BUCK - Photography

04/10/2024

After the Eclipse

I got home last night from a whirlwind trip that was simultaneously a much needed slowdown and a nonstop maelstrom of stress and audible decision making. Weather forecasts were conflicting and unreliable up to the morning of the eclipse, and despite this being my second trip to totality and seventh overall eclipse (two totals, one annular, and four partials), I was nothing but a ball of stress up to the point of totality.

As second contact approached, I was rapid firing with my fastest camera body and wildlife lens on the hopes of catching Bailey's beads. Once the last bit of light fell from my viewscreen, I turned my eyes skyward and was blown away - even moreso than in 2017. The corona was overwhelmingly bright and multiple prominences were visible with the naked eye in their tell-tale hue of H-a red. I was dumbstruck as an emotional catharsis consumed me. Had I just sat and stared instead of shaking out and continuing my shoot plan, I think I'd have still been happy.

Today, I slept in until 10:30, a manifestation of all the stress leaving my body. I still haven't crawled out of bed and I find myself laying on a cloud of endorphins, my mind both clear and adrift. Half conscious thoughts come and go like fluids on a shifting plane. I'm at a precipice with my photography - not just because of my finally stepping into astro - but it feels like so much is at a tipping point and I am numb with indecision. Landscapes, wildlife, astro, risqué, abstract, and so on are all in my grasp. All the great photographers pick one and master their craft, but like my first time visiting Baskin-Robbins, I want to master them all.

I don't know where the future leads, but much like this photo taken less than an hour after fourth contact, the sun is shining anew.

Lunt LS50THA, PowerMate 2.5x, ASI2600MM, 1000 frames, best 200 stacked

This photo will be available as an extremely limited run of 10 silver halide prints. DM for inquiries.

01/15/2024

Blue Ridge Bonsai

Last summer, I spend some time between Shenandoah and the Blue Ridge Parkway attempting to shoot landscapes with heavy wildfire smoke as an element. Nature, however, decided to shift the winds a bit and provided just enough smoke to make things hazy, but not so much as to add constructive elements. As such, there certainly weren't any wall hangers that day (that's okay!), and barely any that I was even happy with for social media quality.

This shot comes from the Raven's Roost overlook along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and is a popular spot with both locals and tourists alike. I don't know if this tree has an official name, but I've called it the blue ridge Bonsai for years. Like many of my shots from this day, I want to love this image, but it just feels flat to me. I know firsthand what kind of images can be had at this overlook, so I resigned this one to my social media category and moved on. Then, every time I go to post it, I second guess myself and say "nobody wants to see a hazy photo of a tree that breaks standard compositional rules under a sky that doesn't know whether to be muted or vibrant. I know that not every post needs to be a "banger," but I just.... I don't know. Something about this image makes me question if it should be shared at all. But, here I am, ripping the bandaid off and sharing a photo that I want to love, but can't seem to.

01/13/2024

I don't do a lot of portrait work, outside of figure studies and risqué side projects, and when I do, I usually prefer editorial environmental shots. I do still occasionally shoot them to stay rounded and versatile with mt skillsets, I just don't consider them my forté. But, recent life changes outside of photography have forced me to reconsider finishing a home studio and adding portraits to my rapport.

So that said, if you're in need of portrait work ranging from corporate headshots to beauty to drama to boudior or dude-ior, I'm now offering mini sessions for a moderate fee.

Model:

01/12/2024

Black Hole Sun

Solar Corona visible during the August 21, 2017 Total Solar Eclipse

Awarded Imaging Excellence via Professional Photographers of America Merit Image Review

Awarded Commonwealth Collection Image via Virginia Professional Photographers Association

01/11/2024

Brown Jug Bourbon

01/03/2024

Reach For What You Want

I'm at a weird nexus in my professional photographic journey. I took the last year off from art shows because they were a huge investment of time, money, and emotion, and come with high highs and low lows. Instead, I used that time to focus on credentials, behind-the-scenes business model improvements, and a website overhaul.

As I finish up my applications for this year's shows (last minute, as always), I find myself reflecting and soul searching. Whereas I want to focus on pushing my photography towards wall art, specifically with landscapes, wildlife, and figure studies, with a few abstracts and still life photos thrown in, I find myself continually drawn back to photos oriented towards the kink and fe**sh communities. While that style of photography is fun, the real reason is that it pays the bills. Looking at the math of the situation, a trip to the mountains to chase deer and bears costs me a few days time, roughly $300 in fuel, food, and campsite fees, and several more days of culling and editing. If I get one wall-quality photo out of every three trips, that means I need to sell a combination of prints with $900 profit margin on them just to break even, and that's not counting show fees. A $5K overseas trip is understandably higher. Conversely, if I set up a photobooth or do action shot coverage at a play party, it brings in a base fee that covers my time and equipment, and any print sales are pure profit. The tradeoff is that those photos can't be released so I shoot similar work as trade with friends and models to stay relevant. That work then pulls passive income through places like onlyfans.

If the latter is more fun and more lucrative, why do I keep pushing back to the former? Because that's the vision I have of where I want to be. Last year I changed my risqué persona from a second business front to a side projects front. This account is now my only business front, and I've slowly let some of the risqué work cross over. My risqué work isn't going anywhere yet, but it may fade away in the long run. I currently just find myself torn between where I want to be tomorrow versus what's profitable and fun today.

M:

12/26/2023

Top Nine

The end of the year is always a natural time for reflection and analysis. Instagram's algorithmic changes that push reels over photos have certainly affected my engagement and it can be a little demoralizing to see number so much lower than in years past.

Conversely, however, I can look at this and instead see a grid full of memories, travel, and awesome people. This is what keeps me moving and continuing to grow and improve.

12/15/2023

Dawn in Death Valley

Death Valley National Park is one of my favorite places to photograph. Each time I visit, the park brings me new and exciting things to see and shoot. But also, it presents new and difficult challenges. When photographing national parks off-trail, I do my best to minimize ecological impact, and surprisingly, for as hot and dry as Death Valley is, during the wet season, some of the most beautiful locations to shoot are also the most fragile. This particular area of the park, which I won't name in order to keep it protected, is often sought after by folks that want to "do it for the gram" with no respect for the landscape. And on this particular trip, I was lucky enough to find the ground was still hard and strong enough outside of the creeks and pools to allow passage to where I wanted to shoot. On other trips, I had taken just a few steps before realizing that it wasn't going to happen at that time.

I'm usually a fan of the old adage, "take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints," but in an area where those feetprint can impact the land and stay visible for years, maybe try to avoid even that. Not only will the land thank you, but future generations that still have access will thank you.

12/07/2023

Photography (and model if interested!) friends!

If you haven't thought about (or didn't know about) attending ImagingUSA in January, we're six weeks out, and you can consider this my attempt to convince you.

Of all the photography-related shows, fairs, conventions, whatever that I like to go to, this is THE BIG ONE. The main event is Jan 28-30, with add-on classes Jan 25-27, and there's some good stuff on the schedule this year. I still remember how mind-blown I was the first time I went.

It's going to be in Louisville, KY this year (Grapevine, TX next year if you prefer 13 months to plan). Follow the link to learn all about it, plus if you're sharp-eyed, you can see me (and a bunch of other fine folks from Virginia) in the intro clip with the crowd of people waving at the camera. I don't get any kickbacks from posting the link or convincing you to go, I'm just a big fan of sharing opportunities for networking and education.

Oh, and stay tuned for another post where I try to convince you to come check out our annual state event in Glen Allen in March!

Imaging USA is the premier photography conference, trade show, and exhibit in the USA, attracting 10,000 professional photographers each year.

11/27/2023

Over the Edge

One of the drawbacks to photographing well-known locations is that we often see so many fantastic images beforehand that we give ourselves unrealistic expectations of what we're going to find, often forgetting that what we see online is typically shot at ideal conditions with few or no crowds. For this reason, I tend to shy away from doing too much research before traveling because I don't want to fall into the trap of getting "THE" shot. Instead, if I happen into a popular spot, I'll walk around and look for compositions where the crowd isn't, and even then, I try to remember that sometimes conditions just aren't right. All the same, whether I get a memory card full of potentail wall hangers and award winners, or I just get a couple social media and "I was there" images, I can still enjoy the experience of the location.

As it were, on my recent Iceland trip with a gaggle of other photographers, I picked one location that I wanted to visit then told everyone else to prioritize what they wanted to do. I thought this was fair because I've been there before, but also it worked with my style of travel photography. So, as we were on our way to Gulfoss, I had to ask "which one is that? The big wet triangle?" When we got there, the weather was miserable - cold, wet, misty. And it was popular enough that I too fell victim to trying for "the" shot. After many failed attempts due to the mist clouding up my lens, I finally remembered my preferred techniques, adapted to the situation and moved upwind and upstream, looking for new compositions. Thos one here is probably my best of the day, and *might* fall into the category of wall-hanger. It lacks a lot of what I tend to look for in that, but it does capture the feel of the day, is significantly better than my attempts at "THE" shot, and reminds me of all the fun I had behind the lens and just walking around enjoying the moments.

11/25/2023

It's Small Business Saturday! Don't forget to visit http://www.buckphotography.com and give the gift of art!

11/23/2023

KISS of Light

It's no secret that I like to constantly experiment with new lighting techniques, and push myself outside of my comfort zone to shoot new styles. But, sometimes I just have to KISS my photos - the old adage, "Keep It Simple, Stupid."

Early on in my photographic journey, I discovered my favorite overall genre to be chiaroscuro bodyscapes, and with that, I've found my favorite look to be that created by two vertical striplights. To me, it's the perfect balance of enough detail to show the subject, but with enough hidden in shadow to leave you wanting more. I've played with so many other styles, that there have been literal years between shoots where I haven't gone back to my simple, straightforward setup. In fact, this 2018 throwback may have been the last time I did so with deliberate conviction that wasn't also part of a rope shoot.

Given that I post on two different instagram accounts (one less risqué and serving as my professional account, and one dedicated more for risqué side projects), and double them to two different pages, which then get shared to my personal page, I'm usually pretty tight-laced about making sure that nothing requiring censorship marks end up on the professional or friends and family side of things. But, in this case, because chiaroscuro is very much part of my professional fine art work, I'm going on a limb with this one and crossposting to them all.

Personal situations in my life will directly affect my availability and opportunity to work with models going forward, but where I can, I'm absolutely going to put more effort into keeping it simple with my classic chiaroscuro favorites.

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