Tag Archives: DeGrie
My newest stock photo on Getty Images.
I found this little guy lady in my office… perfect fodder for stock photography, right? :) How’d you like to meet her in a dark alley? Reminds me of SHELOB; oh the tangled webs she weaves. Click on the image to see the high-res version.
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Also tagged arachnaphobia, arachnid, commercial photographer, commercial photography, macro, macro photography, photographer, photography, Royce DeGrie, Shelob, spider
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Eye of the Beholder
Macro shot of beautiful brown eye. This is the actual crop of the image, full-frame. As usual, click on the photo to see a larger version.
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Also tagged commercial photographer, commercial photography, macro, macro photography, Nashville, photographer, photography, Royce DeGrie, stock photography
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New Lighting Set-Up
I’ve been testing some new lighting ideas and really like this particular style lighting. The white background is actually a translucent material with two strobes firing through it (backlit) and a 60″ octabox in front. This is a sample of one of the test shots for some upcoming images I hope to shoot in the next few days. Click on the image to see the high-resolution version.
Bucky Covington Photo Shoot
So I’ve decided to start blogging about some of the celebrities I’ve had the opportunity to photograph over the last several years. I won’t be writing about anything negative, only about people I’ve met who I think are decent people despite their celebrity.
I recently had the pleasure of photographing Bucky Covington of American Idol fame. This was a really fun shoot and I can’t disclose any of the details yet, but I can show just one of the images that is a set-up shot before the “real shooting” began.
Living in Nashville has it’s perks as a photographer. I enjoy getting to meet a wide variety of people from all walks of life. I don’t write about all of them, only the occasional few who strike me as slightly different… in a good way. I chose to post this image because you can see it in his eyes – life. Bucky is a genuine cut-up and is just full of life; there’s no other way to put it.
Although I’m not a fan of country music… I do like people who treat others with dignity and respect, something I don’t come across every day in dealing with people who live in the spotlight. I’ve met more than a few celebrities along the way around-whom-the-world-revolves, or so they think. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Covington; glad to find you’re not one of those people.
More info and photos on the shoot posted here.
Standing out in the crowd – what’s wrong with this photo?
Can you find what is wrong with this picture? Look very closely. Hopefully, you won’t be able to find anything wrong with it.
I had this concept for a project I’m working on entitled “REAL”. So I came up with the idea of the juxtaposition of a very real person with a bunch of fake versions of him in a crowd behind him. All I needed was a bunch of mannequins all dressed exactly alike and a model who was about the same height and weight, as well as the right age. Well, finding the mannequins proved to be difficult so we bought two of them at a whopping $140 each. Then, I thought of a young man in high school who attends our church who fit the part. Jordan Valdez was a good sport and agreed to do a little modeling for me on this project.
I then went to Old Navy and had my seventeen year old daughter and my wife help me choose three identical sets of clothes that are cool, but not dated or trendy. Next, the three hour photo shoot. Jordan’s part took about 45 minutes as it was easy enough to shoot him in front of the two mannequins. Then came the chore of moving the mannequins around the room and shooting about a hundred different frames. I kept the lighting stationary and the camera on a tripod to shoot the same scene every time. I set the lens to manual focus so that the depth of field remained as true as it would be if the image were all shot at the same time. Also, wanting to capture a convincing perspective instead of just duplicating the same two mannequins, I shot at 24mm to get the wide angle effect you see on the far right and far left of the photo. It gives a real feeling of the natural perspective of standing in front of the crowd and adds a little bit of quirkiness to the image through the distortion of the wide angle lens.
This images is a composite of 17 different shots all edited together into one. I’m very pleased with the results and plan to do more of this sort of shooting in the near future because I love the feeling of this photo. There is something peaceful about it but in an eerie sort of way. I love the dimensionality of the image and how it seems like you could walk right through the crowd. I also like the humanity that is evident in Jordan’s posture when juxtaposed with the crowd of robot-like imposters. Most of all, I’m pleased with how well the finished piece matches the initial concept. Like the A-Team… I love it when a plan comes together!
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Also tagged Brentwood, Christian, commercial photographer, commercial photography, communication, conformity, fake, graphic design, identity, imposter, individual, individuality, iStockphoto, Model, modeling, Nashville, non-conformity, personality, photographer, photography, real, Royce DeGrie, standing out in the crowd, stock photography, Tennessee, unique
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Creative Jack O’ Lantern – Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater.
I carved a cool Jack o’ Lantern last night and wanted to share the results. I wish I could take credit for the original concept, but I got the idea from photo I saw on a friend’s facebook page. I did my own version of it, but can’t claim the original concept.
Harris Teeter in Brentwood has HUGE pumpkins for $3 each if you have a VIC card. It’s the biggest pumpkin I’ve ever carved and weighed about 13lbs before it was carved! I lined the pumpkin with parchment paper (the kind you cook with) and put a short string of Christmas lights (20 count) inside the pumpkin to light it. Works like a charm!
I shot this photo when I finished the pumpkin. ISO 100, f/16, 30.0 sec
Happy Halloween!
A photo with a certain “Je ne sais quoi”…
Since I get asked a lot of questions like “How did you do that?” and “what kind of lighting did you use?”, I’m going to start posting answers to those questions. I get a lot of comments and questions about this photo, in particular, so I’ll start with this one.
Q: Who is the blond in the photo? (Yes, that is an actual question.)
A: She is an aspiring model and actress in Nashville, Tennessee who goes by the name DELICIAE. You can find her here.
Q: Where did you take that picture?
A: In my kitchen. Yes, really. My family is very accommodating of my profession. :P
Q: What kind of lighting were you using?
A: This image was shot with single source lighting and a reflector. The light is a ring flash (ABR800) with a Moon Unit softbox diffuser.
Q: What camera configuration were you shooting with?
A: I shot this with a Canon EOS 5D and a Canon EF24-70 f/2.8L USM
Q: what settings were you shooting?
A: The settings were as follows:
ISO speed rating: 100
F-Stop: 1/200 sec
Focal length: 43mm
There was very little (minor) post editing on the shot. I try to get the image the very best it can be straight out of the camera. It yields the best quality that way. Any other questions about this photo feel free to email me with your specific questions here.
Media Frenzy
This is absolutely crazy. I have the privilege of being the official photographer for the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. I shoot the annual Medallion Ceremony each year as the new inductees are given their awards. I also shoot the performances during the show at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. It is a crazy whirlwind several days but this picture sums it up in one shot.
Last year, I was able to bring a great friend, Geoff Hammond, to shoot the event with me. The arrangements didn’t work out this year as the MHOF had other ideas. So this year I recruited another good friend, Ryan Alexander to be my assistant. The idea was that Ryan would come along to help with crowd control, lugging equipment, helping set up and break down, etc. But I got an idea in the process. I have an extra camera as a back-up. I thought to myself, what if I just teach Ryan some basics and give him my extra camera to shoot pictures throughout the night. I was hoping that he would be able to catch some shots that I couldn’t get because I couldn’t be two places at once. Ryan happens to be a very quick learner. Although not all of his images were pro-quality, he really surprised me. In fact, he knocked it out of the park on several of the images he shot. He wound up getting a lot more images than I thought he would. I was amazed that I was able to give him some extreme crash-course lessons and turn him loose.
This photo is one he shot of me during a media frenzy… I’m the tall bald guy in the front of the crowd, upper right corner. I love this shot. It totally captures the chaos of the medallion ceremony media frenzy in a way that I experience each year, but cannot see from this perspective. It’s very cool as a photographer to see it from a totally different angle. Thanks for capturing this moment for me, Ryan, and thanks for the other great shots you were able to get during the event. Your ability to learn so quickly amazes me!
My Inaugural BLOG
My name is Royce DeGrie. I am 37 years old and I learned today that my children are Digital Natives and I am a Digital Immigrant. Guess I never thought of it that way since I’ve been around computers since I was about 12 years old. Got my first computer (a used Commodore 64) as a gift from my brother and I’ve been hooked ever since. Although I’ve never seen the point of writing a bunch of random things about my life as I couldn’t imagine who might want to read it… here I am, writing my first BLOG. We’ll see where this goes.
So, as my inaugural BLOG, I thought I’d share 25 random things about myself to share with you, the reader, some of the things that have made me who I am today.
25 Random Things About Me:
#1- I hate the word “random” when used improperly. Actually, I hate any word used improperly.
#2- I have way too many pet peeves to list here… lots of things annoy me.
#3- One of those pet peeves is getting friend requests on social networking sites from people I don’t know. If I don’t know you, you can’t be a friend, can you?
#4- I love fishing and the outdoors in general but I hate rain.
#5- I am a follower of Jesus Christ, cleverly disguised as a photographer, graphic designer, illustrator.
#6- I have a very large tattoo on my right arm… and I bet you can’t guess what it is.
#7- I am a stock photographer/illustrator, which means I take photos and create drawing and I sell them to be used in advertising. Images like this:
Yes, this sums up my sense of humor very well.
#8- I am very happily married to the greatest woman I have ever known. We met in college, the very first day and the very first class. We didn’t start dating until a year later. I’ve never looked back. She’s amazing.
#9- I set a goal to be working in full-time ministry within a year, God willing. It happened in about 7 months. :D
#10- At 28 years of age I had a sudden cardiac arrest and woke up with an ICD – Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator, which I have had for 9 years now. The only explanation I was given is that it was an “Electrophysiological Malfunction” of the heart. Say that ten times fast!
#11- While in high school and college, I liked to jump off of very high cliffs into water. While in Junior High School, I jumped from a 60′ railroad bridge into the water below because a train was coming. Not smart.
#12- I once bought a pair of stolen speakers and traded them for a hand gun at my high school. As the guy gave me the gun he said “Uh, you’re not gonna kill anybody with that, are you?” Definitely not smart!
#13- I think I am the most normal person I know. My wife disagrees.
#14- I play guitar. One of my guitars is a 1968 Fender Coronado. I got it autographed by Ted Nugent. He was cool but it annoyed me that he called it a “Corona”. That’s a beer, Ted… not my guitar.
#15- I had the opportunity to shoot a private interview with Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. I got to meet him, shake his hand, and get my picture taken with him. He was totally coherent, intelligent, and down-right gentlemanly… it was a real pleasure to meet him. I’ve love the Stones for over 20 years and that was one of the highlights of my life.
On the same night, I met Percy Sledge, George Jones, Melinda Doolittle, Barbara Mandrell, The Crickets – J. I. Allison, Sonny Curtis, and Joe B. Mauldin, Duane Eddy, and Kid Rock.
#16- I love quotes. Here are some of my favorites:
“A lie gets halfway around the world before
the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”
-Sir Winston Churchill
“If you want to make an apple pie from scratch
you must first invent the universe.” – Albert Einstein
“Do, or do not. There is no try.”
-Yoda (“The Empire Strikes Back”)
The difference between ‘involvement ‘ and ‘commitment’
is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was ‘involved’
- the pig was ‘committed’.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil
is for good men to do nothing.”
-Edmund Burke
“The artist is nothing without the gift,
but the gift is nothing without the work.” -Emile Zola
“When you do common things in an uncommon way,
you will attract the attention of the world.”
-George Washington Carver
“Well done is better than well said.”
-Benjamin Franklin
“Whether you think you can, or that you can’t,
you are usually right.” -Henry Ford
And, my favorite: “The true measure of a man is how he treats
someone who can do him absolutely no good.”
#17. My dream car as a child was a red Corvette, C3 body style. I now own a red 1979 Corvette with t-tops and I realize, “Meh… it’s just a car.”.
#18. In 2008, I traveled to Moldova and to Turkey (with people I hardly knew at all) as a photojournalist to document some of the people affected by human trafficking. I met some amazing people there and learned that I never want to step foot in the country of Turkey again as long as I live.
#19. Over the last 9 years I have had various and sundry medical issues which have included: sudden cardiac arrest, strange numbness and tingling of my arms and legs, vertigo (5 times), ruptured ear drums (both at one time!), bad moles removed, a back injury (I have no idea how it happened), and depression from all of the things that have gone wrong. I’m sure I left something out.
#20- I have overcome the depression with the knowledge that ALL things are possible through Christ who strengthens me! Woo-hoo!
#21- I am a self-proclaimed, card-carrying geek and I am proud of it! I love being a geek. My brother gave me his old Commodore 64 computer when I was 12 years old and I was hooked from the first time I used it.
#22- I can fix just about anything. My dad and grandfather taught me so much about “handyman” stuff when I was a kid that I’m not afraid to tackle any project. (Thanks, Dad!) If I set my mind to it, I can do just about anything. My youngest daughter thinks this means I am superman and can build or fix anything. When she breaks things, she says “It’s okay, daddy can fix it.”.
#23- I sincerely believe that you cannot help but be successful doing something you love to do.
#24- I hate it when people use the word “retarded” as synonym for the word stupid. In fact, I hate it when people make fun of anyone with a disability and think it is funny.
#25- I think mean people suck.
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