Author Archive: ken

We are in the process of remodeling our kitchen. So far we’ve been without a kitchen for about 2 weeks and we probably have another two weeks to go. So we’re going to get carry out for Thanksgiving. How great is that? Major bummer. We were going to have family coming in town, but it looks like that’s not going to happen. 🙁

Here is what our kitchen looks like right now.

Totally unrelated to that, last Friday I was testing some lighting setups and captured some neat photos. I know these images are VERY different, but I was just experimenting with some concepts. On the first photo, I wanted to shoot using red gels and I was hoping Tamara brought a red dress. Since I came up with idea on the spur of the moment, I didn’t give her any idea I had this in mind. So, we had to improvise. Her red dress is really large piece of material called Fantasy cloth. It’s normally used for backdrops.

A more conventional shot.

If you’ve been following this blog, you might remember that I did a car shoot for Bussard Automotive Performance back in July. Brandon, the co-owner of the business, submitted the photos to Popular Hot Rodding Magazine for their Hometown Heroes issue. It turns out that all three photos were accepted and two of them made it as finalists. One car, the Dodge also got the “Picture Perfect” award.

Anyway, it was a fun shoot and we’ll probabaly do it again next summer.

1965 Dodge Cornet

2002 Ford Focus

1964 GTO

OK, I just finished a project for Fort Wayne Newspapers Pet Star contest. I shot photos of the 12 finalists for use in a calendar. There were 10 dogs and 2 cats, all of which were absolutely adorable. While I have shot pets from service animal letter as part of family portraits, I haven’t shot animal portraits before. While it was certainly challenging at times, it went pretty smoothly. Also, I love animals so I thought it was fun. I posted 3 photos below.

Now, before anyone gets mad or yells at me for not including their pet, I just picked 3 animals randomly and these are not in any order. I don’t have time to post all 12 because I need to be working on the proofs and I have  a ton of other photos to edit. Since I want to keep the blog updated every Monday, I just picked three photos so you have an idea how they turned out.

All the animals were true champions in my opinion and I can reallly see why their owners love them so much. 🙂

I had a really fun shoot last Friday (Halloween) at the Columbia City Haunted Jail. It was my intern Barbara, Amanda, Tamara, and the owner of the Jail whose character is called Deimos. We got a bunch of fun and spooky photos. One problem with shooting in an environment like that is space (or lack of). Because the place is really a series of passageways, there’s not many open areas to setup lights or to even shoot.

But anyway, we got some cool shots.

Amanda looking absolutely PSYCHO in the bloody kitchen.

Amanda screaming as Deimos attacks Tamara.

Tamara and Amanda on the stairs.

Tamara on the stairs.

A shot of the set. My back and Amanda shooting in the kitchen. Photo taken by Barbara Mendez.

It was a really fun way to spend Halloween, and thanks to everyone who was involved in the shoot.

Well, I’m glad you asked. Last week I was in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. I was hired to shoot photos of some commercial grade playground equipment. It was a long drive (about 8 hours), but we got some good photos. Since there was not power available for my lighting gear, I had to bring portable power. I usually use a battery based power system. However since I was shooting outdoors, I took the plunge and bought a generator.

I had to be very selective about the type of generator I bought, due to the power requirements of my lights. Because of the delicate electronics inside the lights, they need VERY clean AC power. Most generators produce noisy power that could fry my lights. The generator I settled on is the Honda EU2000i. It is light, quiet, and powerful. It produces about 2 kilowatts of power, which should be sufficient for my needs.

Yesterday I shot some senior pictures. Since most of what we shot was on location, I got a chance to use the generator again. We got some really cool shots at Franke Park. I’ll post a couple of photos when I go thru the proofs.

I’ve been in Chicago the last couple of days. Unfortunately I was only able to take a few photos. My wife needed to attend some meetings in Chicago so I decided to tag along. I was excited about wandering around downtown Chicago with my camera. Unfortunately I’ve spent much of my free time sitting in my hotel room editing/retouching photos for a catalog. The ad agency needs the photos ASAP, so there goes my wandering Chicago. 🙁

Chicago is very cool place to visit. I did get out one afternoon and got a couple of shots.

The top photo was shooting towards Navy Pier from the upper level of the Field Museum. The other photo was taken from just outside Soldier Field shooting towards the northwest.

I decided to put together a little FAQ based on questions I get asked by my clients.

1. What kinds of photography do you shoot?

That’s an easy one to answer. I shoot photos of people, places, and things. I love to be challenged in what I photograph and in creating unusual images. My experience has taught me how to deal with all kinds of adversity in many different environments.

2. Do you shoot on location, or just in the studio?

While much of what I do is studio based, I am equally at home on location. I have shot in a wide variety to places while I can’t list them all (there not enough space), a few of them include the basement of the Columbia City Haunted Jail, an abandoned crack house in downtown Indy (at night, no less), and Homestead High School’s football stadium (also at night). Since my studio lighting is portable I can use it anywhere to create the right mood for my clients.

3. Do you retouch your photos?

Most of the time. It depends on the client and what they are looking for. For portraits, I will typically get rid of temporary blemishes. If a client wants more, I do as much manipulation as they want.

4. What style of photos do you shoot?

Hmm, I try not to have a set “style”. Since I shoot a large variety of subjects, I can adapt the way I shoot specifically for my client. In other words, if you want photos shot in dark gothic style, I can customize the lighting and use the correct camera angle to get that look. So if you tell me what kind of photos you’re looking for I can usually create it.

 5. Someone told me you shoot “tethered”, what does that mean?

In the studio and often on location my camera is wired to a notebook computer and digital projector. This allows us to review the photos on the computer while we are shooting in real time. Even though it’s more work and is more expensive, I love shooting this way because it let’s my client see what they are getting. When we are finished with a shoot, the customer is confident that we’ve created the image he or she wants. 

6. I noticed that your photos are very different how do you come up with ideas for your shoots?

While some of my images were created as an outlet for my creative urges, much of my work is done in colaboration with my clients. They have a rough idea for a shoot and we work on bringing to life. I always welcome suggestions and am open to trying to get a creative and unique photo. I encourage my clients to meet with me before scheduling a shoot so that we can go over any ideas they might have.

7. As one of the newest studios in Fort Wayne, how were you able to be so sucessful so quickly?

That’s tough to answer. I think I have the right skills for the types of images I create. If you notice, I do not have any wedding photo galleries. While I have shot weddings, it is not a market I want to enter. I also think that I have a pretty good understanding of the properties and qualities of light. Since photography is all about using light to create images, it’s a skill that comes in pretty handy. Also, I see things with an unique perspective and try to put an unusual slant to images. My wife thinks I’m just strange. 🙂

Anyway, those are some questions that people have asked me and I hope I’ve given answers that give you a glimpse of what I do and how I work.