Friday was a pretty incredible day. Joe McNally was in town doing a one day Location Lighting workshop and I was lucky enough to be able to go. It is quite an opportunity to spend the day with one of the best photographers around even if you are spending it with 800 other people.

A bunch of us met at about 5:30 and carpooled in hoping to avoid the traffic. It turned out to be perfect because we got there a couple of hours early and were able to eat breakfast (at the Pantry) and then walk around taking pictures in the gorgeous morning light before going into the seminar.

We got into the Convention Center and were pretty nearly first in line. A few of us sneaked in and caught the man himself. He was very gracious and took the time to talk and sign a couple of autographs for us. We pretty much stood there dumbstruck and sounded like idiots I’m sure.

The seminar itself was well worth the time and money. He makes it look so easy though… just set up the lights and click away. The worst photo he took yesterday is way better than I will ever be.

I think we all had the most fun when he picked Frank (who happened to have his 40th birthday that day) and Berto to be models in his last shoot. I don’t think Frank could have asked for a better present than to have Joe McNally take his picture.

Just as an aside… this picture was of the projection screen that was showing the shot McNally took.

After it was all said and done we ended up at Philippe’s to avoid traffic on the way home. I told you about that story yesterday. While there one of Frank’s friends, Maria Carmel, came by. She found out we were talking about shooting city lights before heading home and volunteered the use of her loft with a rooftop view of the LA skyline. How could we say no to that?

It was a perfect end to a perfect day…

I had the best time last night. I ended up shooting with a bunch of new friends just experimenting with lights in an alley. I love hanging out with other photographers. They are so willing to share what they know and are always trying new things.

Have you ever looked at a picture and wondered how it was taken? I’ve done that with a lot of nighttime photos. I’ve wondered how to get the background to show up without the subject looking like a silhouette or getting the subject without the background being totally black. Well, last night I learned how it’s done and it isn’t that difficult. You meter your camera to the background (get the correct settings for how you want the background to look) and then you set up your flash to light the subject. This is what you end up with (mind you it’s not perfect, but it sure was a fun shot to take).