Transposure

One of my favorite things to do is create environmental portraiture.  What is EP you ask?  Well, quite simply, it is a portrait of an individual in an environment that helps define who they are and/or what they do.  It involves creativity and an ability to control the light to achieve the end result.  Well to this end, I had the unique opportunity to photograph a blacksmith recently.  The point of the project was to create a stellar opening shot for his website.  Now, he wasn’t the ordinary run-o-the-mill blacksmith, mind you.  In other words, you weren’t going to find any horseshoes hanging around his shop.  Instead, you would find twisted iron, hammered metal and other intriguing shapes.  Mr. Braddee of Braddee MetalWorks creates work of metallic art for high end homes.  Think barstools, bar footrails, iron entry gates, fireplace protection grates, and the list goes on.

Well, the first order of business was to discuss our respective ideas for his environmental portrait.  We did and decided on a concept.  Mike wanted to see the sparks flying, and at the same time, a portrait of himself to define his site and his work.

We set up the shoot and I allotted about 2 hours to get the job done.  By the time I set up lighting and he got his forge to working temperature, two hours proved to be just right!  We timed the strike of his hammer on the red hot iron piece on his anvil.

One….two….three…….

Overall, I was pleased with the result, and so was Mike!  And in the end, that is really what matters!

I hope you like it too.