RAW Vibes Art & Performance Space Grand Opening

Cutting the ribbon on the Grand Opening of RAW Vibes Art & Performance Space in St. Petersburg

Two weeks ago I first met Jeff, the owner of RAW Vibes Art & Performance Space in St. Petersburg.  I showed him some of my haikyo photography from Japan and to my surprise he really liked it.  Jeff quickly began talking about having an exhibition of my work and of RAW Vibes' upcoming grand opening.

Some of the paintings and photography already on display at the grand opening of RAW Vibes.

I arrived a bit fashionably late to the grand opening (had to stop at Publix and buy more Gatorade!).  Even from half a block away though I could tell the place was already packed as there were some people also outside milling around.  After meeting Jeff at the door and giving him a small grand opening present (a framed haikyo 8x10 print) and getting a water from the bar (I do not drink), being a relatively shy person I just quietly browsed all the paintings and photographs along the lengthy wall spaces.  After that lap I got the ok from Jeff to start shooting away, and I went right to work and as I raised my D300 to my eye all my shyness went away, as it always does.  I now had a purpose and could stop being in the event and switch to being in the event while outside of it via my lens.  This is how I feel most comfortable at such social gatherings--in them, but not of them.

 The crew that helped get RAW Vibes up and running (owner Jeff, center with hat & white shirt)

I was mostly on the hunt for candids and interesting angles, but there were a few posed shots like the above one with Jeff and the crew that helped him get RAW Vibes off the ground.  I know the guy on the far left is the photographer whose work was on display, and the guy second from the right was one of thew two DJs.  The guy to the left of Jeff is an illustrator.  

A flamenco dancer was the first entertainment of the night.

Jeff gave a short speech thanking everyone who made the grand opening possible and to everyone who came out to show their support.  A small stage was setup and and a flamenco dancer performed several dances which got the people in attendance quite energized.  I was focused on trying to get a good shot switching between full power flash, and a bit of shutter drag as can be seen in the above image.  

Jeff takes a turn at the turntables to be the DJ for awhile.

After the flamenco dancing Jeff took over the turntables and did a bit of DJ-ing.  I thought the dark brown wall behind him made for an interesting color background.  Fortunately, he was wearing a white shirt too.  I had to to experiment with angles to get only Jeff in the shot as there were always people ambling in and out of frame.

Pedro put on a strong spoken word performance ending in two hip hop songs.

In a very subtle way, all of a sudden Pedro (above) commanded the attention of the crowd with a seemingly out of the blue spoken word performance.  There was quite a diverse demographic on hand from perhaps his usual target audience all the way up to older family members and kids, so it was interesting to see how the words he was spitting fell on the different people in the crowd.  He transitioned into a hip hop performance with a crowd pleasing number with I think his wife rapping back and forth with him during the chorus.  

David rips into an energetic freestyle in the "Black Box" roomLast but not least for the happening in the main gallery room, was David, a well-known poet in the St. Petersburg area.  I had met him that first night I met Jeff, but this was my first time to hear him speak.  I was immediately impressed as his normal somewhat laid back demeanor dissolved into a rapid-delivery poet of demanding attention.  He gave only a few sentence burst in the main gallery room, and said if you were feeling what he was saying, then join him in the back room, also called the "Black Box" room, a place where Jeff has stated several times there is "no censorship."  A bold performance ensued and I was able to make my best photograph of the evening (above).  

RAW Vibes Art & Performance Space exterior at 2109 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL 33713 Although the performances continued on, I made my way home early as is also my custom.  

RAW VIBES Art and Performance Space info: 

• website:  http://www.rawvibesart.com/
• phone:  727-557-8266
• address:  2109 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL 33713 

Cush 'n Shade Shoot Part 1: Behind the Scenes

Showing the model how to setup the Cush 'n Shade on Clearwater BeachMy membership in the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce has finally paid off!  I had the great pleasure of working with Steve and Stacey of Videosyncrasy who hired me to photograph behind the scenes (mostly) of their video shoot thanks to finding me in the Chamber's directory.  The main client was an Irish businessman who has a new product well suited for Florida, the Cush 'n Shade.  The client hired Videosyncrasy to shoot video for the Cush 'n Shade with my job as the still photographer to document the video shoot and when there was a break in video recording make some products shots with and without the four models (see Cush 'n Shade Part 2).  I learned a lot over the course of the 9-hour shoot!

Steve of Videosyncrasy working the camera as the Irish businessman client watches on the external viewer.

The first thing I learned is that setting up to record video of a relatively stationary subject matter takes a lot more time than it does to setup for making a still photograph of the same relatively stationary subject matter.  The need for an assistant is not optional on a video shoot.  

Under the rising Florida sun on Clearwater Beach, things quickly got hot on the set and Steve took out his video camera umbrella. I donned my trusty gray hat.

The photography was a real challenge on Clearwater Beach in broad daylight.  I was mostly using my Nikon D300 with SB-600 on camera and my Tamron XR Di II 17/50mm lens.  I could only use the flash when it did not interfere with the video being shot, further adding to the challenge.  Of course there was no shade to be seen anywhere.  Then there was also the horizon to keep straight in each and every shot!  This is always a challenge for me when shooting handheld, which I was the entire time.  Even though I used my viewfinder's gridlines to line things up every time, sometimes the horizon still came out a bit crooked.  Still, I was pleased with how many of the shots came out, especially given the challenging conditions.  Thank Buddha for Nik Color Efex Pro's "pro contrast" and "polarizing" filters!

When you only need a single model for the video shot, that leaves a lot of downtown for the other 3 models seen here on Clearwater Beach 

Another thing I learned is that there is a lot of downtime for the models, and even the crew.  On Clearwater Beach we were sometimes subject to a cloud passing over the sun, and often some random person just walking a bit too closely behind the set.  There was nothing we could do about the diving pelicans having a feeding frenzy in the water below us (see the 3rd photo from the top, look at Tom in the black cap).

Most of the time only one model was being used with the product, so the other three just sat and waited their turn to use the product on camera and eventually for pair work with another model.  I wonder if the models, while waiting, are thinking, "nice, money for nothing," or, "I want to get face time with the product on camera to get exposure?"  

Yours Truly holding a reflector on the set at Innisbrook Golf Country Club Resort

 I even put down my lens a few times to help out with the video crew!  These are my impressions of holding a silver aluminum foil type reflector:  it's hard work, especially if you have extend your arms out in an unsupported position; it reminded me of putting a magnifying glass on an ant as a child as you really reflect a strong beam of sunlight onto the models.  It's so strong that you know when you got the light on their face just right because they flinch at first.  As soon as the camera stopped rolling, I lowered the beam dutifully.  

All in all I really enjoyed being on the two locations and had a lot of fun with everyone involved and hope to work with that team again.

In a future blog post I will reveal the product shots I made and show how I tried to photograph the models in direct sunlight the best I could.

St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Dinner

The 2009 award winners.

This evening I had the pleasure of photographing the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce's annual "Outstanding Business of the year 2009 Awards Dinner."  It was a major opportunity for me to photograph inside one of the premier locations in the city, the Don CeSar Hotel.  There were several challenges in photographing this event.  As is usually the case with indoor awards events, the lighting was not being used anywhere near full power.  I had the added challenge this time of dinner plates being cleared by the wait staff and dessert being brought out while the first awards were being handed out.  I was right in the path of the kitchen doors.  Besides having to concentrate on the timing of the awards handshake, I had to make sure not to backup into someone carrying a mountainous tray of dishes or chocolate cake.

I was able to meet and have conversations with all the major players in the Chamber organization, including the president and CEO Mr. John Long, a very friendly person with a great, expressive face full of character with the type of personality that makes a photographer's job very easy. 

I look forward to covering more of the Chamber's future events.

Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, John Long

The interior of the Don CeSar.

An audience with St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker

Today I had the pleasure of having an audience, along with 9 other members of the St. Petersburg Young Professionals, with the engaging mayor of St. Petersburg, Rick Baker.  The mayor is the tall gentleman in the back-center.  The mayor is funny and well spoken, though his speaking is soft and deliberate.  He is a big lover of dog parks and the building of neighborly and community ties that they produce, which I can personally attest to as being 100% true.  He told us that the main reason why a recent company of computer engineers chose to move their headquarters to downtown St. Petersburg is because of its proximity to cycling trails.  Again, this is another reason why I too love the downtown area of St. Petersburg.

The mayor spoke to us for an hour, outlining what it is to be a mayor and his personal "Baker Plan" for running the city.  Here are a few bits of trivia he shared with us:

• a goal of his is to have a playground within a half mile of every child
• "Until the crime rate is zero, you have a crime problem."
• There are various species of trees planted from the Howard Franklin to the Sunshine bridges that bloom so that at any point of the year, some of those trees will be in bloom, 6,000 blossoming trees planted total in the city
• The number of city employees since he took office has shrunk by 14% (-300 employees), but the police force has increased
• The average EMS response time is just 4.5 minutes
• The mayor does not support police car chases for anything other than violent crimes, and argued his point very convincingly
• St. Pete teachers can get a free $20,000 house down payment if they live in that same house for 10 years and continue teaching in the city

I was impressed with his dedication to education and the environment, and I am not easily impressed on such matters.  He took questions from us for 30 minutes.  I asked him why solar is not more widely used in such a sunny city.  His answers of solar not yet being economically feasible to implement and also not technologically advanced enough to put into widespread use would not have been enough for me if he had not wisely qualified those statements with his belief, however, that strides must be taken to keep developing solar so that the costs for using it can come down, as costs have come down for other technologies. 

I only wish I could have gotten in the photograph with the mayor too! (I was the one who made it.)

Third Anniversary of the St. Pete Young Professionals

download the above images HERE

The St. Petersburg Young Professionals celebrated their third anniversary up by the sea.  I am their newest member!  They are a very welcoming bunch and sharp dressers.  I look forward to participating in more of their events in the future. 

This group is for young leaders ages 22-40.  It is a division of The St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce.  No doubt this group is an exellent networking and learning resource.