There is no self service gas in NJ.  This poor man stayed out in the cold longer than necessary to be today's subject. I'm so thoughtless that I didn't ask his name.

Robert was a friend of a friend, who is now a friend.  He's a great guy with a love of details, and is eager to share. He came to our house for a cocktail party, made the best drink of the night, and then agreed to be my portrait of the day. This is lit with a speedlight wearing a round diffuser slightly above and to Robert's right, and another speedlight with a grid spot behind him and to his left. I had to change my position to place him directly between the camera and a mirror on the wall behind him.  In a prior shot the flash was clearly visible in the mirror.

Once I had the lighting and composition right I had to fire a lot of shots, because Robert was not about to freeze mid-story.  Fortunately the flashes were at very low power settings and recycle quickly.

I stopped for coffee in a town near where I live. I asked Jenna if she'd be my portrait subject, and she was completely accommodating. This is a single speedlight with a round diffuser, but much farther from the subject, so the shadows are filled in. I didn't have any larger modifiers with me, but I think that this shot would be nicer with a large, shoot through umbrella, and maybe a second light behind her to illuminate her hair.
I asked her about the axe handle taps, and she began telling me about their nitro cold brew, so I asked her to show me the pour process.

I only intended for her to pretend to pour one, but she did a full pour, and then gave it to me.  I didn't sleep.
I'll definitely be returning to End Grain, even though I can't ask Jenna to be my subject again this year, because the coffee is really good.

Jennifer has a LOT of silver hair, which probably deserves a back light. This one is taken on the corner of 5th and South and though I thought a wider field of view would be cool, it turns out that there are just too many signs that ruin the shot.  Maybe the way to do it is to get the lighting sorted, then stand right in the middle of the intersection.

The first shot with her hood up just didn't hold a candle to her hair.  Plus, the flash is clearly visible in her glasses.

I stayed way too late at my office, so I didn't have time to stop somewhere on my way home, and all my coworkers were gone.  Carlos is a custodian in the building, and a really nice guy.  I also think he has the best face in the project so far. This is the typical set up. Nothing fancy, but it works.  I like the dark tones, and the gray walls at work lend themselves to this aesthetic. Still need to come up with something that's equally simple, but a bit more interesting.

Hank is a friend of a friend, who just happens to work close to where I do. He's very gregarious and funny, and when I asked him to be my portrait of the day he showed me some of his modeling portfolio.
I'd been kicking around this idea of "subject as light stand" and since he was so into the process I asked him to do this.  I shot a few frames while adjusting the flash, and he changed his pose slightly with each one.

Thanks to Hank's hobby, he may be the only repeat subject in the project.

Bridgette is a bartender close to my house.  I think she felt uncomfortable because she couldn't stop smiling. Another simple shot with the flash in my left hand and the camera in my right.  Boring but passable.

I saw this woman at the car show from about 50 feet away. She was with three other people, and part of the point of this project is to engage with strangers, so I walked up to her, explained what I was doing, and asked if I could take her photo.  She agreed, told me that she didn't think that she's photogenic, and then stood with her back to the exotic cars.  This is just ambient light at the convention center, and I don't think it does her justice.  She was fabulous and this just looks washed out and bland to me.  The lesson here is to take the extra minute to use flash!

I hate the result, but I like the concept. Prior to looking through the viewfinder, I couldn't tell how smeary the glass was, and then I got so caught up in manual focusing that I forgot about the composition.  I'll try this again, but move closer to the cabinet so that I won't have the little tags in the frame, and maybe the glass won't be so apparent.  Also, maybe being closer will help even the exposure between the donuts and the subject.

Chico is a coworker who I cornered at the end of the day.  This is exactly the same flash setup that I keep coming back to: About f/4, flash with circular diffuser in my left hand, set to 1/128 power.  This shot would be nearly all black without flash.  I like this setup, and it's quick and simple, but I need to try different things.

My car died at work, so I couldn't follow through with my plan to get my shot.  So, while I was riding in the tow truck, I asked the driver if he'd be my portrait of the day.  He agreed, and I shot two frames right after he rolled the car off of the flatbed.  The flash was way to high in the first shot, so I bumped the aperture to 5.6 and this is the result.  I got uncomfortably close to him to get this shot, and he wasn't phased at all.