Amber Rhodes: Singer/Songwriter and Lovely Model

I mentioned on Thursday that I was busy and doing all sorts of things that were delaying my Equipment Review. Still promise that it will continue soon. But in the meantime I wanted to share my session with Amber Rhodes (www.AmberRhodes.com) in my studio. I don't know Amber's music, yet, but if she needs a break from the recording studio she can certainly work in the photography studio. Amber is a photographer's delight. Gushing with personality and a natural beauty with perfect skin, she simply took over her own session. She marched in with three outfits and a makeup kit, spent ten minutes getting ready in her first outfit while I did a lighting test with her guitarist, and then marched into the studio already laughing ... a quick wit and ready smile already in high gear.

One of the hallmarks of professional experienced models is that they require very little direction and have a huge range of facial expressions. Amber is every bit of that. She posed. She twirled. She bent, jumped, twisted, turned, plopped down. She gave the 'Girl Next Door' smile, the sultry look, the happy, the pouty, the come-hither. I got to shooting so fast that I popped a circuit breaker twice and got black images where the strobes hadn't recharged.

Amber is an American singer/songwriter out of Lexington, KY. She writes country, rock and pop. She is on the radar, so watch out for her.

Oh, some technical details: all images shot with Canon 1DsMIII and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens. Lighting is two Bowens QUADX 3000 generators and five heads. Post processing consisted of LightRoom conversion with some resizing, levels, and color temperature. No retouching ... none ... not a spot removed or skin smoothed. Amber is a natural beauty.

You can see about 60 images in her gallery at my website at http://dwightmccann.com/Glamor/AmberRhodes05222008.html. Let me know what you think.

And once again, I promise to get back to my equipment review project soon.

Be Safe!

Dwight

Always Have a "Plan B"

I had expected to receive my 1DsMIII from B&H of NYC yesterday. When it didn't show up I checked the tracking information (always available if you are registered at B&H and place your order online ... in fact, all your orders are available online this way as mine are since about 2002.) Anyway, there was the problem, "Train derailment in Vernon, California" and a notice that delivery has been rescheduled. So, it'll be a day late, not all that unusual for UPS. That's why I am a FedEx shipper.

As it turns out I won't be able to get it today, either, as I have to leave UCSB about noon to cover the weigh-in at the ShoXC Elite Challenge fights on Friday at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California, and our deliveries are always in the late afternoon. I guess it's OK since I won't have time to try it out for a few days as I have another event at the casino on Saturday.

I ride one of my bicycles almost every day. But I don't ride just anywhere ... I ride along the Pacific Ocean at Coal Oil Point in Goleta, California. As you can see, it's kinda pretty. I've riding it for about six months in a 7-1/2 mile loop and I've been watching it get prettier and prettier as the mustard has been starting to bloom. I finally couldn't resist bringing in a camera and getting a few shots. These pictures were taken with a Canon 5D and 24-105mm f/4L IS with a polarizing filter.

One thing that has become ever so clear to me since becoming a professional photographer ... ya' gotta' have a Plan B because so many people and companies simply aren't reliable. And even if they are only unreliable 1% of the time, if you do a lot of business then you're going to get hit by them. So, my Plan B for getting my 1DsMIII on time as promised right up until the last second by UPS (even though they knew about the derailment) was to go bike riding.

So, I am actually hoping to post again this evening with images from the MMA setup but as I want to post regularly and know I may get overtaken by events, I thought I'd throw this out this morning as a kind of Pre-Plan B.

Be Safe