"Green Bud" by Wes Aldridge
So, I am sitting at my desk and 4:30 p.m. is rolling around. After a day full of dreadful storming, the sun started to break free from the blustery clouds over head. I itched to grab my camera and make a mad dash for the door beside my desk. The world had come to life for the first time today and it was beautiful and I wanted to be a part of it.
My boss could tell that one more minute for me in the office would have drove me mad. It was time to play a game, one that I love. He asked, "You want me to give you an assignment for your blog?"
With an over-eager lust permeating from me, I stared at him with excited eyes and said, "yes."
He told me to go outside, no farther than 100-feet from where I am sitting at my desk and find my shot. Without any reply from me, I lifted from my seat with camera in tow and walked quickly through the door to the beauty our day had become. I looked for only seconds and the shot above caught my eye... and it was only about 40-feet from my point of assignment. I snapped about four frames and knew this was my shot and walked back in the office in less than two minutes from when I walked out.
I can't explain to you how exciting it is to be constrained and to be forced to figure out a shot in a cramped situation. It completes my photographic lust for adventure. The pressure motivates me to accell and I feel an amazing high in times like these. Even something as simple as my "assignment" and the shot I found, it makes me feel stellar to pull through with something cool to share from it.
"Goose" by Wes Aldridge
This is a shot taken of one of my dear old friends, the geese, at the Parthenon. I thought the nearly seamless reflection in this shot was pretty nice. I enjoy photographing wildlife and the Parthenon allows me to get my water fowl fix in this mid-sized concrete jungle of a city. If you don't visit the Parthenon at least once a week, you are robbing yourself. Give it a try and take along a camera if you care to. There is always something there to shoot from peace rallies to birds to lovers in the damp grass. It is a field day there.
Blue is for serenity. It makes this one perfect.
"AJ's Pick" by Wes Aldridge
Today turned out to be rather satisfying. Cheekwood was the destination of the shooting for the day. It was pretty today, just wish it would have been about 10-degrees warmer.
Anyway, I told one of my most special friends I was going to scout out photo locations for a portrait in her future album. The idea that she wants to portray goes along the lines of a "secret," with her dressed in white for innocence. I thought that Cheekwood would be the perfect place to accurately give the feeling she is looking for. I see another Cheekwood shoot coming on soon, and I am excited. Does anyone want to be a photo assistant?
If you would like to look at a small gallery of other shots I did today at Cheekwood, feel free to copy and paste this link into a new Web browser window and have a look at the slide show.
https://home.comcast.net/~jessf/CheekwoodGallery/index.htm
"The Statue" by Wes Aldridge
Yes, this is pretty. I like statues, but actually, I am tired and want to go to bed. So here is your shot for the day.
Yes.
"The Ride" by Wes Aldridge
Today I thought a street festival was supposed to be going on in Franklin, so I left work and headed to find a shot. When I got there, not so much of a street festival going on. I was pretty flustered because I was stoked to shoot some people having fun. I decided to keep driving around, because we all know the show must go on... got to get that shot up each day or total failure.
I happened upon a small carnival going on in the back streets of Franklin. I knew this was what I needed to shoot. At times like this, I really wish my camera shot full frame, instead of the multiplication factor that it has because it is digital and the sensor isn't made the same size as 35mm film. I wanted it wider, tisk, tisk.
"On the Bridge" by Wes Aldridge
Tonight was beautiful. It was an adventure. Jess and I were in search of photos, and we found them. We drove to historic downtown Franklin and squeezed off a few frames, then it was a race against the setting sun en route to Leiper's Fork. I just hadn't found the shot I was looking for yet, so off to Natchez Trace Parkway we went.
This shot was taken from the bridge on the Parkway overlooking Highway 96. I didn't have my tripod with me and I wanted to do a long exposure to get streaking headlights that contoured the motion of the cars in the road. So, I found a way to balance my camera on the railing of the bridge to steady it and I made a 30 second exposure at f/22 to get the entire frame in focus. The headlights and taillights made a great design and the motion looks like it goes on forever.
"SunBurst" by Wes Aldridge
I was driving around town tonight, my town, Nashville. I was looking for things that were different because it seems I am never here long enough to notice little changes anymore. I felt like getting back in touch with my city tonight.
I saw this little difference tonight. The SunTrust Bank logo had changed. Such a novel idea to change their logo to some kind of design with a sun in it. It is a great design and I thought it made for a good shot.
"NY Gulls" by Wes Aldridge
Today was another magnificent day for photography, and my life in general. Nothing particularly special happened, I just know how fortunate I am to travel and shoot photographs for a salary. It was a whirlwind adventure, in and out fast. Now time has come to head back to NashVegas.
I miss New York already as I sit in the Buffalo-Niagara Airport munching on some city name-sake "Buffalo" wings as I hack away at the blog. Time is drawing closer to departure on the big red, gold and blue bird to Baltimore and then on to Nashville.
This shot was done on the banks of the Niagara River. It shows a somewhat primal aggressive side of seagulls, general what I consider as gentle creatures. The sounds they made were like women shreiking and chilled your blood. I got in as close as I could, without scaring the little birds into flight, and squeezed off a few frames while they were making their strange noises.
"Fall Colours" by Wes Aldridge
Today was spectacular. The weather was perfect. The photography flowed like clockwork. It was a blessed day to have my camera in my hand.
This is a photo a view of the American side of Niagara Falls from across the river on the Canadian border. At night, the falls have lights projected on them in different colors from the Canadian side. The colors cycle through and change from one to another and it was difficult to get the colors to show properly with a very long exposure. The shot was taken at ISO 100 at 1.6 seconds with an aperture of f/2.8.
"Candian Lights" by Wes Aldridge
This shot is offically my first international photograph. I know, I know, its just Canada. I went across the border tonight to scout out shots of Niagara Falls and I decided to snap a few neons on Centre Street in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The street was bizarre, much like I remember it when my friends and I went on a whirlwind day trip there about five years ago. It is a strange mix of the main strip in Gatlinburg, Tennessee (major tourist trap) with casinos sprinkled into the mix.
Crossing into Canada was strange in itself. I had to stop and let a pair of Canadian customs officers search my vehicle for contraband and answer several questions. I simply had to present my drivers license and after the search, I was free in another country. After flocking about in the streets of Canadia, I went to cross back into the States. It bothered me because only after a few questions like, "Where were you born?" and "How long were you in Canada?," I was able to drive my rental car back into the U.S. It was ultra simple to cross into the border and there was no search of my car or anything of that nature. I thought with the state of New York being as it is after 9/11 and the position of Homeland Security, I imagined the process of coming into the States would be a little more difficult, or thorough, however you want to look at it. Just something to think about.
I am not a person that wants or supports more restrictions on free travel and such. But I thought with the gigantic ordeal and emphasis being placed onto the ideal of broken borders and fear of terrorists coming into the country, it would be much more than a 3-minute event to cross the Big Line.
"Thrown" by Wes Aldridge
Tonight Thaxton Ward played a great rock show at the Rivers and Spires Festival in Clarksville, Tennessee. After the show during breakdown, the elusive Mr. Carter decided to throw the frisbee around... and I thought it would be cool to shoot.
Because it was very dark, I had to shoot at ISO 400. I slowed the shutter down to about 1/25th of a second to catch the motion of the frisbee in flight and give it the cool trail through the air. I hit Carter with a little flash from my 550EX to give him a little luminescence and to stop his motion and make his figure look solid.
"In Flight" by Wes Aldridge
This is a shot that I did at the office. We have this great gazebo that we go out to and spend some quality time in while its pretty outside. But, there are several pesky bees that are guarding something. They fly around and buzz by my head and try to keep the other bees from invading their terrirtory.
Anyway, I shot the bee at a very high shutter speed... and I need to hang out with a girl. See ya, bye, its Friday night.
"New Found Vitality" by Wes Aldridge
Ahhh... It is mid-April and spring has sprung. The air we breathe is a little fresher. The skies we see are much bluer. And for the love of all things holy, the greenery has come forth to delight our eyes once again.
This was a shot I did in our office complex parking lot. The light hitting the new found glory of the green leaf sapling was all I could stand to not take a shot at. The sky, perfect in its beautiful, majestic blue. Spring time is here and life has come again.
"Spicy Eggplant" by Wes Aldridge
Well, this is a shot I set up in the studio. The food looked pretty nice and colorful, but the image just needed a little more dressing up. I went to Pier 1 Imports and bought this little place mat that looked pretty Asian and seemed to fit in well. Then, of course, we needed some fly looking chop sticks. Funny though, no stores in Cool Springs had any for sale. Everything they had was for display only, not for sale.
I ended up in Hecht's department store and saw a table setting there... with chop sticks made of black porcelain. I NEEDED them. I told the store manager this in a frantic way, and he felt the desperation in my voice and could read it in my eyes. He agreed to let me take them on the premis that he "trusted me" to bring them back when I was finished with the photo shoot. Believe it or not, I got them back to Hecht's when I was finished. Such a good boy am I.
"Night Light" by Wes Aldridge
This shot is of the rotating guitar at the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Nashville. The neons look nice and contrasty against a pitch black sky, so I decided to take a shot. I just exposed for the neons and let the sky totally fall dark.
It was yet another night the post almost didn't happen. The Net was down at my place, so I went all over Nashville trying to find somewhere to hook in Wi-Fi. I had no luck. On my way home, almost giving up, I drove by my alma mater Belmont University and thought eureka. I drove up to the library and searched for a wireless network... and behold there was one. The fun didn't end there, though. I tried logging in with my old college passwords and couldn't remember them for the life of me. After racking my brain another 20 minutes with it, I finally remembered my codes and got online; And the post is up.
"Cards and Cigs" by Wes Aldridge
This is a little diddy set up using the deck of Harrah's playing cards from the casino in New Orleans that was given to me on my 21st birthday there. Not much going on in this one, but I think it looks neat. Could be a great shot for someone to hang in their playing/gaming room, hint, hint.
"Ole Glory" by Wes Aldridge
Well, it was a pretty day, the weather of course. So I shot this flag. Other things could be more to wish for, such as life's little path in general. Just a rather interesting time that I don't fully understand at the present time. But, I am not a person that cares to question the things that go on day to day. I let them come as they will... and yes, they will.
To sum up life's present situations and current events and happenings, I leave you with this quote from one of my greatest influences in life, my senior AP English teacher in high school.
"The rational mind knows limitations that the heart could never understand."- Henry T. Honeycutt
"RC Jones" by Wes Aldridge
This shot is of RC Jones, guitarist from the Nashville rock band Thaxton Ward. The show pretty much rocked tonight at The End. The crowd was happy and the music was tight.
The lighting in the club was terrible, so I was pretty much forced to shoot at a 3200 film speed. That means ultra grain, but I embraced it and thought of it as a creative factor. It adds a certain roughness to the photos and really enhances the situation.
"Le Turkey" by Wes Aldridge
This one is for Scooter.
The Sherlock's liquor store in Marietta gave us this profound anomoly. I am not sure who Jimmy Russell is, but he sure as hell signed this display for Wild Turkey.
No shot info. It was simply a special moment that should have been recorded for a dear friend.
"Slow and Steady" by Wes Aldridge
What a strange trip today has been.
Money. Greed. Fear. Opportunity. Deception. Realization. Redemption. Fortune. Tragedy. Uneasiness. Destruction. Temptation. Abomination. Frustration. Tranquilization.
Bliss, thank you girl.
Why can’t my life be like that of a turtle, where the only pressing quest is to cross the road without being smashed into oblivion? I guess I am that turtle. I try and cross that road everyday. I will keep the pursuit no matter what steps come in front of me to deter. I will do what is right and valiant, no matter how difficult, and fight the good fight until the sweet ending. My movements toward progress may be slow at times, but I will use my hard shell to guard me and persevere the atrocities before me. With my body tattered and worn, skin old and leathery, I still press on… and I will reach the other side.
Meet me.
"USA Fish" by Wes Aldridge
Yes. This was in downtown Somerset. Did you think I could pass up a post like this? Of course not.
Apparently the town has many of these statues hanging around, several in the Somerset Mall. One of my assignments entails documenting them through photography for a feature story. I didn't know about this one, but I sure saw it standing there tall and proud in all its glory.
The weather was garbage and what little sunlight that was available through the cloud-covered sky was on the other side of the beast. I knew I had to wait and shoot him at dusk, which p.s. allowed for no coloration in the sunset. So, I dropped my shutter speed to 1/13th of a second to let some of the ambient light from the street lights in and set my aperture to f/6.3 to let the right amount of flash and depth of field for this one. I used my 16-35mm lens for that ultra-wide distortion of the fish.
Anyway, what a patriot!
"Sun and Stones" by Wes Aldridge
One of my greatest fears is to sing solo in front of people, even if it is at a small birthday gathering with PlayStation 2 American Idol karaoke. I respect someone who has the ability and desire to stand with their naked voice and sing. Enter Amanda. Today she sang the “Star-Spangled Banner” at a University of Georgia baseball game in front of hundreds of people… a cappella. I wanted to be there to hear her, because if you have never had the opportunity, her voice is intoxicatingly beautiful. It was in high school, and still is weeks before her college graduation.
Earlier in the day I told her to get her best friend to call me and hold her cell phone where I could hear her. I didn’t know if that would actually happen or not, but as I lay on the ground amongst white tombstones in a veterans’ cemetery at sunset, my phone rings. The voice on the other end said, “I think she is going to sing in a couple of minutes, hold on.” I couldn’t believe it. I looked up at the American flag blowing in the sunset and then I heard the sound.
She began the song (on perfect pitch) and something moved inside me. I expected her to sound good, but I wasn’t prepared for the brilliance in her voice, even over a cell phone speaker. I listened to her sweet soprano voice soar higher and higher with “the rockets red glare” and chills blasted across me. She sang on and my jaw hung wide open.
When she brought her voice back down to end the anthem it was in a wonderful whisper with “the home of the brave.” Right then, staring at the flag above me, lying in the grass in the cemetery as the sun faded away, something moved in me. A single tear rolled down my left cheek and I was sonically completed. I let the sun fade away and I just lay there and stared at the sky. I couldn’t move, and it was great. Everything was in its right place and I didn’t actually shoot the deep reds and purples in the sky after the sunset, it seemed better to just lie there and watch it sink away. Today I may have been on assignment in Somerset, Kentucky, but my ears and heart were in Athens, Georgia.
This shot is the scene I saw seconds before I got that phone call. And by the way, Nashville is waiting on that voice girl, bring it on up here and start the long, hard road.
"The Walking Bridge" by Wes Aldridge
This is a nighttime shot of the pedestrian bridge in downtown Nashville. I sat it on a tripod and did a long exposure to get this shot. I love this shot because of the beauty found in simplicity.
"X Commandments" by Wes Aldridge
I saw this and had to shoot it. I remembered the somewhat recent controversy surrounding the forced removal of the Ten Commandments at Montgomery's Federal Courthouse. I thought it was interesting.
The shot isn't technical at all. It is here for all to see. See it?
"Flyin' Brian" by Wes Aldridge
Meet Brian Fowler, or as many people know him, "Mr. Dance Ohio." He won this honor and the Licking County Chamber wanted to feature him in the portfolio section of their magazine. I thought this was an interesting concept from the get go.
My editor gave me his contact information only yesterday. That didn't give me much time to track him down and set an appointment for a portrait before I flew out on Sunday. Time was against me and I just hoped a power stronger than me would give me a hand on this one. And, yeah, that happened. I got in touch with him and sat an appointment for a couple of hours later that day.
I drove through the bitter cold in what seemed like a blizzard to the studio where this guy danced. I sat up a light and started shooting reflections of him Jete, Plie and Pirouette... and it blew my mind. I didn't know guys could make their bodies do the things this aerobatic wonder was doing. I had to get myself reflected in one of the shots. Do you notice his legs are parallel to the ground? Yeah, they are.
For the shot, it was at ISO 100 with a shutter speed of 1/200th of a second at aperture f/4.5 with a White Lightning strobe light bounced through out of an umbrella. I was using my radio slave to trigger the strobe to allow freedom of movement and I positioned the light at 45-degrees to the subject.
The kid asked me, "Can your camera shoot multiple shots right in a row?" I said, "Yeah, but I just shoot one at a time." He said, well, the newspaper guy that shot me had a real problem getting the 'right' shot." I just told him, "I'm not just some newspaper guy..." After I was finished shooting he and his dance instructors were pretty pleased with the action images I captured. Rock.
"Train a Goin' Home" by Wes Aldridge
One of my feature stories required me to shoot an industrial park. As you may or may not know, industrial parks are not the most photogenic stretches of architecture and landscape. So, I did what any goal-driven photographer would do... I shot it at sundown to add a little warmth to the shots and give it a little more of an appeal.
Anyway, I am out in the middle of nowhere, several miles outside of "the city," and the sunset is fading fast. I was speeding, frantically and desperately searching for something to frame a sunset and silhouette with. Just my luck, I see this train sitting off the road in a field. I slammed on the brakes, jerked the Mercury off the road and made a mad dash for the train. I got there just in time. The color shifts are beautiful in this one, really inviting to the eye. I particularly like the chaotic line formations.
The shot is between two boxcars where they are connected together. It just seemed like the right part of the scene to share with everyone. Enjoy.
"Self: On the Mounds" by Wes Aldridge
Here is a little self portrait action for you, via silhouette. Yes, that is me standing on an Indian mound... on a GOLF COURSE. This kind of disturbs me. This course was built in 1910, and it is very beautiful. But, I really don't know if I agree it being where it is. Anyway, it was a beautiful day and I thought it was a neat idea for a shot.
I personally like the arm-on-hip attitude going on. Not sure why. It has sass, and yes, I am a straight man with sass sometimes. Nothing wrong with a little pizzazz!
Enjoy the shot.
"One Big Easter Bunny" by Wes Aldridge
Alright, when I see a seven story Easter basket, you know its going on the blog. This is an official headquarters for a place called Longaberger. This is an office building full of people doing real jobs under real deadlines for real salaries.
I think I would have to huff helium to walk into a place like that each day and "work." Wow, that would totally be like living in a comic strip. I honestly almost ran off the road laughing when I saw that big yellow sucker.
This is a pretty cool shot because of the reflection. No reason to go into the details of the settings. I just metered for the light, and that was that.
"Town Square" by Wes Aldridge
Wow. What a day. Let's recap it.
Started off the morning with a shoot out at a park in Brentwood, Tennessee. Then, came back to the office and edited through about 200 photos from my last shoot a few days ago in Lancaster, Ohio. After the editing, processed out the photos, built a database and wrote cutlines for them. Then chose cover options for the magazine and processed and converted them to CMYK TIFF files. Stored all the shots on the Epro server and it was finished.
Normally, that takes a bit of time to do. I can't believe I got it finished today, that was around 3:30 p.m. I checked the weather for the location of my next shoot coming up this week and it called for sunshine for the next two days. Well, that made decision simple on when I needed to leave on my shoot... and that was tonight. So, I booked a flight at 4:30 p.m., reserved my rental car and arranged my hotel stay at the Hampton Inn. I dashed home threw a couple of clean shirts and boxer shorts in my suitcase and I was out of my house in less than ten minutes. Then, off to the airport in rush hour and the rest is history.
Now, I am finally sitting in my hotel in a little place called Licking County, Ohio.
I was amazed that everything came together like it did. It was virtually impossible and it still happened. ABJ, thanks for everything you did today. You are awesome, and we both know that I needed more help than I could provide for myself. Thanks for sending a few up for me.
"The Bull" by Wes Aldridge
I happened to drive by this location several weeks ago and thought it would make for a perfect blog shot. The sun set directly over the hill in this field where livestock grazed the land. The animals always seemed to walk into perfect silhouettes with the sunlight on the hilltop. I waited until the day was just right to shoot this, and today was the day.
To get the proper exposure and the totally dark silhouettes, I exposed for the light in the sky. ISO 100 at aperture f/4.0 and shutter speed of 1/100th of a second, shot with my 70-200mm telephoto lens with a 1.4x converter on a tripod.
"Hiding 2-by-4" by Wes Aldridge
This shot was taken in front of the Old Spaghetti Factory on 2nd Ave. in downtown Nashville. I was hunting for a shot, and there he stood all alone. He had probably been part of some kind of excitement previously in the night, but now he is all by his lonesome. What if an empty Budweiser 2-by-4 could talk? Oh, I would love to hear his sad story. Now, he stands there, clothed only by a paper sack purchased from a convenience store.
Settings: film speed of ISO 400 shot with 50mm lens at aperture f/1.8 handheld at a shutter speed of 1/13th of a second.
"Just About Home" by Wes Aldridge
Today is now officially over. I spent seven hours driving from Lancaster, Ohio, to Nashville, Tennessee. Then, I spent two and a half more hours driving from Nashville to Tunnel Hill, Ga. It was a grueling day, but I had plenty of RockSTAR energy drinks to keep me going.
This shot is from when I had almost met my breaking point. I was getting close to Tunnel Hill, deliriously tired, and I see the sky starting to change color in my rearview. I wanted to capture the moment but I didn't have time to stop and shoot. So, I did what any safe and upstanding photographer would do... I wrapped the strap to my camera tightly around my wrist and pushed the button to open the sunroof. And yes, I was "that guy" sticking the camera out in heavy traffic to get a little glimpse of the road I had burned down all day long.
There wasn't much to this shot other than luck for composition. I guess-timated the light metering for the sunset and hoped for an alright shot. It was a relief. I guess it made everything a little better having something wonderful to look forward to once I got back home.
"Ohio Jukin' " by Wes Aldridge
This is a test shot that I was working on at a place called Weldon's Ice Cream Shop about 20 minutes north of Lancaster in a town called Millersport. I walk into this olde tyme ice cream parlor and I saw it sitting there in all its glory... an antique Wurlitzer jukebox. I knew this had to be in my shot.
I used this small Ohio State statue to get the light settings right while the delicious dish of ice cream sundae sat in the freezer, keeping chill. I didn't want it to melt while I fine tuned and adjusted to what I thought was the perfect shot. I dressed the foreground with Dum-Dum lollipops and shot a strobe from about two feet away to light the dish and candy with. I let the Wurlitzer in the background drop out of focus and only lit it with ambient light from the neons and the room's light.
I shot at ISO 100 with a shutter speed of 1/10th of a second to let in enough ambient light and shot with an aperture of f/14 to get the proper mix of strobe light for the foreground. My final shot had the beautiful sundae in it instead of the Ohio statue. I was pretty proud of this one and I thought the owner of the ice cream shop was going to have a heart attack. I think he liked it pretty well, too.
Now, it is time to bed. Need to shoot a couple more shots at sunrise then head out of town on my seven hour drive back to NashVegas... then 2.5 more hours on to Tunnel Hill, Ga., to see the Easter Bunny.
"Going Down" by Wes Aldridge
This shot comes from inside St. John's Episcopal Church in downtown Lancaster, Ohio. I went in to shoot an interior of the sanctuary because an exterior just wasn't happening with the day's lack of sunshine. This was the beautiful staircase that I climbed to perch in the choir loft and shoot a marvelous shot of the sanctuary.
This shot was pretty tough to get. It was really dark in this staircase and I didn't want to use any fill flash for the shot because I wanted it totally natural. The shadows and sunlight through the narrow window were just too good to pass up. I ended up shooting at ISO 400 at aperture f/2.8 handheld at 1/10th of a second... no tripod. If you don't shoot much, holding the camera still enough to not get a blurry image at that shutter speed isn't exactly easy. I was jammed up against the wall, arched awkwardly with the camera resting on my right collarbone. I had to be sure to completely exhale before releasing the shutter in case the expansion of my lungs while breathing might cause the camera to shake.
Well, up at 6 a.m. for a non-existent sunrise... last shoot ended at 8:45 p.m. Yes, think it is time to rest a little. First day in Lancaster is officially in the books.
"Despair" by Wes Aldridge
My life has been so wonderful for the past several months that I haven't taken the time to think about the unpleasant things in life... such as death. So, while I was driving around the thriving metropolis of Winchester, Kentucky (population 26 or so, joking), I saw the Winchester Cemetery and decided I should take a drive through. I must have done it to try to ground myself a little, who knows? I can't even begin to explain the feelings of excitement and joy and adventure that have been consuming me. Just between you and me, even seeing this weatherd and decrepit icon of mourning that I shot on a day devoid of sunshine didn't even bring me down one notch. I guess I can say I tried to level off a little. Ha, it didn't work! Life is amazing isn't it? Just seems like things just keep getting better and better and I feel this incredible energy in my soul that I feel I can channel through the lens of my camera. I have simply learned to look at everyday as a special and interesting opportunity to discover something new, even in a rural town that doesn't have much going for it at all.
The shot was taken at 1//400th of a second at f/9.0 with a focal length of 170mm at ISO 100. Nothing interesting going on settings wise. Just a straight up shot without any sunshine.
"Absolut Fiery" by Wes Aldridge
This is a shot that was fun to do. This bottle of Absolut Raspberri looked as if it would make for a perfect shot of what I was trying to accomplish. It also looked like it would make for a swell time too.
To get this shot, I took two chairs and set them beside each other with about a five inch gap in between. I sat two hardcover books across the gap, side-by-side, with about two inches of space between them. Next I balanced the bottle over the gap. I took a black sheet and doubled it over and hung it from a third chair's back behind the bottle and wrapped the cloth around the base of the bottle. I put my 550EX flash under the chairs pointing directly up at the gap underneath the bottle and connected it to my camera with a hot shoe cord. I sat my 420EX speedlite on a table behind me, about one foot higher than the bottle sat and made it fire as a slave to my 550EX. I shot at ISO 400 at 1/60th of a second at f/2.8 with my 50mm lens. The end result is the bottle lighting up like fire.
Recipe:
1/4 can Sugar Free RedBull
8 oz. diet Sierra Mist
1.5 oz. Absolut Raspberri Vodka
Mix together in 12 oz. glass with rocks. Enjoy! Guaranteed to make for an interesting weekend.
"Melrose" by Wes Aldridge
This is an exterior shot of my favorite bowling alley in Nashville. Melrose lanes has been on 8th Ave. for many, many years. It is kind of run down on the inside, and the neons out front show years of wear as well. I love how the "E" and "S" are the only letters lit where it says "30 LANES." It gives a pretty accurate feel of the joint.
My favorite occasion at Melrose happened fairly recently with my brother and his girlfriend. We went in and had a few pitchers and bowled a few games. When I proposed the idea, at first the two thought it was stupid. But bowling and some beers always make the combination for a great time.
Nothing major going on with the shot. I shot at ISO 100 at 1/50th of a second with an aperture of f/1.8 to get the right exposure where it said "Melrose Lanes." I let the neons blow out a bit and over expose to really let the glow come off the pinks and blues. If I could have done this shot all over again, the only thing I would have changed was to have actually bowled a game or two rather than just shoot and run.
"Rehearsal" by Wes Aldridge
There is no better way to end a cannonball run kind of weekend, than with a little ass-kicking rock 'n' roll. The guys of local rock act Thaxton Ward let me come in to their rehearsal tonight and shoot away. Their music is pretty solid and you should give them a listen.
My ears are still ringing and the lyrics still running through my mind, but here is what is going on in this shot. I shot on a tripod from slightly above them on a railed staircase leading into the rehearsal space. I used my ultra-wide 16mm lens set to f/2.8 with a slow shutter of 1/10th of a second at ISO 100. I fired my 550EX flash with a red gel filter off a hot shoe cord from the camera shading the left of the room red. My 420EX speedlite was set to slave and on a mini-stand sitting on a speaker cabinet on the right side of the room with a light blue gel filter. I did a portrait with a similar light set-up on 2/18/2005 post.
A little side note. There are four members in Thaxton Ward, so the figure in the top right isn't a band member. No, that is Princess Di... or at least a cardboard cut out of her.
"Grab Your Flag" by Wes Aldridge
Today a girlfriend of mine from back home, wonderfully named Amanda, and I decided to explore Nashville after lunch at Jackson's in the Village. She had never been to the Parthenon and wanted to see it. And this is how today's shot came about by chance, or was it fate?
There are so many reasons that could have made this shot impossible and my mind started thinking about chain of events leading to it. What if there had been no peace rally at the park today? What if she had been to the Parthenon before and wasn't interested in it today? What if we hadn't gone to Jackson's for lunch? What if she wasn't coming to Nashville to look for a job this week? What if she hadn't gotten my phone number from my brother a while back when they happened to see each other in Athens, Ga? What if she and I hadn't had the Spanish class together in highschool?
Well, more than likely, we wouldn't be looking at this photograph of this kid draped in these anti-corporation American flags watching a man sing and play guitar at this rally. I love the spontaneous nature of this project and everything that is involved in getting it done.
"Old No. 7" by Wes Aldridge
We were in a liquor store in Belle Meade and I saw this statue. It is of course Jack Daniels. It looked like it would make for a good shot, so I honor him and all his contributions to society.
This shot was simple, all ambient lighting. No fill flash at all. It was shot handheld at 1/40th of a second at ISO 200 with a huge f/1.8 aperture with my fixed 50mm lens.
"Miller's Green" by Wes Aldridge
Alas, today is St. Patty's Day. It is the one day that we choose to put green food coloring in our beer to be festive and celebrate some Irish holiday that I have never known the meaning of. Well, that's great, and here is my green beer for the night.
Now, I leave you in search of more festivities for ol' St. Pat. Here's one for all the leprechauns out there tonight. Let the good times roll, little ones.
The shot was taken in the Mellow Mushroom in downtown Franklin. I lit the glass from the side, slightly to the back with my 550EX with a hot shoe cord off my flash. It was at ISO 400 with aperture of f/9.0 and a shutter of 1/50th of a second. Doesn't it make you want to grab a cold, green Miller lite? Me too and I am about to.
"The Field" by Wes Aldridge
This was a field that I saw in passing. I thought it was barren and beautiful with the afternoon sun shining on it. Simple.
Another trip is in the books and I am headed back to Nashville. I am going back to Ohio soon enough though. Can't wait.
"Tracks of Tuscarawas County" by Wes Aldridge
I am exhausted. Today was long and rushing from shoot to shoot each hour really wore me down. I don't have much to say other than I am glad to be back on my bed at the Schoenbrunn Inn.
This photo was taken in a city called Denison, outside of New Philly. I thought it was high and time I put a good cliche photo subject shot up here. Train tracks fading off to nothing in the distance... there you go. It is simple with the leading lines formed by the tracks disappearing off and leading your eye to some place you will never find the end to.
The assignment is almost finished here. Tomorrow I must start shooting my first appointment at 7 a.m. I have a new assignment to shoot each hour, on the hour from then until 2 p.m. when I must start my drive back to the airport in Columbus. This will be difficult and grueling. It's only for those with true grit... and I am chok full of that, man.
"Shadow Illuminated" by Wes Aldridge
I was driving to a place called Sugar Creek (Amish country in these parts) and I glance over my shoulder and almost wreck when I see this giant monument rising high above an old cemetery in an open field. There was no doubt I had to shoot it. For some reason, crosses, crucifixes, religious symbols and the like always catch my photographic eye. I can't really explain why. Most of the time I shoot these things because in the present situation they are kind of eerie and make me a little uncomfortable, sketched out if you will.
I have posted several different images of crosses but they are in no way meant to be any kind of a statement of religion. They are simply things my camera has recorded and I feel like sharing them.
The shot was done at ISO 100 with an aperture of f/6.3 at 1/4000th of a second with a circular polarizing filter. The settings were exposed in the general range for the sky, but the most important aspect of the photo for me was achieving a perfectly black silhouette of the cross against the sky. I was shooting directly into the sun, which of course gives the solar flare and hot highlight spot at the top of the cross. The CP filter dropped about two more f-stops of light and made the strange "heavenly" silver effect in the clouds. This shot is how I envisioned it. I am happy it turned out the way it did.
"The Immortal Soldier" by Wes Aldridge
Today turned out to be much better than I had expected. The 45-minute flight from Nashville to Columbus, Ohio, looked pretty bleak when we started to break through the clouds approaching the runway for touchdown. The sky was matted with a thick cumulus cover, and sunshine was not washing across Columbus right now.
Lucky for me, New Philly was about two hours away and thank my sweet tail the sunshine came out during that drive. I thought, what the heck, lets go to the center of town and see what we find. Cool stuff galore. A beautiful old rotunda courthouse. Local shops with perky flair. And a war statue memorial. It was beautiful. Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, all of the largest conflicts associated with American history were represented there. Wonderful sculptures and memorial walls. I think my favorite shot from there was this WWI statue with grenade ready to throw and his rifle in tow. And besides, I think it looks a little too graphic to make it into the IMAGES of Tuscarawas County, Ohio community magazine. I guess you could argue nothing really says, "move to our city" like the sculpture of a man in savage battle.
Anyway. The shot is straightforward. Meter and shoot. Just pretty light from the late evening sunshine.
Right now, as I sit and watch some late night, cheap suit-wearing jackass try to sell elderly people the "Rock Bottom Slots" slot machine (with 200 free tokens if they call right away) info-mercials in my hotel room at the Schoenbrunn Inn, I feel confused. I really can't put my finger on it. I'm not worried about all the appointment calls for this shoot that haven't gotten back to me to schedule a time to shoot. I'm not fretting over the company awards program that I am flying back for on Thursday and flying back up here the following day to shoot two more magazines for about another week. I'm not distressed that I think the apocalypse is upon us and the world is going to explode like a kernel of heated popcorn. I'm not bothered that I am a little on the pudgy side or my hair is too long or the idiot girl that put a cheese Coney dog in my bag at the A&W eatery today instead of my grilled chicken sandwich... bitch.
Its just one of those momentary slices of chaotic and erratic life in the times of a young man with a big heart, a little brain and a camera in his hand. This is the mind of the photographer, and sometimes even I don't understand it.
"The Flip" by Wes Aldridge
Historic Franklin, Tennessee, celebrated today with a beer/Irish pre-St. Patty's Day festival in the downtown area. Luckily enough, as fate would have it, I stumbled into the mix without prior knowledge of the occasion with my camera in my hand. This one is about simply luck shining on you and popping up in the right place at the right time.
This was nothing more than a fun day of photojournalism for me, and in no way could the weather have been any better for outdoor photography. It felt so exciting to walk through the crowded street of people and search for my shot for the day. I ended up with several shots that I have deemed blog-worthy that I might post on some rainy day in the future. It was a tough call, but the one of this little girl flipping high in the air on a bungee cord-connected jumping contraption just said "fun" to me.
I feel like I was able to catch that feeling with my camera. A true moment in this young child's life that will never have the slightest clue that a photograph was even taken of her. I love it. I am truly addicted to my profession. I have come to grips with the fact that my love of life and job are one in the same. I am certain some of us were born lucky.
"Born To Kill" by Wes Aldridge
Its Friday night and things always have a tendency to get a little strange on those glorious occasions. This is my friend Matthew. He is a warrior. You ask why? I tell you.
He wears a 15-lbs. Kevlar military issue combat helmet. It reads "BORN TO KILL." This warrior began his travels in early January from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. He bought a Grey Hound bus ticket for around $500 that allows him to roam their travel lines freely until it expires on Sunday. He has traveled to Chicago, New Orleans, Texas, Nashville... the list goes on.
I admire him. Pure grit and determination, searching for medical research study groups to take part in and make some quick loot. Not worrying about much, he becomes one with the road. His bedding down in Nashville was unannounced and very welcome. I can see the adventure in him. Here is his portrait.
A 100 ISO speed shot at 1/200th of a second with an aperture around f/8. I lit his face from the bottom with a 550EX flash with a red gel filter. The light on his helmet comes from a 420EX speedlite shot through a make-shift tube creating a spotlight effect.
"Old Stone Wall" by Wes Aldridge
I find this very interesting. I have lived in Nashville for about six years now, and this is the first time I have ever seen this before.
This old stone wall is the entrance way to Fort Negley, an old civil war fort that stands in ruins close to the Nashville Sounds baseball stadium near downtown. I have been to many "Thirsty Thursdays" at the Sounds games and I drive by this location on a regular basis because it is so close to my house. It really blew me away when I noticed it, just out of the clear blue.
Forget the technical side of this shot because nothing special is going on. The value that lies in this is it is a "find." I have passed by it so many times, tucked close to the woods and away from the road, and never even noticed it. Now, I have seen it (and I do believe it is prime location for future photo shoots). I think it pretty much told me to always keep my eyes open and look at things in a different and new way. Everything is an adventure to look through with the viewfinder of a camera, even something you have seen many, many times before.
"Mi Hermano" by Wes Aldridge
Today is my brother's 21st birthday. God, time goes fast. It seems like only yesterday my fraternity brothers and I were sneaking him into honky-tonk bars in Printer's Alley with him at the ripe ol' age of 17. Ahhhh, those were the days.
Now, I guess he is a man. So today I raise a toast to him. And bro, the next time I see you, I owe you a few rounds with that ruff old Turkey... enough to make HST proud. Congrats man, I thought it would never get here.
As for the photograph itself, I think it is cool. I love the distortion in the image. Here is what's going on with it. I centered his right eye as the focal point of the frame. Keeping his eye the center throughout the motion, I rotated the camera in a circular motion for 0.8 second while firing my 550EX flash 4 times in stroboscopic mode. You can see the appearance of 4 distinctive cigarettes where the flash fired each time. Turning in the circular motion made his face look distorted and bent and also gives the arching pattern to the lights in the shot.
"Victory" by Wes Aldridge
This is a pillar in a series of World War II statuary down in Bicentennial Mall. I think this particular pillar is very ironic. I know that victory was declared when the A-Bombs were dropped on Japan, but was that victory?
I don't want to dive deep into any social commentary tonight, but it just got me thinking. Does ending a war necessarily mean the same as victory? Maybe it is the humanitarian side of me, but I don't know if I agree with that. I guess it did make the United States a superpower for the following 50 years. Not sure if that was out of respect from other countries or their fear.
I am sure this will spark some kind of debate. Someone will either think I am anti-American or something. So, let's see where this one goes.
