Photo Day!

So today was officially photo day to say the least. In the morning I went to Defender's Day at Fort Howard Park which is an annual reenactment of the Battle of North Point during the war of 1812. I went up to take cool photos and see the sights. It was a lot of fun and the costumes were amazing, the actors really made everything look authentic...if it was just them there I would have thought I just went into a time machine. It was a fun time for sure, kinda stinks I couldn't stay to see the whole battle reenactment but I had to go off to another photoshoot. The second shoot today was originally supposed to be headshots for an actor but they ended up cancelling due to an emergency. So I was left with a studio I reserved but no photos so I frantically hit up everyone on my phone to take photos. Finally two old friends who are dating now took me up on my free photo offer so I managed to get them to swing by and take photos of just him, and them together as a couple. It was a win win win for everyone, they got free photos, I got to use a studio setting for the first time, and also got to take portrait/couple photos for the first time so I got a lot of experience out of it. Today was a good day with lots to do, tiring but rewarding.

Random Movie Fact: In the 1992 film Dead Alive or Braindead, 300 liters of fake blood was used in the final scene of the film.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

More HDR Fun

So just about an hour ago I went to Fort Howard State Park to snap a couple of photos. I was not very successful in getting a huge number of cool photos but I got to work with some HDR photography again. Well posted below are the two images of the day. I had a little bit of fun with these so let me know what you think.

Random Movie Fact: In the 2009 film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, mr Weasley's shed of Muggle artefacts contains, among other things, two Remington Noiseless Portable Typewriters and an HP Laserjet 4.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

North Point Park Trip

So here are the collection of photos I took yesterday on my journey through North Point State Park. I love the way all the photos turned out but I have to say I am most proud of the picture I got of the deer. I walked a little ways down a trail where I remember seeing deer before so I was hoping to have a repeat of that luck from years ago. Low and behold just a few minutes in the trail and there is one just standing there looking at me. So I start going crazy trying to take a bunch of pictures. Unluckily however my zoom lens is on a 24-105mm so I wasn't able to get zoomed in close enough to it for an amazing picture but I think it is still cool to get it on digital. Well enough about my trip, here are my photos...enjoy!

Random Movie Fact: The 2007 film Disturbia was filmed on location in the cities of Whittier, California and Pasadena, California. The homes of Kale and Mr. Turner, which were supposed to be next door to each other, were actually located in two different cities.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Back to the Roots

So today was a day for me to get back to my roots in the world of photography. After taking the trip to Rocks State Park on Saturday I really felt connected to nature again, it was nice, I haven't felt that way in a while. After that day it took me back to the days going hiking with my family and having a blast at different parks. After that flood of memories and taking nature photos again I decided to go out on a nice day trip today. I went out to North Point State Park which is about five minutes from my house and just walked around. After walking I managed to get a few cool pictures including one that I am super duper duper proud of, but I am not saying why...just check back tomorrow to see the picture. Also I experimented more with HDR photography without a model, just landscapes to see if I have an eye for it at all. It was nice to connect with nature and snap photos all at the same time. Tomorrow I am thinking of heading up to Fort Howard Park but we will see, maybe I will try to find someplace new to explore.

Random Movie Fact: In the 2004 film Man on Fire, Writer Brian Helgeland first saw the original Man on Fire when he was renting videos in the late-'80s. He walked in to the video store where Quentin Tarantino was working, and asked what was good. Tarantino recommended Man on Fire.

RIP Tony Scott and Phyllis Diller

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Rocks State Park

So yesterday was the first day in a little while me and my girlfriend Ashley have been able to spend the whole day together. Not knowing what to do I randomly suggested to go to Rocks State Park and off we went. It was fun, relaxing, and a good time with my girl. I snapped a few photos and so did Ashley so here are the pictures from the day.

Random Movie Fact: In the 2002 film Tuck Everlasting, The working title for the movie was "The Everlasting Tucks", but director Jay Russell thought the original name would fit the movie better.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

Working Overtime

Yesterday the photoshoot sessions went really well. The overcast skies made for an amazing look and it provided nice even lighting. The first session was a little rough since my client ended up at Eastpoint Mall somehow instead of Fort Howard. However we met up with him and he followed us over. The shoot went until 1:45 and my next client was pulling up as he was leaving. The second session I was a little tired to be honest and it started up a little rocky but I feel like I got very solid pictures. I think in the future I want to start having more control, maybe even having an indoor set up here in my room or something like that. This is when having a whole house would be nice so that way I could set up a studio in a whole room, which would be set aside. Then life would be a lot easier. For now though I think it is good to keep doing outside photography. I just have to find a very neutral background which I will have to do a little searching for.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess

No Country for Old Men and Red State

Well over the past few nights I have watched both No Country for Old Men and Red State two very different films that are both very well done. First I would like to over my thoughts on Red State the newer of the two films.

In the film Red State a change of pace for Kevin Smith three young high school kids all decide to take up an add for a woman looking to have sex with three guys at once. They decide to go out and take this woman up on her offer and when they arrive she offers them alcohol which is inevitably poisoned with what is implied as a date rape drug. When we see one boy awaken we are now inside of a church of very creepy people. We go through the motions of seeing how crazy these people are and in the meantime the police go down to investigate the boys car who sideswiped the sheriff's car on the way up to the woman's trailer. Police officer gets shot things escalate and it goes from there. What I love about this movie is the fact that it has a good sense of humor too it which is of course a staple of most Kevin Smith films. The dark subject matter is great for Smith who I usually have stronger reservations for because I feel like his films can be a tad too talk heavy. In this film he sticks to action, humor, and violence to create a very well done film. In addition this is his first film using a digital format which he used the Red Camera which again is a nice touch that allows him to do some very unique shots. I would highly recommend this film if you and your buddies are looking for a good movie to pass the time.

In No Country for Old Men Joel and Ethan Coen deliver another great film that is very dark and stays very dark throughout. It is a film about a hired killer who is trying to find a briefcase of money from a drug deal gone wrong. A man while hunting stumbles across it and tries to flee from the pursuit of this killer as well as fellow drug dealers who are all trying to get the money. In this film we see the mindset of the man on the run, the sheriff, and the killer all who which at one point or another you sympathize with in a strange way. I don't want to give away the ending but it is a different ending then you might expect for a film like this. I know I kinda felt like it was but it still was a little bit of a shock for me. The thing I love about the Coen brothers with this film though is the way they film it, it makes it seem as though anyone could do this film as long as they have a solid ground in filmmaking. This is not a bad thing at all, I love the simplicity of the shot selection and the very classical way of telling this story. Just everything about this movie they nail dead on, there is really not a lot of flaws I could point out. Another great one to watch maybe not with a bunch of buddies but certainly a great film none the less.

Thanks for the support,
Daniel Hess