where I can just make it up as I go along. As a result, I always get great shots that I wasn't expecting

Lost City Radio

2009-11-16T22:11:00.001-08:00

MJ's Star

2009-10-01T18:50:00.005-07:00

Michael Jackson's Star on The Hollywood Walk Of Fame, days after his death.

ABout the lack of posts...

2009-04-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry. I've been a slacker when it comes to posting photos lately. I've been in screenwriter mode, working a web show that I'd like to film. I'll try and get some new stuff posted soon.

- Chris

Tangled Pt. 4

2009-03-29T16:11:00.001-07:00

Creep

2009-03-22T23:23:00.001-07:00

This is a perfect example of an unexpected photo.

The original purpose of this image was to have the model, who was wearing a sexy corset, crawl towards the camera seductively. The light didn't hit her quite right in this particular frame, and she was mostly covered in shadow.

Thankfully, when I saw the photo in Lightroom, something clicked, and I decided it would work as a creepy B&W shot. The more I look at it, the more I like it. I just wish I had done it on purpose.

One more Shane

2009-03-20T01:49:00.000-07:00

Tangled Pt. 3

2009-03-11T00:54:00.001-07:00

Ylia

2009-03-09T20:58:00.001-07:00

Tangled Pt. 2

2009-03-09T01:36:00.001-07:00

Shane

2009-03-08T19:14:00.001-07:00

Tangled

2009-03-08T09:10:00.001-07:00

Now just a regular photo blog...

2009-03-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hey, Everyone.

I've decided to put an end to Pic Per Day. I will, however, continue this photo blog. It just won't necessarily be a daily update.

I found that I was beginning to force myself to work on photos, just to meet a self-imposed deliverable deadline. And I was starting to lose a little passion for shooting as a result. So I've decided to go for a looser and more casual approach.

That being said, I just had two great shoots, so expect a bunch of new stuff soon.

- Chris

Mar 4th, 2009

2009-03-05T01:52:00.003-08:00

Mar 3rd, 2009

2009-03-05T01:52:00.001-08:00

Mar 2nd, 2009

2009-03-03T01:05:00.001-08:00

Mar 1st, 2009

2009-03-02T00:14:00.000-08:00

Feb 28th, 2009

2009-03-01T00:45:00.001-08:00

Feb 27th, 2009

2009-02-27T22:21:00.001-08:00

Feb 25th, 2009

2009-02-25T22:25:00.001-08:00

Feb 24th, 2009

2009-02-24T22:00:00.001-08:00

Feb 23rd, 2009

2009-02-23T22:55:00.001-08:00

Feb 21st, 2009

2009-02-21T23:05:00.001-08:00

Feb 20th, 2009

2009-02-21T23:04:00.001-08:00

Feb 19th, 2009

2009-02-19T23:22:00.000-08:00

Feb 18th, 2009

2009-02-18T17:41:00.001-08:00

Feb 17, 2009

2009-02-18T14:09:00.001-08:00

Feb 16th, 2009

2009-02-17T01:00:00.001-08:00

Feb 15th, 2009

2009-02-15T22:51:00.001-08:00

Feb 14th, 2009

2009-02-15T01:50:00.001-08:00

Window seat.

Feb 13th, 2009

2009-02-13T23:10:00.001-08:00

Feb 12th, 2009

2009-02-12T19:22:00.001-08:00

Feb 10th, 2009

2009-02-12T19:16:00.003-08:00

Feb 9th, 2009

2009-02-12T19:16:00.001-08:00

Technical errors...

2009-02-11T01:18:00.000-08:00

I'm having some trouble posting photos hosted on flickr on here. When I figure out the problem, I'll play catch up with the photos.

Sorry.

- Chris

Feb 8th, 2009

2009-02-09T01:19:00.001-08:00

Feb 7th, 2009

2009-02-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

Feb 6th, 2009

2009-02-07T15:25:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone. I'm kind of out of commission right now. Bad case of the flu. (Two weeks after a cold. Joy.) I'll try to get back on track, ASAP.

- Chris

Feb 5th, 2009

2009-02-06T01:29:00.001-08:00

Feb 4th, 2009

2009-02-04T23:23:00.000-08:00

Feb 2nd, 2009

2009-02-03T17:26:00.000-08:00

Feb 1st, 2009

2009-02-02T00:56:00.001-08:00

It was Superbowl Sunday. What else was I going to shoot?

Jan 31st, 2009

2009-01-31T17:15:00.001-08:00

Figured I would shoot something to offset the moodier stuff I've been doing lately.

Jan 30th, 2009

2009-01-31T02:40:00.001-08:00

Jan 29th, 2009

2009-01-29T23:52:00.001-08:00

Jan 28th, 2009

2009-01-28T23:39:00.001-08:00

Jan 27th, 2009

2009-01-28T14:28:00.001-08:00

This one was an experiment. I wanted to see what I could pull of with my iPhone camera at night... Not much apparently. The quality just isn't there. And a shallow depth of field on a normal camera lens could have really helped out this photo.

Some experiments succeed, some fail. I'm going with fail on this one.

That's part of the fun of doing a new photo for every day. When it doesn't work out, you always have tomorrow.

Jan 26th, 2009

2009-01-27T01:32:00.001-08:00

Jan 25th, 2009

2009-01-25T19:43:00.001-08:00

Jan 24th, 2009

2009-01-25T01:32:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, I don't have an update today. I was at an event in which it would have been inappropriate to take photos or have a camera, and by the time I arrived home, doing a Second Chance Day would have just been rushed.

Jan 23rd, 2009

2009-01-23T20:57:00.001-08:00

Jan 22nd, 2009

2009-01-22T23:03:00.001-08:00

Jan 21st, 2009

2009-01-21T18:47:00.001-08:00

Jan 20th, 2009

2009-01-20T20:08:00.001-08:00

Jan 19th, 2009

2009-01-19T20:19:00.001-08:00

Jan 18th, 2009

2009-01-18T18:48:00.001-08:00