This month’s Photowalking Utah event is coming up on Saturday March 29th at 4:00 pm. We will be riding TRAX (Salt Lake City’s light rail system).

We will begin our journey at the University of Utah and head West toward our final stop near the Gateway. We will be getting off at various stops to photograph and then catch the next train. Depending on how many stops we get off at, this will take around 2 hours.

As always, these events are open to photographers of all skill levels, from brand new shooters to seasoned pros. Our main goal is to get together and have fun.

We will be meeting at the station adjacent to the Moran Eye Center at 4:00 pm. This is located at 65 Medical Drive in Salt Lake City (there is plenty of parking at the eye center).

For more information, visit Photowalking Utah’s community page on Flickr at www.photowalkingutah.com or email me at rich(at)leggnet.com. If you are planning on attending, please comment on the thread on Flickr and/or comment here.

See you all on the 29th!

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/7.1, ISO 100

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/15 second, f/4, ISO 200

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/8, ISO 100

As I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, internationally recognized portrait photographer Henk van Kooten will be hosting a one-night seminar in Salt Lake City on March 25th. The main subject will be “How to Create your Own Creativity”. It only takes a few moments on Henk’s website to see how creative and unconventional he is with his photography. He is able to take somewhat radical ideas and introduce it into his portrait work to create stunning results.

This seminar is not only for portrait photographers, but really any photographer that wants to improve the creativity in their work. It doesn’t matter if your main subject is landscapes or weddings, Henk will inspire you creatively.

Doors open at 6:30pm and the seminar starts 7pm precisely. It lasts until 9:30 with 2 breaks. The price of the seminar is $85 with a maximum of 40 students. To sign up, email Kenneth Linge’s International School of Photography at: intsop@gmail.com. In the mean time, be sure to check Henk’s work out at www.henkvankooten.com.

The International School of Photography is a sponsor of LeggNet’s Digital Capture. I have attended several of their training seminars over the past year and value their mission of sharing information and training photographers. I will be featuring their programs from time to time on this site.

Jessica and Andrew were in the studio last night for a Rocker Chick photo shoot. With the models playing their parts very well to the accompanying 80′s rock on the stereo, we had fun shooting it.

This shot was lit with a single key light to the right of camera and a red-gelled hair light in the back left. The shadows created by the angled main light worked well to create the mood to the image I sought. To further enhance this feel with some extra punch, a cross-processed effect was added.

Now, I’m off to process the rest of the images from the shoot to add to my portfolio.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/9, ISO 100

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/160 second, f/4, ISO 100

Here is a video of last month’s Photowalking Utah event at the University of Utah’s Moran Eye Center. As always, big time thanks go to Jeremy Hall for shooting and editing video for the events.

One of the most enjoyable times for me to photograph is when I am doing a stock shoot on location. I like the challenge provided by setting up a realistic looking scene in a new place. An important item to remember when setting up a scene is not only to focus on the main subject, but plan the background as well.

In today’s shot of Holly at the health club, I placed Tyler in the background doing curls with a dumbbell to better communicate the theme. Combining this model placement and a shallow depth-of-field not only adds depth to the image but increases the ‘realism’ of the shot.

Another example of this technique is demonstrated in last month’s laboratory photo shoot. By placing models Ron and Julie working on the bench behind Michelle, the scene becomes more interesting.

One drawback to adding background people is a bit of complication to the lighting. In the health club shoot I set a low-power monolight aimed specifically at the background model(s). I set the exposure for this light at approximately half f/stop below the subject exposure. I wanted them to pop, but not overpower the main subject.

This technique can be utilized in recreational photography as well. By paying attention to the background and either adding or removing people, the impact of a shot can be greatly increased.

View these images in my stock portfolio: Health Club – Laboratory

The monthly Photowalking Utah events have become quite popular. Last month’s event at the University of Utah’s Moran Eye Center attracted over 50 photographers. Thanks to everyone who supported the outing.

This month’s event is tentatively scheduled for Saturday March 29th at 4:00 pm. The plan is to have the group meet at the TRAX station located at the University of Utah. We will then ride West toward the Gateway, getting off at each stop to photograph then catching the next train.

We have applied with UTA for the necessary permissions to bring 50+ photographers onto their trains. We did this to minimize the “FREAK OUT” factor that the railroad cops might have when we showed up photographing everything in site.

I am posting this now (prior to permission being received) so everyone can mark their calendar. In the event that we don’t receive permission in time, we will push this event to next month (April) and come up with an alternate location.

As they say in show biz, “Stay tuned for details…”

For more information on Photowalking Utah, please visit our Flickr community page at www.photowalkingutah.com.