Evolution – Shannon

I had another wonderful Evolution shoot today with one of my favorite models, Shannon. We shot a few years ago and I’ve been trying ever since to get her to pose for the project.  It’s taken me a few years to break her down, but she finally agreed…so here’s to tenacity… 🙂

Even in a studio that I had prepped to be nice and warm, the moment you put the mud mixture on, it gets a little chilly. It’s kind of like jumping into water that you know is a little cold, you just have to get in and get it over with. She dove right into the mud treatment.  So she was a real trooper.

I shot these with the Hasselblad H3DII, 80mm lens, with the HTS 1.5 Tilt shift Adapter.  I like using the HTS as it gives you some of the controls of a 4×5, but in the Hasselblad system.  It changes the plane of focus, which can be a nice change of pace from the norm.

I used a few different lighting setups.  A few direct light, but most of it was bounced light through a beauty dish with grid or P-50 reflector with grid.  That leaves the background a nice gray and the light soft.

Here are a few of the images from the shoot…

This was one of the first shots in the shoot…it’s nice to start off with one you like right away.

On this one I did a little slow shutter and liked the effect…

I’m not sure between these last two which one I like more.  I’m leaning towards the last one…care to vote?

So there’s a few more for the Book and Show later on this year.  I’ve probably got three or four more and then I’ll close up the project for the moment and concentrate on editing and getting the book/show ready.  Until next time…and thanks again, Shannon for giving the project a second look. 🙂  These will be a fantastic addition…

Evolution Project – Lyric

I’m finally getting back into Blog mode.  I actually shot this a few months ago and am finally getting around to editing and putting it together.  I’ll start with an Evolution update…

I found a wonderful model, Lyric, and thought I’d start off our series with a little different nude prior to getting all muddy for the Evolution work.  I had a roll of “toole” that I thought would be great for some artistic nudes.

I think we started off nicely with this first series…now It’s time to get muddy.   We got our coffee and got started. 🙂

So the project continues.  I’m working on putting together a book of the work now, so keep an eye out for more…

The Evolution Project 2010…

It’s been a While since I’ve shot for ‘Evolution’.   The hospital stay had put a little hold on the project, but it’s something that I can pick up and get back into pretty easily.  I’m working towards a gallery show of the work and still have a long way to go before I’m ready to show the work as a whole.  Editing down the work is another issue, but I digress…I got the bug to get back on the horse again and continue the work and am glad that I did.  My latest subject, Lisa, was wonderful to work with.  She understood the project’s need to let go and just get into character for the shoot, which is important to get really new fresh imagery.  We got some really compelling work out of this series.  It’s going to be hard to edit down from the selects, as I’m happy with many of them, but that’s a good problem to have.  As it goes for many of these shoots, it’s going to be a while from now when I can look back on them objectively and make the final selects.

Technically, there is something a little new as I used 2 cameras to shoot her.  I shot the first 1/2 with the Canon 5d Mark II, which always gives me great results.  To try out something different, I also shot her with the Hasselblad H3DII 31 mp body + 80mm lens + HTS 1.5 adapter(gives shift and tilt capability to the camera).  The HTS adapter was a real treat, giving me some of the controls of a 4×5 camera, but in an easy, compact solution.  I think those images are softer and have a more vintage feel than the ones taken with the Mark II.  The first four images were shot with the Hasselblad.   Another noticable shift in shooting medium format is shooting less and taking my time more to compose the shots.  I think it definitely helps me slow down and take my time with the setup.  Although, the speed of the Canon is also a benefit sometimes as well…

These first four images were taken with the Hasselblad using the tilt shift HTS 1.5.  The images below were shot with the Canon 5d Mark II.

So there’s the latest update to the “Evolution Project”.  I’m looking forward to shooting some more subjects this spring.  I’m also going to start including men into the project, which I think will balance it out some.  Check back here for updates…

 

Darker Evolution

Evolution has taken a little darker turn as I’ve switched up the lighting and played in the shadows a little more. The project is coming along nicely. Give a warm welcome to Natsuko…

Evolution Continues…

…and the Evolution Project continues…

See the “Evolution Revolution” Post to see the story behind the work and the first series that got the project started. I’m currently looking for a gallery home for these images and the many to come. I’ve got more models, men and women being shot in the coming months, so keep a look out here for updates.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with more talented models for the project. Every time I shoot someone new, something unexpected and wonderful comes out. Here’s a few more from the recent work.

Susie 

Tove

Jasmin 

Paola 

Feel free to comment. More updates soon…
James

Evolution Revolution…

Well, I decided to kick start my “Evolution Project”. I shot this first series in 2005. It’s a fine art series that started out based on a contrast of Darwin’s Evolutionary Theory vs. Adam and Eve(Bible version). Click to see larger versions(for all images below).

This is my version of “Darwin’s Evolution”….Darwin’s classic monkey develops into man theory.

This is the 4th image in the Adam and Eve series, “Original Sin”, where Eve finally gets Adam to eat the forbidden fruit. The funny thing is in this case, art imitates life, where many times, man’s spouses get them to do what they will…when they will it…hahahaha…but I digress…

Closeup on the 3rd image in the series of the Darwin’s Evolutionary Theory. I loved the halting motion of this image. The hair also gave it a life and energy which I enjoyed.

This is a print from the second step in the series. What I loved about this image is the unbridled primal energy that she is exuding. This is EXACTLY what I wanted out of this series. I wanted to recreate the primal nature of man as we were thousands and millions of years ago. Back then the rules were survival of the fittest and “Last man standing”.

So…that was October 2005. I had a show in Jersey City at Rikki Reich’s “The Studio” and had a great showing of the work. It got a little press(below)

So fast forward to 2008. I’ve started up the project again. The project covers men and women of all races. The beauty of the mud is that it shows everyone as the same, as God intended it before man put his prejudices into the world.

I want to convey the range of primal emotions and energy that mankind has. Man has historically been a very aggressive species. I want those inner emotions to come out on film. The images from this are very strong and visceral(see contact sheets below). That primal strength and emotion is shown here in it’s dark beauty.So….I have started the project anew. I’ll be adding to the project more frequently now. Check back often to see more updates…feel free to comment.