Michael j Ross Photography

Gooaaaaallll!!

2011-09-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

Today was the first game day for the LMSC.
Follow the following links to the different games that I shot:

Bruins Saturday, September 17th, 2011

Denmark Saturday, September 17th, 2011

Bruins Saturday, October 15th, 2011

Denmark Sunday, October 9th, 2011

Bruins Saturday, October 22, 2011

Bruins Saturday, November 11, 2011

Garden of the Gods

2011-09-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

Ah, Colorado.
A few shots form Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. Most of these were taken at sunrise as runners prepared for the Ascent, a half marathon up Pike's Peak, starting at 8,000 feet and ending at the summit at 14,000 feet.
I chose to hang out at the lower elevation and shoot these.

Liberty Sports Magazine

2010-12-30T19:34:00.001-08:00

Here's a portrait I took for Liberty Sports Magazine's article on the Performance Lab powered by Rothman Institiute

The shot was taken at a slow shutter speed of 1/5 second to allow for some blur around the runner. A single flash exposed for the subjects. A blue light was added to the background to contrast the warm lights from the exam rooms.

Click here for four shots that were submitted for publication

Philly Cycling Classic

2010-06-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

The name has changed. Big name riders have come and gone. The skyline is different. But the fans keep coming. Despite the sponsorship woes in recent years, the crowds are as big (and as inebriate) as ever.

Most of these shots were from the medical car with a 50mm lens and a TTL cord for off-camera flash.

And yes, the picture of the back of a man in slacks is Philly Mayor, Michael Nutter.

Team PBR elite p/b The Performance Lab

2010-06-07T05:48:00.001-07:00

I had the opportunity to take some publicity photos for the "ride everyone else into the ground" cycling Team, also known as the Pabst Blue Ribbon Elite Team presented by the Performance Lab. The goal was a group shot with some elements of Philadelphia thrown in for some local flair.

We agreed to meet around twilight to get some good sunset sky colors. I was hoping for something like this which I got 8 hours later in the same location.

I ended up with grey and cloudy. Not a problem, though, we'll just underexpose and move on. We were working on location on the roof of a parking garage. Regardless, I had power outlets so I brought out the big studio lights.

I started with a simple two light setup. Main to the right and fill to the left. The fill was minimal to keep the drama. I added a speedlight with a grid to highlight the Rothman logo on Dave's shorts in the front row.

After the portraits, got some action shots which let do some zoom bllur effecrs and shutter drag panning, but in the end, it still looked like a garage. As we lost the light, it was time to pack up and go, but I"m pleased with the pictures from the shoot.

Click here to see the whole shoot.

Technical data:

For the group shot of the guys in a line, there was a light in the back as a rim. For the skyline photo the lighting was main from the right, fill from left 2 stops down and a grid on speedlight aimed at the shorts.

For the action shots, there was a light camera right and the camera was panned to the right during the exposure.

Raindrops on Roses

2010-06-05T05:58:00.000-07:00

I've owned a lensbaby for 4 years. It doesn't get much use, but recently I got a macro kit for it. This has allowed me to get much closer to my subjects, opening up a great deal of detail that I couldn't capture before. This morning, while going to get my weekly supply of coffee, I passed a rose garden, still wet from last night's rainstorm.
Each raindrop was like a little gem on the rose petals. It's no wonder Julie Andrews counts these as her favorite things.

Click here for a series of raindrops on roses

Macro Photography

2010-05-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

I'm not usually one to shoot with a macro lens. There is a certain level of patience needed in the ultra close-up world of macro photography which I just don't possess. The spring colors proved too strong and I reverse mounted an old lens on the end of my 85mm f1.8 and went out in search of color. Most of these photos were taken within a few houses of my own. I love the color and I hope you do too.

Here's the whole set from the shoot, ants included.

A Broken Lens

2010-05-17T04:25:00.000-07:00

I love my 50mm f1.8 lens. The problem is, the aperture blades are stuck wide open. Lucky for me, that is my favorite setting when using this lens. Even though it is broken, I took it out this weekend and got these great children portraits:

Liberty Sports Magazine

2010-04-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

Accompanying the article by Michael J. Ross, MD in the April/May 2010 edition of Liberty Sports Magazine is my picture of Becca Howell. This was from a fitness shoot with Becca a few months ago. The picture is simply lit using 2 back/rim lights in small softboxes and a main light in a softbox in front. The main light is in a softbox without the front difuser to give a little more punch to the light. The image is as it came out of the camera, with the exception of removing a power cord in Photoshop. From the experience of cloning out the cord, I realized it would be easier to carry an extra extension cord.

The entire photoshoot with Becca can be seen by clicking here.

Corporate (Head)shots

2010-02-26T06:14:00.000-08:00

I was asked to do some corporate headshots for a medical consulting duo. They are a couple of hip guys, great outside the box thinkers.

I thought that they could be represented with some outside of the box photos. There is no reason, I thought, that corporate headshots have to be headshots. I thought some GQ style fashion photos might be fun to get as well.

I used a bounced light through a tranlucent panel for my main light with small softboxes as rims and a gridded light for the background. The bounce into a light panel gives a soft light with a great fall-off for a soft light with some crispness to the clothes from the shadow fall-off.

Click here for the collection of 3/4 and head shots.

Tour of California

2010-02-19T18:41:00.000-08:00

Last year at this time, the Tour of California was in full swing. I was in Sacramento for the prologue and the start of the first stage. It was Lance Armstrong's return to racing in the US since he came out of retirement and it seemed that every Bay Area cyclist came out to see him.

I was taking pictures of each rider as they passed, when suddenly I realized that my camera battery was dying. With 12 riders to go, all of the big names hadn't passed our way yet, I didn't have time to run back to the hotel and grab another battery, so my photos stopped with Carlos Sastre, the winner of the Tour de France in 2008.

Here's what I got from the day

Beauty Headshots

2010-01-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

I teamed up with Makeup artist Calista and Model Lea Faye for some beauty headshots this week. When I spoke with Lea at our planning session, she brought some pictures with her of what she wanted to accomplish.

We decided that the bare shoulders look was less distracting and were looking to grab a few profiles as well as some hair and full-face portraits.

For lighting, I wanted both high-key (white background at the top of the post) and dark field (dark background with bright rim lights) setups.

I used a combination of studio strobes and reflectors.

I never realized how much time it takes for full makeup to be applied. I had setup my lights and run extension cords with time to spare. It may have taken longer than I realized, but the results were worth it!

Click here to see a slideshow of my favorite shots from the day

Technical info:
High key images were obtained with 2 calumet genesis strobes aimed at the background. They were set to f11, 1 stop above the main light. To get the wisps of light that provide contour on here neck and under her chin I positioned Lea where the refection off the back wall read f8. The main light was a softbox up high, set to f8. For some of the shots, I removed the outer diffuser to give a higher contrast light. Fill light was behind me with a strobe fired into an umbrella and set 2/3 stop below main. A reflector was placed against the main light stand to fill some of the shadows.
Dark field images were done with the same main light and reflector, but the background lights were fitted with softboxes and aimed back at the model. They were set to 2/3 stop over the main light.

Kids in Charge

2010-01-10T12:07:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you give a four and a six-year-old control of a camera with a radio light trigger?

A lot of fun and some memorable photos.

I handed over my 9-year-old digital Powershot G1 (they're up to the G11 now) to the boys for some cold weather indoor fun.

See the slideshow

Dave Smith, Circus Performer #3

2009-11-22T12:39:00.001-08:00

Dave Smith from onemansideshow.com posed for me as the next circus performer in my series. Dave had a narrow time frame before jetting off to Europe for a few weeks.

We were trying to get a few good portraits that he could use as some promo shots and we were also looking for detail shots.

Since fire is always eye-catching, I wanted to get some pictures of him doing some fire eating. I thought hard edge light would be a good place to start, so I used a three light setup to grab the shot above and this:

Each of the back lights were into reflectors and a softbox was used for up high. The rim lights were one stop above the main to give some definition and separation against the black background.

I set the lights up while Dave was in the “Juggling Laboratory” beneath the Juggling Studio breaking some bottles with his sledgehammer. He was breaking glass for his amazing feets of strength. This shot was done with backlight to create some highlights on the glass.

My favorite picture of the shoot was the long trail of fire we got with a creative exposure of 2 seconds. Although there is some blur, we got this one in 2 tries. The single light froze the action while the fire exposed itself throughout the range of motion.

Click to see the slideshow of my favorite shots from this session.

Performance Lab

2009-11-17T17:40:00.000-08:00

I have been taking a bunch of photographs in the new Performance Lab, a state of the art exercise science and sports medicine facility in Cherry Hill, NJ. Today, we photographed a VO2max test in progress.

Simple lighting, using a softbox on the right and a blue gelled flash as a rim.

Wissahickon Portraits

2009-11-15T18:04:00.000-08:00

We took advantage of the balmy Sunday to hike and play in Valley Green. I've never seen valley green so busy. The foliage was mostly gone, but Ben had fun near the creek and the dams.

Fitness Shoot!

2009-11-14T10:29:00.000-08:00

In anticipation of the opening of The Performance Lab in Cherry Hill, I have been taking pictures to use for ads. I was so inspired by shooting running and cycling models that I wanted to have another photo shoot with a fitness theme.

My model for the shoot was Kimberly Tosoian, a former dancer, soccer player and recreational athlete who is also a fabulous fitness model.

Like any photo shoot, I try to mix up the lighting, some dark and some bright with different colored lights to match the feel or the wardrobe. Kim multiple outfits which gave us lots of choices.

First, we went with a running shoot on the track. I chose to go low key to send the background into darkness. To add some separation, I used a yellow gel to complement her black and yellow outfit.

The lighting setup was soft in front from a softbox with a gridded light for a rim from the back. A separate flash with a yellow gel was aimed at the back wall.

Next up was a workout inspired shoot that would look right at home in a national fitness magazine. I wanted the background to be brighter than the foreground so a aimed a strobe at the weight rack and the mirror behind it. This provided the nice rim light. A reflector in close provided fill. The softbox above left was the main light and set to be less bright than the background light.

The left side of Kim's face was still going dark, so I placed a shoot through umbrella with a flash in the back of camera right for some extra fill.

The whole series of shoots from the different poses and outfits can be seen on this page

Ch..ch..ch..changes

2009-11-07T13:50:00.000-08:00

Arguably one of the best things about having to dig out from snowstorms and deal with cold mornings and frost on the windshield is the change of seasons and the feelings that we have with each season. Hope and optimism in the spring, long sunsets and fun in the summer, the awe at the beauty of the changing leaves and dramatic skies in the fall and the solemnity which greets us after the leaves are gone. I dug through the archives of art and landscape photography and pulled up a few of the pictures that reminded me of some of these feelings.

The slide show is here. Or if you prefer HTML, look here.

Go Philles!

2009-11-03T19:57:00.000-08:00

The Phillies are to my 6 year old son what the 1977 Yankees were to me as a 6 year old growing up in a NYC suburb.

Here's what leftovers look like to a six year old during the World Series.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure when the "Halloween Parade" became a big thing at schools, but everyone seemed to be ducking out of work to watch their children's parade of costumes. Luckily, I wasn't working on Friday, so I didn't have to shoulder the guilt of slipping away. I met my son and his class as they walked to their Halloween activities at the upper school and then had just enough time to hit the coffee shop before they came back to their classroom for more Halloween related festivities. The slideshow is here

Since Trick or Treating was rainy, I didn't set up any lights like I did two years ago.

I did, however shoot the boys on a white seamless background in the photo studio. That's Putting on his best performance as GI Joe. And yes, that really is Jake as IronMan. I didn't just post a shot from the costume website.

Circus Performer, Shoot 3

2009-08-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

Today I shot with local juggling wunderkind, Kyle Driggs. Kyle performs locally as an associate of the Give and Take Jugglers and practices in the rehearsal space they share with Greg Kennedy

Kyle wanted something that was different from the ordinary “promotional portrait” so we took some more “moody”, almost film-noir juggling portraits.

One of the most difficult parts about shooting aerialists is that the rope suspending them keeps twisting (thankfully, the static trapeze is really static). One of the most difficult parts of shooting jugglers is getting the objects that are being juggled to be in the right place, especially not in front of the face. If I saw the right composition in the viewfinder, I knew I missed the shot because those balls and clubs move pretty fast.

For lighting, I chose two flashes 45 degrees behind Kyle and one 45 degrees off to the side for Rembrandt style lighting with strong rim light. I wanted to keep the light restricted so that we could get some good motion blur when the balls and clubs were out of the zone of light and not being lit.

We started off with some club juggling and I soon realized that I would need to shoot wide. Here’s a shot from the first series.

I really like the expression and how Kyle seems to be communicating with the club.

Behind the back…behind the other back. I slowed down the shutter a lot to get the ghosting and motion blur.

Next we tried shooting from up high to give some forced perspective as the objects gained height. With a wide lens, the high objects would look bigger.

I changed the lighting to hatchet lighting with a strong rim light. I really like the way the light on the balls matches the light on his face.

One of the problems I was having was that I was losing the balls into the shadows high above Kyle. Even with a shutter speed of 1/8 second, there was not enough ambient light to capture the balls. I added another gridded light off to camera right so that the balls could at least be caught in silhouette. The uppermost circle of light is the daylight coming through the door of the studio. The lower circle is from a flash with a grid.

Here's a slideshow of the whole series.

Circus Performer, Shoot 2

2009-08-19T18:29:00.000-07:00

I've been looking to take some cool portraits of circus performers all summer. Since the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts is close by, I've been trying to shoot aerialists. Yesterday I shot with T. Lawrence Simon.

I was trying to capture motion, produce some portraits with his favorite apparatus as well as portray his personality.

In this picture, I really liked the use of negative space as well as the serious look he was using. Sort of like Atlas, holding the weight of the world on his shoulders, T. is posing with the hoop, his favorite apparatus.

To keep with the serious tone, I lit this with a softbox high to camera right and a silver reflector for fill camera left. The wall in the background is a light purple which became gray since it was not lit by the softbox.

T. was telling me that the reason he chose the hoop as his aerial specialty was to spin. Even as a child, he loved to spin around. I wanted to catch him spinning, and be able to show motion at the same time.

To do this, I chose a slow shutter speed, in this case 1/20th of a second, and aimed a narrow spot of strobe at his face. To narrow the beam, I attached a grid to the light and I tried to trigger the flash as his face moved around. I have a lot of shots of his back.

Lastly, I wanted a portrait that was lighter than the first one. To do this, I knew I wanted a white background which I achieved by hitting the brick wall behind him with a lot of light. This made the wall go white. I got some reflected highlights on T by shooting with a meter reading that equaled my exposure reading behind him. I then set a light with a grid to that reading and aimed it at his face. Here's the result.

You can see the entire set of photos here

Handwork Studio Fashion Boot Camp

2009-07-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome Desgners! to Michael j Ross Photography!

Here are the photos from the Handwork Studio's Fashion Boot Camp. I had a great time shooting all of the designers/models. I hope you enjoy the pictures: