Day 30 - Project 365

"Thirty on 30" - Happy Birthday Ange!

My best friend Ange turned 30 today. I'm 1200 miles away and couldn't be there to celebrate. Although, if I would have planned a tad bit better I could have been. (sorry Ange). Anyway, I decided that my gift to her would be to immortalize her special day by making her the theme for day 30. At first I was undecided at what I could shoot. I must have went through a dozen ideas before finally coming up with the "sky writing" idea. I didn't want any building, trees or obstructions in the shot as my goal was to get a seamless sky and the effect that the viewer has no idea how high up I was. WIth no reference to the ground I think I achieved that. Shawn and Lety (day 22) joined me in my half cocked adventure. I grabbed the 8 foot ladder, a broom, all my gear and we headed out to the only area within 2 miles that wasn't obstructed with either trees, buildings or people. Due to the large ladder, we took the truck and my car. Shawn and Lety stopped at the gas station and so kindly did NOT get me a redbull.

I thouroghly enjoyed the anti gesture and kindly informed them that I would "remember this"

We pull up to where just a few months ago was a school. We set up in the grass. AB800 about 10 feet from ladder set at 8:00 will be the back light while the AB800 and Soft box set at 4:00 will be the main light. Since my back we facing the camera I wasn't worried about the ridiculous beard ruining the "dork" effect.

I had made up this costume during a last minute shopping rush on Halloween of 2010. I hadn't dressed up since I was a kid. Since I was going to Moonfest in West Palm Beach I figured I'd look more retarded not dressing up as it was a halloween festival. While in goodwill I thought of being several different characters from a hobo to a 70's college football coach with tweed sports coat. It was October in Florida and it still was hot and muggy out. I decided that I'd use Steve Urkle as my inspiration as I could get away with the dork look and not over heat. I grabbed the whole getup for under 10.00 great deal.

Meanwhile back in "on-topic land"…

I had regular clothing on until after I tested lights and framed the shot. I shimmied up the ladder and attempted around two dozen different poses. Everything from falling off the ladder, to reaching as far as I could, acting like I was fixing a mistake. Shawn and Lety laughing the entire time. The last few shots with me on the ladder I tried to tip the ladder just enough so it would fall, but slow enough to capture it without blur. I achieved the sharp focus yet couldn't get my face right. I didn't want to keep trying because setting up again was a pain. I also was scared of twisting an ankle!

We finished up with a few goofy group shots for the Facebook page. An hour total and I had the shot! Now, Editing was a different story, I had gone into this idea with the knowledge and know how of the lighting and camera. However, I had never made fake clouds in Photoshop. I had no idea how to pull it off. I had enough confidence in myself and the vast amount of tutorials on the internet to attempt the shot without practicing first. I had gotten home and had only 30 min before Shawn would be back from the store with the ingredients for Tacos! Turns out that all I needed was 15 minutes. I had found a brush in photoshop that emulated the clouds that I had in the picture. I even used an existing cloud for part of the Y. Didn't think it would be that easy! Shawn picked me up shortly after I had finished the clouds. I packed up my tablet and my laptop and off we went.

I was suppose to make fresh corn tortillas to go with our tacos. however, Erika had made a stop at the Mexican Store and picked up fresh flour tortillas. I guess she didn't think I could pull it off in the short time we had. When we arrived at Erika's with the door open, the TV on, COD paused and a glass of Kalua and Milk on the table. It appeared that she had left in a hurry. Like in one of those creepy movies! Luckily she just ran out to get something for her kids and knew we were on our way. Lety decided to make guacamole as an appetizer. I played a game of COD against Shawn and after I got my ass handed to me more times than I'd like to remember, I finished the edit. The party was completed with both Brian (Day 9) and Lia (Day 19). Together we finished the night off with drinks, laughs and a whole lot of teasing about how long my beard is getting.

Tomorrow is Day 31. This marks the 1 month mark of my project! I'm proud of myself thus far and am having more fun than I expected. 11 more months to go, It should be a wild adventure. - Michael

Lighting:

AB800 Beauty Dish Camera left (8:00) not boomed but just jacked up about 9 feet high. about even with my shoulder. 3/4 power
AB800 Medium Soft Box. Camera right (4:00) 3/4 power

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