Project 52 Mike Moore Project 52 Mike Moore

Classical CD Cover / San Diego Commercial Photographer

This was assignment 11 for Project 52 Pro. Using Black Angels by American composer George Crumb I was to make this CD cover for the string quartet. You can listen to this piece for yourself right here. Below is my interpretation along with behind the scenes...

If you dared to listen to the music I linked above you may understand where I'm going with this shot. My thoughts were to use the graceful lines of the string instrument to bring your eye right into the bow with torn up horse hair coming straight down into the image, like an exclamation point. Below is the BTS...

I used window light but I had the violin about three feet from the window and the window was covered with two cards. Approximately 2/3rds of the window was flagged and the sunlight spilled over the top. You could say I used the window light as a strip light...

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Project 52, Personal Mike Moore Project 52, Personal Mike Moore

Vintage / San Diego Lifestyle Photographer

assign3-mike-moore-tues.jpg

This was a photograph made for Project 52. Still Life with a Flower...

Parameters are:

  • It should not require more than 20″ x 20″ of set space.
  • The objects should be simple and NOT shiny. (Please no chrome or glossy black.)
  • The objects should be something you can find around the house, or office, or neighborhood.
  • There should be at least 5 items in the shot.

Special Note:

The still life must include a flower. Fake or real. The flower does not have to be the main focus of the shot, and I do NOT WANT a bunch of flowers to be the shot. In other words, the client wants a flower for a reason, we add it into the mix of other items. It may or may not be the focus of your shot… that is up to you, but the image MUST contain a flower.

The book was written in 1886: The Complete Home, by Mrs. Julia Wright, the glasses are my wife's from the early 1970's, the pocket watch was made in 1925, the bronzed baby shoe is my wife's grandfathers and the spoons...they are just old.

How did I light it? Diffused window light coming from the right with a flag to keep the background dark and a flag in the very front. White card on the right angled just enough to create a small highlight in the upper left of the spoon on the far right and also to bring out the detail of the side of the book's pages.

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Food, Project 52 Mike Moore Food, Project 52 Mike Moore

Behind the Scenes / San Diego Food and Lifestyle Photographer

BTS

BTS

This shot took a little longer than anticipated. I didn't shoot tether this time so I viewed every photograph through the camera. Lining up each utensil in a straight line took a little time. This was a fun shoot and I will definitely re-shoot this one to balance the photograph even more. 

What did I learn? Shoot tethered, always...Use a fresher looking tomato...bring my white cards in closer. Overall, I'm happy with this one. Learn and grow!

And the final image...

ISO 200, 50mm, f/9.0, 1/125 (Initial metering read f/8 but I bumped it up 1/3rd to f/9 to render more white on the background. f/10 was too much, I tried it. f/11  really blew out the highlights...

ISO 200, 50mm, f/9.0, 1/125 (Initial metering read f/8 but I bumped it up 1/3rd to f/9 to render more white on the background. f/10 was too much, I tried it. f/11  really blew out the highlights...

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Personal, Project 52 Mike Moore Personal, Project 52 Mike Moore

New Website...New Blog

What a year this has been! 2013 was a period of growth in my craft as a photographer. Because of Project 52, Don Giannatti and the encouragement from other photographers from around the world, I see light and shadows differently than ever before. I pushed my limits weekly with real life projects.

February started with The Stranger project (I have a funny story to go along with it) that really pushed my comfort level. What? I have to walk up to a stranger and ask them if I can make a portrait of them? 

With every project I completed and heard the critique, I grew and developed. Things I never saw in the viewfinder I now see. Different angles, different composition, different lighting...and so on.

We are on Project #42 and I've done all but three. I made the commitment to do them all but life just gets in the way sometimes. And that's okay.

I have a great support group with Project 52 but I get the greatest support from my amazing wife, Daina. 

She is my rock...period. 

So, here's the reward for some tough work this year...a new website.

And here's to continued growth!

 

My first tearsheet...

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