Blog posts including recent work, tutorials, thoughts on photography and art and just day to day life!
I am a certified People Person! Weddings are so much fun because I get to watch people and capture unscripted moments. This little angel was studying a bouquet in the receiving line after the ceremony. Not sure what she was thinking but she looks so adorable in the picture that a million moms would arm wrestle for the privilege of giving her a hug! Check out more wedding pictures at my Wedding Page! See more of what I have been doing on my Blog
My newest imaging adventure is Wet Plate Collodion. Collodion is the first true commercially successful photography method. The process is based on light converting dissolved silver salts to pure silver. A glass or blackened metal plate is coated with collodion - a type of cellulose. The collodion is dipped into a solution of silver nitrate. Then the plate is put into a view camera and exposed. The plate is developed, fixed (to remove underacted salts) and dried. It is known as "wet plate" because the whole process must be completed before the collodion dries out - about 20 minutes. I…
Life is all around us. The trees, the birds and the water all team with life. We only have to open our eyes and our hearts to see it! Double exposures on film are a huge challenge. You first need to shoot a variety of background images. In this case I shoot water and trees around Neenah. Next rewind the film (but make sure to leave enough of the leader out so you can put it back into the camera). Then you shoot portraits over the original images. The portraits should be dark in areas you want the original image…
When the train arrives you should get on it! I am so far behind on my photo galleries that I might be ahead. This picture is was taken on a break during a film shoot this Summer. The beautiful Dreamera Marie (Instagram @dreamera.marie) posed in a classic style for some medium format film shooting in my little makeshift studio. See the whole gallery at Classic Modern See more of Dreamera at my Fox Valley Wisconsin Modeling page.
Love surrounds us like a flowing river. When we think we are alone people who love us are there. They nurture us, protect us, celebrate our good times and cry when we are sad. Often they are unseen, like a deep slow current - but they are there none the less! A Fall model shoot at Dave's Falls County Park, Wisconsin. The plan was to capture some images with the beautiful Fall colors. We chose the late afternoon for the golden light and to let us do some fun lighting around the rocks. Rain all day at my home but…
Independence Day backyard fireworks - every day is like Christmas! It is such a blessing to just sit back, enjoy time with friends and family, and blow off some super dangerous fireworks! Enjoy some of my favorite shots from our backyard show!
Perspective, 1) n, A view or vista, 2) n, A mental view or outlook As I look back on the years I see things with a clarity that didn't exist at the time I experienced things. I don't think that is anything deep or original; but it is true. I also know that perspective has changed my memories. I might be seeing things differently than they really were when they happened. Our minds are like that. Our most indelible memories are the ones that have strong emotions attached to them. So it is possible that my emotions are warping my…
The Shoot-a-Month project was started in 2020 as an artistic outlet during the paid shoot desert. We've done videos and picture shoots mostly had fun. We did something a little different for May's Shoot-a-Month - an artistic film shoot. This shoot combines landscape pictures with portraits in an unpredictable way. All photos were shot on 35mm, black and white film. I first went out and shot pictures of water and pictures of trees and plants. We then did a photo shoot by putting the film back in the camera and double exposing on top of the first pictures. Unpredictable and…
A just for fun gallery of a single roll of film. These are all double exposure shots with Dreamera Marie - top Neenah model. The double exposures were done on Kodak Portra 400 film. The first shots were just random landscape photos around Neenah. I under exposed each shot to leave some room for the portrait. The second shots were during 2 photo shoots with Dreamera Marie. These are the best shots from the roll (at least the most interesting). You can see more of Dreamera's work on Instagram @dreamera.marie or check out some of her galleries below. http://jalanlee.com/modeling/dreamera-copper-rock/ http://jalanlee.com/modeling/dreaming-st-pats/…
What do you get when you combine a beautiful model, a allergy suffering photographer and a bit of the Irish? A St. Patrick's Day themed shoot! Your humble host suffers from Spring and late Fall allergies. When Dreamera Marie wanted to shoot I put my troubles aside and showed up (pumped full of meds I should add). We had a great time doing a little stealth shooting around Neenah. Thanks to Green's Pour House, and a generous tip to the bar guy, we did some St. Paddy's decoration shooting. Move on to a few other downtown locations and ended up…
Went out and did a film shoot plus video shoot this past weekend. I have been attaching my GoPro Hero 7 video camera to my Bronica ETRSi medium format film camera and shooting video along with photos. This shoot used Kodak Tmax 100 film that I developed myself. Scans were done using a Canon 5dmkIV camera with 100mm macro lens. So here is my short video of the shoot with the final developed pictures. Music by me performed by me on various instruments. Recorded on Ableton Live 11 Saturday Morning Film Shoot from Jalanlee on Vimeo. My Film Photography Page…
Here is another video in my Shoot-a-Month project. I started this project in 2020 as a response to the slower photography market. Not as much business so might as well plan a creative project for every month. I had so much fun the project is going to continue into 2021. For this latest video I met up with Dreamera Marie and we did a fast shoot on a Saturday afternoon. This video features my interpretation of an old April Wine song. All parts played by ME and looped on Ableton Live 11. Do Ya Wanna Rock? from Jalanlee on Vimeo.…
My main "gig" is photography but I also have done quite a bit of video. I am an all around video producer that both shoots and edits - and often writes and directs! In 2020 I started a shoot-a-month project in which I committed to producing one creative project each month. I have continued this project into 2021 and plan on going until I am out of ideas! Shoot-a-month is all about trying something different, working with new people and bringing something uplifting into the world - or maybe just having some fun! This month I worked with the beautiful…
There are two paths you can take when it is below zero in Wisconsin. You can huddle around the fire and dream of summer, or you can get off your butt and do a photo shoot! Dreamera Marie and I braved the frigid cold on a Sunny Saturday to bring a Winter fantasy to life. I bundled up and she froze! But we both had fun; hand warmers all around! You can see the full gallery at Dreamera at 14 Below Zero Check out Dreamera's Instagram @dreamera.marie or my Instagram @jalanlee I am always looking for creative projects and models…
Thursday Afternoon in Neenah from Jalanlee on Vimeo. Thursday in February in Wisconsin and its snowing. Imagine that! Tomorrow morning will be busy clearing the snow but for now I enjoyed the beautiful snowfall. Here is a a short capture of that beauty. The music is a live loop I recorded. It was done with Ableton Live 10, Ableton Push 2, my Roland Juno keyboard and my Gretsch Electromatic guitar. Just a 4 chord progression with a little playing around. You can see more of my video work on my Video Page
Met up with Saad Anjum at a photoshoot in Oshkosh. Saad is a very interesting person and is both a model and an actor. You can see more about Saad on Instagram @saadisofficial. Also, see the entire gallery at Saad in Oshkosh I am always interested in meeting new models and coming up with new projects! If you want to discuss a project please Contact Me! Back to my Modeling Page
Captured at the Mitchell Conservatory (The Domes) in Milwaukee on a 5d MkIV in 4k. The camera really tracks focus well and the footage is just beautiful down sampled to HD video. After the video are a few screen shots. They show the really high quality of 4k images in the video. https://youtu.be/8vNPph66vTY Another video you might enjoy: A Snowy Thursday
Wedding memories... cleaning up my website this year and am finding lots of wonderful memories! Here is a picture from Lacey and Arthur's wedding in 2019. The memories just come flooding back. All the kids! All the Bridesmaids! All the fun! I feel so privileged to be able to share this wedding and all the others! Yes, wedding are an incredible amount of work! But soon the muscle aches fade and all the pictures are edited and delivered. Then you are left with all the memories of the fun you had and the love you shared in! Life is so…
Bubbles Dreaming of Summer Wedding Photography - with bubbles! Yes, weddings are a huge time and energy commitment. But my heart is always full after spending time with all the love! Here two beautiful ladies blow bubbles while waiting for the ceremony to start - what a moment! See more pictures from Melissa & Aaron's Wedding. Related Posts http://jalanlee.com/wedding/wedding-memories/ http://jalanlee.com/wedding/high-cliff-bride/ http://jalanlee.com/blog/j-alan-international-wedding-photographer/
Out scouting locations for a photo shoot. Found this awesome railroad bridge over a little creek. Here is a short video of the bridge - look for a photo shoot soon!
A snowy day in January is a perfect opportunity to do some landscape photography. We have been blessed with a week of beautiful rime frost. Not something that happens a lot in Wisconsin. Everything was coated in milky white ice and it was truly magical! So I pulled out my trusty Bronica ETRSi medium format camera, loaded it with Kodak Tmax 100 black and white film, and headed out for a shoot. I also brought along a GoPro Hero 7 camera. I mounted the GoPro on the camera (flash shoe mount) and recorded a video during each exposure. Don't know…
Another session in my shoot-a-month project. This time we did a film shoot with the beautiful Dreamera Marie (Instagram @dreamera.marie). It was a beautiful late afternoon / evening and we used the backdrop of the early Winter earth tone colors around Neenah. Shot with Kodak Portra 400 film on a medium format camera - my Bronica ETRSi. The first shots were in a swamp! The rolling grasses were an awesome contrast with her sparkly blue dress. The next set was taken on Doty Island by the bridges and Fox River. This set used a variety of lighting and color grades…
Location - Downtown Neenah. Either the brick alley or trees by Neenah Towers. The final image will be a composite of two images. The first image will be made to look like a child - alone in the dark but feeling safe none the less. Below are a couple of examples of making an adult into a child. The 2nd photo is a protective angel. We'll use a back light effect. Here are a couple of examples (in the 2 locations) that kind of get to what we'll do...
My 2020 shoot-a-month project continues through July. This shoot was all studio and results in a whole bunch of cool compositions. Featuring Wisconsin model Dreamera Marie, the shoot had a circus fantasy theme. We did all the shooting in front of a "green screen". This makes it possible to more easily separate the subject and composition into another picture. The downside of green screen is you run the risk of green "spill" in the picture. Spill is when you get a green color cast on the edges. It can come from bad lighting or just reflections around the set. We…
https://player.vimeo.com/video/424312592 Just having some fun and having A Summer DReam! Megan, Karrington and I shot this video on one of the first hot days of 2020. It is so much fun to just go out and create something fun and whimsical. As adult people, we are pressured to be "serious" and act like "adults". But who doesn't want to cut loose once in a while and just like a kid again? Especially this year when it seems like the bad news will never end? "A Summer DReam" was shot in 4k on a Canon 5d MkIV. All editing was done…