Photos: Elaine Johnson/Dewayne Truitt Wedding
By Jacob Vorpahl | June 29, 2009
These are photos from the wedding of Elaine Johnson to DeWayne Truitt, which took place May 9th, 2009 at Epping Forest, Jacksonville, FL.
Click to see a gallery of photos from the wedding.
Topics: Photography, Photos, Wedding | No Comments »
Back from a long hiatus… with a cupcake!
By Jacob Vorpahl | June 22, 2009
Well everyone, it has been a long time since I updated my blog, I know. I also know I still you owe that review of the 28″ Westcott Apollo softbox from way back when. Don’t worry, it’ll come, along with some more updates. Just because I haven’t been posting anything doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy. I’ve done some side projects for my work, some personal stuff, and then a wedding which, with the permission of the couple, I’ll have posted here in a gallery in the near future. Thanks to everyone who has still been stopping by. Literally thousands of you have checked out the articles on the umbrellas and softboxes, so it appears there’s a real desire out there for more information, which hopefully I can provide. Keep checking back and I’ll some more stuff to whet your appetite.
But along with the other things I’ve been working on, occasionally I just find a reason to pull out my camera. One such instance was a month of two ago when my wife, Sarah, came home from a cake decorating class she decided to join. She loves to bake things and make fun desserts so this was right up her alley (plus I was glad to see her take interest in a hobby- she’s always so busy with teaching). So Sarah comes home with some cupcakes she made and I was definitely impressed. However, one stood out (for me) among all the others.
Click here to read about how the shots was setup (hint: it was very easy)...
Topics: Flash, My life, Photography, Photos | No Comments »
All white seamless background: lessons learned
By Jacob Vorpahl | March 12, 2009
It was probably almost a month ago now that I had the time and energy (at least I thought) to try and attempt Zach Arias’s all white seamless background tutorial. I love the effect and I wanted one more trick to add to my bag, and surely something as stylized and simple looking as this would be a great addition. I should have realized this wasn’t on sure footing when I came down with a fever.
I’m not going to reteach Zach’s tutorial because he quite frankly does a good job of it already. However, I will share some things I learned that might keep you from either wasting time or going down a dead end road. In the end I was only able to come out with two images, neither of which are portfolio worthy in any aspect. But it was a learning experience and it wasn’t a costly one. I’ll gladly take that anytime. Let’s a look at somet things you might want to be aware of:
This is how I felt during this whole process.
Click here to continue reading...
Topics: Flash, Photography | No Comments »
One in 8 million
By Jacob Vorpahl | February 27, 2009
A coworker of mine recently brought to my attention a feature run by NY Times.com called “One in 8 Million”. It’s a video series of interviews with people around New York City who you’d probably never talk to or take any interest. So what they do is they record an audio interview with the person and then dub it over a series of black and white photos detailing thier life, or at least certain aspects of it. It’s quite impressive and is very slick and well done.
If you’re looking for a little bit of inspiration or just want to view some good photography presented in a very classy manner, click the link below and check it out.
One in 8 Million - NY Times.com
Topics: Links, Photography, Video | No Comments »
Still alive.
By Jacob Vorpahl | February 26, 2009
Hey all. Sorry for the delay in updates. Life has been busy as of late.
First, I’d like to thank everyone who stopped by the blog in the last month. Even though I haven’t posted anything in almost 30 days, over 2000 of you came by and checked things out. Thanks. Oh, and honorable mention goes out to the 5 iPod Touch owners who decided to stop in on their small screens.
Second, I’m going to get that review of the 28″ Westcott Apollo Mono softbox up REAL soon (I promise). I’ve been using it a lot lately in my photography and it’s been a real treat. I recently picked up a Photoflex reflector holder/boom from B&H to go with it and it’s given me some nice placement options. It’s not the smoothest of setups but it gets the job done. It’s been especially helpful in getting lights in position for product/macro photography.
I recently tried out Zach Arias’s seamless white background tutorial and I’ll have a write up on that as well. I’ll give you a brief taste though: he was right, if you have a small room to do this in, you will get VERY frustrated. I definitely found some limitations and I’ll share those with you when I get it posted.
Life has been intesting though. Since I graduated in December I’ve been having meetings and exploring career options and some things are finaly coming to fruition, but I’m still praying over all my options. I don’t want to short change myself or whatever God’s plans for me are, so keep me in your prayers if you’re a fellow Christian.
Keep checking back, though. More stuff is on the way shortly (including another “Stories of the Homeless” piece that I have sitting in the pipe).
Topics: My life | No Comments »
Another quick comparison: shoot through umbrella vs. bounced /w cover
By Jacob Vorpahl | February 2, 2009
Last week, after I put up the post comparing softboxes and umbrellas, I had a lot of people here and in the Flickr Strobist group mention how much they appreciated the information as well as how useful it was in helping them decide which modifier to go with. I had planned to do a much more thorough comparison, which will be saved for the future when I have time to do it right, but what was most helpful was the pictures comparing the spill and seeing how the light was controlled with either the softbox or the umbrella.
One reader asked if I could put up a picture, using the same set up, of a reflective umbrella bouncing the flash inside, and I thought that was a pretty good suggestion. But, I think I’ll take it one step further. To answer another question floating around forums, “What umbrella should I get: a shoot through or bounce?”, today we’re going to compare the spill and spread of light when using a white satin “shoot through” umbrella as a shoot through as well as a bounce, plus we’re going to throw in another covered umbrella just cover all of our bases. Click to see a comparison of shoot through vs. bounced umbrella lighting.
Topics: Flash, Photography | 3 Comments »
Umbrella vs. Softbox: a quick comparison
By Jacob Vorpahl | January 29, 2009
After receiving my new Westcott 28″ Apollo Mono softbox for Christmas and putting it to work for some family shots, I was curious to see what uses it would provide me over a shoot through umbrella/brolly. I’ve been using umbrellas for a while and I’ve gotten some nice results, but I’ve always had a problem with spill, mainly because I’m doing all of my shooting in a small room in my house so it’s very hard to control the spill from the brolly (note to self: make more money, buy larger house, create dedicated studio).
I’ve also seen many questions asked around photography forums about what light modifier people should buy: a softbox or a brolly. Many replies go for the umbrella: it’s cheaper, more versatile (shoot through or bounce), and it’s a whole lot easier to transport and set up. That’s true. They are cheaper, by far, in comparison to softboxes and I can’t do two different techniques with my softbox (bounce or shoot through). However, the great thing about the Westcott Apollo Mono softbox is that it us on an umbrella-type frame. So, it’s just like carrying around a large umbrella (the kind you buy to stay out of the rain) and it sets up in only a little more time than a regular brolly. What is important, though, is the different quality of light you get from each and that’s what we’re going to look at today.
Click to see the comparison between an umbrella and a softbox.
Topics: Flash, Photography | 11 Comments »
More photos from the holidays: my nephew Trevor
By Jacob Vorpahl | January 21, 2009
These are the last group of photos that I’m growing to put up from my holiday vacation up north (at least I believe these are the last). This post right here is devoted to my nephew, Trevor, who I am partially convinced is made of metal. I mean, the kid can run straight into the corner of a table with his forehead, bounce off of it, rub his head a little bit, then keep on going. The only time I ever heard him cry was when he missed his mom. He’ll probably be one heck of a football player in his teens.
Click here to see more photos of Trevor
Topics: My life, Photos | No Comments »
Initial shots with the Westcott Apollo Mono 28″ softbox
By Jacob Vorpahl | January 13, 2009
When I was in North Carolina with my wife and some of her family, I had my first chance to set up my new Christmas present and test it out. I really wanted to take some pictures of Sarah’s sister’s newborn baby Hayden and his mother, Angela, was more than willing to offer him up (what mother wouldn’t be?). So I pulled out the Westcott softbox and we went to work. I would like to say most of the flash settings for the SB800 inside the softbox are 1/4 power, but I don’t know that for sure. We were so focused on getting baby Hayden to sleep that I honestly lost track of what the settings were. The cute little guy, who usually didn’t open his eyes that much, would not close them and sleep and therefor kept moving around, namely putting his hands in the way of his face. Cute to watch, but frustrating when you want to get a shot with his face in it.
Topics: Flash, Photography, Photos | 2 Comments »
Back from the holidays to share some goofy pictures
By Jacob Vorpahl | January 8, 2009
The holiday break had to end sometime, unfortunately, and that day was Monday. I was going to write something as soon as I got back last week, but I was still in “vacation mode”, which is synonymous for “lazy”, which is exactly what I’ve been.
Christmas was good for me this year. I got some nice gifts from family and friends, but one gift in particular might pique your interest: a Westscott 28′ umbrella softbox from B&H. Sarah asked me what I wanted for Christmas and we had set a certain amount to spend on one another. Well, I figured I’d never shell out $130 for a softbox on my own, but since it was Christmas, and I got a chance to chose what I wanted that money spent on, I treated myself to something nice. I’m going to post a review of it here in the next couple weeks after I get chance to put it through a good amount of testing. I must say, though, so far, so good.
I was fortunate enough to graduate in December, so now that means I have to go out and find a real job. Not that I don’t like my current job, it’s just not a career occupation (that’s what most college jobs are for, right?). So, the job hunt begins. But, in the meantime, I’ve got pictures to take and lots of editing to do.
I’ve got a few pictures from my vacation that I’m going to put up now, just for the heck of it. They’re not going to win me any awards, but, I had fun taking them. Eventually, hopefully I’ll get to a level where I can goof off taking pictures and still take great photos. There’s always the future, right?
Click to see more pictures of shadows and jumping. You know you want to.
Topics: My life, Photos | No Comments »