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.

Photo by Mike Calanan

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

The opening keynote attendance was outstanding

What impressed me the most with being involved in the day was the feeling of camaraderie I felt among the attendees and volunteers. Just like a Photowalking Utah outing, new friendships were being made and old friendships renewed.

As I am writing this, plans are already being put together for next years event. With the experience the team gained from the inaugural session, next year’s event promises to be bigger and better.

Jeremy Hall giving away doorprizes

And finally, huge thanks have to go to the team of volunteers that came together to host the day. Led by PhotoCamp coordinator Jeremy Hall, this group worked hundreds (if not thousands) of hours to make it all happen. It is this “giving back” attitude within the Utah photographic community that makes be feel so blessed to live where I do.

To keep up-to-date with the latest PhotoCamp Utah information, bookmark the website at photocamputah.com.

Adobe – SmugMug Pro – Pictureline – O’Reilly – BorrowLenses.com – Pixels Foto & Frame – PhotoShelter – AdoramaPix – International School of Photography

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 20th
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)

We are asking that each photographer carry at least one film camera. A digital is acceptable as a 2nd camera.

As always, these events are open to any photographer regardless of skill level. Feel free to drop me a note at rich@leggnet.com with any questions.

As for me, I’ve made arrangements to borrow a Nikon F5. Yes you read correctly, a Nikon :)

p.s. If you are planning on coming (or even just thinking about it), drop a note in the discussion over in the Photowalking Utah Flickr group – Link

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

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!

These classes are open to anyone who has a desire to expand their photography knowledge. There will be info useful to photographers of any skill level.

For those who plan on attending, please head over to the Photowalking Utah Flickr Group to put down your RSVP.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/5.6, ISO 100

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens – 1/1250 second, f/4, ISO 200

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