Location.. Location.. Location...

Good Morning Everyone and Happy Sunday... These weeks seem to be flying by especially when you are in a class that you really enjoy. This week I wanted to touch on a topic that came into play for a current assignment in Photographic Design. The topic is Location.... Now depending on what you're planning on photographing will depend on the Location... but not every location is the right fit.  Sometimes the studio is the best place to create your magic. The one assignment that comes to mind was from this past week was Audio Interpretation—Storytelling.  

 We are all students and we are all still learning, but sometimes you need to think outside the box for your assignments.   I chose a song by R.E.M: “it’s the end of the world as we know it” (but I feel fine).  There are so many different views on how a photographer could shoot this, but you have to incorporate everything about the song into one image. This isn't easy. I had scouted a few places and I ended up back at a place where I have photographed before. It’s called the Philadelphia Coal Pier; it’s been abandoned for years and has graffiti all over the remaining walls. This was the best place; I got all my ducks in a row and set up my shoot.  The challenge for this type of assignment is that you really need use symbolism to get the message across and not be so literal about it. Again thinking outside the box this was the direction I decided to go. I could have chosen several different locations.

Some really cool locations came to mind and they will be done, but for this assignment and for the "shock value", this location worked the best for me. If I had done this in a playground or in a studio I don’t feel that the impact or the message would have gotten across.  I don’t mean to be long winded today, but I have so many ideas and well my… ADD is kicking in… so just remember when you’re planning a photo shoot, take your time and choose the best location that will give the viewer the best possible vision of what you want your images to portray, this way you will create a long lasting memory in that persons mind and they will remember you and your work. 

Below are a few photos that I took for this assignment:

 Photos by Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

 Photos by Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

 Photos by Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

 Photos by Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

Photos by Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

Again if you have any comments or questions please feel free to ask.

Enjoy Your Sunday and Photograph Something Everyday!

Sunday Ambassador~ Wayne

Photograpic Design

Good Morning and Happy Sunday... Today I wanted to touch on a few things that I have been going over in PH135 Photographic Design. The Principals of Design where we use Lines, Balance, Shapes, using Positive and negative space and camera angle to create an awesome photograph.  Over the past week, I have been searching for places and things to photograph that fit the assignment that I had to complete.  I went to several different places, I was down by the Delaware River in Philadelphia in a few of the river front parks and I found an old coal pier that is no longer in use and has graffiti all over. That place was amazing. I also went to some really great spots to take photos. On Wednesday I drove 2 hours to Hummelstown, PA, near Hershey PA to the Indian Echo Caverns, where I took some more photos for class as well as going to the  Antique Automobile Club of America where I spent a few hours.. 

The Image below was taken at Penn Treaty Park, located in Philadelphia right on the Delaware River, I chose this landscape and famed it to incorporate the lines of the rocks on the shore to the Ben Franklin Bridge, as well as use the negative space ( the sky) to help the viewer move around the photograph flawlessly. 

Photo taken By Wayne Salat

 This Photo was taken at Pulaski Park, it is also on the Delaware River not to far from Penn Treaty Park, with this photograph, I attempted to use the negative space and draw the viewer in with the angle and lines of the dock as well as using the water as negative space to try and create a balance. 

 Photo Taken By Wayne Salat

 Taken at Indian Echo Caverns this was quite a challenge, as there is little to no light. I attempted to use the lines of this lime stone as well as different angle to make this more appealing.

 Photo by Wayne Salat

 The old Port Richmond Coal Pier, has been defunct for many years, its not an easy place to find, but when you do, its a photographers dream place to shoot. Below I used the lines and framing to help make this photograph appealing to the viewer. 

Photo By Wayne Salat

That's all for today, Please feel free to make comments and ask questions.

 Enjoy Your Sunday and Photograph Something Everyday!

Sunday Ambassador~ Wayne

Increasing your portfolio without breaking the bank or paying out of pocket.

Good Morning and Happy Sunday Everyone! Today I wanted to talk about a great experience that I had last weekend. I recently joined a group called the Philadelphia Glamour Photography Group on Meetup.com. I joined at a time when they were just about to have their huge meet up that they have every year at Riddley Creek State Park, in Media, PA. The meet up was on a Sunday, close to 160 Models, Photographer's and MUA's showed up.  This whole thing was new to me, I was a bit overwhelmed as I didn't know any of the member's yet, but I did go with a friend, her boyfriend and her kids. That made it a bit easier when they arrived. Other than being overwhelmed, I was really taken back, by how inviting, accepting and friendly everyone was. They had a small ceremony for one of the members that  had recently passed and had planted a tree in his honor. This was very moving, being able to be a part of this was truly amazing.

Now on to my point... Many of us want to increase our portfolio, but you don't want to have to pay a model or you may not have the money. This meet up was free to everyone involved. The MUA's were paid for their work, understandable as they need to replace their makeup. Models brought many different outfits and then it was like a feeding frenzy. Models changing outfits, changing locations several times during the day. All with over a 60 or so different photographers asking them to do different things. Every model will get copies of their photographs, usually in digital form. (I'm assuming), but this was an opportunity to really expand your portfolio with several different models with different looks and not breaking your bank or paying out of pocket. There are many other groups that do similar meetups, some charge depending on the event, but I suggest that you take a look at this option and find  a group in your area or even start one of your own. So get out of your comfort zone and start taking a chance!  I did and I will never regret it.

Below are some of the photos I took during this meet up.

  Photos taken by Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

  Photos taken by Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

  

                                                      

   Photos taken by Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

                                                              

Photos taken by Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

Enjoy Your Sunday and Photograph Something Everyday!

Sunday Ambassador~ Wayne

Current Project...

Happy Sunday Everyone! I hope you had a great and productive week. Today's blog wont be a long one, I just wanted to talk briefly about personal projects. Many photographers have a personal project that they choose to do for their own reasons, many are unsolicited.

I had mentioned in a previous blog post about the current class that I have Digital Image Illustration. The final assignment is to produce a surreal image for a fake company that is "Green" and what could happen if we abuse our natural resources. While initially it was just a school assignment, it put so many different ideas in my head, which lead to my personal project.

My personal project I think can and will speak for itself, but the reality is... we could end up in this situation if we don't step up and take action. My personal project has me photographing then doing so radical edits to images of people in different settings wearing gas masks.

This is a work in progress below are some of the newer images I have created this past week.

 Photos By Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

  Photo By Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

 Photo By Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

  Photo By Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

  Photo By Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

  Photo By Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

 Photo By Wayne Salat of Flash Mob Photography Network

Sorry for such a short blog this week, life has been a bit crazy

Enjoy Your Sunday and Photograph Something Everyday!

Sunday Ambassador~ Wayne

Photographing Children is never an easy task.....

Good Morning and Happy Sunday!!  I hope everyone had a great week. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of photographing a friends 3 year old son. This wasn't the first time I have photographed kids before, I have two of my own kids and a niece and nephew and have done several other children’s sessions prior.  So I wasn't as surprised when we got of to a very rocky start.

I went to the session with my business partner, and he had never been to Valley Forge Park before so he met us at around 9:30 AM to start the session. I have met Hunter (my friends son) many times before, but he was never the subject of a photo session, needless to say, what happened next really didn't surprise me or Harry (my business partner).

Since Hunter had never met Harry before so he was a bit stand offish. After about an hour Hunter finally calmed down and crying stopped. Hunter is a very energetic 3 year old, who show tons of love especially to his mom. Finally we were able to get the shots we were looking to get and it did take some time, a lot more time than the scheduled session was planned for. 

By the end of the day, a 1 hour session turned into a 3 hour session. Hunter became Harry’s best friend, and we used that to our advantage to get some amazing photos of him. Photographing children is never easy, it takes patience and someone who has the love for photography to capture the images that are envisioned. I love photographing children in an environmental setting, it allows them to be themselves and allows me to capture those special photos that would never be taken in a studio setting. It also helps create memories of the moment for everyone involved, which I find difficult to achieve in a studio setting.

 Photos by Wayne Salat and Harry Fish of Flash Mob Photography Network

 Photos by Wayne Salat and Harry Fish of Flash Mob Photography Network

 Photos by Wayne Salat and Harry Fish of Flash Mob Photography Network

 Photos by Wayne Salat and Harry Fish of Flash Mob Photography Network

Enjoy Your Sunday and Photograph Something Everyday!

Sunday Ambassador~ Wayne