Cody + Sarah on film

I recently photographed my brother and his wife on film at Windansea Beach in La Jolla.

I wanted to do this entire shoot on 35mm and 120mm film as a challenge, and to let go of relying on digital being something that I can always depend on to take an overabundance of images that can then be culled down to 200 photos, which to me is still too much to choose from. I’m trying to focus on less is more and seeing where it goes. As a bonus the prints from film are stunning compared to a digital print.

This wasn’t an engagement session, but I wanted to feature it as such. They’ve been married for over a year now, so I see it as an anniversary session! I’m looking to do more of these film based sessions in the future, so if you’re looking for a San Diego photographer please contact me here.

These photographs were made with a Canon AE-1P, and a Mamiya C220 with Portra 400 film.

My brother, Cody Long, is also an amazing visual artist and producer! You can see his work here: www.CodyLong.com


Mimi Zulu - It rains love

I worked on this music video for Mimi Zulu back in 2013, and always come back to it as inspiration for more video work. I had no story board for this video, and no idea what I was going to do, but I knew Mimi and her husband lived in a cool space that they had created for themselves and that we’d somehow find backdrops and lighting that would create the mood for the video.

The opening scene is just her husband walking up behind her with a blanket they had. The lighting coming in from both sides of her sitting at the dining table were windows they had and we lit incense and had it burn under the lens to give it the smoke effect. The circular white lights were hanging on the wall in their basement studio, so I just placed her in front of them and the bokeh from them looked great.

This video spanned a few weeks as we had to collect other footage of the dancer on one day, and the violinist another.

I created this video with a Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens.


Shooting through glass

I discovered this method a few years ago when I found a piece of tinted circular glass in an old microscope set I picked up from a thrift store. I parted with the microscope, but kept the piece of glass and have used it off and on to create some really cool photos that appear to be double exposures, but in fact are just a single shot. This look can also be achieved by using clear glass found in picture frames and holding it at an angle in front of your lens.

Please contact me if you’re looking for a San Diego Portrait Photographer.

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