Back to Nature's Oven

The past year has been one for the books. I made amazing friends in both London and Paris, saw beautiful places, ate incredible food. Now it is time for me to return home, Arizona, for the summer before I return back to London. I will be honest and say my favorite place was London. It may be because my best friends, Matt and Izzy, live there. Or maybe since we got Little Leaf off the ground. Yes, you heard right, Little Leaf is now officially open at Greenwich Market and Brick Lane Market, serving vegan pizza at the food stall.

My mother and brother came out to Paris for my final days there, then we went to London for a week before returning home. It was fun to show my mom around Europe showing her all my favorite places. We walked 48 miles in the week we traveled around. I showed them some neat cafes around my house, went to the Eiffel Tower, walked up to Montmarte, took a train to Versailles to see the palace, and much more.

After Paris we took the Eurostar to London where my mom met Matt and Izzy for the first time. We went to an Indian restaurant and ate our weight in curry and naan bread. We were all so exhausted after walking around London Bridge, Tower of London, Brick Lane, and others I can't remember right now. It was a terrific experiences and I couldn't have done it without the help of my friends and family. 

Now I'm back in Arizona where you can cook steak on the sidewalk and bake cookies in your car. I've been trying to beat the heat by going up north to Sedona and thanking the inventor of air conditioning. It is nice to be back and seeing all my friends and working with familiar people again. 

Spring is Near

Brenden at the Palais de Tokyo.

Thank God spring is coming because it has been raining nonstop since I arrived in Paris. All my friends back home have been posting photos of them in their shorts outside. While I'm in thirty degree weather and raining. It has made me really miss home lately, but the sun has finally traveled to Paris. It has been so amazing outside lately, sixty to seventy degrees and sunny. You can't really ask for better weather that that. Since it has been so nice outside lately, I have definitely taken advantage of it and been shooting outside a lot. Not only has it given me an opportunity to enjoy the weather, but I also get to explore Paris and get some miles on my pedometer app.

Patricia at rue de Cremieux.

The first set I did was with a male model from America. He was traveling to Paris to watch his brother play basketball here. So why not have his agent find a photographer and get some shots done? Always working is the moto of today. We decided to meet at the Palais de Tokyo here in Paris. We both arrive and get to work. Brenden was a great model to work with. I didn't have to tell him much, he knew a lot of his looks which is always a good thing. We walked around to the nearby areas to get some different location shots. That's the one great thing about Paris, around every corner is another great location. We shot for about two hours, put a few miles on my app, and called it a day.

The Bastille shot with the one second exposure.

The next day I did another location shoot, this time with a model that I worked with before, Patricia. She messaged me saying that she's heading to London next week so of course I quickly set up another shoot with her. I wanted to do a night time shoot with some artificial lighting and a long exposure, she would be perfect for it. Thankfully she loved the idea and we always decided to do some daylight shots before it got dark. We met up and walked to rue de Cremieux, which is an absolute gem, if you ever go to Paris you should definitely check it out. As we walked down the street, I thought my GPS was wrong because nothing looked like the street I was trying to get to. We arrive at the last turn and bam! An entire street with every house different colors. It is definitely my favorite street in Paris. We shoot there for about an hour, two outfits, and every house that allowed photography of it.

Patricia in front of the restaraunt.

We then walk to Bastille, where we planned the night shots. We go down to the river and shoot a bit more while we wait for it to get dark. Eventually, we take a break and go sit at a restaurant until the sun goes down. Voila! The sun finally decides to go to bed and we get ready for the next shot. The main shot of this set is her standing in a dress in front of the roundabout with a one second exposure to get the car headlight trails. After about 30 shots we finally get the one and I instantly loved it. While we were there with everything we took a few more at different locations utilising the ambient light with the artificial light to freeze her. I remember one shot we shot in front of a restaurant and the waiter just stared at us the entire time, I know he was one shot away from telling us to leave. We got the shot though and left. Have you guys shot with ambient and flash at night? Let me know, and see you next week!

The Best View in Paris

View of the Eiffel Tower from Montmartre.

This week my friend took me to Montmartre. It's a city on a hill in the 18th district in Paris that lets you see the whole city from the top. I definitely got my workout that day. Walking almost a mile on an incline, but in the end it was all worth it. On the way up, there were dozens of street artists creating and selling their work in the squares. There were restaurants around every corner and walking past just made me more hunger each time. I did give in eventually and get a crepe, with Nutella and bananas of course.

People looking out at the view of Montmartre.

The walk seemed never ending as we turn each corner and there is more hill to climb. The most important thing I've found about Europe is to have good tennis shoes, best decision I've made yet! We finally arrive at our destination and the view from up top there was absolutely stunning. There are buildings as far as the eye can see and of course I went when it was warm and sunny out, so it was packed with people. Some people were having picnics on the stairs, some were playing music in the grass, and some, of course, were being touristy and taking photos, like me. Everywhere I looked was an interesting photo. From the people hanging out to the great scenery. So glad I brought my camera that day.

That is one thing I find difficult about being a photographer. I always want to capture the moments I experience and forget to simply enjoy it sometimes. There's always a battle within on whether to go as a photographer or as a participant. I've tried going as both and it just doesn't work out as well. I don't fully enjoy it because I don't want to break my camera and the photos are always rushed. Most of the time I choose to go as a photographer because I want me and all my friends to have photos of the great times together.

Great photo of the people looking out at the view, captured by my friend, Lina.

I think I will always have that struggle when I go out and do things, but I'm ok with it. Just remember all those photos you see of people having fun, there's somebody behind the camera deciding to be a photographer that day. I hope you all have a great week and see you next time!

Paris Fashion Week with Nathanaelle Couture

Sorry for not posting last week. It has been a very hectic and exciting time. I had the pleasure of working with Nathanaelle Couture during Paris Fashion Week. They had a fashion show at VIP Room in Paris and then we did a location shoot at their amazing house.

One thing I miss about being a hairdresser is doing fashion shows and all the chaos that is included with them. We had 12 models, a full team of make-up artists, hairdressers, designers, and photographers all crammed into the back room. At first, everybody was taking their time and getting their things set up as usual. Then it's like somebody turned on the light switch and it ramped up to 88mph. Before I knew it there was mere minutes before the show started. Models were getting into their assigned order, hair and make-up were doing final touches to make sure everything was perfect, Nathanaelle looked over everybody to make sure everything was in order, and I headed upstairs to get ready for the show.

I hadn't been up there since we arrived when it was empty. I go through the door and there were loads of people sitting up there waiting for the show. Making my way through the crowd I finally get to my spot, ready for the show. It opens with Karin Soiref walking up to the catwalk and singing a live performance as the models came out one by one around her. Flashes were going off like strobe lights, music was fantastic, and the outfits were magnificent. It was really an honor to be there and experience this, especially seeing all the backstage work that goes into it. 

The next two days, we meet everybody at the house to start the location shots. It was really amazing how many cool shots we could get in the house. Nathanaelle has an incredible talent with styling scenes for the shots and adding little touches to the looks. It was a joy working with her and the incredible models. A huge shout out to the three models that worked with us over the next two days. They were troopers and incredible to shoot, they even endured the cold in dresses and didn't complain once. I'm excited to work with the models more while I'm here in Paris and working with Nathanaelle when I visit America. 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out Nathanaelle at nathanaellecouture.com

Models:

@samanthakellyofficial

@aliciadevoucoux

@ambre2504

MUA:

@mila_delaporte

 

Leveling-up

Photo from last week in the studio.

The past week has been the most hectic since I left America. Waking up early and staying up late everyday to be able to fit everything in. Being busy like this is one of my favorite feelings because after it's all over you look back and see all the amazing stuff you did. Then, you get ready for the next hectic week. Really it's just the life of anybody who loves what they do and are motivated to do more and improve themselves. 

When I was back in America, I would do a photoshoot either at 9 AM til noon or 9 PM til midnight because I worked in the salon from noon til 9 PM. Sometimes I would shoot both times and work. Then, on the weekends I would spend the days catching up on all my post production, website, and whatever else needed to be done. Working that much was definitely hard and required me to stay focused and motivated, but I saw a drastic improvement in my work. Throughout that year I refined my lighting techniques, communication with models, and post production. 

Photo from the beginning of last year.

Trial and error has been the main instructor of my photography career. I was never taught how to use the light in a scholastic fashion. It was seeing what worked and didn't work with the light to achieve my desired result. With editing, most of my training was watching countless hours of youtube tutorials and figuring out when certain techniques would work with my current problem with a photo. There's nothing wrong with learning through trial and error, but I felt like the best way I could take my craft to the next level would be getting a proper education. It was a hard choice to decide whether to spend thousands of dollars and go to school or to keep on learning by myself. I read dozens of articles from both sides and they all have one thing in common. They all say that in the end it depends on the individual and their personal needs. 

During the basics I did know most of what they were teaching, but it is all the fine details that I wanted to learn and did learn. It was the reasons why you would use a certain lighting and how to properly set up a photoshoot that I wanted to learn. Initially, I thought that was what I was going to learn the most, but I couldn't have been more wrong. I have learned things that I hadn't even thought about before like developing a proper image naming system, triple backing up my photos, printer profiles, color profiles, monitor calibration, and the list goes on and on. 

Photo from last week, shooting outside more.

For those of you out there that are just starting out or are wanting to improve themselves. I highly suggest developing a naming system for your files and folders as soon as possible so you don't have to go back six months of work to rename everything. Develop something that makes sense to you and stick with it because if you change you have to redo the entire process all over again. I would also back-up your files with a 3-2-1 rule: three copies, two mediums, one copy offsite. For example, I have two back up hard drives and one cloud back up. So there are three copies, the two mediums are hard drive and cloud, and the offsite copy is in the cloud. 

This isn't the most interesting subject, but it is vital when you are dealing with thousands upon thousands of files. However, focusing on file management wasn't doing much good for my photography. I soon came to realize that how often I shot had a direct correlation with the quality of my photographs. That is why I was so happy this past week being busy with shoots even if it was tiring. I hope this helped any of you who were deciding if school is right for them or if they wanted to be self taught. Have a great week and I'll see you next time!

 

 

20,000 Steps Through Versailles

Oleksii along the pond behind the Palace of Versailles.

This week has been quite an adventure, especially today. The reason this post is coming out later than normal is because I had spent all day with my good friends, Will and Rohan, in Versailles. Will is a fantastic editorial photographer with a unique classic style. He had a shoot today with two great models, Virgil and Oleksii, and invited me along. The trip itself is extremely affordable, only €7. 

I woke up early this morning and we all met at Will's place, then headed off to Notre Dame to catch the train to Versailles. We chatted during the hour or so the train took and the models were really amazing guys. Virgil is studying geology at university to one day study a form of astro science and Oleksii is a communication designer and hobbyist photographer.  We finally arrive at our destination and begin to soon-to-be trek around the Palace of Versailles and Gardens of Versailles. We reach the first location after walking a few miles to behind the palace to this open field with a giant pond and swans swimming about.

Will photographing Virgil and Oleksii.

Will assigned the garments to the models and they got changed while we looked for shots in the area. Will's style of clothing is literally of a different century and it's fantastic to see and shoot such a unique style. We start shooting, while getting attacked by nettles, and the sun is absolutely perfect. It's the first week in over a month the sun has been out and we were so lucky today it decided to come out for us. We keep a pretty fast pace as we shoot for several frames/poses in a location and then move about 100 feet along our route. As we head towards an archway Rohan spots a red armchair just in the middle of the woods to our left. Sometimes everything just works in your favor because it was an amazing scene with the most random chair. Honestly, I salute the person who lugged that chair out there because it weighed a good 100 lbs. 

Virgil on the chair in the woods.

After that magnificent discover we shoot there for a bit then head over to the archway, then the long walk to the gardens. As we enter the gardens there's a endless path with trees as far as the eye can see in a perfect line down each side. It was an absolute perfect day for this walk as we tread down the path passing families with their children and tourists taking photos. We find a secluded location in the vast lawn of grass so we can photograph without having people in our shot. We take a few dozen shots and our friend, the sun, decides he's done for the day. All in all we got all the shots we needed behind the palace and the gardens were icing on the cake because we could only shoot in the estate. We all have a brief talk and decide that after 20,000 steps we're all happy with the shots and all of us are famished. We head back to the train station and stop by a pub on the way to grab a drink and some food. It was an incredible day and hope you all had a fantastic week! See you next time.

 

William Waterworth: @willwaterworth

Rohan Harnal: @roahaar

Oleksii Neliubov: @oleksiineliubov

Don't Move.

Experimenting with gels for still life.

This week will be a pure photography blog post, but it may be interesting to non-photographers as well. There's a genre of photography that most people never speak about, but everybody sees it hundreds of times each day. You see it driving your car, walking down the street, on almost every website. Have you guessed it yet? It's still life photography. I think most people don't talk about still life photography because to most people, me included initially, it sounds easy and boring. Oh man, have I ever been more wrong. 

It could take several hours to photograph one object. I couldn't understand why it would take an enormous commitment of time to photograph a watch. I had the opportunity to have my eyes opened when I spoke to a professional still life photographer. He explained how each photo is composites of several photos, each one used for a specific reflection of light. For example, for watches there is a special pink light just for a certain gear in the watch. You also have to make sure you have photos of each tiny gear visible from the watch, a photo for the reflection of the glass on the watch, a photo for the rim, a photo of the band, and a photo of the stem. Oh don't forget you also have to edit all of them to look like a single image and figure out new creative ways to set the scene. 

Trying a new way to display a gas mask.

With all of that, what persuades any sane person to pursue the world of still life? Yes, it's an extraordinary amount of work, but it's actually a interesting technical challenge. It forces you to truly focus on your light and makes you critically think about how to solve the problem. To make it even more challenging you can try to not composite the photo and do it in one shot. I did that with a wine bottle and it certainly took some creative solutions. For example, for the label we cut out a piece of white board the size of the label and used metal wire to create a makeshift stand. I had to cut it out the specific size so it wouldn't be shown in the reflection of the bottle and the wire was thin enough to not see it either. Then, I was getting some white reflection on the outline of the bottle and solved it by lining the entire scene, except the frame, with black cloth. Finally, getting the thin line of light on the bottle was the easiest part by playing with the height and angle of a strip box.  

Let me know of your experiences with still life and see you next week! 

Traveling Shoes

Seattle, WA.

I honestly didn't know what to write this week because I honestly haven't done much. It's been raining all week and I've been editing photos. I decided to talk about my experience as a whole so far. My whole life I've been extremely privileged to have the opportunity to travel. Growing up I moved to several different states and visited most of the continental United States. Along with that, I also was able to visit various parts of the Caribbean and Mexico. I had taken these experiences for granted when I was younger, complaining some of the time because I just wanted to hang out with my friends. It wasn't until later on in life that I found the importance of traveling and experiencing different cultures. As a child I didn't understand why others acted the way they did. Even little things such as eating different things for breakfast that I would eat for lunch or dinner. 

Throughout America you can see vast differences in speech and behavior. My family in New England will eat a lot of seafood, for example on Christmas a lot of the time we will have lobster rather than turkey or ham. In Arizona we eat a lot of Mexican food and Texas has a lot more barbecue. The other day I was talking to one of my friend from Tennessee, that's going to my school in Paris, and we were comparing common phrases we would use in our parts of the country. 

Now those are just differences within a single country, imagine how shocking it is to travel thousands of miles to another part of the world and experience their culture. Common things that I enjoyed back home are unheard of here in Europe. I know most of you that are over the age of 21 have enjoyed a few mimosas on Sundays, but here nobody I've talked to has even tried a mimosa. They always say, 'why dilute the champagne with orange juice?' I guess they have a point, so in London they drink Prosecco and eat roast on Sundays. One of my favorite things to eat is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Well, in Paris there will be a wall of jelly with one kind of peanut butter and it's triple the price because they don't really eat pb&j's here. Instead, they put jelly on crackers or nutella on toast. 

London, England

Phoenix, Arizona

Culturally there are so many differences that I could write a post just on that. Some examples are here in Paris you 'faire la bise' (kiss cheeks) when you say hello or goodbye to a friend, but in America we would just hug. My friends thought it was so weird that in America we hug so much. The French regard the hug as more intimate that kissing cheeks, but for me I feel the other way. It has been funny seeing my friends reactions whenever I forget and hug them. As a culture, many holidays aren't celebrated, like halloween has just become a thing in Europe. They also don't have prom in high school or greek life in college. 

Paris, France

Okay I understand those are just minor differences between different cultures and aren't very impactful. However, if you add all of those up you soon realize that everything you're accustomed to is different to other cultures. People here think the things that I do are weird, but to me and my culture back in America, it's normal. I think it's important for everybody to experience different cultures to give them a different perspective on the world. There's so much going on in the world right now, good and bad. Maybe we need to put ourselves in their shoes to help realize why people are acting the way they are. Perhaps, it's hard to understand because they experience things differently than you. My parents taught me something from an early age, which is to treat others as you would like to be treated because we're all just people in the end no matter where we come from. I hope everybody has a great week and I will see you next time.

There's no 'I' in TEAM

This week was my first photo shoot with a French model. It's always difficult to build a new team and network when you're in a new area. Most teams consist of six basic categories: make-up artist (MUA), hairstylist, stylist, retoucher, model, and photographer. Yes, you can get away with a model and photographer, but everything runs more smoothly and the quality is usually better with a full team.

For any new photographers out there or photographers getting into any kind of photography involving people, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, portraiture, etc., I highly recommend building a team. The best thing that I've found for building a team is to find people building their portfolios. This is mainly due to the fact that they most likely won't require money as payment and will do time for product (TFP). Essentially that means the payment will be the photos themselves. 

In the beginning you can fulfill multiple roles, for example, I also retouch and do the hairstyling since I've been a hairstylist for Toni&Guy for seven years and have been heavily working with Photoshop for several years. This is fine for the beginning, but after a while, you will want to have different people for each role so you can focus on the photography or whichever your talent is. For instance, you'll be shooting and the hairstylist and MUA will be looking at their specific areas to let you know if either is off and needs adjusting.

You simply can't compare the technical ability to somebody who has trained in that specific field to somebody who does it on occasion. Take photography for example, ok anybody can click a shutter button, but what makes you better? It's the hundreds of hours that you have spent on honing your craft to allow you to focus on every little aspect. Knowing how to light the subject, using the light to achieve the desired result and to know exactly what equipment you will need to achieve that. Realizing the limitations of your equipment, like I knew the flash I was using had a fast enough flash duration the freeze the hair in motion. Having in depth knowledge of angles and focal length to know which will be more flattering and how to use them to your advantage. This is just the tip of the iceberg, but you can see how your average person taking snapshots just doesn't think about these things. This is why a team is important. 

A good resource, for me at least, has been using Model Mayhem to find team members. Feel free to add me there, URL will be at the bottom. You can browse for specific categories based on location and several other filters. This is where I found Diane for my photo shoot this week. It was a tad hard to find a model in Paris that spoke French, but with time I found Diane. Not only was she a model, but also a MUA and had clothes from a stylist from a previous photo shoot. Which meant we could fulfill all the roles for a proper team.

Go on out there, find a team, and set a shoot up! I would love to see some of you work, so feel free to e-mail me or tag me on IG or FB.

modelmayhem.com/justin-proctor

justinscottproctor@gmail.com

@justinproctor_

Diane Martin:

kaprice.book.fr/

@diane_martin_

Exploring the Bois de Vincennes

Today Austin and I met some of his highlining friends at Bois de Vincennes, the largest public park in Paris. The park is so incredible, I have never seen anything so enormous. It has four lakes, a zoo, botanical garden, horse racing track, velodrome, and the campus of the French national institute for sports and physical education. Just needs a Starbucks and it's all set, please no I'm kidding. Walking around it was just so beautiful, though, with the lakes covered in ice and the vast amount of greenery and various birds flying about.

One of Austin's friends highlining in Bois de Vincennes, using the harsh back light in my favor.

After a good trek around one of the lakes, we finally meet up with Austin's friends. They already have one longline and a slackline set up and are working on setting up a second longline. I help finish tightening the longline and take out my camera. It was a little hard shooting at mid afternoon, but it made for some great silhouettes. I love my 24-105mm for my everyday lens because it gives me the option of a wide shot for landscape or to capture more of the background and then I can also zoom in and get tighter for portraits and capturing emotion.

The photograph that everybody was taking, but I got a little lower to get some of that grass in the foreground and to be able to see more of the landscape.

As I wait for the guys to get warmed up, I go and shoot some photos of this terrific park. There's a few dozen ducks and swans right at shore and there are several people huddled around taking photographs for their Instagram and Facebook. Whenever I see a situation like that I like to go where everybody isn't. Sure you can get the photo that everybody else is getting, and that's great to have. However, the ones that stand out are the photos that nobody else has, so go to where nobody else is or look in a different direction then everybody else. 

At this point I head back over to the group and see they already have some bystanders watching them as they walk across a one inch line that's 200 feet long and ten feet off the ground. Yes, in the photos they aren't that high off the ground, but that's their body weight pushing down on the line. I get several compositions of the shoot in my head and then look for different angles that might work out just as good or better. When taking a photo, always try different angles because that is what will set you apart from everybody else taking photos from eye level. Don't be afraid to get down low or find a vantage point up high. This isn't just for if you're using an expensive DSLR either, do this with your iPhone and your photos will be far better!

Looking the other way and getting the photo that nobody else was taking.

After photographing for a while, I try the slackline and I will say it is much much harder than it looks. Just getting up on the line requires technique so you don't wobble back and forth, let alone balancing well enough to walk across it. A few hours pass and we do head out after I reach my goal of walking five steps! Hope everybody had a great week and check back next Sunday for my next post!

 

Mon Voyage á Paris.

Before I get into my journey to Paris, which is what the title means if you don't speak French, I just want to say how amazing my time in London was. I met truly amazing people, especially my flatmates Matt and Izzy, and had incredible experiences. It felt like everything was meant to be, how everybody in the house had a special talent to contribute to us starting our vegan food blog, www.littleleaf.com. Ryan does the design, Izzy is the mastermind behind the recipes, Matt has incredible people skills, and, of course, I take the photographs. They will always be best friends in my life and am so grateful to have met them. That said, it was really sad to leave them and be on my own in Paris. Don't get my wrong, I know Paris is a wonderful city and I will have amazing experiences there as well, it's just hard leaving something so great like that.

I wake up New Year's Day morning and say my goodbyes as I head off to the Eurostar from London to Paris. Honestly, the Eurostar is nice because it's so fast, but it was a little lack luster during the train ride. I may have slept through some amazing views, but from what I saw was just another train view. I finally arrive at Paris Gare du Nord, collect  my bags, and go to the exit. I have two things on my list I need to do, exchange my currency and get to my apartment. I see machines that say échanger on them and so I give them a go, it's all in French and there's no English option, so maybe not. 

I proceed to go outside and it is absolutely freezing. I came from London, which was pretty cold at 9 degrees celsius and Paris was -1 degrees when I arrived. I see a currency exchange shop. I go in the shop and ask their exchange rate. Oh my god, they wanted to give me 1 EUR per 1 GPB and 0.85 EUR per USD, no thank you. It would be like throwing money away just to convert it to the local currency. I'll fast forward a bit so I don't have to back track. The next morning I'm scourging the internet trying to find exchange rates, but most websites don't have their rate and I don't have a local phone number to call them. I finally found a link on a thread that compares the exchange rates around your chosen city so you can find the best one! It's an amazing website and if you're doing any traveling I highly recommend it, www.money-changer.net/en/paris. 

Now that we have the currency conversion out of the way, lets rewind and go back to the train station. I had given up finding a place to convert my money for the day and now I need to find a way to my apartment. I was approached by a taxi driver, I told her the address and she told me it was going to be 60 EUR! I knew this was vastly overpriced because I checked the Uber rate prior to my travels, which was 12 EUR. Knowing this, I go order an Uber then realize I don't have any service in this country. I try every unlocked network and non of them worked. I start stressing out because I told my land lord that I would arrive by 17h00 and it is now 16h15, with a 30 min car ride. I walk around outside and finally find a network I can join at a local cafe. My Uber arrives and after 10 minutes of walking around trying to find him, I'm in a warm vehicle.

I arrive at my new apartment and am greeted by my new landlord, Jacky. We go through the paperwork, sign all the lines, cross all the t's, and dot all the i's. At last, I'm able to unpack and change into my pajamas. One quick note, I recently watched a documentary on Netflix, called Minimalism, which I highly recommend. Doing so much traveling lately, I decided to try it and condensed everything I own into two suitcases and my backpack. It was nice getting rid of all the non essentials that don't add to my life, but I had just to have. Once I had everything set up, I put on a movie and quickly fell asleep. Stay tuned for my next Paris adventures!

Have a very DéRocha holiday!

Nikki for Dé Rocha's New Year's advert.

As soon as I landed in Arizona, I went on B&H and bought a Dynalite Baja B4. After testing it out for a few days, I finally get to use it in the studio. My good friend, Dalen, is the owner and founder of the DéRocha Agency, a nationwide make-up agency. He had messaged me while I was still in London to set up this shoot for his holiday campaigns. The week before we still hadn't found a solid model and then Nikki Nichole, a published tattoo model, comes to the rescue. We have all worked together before and it was an incredible experience. 

The day before our shoot the studio we were going to use canceled on us. Luckily, the videographer on the team, Aaron Duarte, works for Cre818 and they had a space for us. We all get there and enter the studio and it's incredible! If you ever need a recording studio or photo/video studio in Phoenix, AZ I highly recommend them. 

Dalen DéRocha himself posing for some new portraits.

We all start setting up, Dalen starts Nichole's make-up, Brea preps her hair, Aaron sets up his rig, and I set up the studio. It's so important to have a good team for a photo shoot. Having confidence and not having to worry about if something is going to turn out well or not is so relieving. I get my tethering station all set up, the backdrop down, and the lights in the general area I want.

For this shoot, I decided on using a clamshell set up, the Baja B4 up high with a soft box and a silver reflector below it. I also add a rim light on either side of Nikki and a background light to even everything out. The best photos are always the test shots to set up the lighting with the random person model, this time it was Aaron as he turned into Zoolander showing me his blue steel pose.

We start shooting and I'm falling in love with the Baja B4. I didn't realize how much easier everything would be having no cables to worry about and the flash duration is incredible. Everything is sharp and crisp no matter how much movement there was. It's always so much fun working with this team, there were some great outtake photos. We get through the different outfits and change the studio into video area for interviews.

I will be honest I do not like being in front of the lens, like most photographers I know. It was my turn to say my piece for the video and I was better than expected. I did have to take a few takes, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was an amazing day, with a great team, and can't wait to work with them again.

Check the team's IG out for  more info!

Nikki Nichole - @official.nikki.nichole

Aaron Duarte - @capturedbyaaron

Dalen Rocha - @derochadidit

Cre818 - @cre818

Brea Boo - @facesbybrea2.0

Sights for Sound

My friends, George and Joe, went to follow their passion and start up a company that matches bands with venues, called Sights for Sound. Months of preparation go into their first event, finding the perfect venue, sound and light technicians, designer for flyers and banners, somebody to build the stage, and finally a photographer, me. The band is Cathryn Joseph, a indie, Scottish singer, and the opening act is Kristin McClement, an acoustic solo singer. George and Joe had found the perfect venue for the gig, St. John's Church in Bethnal Green.

Cathryn Joseph performing at St. John's Church in London.

The day finally arrives as I pack my gear and head for the bus to take me to Bethnal Green. I walk up to the church and colored lights illuminate the front windows and everybody is doing last minute preparations before people arrive. I head to the back room to unpack and get ready to start shooting. I love seeing events in the prep phase because you can see how much work goes into it. The sound techs are running wires, the sound guy is setting up lights, the stage is being set up, and it's all done before anybody steps foot into the venue. 

The door opens and people flood through the door, grabbing drinks, and filling up the seats. Everybody begins to get quiet as Kristin McClement enters the stage and picks up her guitar. She has an incredible voice, it was such a pleasure to listen to as I photographed. Using the 24-105mm I had enough flexibility to get up close and to go up on the balcony to get some general view shots, I do wish I had the new f/ 2.8 though. Working with the f/ 4 was a little hard due to I'm still on the 5D mark ii. 

Kristin McClement performing at St. John's Church in London.

Kristin McClement finishes her set and Cathryn Joseph and her drummer enter the stage. Candles are lit in front of the stage to add to the mood. Those candles offered some nice photos though, using them in the foreground and blurring them out. The lights his Cathryn Joseph very nicely as she sat on her piano playing, I do wish there was more light on the drummer, it was very difficult to photograph him. To any lighting techs out there, please put a light in the front and not just back lights, for the photographers. It was an amazing night with wonderful music, however. I was honored to be apart of it.

Working with Latex

Today I decided to do some fine art photography. I knew instantly that I wanted to try some different once I passed this latex background laying around in the studio. First thing I realized was that putting up this background is definitely going to take some adapting to. I wanted a really clean surface, so I pulled the latex to the auto poles and clamped them to keep it taut. 

It was quite cool to use, being so elastic. At first I just had the model press her hands against it from the back and I was amazed at how much or her hand I could see. Playing with different ideas I had her put on sunglasses and press her face against it. As soon as I saw the image pop up on my laptop, I knew this shoot was going to be an instant favorite. 

 

More images available on Instagram @justinproctor_

Bonfire Night

The closest thing to the Fourth of July, here in London, is Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night.  The whole night came from a failed assassination attempt of King James I, in which they found Guy Fawkes guarding barrels of gun powder. To celebrate the day people make effigies of Guy Fawkes and through him in the bon fire. 

Woman standing outside Farmopolis watching the fireworks. 

Izzy's friend, George, invited us to this floating farm on the Thames in central London, called Farmopolis, for a gig that night. I honestly didn't even know such things existed. Fascinated to see what this floating farm was like, we got ready and hopped on the tube. As always, it's packed on a holiday, so we cram in where we can and get to North Greenwich.

It was surprising how such a posh area of London was so barren. We only saw one person on the way to the farm. We reach Farmopolis and it looked amazing. It consisted of three floating greenhouses and inside was even better! It had a hipster, nature feel with plants everywhere, a dining section, centrally located bar, and an open area with seats and bean bags for gigs.

There were two groups playing that night, one female duo and a 3 member band. As the night went on I felt it was time to take out my camera. I went around shooting the amazing venue and fantastic performers. Suddenly, the manager came up to me and asked me if he could have the photos for his website. Of course I agreed and he began to offer free drinks. Just a perk of being a photographer, always shoot and things will come your way!

Two people watching the performance inside Farmopolis.

 

 

 

Zombies in London!

Costumes, special effects make-up, pumpkins, and beer must mean that it's nearly Halloween. One of my favorite times of the year. I love seeing everybody's costume and just having a good night out. When I was living in Las Vegas there was an annual zombie walk. Just imagine 1,000 people dressed up as zombies walking down Las Vegas Boulevard, it's a sight to see!

Zombies posing for photos in London.

In London they have a similar event, but they call it World Zombie Day. Of course, I was excited for it, just imagine hundreds of zombies walking around Piccadilly Circus. As the day finally arrives, we get the fake blood out and cheap make-up kit from Sainsbury's. It actually turned out pretty well after we all tore up our clothes and applied the blood. Once everybody had got zombie-fied and bags loaded up with drinks we head off.

The scariest zombie I saw all day, casually walking amongst the crowd.

Just like any party we go to, we're running late. Didn't think anything of it until we didn't see a single zombie on the street and in the subway. Starting to second guess ourselves, we arrive at Piccadilly Circus. Finally, we see our first zombie and are relieved we didn't make a fool of ourselves and dress up on the wrong day, yes, we are completely capable of doing that.

Oh... my... god, these zombies are something out of The Walking Dead. People must have spent months on these costumes! There were WWII zombies, zombie clowns, zombie marvel characters, and some stuff nightmares are made from. Despite being magnificently undressed, we have a wonderful time. I had brought my Bluetooth speaker with me and started playing Thriller and other songs of the sort. It was great, people would start dancing and singing around us. It was a peaceful event, the zombies didn't get carried away and ruin property and the observers were engaging with the zombies. I'll see you guys there next year, I'm off to start planning my zombie costume.

More fantastic make-up being shown during the World Zombie Day walk.

The First Adventure, Notting Hill Carnival

Less than a week after I land, my roommates tell me about a huge festival they have every year, Nottinghill Carnival. It is massive because it's the last festival of summer. Nottinghill Carnival is a Caribbean festival, with loud, upbeat Caribbean music and massive amounts of jerk chicken. 
We set off on the subway as paint each others faces. You can always tell when a festival is going on because people always have paint, glitter, and stickers on their face. Arriving to the station, I realize how massive this festival is going to be. Entering the train, I now know how sardines feel. Each car is filled to capacity with no air conditioning and sweat in the air. Trying to paint our faces was a feat in itself with the amount of people around us. 

Matt finishing Izzy's face paint at Notting Hill Carnival.

We arrive at our stop equipped with scribbled lines on our face and beer in our backpacks. Moving through the hallways like a school of fish, we finally get a breath of fresh air, as fresh as you can expect in London, and personal space back. Walking down the street I'm amazed that every store front is covered with plywood to protect the glass. At first I was thinking it was overkill, but I soon realize why as we approach the parade. People filling the streets from sidewalk to sidewalk as far as the eye can see. 

Our first mission is to find food because none of us had eaten yet. Making our way through the crowd, we try to keep all eight of us together. Looking for lanes to open in the ball pit of human beings, we finally find a street with food. I see jerk chicken everywhere and decide to give it a go, since I've never had it before. Izzy and Matt, my roommates, are vegan so they go for a corn option. Man is jerk chicken good! I had to get two sticks of it, but money well spent. 

People dancing in the streets at Totting Hill Carnival.

Now it's time to see what else this festival has in store. We continue to move down the streets. Having to wait every couple hundred feet because people are getting cut off in the crowds and we're losing them. Luckily Matt is a giant and he holds his beer in the air so the others know where to find us. 

We walk around for hours while buses with giant speakers and live music get the crowd moving. At this point we don't have a choice on which direction we go. We have to follow the crowd as it moves because it's so congested. As We move down the streets another group of people cut in front of me. We continue to walk in the same direction looking for Matt's cup in the air. We can't find it anywhere and after an hour we give up and start our own adventure. 
We make our way through crowds of people dancing and jerk chicken food stalls. We've been out and about for nearly six hours and everybody is exhausted.

An excited performer in the Totting Hill Carnival parade.

I follow our friend, Joe, to the tube tube station. After about thirty minutes we lose each other again. Now on my own, I have to find my way home in a new city. Oh, did I mention I didn't have phone service yet? I head in a single direction to try and find a way out of the crowd. As I finally see open space, I take my phone out and hope for wifi. Out of luck I try Google maps and luckily I can still get walking directions. Not my first choice, but it's something. I continue down towards my house. After about thirty minutes I finally spot an Underground sign. 

Still no idea how the subway works, I stare at the spaghetti-like map of all the trains. Spotting the stop by my house, I trace the colored lines back to where I am. Finally, I find which subway to take and make it home. Entering the door, Matt is on the bed, yelling, "he's alive!" Exhausted and feet aching I lay on my bed and instantly fall asleep. It was a great experience to kick off my British adventure!

Crossing the Pond

Tower Bridge in central London on a foggy morning.

The day has finally arrived for my twin brother, Ryan, and I to start our adventure in London, England. It was a tiring day of travel, stopping in Canada for seven hours, then finally London. 

There have been countless hurdles to get here and knew there were more to come. Having never taken a subway before we opt to call a cab to bring us to the leasing agency. Once we get there, we realize that we can't call them due to no international service with our American phones. We circle the building looking for an unlocked door. Finally, we found one and get brought up to the office. We sign the papers and get the keys then are shown out. On the curb with 4 bags of luggage and no idea where we are, we have to call another cab to get to the house.

Taking a breathe of relief we enter our long awaited new apartment. As we enter, our new roommates look surprised to see us. Apparently they were unaware of new roommates and the previous tenant was still in my room. After introductions, we finally sorted everything out and couldn't be happier with my roommates. Now time to rest!

The view from Tower of London on a foggy morning.