And this is what happens when I attempt to use Photoshop…

~dave

Greetings from New Glarus, WI! The girls (Melanie, Tobin, Zoee, Eden) and I are on our third leg of the “2008 Jackson Family Whirlwind Southern Wisconsin / Northern Illinois Holiday Season Tour of Joyful Joyfulness.” It has been a very relaxing week, despite the packing & unpacking of kids, miles spent on the road, crying sugar-overloaded youngsters and the occasional business phone-conference. Alas, we have nearly approached the reckoning of a new year and the end of our long journey. We plan on wrapping up the New Year in one of my favorite towns, Richland Center, WI …spending time with all my aunts, uncles, cousins and kids.

Throughout my holiday travels, I have made it a point to shoot portraits of various family members. It’s something I have been meaning to do for a long time. And I plan on shooting many more during the last days of our trip. So often, I wish I could shoot more of my family in a studio environment, capturing the true essence of portraiture, but finding an appropriate studio seeting is not quite possible. So what else is there to do?

It’s simple. Find a white-ish wall inside Ma & Pa’s house (destroyed by the girls), throw up two lights, and shoot away. This was a little trial and error, but I wanted to test this out before dinner.

Turn off the main light…

Mom..

And the set-up in the wasteland of toys.

My main light was a Sunpak 383 Super in a softbox. The rear light was my Q-Flash T-5D, bare bulb, tight against the wall. I modified it with paper, gaffer’s tape and a scissors to prevent light bleeding back onto my subjects.

It ain’t purdy or fashion glamorous, but it works for me. More to come!
~dave

We’re enjoying time away from our busy and chaotic lives, spending time with family here in Beloit!

Cheers,
~dave

Mr. Rob came over tonight for some holiday cheer and after a few refreshments, we elected to shoot some final photos of his beard before removing it. I can’t even believe he could grow one…

Simply a spectacle of true beard ownership.

~dave