graypictures

My Weimaraner in Antietam Creek

bill gray — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:55:59 +0000

I never thought much of this photo. But I posted it on Flickr and it received thousands more views than 90% of the other images I’ve posted there. That’s good learning for me, all thanks to social media tools. The social media path has had a lot of twists and turns for me over the last year. There’s lots of advice on the web to process: “you should have a blog instead of a Flash-based website;” “you should Twitter more often;” “Foursquare is huge – are you on it;” and so and and so forth. What began as basic photo sharing suddenly started to feel like a huge pile of work. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure what parts of the Internet help my craft — parts that I, personally, find valuable. I’ve focused on three major categories: photography blogs, Flickr and podcasts. Blogs put a face on the photographers and film makers I know and admire. I use Flickr like other people use Twitter and it provides me with valuable insights into what images appeal to other people — the analytics on Flickr are great with the pro accounts. Podcasts work as career development classes — there’s always something new to learn and they make it easy to stay on top of the latest discussion in just about any category. Everyone will find what tools and platforms work best for them online. I think what matters most is that you’re trying to find them in the first place.

The post My Weimaraner in Antietam Creek appeared first on graypictures.

The Moon Over Loch Raven

bill gray — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:41:18 +0000

On an all night shoot there is always that 3 to 5 am window when the coffee and RedBull stop working. This time can be so brutal waiting for the next effects or lighting setup — I avoid the temptation to sit down. The best thing to do is grab your tripod and get yourself moving. One night, I saw this beautiful moon just beyond where we were working. I’ve biked, hiked and photographed Loch Raven for a lot of years but have never seen the moon rise at 4 in the morning.

The post The Moon Over Loch Raven appeared first on graypictures.

TreeBaltimore: Growing Baltimore’s Tree Canopy

bill gray — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:55:55 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of working on a wonderful ad campaign for TreeBaltimore. Creatives Davina Grustein and John Fabrizio teamed up to support this organization’s efforts to help grow Baltimore’s tree canopy. (Learn more about the benefits of planting new trees using Maryland’s Tree Benefit Calculator.) A newly planted tree is a worthy cause in my book; it was my pleasure to shoot stills for the campaign. Thanks to Anne Draddy — TreeBaltimore Coordinator, Ignite Baltimore speaker and all around ecologically caring tree hugger — for giving all three of us the chance to do something good for the city of Baltimore. Look for the ads on buses and in the Urbanite Baltimore magazine.

The post TreeBaltimore: Growing Baltimore’s Tree Canopy appeared first on graypictures.

End of Summer, Antietam

bill gray — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:49:33 +0000

Another summer has passed out at Antietam. I shot this image of friends with a very old film camera. I love the 180mm on my Mamiya C-330. I’m on my second camera body after wearing out the first one which I bought in the 70′s. When you grow comfortable with a camera, it is good to stick with it. I get a lot of teasing from fellow photographers for shooting film. It has taken a long time to get a comfortable with a palette that I love.

The post End of Summer, Antietam appeared first on graypictures.

Still Photography From My One And Only, Starring Renee Zellweger and Kevin Bacon

bill gray — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:22:26 +0000

Shooting stills for the film “My One And Only,” starring Renee Zellweger and Kevin Bacon, was a truly wonderful experience. As a period piece, the movie’s sets and wardrobe were spectacular to shoot to say nothing of the talent, quality and caliber of the actors and crew. I am most grateful to Renee Zellweger for allowing me to photograph her grace and style. She was an immensely kind, intelligent and considerate woman and a true professional throughout the filming.

It was great to have the opportunity to witness firsthand the “stage presence” that Kevin Bacon, Chris Noth and Logan Lerman brought to the set.

The images I shot on this film reflect the elegant lighting style of Marco Pontecorvo. Marco shot the TV series “Rome” for HBO. His father directed “The Battle of Algiers,” a film classic I studied in college.

I am also grateful to Aaron Ryder, the film’s producer, for hiring me to work on this project and to the director, Richard Loncrain, for allowing me to photograph his film. Diane Slatterly, the film’s PR liaison, was immensely generous in sharing her still photography expertise on both the production and distribution sides of the film business.

A gallery of the still photos I shot for this film has been posted on the My One And Only official movie site. I look forward to seeing it on the big screen.

The post Still Photography From My One And Only, Starring Renee Zellweger and Kevin Bacon appeared first on graypictures.

Summer Evening

bill gray — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:56:18 +0000

This year Maryland can’t decide if it is summer or spring. On one of the first warm hikes at Liberty Lake, Luca watches the young bass. I’ve been photographing there for years. No matter the season, light on the water never stops amazing me. I can shoot black and white or color, makes no difference.

The post Summer Evening appeared first on graypictures.

Dance Portrait

bill gray — Thu, 21 May 2009 19:21:04 +0000

This picture was taken during a portrait session for a dance school application. I love shooting portraits for artists. The thing I like about dancers is their ability to make movement look so elegantly effortless.

The post Dance Portrait appeared first on graypictures.

Fireside Dinner, Antietam Maryland

bill gray — Wed, 06 May 2009 03:17:54 +0000

Lighting the fire at dinner is one of the sweetest times during our camping trips. Nights in Antietam are always very special after a long, lazy day by the creek. We have not been camping in almost two years and we are anxious to return. I love shooting night photographs when the fog comes through our camp site. Sometimes we do a night ride on our mountain bikes over to the beautiful and historic Burnside Bridge and then meander through the battle ground. We’ve also canoed down the creek in the pitch dark…amazing ride! This June will be our first trip in far too long and I, for one, can already smell the campfire.

The post Fireside Dinner, Antietam Maryland appeared first on graypictures.

Johns Hopkins Nursing Portraits

bill gray — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:06:32 +0000

I was commissioned to shoot a portrait series featuring the nurses at Johns Hopkins Hospital accompanied by bio-captions describing the important roles these nurses brought to their respective departments. Having shot at hospitals a lot over the years, I realized my biggest logistical hurdle was going to be coordinating the schedules of the doctors and nurses. So I proposed shooting pseudo-David Hockney photographic collage style. I wanted to shoot this way just in case someone was unable to make the scheduled time for the portrait sitting. This way, I could use another person as a stand-in with a white coat to fill the edge of the frame of the person who was there, come back and re-shoot the person who missed the session, then fix it in post. I was thrilled with how they turned out. It offered both a visually unique styling AND scheduling flexibility for the doctors and nurses. Final prints were 24×38 and set in a white matte with a black frame.

The post Johns Hopkins Nursing Portraits appeared first on graypictures.

“Terrors and Pleasures of Levitation”

bill gray — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 05:09:31 +0000

When I was shooting these images of my daughter, I instantly recalled the work of one of my favorite photographers, Aaron Siskind. His expertise and talent in the darkroom is almost unmatched. While in college, I had the opportunity to go through an original portfolio box of his prints from “Terrors and Pleasures of Levitation”. There are artists that stay with you. Their images come back to you through your own viewfinder. Mr. Siskind’s work is the type of work that does not translate well into books. You simply have to see his prints in person…or be standing in the right place with the right lens while your daughter is flying through the air.

The post “Terrors and Pleasures of Levitation” appeared first on graypictures.