One of the funniest things I took part in while in Vegas for WPPI was a photo shoot at the Neon Boneyard. In case you don’t know, the boneyard is the place where all of the neon signs from Vegas go to retire. It’s little more than two dirt fields, but oh what glorious dirt fields they are! The lots are full of neon signs and it really is a site to behold.
Here are a few images from that shoot. All of the females in these shots are models and the two boys are their respective boyfriends/fiancés, which was fun! I have several more to post, but wanted to give a little sneak peek. Enjoy!
I finally returned home from Vegas last night, and boy, is it good to be back. Vegas is a fun place to escape to, but it’s not really the type of place I’d recommend visiting for longer than three days, that’s for sure. I did have an absolute blast though. After the tradeshow (WPPI) was over, Chris, as well as my mom- and dad-in-law flew out to meet me in Vegas for four fun-filled days complete with not one, but TWO Cirque du Soleil shows and TONS of walking around. I definitely made a conscious decision not to lug my huge camera around and unfortunately I misplaced the battery charger for my point-and-shoot camera, so I am almost entirely devoid of Vegas photos except for two fun shoots that I will post later, and these ones from a night of walking around to take in the sights.
Stay tuned for two more Vegas-themed posts from me coming up later this week!
Here are some fun photobooth pictures of me and some lovely lady photographer friends of mine at the GoBee party our first night in Vegas. Not surprisingly, I had trouble fitting my big ol’ head into frame, but that only makes these all the more hilarious! From left to right (not including me): Jen Berry, Jenny Smith, Nicky Kahn, and Araxi Dertavitian. Can you tell we were having fun?
Oh, and here’s a fun one of Jenny Smith and I that I stole from her blog. We didn’t have anyone else around to take a photo of us together, so we each took one of each other and she photoshopped them together to make them one. Yes, we are nerds.
I’m really not the type to get caught up in Valentine’s Day. I generally feel it’s an extremely commercialized holiday and that if you love someone, you should be showing them all year long instead of saving it for a particular day. That being said, I know firsthand how easy it is to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. When that happens, it’s very easy to let the simple things slip through the cracks, like showering your loved one with affection, for example.
Sometimes Valentine’s Day is a nice reminder to slow your roll, look at the person next to you and remind them of all the reasons you love them. I definitely needed Valentine’s Day this year because I’ve been so busy focusing on my photography business that I haven’t been focusing on the most important thing in my life: my husband. If you found yourself in the same predicament this year, I hope you’ll use this day as a reminder to readjust your focus.
Here’s my valentine. I love him for a gazillion reasons that I could easily list out for you, but I’ll spare you the details. One of the things on that long list is…I love him because he makes me laugh.
Earlier this week I set out on another day trip with a group of fellow photographers. You may remember my last excursion to Calico Ghost Town in November. Here are the images from that trip: Color and B&W. I had so much fun on that trip, I couldn’t wait for the next one. This time we headed out to the Salton Sea in Coachella Valley. The Salton Sea used to be a resort locale but now the lake bed is full of salt which has killed all of the fish living there as well as completely overrun any buildings or fixtures near the water. The place is completely abandoned now, save for people who are living off the grid in what can only be described as shanty towns. It really is quite eerie.
The Salton Sea is quite large so we made our first top at the North Shore. There was an abandoned building with an empty pool, the remnants of a playground and dilapidated trailer homes. Here are a few images from North Shore:
After we got our fill there, we drove over to Bombay Beach. This was the spot that really got me excited. Burnt down mobile homes littered the landscape and dead fish skeletons were everywhere. Not to mention the salt. Salt was encrusted on every inch of every object within 500 feet of the water. It really was something to see. Here are a few from that spot:
I had even more fun on this day trip and can’t wait to find out where we’re gonna go next. I got to hang out with some of my favorite photographers that I already knew and met some new people who were so awesome. Check out this rock star group (I stole this from Heather Kincaid‘s blog, I think it was taken with her camera):
Today I start packing for Vegas, baby! I will be heading out on Sunday for WPPI, the tradeshow for wedding and portrait photographers. I’m so excited! I will do my best to blog from Sin City, but dont’ count on it! Just kidding, totally count on it!
A couple of weeks ago I shot a boudoir session, and even though I LOOOOOVE the way the photos turned out, I haven’t blogged them for two reasons:
I’m a strong believer in keeping boudoir photos private. In my eyes, they are intimate photos inteded for the couples’ eyes only. And the photographer’s, of course — someone has to stand behind the camera!
These photos are a gift for Valentine’s Day and I can’t go spoiling the surprise.
But, I just finished up the album today and I couldn’t resist snapping a few photos of it before I deliver it to the client tomorrow. This particular album is made of a soft, sueded leather and has thick and sturdy pages. It’s a gift that will last a lifetime and I can’t wait to hear a report back on what this lucky man thought of this very special gift! Here’s a few photos of the album itself, including the tiniest peeks at a couple of the photos. I’m okay with them because they could be photos of just about anyone, so I’m not giving them away, nor am I invading anyone’s privacy. Enjoy!
If you live in Los Angeles, then surely you’ve seen the fantastic art installation that stands just outside of LACMA on Wilshire Blvd. It’s a sculpture called Urban Light that comprised of 200 vintage Southern California lampposts and it is breathtaking. Ever since the piece went up, I — as well as many others — have been in complete awe of it.
A couple of nights ago I set out late in the evening to take some photos there and I enlisted the help of my friend James, as well as my lovely husband, Chris. James was to be my model, and Chris was set to document the photo shoot with a Flip video camera. The video that follows is what Chris came up with. I think it’s pretty neat, so please check it out!
After watching the video, keep scrolling for my favorite images from the shoot.
I should probably point out that this piece is a work of art and shouldn’t be climbed on in the manner that we did. Unfortunately we weren’t thinking about that late at night (I blame a lack of sleep and just my own pure stupidity) and we got a tongue-lashing from a guard as a result. And rightly so! So, what I mean to say is, don’t do what we did. That being said, we did what we did and I didn’t want the photos to go to waste because then our wrongful act of climbing would have been for naught.
I have a bunch of shoots to edit through and eventually blog, but I just realized that I have some headhots that I took LAST YEAR that I never blogged. Shame on me! Right before Chris and I left for Colorado in December, I got the chance to hang out with Jason for a couple of hours and take some headshots for him. You may recognize his mug from the little ‘Portraits’ button near the top of my blog. I took some portraits of he and his wife Faith some time ago and he came back for headshots. And, Faith is an actor too and I’m actually taking her headshots today! I like to keep it in the family.
Here are just a few of Jason that I really like:
The thing about headshots is they exist to serve a purpose and so you really can’t get all artistic with them. You really just need to let the subject of the photo shine and keep it as simple as possible. I try to choose locations that I know won’t make for distracting backdrops, but there is this one wall near my house that has been screaming at me for some time now. It calls to me and says, “Heidi! You want to photograph someone in front of me. I am an awesome wall!” I had been trying to ignore the calls of the wall, but I just couldn’t do it any longer.
I told Jason the wall would likely be too busy for his headshots but I asked him to humor me anyway. He did, and I think we were both glad for that! I am in love with the way these turned out because I think the wall adds just enough interest to the photos to make them stand out in a line-up, but doesn’t detract from the subject of the photo, which is Jason.
These last two were the ones that Jason ended up getting printed and sent out to casting agents and such. A wise decision, I’d say:
