Romancing the Stone: Part II

Every blue moon you meet someone who inspires you as a photographer. I recently met a Japanese actress and I knew I had to photograph her right away. During my first meeting with her I took a few snap shots to see how she moved and she had a similar star quality to Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum, which is truly a rare quality.

I have wanted to shoot more segments to my "Romancing the Stone" story but wanted to find the right person. I also wanted to incorporate my girlfriends jewelry line in the second part of my story so now with all the pieces lined up I was ready to shoot.

Shot Day:

The start time was at 9:00 a.m. and my hair and makeup person arrived along with my model. As the makeup artist stared working I continued dressing my set. The images here show my set up. I shot in an outdoor tent that I've turned into an outdoor studio. The elements for this shoot were simply the tent, 2-12x12 scrims, a mirror, white fill boards, white gaffer tape, 1-C stand and My Sony A900. These images show the set up and I will be discussing this in detail during my next classes and speaking engagements.

Upcoming classes and speaking engagements:

Verona, Italy - September 19th and 20th 2009 (www.mima.cc)

Los Angeles, CA - November 12th 2009 (APA/LA event)

New York City - March 27th, 2010 (PPA/NYC event)

I am often asked why I "give away" my secrets when I speak or on my blog at times, but I don't believe telling the technical details gives my magic away. It does help those who are hungry for information and I remember being a young photo assistant wanting to soak up all the knowledge I could. I hope my blog does that in some way for those who are hungry for information.

Always Dream Big!

The Art of Photography-Avedon

This weekend as Los Angeles dealt with yet another fire and the smoke filled the air, I escaped to San Diego to see a photo exhibit that was showing there. The opening was Saturday evening but I didn't make it until Sunday. As I walked into the space and viewed the exhibit I couldn't really tell what was missing but it felt very different to me. Since I've lived in Los Angeles I have yet to feel what I felt when living in New York and attending exhibits. The show was interesting but I can't say I loved it. I stayed almost two hours viewing the images several times but left feeling empty.

On my way to the exhibit I noticed advertisements for another photography exhibit so I decided to take the other show in as well. The moment I walked in I knew what the other was missing,...,the power to awe the viewer. The other show was simply amazing and exactly what an exhibit should be and inspire all photographers, myself included to reach for the best. The show is Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power and if you are anywhere close to San Diego it is a must see. I've seen Dick Avedon's exhibits many times and they have always inspired me in ways that I can't explain. Avedon left us much to early and passed away in 2004. I saw him that same year walking down 57th street and then the next thing I knew he was gone. I can only "Dream Big" of having a career the way Avedon did, but it's never too late. This show has inspired me in a way that nothing has in a long time and I am so eager to push myself harder on my next assignments.

Dream big and go see Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power

The End is Near

It's the end of Summer and hopefully the beginning of the end of this recession. My last Summer get away was this past weekend with a trip to Sequoia National Park. I'm a big guy, but even I look like an ant when standing by these amazing trees. Only four hours from Los Angeles and you're at the home of the largest trees in the world. I had to take my A900 to document the trip along with a wide angle lens. A picture is worth a thousand words but not even a photograph can capture the true beauty of the Sequoia.

Updates on the summer photo sessions next!

Always Dream Big!

Matthew Jordan Smith

Verona, Italy - Photography Workshop

Join me next month for an exciting two day workshop and photo exhibit in beautiful Verona, Italy. To learn more please go to the site at www.mima.cc.

Enjoy the rest of the summer and keep shooting what you love!

Always Dream Big!

Hello Kitty

HELLO KITTY

I have a friend in New York City who has always loved dogs. A few years ago she starting photographing only cats and dogs, and now makes a living doing just that. If success is measured by loving what you do, I believe my friend has found success.

A week ago while walking around Sapporo, Japan my girlfriend and I came across a store that took us by surprise. The store was simply called “Cat Café”. I’m really more of a dog person but the idea was so intriguing that we had to check it out. I was quite amazed once we entered the store to see it was just as it sounds, a cat café. The café is a place where you can spend 30 minutes or more simply enjoying being around cats. You can also order a drink, get on line or just relax. The cost was 500 yen, (about $5.00) for the first 30 minutes. The store was filled with different types of cats and I was shocked at how many people came in while we were there. The atmosphere of the café was calming and if you had a stressful day I can see this as a relief. I can see a business like this one working in a place like New York City and I’ll have to tell my friend about this concept and see what she thinks. Imagine getting away from the office for 15 min. a day and just having a zen moment with your favorite pet. I travel so much that it’s almost impossible to have a pet but having a cat or dog café close by would be a wonderful way to spend time with a furry friend.

If you do what you love you will enjoy life so much more. Shoot what you love and always dream big!

Sapporo, Japan

Shot with Sony A900

Lens: 35mm

Tyra Shoot

I've been shooting Tyra Banks since 94 or 93, I'm not really sure which year to be honest, but our first shoot was a test in my brooklyn apartment late at night. We shot until 2 or 3:00 a.m. as her mother slept on my sofa. That was the beginning of a long and wonderful relationship filled with great memories and photographs.

This shoot was done a few years ago during the first years of Top Model. Tyra wanted me to shoot a few idea's for her so we got together and just played. We shot four very different concepts but only used three. For each concept I changed the lighting to give different affects. Some images were shot with the large beauty dish, or Mola light. With those images the dish is the main light and an Octabank is behind me just as a fill. Other images are shot using a setup I've used over the years to give a wall of light effect. This is done using V flats and making a huge U shape and bouncing light into the panels. When I do this effect not even my assistants are allowed to enter as they block light. I use this when I'm doing a nude of a celebrity for privacy and for the beauty of the light. Tyra was clothed on this images but she was in a very tiny bathing suit so for that reason I am only showing the setup and none of the behind the scenes images of those.

People often ask me about the " Two sides of Tyra" images where one side of Tyra's face is White and the other Black. There is retouching to enhance the image but we shot it just as you see it in one image. People often ask if this image was made with two separate shots but it's just one.

The strobes are all profoto for these images but some are shot with both Mola and Octabank, some just Octabank and some with my own home made U light, (my own name) but my assistants know what I mean when I ask for this light setup. We shot this digital and as always when we shoot the days flies by and we ended up shooting until late in the evening. The sunset that evening was so beautiful over Manhattan and I had to stop just to capture its beauty. I think its a sin to see an amazing sunset and not photograph it.

Always Dream Big!

Matthew Jordan Smith

Japanese Onsen

Ten years ago I went to Japan for the first time and discovered the beauty of the Japanese onsen, (natural hot springs baths). Since Japan is earthquake and volcano country there are many natural hot springs around to enjoy. One day I hope to do an onsen tour around Japan and experience all the different types of onsens.

My first onsen experience, Takaragawa Onsen, was quite amazing and I’ve yearned to return to the same onsen with my girlfriend every since. It’s a few hours from Tokyo, if I remember correctly, and well worth the journey. I want to return to experience with someone I love and also for the photographic nature and beauty of the onsen there. Hopefully next year I can do so.

There are different types of onsen’s around Japan so research the type you’d like to experience before going. The images displayed here are outside the onsen area, as onsen's are nude bathing/soaking, and not appropriate (in my mind) for bringing a camera.

Camera: Sony A900

Len’s: 35mm, 24-70mm zoom

Shoot what you love and always dream big!

Hokkaido, Japan