As a part of my ongoing blog series with Profoto lighting I decided what its like on set – creating good lighting in a short amount of time. The reality of a photographer is that even thought we have a dedicated time slot, it never fails that our time gets cut short. These two blog post show how I used Profoto gear to get the best photos I could in a short time. The first shoot is with the Team Need for Speed Scion tc that is driven by Fredric Aasbo. The second shoot was with the Rockstar / Etnies Ford Fiesta Rallycross car driven by Tanner Foust. More to come…

On set with DC Chavez – Part II Team Need for Speed Scion tC Drift Car shoot

On Set with DC Chavez- Profoto Blog

On set with DC Chavez – Part III Rockstar / Etnies Rally Car Shoot

On Set with DC Chavez- Profoto Blog

Recently I had the opportunity to take the new Profoto Batpac out for a spin. I wanted to create photos with a Bohemian feel on location, as most of my non-automotive work has been in the studio.

I coordinated with clothing designer Kareenas Trends, makeup artist Evelyn Sanabria and models Diana Butova and Klaudia McDonald to make this happen. I am very pleased with the way this shoot turned out thanks to the hard work of everyone involved. Full blog posting soon to come on the Profoto Blog.

Diana Butova- Profoto Batpac Shoot

Klaudia McDonald- Profoto Batpac Shoot

Diana Butova- Profoto Batpac Shoot

Klaudia McDonald- Profoto Batpac Shoot

So I just finished a new blog posting about the new Profoto D1 monoblocs. I give a bit of behind the scenes info on a shoot and lots of technical lighting info. Take a look and let me know what you think!

http://blog.profoto-usa.com/?p=1642

Behind the Scenes - Profoto D1 Shoot

Profoto D1 - A closer look

So after some late nights of working, the first blog post for Profoto is done. This first post focused specifically on the the old vs new zoom reflector and the Softlight reflector.

This post is a very controlled side by side comparison of the lights and light shaping tools.

Here is the link: http://blog.profoto-usa.com/?p=290

Thanks to everyone at Profoto, Samys Camera, Southbay Studios and Stephanie Sawyer for making this possible.

I made this video for Rhys Millen Racing. They take a new Hyundai Genesis Coupe to a Redline Time Attack event at Willow Springs Raceway. This was a test to see how the new RMR parts help to lower lap times with each group of additions. They started off with a stock car, got a base time and then started modifying everything from wheels, tires, intake, exhaust, differential and suspension.

The day was sooooo hectic that we never really had a chance to sit down and record interviews between each session telling about the modifications. I shot the footage during the event, running back and forth from the pits to the track, trying to get a different angle each session. I had to head down to RMR the next day to get a voiceover of what happened and match footage to the audio. Not ideal, but it worked out well to tell the story of the RMR parts.

Here are some of the photos from the release party for the new Forza 3 on XBOX 360. The event was held on the roof of the parking structure at LA LIVE. Lots of amazing cars, good food and good people. Some of the hero cars on display were a tricked out R8 V10- the hero car of the game, a Ferrari California, a Porsche 997, Nissan Skyline R33, Acura NSX, Lamborghini LP640, Corvette ZR-1 and a bunch of other SICK cars.

They had a game simulator with Forza 3 spread out over three screens. The seat even moved around as if you were in the car- every time you hit something it violently shook around like if you crashed in real life. DJ Skee was on the 1′s and 2′s keeping the music bumping all night long. Open bars and free Wolfgang Puck catering does not suck either…

I even got to take home an XBOX 360 wireless steering wheel!

Thanks to SA Studios and Edelman PR for letting me photograph another fun event.

For all the images, Click Here

So last night my buddy Ian, the owner of Learnaboutwine.com, invited me to an event hosted by Max Riedel. Max gave the most informative presentation on why using the proper Riedel wine glass is ESSENTIAL. Both my girlfriend, Nicole, and I were amazed at the way the wine completely changed from glass to glass.  We went from the proper varietal glass, to the wrong glass, to a plastic cup.  I could not believe how the aroma, the taste and everything about the wine changed from glass to glass.  

I am currently drinking Chardonnay out of this glass:  

They describe the glass as “Offering a larger volume, the Vinum Montrachet glass reveals the intensity and the wine’s layers of aroma. The size of the bowl enables the rich bouquet to develop its wonderfully diverse range of aromas, emphasizing the finesse, while minimizing the risk of it becoming over-concentrated.”  Very well said, and wow, the wine is good…  Want more info on all the glasses?  Go here…

Ian set me up with Max to shoot some photos, and here is the result. Nothing like having 5 minutes to set up and 3 minutes to shoot! All-in-all I think I got some decent shots considering…

Max Riedel 1

Max Riedel 2

Max Riedel 3

Max Riedel 4

Max Riedel 5

Max Riedel- The WRONG Glass

Max Riedel Class

Click here for the full gallery.  More to come…

So the company that manufactures the lighting kits I use- Profoto- had an event at Smashbox Studios in Hollywood (AMAZING facility by the way). They were debuting their new Pro 8 Air kits. Without getting too technical, this lighting pack is faster, more powerful and provides greater flexibility than pretty much anything else out there. This is essentially a contest to win $10,000 in Profoto Gear- as long as you can take a photo that demonstrates the 1/10,000th of a second flash duration. Yes, I said fast- fast enough to stop Mindy mid-air. By the way- she is a 5-time Extreme Martial Arts Champion- now retired. More on that later…

I had the chance to put the AIR adapter onto my camera and instantly be able to control, modify and tweak one of 4 Pro 8 Air kits around the studio. They had two strip lights and one of the new umbrellas for us to use at one station and a beauty dish and 25º grid at another. So basically around $150,000 in lights at my disposal.

In my typical fashion, I sat back, watched what everyone was doing and then went COMPLETELY the opposite direction. I can appreciate even, soft white lighting, but I prefer the dramatic. I maneuvered the strip lights vertically and behind the models to act as a rim light. Here are the results:

Mindy 1

Mindy 2

Mindy 3

Mindy 4

Mindy 5

Fashion 1

Fashion 2

Fashion 3

Fashion 4

I am pretty stoked with the way the images came out- especially considering I was fighting with 40+ other photographers for the time with 3 different models and the lights. Met a lot of great people including Crystal Maria- the makeup artist for the event and Mark Rezzonico- the Vice President of the MAC Product Group (Profoto’s parent company). The best image of the day was Mark with his new Nikon point and shoot with the AIR adapter on top:

Mark Rezzonico- Big AIR, Small Cam

More images to come when I get caught up with everything… Til next time…

EDIT- Found a photo of me on the ProfotoUSA Flickr account showing the model what she looked like on the camera:

And me shooting Mindy:

Me n Mindy

Just got done producing a new ad for Motoworks. They wanted to show the diversity of applications in their product line. This is the third ad I have put together for them- trying to keep a consistent look and feel among all of them. All of the photography in this ad is mine from the photoshoots a while back. We wanted someone to turn the page and know right away they were looking at a Motoworks ad. Here is the most recent ad:

Motoworks Performance Ad

I have attached a copy of what their advertising USED to look like:

Old Motoworks Ad

This is my take on the same ad. Keep in mind there is the same amount of information on the ad that I produced:

Motoworks Carbon Ad

Before there was no main focal point- my eye didn’t know where to go looking at the ad. I tried to create a hierarchy with this ad- start by looking at the title, the product, then the magazine testimonials and finally the main text. The client was really happy with the way it turned out- not to mention I saved them money in the process!

The other ad I produced for them was based around their race team and its success on the track. They wanted to showcase the riders and their accomplishments for the season. Here is how it came out:

Motoworks Team Ad

For more info check out Motoworks.com

Seeing as I am still getting used to this blogging thing, I figured I would show some of the other work I do- its not all cool videos, graphic design or even web design. Somehow in 2003 I got mixed up with BPM magazine and started shooting nightlife and party coverage. Here we are years later and still shooting fun parties along the way…

So last night I had the opportunity to shoot photos at a party celebrating the release of Capcom’s Resident Evil 5 for the XBOX 360 at SA Studios in downtown LA. Lots of celebrities walking around including Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray, Rob Kardashian, Mr. Choc from the Beat Junkies, The Lost Prophets and many other “Influencers.” They got to play on one of the 14 consoles set up in the new “Co-Op” mode of the game. Many of them even walked home with one of the new Resident Evil 5 Special Edition Consoles. (Maybe one of these days I’ll end up with one! )

I have played this game since the first one, and its amazing to see the way it has progressed in not only gameplay, but in graphics. I remember many a sleepless nights while I was at Pepperdine with all the lights off and running through Raccoon City- having zombies jump out at me every turn I made. Fun to be involved with the SA Studios / XBOX / Edelman PR crew.

Here are some of the photos. Click here for the full gallery.

Mark McGrath- Sugar Ray

Rob Kardashian

Resident Evil Edition XBOX 360

The Scene

This was the third event I shot for SA- one of the others being the release party of Righteous Kill – follow the link for the gallery.