PMP Shoot 2 at Cardio Fit Sports Club in Rancho Cucamonga, CA

“Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.”

--Erica Jong

Whoa Nelly!  Where have I been?  Oh yeah, school full time (carrying 18 units this quarter – I know, insane), the kids – being a single parent is no joke but thank God for grandma, and hustling work because you have to eat and jobs are scarce.  Oh, and all of that other stuff you have to do just to live.  This blog is important to me though and I shoot something with my Canons all of the time so I have to make time to post.

So, here is a post.  The following young women in this post are Taylor Matheny, Alicia Sorensen, Ashley Godby and a young woman whom I was never introduced too.  Moreover, this is a shoot for that dude again.  You remember (rather, I hope you remember), the Power Massage Pro thing.  This was the second to last shoot I did for the guy.  I know…

I do not think I ever showed these shots to anyone outside of that dude.  Again, it was a trade shoot so I retain copyright thus, I can show these to you.  I shot this at Cardio Fit Sports Club, 9950 Foothill Blvd, Rancho Cucamonga, CA.  I would give you their web site but it is wacked so no need.  The gym is cool though.  And before I forget, check out the blog, Angy’s Tea Room.  Though I have not kept up with the blogs I like to follow, this one is really cool.  I am not a “fashionista” but I like her blog because I like her casual style of photography.

Ok, these first two shots are of the unknown young woman.  If you know her, tell her I said hi.  Nothing else I can say about that or her except that the reason I do not know her is because that dude did not want me to know – no outside collaboration in his camp.

This is Taylor Matheny.  I did not do anything outside of minor touch up stuff like contrast and level correction.  Now if and only if, there is some sort of blemish – I remove it.  I know that is not “reality”.  However, this is not documentary photography either.  I have been doing some of that because of a class that I am in right now but this is not that.  I photographed this back in October 2010.  Just so you know, none of these women had any “blemishes” that I eliminated.  I was just stating the facts about how I do this.  I digress.

Next photo is Ashley Godby.  Again, the only thing I did here was the minor touch up stuff.

Finally, Alicia Sorensen's photo which is a bit different from the previous two.  Look at the blue color of the wall behind her then look at the same wall in Taylor and Ashley’s photos.  When I started to put the photos together, I started to play with Photoshop and altered stuff.  I will not bore you with the details (unless you ask me).  But I got a bit carried away.

Here is Alicia again, looking regular with the minor touch up stuff.

Now here is the same photo with me putting on my mad scientist hat and having fun with Photoshop.

The rest of the photos feature me doing Photoshop stuff.  Again, if you want to know what I did, just ask.  Otherwise, check them out – they are cool.  Granted, the photos can stand alone on their own merit but Photoshop is a lot of fun.

Ok, for the purest in the world these last two are back to minor touch up stuff.

That is it and the second to the last of the Power Massage Pro shoots.  I know, “how could you possibly shoot again for the weirdo?”  It is my addiction – photography.  I have to fight internally any opportunity to shoot when I know the shoot is not in my best interest.  That is the “how”.  And I shot it all with my Canon Rebel XS using the 18-55mm lens.  Though it was for that dude, it was a lot of fun shooting these young women.

Blog with you later.

PMPro Info, shoot one at Shutterstories in Riverside, Part III

“The important thing is not the camera but the eye.”

--Alfred Eisenstaedt

Ok, here is part three, some behind the scene shots.  These photos are my favorite because I really like cameo shots.  Not all of them are but they are some cool shots just the same.

And before I go, this is another one of the blogs I follow – Cropping Reality.  Ula, the author of the blog, puts up a single photo in a posting – and they are awesome.  If only I could be so Spartan in my approach.  And Ula is in Europe so you get many European shots.  I think you’ll like it:

This was a cameo shot with Sarah Jain, Precious Gilbert and Emily Reynolds all watching the women who were doing there exercise routine in front of the video camera.  I wonder what they were thinking?

Here is Precious and another young lady who’s name I did not get.

Another behind the scenes shot with a lot of stuff going on.  You can see one of the two videographers and the boss fella.  And you get a glimpse of the capabilities of shooting at Shutterstories in Riverside.

Ashley Godby, Janica Polmanteer and Alicia Sorensen discussing their routine is the background for this shot of one of the video cameras.

Here we have Janica, Ashley, Laraine and Sofia Monroe discussing an exercise routine they just completed videoing.

Kama Perry, with her back to the camera, and Stephanie McGill are stretching in preparation for a routine they will work through.

This is a “shallow depth of field” shot focused on one of the videographers with several of the young women in the background.  You get another look at Shutterstories makeup station too.

A “great depth of field” shot of those waiting in the wings for their opportunity to get in front of the video cameras.  The woman in the blue jeans is makeup artist (MUA) Beatriz Munoz.

Alicia and MUA Beatriz are chatting.  I shot this in B/W mode.  I don’t do that anymore.  I learned that I can get better B/W photos by shooting in color then doing post production work to convert to B/W.

A cameo of Janica who was done for the day and back in street clothes.

Alicia’s and the boss’ backside as they watched a routine being performed.

Laraine taking a break – she also knew I was taking the shot.

One of my favorite photos of 2010, a cameo of Stephanie McGill shot in B/W.  We became fast friends and were going to work together (she is also a photographer) but we never had the opportunity to exchange info.

This was an awesome shot of Alicia too.

It looks like a cameo shot but we, Ashley and I, staged this shot – still looks cool.

Alicia again, who knew I was shooting and maintained her demeanor just the same.  What a model!

Like Alicia in the shot before, Stephanie did the same thing by continuing to sit as though I was not there photographing her.

In this shot, all behind the video camera are watching the info shot being set up.  I like this shot a lot.

I catch Stephanie and Taylor Matheny listening to instructions for their video shot promoting the product.

Here Stephanie is acting for me.  She is pretending to be on the phone as I capture her in action.

This is another photo of the video camera with the women in the background not in focus (shallow depth of field).  I just thought this was a cool shot.


That is pretty much the Power Massage Pro initial shoot.  Again, I shot it all with my Canon Rebel XS using the 18-55mm lens.  It was a lot of fun shooting this event.