Posts Tagged ‘The Hot Shoe Diaries’

This past Saturday, the crew got together and did two photo shoots with two amazing models, Jane and Stacey, on Treasure Island. Some of you might recognize Jane, as she was a contestant for Miss Asian American (MAA), winning Miss Photogenic for the 2009 MAA. Stacey on the other hand, has a ballet background that we most definitely will be putting to use in the next photo shoot with her.  Treasure Island, named after Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel of the same name, is an artificial island in California that sits in the Bay between San Francisco and Oakland accessed via the Interstate 80 freeway. It is home to some 1,453 residents, and is a popular tourist attraction as you can see sea lions on the shoreline and also get a very nice view of San Francisco along with the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge (Interstate 80).

There are many condemned and decrepit buildings with warning signs of asbestos strewn upon boarded up doors and broken windows making for an urban explorer’s wet dream and, in our case, a great site for urban portraits.

Joe McNally and Richard Bui
I, along with seven hundred other people, had an amazing opportunity to meet and learn from world renowned photographer and lighting extraordinaire: Joe McNally. In the world of photography, he is considered by many to be a trailblazer and trendsetter in the area of off-camera lighting and portraits. Having owned both of his books: The Moment It Clicks and The Hot Shoe Diaries (got my personal copy signed by him), when I saw he would be teaching an all day workshop on lighting (Location Lighting Techniques Tour) here in the Bay Area, I jumped on it immediately.

I am a big fan of Joe McNally, owning both his books: The Moment It Clicks and The Hot Shoe Diaries for both it’s photography insight and humor. Joe has recently redesigned his website and blog (great new look Joe!) and shot a promo video for it. Check out this Chase Jarvis (another great photographer) video parody:

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