I tried Steaz for the first time yesterday. I thought the beverage was OK, but I really loved the sayings beneath the bottle caps. I think all companies should strive to give you something that makes you feel better after having used their product.

Thanks to the amazing graphic designer Amy Jones for my awesome new logo! http://amycochran.com/

Recently I was asked by a friend and fantastic photographer Amaris Hames to help shoot a wedding. She needed a photo booth and knew I had the gear. So an unholy alliance was formed! Bwahahahahaha! OK, so perhaps not really an unholy alliance, but I did say yes to helping with the photo booth.

Woo! It’s always good to get the studio setup somewhere besides my garage.

This is the setup. Two Paul C. Buff Alien Bee 800s with umbrellas and a makeshift backdrop stand. The lights were triggered via the RadioPopper Jrx system and the camera was a 7D tethered to a Macbook Pro. It’s a pretty simple setup. The lighting didn’t need to be dramatic, just lit.

While running the photo booth I learned that there are a lot of slow times. What does a photographer do when it’s slow? I couldn’t just sit there while the action was going on just behind me. So I figured I could turn the lights toward the action and take the camera off the tripod. It was easy enough to revert when somebody was ready for the photo booth.

So what did I learn from the experience?

1. Photo booths at a wedding can be very fun.
2. Look around. Action is everywhere.
3. Don’t be rigid. Just because you’re set to do one thing doesn’t mean you can’t also do another.
4. If you get a chance to work with Amaris Hames and Dré Szkolnyj, DO IT!

You can view some of Amaris’ work here: http://www.amarishames.com/
You can view some of Dré’s work here: http://www.andreajayne.com/

First test of the Cowboy Studio boom stand.

Yesterday the latest addition to my studio arrived.  A brand new Cowboy Studio boom stand.

I’ve been needing a boom stand for a while and realized the need even more once I purchased my Paul C. Buff 22″ beauty dish.  The beauty dish on a standard light stand is ok, but you can really only face it straight forward at whatever height you set the stand.

In order to get more flattering light you really need the light to be above and coming down at an angle.  Perpendicular light just seems a bit weird and unnatural, so I got the boom stand.

I was on a budget, so I thought I’d check out the Cowboy Studio equipment.  The reviews on some of their equipment can be rather mixed, but the boom stands seemed to get good reviews.  Well, something like this “it’s good, solid stand – for the money”.

I have to say so far, I am impressed.  It was less expensive that some of my standard light stands and seems a lot more sturdy.  It is definitely strong enough to hold my Alien Bees AB1600 and the 22″ beauty dish.  Based on my experience thus far, I believe it would hold a large softbox and the AB1600 as well.

I am quite pleased and so is my pocketbook.

Today I launched the new look and feel of the site.

Coming soon will be all updated content and photos for the portfolio.

I’m quite excited and feel extremely motivated to push this site beyond just posting a photo every now and again.

Hopefully you’ll take the ride with me.

Had a the chance to see Stone Temple Pilots last night at the Raleigh Amphitheater. I was a bit nervous as I had heard stories about certain members of the band flaking out from time to time.

That did not happen last night. It was an amazing show.

Stone Temple Pilots - Raleigh Amphitheather

Recently I had the honor of documenting two Carolina Rollergirls (Eris Discordia and Celia Fate) along with their mascot (Evil Ed) as they helped to raise money for the Special Olympics.

The event was called “Over The Edge”. Basically supporters who were able to raise a minimum of $1000 got the privilege of rappelling down Raleigh’s Wachovia building.

Check out some photos from the event below or view the full set at my Flickr site.

Yes, I realize this was from last year.. But it’s a good glimpse into how hard hitting this sport is. Oh and I’m in the video doing my thing as well.

Thanks to Colby Hoke for putting this together.

Click here to view the embedded video.

August was a good month.

Somehow I managed to get two articles written about me and my work on the Carolina Rollergirls blog.

This first article is about the photography I do at their bouts: http://carolinarollergirls.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/joshuacraig/

The second article is an interview with yours truly: http://carolinarollergirls.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/joshuacraiginterview/

Thanks so much to the Carolina Rollergirls for making me feel appreciated.

Wilber’s Barbecue was the third stop on our whirlwind tour. We decided to play it smart and go visit The Cliffs of the Neuse State Park to walk off some of the first two lunches.

Wilber’s was my least favorite of the three. It wasn’t that it was bad, it was still tasty, but it just wasn’t able to hold up to B’s or The Skylight Inn.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Notes:

The sweet tea here was actually the best of the three and there was plenty of it. They bring out a large pitcher full of it and leave it on your table.

The collard greens were quite mushy and seemed like they had been cooked too long or pureed.

Here’s a link to the trail http://www.ncbbqsociety.com/trail_map.html

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode!