Summer of LEGO - Mondrian City

I always kick off a summer with the intention of getting so many things done, a massive to-do list compiled and awaiting me just as school wraps up. Among the items on my list was this blog and to update it with more frequency. So much for that. This summer, with its incredible fall-like weather proved too tempting to resist, so much traveling and beach going ensued.

However, I did manage to squeeze in quite a few opportunities for creative exploration and professional development, largely via the use of LEGOs.

At home, prior to the start of summer, my six year old son and I used his enormous cache of LEGOs to create a couple of fun (and quite time-consuming, as it turned out) projects. Our first undertaking was "Mondrian City," named as such due to its color scheme of predominantly primary-colored bricks. What started out as the two of us building a single structure on a building plate turned into a massive streetscape. This construction continued through the summer.

A beautiful mess.

Under construction.

Coming together.

View from the rooftop (who knew Jack Sparrow had a penthouse apartment in Mondrian City?).

Being a photographer, I then decided to take this a step further by staging a narrative scene in our city. My son and I built a LEGO robot that would visit Mondrian City, with the inhabitants flowing into the street and staring in wonder.

Robot visitor (friend or foe?)

View of the robot visitor from above.

By this point, Mondrian City had become an obsession. I began to understand what Richard Dreyfuss' character felt like in Close Encounters as he dealt with the compulsion to construct a Devil's Tower in his living room.

Next, I purchased some inexpensive micro LED lights from Amazon and placed them throughout the city. I set up an orange paper background, meant to suggest the sky at dusk. I also set up a couple strobes (flash units) to compliment the scene.

Almost ready for the big shoot.

The micro LEDs.

Positioning the camera at the end of the street at a low angle, I shot a number of frames in total darkness, the shutter open for 30 seconds at a time. The initial pop of a strobe - at the other end of the block, behind the orange backdrop, pointed at the camera - at the beginning of the exposure provided a huge burst of light behind the robot, while the remainder of the exposure was illuminated via micro LED (some in the buildings, some waved about the scene by me and my son in a "light painting" fashion. Here are a couple of the strongest images:

In general, I'm pretty satisfied with the outcome. I did want to include some sort of "smoke" to create a little atmosphere, but I just didn't get around to it. Maybe next time...

I will be posting more about the Summer of LEGO shortly, including our trip to Brick Fest, attending an EV3 Robotics workshop at Carnegie Mellon University and another original project we call "The Beast," a vehicle designed using traditional LEGOs, Technics parts and the brick and large motors from an EV3 kit. All controlled with the Robot Commander app on my iPad. Cool stuff. Stay tuned...

OTHS Digital Photography Greatest Clicks - MP 2, 2013 2014

The hits just keep on comin'! My students continue to impress and amaze me with the images they create. This "Greatest Clicks" installment features studio lighting techniques known as Overlit White and Edge Lighting as well as other treatments known as Double Exposure (some Adobe Photoshop post production trickery) and Light Painting (which is probably the most popular project among my students). Enjoy!

OTHS Model Teacher Photo Project - Marking Period 2, 2013-2014

It's now becoming tradition. As part of my 9 week Digital Photography course at Ocean Township High School, students must ask one of their teachers to serve as their model for a photo session. This helps to familiarize students with studio procedures, lighting plots, model release forms and working with clients in general. It also helps to build morale in school as students collaborate with their teachers and portray them in a positive light (pun intended).

OTHS Digital Photography "Greatest Clicks"

This new year has brought many new challenges, namely re-designing my Digital Photography class for block scheduling and to maximize use of our new studio space. Having 82 minute periods is a dream come true, as students can dive into sustained learning when I introduce concepts and techniques.

The videos below showcases some of the strongest shots created in our studio to date. These are our "Greatest Clicks" series. Students explored lighting set ups known as "Rembrandt" and "Butterfly" lighting, utilizing light modifiers such as soft boxes, beauty dishes, show cards and 10 degree honeycomb grids and much more. I am so impressed by how they handle themselves both behind and in front of the camera.

Greatest Clicks 09.27.13

Light Painting 

Students had a ton of fun experimenting with long shutter times and a variety of light painting tools. I think this is the highlight (no pun intended) of the course for them.

Model Teacher Project
For this assignment, my OTHS Digital Photography students were required to ask a faculty or staff member to serve as a model for their studio photography work. The clients signed model releases, discussed the aspects of the shoot (wardrobe, props, background, lighting, poses, etc.) before and during the shoot. Upon completion, students were required to lightly re-touch the 5 best shots from the session and share them with their models via Google Drive (along with a thank you note, of course). This video showcases some of the best shots from Marking Period 1 of 2013-2014.

Stay tuned for more great images!