Down and Out

I've finally decided to move my blog onto my webhost at francismitra.com. This blog will no longer be updated. To view my recent works and keep up to date with my portfolio, please visit my new blog located at FrancisMitra.com/Blog

Senior Year Photo Part II

About the Shot

A lot of fun with this photo. This was my first time using a wide angle lens (the 10-22 EF-S), my first time exploring an abandoned house, and the first time me and my friends managed to get together in one large group without conflicting schedules.

I wanted the photo to have a surreal tone to it. In fact, I actually finished the final photo with the idea of NBC's Heroes on my mind. Most of the "surrealness" (for lack of a better word) was achieved through darkening the shadows and adjusting the saturation and warmth of the photo. The wide angle perspective of the 10-22mm camera lens also lent a nice hand towards establishing the overall mood.

Also, for those wondering, the background graffiti that reads "Make A Change" was already there when we found the building. The letter "A" was actually written as the symbol for anarchy. I ended up altering this in the final product. A little censorship on my part ^_-

Technical Details

As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, I did not use any artificial lighting for this photo. The light source came from a large window overhanging us from behind my camera. The light was fairly weak, but enough to get the job done. I had to use a slow shutter speed (I believe it was around 4 or 5 seconds) to compensate for the lack of light. For anyone out there that is familiar with cameras, you should know that the slower the shutter speed, the greater the tendency to for a camera to pick up motion blur. Due to this, I ended up with numerous trash photos where one or two faces were too blurry to be used for the final product. In the end, I ended up using three photographs to compose the image in photoshop. I used the best photo from the set of images as the base and chose 2 different photos to combine into the first photo. If you look at the images below, you can see the aspects of the original image that were altered, and the parts that I took from the other 2 images to combine into the original photo.

Senior Year Photo

To commemorate senior year, me and my friends are purchasing a single page in the yearbook to dedicate a giant oversized picture of us. While most people tend to favor a collection of candid photos or personal letters, we eventually settled on a single photo after weighing multiple options. Personally, I find that a single full page photo carries a certain air of professionalism.

I don't usually include a large copy of the photos I publish online, however since there's so many people in this picture, I've made an exception. Just click the photo below to see a larger copy.

The original concept for the photo was to be shot in a hotel room, however I eventually went against this idea. This photo was going in our yearbook and I wanted kids to look at it a few years from now and say "shit... where the hell are they?". I also wanted to leave a lasting impression, something more than just our faces. When I found out about the abandoned house I immediately set out on quick scouting and found a sealed door with the words "Make a Change" sprayed onto it. Needless to say, this house seemed to fit my criteria fairly well.

The photo was shot at an abandoned house which for the most part resembled something you'd find out of one of the Saw movies. The house was huge, containing 3 floors and hallways of empty, torn down rooms. Obviously, there was no electricity running through the house, and without a flashlight, we were forced to resort to my Zippo lighter to pave the way. Most of the rooms were covered in graffiti, however there were several rooms that remained untouched and were just empty spaces of broken walls, glass, and mirrors. I found these rooms to be pretty interesting and hopefully plan to head back there in the near future.

I originally brought two flashes, an umbrella, and a softbox with me to manage the lighting for the photo, however the window opposite of the location actually managed to provide attractive lighting and in the end I decide to shoot "natural". Unfortunately, the light wasn't enough and I had to set the camera to an extremely long shutter speed, resulting in several blurry and useless pictures. But more on that later, I'll be doing another update soon on the composition of the photo.

Details:
Location: Abondoned house
Equipment: 10-22 EF-S Lens, Cactus Wireless Shutter Release
Models: (From left to right) Jasmine Wright, Jonathan Williams, Gianella Balda, Shawn Lawrence, Diana Allen, Alain St. Louis, Tatiana Ligonde, Francis Mitra, Xavier Roberts, Jessica Diaz, Adam Batalla

Back From Hiatus

I admit it, I've been slacking. It's been a good two months since I've updated my website. Don't get me wrong, I haven't been on my ass entirely these past two months. As far as photography work goes, I'm still handling photo shoots and accepting appointments... I'm just too lazy to post my new work on my site.

I actually have a lot of backed-up updates that have been accumulating these past 2 months. I'll be getting to them as I see fit.

Here's a few self portraits I took earlier this month. Nothing special, just dealing with boredom really. You can find my first self portrait in my July archive [click here]. All of the photos were taken using the Cactus wireless trigger.

Nikki's Sweet 16

My latest set of photos are from Nikki's "candy themed" Sweet 16 party in Brooklyn NY. For the most part, the party was completely planned out and orchestrated by Nikki's mother, Janelle Morris. Janelle is a party/event planner (Jazzy Affairs). Her website can be viewed at www.jazzyaffairs.com

Nudie Jeans Photo Shoot Details

Credits:
Models: Danielle
Costume Contribution: Carlton George and Janice Henry

I've always been a fan of Nudie Jeans, however I just can't justify the $200+ price tag that comes with them. Hmm... perhaps I'll just throw them onto my Christmas list this year and cross my fingers that Santa will feel generous.

The photo shoot consisted of over $600 worth of denim, courtesy of Carlton and Janice. Unfortunately, none of the jeans were Danielle's size, so several photos were taken with her... not wearing the jeans at all (ironic isn't it?). In any case, I had to take a few shots of her actually wearing the jeans of course. We had to go for a more rugged/"boyfriend jeans" look due to the size issue. Lucky for me, she pulled it off pretty well.

10.19.08 Photo Shoot Details

These are sample images from a collection of portfolio pictures I shot for student actor Karl Thwaits. The photos were all done around random parts of Elmont, Long Island.