Sony a900

Q: Hi Brian, First time I met a pro working with a900 Sony Body. I own one too and happy with it. Just might be a little bad when in low light … I saw your using PW, which one are u using and How do you connect both body and flash ? What about Elinchrom ?
asked by danysimon

A: Yes Dany, I’m using PocketWizard Plus II Transceivers with my Sony a900. All you need is an adapter like the Sony FA-HS1AM Hot Shoe Adapter to convert the Sony shoe to standard. Many of the Profoto strobe packs I use have built in PocketWizard circuitry . I trigger the packs that don’t using a PocketWizard Plus II Transceiver with PocketWizard Miniphone to Monoplug cord.

 

{ 2 comments }

X-Rite Video Salute to Burlesque

by Brian Smith on June 23, 2010

in Interviews

HUGE THANKS to Ab “Scorsese” Sesay of the MAC Group for this fantastic behind-the-scenes look of my shoot with Burlesque dancers Angie Pontani, Amber Ray, Gal Friday,  Jo Boobs Weldon, Peekaboo Pointe, Darlinda Just Darlinda and Bunny Love the latest additions to my Legends of Burlesque project which dates back to a 1993 shoot of Burlesque Legend Dixie Evans.

Great to see Angie, Darlinda and Jo again. Last June, we shot Angie rockin’ her Tiara as the reining Miss Exotic World and Darlinda as half of the fabulous Schlepp Sisters sporting rollergirl chic. Great to have a bit of one-on-one time with Jo since normally when I see her, she’s always working and I was always shooting, and she did a great job wrangling all our dancers. Gal Friday was glitterrific. Special thanks to the one-and-only Satan’s Angel for sending lovely Amber Ray our way!

What better way to show of how well the new X-Rite Color Checker Passport handles skintones, huh?

CREW:
Stylist: Fazia Ali
Assistants: Ryan Brooks and Melanie McLean
Video: Alejandro Gomez and Kirby Ferguson
Photographer: Brian Smith
Director: Ab “Scorsese” Sesay

EQUIPMENT:
Sony a900 Cameras
Sony Zeiss 24-70/2.8
Sony Zeiss 85/1.4
Sony Zeiss 135/1.8
Profoto Pro-8A packs
Profoto Pro Flash Heads
Profoto Giant Umbrella Silver 7’
Profoto Zoom-Spot
Profoto Ringflash
X-Rite ColorChecker Passport
X-Rite i1 Xtreme
Eizo CG241W Display
Apple 13.3″ Macbook Pro Laptop Computer

LOCATION:
Industria Studio 5

{ 2 comments }

So…Did You Meet the President?

by Brian Smith on May 20, 2009

in People Photography

After mentioning that I went to Washington. D.C. with the Creative Coalition to take my book ‘Art & Soul’ to Capitol Hill to lobby for support of the arts, everyone asks the same question, “So…did you meet the President?”

Unfortunately the answer to that is no.

Though it’s true that President Barak Obama received copy number 1 of 1,000 of the book hand-delivered by White House Arts Liaison, Kareem Dale. But for now, that meeting was closest I came to the President himself. So I’ll just have to settle for the bling version:

God and Country“God and Country”

I shot this at the 15th anniversary party for Slip-n-Slide Records. I’d photographed celebrity portraits of Slip-n-Slide CEO Ted Lucas and their recording artists a few years earlier for The Source magazine. So when their big rolled around, they invited me to party with them at the Victor Hotel. I decided to just roll up light with a Sony a900 camera, 24-70/2.8 and HVL-F58AM Flash and as soon as I spotted this Rhinestone Obama on a T-shirt of one of the other guests, I was sure glad I did.

That’s why it’s always good to have a camera with you. Good things happen when you have a camera…

EQUIPMENT:
Sony a900 camera
Sony Zeiss 24-70/2.8
Sony HVL-F58AM Flash

{ 0 comments }

Mr Smith Goes to Washington

by Brian Smith on May 7, 2009

in Brian Smith

I’m in Washington, D.C. today with The Creative Coalition joining a delegation of artists from The Creative Coalition headed Creative Coalition president – actor Tim Daly along with Dana Delany, Alfre Woodard, Matthew Modine, Kerry Washington and Rachael Leigh Cook presenting my book “Art & Soul” to The White House and Congress to support public funding for arts and arts education.

"ART & SOUL" photographed by Brian Smith for The Creative Coalit
Actors Tim Daly, Kerry Washington, Alfre Woodard and Dana Delany
The Creative Coalition in Washington, D.C.

The book features my portraits of celebrities including Tim Daly, Alfre Woodard, Kerry Washington, Dana Delany, Tony Bennett, Anne Hathaway, Zooey Deschanel, Alyssa Milano, Ellen Burstyn and David Hyde Pierce accompanied by handwritten personal testimonials from each artist which express their support for the importance of the arts in our lives.

The project was made possible through generous sponsorship from Hachette Filipacchi Media, American PHOTO and Sony. My thanks to Kayla Lindquist, of Sony Artisan’s of Imagery program, Robin Bronk, Barbara Horvath and Briana Mulherin of The Creative Coalition, Jeffrey Roberts, Al Silvestri, Alissa Reynolds, Anna Martin, Athos Kyriakides, David Schonauer and Russell Hart of American PHOTO and Hachette Filipacchi Media, Eileen Gittins and Robin Goldberg of Blurb, Arri Weeks and Matthew Schulert, our fabulous digital tech from Splashlight, Joel Warren and Eddie Tricomi and over a dozen hair and make-up artists from Warren-Tricomi and Ted Okada, Steve Sommers, Phil Lubell, Kristen Elder and Mark Weir of Sony. But my biggest and deepest thanks goes to my lovely wife Fazia who always makes sure everyone always look great on our shoots – thanks for believing in me all of these years…

Friday night we’ll all be with director Barry Levinson for the Washington, D.C. premiere of his documentary film PoliWood, which examines the intersection of celebrity and politics. The film debuted last Friday to a sold-out theater at the Tribeca Film Festival. Catch it if you can! Things wrap up Saturday with the White House Correspondents’ Brunch and Dinner

{ 29 comments }

UA-16616053-1