Racing past the moon…

Racing past the moon…, originally uploaded by Steve Gray.

My Favorite Take

My Favorite Take, originally uploaded by Steve Gray.

Shot some video today for the Canon “Beyond the Still” short film contest. This was by far my favorite take of all the setups we shot. It’s hard to get a filmic look out of 5D footage, but after applying a custom picture style, things looked a lot better.
I like this take the best because of the light and the steam coming off of the truck. Most of the moisture in the air had burned off by that part of the morning, so it was a nice surprise when the truck ground to a halt in a cloud of mist. The splashes ended up looking pretty cool too.

Headshots

Headshots (9/52), originally uploaded by Steve Gray.

Some self-portraits I took at Studio One a little over a week ago.

In case you were hoping for more content in this blog and have sat in dismay during a somewhat quiet winter, I apologize. The concert season starts up again on Valentine’s Day and I have quite a bit of wedding/engagement/senior stuff lined in March, ranging from Pensacola to New Orleans, so hang tight.

But, by far, the biggest thing to look forward to on this little blog is my upcoming trip to the Mediterranean. I’ve been trying not to broadcast it, but I’m just too excited. Some things have fallen into place, and I will be spending three or four weeks abroad in Europe, training and hosteling my way through Italy and Greece. I plan to visit such landmark cities as Florence and Venice, as well as the mind-bending clifftop monasteries in Meteora, Greece. So stay tuned for that; it will be glorious.

Until then, my personal work is going to be limited as I make the transition to a new university; where I’m currently pursuing dual majors in history and communication arts. I’m going to take the camera to school for a week to do some “day in the life” types of shots that seem to be popular on Flickr these days, but it will have to wait until I get caught up.

Pensacola Bay

Pensacola Bay, originally uploaded by Steve Gray.

Old, but good. I captured this several years ago from my aunt and uncle’s pier, looking down the Baybridge Complex on the north shore of Gulf Breeze, and down to the bridge itself.

New Year’s Eve at Bellingrath Gardens

Some of you might have seen photos from when I shot a wedding earlier this year at Bellingrath Gardens, and if so you’ll be familiar with how beautiful that place is. This late in the year, most of the foliage has faded or fallen off, but it is made up for by an enormous light show, made up of (literally) millions of Christmas lights. My family and some friends decided to make the drive over to spend New Year’s Eve. We were floored by the beauty of it all. Different sections of the gardens were themed, ranging from animals, candy, and even an undersea area. The show is put on every year, and this year it’s extended through January 3rd. I can’t recommend it enough.

Heard of Harry Lime?

Heard of Harry Lime?, originally uploaded by Steve Gray.

This is actually a video still, taken with my 5D MkII. It was captured with a customized high-contrast monochrome picture style, then I heightened the contrast and deepened the black levels in post.

This is a tribute to cinematographer Robert Krasker, who photographed Carol Reed’s inimitable 1949 noir, "The Third Man."

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone reading this (all three of you, grin grin), have a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic new year.

In celebration of the season, I’ve cut together a short video celebrating the Christmas spirit, as represented by a house in Pensacola.

It looks fine below, but it looks even better on Vimeo!

Christmas Photo Walk

Took some time out tonight with Sheldon and Dan, two good friends and great photographers. Our focus this evening was on Christmas lights. I only took a few still photos, concentrating mostly on video work with my 5D MkII. I recently bought a Rode Video Mic to help my audio, which until now has been lackluster, and I wanted to spend some time getting familiar with it, and getting used to it being on top of the camera.  You can expect the video sometime before Christmas.  Gosh, that’s in about two days…

Anyway, here are the stills! If you want to see Sheldon’s or Dan’s photos, their Flickr photostreams are linked above.

Poker Night (Part the Deuce)

Little video I cut together from the game the other night.  We tried to look all Rat Pack and serious for about five seconds before we realized it just wouldn’t work.

Poker Night

Played poker with some friends this afternoon/evening.  Being “that guy,” I had the camera on hand to grab some candids of the guys while we were playing.  My buddy Trey was good enough to respond in kind and grab a shot of me at the table.