Steve Williams Photo blog

Now shooting video

2011-11-22T21:32:00.001-05:00

Capturing motion has been a great new learning experience that I really enjoy. My first two projects are now complete and can be viewed with the following links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX-sGe-d1yw
This first one is a web video to show the capabilities on the Windhorse Wellness Center. I designed the shots, camera moves and lighting, and the client supplied the voice-over. Editor: Dan Dennis, Camera assist: Kelly MacMahan, Lighting assist: Mike Ratrie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_VWPy4SdFU
This next one is music video for local singer/songwriter Ruth King. Same credits.

Spain/Portugal

2011-10-24T09:35:00.001-04:00

Hereare some photos from our 12-night Spain/Portugal trip:

https://picasaweb.google.com/100957696235748014455/Spain# Most were taken with my Canon pocket camera, but some with the iPhone.

Myfather’s brother lived in Madrid for most of his life and I was able to visithim during a post-high school European trip I took in 1975. Franco wasstill alive at that time and Spain was not much more than a Third-Worldbackwater, mostly known for being inexpensive. Things have changed in 35years. As hopefully the photos will show, Spain is now a vibrant, moderncountry. What the photos do not show is that Spain is leading the worldin creating a renewable energy economy, and everywhere we went there werearrays of solar panels and giant wind turbines on mountain tops.

Ourtour took us to mostly historical sites (which makes sense) so you’ll seeevidence of Roman, Moorish and early Christian civilizations. At onepoint, Muslims, Jews and Christians all got along fairly well until someonethought an Inquisition would be a great idea. One of the ways theylearned to tell the heretics from the “good” people was to put ham in the foodand then see who would eat it. To this day, ham is still ineverything. I ate it, just in case.

Inreviewing these photos I found that I have a fascination with store windowdisplays. Seems to me that you tell a lot about a country, and what itfinds important, by what it displays. I think you’ll find some of themamusing.

Ialso have a strong interest in Catholic idol worship, and for this, Spainrivals Italy. Seeing the faithful at Fatima, Portugal was quiteeye-opening—it’s sort of a Catholic Disneyland. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_F%C3%A1tima In 1917 three kids reported seeing the Virgin Mary, and now people come fromall over the world to be cured of various ailments because the site has areputation for miracles. Sliding great distances on your knees evidentlyhelps the process, and you can purchase wax replicas of hearts, lungs, arms,legs, children, or whatever ails you, and then if you throw it on the fire youhave a greater chance of being cured. Some people who have done this havebeen healed, but I have a feeling modern medicine would greatly increase yourodds.

Steve

Holly Yoga

2011-09-14T16:57:00.001-04:00

Thanks to our great model, Holly, my wonderful wife, Rachel, for her help with styling and yoga poses and Synergy the Studio for the location.

Muscle

2011-09-14T16:50:00.004-04:00

Chris had just completed a body building competition and we photographed him and his sister Nicole at a local gym. Thanks to Mike, once again, for his invaluable assistance.

Rayonier

2011-09-14T16:02:00.000-04:00

I recently spent 2 days shooting in northern Florida for a forestry company. They wanted lots of images of their employees doing various things amid the vast stands of Pine Trees, along with details picked up along the way. Once again working with Patrick Golden from the Jacksonville agency, Burdette Ketchum, was a great experience. Last I heard, the client was having trouble figuring out which images to use, and that's a compliment.

First Kentucky Trust

2011-08-23T16:22:00.000-04:00

This photograph was shot for a First Kentucky Trust brochure designed by Martine Cameau at Cameau Design. This wonderful family was a delight to work with and I hope the final image makes that obvious.

Ballerina print special

2011-08-23T15:35:00.000-04:00

I just posted a print special on my facebook fan page www.facebook.com/SteveWilliamsPhoto
http://fineartamerica.com/weeklypromotion.html?promotionid=61648
It's an 11"x14" canvas wraped print for $44--such a deal!

True Value

2011-08-20T13:06:00.000-04:00

Updating the blog, not something I've been very good at lately.

This is a shot I was hired to do for the True Value annual report. The location was a mock-store at the Orlando Convention Center, so that made it pretty interesting trying to light this scene and stay out of everyone's way at the same time.

The Mermaid

2011-05-31T17:22:00.003-04:00

I had the good fortune to photograph a real mermaid recently. Mermaid Melissa does this for a living and seems more comfortable under the water than above. All of her moves are beautiful and she can hold her breath for long periods of time; a real prerequisite for this type of photography. She can be reached at www.hireamermaid.com

Mushroom Man

2011-05-19T14:11:00.000-04:00

It's been way too long since I've updated this blog! Here's an example of "out of the box" lighting for an editorial photo for Pulse magazine. I took our subject into a wooded area, set the camera to "Tungsten" light balance and then had two helpers light him with flashlights. One light is aimed at his eye behind the magnifying glass, while the second is hitting the mushroom.

Here's the setup. There is very little Photoshop work here, just a little cleanup here and there.

Moffitt Cancer Center

2011-03-11T11:29:00.001-05:00

I recently shot a number of testimonial portraits for the Moffitt Cancer Center. The brochure was designed by Husebo Advertising: www.husebo.com

Nude Nite Orlando

2011-03-05T13:29:00.001-05:00

I've posed photos from Nude Nite Orlando on my Picasa page:
Nude Nite Orlando Photos

I had a print from my underwater series in the show, and it's available for sale on FineArt America. You can find it easily on by FaceBook fan page:
FaceBook Steve Williams Photography--Photos for sale

FaceBook Steve Williams Photography and Fine Art America

2011-03-05T13:06:00.002-05:00

I've added a link to my FaceBook fan page that takes you directly to my FineArtAmerica site. There you can purchase matted or framed prints, or even greeting cards of my photographs.
FaceBook Steve Williams Photography prints for sale

Getty Images

2010-09-08T17:26:00.002-04:00

Getty Images has a groovy new way for me to send potential clients to them:

Click on the banner, and you go right to my Getty Stock collection.

Buying prints

2010-08-24T11:50:00.001-04:00

I now have quite a few images available on FineArtAmerica.com that can be purchased in different configurations. You can choose regular framed prints of varying sizes, but also canvas wrapped prints, greeting cards or just a print in a mailing tube.
A small selection is shown below.

Flashes of Hope

2010-07-11T14:07:00.000-04:00

A group of ASMP photographers in the Orlando area volunteered their services to "Flashes of Hope" at Camp Boggy Creek Saturday morning. This organization provides free portraits to the families of children with life-threatening diseases all across the country. 6000 kids will be photographed this year in hospitals and special camps.
Each of us shot about 20 kids in an hour and a half. Four and a half minutes per person is not much time, but I think we came up with results that the families will cherish. These brave kids have been through a lot, and it was a pleasure to be with them.

Cycle shop

2010-06-17T09:51:00.001-04:00

I had this dream...what would it look like if women ran a custom motorcycle shop? Well, not just any women.

Thanks so much to our great models: Nikki, Lucy and Shelby; beautiful hair and vision by Tanya and makeup by Lori; much-needed assistance from Marc and Bill, a great location from Josh, and of course, Stylist to the Stars, Robbin, who pulled it all together. You guys had such commitment and patience--thank you.

When you need a plumber...

2010-06-13T23:57:00.007-04:00

More inspiration.

Wedding Bell Blues

2010-06-13T23:50:00.002-04:00

I've had this idea in my mind for while now to have a tall, beautiful young bride carry her rich old groom across the threshold. I finally got my wish with our bride Kara, Bill, a great actor from Orlando, stylist to the stars (or at least chickens!) Robbin, assisting from Bill, a dress on loan from Formally Yours and a great location from Dawn. We pulled it all together and then went off to shoot Kara and Josh on the Harley. Kara burnt her leg on the exhaust during a test shot a couple of days earlier, then Robbin got the car door closed on her hand--I'm just glad we all got out of there alive!
When I looked at the photos later, it hit me that there was a theme: woman marries for money, gets fed up and leaves with biker dude.

Tiny dancer

2010-06-07T16:20:00.000-04:00

Here I am shooting a dancer again--this time the 13 year old daughter of a friend. Her poise and grace are evident in the photos all shot on location in an empty home in Mount Dora.

Ballerina

2010-06-07T16:06:00.000-04:00

JoAnna is a fabulous student of ballet and had the amazing ability to look perfectly fluid and calm during the most acrobatic jumps and poses on point--an incredible athlete.

Killer Hair

2010-05-31T20:49:00.001-04:00

Holly is a great model, and the folks at Synergy Salon volunteered their time and location for the shoot. Women take their hair very seriously, so stylists...beware!

Pin Up

2010-05-31T20:43:00.002-04:00

Along with some other photos, my main objective was to create a 50's pinup look in the studio. I used a large, old Mole Richardson fresnel keg light, modified for strobe as my only key light and just minor tweaking in Photoshop to achieve the look. See more at my website: http://www.stevewilliamsphoto.com/

Chicken Man

2010-02-16T15:35:00.002-05:00

I've been wanting to photograph Josh for quite a while, and finally came up with a concept. With help from Orlando's finest stylist, Robbin Johnson, our friend Debra and her lovely hen "Lady Gray", trophies from Debi and Larry, assisting from Bill Casey and my wife, we pulled this together. Much thanks to all of you.
Yes, his tatoos are real, but they have nothing to do with chickens.
And no, Josh had never held a chicken before in his life.

Robbin "Chicken Woman" Johnson

Me and "Lady Gray"

Josh in place

Advocate Magazine--Ybor City

2010-01-31T23:05:00.002-05:00

This was an assignment from the Advocate Magazine to shoot "people on the street". I set up a mini-studio on the sidewalk in front of a club in Ybor City and pulled people over to have their photo taken. It's amazing what people will do in front of a camera...and what a slice of life that place was!

Fine Art America photos

2010-01-31T22:18:00.016-05:00

nude photos

nude canvas prints

nude prints

nude framed prints

nude posters

black and white photos

black and white canvas prints

black and white prints

black and white framed prints

black and white posters

sport photos

underwater photos

ballet photos

ballerina photos

Ghost Tour Guide

2010-01-12T14:13:00.002-05:00

Photo for Pulse magazine of Epraim, a young man who conducts "Ghost Tours" in Mount Dora. This was all one shot with hot lights on the building, strobe on the subject and a fog machine for atmosphere. Thanks to Bill and Marc for their production help.

ABA Journal

2010-01-12T14:09:00.001-05:00

The American Bar Association Journal hired me to photograph two local attorneys here in the Orlando area. They were both great to work with and we all had a good time.

Baptist Medical ads

2010-01-12T12:26:00.001-05:00

The portraits for these ads were shot in a hospital meeting room and the background landscapes shot at various times. The photos were expertly combined by art director Patrick Golden at Burdette Ketchum in Jacksonville.

Therapist portraits

2010-01-12T12:18:00.002-05:00

These portraits of therapists are for an upcoming advertsing campaign. They were shot on location using an empty office and each person sat with me for about 15 minutes. I was trying to communicate professionalism and compassion in the photos.