Alyssa and Alana - Military shoot Pt I

Canon 5D mk II 70-200 f2.8L IS II iso200 1/160@f4

Took the first flight over to Oahu on Easter Sunday to meet up with Chaz from After6Media for another joint shoot at the Naval Air Museum at Barbers Point on Oahu.

This time our models were Alyssa and Alana and our makeup artists were Chastity and Sarah.

The Naval Air Museum staff was very helpful with this shoot, doing everything from moving and positioning vehicles to holding lightstands and reflectors.  They even helped to instruct our models on the proper holding and use of the many firearms we had access to.  They really made the photoshoot go smoothly.

Canon 5D mk II 70-200 f2.8L IS II iso200 1/160@f2.8

Started out with Alana and a rocket launcher.  We used a California Sunbounce SunSwatter to diffuse the sunlight and a WL1600 with a beauty dish for the main light. We actually had two of the 1600s set up, but found that one was enough.

Our next set was on a tank named "The Duke".

Canon 5D mk II 70-200 f2.8L IS II iso200 1/160@f5.6

For a lot of these shots also I used a circular polarizer and an ND filter on the lens to help darken the sky.

Canon 5D mk II 24-105 f4L IS iso200 1/160@f2.8

The wind was doing amazing things with Alana's hair.  Kinda distracted me though - I should have also done a wide shot showing more of the turret, but didn't think about it at the time.

Both Chaz and I had a lot of our own concepts to shoot, so he primarily worked with Alana on this day while I worked with Alyssa.

Alyssa has been studying acrobatic silk work and the tank gave us a great opportunity to put her skills to work.

 Once she got the silk set up she started rocking the shoot.

Canon 5D mk II 70-200 f2.8L IS II iso200 1/160@f4

The wind was blowing quite a bit (the location is on an active airfield after all), but amazingly Alyssa was able to position herself so that we could get the shots we wanted.

Canon 5D mk II 70-200 f2.8L IS II iso200 1/160@f4

We used the WL1600/Beauty Dish again to fill in the harsh shadows.  One thing about the WL1600s - they are DURABLE.  The wind actually knocked the lightstand over while we were at the tank, denting the beauty dish and shattering the flashtube.  I figured the light was completely trashed.  When I got back to Maui however, I replaced the flashtube and tested it and amazingly the WL1600 is still working!

Alyssa is just fearless when it comes to posing - "Want me to hang from a tank turret holding a rifle? Suuuuure!  How about if I do it inverted?".

Canon 5D mk II 70-200 f2.8L IS II iso200 1/80@f2.8

We worked with one of the Navy jets next. Used the WL1600 with a 7" reflector for the main and an AB800 with the beauty dish for fill.  By this time the sun was a little lower in the sky so that we could use it as a hairlight.

Canon 5D mk II 70-200 f2.8L IS II iso200 1/160@f5.6

Played around a bit with the positioning and the various signage on the plane.

Canon 5D mk II 70-200 f2.8L IS II iso200 1/160@f7.1

We tried several variations of outfits.  I think the red worked out the best. Red, white & blue - a future Navy recruiting poster maybe?

Canon 5D mk II 70-200 f2.8L IS II iso200 1/125@f5.6

We also tried a few shots on top of one of the jets where Alyssa wrapped a silk around her body and let the wind blow through it.  Since she was pretty high up, I couldn't get exactly the right camera angle and placement of the light I was looking for.  Something to maybe save for the next shoot.

 Canon 7D 24-105 f4L IS iso200 1/250@f5.6

Did some playful shots as well.  Alyssa is great with expressions like this.  Of course, we had a bit of a run in with security right after we took this shot.

Canon 7D 24-105 f4L IS iso200 1/250@f5.6

Also did some shots with Alyssa and Alana together.

 Canon 7D 24-105 f4L IS iso200 1/250@f5.6

 Canon 7D 24-105 f4L IS iso200 1/250@f5.6

Canon 7D 24-105 f4L IS iso200 1/200@f5.6

We ended up at the Huey for some final shots. The image stabilization on the 24-105 f4L IS lens is pretty darned good - this was handheld at 1/15th shutter speed.

Canon 7D 24-105 f4L IS iso200 1/15@f5.6

We then wrapped up and headed back to the airport to catch the last flight back to Maui.

Anyone that tells you that being a model is easy - that's a load of bullpucky.  Dehydrating in the hot sun, posing in the wind, hanging from silks, balancing on airplanes, these girls worked their butts off that day so that we could get some cool shots.  Mahalos to our models Alyssa and Alana, our makeup artists Sarah and Chastity and the staff at the Naval Air Museum for another awesome shoot!