Nighttime portraits in downtown Denver

I got a chance to do some portrait work the other night in downtown Denver. I went out on the Illiminate Workshops free night photowalk.



This night happened to be the biggest turnout I've ever been to. Efrain does these night out on the town every month as a way for photogs of all calibers to get out shoot something, network & above all else feel ok to bring their camera out at night.



I spent the majority of the night leading the pack down to the Cherry Creek bike for some cool water picks. Then we moved east towards the Denver Art Museum. The DAM was very busy this Saturday night as it was the "Free Night at the Museum". To get away from the crowds we moved down to the Capital building.



There I decided it was time to pull out the Alien Bee and softbox I had been lugging around all night. I settled on a spot where there's this Liberty bell and the Capital building in the background. Set up two SB-26s in the grass in the back to side light the bell and then set up the Bee. By this time I'd peaked the other photogs interest & the all came over.



Then it was time for individual portraits and an action shot. To see the rest of the photos taken that night click on any of these photos to be taken to the gallery. You can also see other night shots there as well.



If you're interested in going out with some really cool people check out Efrain's nightshoots .

Coffee with Denver Magazine photographer Rob Hammer

Yesterday I had coffee with Denver magazine photographer Rob Hammer. You may remember Rob from my previous posts. He's been shooting for several magazines lately and doing quite a good job at it.

We met at Ink coffeeshop and talked about all things photography, what's been going on in our lives, how much shooting or lack of shooting & what people think about pretty pictures.

If you're not connecting with local photogs, I recommed giving them a call. You'll both learn something and maybe push each other to improve your work. I know Rob does with me.

Senior Portrait session with Gabe

A couple weeks ago I got to shoot Gabe for his senior portrait. I've known Gabe & his mother for several years now and we always talk about shooting a family portrait of their entire family. Something always comes up as you know life happens.

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Anyways Tamara said Gabe didn't want any typical senior photos as he's on the yearbook staff and he's seen them all. We decided to go downtown by Union Station. City scape's are always cooler then parks.

So I start setting up my Alien Bee on a light stand and out of nowhere there's this cop saying we can shoot there. Apparently there's the EPA building down there & you can't photograph it? I politely ask if I can shoot the other way and he says yes just as the second police car shows up.



The cop walks away and I giggle thinking that this is my second session this year were I got security or the police showing up.



Back to Gabe's session, we make sure & point the camera away from buildings and shoot away. We get some good shots & then decide to move up by the big mast at the end of 16th street mall. Gabe's little brother Sheldon hops up and wants a photo taken of him so I quickly adjust the lighting and shoot them both.



Tamara and Gabe both really liked the shots we got. I happy we gave Gabe something other then him leaning up against a tree.



Now all we got to do is get that schedule worked out and shoot that family portrait.