Movie Time!

We grew up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and as children and youth enjoyed going to the theater to see a movie.  Many of those movies were seen at the Martin Theater: now called the Premiere 6 located on Broad Street in the Jackson heights shopping center.  Maybe our love of film and the movies had something to do with our becoming photographers.  Larry actually works there as night manager at the Premiere 6, you may have seen him there sometime.  There is also a very nice display of photographs taken by Al in the lobby.

Recently, we had the opportunity to photograph the owner of the theater, Bill Brooks, for an article in Murfreesboro Magazine.  Bill continues to keep the theater in top operating order.  Each auditorium was installed with cutting-edge digital projectors and sound.  It was a fun challenge for our technical knowledge.  Each photography location was a completely different lighting set-up.  The greatest challenge was providing flattering light for Bill while creating detail throughout the theater.  All of this was accomplished between movie showings

Softbox to light Bill, light from back of theater pointed at Bill to light room set at 2500 watts.

small strobe bouncing off of computer monitor, blue gel on flash in background

4 second exposure on tungsten setting

Three lights- 1 from camera left, 1 with snoot to light hair, and one to light background

5 photographs stitched together with multiple small bursts of flash.

We also need to thank Doug Stevens of www.dougstevensphotography.com for him stopping by to help!

Watching the latest movies gives us ideas for backgrounds, posing, and lighting ideas for High School senior and other types of images. And watching the older movies gives us an appreciation for the classic lighting that will never go out of style.

What are you waiting for? Go see a great movie at The Premier 6! Check out what's playing at www.goseeamovie.com. And , if you need some great photography, check out www.gordonralstonphoto.com.

Neon Lights

There are people that enjoy their jobs so much that they "Don't work a day in their life". I know that to be true because I feel that way myself. It's a double bonus when I get to photograph those people. Dave Buck is the owner of Signs of the Times (www.signsoftn.com), a sign shop in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Dave  is a true artist who has a passion for neon signs. When anyone in the Southeast United States needs a new neon sign, or needs one repaired, Dave is your guy. Because of the intricacies of the process, there are very few neon  sign makers in the United States. They are very labor intensive. I saw him give a short program on how neon signs are made, and it fascinated me. I had to spend some time at his shop photographing him and his passion.

Dave is one of the nicest people you would ever meet, and he didn't flinch when I moved all my gear in to his place for a few hours. I was mesmerized watching him create.  His movements as he heated the glass and bent it, and repeated the process was as a virtuoso musician performs a work of Mozart. With all the flames and chemical gases it was not easy getting my camera and lighting in the right spot, but it was worth it. Dave also does vinyl and many other types of signs, but I wanted to just capture the neon process on this trip.

After 2 hours of photographing, I took away a new appreciation for the art of sign-making, and for people like Dave who make their work their passion. I can imagine all the artists before him creating neon signs all over the world. What would Las Vegas be without the neon sign? Although there are much cheaper "neon knock-offs" available now, there is something special about a crafted neon sign that makes you smile.

If you are looking for a sign for your business or your man-cave, give Dave a call at 615-962-4256.