'Midnight in Paris' School Dance

Two months ago, on March 20, 2013 I was requested to capture a set of images at the International School Stuttgart, Sindelfingen Campus. Their school dance was themed 'Midnight in Paris.' This presented a unique challenge to create a shot or set-up that mimicked the feeling of a night in Paris. I was given a single prop to work with-- a cardboard cutout of the Eiffel Tower. Thus, the shoot needed to evolve from the inside out-- how do you make a cardboard cutout look good and still invoke a feeling of luxury, drama and location?

Step by step the set came together. I was able to borrow a fog machine from one of the students which in turn created that dramatic yet elegant feel of a nighttime haze in the park. The plants were stolen from around the school and the Christmas lights then wrapped around the trunk of a small tree. The map was borrowed from the dance props which had been placed around the lobby. At this point, the kids would have been standing or sitting on a crate covered by a black sheet-- something was definitely missing... After voicing my concern of an unfinished set, and the fact that an old table and chair would look great, a good friend mentioned he had a neighbor whom he could call. It turned out, that neighbor had the perfect missing props-- now we were ready to capture some awesome images.

The above four photographs are just a few samples from that shoot. You can see, that even with no prop-house or missing most of the standard studio amenities, one can create photographs family and friends will truly enjoy.

'Carnival of Venice' School Dance

Continuing the school dance tradition with a more involved theme of a Venetian Masquerade Ball. Here the amazingly talented people that make up the Parent-Teacher group went the extra mile to build a paper-mache boat for the photographic set. The trick was to use the limited space available to create a dramatic and dynamic style of images. Naturally, combining the excellent costumes the children wore with this amazing set-- add some special effects like low-lying fog to cover the ground and some cool lighting techniques and the finale result ends up being something pretty special to behold:

... School dance shoots like this, or as we know them in the US-- usually a Highschool prom-like photoshoot, aren't normally this dynamic. Adding the extra creativity, both from others involved and myself brings about a new and more interesting (also fun) way of capturing cool images!

Ireland in Infrared

Last week I had the privilege to visit Ireland with some friends. The brief three days were spent enjoying excellent Irish hospitality and a wonderful mix of clouds, rain and sun. This trip seemed like the perfect opportunity to capture some infrared photographs with my converted Nikon D70s.  The luscious greens and contrasting blue sky presented some amazing results. Below are two images from Leap Castle, rumored as the most haunted castle in Ireland and Birr Castle, a more traditional design also still occupied by a private owner.