RICH LEGG
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
I'm a photographer working in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is where I share my work on a regular basis.
View my complete profile
Search this site:
I'm still recovering from last weekend's iStock SLC Minilypse event and preparing for two presentations I'm giving in the next two days, so today's post is short and sweet - a shot of Tokyo (the model's nickname) being a DJ. For his expression, I told him that I wanted him to say that alphabet "Gangsta Style". I think this shot was the letter E.
Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/6.3, ISO 100
This has been a very cool but exhausting weekend so far, and it's only half over. I have been helping out (and doing a bit of shooting) at the iStockphoto SLC Minilypse '09. Yesterday we spent the morning and afternoon photographing models in a nightclub before doing an evening business shoot in an office suite. The organization by Rene and Todd and the locations/models they have provided have been fantastic.
On tap for today, a morning/afternoon shoot at Alta Ski Resort followed by a creative evening session at SaltAir. I am anxious to see the images created by the 25 participating photographers. If what I've seen from behind-the-scenes is any indication, the results are going to be great.
Oh, and today's image is one that was captured of me while I was on-the-job at yesterday's shoot. That's just how I roll... :)
My daughter Elisabeth was tipped off by a classmate yesterday about one of my stock images featuring her and a friend being used for Walmart's Twilight DVD release ad on the back of a national magazine. Since she is such a huge Twilight fan, this one was especially cool.
I have been a reader of the website Photography Bay since early 2007. During that time it has become one of my main resources for staying up-to-date on photo news and rumors. Shortly after I began using Twitter actively about a year ago I started following Eric, the founder of Photography Bay, through the service. Over the past 12 months we have began communicating on a regular enough basis that I now count him as a friend.
It was this friendship that has opened up a new opportunity for me. Last month Eric approached me about writing a weekly Photography Tips column on his website. Even though I've written over 1,000 here on LeggNet.com I still don't consider myself much of a writer. But with that being said, I accepted Eric's offer.
To help me on this new venture, I have a favor to ask the readers of this blog. Please consider following Photography Bay by either visiting the site on a regular basis or subscribing to the RSS feed. I am amazed at the amount of information that is provided on the site. If you're like me, you will shortly make it your "go-to" place for photography info. And as another favor, if there are any subjects that you would like to see me tackle on my weekly write-up over there, please drop a comment below or email me at rich@leggnet.com.
And finally, here are the links to the first two columns I have written:
Photographing with the End in Mind
Simplifying the Rule of Thirds
Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/60 second, f/4, ISO 400
Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens - 1/60 second, f/4, ISO 400
Tonight's the night for some of us to re-live our past with the Film Shooters Photowalk in downtown Salt Lake City. For equipment, I'll be rocking a borrowed Nikon F5 and a Mamiya-Sekor 1000 DTL. For those interested, it's not too late to join us. If anyone wants to come and doesn't have a film camera, no worries - just stop by Walgreens on the way and grab a couple rolls of 35mm film and we'll find a camera for you to use.
For the skinny on where and when to meet up (and not to mention another pageview on my blog), click here to read the original announcement.
I hope to see a few of you tonight!
Labels: photowalking
Finding great locations to shoot stock images in can be a bit of work, but my latest location is one that is literally right-next-door. It took place in Crystal Nails, the nail salon in the same shopping center where my studio space is located.
My goal for the shoot was to create a series of images featuring an attractive young woman getting a manicure and pedicure treatment from the salon attendants. Big props go out to Kati for modeling. Due to a last minute scheduling conflict, the model I had originally planned to use couldn't do the shoot and after reading about this on my Facebook feed Kati offered to step in. Kati is an outstanding photographer in her own right, so in addition to being a great model she understood what I was working to create on the other side of the camera. This was extremely helpful.
For anyone that has seen me work on location, the lighting setup would look very familiar. I worked with three softboxes of varying sizes and positioned them to create the soft natural-looking lighting that has come to be pretty standard in my work. I usually know in my mind ahead of each shot what I want the lighting to look like, and move the boxes until I am able to achieve this.
Working with us on the shoot was a photographer friend of mine, Nathan Sweet. He is on break this week from his college classes and offered to assist on the shoot. I've got to say it was nice having him there. Working with a photographer assistant is something I could easily get used to.
I have just begin selecting the images from the shoot to include in my stock portfolio, so I've got a couple days worth of editing/uploading/keywording ahead of me. I'm excited to see how the series does.
p.s. In addition to Kati and Nathan, huge props go out to Crystal Nails and their technicians Linda and Tony for helping out with the shoot.
Kylee just dropped by to show me this cover of Careers and Colleges featuring an image we created in a stock shoot last year. The publication is distributed to teachers nationwide, so suffice it to say that ALL of her teachers had copies of it when she arrived at her school today. She laughed as she told me that she got asked to autograph several copies for them. Hey, that ought to be worth a few extra credit points in those classes.
This past weekend the first ever PhotoCamp Utah was held at East Bay Studios in Provo, Utah. The event was the culmination of two months of planning by a dedicated group of volunteers consisting mainly of the leadership of Photowalking Utah. I would have never imagined a short 18 months ago when a few of us local photographers began Photowalking Utah that it would lead to such a cool event as PhotoCamp Utah.
Reading the program during the opening keynote
Instead of rambling on about how great the day was, here's a list of facts and highlights:
- Over 300 (including volunteers) in attendance
- 14 Training Sessions
- 10 Hours of Events
- 2 Keynote Addresses
- PhotoCamp Inspired session featuring 7 photographers
- Prize drawings for merchandise / services from sponsors including the grand prize of Adobe Photoshop CS4
- Catered lunch available at a great price
- Post-PhotoCamp Photowalk in downtown Provo
- All for a low $10 ticket price
It's a bit short notice, but we've organized a Photowalking Utah mini-event for Film Shooters Only. This outing will give those of us that haven't loaded a roll of film in years a chance to revisit our early photography days.
Here are the details:
Date: Friday March 20thWe are asking that each photographer carry at least one film camera. A digital is acceptable as a 2nd camera.
TIme: 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Location: We will meet at the Boston Building in Salt Lake City. The address is 9 Exchange Place (between 300 and 400 South on Main Street)
Labels: photowalking
I had the opportunity to photograph the photographer yesterday. My friend Julie came by the studio so I could shoot some portraits for her to use in the bio section of her soon-to-be-unveiled website. I don't know about the rest of you, but I tend to feel a bit nervous when I'm photographing a fellow photographer whose work I admire. Yesterday was no exception.
Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/160 second, f/5, ISO 100
It's time for another one of my photography Mini-Clinics at the Salt Lake City library. These clinics are presented as an additional event of Photowalking Utah. On Thursday April 2nd Ann Torrence and I will be hosting the session. Just in time for spring blooms, the theme of this class is Capturing Great Flower Photos. In the class we will be demonstrating methods to create stunning floral photos without spending a small fortune on specialized equipment. Here are the details:
Date: Thursday April 2nd
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Location: Salt Lake City Main Library - 210 E 400 South, Conf. room #4, 4th floor
Cost: Zero, zilch, nada - FREE!
Labels: photowalking
Today's image is a sample from a studio session with Hayley. This was our first time working together and her first time modeling in stock images. She was great to work with and I look forward to using her on some of my upcoming shoots.
Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/160 second, f/5, ISO 100
Today's images are ones I shot last month for a regional magazine. The portraits are of Kinetic Artist Andrew Smith and were taken in his studio in Lehi, Utah. The assignment I was given from the magazine was to create a portrait of Andrew within his studio. The image was to run full-page accompanying the feature article about him and his artwork.
The reason I am posting the images today is that I recently found out that the article will not run in the magazine. The magazine is shifting from a quarterly to biannual publication schedule and has canceled the next issue. While I don't know all the details on what precipitated this change, I can only assume that it is a combination of the current economic situation affecting advertising dollars combined with the ever-present shift of readers from print to online sources.
Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/125 second, f/4, ISO 100
Another indication that we will be seeing more-and-more publications cutting back or eliminating their print edition is a blog I follow in my RSS reader. It is called Magazine Death Pool and chronicles print magazines shuttering their operations. I am sad to say that the blog reports of several magazines a week shutting down.
Even though I will still be paid for the assignment, I am disappointed that Andrew's story will not be published. It was a pleasure to meet him and hear about the extremely creative kinetic sculptures that he creates.
On the photography side of things, here is a quick behind-the-scenes image I shot to show the environment I was working in while creating Andrew's portrait.
Today is my good friend and fellow photographer Dale's birthday. I won't go as far as saying how old he is, but I can think of at least Fifty reasons why I count him as a friend.
Dale is a truly gifted photographer and through his travels around the globe has amassed an impressive collection of fine art images. Here are a couple examples of his work that really stand out to me.
Samples of Dale's work can be found on his website at WelcomePhotoImages.com and on his Flickr photostream. Be sure to check them out.
Happy Birthday, Dale. I count it a blessing to have you as a friend.
Unless otherwise noted, all photographs and text copyright 2005-2010 Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction or redistribution in any form without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
