This image happens to be one of my
favorite images I've ever taken. I like the strangeness, and I like
the light and dark and moody quality. I shot this image as part of a
personal series that I am currently working on called Treasures Found. The images in the series juxtaposes the rawness and
character of the American South through garage sales, antique
markets, and tag sales, with stylized shots of my two girls with some
of the strange treasures that we pick up at the sales.
I found this fake chicken at a
garage sale in my neighborhood. It was the only slightly "off"
thing nestled among baby toys and old clothing. I snatched it up
quickly (although I don't really think there were a lot of other
takers though), paid my dollar, and was on my way.
We shot this particular image in my
garage. Just me, my daughter, my Honda Pilot, and some great
light….oh, and a stuffed chicken. My garage has the most amazing
light. I use it all the time for a makeshift studio by closing all of
the windows and letting the light in through one door. The shoot
started with my seven year old negotiating her pay (3 tootsie rolls),
and then parked her in the slash of light that was coming through the
open door and went to shooting. I shot a few other images this same
day with some vintage roller skates and some costumes that we also
acquired and became part of the series.
My girls are not huge fans of me taking
their pictures, but I shoot them daily. They deal with it, but I
often get an eye roll and an “okay mom” (+ a sigh). I do pay them
in different ways (i.e. the tootsie roll trade), and that seems to
work. They do however think it is really cool when they see their
image on the Internet or in a magazine. My daughters are some of my
favorite subjects to shoot... they are always accessible to me and
they are actually turning into really good models who take direction
extremely well.
This image was shot with my Nikon D700
and 50mm F1.4 lens. The shots are edited in Lightroom. I used VSCO
films black and white presets, but tweaked a bit to get rid of the
grain. I love a saturated black and white, and wanted this image to
be clear and clean.
Bio: Kate Parker is a mom, wife, photographer,
and athlete. "I live and shoot in Georgia. I love the real, the
honest, and the everyday, and aim to capture just that."
Such a huge fan!
ReplyDeleteFunny timing as I just "discovered" my garage yesterday. I have a 10 year old son and 12 year old daughter and they end up being in about 70% of the shots I take. I haven't yet resorted to paying them, but they still have moments where they suddenly realize I am shooting them and decline, but most of the time they seem unaware. In any regard, I really like the result from the VSCO films black and white presets. Nice images.
ReplyDeleteNow this is excellent, especially because of its simplicity! No long explanations of complicated lighting arrangements, etc.. I'm very partial to available light and also to the 'real, honest and everyday."
ReplyDeletePowerful Images and I love the B/W tone!
ReplyDelete