Belly Dancers, Beautiful Women, Beautiful Photographs

I recently had the photo shoot of a "Middle East" experience at the Casablanca Hookah Lounge in Sarasota the other day.  I got to meet the lovely Bethsheba Almah and her beautiful Goddesses of Sisterly Love.  These ladies have a unique bond that Bethsheba Almah has brought into her teachings of the art of belly dance.  There is a camaraderie and love that these ladies not only share but express in their incredibly sensual dances that would make it tough for any photographer not want to shoot.
That being said, you can see more of these photos at my website www.imagesbydavidtaylor.com look for my Folder "Things Sarasota" and you will see "Belly Dancers".
So how do you go about and shoot "Belly Dancers"? It is a little more complex than just point and shoot, especially if you are in a lounge environment that has a number of patrons watching the show.  Of course the shows venue was not lit up like one would like, so we have to go to the ISO factor.  Yep, I had to shoot on ISO3200 to get some shots of the girls dancing, especially interesting where shots of the girls dancing with veils.  Now these photos being shot at that high of an ISO will have a lot of noise (pixalation, as it is called in the business) and will not have much value unless you go to your photoshop type program and start doing some extra work.  And that is a another story, so how did I take these shots. Of course the shot in the upper left, I used my flash (SB-800), shutter speed of 60th of second, aperture of F/8, straight forward stuff, right?!!  So for the belly dancers to have motion in there photos, I was using an F/stop of F8,  ISO of 3200, shutter speed of 3 seconds... yes I know that was a long time but in that time,  I got some amazing photos, like the shot below, of course I am using the Nikon D90 and my 18 to 105mm zoom lens, a good D-SLR does help!
In looking for a different type of subject, look out for any belly dancers, the costumes are very colorful, the dancing is amazing and the people are wonderful. Use your camera to capture a "moment in time" of a belly dancer doing her exotic moves and you will have some spectacular photos!!  And as always, have fun shooting!!!

When Action is Called Get the Photo

When "Action!!" is called, you have to long be ready for "the shot" of the day.  You have to have the camera aimed, the setting set and focused on a point where all of the action will take place.  Yes, this was taken at Disney and I was ready. I had my Nikon D90, a 18 to 105 telephoto zoom lens, a shutter speed at 200th of second and an F-stop of F/8.  I choose the shutter speed to stop the action (actually I fired off 5 frames to capture the fireworks) and I wanted to catch the car in mid air as well. I also wanted the background to be sharp and the photo lit up by the fire and fireworks, hence the F-stop of F/8.  I was pretty lucky that the sun was behind me and this also contributed to lighting the entire scene, but as you can see it was the fire and fireworks that did most of the illumination in this photo. Remember, when you want to stop action, you want a fast shutter speed and a rather sharp F-stop (higher number) which in this case, gives the illusion of the car being lit by the fire and fireworks. So when you know someone is going to be yelling "action" be ready to get "the shot of the day!"

Siesta Key Sand Art for 2010

Sun, sand, the beach, that time of the year!! I know it's November, but in Florida, it is outdoor time for the real natives. We Floridians live for it and understand when you arrive at the beach and aren't turning to a french fry ten minutes later. The humidity is half of what it is in July and temperatures are in the mid 70's. Yes it's fun to be at the beach, surfing, swimming, sunning, sand castle building. You read it right, Sarasota's Siesta Key has an annual sand castle festival, it is actually called the Siesta Key Sand Sculpture Competition, but the people who do these extreme works of sand come from all over the world.  I am told that the state of Washington is the number two place for sand castle building. Who would know?  Anyway, this photograph, one of many of the sand sculptures is one of my favorites and as you can tell it has an incredible amount of detail.  Yes, you have to get to the beach early, the festival didn't open till 9:00am. Once in you have a few minutes to get some extreme photos without having to jockey for position, trying to get by everyone else who is also trying to take photos too. After all, it is only a four day event and you have to get the photos as quick as you can, crowds permitting. As for shooting this photo, you can tell the sun was coming from my left, I wanted it to be back lit, yet I wanted the detail in front. I shot this at 200th of second, my f-stop was 14 and I fired my flash which just filled in enough to light up the front of the sand sculpture. The detail in this photo is amazing and it has a very relaxed looking dragon as the subject. The artists were working on this as I began to photograph it and were real nice about stepping away to allow me to get this awesome photo. I have enjoyed the sand art over the years and it gets better and better. The art is sometimes so real looking that you do a double take. Yes I shot quite a few from different angles and you can see more of this and other sand art on my website. Go ahead, stick your eyes on the sand and be amazed at the extreme art made of good old beach sand!! Don't forget the sun tan lotion!!

Photo Show at the Arts Center in Sarasota FL

Still Waters Run Deep (in the Fiber of Our Being)

I invite everyone to the Arts Center in Sarasota this Thursday (November 18th) for the opening of the expose called "The Fiber of Our Being."  This event will be held from November 18th through Jan 8th, 2011. Of the 326 entries, only 153 were chosen and I was fortunate to have a photo chosen for the show.  This is not just a photo but you get a look at my writing as well.  I imbedded a poem that I wrote on the photo, something of a gamble that paid off. The photos is from a book that I am working on about a state park in Ohio called Hocking Hills. It is located in southern Ohio and this shot was taken in July of 2009 while on vacation with my family. I would like to encourage everyone to take a look at the amazing work that was entered for this prestigious show. I will include the words from the photo, thanks for looking!!


                        The Fiber of Our Being by David Taylor

Choices we make, a direction we choose and decisions we have made.

Living with our thoughts, emotional ties, white lies, angry eyes, soft cries.

Open spaces, hard knocks, golden locks, sunset on the dock, soft rock.

Warm socks, nature walks, quiet talks, a cold drink.

Hot coffee, heartfelt, mind piercing, thought provoking, love making.

Butterfly kiss, gentle touch, easy itch, feeling rich, losing hope.

The last laugh, trying to cope, spiteful hurt, intense pain,

The wrong lane, tears of joy, big boy toys, sinfully delicious, wrongly tried.

Instant jealousy, a lost love, peaceful ties, blue eyes, lonely hearts,

Your mother’s yell, your dad’s belt, brother’s cry, sister’s laugh.

Your new car smell, diesel fuel, old tools, a living hell,

Being old, looking young, feeling lost, wanting to rock.

Ice cream sundae, brain freeze, gentle breeze, weak knees,

Hole in one, touchdown, silly frown, out on the town.

Different stroke, hard felt poke, cold coke, one more toke,

Finding time, lost dime, in your prime, lemon-lime, no more rhymes.

Here Ye Here Ye the Medieval Fair is In Town

You still have one more weekend to go back to the times when knights ruled the world! November 20th and 21st (Saturday and Sunday) will be the next time you can go back into time.  You can see jousting knights, human chess matches and eat food of the period.  It is also a great place for photo opportunities. These knights make some serious noise hitting all that metal with just wooden swords, one can only imagine what kind of noise if they were real!!
So how do we photograph this fast pace action. I took this photo using an f-stop of F8 and a shutter speed of 125th of second.  There is a lot happening so I decided to let the 5 frames per second motor drive built into my D90 take over to catch some interesting actions. I really find the Medieval Fair a great photo heaven, most of the actors/characters are very gracious about allowing you to photograph them, which makes again, for some real interesting photos. There are many things going on at the fair that there will never be a dull moment to not get some really interesting photos. You can check out my website at : www.imagesbydavidtaylor.com for more of these photos.  If you come on the weekend, you can find me and we can get some really great action and period type photos.  If you are interested call me or email me and we will set up a mini class and take the knights on for our own photo jousting match!!

2010 Sarasota Chalk Festival - Don't Miss It Next Year!!

Remember the days of chalking on the neighborhood streets when you were a kid?!  The Sarasota Chalk Festival took place over the weekend of Oct 30 & 31 2010, yep Halloween weekend!!  As you can see the art is based on this hollowed day for those of you who love that time of the year.  My weekend was highlighted by the annual chalk festival and I loved it.  I have more of these photos up on my website, this is an example of some of the art that graced the Burns Court neighborhood streets. The photo I have, as an example of the art, is actually sunlight in the right places that gives it the "highlighted" shoulder and the light on the eyes, making the drawing appear to have depth. I have one photo that actually was a 3-D chalk drawing and was able to capture it. Again, check my website and you will see the "mouse trap game" photo. It will amaze you with what appears to be "floating" items in the photo.  As for this photo, I liked the way the light plays on the shoulder, giving the material a waving appearance.  You have to remember this image is a chalk drawing on a city street, giving due credit to the artistic talent.  I have always enjoyed this annual festival and will continue to support it. As for how this photo was shot, you will have to remember that it is the early morning light that is coming across the street that gave the streaks of light to appear at the right time. Thus giving me the strange lighting condition on a flat surface. I shot this at ISO 100, F/10 and 1/60th of second shutter speed. I spot metered on the light which gave darker shadows and this photo. So the next time you see some chalk on the street, take advantage of the light and maybe you will get a scary photo like this!!

Photographing Exotic Flowers

You are looking at a Bird of Paradise flower that I shot at a friends house.  The flowers have stunning colors, shapes and have fascinated me since the first time I had seen one.  While I have filmed many of these flowers, everyone seems to have a different look from the one next to it. How did I shoot this flower?! I started with a Nikon D90 using a 18 to 105mm lens, a fast lens but I was able to catch the sunlight on the flower that had a shadow in the background to give this "in your face" color.  I shot with a an f/stop of 16 and a shutter speed of 500th of a second.  When I start looking to shoot flowers, I become very aware of what is in the background. I have had to many really beautiful flowers that lost their impact because I did not watch what was in the background.  I find myself seeing some really beautiful flowers but I can't shoot them because of the background light. You will loose so much if your flower shot is lost in the background.  Remember to be patient about when you do decide to shoot flowers. You may have to get up very early to catch first light or very late in the day to catch those "golden hours" of light to light up your flower, yet leave your background in a way as to make your flower "pop" out of the picture.  Look for unusual and different angles, different patterns, even creatures (insects or animals) on or near your flower to not only give it a unique perspective, but to show nature being nature.
Patience is probably the most important element in getting the perfect flower photo. You will be richly rewarded if you have the "peace and harmony" when photographing things in nature. And don't forget to share those beautiful flower shots with us!!