Sunday marked another great outing at the Preston Castle this was the first of three photo days this year. This one took full advantage of early morning light which is always spectacular.
Afternoon At The Preston Castle
We had another wonderful outing at the Preston Castle last Sunday. This session was from 12 noon to 4 in the afternoon. During other sessions I found that the light streams through the windows, and is constantly changing. With midday light most of the windows act like large soft boxes. With the age and deterioration of the windows it makes for some beautiful light.
Visit With Mackenzie
On a recent trip to LA my production manager and I had a few hours before we flew back to Sacramento. So I used the opportunity to work with a friend of mine, Mackenzie Firgens. She and I became friends a few years back when she worked on a project at the Preston Castle in Ione, CA. Whenever the opportunity arises I love working with her. She is such a natural in front of the camera very beautiful. It makes my job so easy.
Color Shift
I've been interested in traditional ways to shift colors in my images. In a time when it's so easy to add digital flare it's hard to come up with ways to shift the image without relying on the computer and committing to a permanent shift in the camera. I like to see the if I can get as close to the final image as possible in camera. For me it keeps me in a tight visual string or style.
To this end, I have been experimenting with shooting through colored glass and objects. I find myself constantly on the lookout for interesting color or shapes to try.
I’m very pleased with this set of images! Christine and I made these a few months back at the Preston Castle. The light at this location is amazing and it always provides ample room to shoot. I found a small piece of red glass that matched her red lips. The glass was perfect for this set. I love the saturation and color it gave and with Christine’s posing this turned out better than I could have imagined!
It’s now part of my bag of tricks.
Nikon D4
ISO 800
85mm
f3.5
1/500
Tamarack
I had the opportunity to visit and photograph Tamarack Lodge (the former high security detention building of Preston School and PYA) in Ione, CA. As you drive up to the Preston Castle, if you continue straight towards the fence and look down the hill you will see this location down behind trees. It's a location that I have had on my "Photo Bucket List" for years! It did not disappoint! Visually it is quite stunning, it's like a movie set left in time, perfect but still very intimidating. I can only imagine how it must have felt like to have been in one of these cells day in and day out. It's remarkable that after only a few years of being abandoned, the deterioration is proceeding at such a rapid pace. I'm very fortunate that I was able to get in when I did to photograph it.
