Photographic Weekend

On Friday night I attended a birthday celebration for a friend at the Shadow Room in DC. I had not been to the Shadow Room before. Outside the door there is some red carpet to welcome guests. The interior of the club is dimly lit with alternating colors lighting the ceiling softly. The DJ was spinning tunes and people were dancing it up. Several people had their compact cameras and were taking a lot of pictures.


On Saturday afternoon I photographed a theatrical headshot session. I was trying out the Photek Softliter SL 5000 with a diameter of 46" from tip to tip of the umbrella shape. It's not a new product on the scene, but I've heard of people using it and liking it. I had this umbrella setup at about a 45 degree angle and around three feet from the subject. I had a flash set up to light up the umbrella. I also had a reflector set up on the other side with another flash shining into it. My pop-up flash on my camera was up to be able to trigger my external flashes wirelessly.

On Sunday I attended the National Geographic Versatile Traveler Seminar at the National Geographic headquarters in Washington DC. We had a full day which went from 9am to 4pm, but we also had a few breaks. I enjoyed hearing from Ralph Lee Hopkins and Bob Krist. I've seen Bob Krist on some training DVDs and I got to meet him. The guy has such a friendly disposition in the DVD and in person. It was an inspiring day and I picked up some things I can use in my photography.