Event

Selected for an HDR exhibition at the St. Petersburg Museum of History

in

The Mirror Lake Library HDR shot I submitted for the exhibition.Late last year I agreed to participate in a photography project for the St. Petersburg Museum of History.  I was intrigued by the idea for the project:  making HDR image replicas of historical photographs of various Saint Petersburg landmarks and buildings.  My HDR image of the Mirror Lake Library was selected as one of the thirty-two HDR images for the exhibition.  I was honored and thankful to be chosen, even though my own feelings about my image find it to be only a so-so shot.  

The turnout for the exhibition was huge, relatively.  Certainly much larger than for my own solo haikyo exhibition last year.  There was a free buffet table with really great punch and very good cookies as well, in ample quantities no less!  This made the night a win for me automatically!  Of course it was nice to talk with the other photographers and guests who came to see the exhibition.  I tried my best to explain how an HDR image is produced and how this process comes to make the final product they were seeing on the walls.  It found no up turned noses to HDR as a technique amongst the crowd, which I must say I was a little surprised at.  I know HDR does not appeal to everyone.

Thanks to Velva and everyone else who put a lot of time and effort into organizing this exhibition and to everyone who came out to see the images and make the night a very fun social event.  

The exhibition will be open for several weeks.  More information on the events page of the St. Petersburg History Museum.

My photograph is the one on the left, with the original historical image below it (sorry for the poor video camera snapshot, I took the night off from being an event photographer)

Robinson Family Medicine Ribbon Cutting Event

in

Jo was really excited as Dr. Robinson cut the ribbon on her new business!

 There was a very large turnout for the Robinson Family Medicine ribbon cutting event.  Much more than I expected.  This was the second ribbon cutting in as many weeks that I photographed for the Saint Petersburg Chamber of Commerce.  Each in a totally different setting and offering its own photography challenges.  However, I was allowed to choose the spot for the actual ribbon cutting and had ample time to dial in manual settings on my Nikon D300 and SB-600 Speedlight to get the above shot.  I could not have asked for a better reaction from Jo to make the shot have a little something extra.

There was a raffle after the ribbon cutting . . . 

 An unwatched raffle bowl is a vulnerable thing . . .

. . . someone may just sneak a hand and, but they were caught!

It was my first time inside Bank of America Tower, which is not that much to look at on the outside, but has an impressive lobby with great light beaming through during the golden hour.  I will return to photograph inside there some day.

Meetup with the Lighten Up And Shoot crew

in

Andy & Mike of lightenupandshoot.com show their light stand setup process.

I first learned only two days ago that two photographers from Colombia would be having a free photography & strobist workshop at The Pier in Saint Petersburg.  I checked out their website to learn about them and liked their philosophy for shooting--light amount of gear, high level of skills and just have fun.  The name of their website is a very clever play on words that suits their attitudes perfectly:  lightenupandshoot.com

After a bit of a delayed start, and a much larger than expected turnout (40+ photographers), Mike and Andy began to generously go into how they setup for a shoot, what specific gear they use and most importantly why.  They took questions, all the time bringing a lot of energy.  I should mention here that they were doing all this for free!

Mike let me remotely trigger his westcott softbox as he explained the settings used in this situation to the other photographers looking on.

Not only were they generous with their time, but also with their gear!  The whole time I used their remote triggers, YONGNUO RF-602TX, and got to take a few shots using their strobe and softbox too!  I will definitely be buying those YONGNUO triggers as they are cheap and work great.  The trigger and receiver both have hotshoe mounts, so you do not have to velcro anything to your strobe.  They worked flawlessly with my Nikon D300.

Andy & Mike also posed for a few photos when a model was in need.

The workshop went on all the way up until 8pm I heard, although I left before that to watch the gold medal hockey game (sadly the U.S. lost in overtime).  Mike & Andy will be visiting other cities in the U.S. and having more free workshops, so if they come to your town I would definitely recommend meeting up with them.  You will learn something about photography, meet other photographers in your area, get a chance to shoot a model or two and talk to two photographers who make it work with a list of gear that will not break your budget.  

Thanks a lot to Andy, Mike, Nicole (my 5-minute model shoot with her) and the rest of the lightenupandshoot crew!

Follow them on:

Ribbon Cutting at Landmark at Waters Pointe Saint Petersburg

in

Landmark at Waters Pointe officially opens ready for residents wanting great waterfront living.

This afternoon on behalf of the Saint Petersburg Chamber of Commerce I photographed the ribbon cutting ceremony for Landmark at Waters Pointe.  Assistant manager, Amy, gave us a tour of the very nice grounds and model apartment.  I also had a chance to learn about Amy's rather interesting life and the complex path that ultimately led to her becoming assistant manager of an apartment community.

This was a little bit of a tricky shot to make.  The ladies were standing in the shade, but right behind them was a pool with concrete deck reflecting a lot of light, then of course the water and blue Florida sky in the background.  Not wanting to have my SB-600 Speedlight on camera, but not having the ability to setup a light stand or anything, I simply handheld the SB-600 in my left hand as far out and up as I could while holding my Nikon D300 with only my right hand.  I have actually practiced this shooting technique a lot so I am fairly comfortable with the balancing act it requires.  

It is always fun to attend and photograph these Chamber events.  A couple more are coming up in March.  They also make good networking opportunities.  

The Commodores Performing on New Year's Eve 2009

in

The Commodores really brought it for what to them must have been an extremely small show.

RESERVE THE BEST EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY FOR YOUR NEW YEAR'S PARTY THIS YEAR!

I never imagined I would ever hear "Brick House" performed live on New Year's Eve, or any other eve for that matter, but I was lucky enough not only to see The Commodores in concert on New Year's Eve, but to be paid to photograph them as well.  I was really, really impressed by the energy that Walter "Clyde" Orange, William "Wak" King and James Dean "J.D." Nicholas brought.  I mean they really brought it and rocked and funked up the whole Treasure Island Yacht Club.  

I got to shake hands with James Dean "J.D." Nicholas at the end of The Commodore's performance.

The stage was small so there was no space for me to shoot from there, and there was no barrier between the stage and the crowd either.  So I had to basically carve my own space in the front of the crowd to shoot from.  Besides the usual lighting challenges there was a video team with a huge light coming off their video camera making my job all that much harder as this huge video light really made hot spots in my still images.

William "Wak" King blowing on his trumpet at the Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club New Year's 2009 celebration.

The aforementioned crowd was totally into what The Commodores were jamming out.  It is a testament to The Commodores' broad appeal that a crowd of older skewing yacht club members could feel the music the way they did.  

Walter "Clyde" Orange pointing at someone in the Yacht & Tennis Club crowd no doubt to their great delight.

People were constantly reaching up to try and high five and shake hands with Clyde and Wak and J.D. while they were performing.  I could not imagine being that hands on with the crowd, but The Commodores were very accommodating shaking hands and pointing to people in the audience, even continuing to play on when one woman forced her way on stage and started shaking her booty!  

A fan getting the hands on treatment from The Commodores

If The Commodores ever asked me to go out on tour with them as their photographer, I certainly would not say no!

   
  • Reserve an event photography package for your company or business today
  • More information on event photography packages
  • View more event photography photo stories 

    • DJ Joey Jam Performing on New Year's Eve 2009

    in

    DJ Joey Jam at the Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club on New Year's Eve 2009

    RESERVE THE BEST EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY FOR YOUR NEW YEAR'S PARTY THIS YEAR!

    While photographing the grand New Year's Eve party at the Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club, I saw this energetic person in a white baseball cap buzzing from room to room.  I did not know who he was.  Maybe someone who worked for the club?  Maybe just a popular member of the club?  Maybe a celebrity MC I was not familiar with?  All I knew is that anytime I pointed my lens at him he was definitely ready to be photographed and always pulled the people around him into the shot as well.  It turns out he was a DJ, to be more specific DJ Joey Jam.

    DJ Joey Jam performing his craft in the post-midnight afterglow

    DJ Joey Jam is an endlessly friendly person, and to use a Japanese word, genki!  I was impressed by his ability to liven up the party, and still have the energy to spin well into the late hours of New Year's Eve.  

    DJ Joey Jam likes to get at eye level with his turntables

       
  • Reserve an event photography package for your company or business today
  • More information on event photography packages
  • View more event photography photo stories 

    •  

    DJs, Musicians, Entertainers -- reserve the services of Jason Collin Photography today for your:

    • live performances
    • promotional materials
    • album covers

    Treasure Island Yacht and Tennis Club New Year's Eve Party 2009

    in

    Dancing on top of a pool at Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club on New Years' Eve 2009

    This was only the second time in my life, and first time since high school, that I worked on New Year's Eve.  From 7pm December 31, 2009 to 2am January 01, 2010 I was photographing the Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club's lavish New Year's Eve Party featuring John Secada and The Commodores.

    No expense was spared to impress guests as they arrived at the Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club on New Year's Eve 2009

    The Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club's New Year's Eve event was my highest profile job to date.  It was also my most prolific job too nearly filling to capacity three 8GB memory cards.  Over the course of the 7 hours of shooting I literally only stopped shooting for four minutes as I ate half the sandwich I had packed away in my stowed camera bag.  Ultimately, I delivered over 700 edited images to the client in just a one week turnaround.

    There were three different dinner areas all very well decorated.

    There was no lack of activity during the New Year's party as there were three distinct areas for guests to dine, dance and party in.  In the yacht club building itself there were two floors of entertainment.  The second floor was an intimate setting with John Secada performing, and the third floor was a large and lively dining hall with The Commodores rocking the place.

    2010 made it easy to fashion eyewear of itself.

    The third location was actually right on top of a pool (see top photo), covered in a $90,000 system of plexiglass sheets that formed a see-through dance floor--that could only be used once as it would be too scratched to use again!  Here a cover band called Stormbringer provided rock and pop stalwarts.   

    There were many chances to dance cheek-to-cheek.

    While it was great to have three areas to find candid event scenes to photograph, it made for a lot of stair climbing and grounds walking!  Also, since I never took a real break and always had my Nikon D300 with a Nikkor SB-800 (thanks Pedro!) mounted on it around my neck, not to mention a Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm 1.8D lens too, by the end of my night my right arm had never been so tired from shooting before!

    Romantically ringing in the new year on the dance floor at the Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club

    Despite the endurance challenges, this was by far my most exciting photography job.  The guests, yacht club staff and the entertainers were all very friendly and made my job easier with their help.  The guests were all in a really good mood and mostly loved to have their photograph taken.  The staff was fun to talk to and get behinds the scenes info from (like suggestions to shoot from behind the bar).  Special thanks to Sara for thinking of me for photographing this event.  I could tell she put a tireless effort into making this a great event.