APOLOGY

I APOLOGIZE TO ALL OF YOU FOR THE FACT THAT I HAVEN'T POSTED ON THIS SITE IN THE LAST FEW DAYS. i HAVE BEEN BUSY WITH PERSONAL MATTERS INCLUDING PREPARING FOR MY 40TH HIGH SCHOOL REUNION. hOPE TO HAVE THE THIRD AND FINAL SEGMENT ON RECRUITING MODELS POSTED IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. LARRY ELKINS - -ELKINSPHOTOS FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

BAS RELIEF

BAS RELIEF - I took this photograph of a portion of a bas relief that decorated a building in Bisbee Arizona that formerly served as the city's high school. The decoration was removed when the old high school, which now houses county offices, was remodeled. I shot this panel at the Bisbee Restoration Museum where it now resides. The Old Bisbee High building was listed in Ripley's Believe It Or Not because the four story building, which is built up the side of a hill, boasts four ground levels entrances, one to each of its four floors. Larry Elkins - Elkinsphotos Fine Art Photography

NEWS ALERT

NEWS ALERT - BIZZART GALLERY / BISBEE ARIZONA WILL HOST THE FIRST ANNUAL (B.I.P.S.) BISBEE INVITATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW ON NOVEMBER 13TH, 2010. LOOK FOR WEEKLY UPDATES ON THIS BLOG. LARRY ELKINS - ELKINSPHOTOS FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

RECRUITING A NUDE MODEL PART 1

RECRUITING A NUDE MODEL / PART 1 --- THE DOOFUS SQUAD (OR HOW NOT TO RECRUIT AND WORK WITH A NUDE MODEL - Mistake #1 ... I had a young lady who I knew was under eighteen by about six months ask to model (nude) for me. When I refused to hire her, her response was that she had worked for a certain photographer who had told her she didn't have to be of age to model nude. She just had to state that she was of age on the model release. I recently heard that this photographer was being investigated by legal authorities. Mistake #2 ... A college art professor asked a female student to model nude for him. When the young Lady arrived at his studio, everything seemed on the up and up. However, partway through the session, there was a knock on the door. As it turned out, it was the professor's wife. The model suddenly found herself unceremoniously shoved into a closet with her clothing tossed in after her. After the photographer's wife was gotten rid of, he opened the closet door and asked the model to resume posing. The young lady commented that if he was that quick to lie to his wife, why should she trust him. She quickly dressed and left. Mistake #3 ... The Big Boorish Blockhead - This is the photographer... who manages to make the model muy uncomfortable. Whether putting the make on the model, playing touchy feely, or trying to bully the model into doing things she's uncomfortable with. he's not only going to run off the model he's working with. She'll spread the word. He'd better get used to shooting still lifes. One final word. If you fit one or more of these profiles, not only are you asking for trouble. You're also a lousy excuse for a human being. Next post: Strategies for recruiting nude and semi nude models. Larry Elkins Elkinsphotos Fine Art Photography

RECRUITING TFCD MODELS

TFCD or time for CD denotes a co-operative arrangement between a photographer and model whereby the photographer provides the model with a CD of photos for a portfolio in exchange for the model's services. For you old codgers out there like me, it's the same as TFP (time for photos). I received a request yesterday from a photographer who I'll refer to as A.G. A.G. Has been finding it difficult of late to recruit TFCD models and was hoping that I might provide some strategies for recruitment. Personally, I seldom work TFCD. In most cases, I'm paying models. However, I told A.G. that I would attempt to come up with some strategies. As this is a common problem among photographers, I thought I would share these strategies with you. Probably the least effective strategy is to simply approach someone on the street, hand her a business card and say, "Would you consider modeling for me." Believe it or not though, sometimes this works. It's actually worth trying this simply because you're not investing that much in the process. It takes only a moment or two of your time. Colleges and universities provide a fertile ground for recruitment. A.G. resides in a relatively small town. There are no public colleges or universities in the immediate area. However, there is a private college nearby. So here's an obvious strategy. Most colleges have life class. This is a class where art students draw from a live nude model. Even if you're needing clothed models, this is a good place to begin. If you can obtain introduction through students or faculty, these models may be interested in obtaining work that will help in building a portfolio. You may have to expend a good deal of effort in gaining access to these potential models. However, the chances that one or more of the school's life models will be interested in your proposal is quite high. Also, art students in general are a good resource. Some of them might be willing to model. More importantly, they may have used friends or fellow students as models and would be willing to hook you up. Another no brainer? If the college features photography classes, get to know the students. Some of them might be interested in TFCD or a straight "I'll model for you if you'll model for me." arrangement. And don't forget the Theater Dept. Acting students are prime candidates. Also, consider posting flyers around campus and the surrounding neighborhood. College students in general are often receptive to 'for trade' arrangements. A.G. lives within a short distance of a medium sized city. A medium sized city could well support a community theater. If so, this might prove to be a major resource for model recruitment. A city of moderate size may even be home to a small modeling academy. Also, Don't forget local scholarship (beauty) pageants. One final idea is this. Consider contacting local clothing boutiques. They may be interested in providing models (perhaps customers of the boutique) in exchange for photos of their clothing being modeled, photos they can use in their advertisements. One word of advice - always obtain model releases and, if you do a trade arrangement with a boutique, obtain a release for usage of photos of the clothing. Now as to how this relate to A.G., I hope some of this will prove of help. I wish there was some piece of info I could impart that would convey a formula that would make recruitment easy. So far as I know, no such formula exists. Next up, while we're talking models, I'll discuss strategies for procuring nude and semi nude models. This gets even more complex. So long for now.

BE A SPORT

QUICK PHOTO TIP - When shooting sports activities (such as baseball games), remember to use the sports mode setting on your digital camera. It will dramatically increase your chance of capturing the decisive moment. LARRY ELKINS - ELKINSPHOTOS FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

THE ONLY CONSTANT IS CHANGE

As you have most likely noticed, a lot of changes are taking place here on ELKINSPHOTOS-BISBEE AZ. The blog is over one year old now, and I thought it time for some upgrades. Because my intent was not to make this a photo blog but rather a blog about photography, I have heretofore shy'd away from posting very many of my photographs on the blog. I have decided to deviate from that policy in two respects. I will use photos, when appropriate, to illustrate posts, and I will, once or twice a week, post a photo with info on how the photo came about and-or how the photo was made. The second significant change is that I am using a new more sophisticated template. I believe both these changes will make the blog more attractive and fun to read. I hope you will feel free to comment on these changes and will let me know what directions you would like to see the blog take. Thank you for your loyalty. LARRY ELKINS ELKINSPHOTOS FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

SHADES #2

This photo was taken on location. However, it was then extensively post processed. I believe that the processing has resulted in a very unique look. The hat and oversized sunglasses add to the distinctive look and feel of this image

TRAVELIN' MAN

I've recently been seeing a lot of ads for tutorials designed to teach prospective travel photographers how to shoot travel photos that look just like the images you see on commercial postcards. Well, guess what? Everyone's already seen the images on those postcards. If your potential customer wanted a 'postcard' image, he (or she) probably would simply opt to buy the postcard. Bottom line: As a travel photographer, you want to produce unique views of exotic locations, NOT POSTCARD IMAGES. That is, of course, assuming you're not working for a postcard company. As an example of what I mean, let's discuss one of the most iconic locations in the world. Are we talking Paris.France with the Eiffel Tower in the background? Or, perhaps, the Great Wall of China? Nope. We're talkin' someplace located less than thirty miles from my home town of Bisbee Arizona. We're talkin' TOMBSTONE - THE TOWN TOO TOUGH TO DIE. In one sense, Tombstone may be just a little podunk town in S.E. Arizona. On the other hand, I met a Thai woman while in Chiang Mai who, when she heard I was from Arizona, proudly related to me the story of her and her husband's visit to - where else - Tombstone, Arizona. Even Captain Kirk and crew members of the Starship Enterprise managed to beam down to Tombstone in the Star Trek episode 'SPECTRE OF THE GUN'. And that's about as iconic as it gets. So, you've traveled from Philly to Arizona, and now yer jest itchin' to explo'e th' Ol' West. Yehaw! You're walkin' down historic Allen Street at high noon on a Saturday. This is your one chance to shoot (with a camera) the town where the Earps and Doc Holiday faced down the Clanton gang. And your goose is not just cooked. It's cremated. Why? Well, the town is full of tourists. Your chance of obtaining an image that will wow the viewer, for starters one that does not feature modern day tourists, is about the same as your chances of flying to the moon by flapping your arms real fast. Take a look at my images above. What don't you see? Tourists. Why? Well, the images were made in the late afternoon on a weekday, maybe Wednesday, probably during the off season. Imagine the color version, colors most likely slightly more saturated, shot at a time of day when the shadow would not be there, and with the town crawling with tourists, and you have the image everyone else took. The sepia image, on the other hand, screams VINTAGE OLD WEST. Definitely a better choice. Now a photog friend of mine, Pete Larkin, took a nighttime photo of the same street, historic Allen Street. The photo featured, (quite prominently) a modern sign emblazoned with the words LOADING ZONE. Well. that ruined an otherwise usable image, right? That would have most likely been the case but for the Old West gunfighter leaning against the sign, LOADING BULLETS INTO HIS SIX SHOOTER. Okay, so you've got your establishing shot. Now you're gunning (pun intended) for interesting detail scenes. So, wow, you've stumbled across the old wagon sitting just off the street at the intersection. And what luck. You manage to include the Whole Monte in your composition. Your friend Jim, on the other hand, settled for a shot that mostly just included one of the wheels with some sort of bird standing by the wheel. He's out of luck. So why, back home in Philly two weeks later, is everyone oohing and awing over Jim's photo and avoiding yours like it stinks of cow pattie? First off, nothing says Old West like a bird, that is if the bird's a roadrunner. Second, the service station in the background of your photo screams "This ain't the Old West!!!", at the top of its lungs. It's called an anachronism. And sometimes anachronisms work, like when a gunman is loading his gun next to a loading zone sign. In your case though, it just sits there stinking of cow pattie. The bottom line on all this is that you, the travel photographer, want to make interesting, intriguing & UNIQUE images of fascinating travel destinations. Do that and your friends will stand in line to view your travel images. Bring back twenty five images of the Eiffel tower with Aunt Ethel Mae standing in front of it, or images that are virtually identical to Cousin Timmy's postcards he brought back for everyone upon his return from Paris, and those same friends will run for the hills, and not look back. Larry Elkins - Elkinsphotos

EIKINSPHOTOS TRAVEL PICS

BE SURE TO VISIT MY NEW PHOTO BLOG http://elkinsphotos-travelpics.blogspot.com - Larry Elkins - Elkinsphotos Fine Art Photography

ST ELMO BAR

ST. ELMO BAR - This is a depiction of the saloon style doors of the St. Elmo Saloon, a 108 year old bar located on Historic Brewery Gulch in Bisbee Arizona. Brewery Gulch, at one time renowned as the most notorious street in the Old West, in its heyday, hosted over 50 saloons, a flourishing red light district and at least a couple of opium dens. Elmo was considered one of the rowdiest of the Gulch's many bars. During prohibition, St. Elmo officially operated as a soda fountain, although most likely a good deal of 'hard stuff' was dispensed from under the counter. At the time I photographed the doors, my intent was to create an image which would be more in the nature of a logo than a literal representation. I engaged in a good amount of digital post processing designed to achieve that effect. Multiple editing programs were used to produce an effect that I feel reflects the vision I had of what I desired this image to be. Larry Elkins - Elkinsphotos Fine Art Photography

PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE FUN OF IT

PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE FUN OF IT - Why do I engage in the art of photography? The answer is simple. I do it for the money. I'm making a fortune from my photography. And if you believe that, I own a really nice bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you. The truth is, the HOBBY of photography costs me loads of money. That's right. And probably most of you, unless you're commercial photographers, fall into the same boat, A LEAKY BOAT, AND IT 'S LEAKING CASH!!! So why do we engage in the art of photography? We do it because we enjoy it. It's fun - fun - fun. I spent ten days in Thailand in February of this year photographing elephants, hill tribe villagers and Buddhist temples. It was fun. I was recently accorded the privilege of photographing a Vintage Baseball game. It was fun. In 2009, I had the opportunity to shoot (with a camera) native birds on an island off the coast of Ecuador. Now that was fun. I know how to make money from my photography. I could invest in the appropriate equipment and set up a commercial portrait, wedding, events business. That wouldn't be fun. Sometimes though, we lose sight of the fun that is inherent in the HOBBY of photography. Perhaps we begin to experience pressures that we have largely placed on ourselves. We begin to take ourselves too seriously. We forget that our primary goal should always be to enjoy the act of making photography. So, unless you're a pro and making photographs equals making a living, then taking photographs ain't worth doin' if it ain't fun. So get your booty butt in gear, go out there and have fun. Larry Elkins - ELKINSPHOTOS FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY RIGHT

PHOTO TIP - You're happily shooting on the pristine white sand beaches of Florida (and hoping to Hell you're lucky enough to finish up before the tar balls and oily sludge arrive) when you spot that magnificent brown pelican flying across the turquoise sky. You manage to get in one shot, you're totally psyched, and then you check the pic on your LCD. Oh s*#t! In your excitement, you forgot to hold the camera straight. Now what do you do? Well, in the digital age. the answer is simple. You can probably use the 'rotate' feature on your editing program to straighten the horizon. Your shot of the magnificent pelican in flight is saved. And just in time. Because a photo of an oil drenched pelican lying on the beach desperately fighting for its life doesn't make for a very attractive photo. Oh well, as Governor Sarah Palin would say, "It's just another disaster caused by those pesky environmentalists. If they had just let my friend Tony Hayward drill for oil in the Alaskan wilderness, none of this would have happened. Drill, baby, drill." Marie Antoinette would have been proud. Larry Elkins - Elkinsphotos Fine Art Photography

WORKING GIRL

This image was one of a series of the model taken during the model's smoke break. I commented that she looked a bit like a hooker. We decided to pursue the idea. Her poses and expressions were right on and the ambient lighting was perfect. Post processing further enhanced the feel. Larry Elkins - Elkinsphotos Fine Art Photography

BEAUTY

Dorothy Parker once stated, "Beauty is skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone." Photography readily recognizes the beauty in a gorgeous young model's face. But that is certainly beauty that is only skin deep. There is another beauty that is far more interesting. That is beauty born of character. The deep lines etched in an old fisherman's face convey a different beauty, one which, like Miss Parker's UGLY, goes clean to the bone. Famed photographer Richard Avedon once remarked that he found little of interest in young people's features. Life had not yet had time to etch itself into their faces. A great self assignment is to search out people whose character and life experience have been graven into their faces. Photographs of these people will convey a beauty that runs far deeper than a pretty face. Larry Elkins - ELKINSPHOTOS FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

GULF OIL SPILL UPDATE

THE PEOPLE OF THE GULF REGION, NOT TONY HAYWARD, DESERVE TO GET THEIR LIVES BACK. LARRY ELKINS - ELKINSPHOTOS

ANGLE IT

DO YOUR PHOTOS JUST LIE THERE AND SLOWLY WILT AWAY? WANT TO PUT SOME LIFE IN THEM? TRY ANGLING THE COMPOSITION. What the hell does that mean? Well, try this self assignment. Take a whole day of shooting. Shoot whatever you want. But shoot each subject from at least five different angles. This will give you five distinct shots to choose from. This will train your eye to use dynamic angles to create interesting, exciting compositions. Larry Elkins - ELKINSPHOTOS

DEWDROPS

DEWDROPS - In this case, it was unnecessary to simulate dewdrops. The dew was real. However, it is simple to produce a dewy effect by spraying, or for more control, placing, a 50-50 mixture of water and clear corn syrup onto the surface of the subject. Larry Elkins - Elkinsphotos Fine Art Photography

A NEW KIND OF JUNK KILL

A NEW KIND OF JUNK KILL - DEMOCRATIC PARTY CONSULTANT PAUL BEGALA, DURING AN APPEARANCE ON CNN TODAY, ADVOCATED A NEW VERSION OF JUNK KILL. HE SUGGESTED A MODERN VERSION OF THE TOSSING OF THE TRIBAL CHIEF INTO THE ERUPTING VOLCANO. HE PROPOSED TOSSING SEVERAL BP EXECUTIVES INTO THE HOLE WITH THE HOPE THAT THEY'LL BLOCK THE LEAK. SOUNDS LIKE A WIN - WIN SITUATION TO ME. LARRY ELKINS - ELKINSPHOTOS FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

GREETINGS EARTHLINGS

PHOTO TIP - TURNING YOUR PHOTOS INTO GREETING CARDS: This is not going to be a tutorial on how to turn your photos into greeting cards. There are numerous ways of doing so. What I want to do however, is to present an over view. One method that's been around a long time is to purchase card blanks that contain a window in which you insert your photo. One of the leading companies offering this option is PHOTOGRAPHERS EDGE. This option works well with both film and digital images. With digital images, the options are countless.The methods, with one exception I'll cover in a moment, involve printing onto card blanks. You can do this yourself with the aid of various printing and photo editing programs. The number of programs available are way too many to list. Or you can have a company like SHUTTERFLY do it for you. One other method available is ecards that you can send via email. I have little familiarity with personalized ecards. However, again, there are numerous companies out there that will provide resources. I hope this tip will spur your creativity. (I am not endorsing any companies I've mentioned nor am I receiving compensation) Larry Elkins ELKINSPHOTOS FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY