Jay P. Morgan Pictures Photo Blog

I love Photography and some times it loves me. This is a photo blog about the Photographs that I have shot, am shooting and will shoot. I write about the good times and the bad times of making a living taking pictures.
Sat Nov 21
I have been working on a lighting DVD series for Photoflex the past few weeks.  Its been a long hard process.  I shot all the HD Video with my 5D Mark 2 and loved shooting with it.  Its a whole new world for me.  I have shot many commercials always on film until the past few years when HD came on the scene.   The new 5D gives you a great film look because of the shallow depth of field.  I would recommend the camera to anyone. This image I’m posting was part of the series that we did for Photoflex.  It was shot to show how to color balance your 5D with a gray light disk.  I will show the HD clip in the future. The shot was done with a special effects item called an air cannon. Its a canister that holds air from an compressor.  It has a gage on it so you can build the presser to a given point and then hit the trigger and let the air out all at once.  In this case we made a wooden seat for the little boy to sit on and then ran a 2 inch pipe from the air canon over the pool ending behind his seat.  The pipe was underwater just a little bit so that it would spray water when the air was released giving us the splash look.  I love special effects photography.  The kids did a great job.  It can be scary to have the noise of the air cannon going off and water splashing all around but they did great. The lighting was very simple.  I have one strobe light from behind to light the water.  If you do not back light water it is very hard to see.  I then had a small soft box to the right of the camera for the faces of the kids.  Ambient provided my fill.  If you are interested in the lighting Video that I did you can get it for the cost of shipping from photoflex.  Go to http://www.photoflex.com/showcase/Jay_P._Morgan_DVD/index.htmlHave a great holiday.

I have been working on a lighting DVD series for Photoflex the past few weeks.  Its been a long hard process.  I shot all the HD Video with my 5D Mark 2 and loved shooting with it.  Its a whole new world for me.  I have shot many commercials always on film until the past few years when HD came on the scene.  
The new 5D gives you a great film look because of the shallow depth of field.  I would recommend the camera to anyone.


This image I’m posting was part of the series that we did for Photoflex.  It was shot to show how to color balance your 5D with a gray light disk.  I will show the HD clip in the future.


The shot was done with a special effects item called an air cannon. Its a canister that holds air from an compressor.  It has a gage on it so you can build the presser to a given point and then hit the trigger and let the air out all at once.  In this case we made a wooden seat for the little boy to sit on and then ran a 2 inch pipe from the air canon over the pool ending behind his seat.  The pipe was underwater just a little bit so that it would spray water when the air was released giving us the splash look.  I love special effects photography.  The kids did a great job.  It can be scary to have the noise of the air cannon going off and water splashing all around but they did great.


The lighting was very simple.  I have one strobe light from behind to light the water.  If you do not back light water it is very hard to see.  I then had a small soft box to the right of the camera for the faces of the kids.  Ambient provided my fill. 
If you are interested in the lighting Video that I did you can get it for the cost of shipping from photoflex.  Go to

http://www.photoflex.com/showcase/Jay_P._Morgan_DVD/index.html

Have a great holiday.

Tue Nov 3

I shot this past week with Traver Hispanic Marketing Group.  We shot Liz Hernandez for standees that they are working on.  The images from the shoot and the client I can’t discuss until it comes out. I did however do some shots of Liz at the end that I can show that came out quite well.  Liz is a DJ for Power 106 and very easy to work with.  Some talent and especially celebrities don’t understand still photography. Liz understood that there are moments that you need to give the photographer and that you pause briefly.  Its a timing process where you can get into a rhythm and get wonderful images. I had set up this old wall on the side and had it light so at the end if she was willing we could get a couple of shots.  She was very gracious and gave me the time.  I wanted to use an old radio as a tie in to her job.  The images are light with 3 lights.   #1  strobe light with a grid coming across the wall from the left.#2 Overhead strobe with warming gel aimed straight at the floor in the doorway.#3 A strobe ring light on the camera. A ring light is a strobe that has a flash tube bent in a circle in a flash reflector around the lens.  Its about a foot in diameter with a hold for the lend in the middle.   I rented mine at Samy’s camera http://www.samys.com/ in pasadena. Its fun to shot with and gives you a lot of mobility.  I hand held these shots with the ring light around the camera.  I love these types of shots centered around sets or architecture.  It was a great shoot.

I shot this past week with Traver Hispanic Marketing Group.  We shot Liz Hernandez for standees that they are working on.  The images from the shoot and the client I can’t discuss until it comes out.


I did however do some shots of Liz at the end that I can show that came out quite well. 
Liz is a DJ for Power 106 and very easy to work with.  Some talent and especially celebrities don’t understand still photography. Liz understood that there are moments that you need to give the photographer and that you pause briefly.  Its a timing process where you can get into a rhythm and get wonderful images.


I had set up this old wall on the side and had it light so at the end if she was willing we could get a couple of shots.  She was very gracious and gave me the time. 
I wanted to use an old radio as a tie in to her job.  The images are light with 3 lights.  
#1  strobe light with a grid coming across the wall from the left.
#2 Overhead strobe with warming gel aimed straight at the floor in the doorway.
#3 A strobe ring light on the camera.


A ring light is a strobe that has a flash tube bent in a circle in a flash reflector around the lens.  Its about a foot in diameter with a hold for the lend in the middle.   I rented mine at Samy’s camera http://www.samys.com/ in pasadena.


Its fun to shot with and gives you a lot of mobility.  I hand held these shots with the ring light around the camera.  I love these types of shots centered around sets or architecture.  It was a great shoot.

Fri Oct 16

I'm Back

I have been very busy the last few weeks that I have lost track of the blog.  I just finished shooting an hour long lighting DVD for Photoflex.  It will be available on their site for free in about a week.  I will post the link when it becomes available.  For now this is the Teaser posted below.  It was a lot of fun to shoot HD Video on the 5D.  I love this camera and all that it can do.  I will also post the short we shot when we are done with the editing.   I’m back and will be more diligent with new postings.

The Slanted Lens Lighting series Vol. 1

Tue Jul 7
http://www.jaypmorgan.com/I know I committed to post even when its busy.  It is so hard to do when I’m working 12 to 14 a day.  I was shooting for Lifetime Products and shot this image of their “Jumping Jack Trailer”.  There were several images that I liked. This shot was take the last day at Point Dune beach in Malibu.  The sun was gone so I got out the small Photoflex (http://www.photoflex.com/) mono block strobes and placed them into the tent.  The light that came out the windows of the trailer worked.  Combining the strobe light with a long exposure It keep us shooting for an hour after sunset.  At the beach you can not have a fire unless you hire a Fire Marshall and jump through all kinds of hoops.  I choose to simply put a strobe head into the metal fire ring that we bought at OSH and cover it with a red gel.  It works quite nicely.  I might retouch a flame into the fire ring to make it look better but don’t feel like it’s a must. I hate to stop shooting when there is a chance something exciting will happen.  This shot is a good example.  The day was gone and we had been shooting for a long time but there was still light in the sky.  I just have a hard time walking away when there is even a little light left.  Strobes keep me shooting so I use them.  I’m loving my new camera the Canon 5D Mark 2.  It is sharp and the images look great.   I will start shooting HD as soon as I can.  Life tis good.  Until next time.

http://www.jaypmorgan.com/
I know I committed to post even when its busy.  It is so hard to do when I’m working 12 to 14 a day.  I was shooting for Lifetime Products and shot this image of their “Jumping Jack Trailer”.  There were several images that I liked.


This shot was take the last day at Point Dune beach in Malibu.  The sun was gone so I got out the small Photoflex (http://www.photoflex.com/) mono block strobes and placed them into the tent.  The light that came out the windows of the trailer worked.  Combining the strobe light with a long exposure It keep us shooting for an hour after sunset. 
At the beach you can not have a fire unless you hire a Fire Marshall and jump through all kinds of hoops.  I choose to simply put a strobe head into the metal fire ring that we bought at OSH and cover it with a red gel.  It works quite nicely.  I might retouch a flame into the fire ring to make it look better but don’t feel like it’s a must.


I hate to stop shooting when there is a chance something exciting will happen.  This shot is a good example.  The day was gone and we had been shooting for a long time but there was still light in the sky.  I just have a hard time walking away when there is even a little light left.  Strobes keep me shooting so I use them.  I’m loving my new camera the Canon 5D Mark 2.  It is sharp and the images look great.   I will start shooting HD as soon as I can.  Life tis good.  Until next time.

Wed May 13
http://www.jaypmorgan.com/ I have been so busy this past few weeks. I have not posted recently.   I shot last week in an alley in LA for a company called Bootleg Brew.   It’s a small Root beer company that makes home made Root beer kits.  Very cool stuff. http://bootlegbrew.com  We shot an old fashioned car in an alley with a gangster in the forground. The smoke and lighting were the key to the shot.  I set up a smoke machine in the Background with one light behind it.  It made a very nice smoke screen for the Silhouette.  The car had a strobe aimed at it  with a grid to brighten the car and not light the man.    There are some very interesting versions.  The most intreating thing that happened was the rats that came out as soon as the sun went down.  They were everywhere.  They would run past he camera and almost right over your legs.  I was knelling on the ground.  Jared my assistant was shooting smoke at them as they ran by.  I love what I do for a living.  Who else shoots in an alley with rats to get a gangster shot.  Its al about the journey and the image.

http://www.jaypmorgan.com/


I have been so busy this past few weeks. I have not posted recently.   I shot last week in an alley in LA for a company called Bootleg Brew.   It’s a small Root beer company that makes home made Root beer kits.  Very cool stuff.
http://bootlegbrew.com 

We shot an old fashioned car in an alley with a gangster in the forground. The smoke and lighting were the key to the shot.  I set up a smoke machine in the Background with one light behind it.  It made a very nice smoke screen for the Silhouette.  The car had a strobe aimed at it  with a grid to brighten the car and not light the man.    There are some very interesting versions. 

The most intreating thing that happened was the rats that came out as soon as the sun went down.  They were everywhere.  They would run past he camera and almost right over your legs.  I was knelling on the ground.  Jared my assistant was shooting smoke at them as they ran by.  I love what I do for a living.  Who else shoots in an alley with rats to get a gangster shot.  Its al about the journey and the image.

Fri Apr 3
http://www.jaypmorgan.com/ This image of the Sumo ski jumping is one of the most successful images that I have ever shot.  It was shot some time ago for a company selling a new floppy disk that would hold a ton of information and was very fast.  A ton was probably in those days about 50 Megs of information. That’s how long ago I shot this image.  Most people reading this won’t even know what a floppy disk is. I also shot a version of this image with two Sumos on the same set of skis. That image was for a new double density floppy disk. Twice the information as the single Sumo disk. This is one of my favorite images. Below I will talk about how it was done.

http://www.jaypmorgan.com/

This image of the Sumo ski jumping is one of the most successful images that I have ever shot.  It was shot some time ago for a company selling a new floppy disk that would hold a ton of information and was very fast.  A ton was probably in those days about 50 Megs of information. That’s how long ago I shot this image.  Most people reading this won’t even know what a floppy disk is. I also shot a version of this image with two Sumos on the same set of skis. That image was for a new double density floppy disk. Twice the information as the single Sumo disk. This is one of my favorite images. Below I will talk about how it was done.

http://www.jaypmorgan.com/ People still ask about the Sumo shot and how it was done.  Most think that it was done in Photoshop.  Nothing in this image was photoshopped together. It was done in one shot. We painted a backdrop that looked like blurring trees. Even though the drop was painted to look like it was moving past it was still too sharp. To solve that and blend the drop into the Sumo in the foreground we set the drop on rollers so that we could roll it back and forth during the exposure. Using Tungsten lights on the drop in combination with a long shutter speed made it look blurry and blended the figure with the background. The Sumo was lit with strobe lighting that froze him in place. The drop moving past blurred the edges of the Sumo so it blended together. The Sumo was too heavy to lean forward like he was ski jumping so we tilted the drop so he could stand up straight.The Sumo was standing on the end of a 4 inch by 20 foot long piece of metal box iron that was welded to a tripod behind the drop.  It had a lot of counter weight on the other end to counter balance the Sumo.  There was a small slit in the back drop for the post to come through.  We welded a plate that he could stand on and a metal band around his waist.  The band was hidden by his sash. The ski was attached to the foot rest. He could stand in there for about 20 minutes at the most before he was done.  I could see the blood pooling in his legs.  It was a little scary. The 4X5 Sinar View Camera was set at an 8th of a second shutter speed and f16 aperture.  We rolled the drop back and forth to give some blur on the drop and him. It worked out well. Better than I had thought it would. You always wonder how well things are going to go.  When a client calls and says lets fly a 400 plus pound Sumo on skis I casually say, “no problem”.  Then when you hang up the phone you start to get a bit nervous. How in the world will we do that?  It all comes together as you think and work on it.

http://www.jaypmorgan.com/

People still ask about the Sumo shot and how it was done.  Most think that it was done in Photoshop.  Nothing in this image was photoshopped together. It was done in one shot. We painted a backdrop that looked like blurring trees. Even though the drop was painted to look like it was moving past it was still too sharp. To solve that and blend the drop into the Sumo in the foreground we set the drop on rollers so that we could roll it back and forth during the exposure. Using Tungsten lights on the drop in combination with a long shutter speed made it look blurry and blended the figure with the background.

The Sumo was lit with strobe lighting that froze him in place. The drop moving past blurred the edges of the Sumo so it blended together. The Sumo was too heavy to lean forward like he was ski jumping so we tilted the drop so he could stand up straight.

The Sumo was standing on the end of a 4 inch by 20 foot long piece of metal box iron that was welded to a tripod behind the drop.  It had a lot of counter weight on the other end to counter balance the Sumo.  There was a small slit in the back drop for the post to come through.  We welded a plate that he could stand on and a metal band around his waist.  The band was hidden by his sash.

The ski was attached to the foot rest. He could stand in there for about 20 minutes at the most before he was done.  I could see the blood pooling in his legs.  It was a little scary. The 4X5 Sinar View Camera was set at an 8th of a second shutter speed and f16 aperture.  We rolled the drop back and forth to give some blur on the drop and him. It worked out well. Better than I had thought it would. You always wonder how well things are going to go.  When a client calls and says lets fly a 400 plus pound Sumo on skis I casually say, “no problem”.  Then when you hang up the phone you start to get a bit nervous. How in the world will we do that?  It all comes together as you think and work on it.