Tuesday Viewsday VIII

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Michael Vujovich

People who know me personally can tell you that I’m a very passionate and driven person especially when it comes to taking on something new. I love exploring the unexplored and pushing the boundaries of what my mind and body can do. I thrive on action and productivity and ever since I can remember, I have always been the type of person to get anxious when I just sit still; I have to constantly be doing something. Even the time I spend relaxing is usually planned out in my schedule.

You would think that with this type of lifestyle, I would be used to juggling everything, and for the most part, I am, but I’ll be honest and tell you that there are times when I get overwhelmed. I rarely have time to do everything I have on my mind to do and even when I’m being productive on one project, I feel guilty for not being able to work on a couple of other projects as well.

That’s why I feel guilty when I find myself saying “no” to a project or photo shoot. It’s like ripping off a band-aid; it kills me to do it, but I feel great afterward. For someone like me, as I’m assuming most photographers and creative professionals are, the power of the word “no” is often underestimated, but totally freeing. We don’t have to say it all the time, but saying it to those things in our lives that aren’t on top of the priority list is a great tactic to take. It frees up time for the things we do love to do and are passionate about doing.

Anyway, that’s my little rant/reflection for today. On with the image…

Wading?

Back in 2009, I had some training to do at a facility in Escanaba, Michigan, a beautiful, little town in the Upper Peninsula on the banks of Lake Michigan. The drive there, while long, was beautiful and gave me a lot of time to just be with my thoughts. For anyone who has driven through the Wisconsin/Minnesota/Upper Michigan area, you know what I’m talking about; there’s a sort of serenity that seems to come with only those places in the world that still feel untouched by human hands.

Wading?

Wading?

I was lucky to have my camera with me and, even luckier to have a few hours at sunset and a few more hours the following morning at sunrise, to shoot. After the training, I headed down to the waterfront to explore the history of the area (Escanaba was, and still is, one of the most important harbor stops on Lake Michigan) as well as catch the sun fading over the peaceful town.

As I was exploring the exterior of a small lighthouse there on the peninsula, I heard some splashing followed by giggling. I followed the sounds behind the lighthouse to a small secluded area of the coastal beach where a mother was sitting watching her two daughters, one a toddler and the other elementary-school age, splashing each other at the edge of the lake. Mom was sitting on a blanket with the remains of a picnic dinner and they were all enjoying the moment.

I was captivated and had to snap off an image or two. I pretended to be taking photos of the lakeshore and horizon, then I would swing my camera down and snap a couple of the family. As any street photographer can tell you, candid portraits are inspiring, but difficult to capture and it takes some trickery and finesse; I used both. I took a couple of images and continued on my way. This image is still my favorite. From the blue color of the lake to the out-of-focus high grass in the foreground to the way the little girl is standing, just waiting for something to happen… it’s a great shot with a great story.

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Tuesday Viewsday VII

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Michael Vujovich

For some reason, I just can’t seem to get motivated these days. Do you ever have that? It’s like writer’s block, but with everything you do. I don’t want to clean the house, I don’t want to write blog posts, I don’t want to edit photos or build websites… I just don’t want to do anything. It’s times like these when I just have to force the motivation. Once you get the ball rolling, then it’s hard to stop until the end. I also find it helps to give myself a reward when I do something productive like ice cream or a nap.

This past weekend, I forced the motivation to finish up the hardwood floors and windows in my living room. I’m only a few coats of paint away from being done and finally moving furniture in. The fiancé is beside herself (I surprised her for Valentine’s Day) and is already planning the final layout of the room. I’m just happy to start using my hands for pushing a shutter button and running a Wacom tablet than scraping old varnish and sanding away old paint.

Quick Sidenote: Whitney Houston
While most of us can remember where we were when 9/11 happened or Kennedy was shot, Saturday, February 11, 2012 probably will be just another date that is mentioned in passing. It’s unfortunate that so many great hearts, minds, and voices, like Whitney Houston’s, go so gently into Thomas’s dark night and so early in life. I am not sure what caused her death and I’m not sure I care to know, but one thing remains true, no matter what: she was a powerful force in music and she was taken too early in life. I hope that she finds peace wherever she ends up; I figure Heaven’s choir just added a new soprano to their ranks. I know there is, and will be, enough said about her over the next few days, but as a musician, I have to say that while the date of her death may be just another day, her voice and her collection of songs will last well beyond my lifetime and many more to come.

Thunderstruck

Thunderstruck

Thunderstruck

If you told me in high school that one day my best friend will one of the best DJ’s in the United States, I would have said you were crazy. Zoom forward and here I am: the official photographer for one of the most popular DJ websites around, White Folks Get Crunk.

This little music blog, started by my college roommate, DJ Real Juicy, in our small house on Bradley Avenue, has blown up in the DJ world over the past few years as has Juice’s career. His résumé includes playing sets with Mighty Mi, opening for Steve Aoki and Flo Ride, and playing gigs all over including Cleveland, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Las Vegas, and even Finland!

As friends, Juice and I support each other in both of our crafts, music and photography, so I love trying out new techniques when working on WFGC projects. One of the main areas of the WFGC website is the online merchandise store, but I felt that the images of the shirts hanging on hangers or laying on a floor weren’t really compelling and wouldn’t draw the user in.

I’ve only had a little commercial experience shooting products before, but I wanted to try my hand at shooting some more “action” shots of models wearing the merchandise. In the midst of developing the Crunk Girl of the Month feature on the website (that story is for another time), I was also able to shoot some great images for the merchandise area.

I shot this image of one of my favorite models, my good friend, Amanda, as the first Crunk Girl and we featured her in the brand new Thunderstruck t-shirt that Juice was promoting. I own one of these bad boys myself; I love this shirt because, unlike most of the WFGC merchandise, the design is very “rock n’ roll” and not as “DJ/club.”

With the t-shirt design as my guide, I decided to go with a location that was a little more urban so we headed into the Warehouse District in Peoria and found a little alley off the beaten path. The golden hour was upon us and I had Amanda try a number of poses, but this one quickly became my favorite.

The bokeh on this image is really nice; the focus is still on Amanda, but we have some industrial, rusted elements in the background, which adds a nice touch to the overall feeling. The colors in the background are also contrasting compared to the black of the shirt and they tie in well with Amanda’s blue jeans as well. I also love the way she is posing – nothing says “badass/sexy” like hands on the hips, weight on the back foot, hips shifted, and looking out like she doesn’t care about anything or anyone.

For the photographers out there, here’s a quick posing tip: placing weight on the back leg/foot will make models slimmer in frame.

So what do you think? Got a comment or critique? I’d love to hear what you have to say!

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Tuesday Viewsday VI

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Michael Vujovich

Let me be honest with you; I’m writing this post on Monday and I am in some pain today. No, it wasn’t the Super Bowl that killed me, even though the lack of humor in the commercials almost did, but rather the 12 hours I spent sanding the hardwood floors in my living room and hallway. For anyone who is interested in undertaking this DIY project, I warn you – it isn’t for the faint of heart. After much cussing and a couple of packages of sanding pads for the floor sander, I prevailed; I have upgraded from a padowan to a full Jedi master when it comes to DIY home improvement.

Then we had the Super Bowl yesterday. As I said before, the commercials were a bit disappointing overall compared to previous years and Madonna… well… I’m just going to say that she isn’t my favorite performer to play the halftime show. The game wasn’t bad, but without one of my teams (Bears or Steelers) playing, I wasn’t all that invested. I shared the experience in good company; my buddies, Big Steve & Kenny, always invite me over to enjoy the big game on a large screen projection TV where I can not only watch it without drunk people stumbling into me, but I can actually hear the plays as they are called and the commercials.

So how was your weekend? Any good Super Bowl stories out there? Feel free to share them!

CTO Soldier

CTO Soldier

CTO Soldier

I love writing the Tuesday Viewsday segments every week because it forces me to look at my earlier work as well as remember where I was, what I was doing, and how I created an image. Some days, like today, I run across a gem of an image and I forget that I had ever shot something like it.

I snapped this shot, entitled “CTO Soldier,” during the meetup of the Peirao Group, a local photography group made up of mostly high school seniors and a few other local photographers. My good buddy, Dave Vernon, and I tagged along to this meetup which featured the talented David Price, of Black Olive Photography, and some awesome models, strobes, and a great location. Oh yeah… and it was Halloween. Not just the theme of the shoot, but it really was October 31st.

While I was standing inside one of the barns on the farm where we were and waiting for my turn to shoot a photo of the talented Hannah (see that image), I saw this “soldier” in full garb and makeup, holding a pistol (it’s a prop), watching everyone photograph Hannah. With the doorway behind him lighting up his face, I decided to try something I hadn’t before with strobes: blowing out the background and lighting the face separately with a strobe.

To be honest, I was very inspired by Joe McNally’s “Hot Shoe Diaries,” which I had read only days before. There is a beautiful shot that Joe did with soldiers with water up to their necks and a beautiful orange CTO glow to the scene.

I approached this young man and asked him if I could have him stand in the doorway, leaning to one side, with the gun up by his face. He, of course, participated. I snapped a few test images and made the decision that his face need a little more light and a little more warmth. Enter the full cut of CTO gel on my flash and BAM! The image you see here is the final version. Between the planning and the look on the face of the model, I don’t think I could have done much better.

Let me know what you think – good image or not? What do you like or not like about it?

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