Road Weary
A road weary musician
A road weary musician
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Oct, 2013Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was made in Raleigh, North Carolina, using an old, but still in use, cinderblock building as the environment.Time
It was taken late in the afternoon or early evening, as the sun was setting. If you look closely, you can see the warmth of the setting sun in the window reflectionLighting
I had pre-visualized this image to tell the story of a travelling musician who is trekking across the country and doesn't know what the future will bring. I call it "Road Weary." Except for some ambient light, such as what's reflected in the window, the scene is lit with a Profoto Pro-7B battpack and Pro-B strobe with a beauty dish modifier. This gives the light quite a dramatic light fall-off. To camera left I have a reflector, to lighten up the shadows on his right shoulder and the guitar case.Equipment
It was shot with a Nikon D800 and a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G zoom at 70mm, hand held at f/5, 1/80s at ISO 100.Inspiration
I love telling stories with my images and I envisioned this scene potentially having been part of a feature article in for example LIFE Magazine back in the late 60s or early 70s, when the country was in a state of flux, the youth movements were strong and the future uncertain.Editing
It's post-processed using Adobe Lightroom and I created a retro look using Nik Software plug-ins by adding grain and desaturating it a bit, to get that old magazine color photo feel.In my camera bag
In my bag I typically have a Nikon D810 for portraits and landscapes and a Nikon D4 for sports and music, with my favorite portrait lens which is a Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G and an assortment of zooms. For location shooting I also pack a Profoto Pro-7B batt pack, a couple of strobes, a reflector screen, the modifiers I think I need and PocketWizard triggers.Feedback
I think it's about coming up with an idea, story or scene and then figure out what would be needed to make it happen, plan as needed and then go out and try it! Practice makes perfect and I think you learn more and faster if you have an idea of what you want to achieve and then gradually try things out until you get where you need to be. Use friend or family and borrow stuff as much as you can and don't feel like you need to hire models, at least not initially and certainly if it's supposed to be an actual portrait of an interesting personality.
