Ready For MY Close-Up!

I have been photographing a lot of Star Wars themed costumes lately for members of the 501st Legion. I have, of late, been shooting with a somewhat dark & mysterious style that I am kind of partial to.  I wanted to somehow try and capture that same style with my costume. So, I set-up and metered my lights, put up my black backdrop, and got my wife to compose the shots and press the shutter button.

I think she did a great job composing the photos. We took about 30 shots altogether, but the photo on the left was my absolute favorite.  I’m actually thinking of making it into a trading card to hand out to kids at 501st events, as well as make it into a 16″ x 20″ for my home office.

The photos below were runner-up’s. The guitar shot was a whimsical, spur of the moment thing, which is something I would eventually like to incorporate more into my costume photography. Sometimes those are the most enjoyable, and make for a great conversational piece.

 

Star Wars In Concert

The powers that be at Lucas Film had been rambling for well over a year about the possibility of putting together a show that would combine both, film footage of the Star Wars Saga, and the astonishing musical arrangements of John Williams into one magical, musical journey. Being a huge fan of both the films and the music, I thought that this would be something to look into.

In our area, New England, there were four potential shows: one in Rhode Island, one in Manchester, NH, and the other two in Boston, MA at the TD Garden. Well, Manchester, NH was announced before Boston, so I nabbed those tickets up for myself, my wife, and my three year old daughter, Mary. Shortly after that, the 501st Legion was invited by Lucas Film to “troop” all of the New England concert events. What we would be asked to do is troop around the concourse in our armor from the time the doors open, until the show starts, then troop the intermission, and the end of the show. I thought, “SWEET! Now I can also go to the two shows in Boston!”

In Manchester, since I bought tickets for this show, I just trooped the beginning of the show and met Mary and Judy at our seats about 15 minutes before the concert started.

The show was amazing! Mary, at one point, was traumatized by some pyrotechnics, and from that point on wanted me to block her eyes. She was also VERY tired since she missed her afternoon nap. But she survived.

The troop was pretty fun as well. The people were thrilled to see us, and my group probably posed for at least 100+ photos. We had myself as a Snowtrooper, then there was a Stormtrooper and a Scout Trooper – We had the O.T. triple play going on. It was pretty sweet getting in early, and watching Anthony Daniels and the Orchestra warm up from our balcony dressing room, overlooking the stage… albeit, a 8′ x 8′ balcony suite… which needed to hold 24+ 501st members, with 4 foot long plastic trunks, trying to get into costume before the doors opened in 40 minutes! Some members ended up changing in the hallway… it was good time.

Boston, was a blast as well. Best of all, we had a much larger dressing room. I carpooled  in with another member, and we got some premium parking… I’m guessing it was where the Bruins, and Celtic players normally park, behind some gate. I haven’t been to the Garden in years, so I’m not too familiar with it.

Anyway, we ended up waiting at security for about an hour, because our contacts got lost in the building… yes, in the building! By the time they found us, and found our dressing room (“Legends Suite?”) we had about 15-20 minutes to get ready before the doors opened to the public.

The first show was INSANE! We were mobbed with people wanting photos. There was absolutely no where to move. during the show, a group of us was able to head out into the empty concourse, grab a bite to eat, and check out all the props on display without another soul around… it was great! Trooping the closing of the show was a bit more relaxed. It seemed like less of a crowd, but was still busy. I also got to sign a couple of autographs for some kids… what a task to sign autographs behind a mask, with 25% visibility, and gloves on… but with our wranglers help, I managed. It was amazing seeing the look of awe on everyone’s face.

The second show seemed alot more sane, and had a much more fluid flow to the crowd. Just as enjoyable as the first show.

All in all it was a long day, but an enjoyable one. I met some wonderful new faces, and had a great time bringing a little happiness to kids and adults alike. Our contacts said that we were the most organized and pleasant Garrison’s that they worked with on the tour to date! They were pretty great as well… Thanks Kirsten and Wendy!

Group shot! I'm the Snowtrooper on the left.

Myself on the left, and Snow-comrade, Margaret, with two future 501st members.

Even being behind a mask, I think that I actually smiled for all the photos.

 

Photographing Dr. Jones

I had an awesome time photographing Adam as Indiana Jones @ the Fells Reservation in Stoneham, Massachusetts this evening. We tried to take a bit from the films out of the session, but also grabbed some fun stuff.

The costume and props that Adam had made this shoot pretty easy to bring a bit of authenticity to the table. What a great character, great costume, and aside from a few mosquito bites, a great time! It was nice for a change to have it rain all day, then clear up before the photo session. Lately it has been doing the opposite. Here are some shots from this evening:

 

Feast Your “Eye” On This!

One thing that I love the most about photographing the costuming community, is that their photos are always VERY entertaining, other-worldly, and unique… you just don’t see this stuff every day. Today I had the opportunity to photograph Chris in his “Residents” costume. Who are the Residents? Honestly, I didn’t now until I asked Chris about them, and googled some information.

From Wikipedia:

The Residents are an American avant-garde music and visual arts group. They have created over sixty albums, created numerous musical short films, designed three CD-ROM projects and ten DVDs, and undertaken seven major world tours. Throughout their career, spanning nearly four decades, they have not disclosed their identity.

Just looking at these guys, I thought that I would have seen, or heard something about them over the past 35 years that they have been active.

Anyway, Chris is quite the Residents enthusiast, and wanted his costume photographed, so, we found an old deserted Naval Air Station of course: The South Weymouth Naval Air Station. Shutdown in 1997, it made for a interesting backdrop for the photoshoot. Here are some of the shots that we got:

 

Leah & Harley

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to photograph the wedding of Leah and Harley. The ceremony and reception was held at the Radisson in Nashua, New Hampshire. It use to be The Sheraton, and has that classic “castle” look to it, that made for a nice backdrop to some of the photos.

What a great young couple with a wonderful family and amazing friends.

Here are some shots from the day:

 

Star Wars: The Photo Shoot Strikes Back

Yesterday evening I had the pleasure to photograph Margaret in her Snowtrooper costume from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back! Margaret is a member of the infamous 501st Legion, a costuming group dedicated to raising money for great causes, but doing it in a fun way – dressing up in full Star Wars garb and bringing smiles to the faces of MANY children. The 501st Legion spans the entire globe.

It had been gorgeous weather all day, then the minute I got into my car and headed to Wellesley, Ma, it began to torrentially down pour. It seemed as though the storm followed me all the way to Margaret’s home, and continued to do so after I arrived. So, to start off, we did some portraits in her 9’x9′ kitchen using her wallpaper as the backdrop (seeing the photos, you wouldn’t believe it WAS shot in a small kitchen against wallpaper.) After about 1 hour, we went outdoors into the backyard and shot some more.

Being an insane Star Wars fan myself, Margaret and I had much to talk about, and I had a total blast having the opportunity to photograph a subject that is in the universe I so love!

 

Melissa – Yoga Instructor

I had a fun shoot today with Melissa; a young lady starting a yoga instruction business. She asked me to take some shots for her website, flyers, and business card. I found a nice location called “Straw Point” in Stoneham, Ma, which is part of the Middlesex Fells Reservation. I hiked down a path and came across this particular location. I sent a photo of it to her, and she loved it, so we went with it. It was a perfect evening for a photo shoot, even though it just stopped raining as I parked my car. Perfect timing!

Melissa’s boy friend, Pat, helped out by lugging some of my gear, and holding the strobe light so it wouldn’t fall in the water… Man, I really need an assistant.

 

Star Wars At The Museum

Today Judy, the kids and myself took a trip to Worcester, MA to see “Star Wars Day” at the Higgins Armory Museum. A friend of mine, who volunteers at the museum, told me about the event.

Getting there was half the fun because I got to try out my new GPS navigation system. I was pretty impressed that it got us there flawlessly! I had heard many people rave about them, so I finally decided to get one myself. I figured that all the ink and paper I have used in the past to print out directions from Yahoo! Maps could have paid for several GPS systems. Anyway… upon arrival, we found Darth Vader himself greeting fans at the door accompanied by an imperial officer. Upstairs my friend Chris, was putting on a lightsaber demo with another volunteer. Although Mary knows Chris, she wasn’t having anything to do with him dressed up as a sith lord. It was pretty awesome, and the kids were very impressed! Many members from the 501st Legion were present. If you’re a Star Wars fan you know all about them, if not, they are a group of people who do a lot of charitable work, but dress up in Star Wars garb to do it.

The kids were a bit hesitant to get their pictures taken with many of the Star Wars characters, but we got a few very non-expressive pictures of them. All-in-all, it was a great time. This Star Wars fanatic probably enjoyed the event more than the rest of the family!