Throwback Thursday - History of Models: My First Time Shooting Humans! Preston Castle June 4th 2017

Relax!  I was shooting with a camera, silly!  

I'm doing a photoshoot this weekend and it's been awhile since I did a studio shoot so I'm very excited and was reminiscing about my various times shooting models.  I thought I would do some posts with my "History of Models" because I'm weird that way. 

The first time I actually tried people photography (other than sports photography) was kind of by chance.  I had went to Preston Castle in Ione - which is a really cool place with a somewhat dark history.  I went because I like "abandoned" stuff, historic stuff, architecture, buildings, and art and this fits the bills!

But when I got there, the organizer (of a "Photographer's Day" event) had arranged for a couple of models to be there for the photographers to shoot if they wanted to.  So I got in line and decided to have some fun!

I'm just going to put a few of my favorites here, but for the whole story and all the pictures of these lovely ladies and this beautiful place, CLICK and also HERE!  

This is the lovely Sarah, who was the more experienced of the two models and was much in demand by the pretty large group of photographers.  So I was to only shoot her at the beginning in the basement and then a bit later when I ran into both girls being shot elsewhere. There are more pictures of the castle and grounds on the original posts too.

You really should click through to see this amazing castle and the rest of the photos of these two lovely ladies!  CLICK and HERE! 

I'm going to continue through my "History of Models" for a bit although don't you worry!  I have plenty of birding and nature adventures to share too!  Not to mention returning to Yellowstone to finish my amazing trip.  :)

xoxo

Shooting the Living at Preston School of Industry Ione, CA Part II

Welcome back!

In my last post, I was telling you all about Preston Castle in Ione and how I came to FINALLY start learning how to work with models.  This post continues my adventure but, instead of focusing on the Castle itself, it's going to contain what I feel were my best photos of the day.

Caveat: Some of the photos/poses were somewhat or complete duplicate of another shot and I couldn't really tell which was better.  So I split some of the photos between posts so as to avoid too much duplication in either post.  So you may experience some deja vu (or deja VIEW)! And actually, there are still some similar photos in this batch...some with a wider view or different edit - but in all cases, a different photo and all taken by yours truly.

And, just to help you remember where these photos were taken...

This is one of those similar photos I was talking about.  In my last post, you will see a photo that I took where a couple people happened to walk in front of the window just as I snapped my shutter. 

I asked Aubrey and Sarah to recreate it by holding hands in front of the window while I shot from two rooms over (sitting on the dirty floor I might add!)

While shooting Aubrey in the ambient light of the basement, I loved how the light shown on her face and thought it would be perfect for a "low-key" treatment.  So I shot this photo and only had to adjust the darkness around her a little in Photoshop Elements 11 (yes, I need to upgrade!).

Tim, the photo docent, helped me with this as I having some trouble with the light when Aubrey wasn't facing the window.  He had me adjust my ISO to 1600 which helped with the shadows.  The graininess works for a lot of these photos, although I wish had had remembered to readjust it when we went into the brighter rooms upstairs.

 More similar photos.  But I love how Sarah just literally matches the walls.  And the walls themselves, along with the angles of the rooms, are amazing!

 I edited Sarah with some luminosity to make her slightly ghost-like.

 I like to fool myself into thinking that these next two photos of Aubrey could be from a fashion-spread.  haha!  This one is for an accessories line...

 And this is a high-fashion ad for boots!

And I just love this one! Again, there is one in the last post almost exactly like this. But I had had her turn her head just a little and I think that makes the picture better.  

Original edit (different colored clothing on reflection in last post)

 This is one of my favorite shots of the whole day.  I was sitting on the floor and asked the girls to skip down the hall towards me.  I added some motion blur into the back to enhance the motion of their hair, feet, and clothes.  Flove!

This is a closer shot of a portrait-style shot in the last post.  I actually really like the way that the line of the banister leads to Aubrey's face and the direction in which she tilted her head (her idea) mimics the lines in the holes in the wall.  By that one thing she made the photo better!

 Here I shot Aubrey through holes in the wall as she sat in the next room.
You know I love my gimmicks!

 The ambient light in this room was very blue.  I like it and the way the sink point up to her.  Again, using your props and surrounding to enhance the object of the photo.

Me trying to get my damn Helios 44 lens to work!  Love the soft focus it created though.

 Ditto!  I had trouble getting that Russian knockoff to focus.  Just to be clear, I'm talking about the Helios lens.

 Steampunk vibe in High-Key edit.

I confess that I saw another photographer shooting a model in the infirmary and it gave me the idea for these last few photos.  She had her model's back to the window and was shooting down on her face, which was lifted up to catch the light.  But I saw the 'light lines' on the floor and asked Aubrey to sit mimicking the lines.  I then tried to catch the line on her eye while keeping the rest of the photo interesting as well.

 Definitely called for a "Low-Key" edit!

But the natural light looks just as awesome, if not better!

My unending thanks to Sarah and Aubrey for making a great day amazing.  Especially Aubrey who let me follow her around and ask her to do some really awkward things!

xoxo

Nikon D3300

A New Adventure! Shooting Models at Haunted Preston Castle in Ione, California

So a funny thing happened last weekend.  
Well, let me backtrack just a bit.  
There are two things I've been wanting to do:

1) Learn how to work with models and how to shoot portraits, and

2) Visit beautiful but creepy Preston Castle in Ione, California.

Luckily, I had the opportunity to attend a "Photographer's Day" at Preston Castle with my friend Rodney.  We were very excited to put our (very different) photo skills to the test in this gorgeous building.

So you can see what I'm talking about, here is a panorama shot that Rodney took with his IPad of the front of Preston School of Industry (AKA Preston Castle).

I would like to link to the history of the school, but alas, there doesn't seem to be one website (including the "official" Preston Castle Foundation site) that has all the stories and facts.  So your best bet is to Google it and read the different pages and blogs that might catch your interest.

But one thing that is pretty much agreed upon is that the Castle is haunted by at least one or two spirits.  One of the restless spirits is almost certainly that of Anna Corbin, a housekeeper for the school who was violently murdered on the premises.

As some of you may know, I do consider myself to be somewhat "sensitive" to supernatural/spiritual things.  That being said, I did have a couple of weird instances in the Castle and I don't have a logical explanation for either of them.

When Rodney and I first arrived, we headed to the basement to scope it out while most of the other 30 or so people stayed on the first floor.  I spent a few moments just walking around the various rooms with an eye for what might make an interesting picture.

As I walked into a room with barrels lining the wall and turned towards a closet in that room, I was briefly stopped in my tracks by a feeling of intense fear.  I actually left that room immediately and didn't return to even check out the rest of the rooms around it.

After reading over the last couple days about the murder of Anna Corbin, I realize that her bludgeoned body was found somewhere in the immediate vicinity of that spot where I felt that intense fear. Accounts differ, but all agree that somewhere in basement near the kitchen is where she was found.

Honestly, I let that feeling-that I had felt so briefly-color the photos that I was first taking in the basement.  Including the creepy shower and toilet room that are strangely located just beside a huge recreation room and separated only by glass windows and half walls!

(Yes, creepy effect added by me in that last photo.  Haha!)

Anyway, I knew a little bit of the history before going in, but to be honest, when I found out that they had provided a couple of models for us to shoot if we chose, all thoughts of spirits went out of my head. I have some "model shots" in this post, but I'm mainly going to focus on the Castle.

The next three photos are in the basement on the opposite side from the scene of the murder. 

In the first one, I was trying to capture the cool roof, but I'm not sure it translates very well. 

I sat on the floor in one room to get this shot with the cool doorways and arches.  In a happy coincidence, another photographer had just taken a photo and they walked in front of the window just as I snapped.  

I thought it kind of looked like a forlorn hug while looking out the window hoping to escape.  I actually liked the idea so much that I used it in a couple of my model shots.   

Judging from the desks (a lot of antiques are still in the Castle) and a chalkboard on the wall ahead of them, this was a schoolroom.  Seems a little weird to have school in the basement, but what do I know.

These are my models bringing my creepy ideas to life. 

This is Aubrey. And this was my first shot in tricky lighting.  My main regret from the day was I do prefer to shoot handheld with ambient light (mainly because I don't have much in the way of lights) so I had to bump my ISO to 1600.  A lot of my shots are a bit too grainy for my personal taste, but it does work for the creepiness. 

And this is Sarah. 

After finishing in the basement, we headed back up to the first floor.  I had seen a beautiful blue room (Which I like to call the Blue Room) and I definitely wanted to get some shots in it.  

When Aubrey, Rodney, and I got there, Sarah was already there with another photographer and they were taking some shots by the window.  I asked if it was okay if we came in and shot as well and she asked if she could also have Aubrey in her pictures, so we agreed to share space and models.  

While she and Aubrey were getting on the same page, I got this photo of Sarah looking out the window.  It's one of my absolute favorites of the day.  But I have so many favorites!  lol

I really like the contrast between the two girls.  

I really love this picture...but maybe not this edit.  When I was taking the shot, I told Aubrey that it looked like a different girl in the broken mirror.  So I changed the color of the clothes in the reflection to try to get that look.  What do you think?

For this next shot, there was another photographer, Laurie, who was working with Sarah and having her walk down the hallway.  I asked if I could get some shots too.  She said she was done and so I asked Aubrey and Sarah to walk together, again because I love the contrast in their looks.  Perfect combination of soft and strong!  And their coloring is reflected in the yellow, white and browns of the hallway.    

Lines are always a great addition to photos.  They can be used to direct the eyes to the main subject or provide contrast to it.  I also like that you can see the "Exit" sign between them when I first I was a bit upset that it was "ruining" my photo!  But now I call this Exit. 

Aubrey on the stairs.  Again using the lines to direct the eye to her face.  

I believe there was another ghostly encounter here which manifested in a "blown" photo with a shadow of Aubrey to my right of her.  But I was not using a flash and, in order for the shadow to be where it is, a photographer with a strobe would have had to be standing pressed against the wall directly beside me.  

There is a logical explanation (another photographer's strobe) that doesn't explain the illogical placement of the shadow.

Only my friend, Rodney, was on the landing of the stairs with me and he was behind me and just a little closer to the wall.  Plus, he checked all his photos and didn't take one at this moment.  So I feel like there is still a ghostly possibility. :-)  

Aubrey's clothes had a steampunk vibe to them which I tried to capture in some poses and places.  
I told her with the sunglasses on, she looked like a mad scientist, which we put into use later in some playful photos. 

I kind of wanted her to get in the tub, which she was game to do, but a docent overheard us wondering if we were allowed (they had told us not to sit on any of the antique chairs, windowsills, tables, etc.) and quickly told us "please don't!".  So we did the next best thing?  

I honestly couldn't get the colors right in this room and so turned this into a sepia-toned black and white with a little extra ghostly illumination on Aubrey's face.  

Library

Dormitory (The colors gave me a little trouble here too.  But there will be a photo in the next post which I really like and I was able to get the colors right.)  

Awww, here's my mad scientist!  Lol!  Love this shot. 

Infirmary

Only the first two floors (plus the basement) were open to the photographers and looking through the ruins of a  cordoned-off room you could see why!  This is looking up to the third floor and it pretty much was open all the way down to the basement. 

This beautiful (or creepy YMMV) doll was in one of the furnished bedrooms.

It was very close in the Castle and quite hot despite some windows being opened.  We had four hours access to the Castle, but I was only inside for about 2 before I thought I might faint.  

Rodney and I walked around the back of the Castle (running into Laurie again!) and found the Cornerstone Time Capsule,, which was buried in 1894, opened in 1994, and then some items added to it and reburied.  I suppose it will be reopened in 2094.  I'll probably be dead but there could be a breakthrough in modern medicine.  

And we will appropriately finish off with a beautiful panorama of the back of Preston Castle courtesy of Rodney!

Such a fascinating and beautiful place!  I can't wait to share more of my photos with you!

xoxo

Nikon D3300