Magazine Assignment: Ft. Benning

Late Friday afternoon, I got a scratchy cell phone call at my office from the editor of RTO ONLINE MAGAZINE; one of his employees was at Ft. Benning for his son's graduation from Airborne School and he wanted photographs for a story. Luckily, I was able to adjust my schedule and was at Airborne Walk at 8:30am, where I worked for two hours on a very cold and windy Saturday morning. Here are a few of the best shots. Note the orange and white towers in the background of the portraits; these are iconic structures for the Airborne community, where trainees are hoisted to the top under their opened parachutes and dropped 250 ft. to the ground, the final phase of training before they leap from "perfectly good airplanes". The father, Jim Deering, was himself an Airborne graduate thirty years ago, which was the reason for the story.

Honor our troops and Keep Shootin',

Kenny

Columbus Ballet: Studio Portraits

Hello, everyone. My studio, in the Rankin Art Center, is a wonderful resource for area photographers. I teach classes there (CSU Continuing Education) and it is available for rent by those qualified to use it. More and more former students and freelancing pros are reserving the studio, and I am impressed with the portraits they produce.

I had the pleasure of photographing all of Columbus Ballet's Nutcracker dancers, in costume, just before Thanksgiving and thought you might be interested in my lighting diagram. The three-dimensional look of the portraits is largely due to the two skim lights, which are a recent addition to our lighting options in the studio.

See more of my ballet portraits here.

Columbus Ballet here.

Register for studio and other photography classes here.

Support the local arts and Keep Shootin',

Kenny

Photography Center Closes

It is with some sadness that I announce the closing of the Photography Center at Rankin Square, after two years. My goal when I opened in Fall of 2006 was to give Columbus something I thought it needed: a gallery devoted exclusively to Fine Art Photography, and a gathering place for serious photographers. Alas, the public showed very little interest in our exhibits, and I discoverd that our local newspaper would rather run full-page articles on American Idol than cover the local visual arts scene, even wonderful exhibits with regional significance, like

" Final Harvest: Truck Farmers in the Deep South", an exhibit we mounted in the Spring of this year. The photographs, by Ga. Artist of the Year Perry Dilbeck, have received great acclaim and were published in a book of the same name, and it is a shame that there was so little interest in our community. There were other exhibits, including "In the Footsteps of Saint Francis" by John Lawrence, photographs taken over a ten year period in Italy, that I am proud to have given a temporary home. To my family, friends and students, CSU art students and faculty who attended the openings or stopped in at other times: You made my experiment a success in many ways; I enjoyed our discussions of the photographs on the walls and your own explorations in our medium.

I am not going anywhere. The Photography Center becomes the Art of Photography by Kenny Gray. I have chosen this name because I want to keep reminding people that photography is an art form, and although my commercial photography will be on the walls, I plan on occasional exhibits of fine art photography as well, mine and others that I admire.

Keep Shootin', and stay tuned,

Kenny

Location Portrait Assignment from NEA

Last Friday I was contacted by the National Education Association in Washington, D.C. and asked to photograph Mr. Lester Mason Jr. , a life-long resident of Phenix City and a retired educator, for the cover story of the next issue of their monthly magazine. We quickly agreed on terms and I was then told that the deadline was October 8th! Why do so many large organizations wait until the last minute to schedule photography? It happens frequently with corporate groups that have events at Callaway Gardens- makes me feel better about my own procrastination. Nothing had been set up with Mr. Mason; I called him and we discussed his various civic activities and it became clear to me that his heart belongs to the children of the Phenix-Russell Boys and Girls Club, a hugely successful enterprise that he started in 1967. So I quickly scheduled a shoot at the club on Monday (my day off), and my son Gabe and I loaded lots of gear from my studio into my van and spent four hours at the club, photographing Mr. Mason in five different situations, most of them involving lots of rambunctious kids- Gabe and I were exhausted afterwards! After editing and adjusting the files, I over-nighted a DVD to NEA headquarters. My contact there sent me an email within an hour of the DVD's arrival: "Kenny, the portraits of Lester Mason are amazing. We LOVE them! Thanks for the great images."

Location photography can be challenging in a creative, organizational and physical sense , and adding a tight deadline adds extra stress, but there are sometimes big payoffs; Mr. Mason is 78 years old and a wonderful man, an inspiration. It was an honor to work with him and I am better for the experience.

Honor your elders, recognize our leaders, and Keep Shootin',
Kenny

You're Invited

Photograph by Kevin Kelly

(click to enlarge)

Hello Everyone. Please join us this Friday at the Photography Center for the closing reception for the Summer Show 2008, an exhibit of my students' best work from 2007-08.

Friday, September 19, 7:30-10:00. Wine, coffee and scrumptious mini-deserts by Mark Testa.

Be there or be square, and

Keep Shootin',

Kenny

The PhotoShow Live, September 4, CSU EBTC Auditorium

No, this photo doesn't show the PhotoShow audience erupting into spontaneous applause; only the results of a live photo shoot just before intermission. We rolled the large softbox (from the Rankin Arts Center's studio) out from stage right and using this one light (White Lightning 600ws Flash) my associate, Nicole, shot me with the audience clapping in the background. Nicole used a slow shutter speed (1/8 sec.) to illuminate the audience using the auditorium's overhead lighting. The slow shutter also allowed the light from the projector to provide rim lighting on yours truly and blur the clapping hands. We were able to show the results to the audience when they returned from intermission.

My thanks to our enthusiastic audience-approximately 90 photographers attended and we had a great time. All attendees got discount vouchers for upcoming classes. BTW, it appears that every class we are offering this Fall will run! Thanks to all area photographers who support our program.

Keep learning and Keep shootin',

Kenny

I'm Back, or "What I did on my Summer Vacation"

Actually, it wasn't a vacation, but another long summer of family portraiture at Callaway Gardens. I created 44 family portraits during the 9 weeks of Summer Family Adventure, in most cases with the able assistance of my associate, Nicole. We try to encourage our family groups to interact in fun ways, rather than pose formally and it usually works well, as in this children's portrait at Mr. Cason's Vegetable Garden. If you have never been, check it out- it's the best place I have ever found for portraits-lots of beautiful plantings, picket fences, porches, chairs and benches for posing, and best of all lots of perfect natural light. This particular spot was chosen to include the giant sunflowers and other color in the sunlit background and I used off-camera fill flash.

Having been away for a while I wonder if any of you still check in from time to time, so here's a test: the next person to post a comment will receive a free one-hour lesson at the Photography Center or a studio sitting.

New post soon.

Have a great fall and

Keep shootin'

Kenny