A Matter of Composite

One of the things I try and always improve on, is my composite imaging. Or the creation of.
When I look at how some guys manage to put together images into this absolutely breathe taking image, I am often left scratching my head.

So on my continual journey of improving on my skills in Photoshop, here is a image that I tried out for fun. This final image is made up of 4 separate images:
- Face
- Body
- Book
- Book pages

I think I'm far from getting to what I want to achieve as far as composting is concerned, but I think I'm making small progress.

Aston Martin DB6

Last week I got the chance to shoot this amazing classic! An Aston Martin DB6. Pristine condition, really looked after, as all classics should.

At the time, I did the shoot, not with any particular idea in mind. I did a couple shots that I was very happy with. Then this morning, I wanted to see what an advert looked like, back in the 1950's (roughly) of this car. Wading through several sites of non-relevance, I came across this tiny image. It was beautiful. I take my hat off to photographers back in the 50's when it was film. And not all the bells & whistles we have today on our camera's.

I then decided to have a bit of fun & make one of my shots, look similar to the advert I found. Luckily I had a shot that was almost the same (not exactly of course). So here is my retro recreation! Even as an old lady, this car purrs & roars with the best of them. My shot cannot compare to the absolute classic style of photography, but I'm not disappointed with my attempt either. :)

A Touch of Jewelry

There are times that I like to try something different to what I normally do. It breaks the routine, bends the mould a bit, you know what I mean.

I'm moving more & more into doing catalog work, and in so doing, am working on having more of that style work on my portfolio. Here was one such trial with jewelry:

Brand new Gallery Website!

So however you managed to find the blog, be it from the main website, a link, signature, forum post, etc. I want to now direct some attention to my main gallery website: www.seagrampearce.com.

I have been spending countless nights & early hours putting it together. Its simple. Simplistic. Sophisticated. There are a few technical issues with the new gallery which the more tech savvy guys will pick up on. I'm well aware of them... I've had some great mates help me with some pointers. Those changes will be coming in v2.0. Hopefully as soon as I can get some more time.

So if you haven't gone to take a look, go check it out. Alot of new work, but only the best. Rather a small strong portfolio, than a huge average one.

Wiel July 08

This was one of those shoots that was just made extra nice, by doing it in one of the nicest possible locations. None other than the Stellenbosch mountain roads. Perfect lighting, late afternoon, the breaze gently blowing the already autum leaves... really picturesque!

This was finally published in the July issue of Wiel Magazine. So I can finally show it off. Yay. It was one of my more favourite shoots, as I felt alot more relaxed doing it. Maybe it was the surrounds. Maybe I was having a good day. Either way, I really enjoyed just shooting on this evening. And I think the results speak for themselves.

The first 2 images are scanned in tear sheets, and the third was one that I really liked personally, yet wasn't used as a nice large double spread. There were so many great shots that weren't able to be used due to space constraints. Unfortunately.

Stonecollar Band

A little while ago (2 weeks) I put out word that I was looking for local rock bands who where interested in getting some new marketing material for their albums. The response was phenominal! Even though the specs said I was looking for rock bands, I got response from rap, R&B, vocalists, etc.

I can guarantee that I will be doing alot more for the local music scene in the very near future.
For now, here is the first one. A band called Stonecollar. Their website here.

And here are some of the images from the shoot! If you're a band looking at also shooting, give me a shout here!

My light is Flickr-ing

I've finally gotten myself a Flickr account. I've long avoided it as I've just found it clumsy & took me a while to work out how to navigate it.

However now, I see what a powerful tool it is, especially for broadcasting your work across hundreds of groups & get it seen by thousands of people!

So for those of you who have Flickr, you can add me here: StG Studios Flickr

TopCar Magazine

It is always so much more rewarding to work for something, chase after it, and then finally manage to attain it. For the past couple months, I've been working towards shooting for TopCar Magazine. IMO its one of the top, best quality, nicest (english) automotive magazines we have in SA.

Today I have just concluded my first shoot with TopCar. Its a bit of a personal milestone which I wanted to share with you (those who read my blog & follow my work). I am proud to say that I shoot for this magazine & definitely look forward to all the shoots to follow.

I want to say a personal thank you to the editor, Pierre, for saying I needed to try harder all those months ago. I definitely did put my heart & soul into working harder. Its finally starting to pay off.

I am in no way at the pinnacle of where I want to be regarding my automotive photography. There is no limit. This is one of those days when I am reminded that I am so fortunate to be doing exactly what I want & to be living out my passion. Thanks to everyone for the constant support & kind words which keep me going through thick & thin.

A bit of Le Roux...

Its been a while since I've done a shoot with a male model. The last time was with Mr Zylden, which was my first time shooting a male. At the time, it was very different for me, I felt clumsy, stupid & didn't know what to do.

Second time round however, I felt a lot more confident. I must admit, working with Le Roux was actually a huge amount of fun. I think we both enjoyed the late afternoon session.

Just on a personal note, I've been reading things about "The best tips you've ever recieved" when it comes to photography. There are alot of different points & things that come out by various people. One of them which stood out the most was one which said, "Use only a fixed prime lens & it will teach you better composition". So, thats what I did. The entire shoot with Le Roux was done with the ever trusty 50mm f1.8 mk2. I enjoyed myself so much more having to move around to get my composition than rather standing in one spot with a zoom.

And then one other thing with the shoot with Le Roux. The way I shot it. If you saying, "Um, there is a SUN behind your model!"..... I kind of noticed that too. In fact, I went looking for the sun. I know its not everyone's taste, shooting into your lightsource, but I really like that style.
It floats my boat, rows my canoe, lights my fire, paddles my... you get the point. :) I love it. If you don't think so, well, opinion is your choice.