Newt Gingrich in Naples Fl.
With the Presidential Republican Nomination starting to heat up with Newt Gingrich I thought I would finally post some photos that I shot for the Associated Press on November 25 th, 2011. When his campagin started to heat up and really gain a lot attention. In this town hall meeting he and his wife Callista shake hands with supporters at the Naples Hilton. Mr. Gingrich took sometime to defended his stance on immigration. All and all I photographed the candidate Friday night and Saturday morning at a book signing event in Naples at the Mercato’s Books-A-Million which was a well attended event.
Naples Resident Lee Barry asks Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, ask about his policies on Israel during a town hall meeting at the Naples Hilton in Naples, Fla., Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Erik Kellar)
Power Women Portraits in Naples FL.
So some of my most recent photographs were a series of photos about Power Women in Naples FL. for Gulfshore Life Magazine. The advetorial will be featured in the March issue of Gulfshore Life. I had the pleasure of shooting two wonderful and beautiful women for the upcoming issue, Susan Scholz, Chief Operating Officer for Specialist in Urology and Dr. Barbara Reed. Each were truly a joy to shoot. In Susan’s case we decided to shoot her on location at their building on U.S. 41 in Naples, across from The Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club. It was kind of a gray day but with the use of some carefully balanced flash I was able to get some very nice photos. Barbara I shot in the studio with the help make-up artist and stylist Holly Pergola and my assistant Connor Garrett. We shot two outfits with Barbara and decided the black was our best choice for the feature about her.
Susan Scholz, Chief Operating Officer for Specialist in Urology in Naples Fl. Erik Kellar Photography
Commercial Photography Naples FL: Office Politics How To Play and WIn an Editorial feature
SO the latest Gulfhsore Business cover was a collaboration between Jesse Adams, art director for Gulfshore Life, models Frazier Gadella, Angel King, Koula Medteis, make-up artist and myself, Erik Kellar. The shot was based on the concept Office Politics: How to play and win. In our initial discussions we had thumb nailed out a half dozen ideas and whittled it down to these three. We had a pretty good idea about the cover. We wanted the man to be the one with the target on his back and I had Frazier reflect a defeated look in his posture. We asked ANgel to give us a range of expressions. After a couple of hundred photos we ended up with the one featured. We transitioned from the cover to the other two photos. The actual shooting time only took about three hours but with meetings and set prep and testing the time really was about 14 hours of work. The ighting is done with several grid spots gelled.
Childhood Obesity: Making Right Choices
So I was hired to shoot a feature for Health Magazine, which is produced by Gulfshore Life. I was contracted to produce a photo about childhood obesity and the choices you make as a parent and how they will affect you child both in the short term and long term. I contacted a friend of mine, Trip Perkins, a chef and food stylist and had him prepare the food for the shoot. The concept was to get a kid, Mason Moran, and sow him getting ready to bite into a big old hamburger. Jesse Adams, an art director for Gulfshore Life, was pretty open to what ever I shot so I had some great freedom. I also ended up using Mason’s mother, Melissa an old friend in the shot. It turned out great. The other alternatives I ended up doing was the hand picking up the cookie with the good choices in the background as well as the food on a balance scale to show how you should weigh your choices. Anyway look for the article in Health Magazine. For the technical minded. I shot it at iso 100 at f.11 on a Canon 5d Mark II, I used 6 lights one on the background, two rim lights on either side, a hair light, a beauty dish over head and in front and a 5 foot octabank for fill behind me.
Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott votes
![Florida_Govenor_FLEK102-150x150[1]](http://erikkellar.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Florida_Govenor_FLEK102-150x1501.jpg "Florida_Govenor_FLEK102-150x150[1]")
Susan G. Komen and Physicians Regional in Naples Fl. Mammos & Manicures event
What a great event at Physicians Regional Health Center on 951 in Naples fl. The event featured cancer awareness and education with the Susan G. Komen Foundation Southwest Florida Affiliate. The room was packed with women and vendors. The event included of course free mammograms and manicures for attendees and I helped out Kori Gowan, owner of Merle Norman in North Naples. I did the before and after photographs of some of the women that attended the event and received a make-over. Also offered at the event were free massages, information about cancer and a chance for people to talk with the doctors at Physicians Regional. All and all a fine event with more than 200 people there. For directions to Merle Norman in Naples click here.
A model shooting
So I had the fortunate chance to shoot Janelle Ryan recently. Janelle is from New York and is a new to the area with her husband. Janelle contacted me through Model Mayhem , an online modeling co-operative. Janelle needed some new shot for her portfolio. Janelle is a very sweet person who is somewhat new to modeling but knows how to move in front of the camera. She really lit up some of the images I shot and I hope to be able to use her on some projects in the future. Please see the images that are attached.
Battling for Governor
Battling for Governor
Shooting a close race in the Sunshine State
I had a great opportunity recently to shoot both Florida Gubernatorial Republican Candidates before the primaries in July and September. I first shot Florida Attorney General Bill McCullom followed by Naples businessman Rick Scott for AP the day of the primary. Both had the same platform, for the most part, but there was a certain excitement that came the Scott campaign that was not matched by McCullom’s. It was interesting to compare the two campaigns as one seemed very vibrant and the other more low key. All in al each assignment had there unique challenges. Both were very quick with limited access, so photos needed to be shot quickly and cross your fingers you get a good moment. Ultimately Mr. Scott won that race but fortunately I was able to get several good photos that ran across the country.
Lawand Interiors of Marco Island
I recently had the pleasure of shooting JoAnne Lawand, owner of Lawand Interiors on Marco Island. JoAnne was a delightful subject and shared a lot of gardening tips. I wanted to highlight her in the context of her home which she, of course, decorated. She has a big set of sliding glass doors that allow sunlight to stream in and illuminate her home. I supplemented the light with a softbox and got some awesome results.
Olympus Pen Micro Four Thirds Camera
So I have been searching for a micro four thirds camera, which is somewhere between an SLR and a point and shoot. While comparing Panasonic, Canon and Olympus I ran across this great video for the Olympus Pen. It is a commercial shot with the Pen camera and a great creative mind. It just goes to show what can be done with a camera that is not a top level pro camera. I like to say, or I am repeating something I have heard, that the mind creates the photo not the camera. Enjoy the video.