Alim Kassim Photography Blog

Back online soon!

LMKSSMBLOG — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 05:54:55 +0000

It’s been a whirlwind of a year, lots has transpired! Currently in process of setting up business & hope to back online again soon.

What’s All The Racket?

alim — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 00:33:33 +0000

A couple weekends ago, my cousin came by to visit us for the afternoon. This kid is truly an amazing tennis player; it’s amazing to see how much he has progressed over the years.
As the weather outside was pretty cold, we were pretty much left to entertain ourselves indoors. So, I figured why not do an impromptu shoot!

Being the great sport that Aman is, we decided to do a shoot focused on the subject of tennis…and believe it or not, all within the confines of our living room (which btw, is a bit bigger than a matchbox!).
As there was a bit of furniture in the room, I knew I’d be moving a few things around & shooting this against my Botero background.

In my head, I envisioned photographing Aman through his tennis racket. I knew that I wanted to illuminate the strings on the racket, but without them being too distracting.
I tried lighting the strings from head-on, the sides, below, and even from above, which is what I ended up using.

After a few test frames, I realized that having Aman hold the racket was causing some problems with lighting on the strings. So, I rigged the tennis racket in a clamp, which was affixed to a spare light stand. This helped keep the racket nice and straight, which helped keep the lighting on the strings consistent. This allowed me to focus more on Aman, who happened to be sitting on our make shift seat (aka cat perch).

Once the lighting was locked in, I took a handful of shots. Processing was pretty straightforward on both images. For the first, I wanted to do something a bit different and to tone the image in a way that looked like the color of a tennis ball (without being over the top). Below are two of the final images from the shoot:

Enjoy!

Project 50 :: Day 26 – Day 50

alim — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 06:50:16 +0000

Wow, I can’t believe I did it. 50 straight days of shooting. I won’t say it’s been easy, ’cause it hasn’t.
Coming home late in the evening, often with no sun in the sky & pouring rain, has definitely provided me some challenges both physically & mentally.

Let me ask you, when it’s dark & pouring rain out, are you motivated to go out and shoot? Haha, I thought so…well, this project has made me think otherwise.

I’ve learned a lot through during this entire process and it’s definitely challenged my way of thinking. I would have to say my key learnings are:

Never leave home without your camera

Your feet are the best zoom you’ll ever have

Great pictures are to be had everywhere, you just may have to view things from a different angle or perspective

Anytime is a good time to be behind the camera

Photos represent the way you see the world. Share your vision regardless of what others think

Push yourself, otherwise you’ll never know what your capable of and you’ll never grow

Use what available light is around you. If there is none, make some! Be innovative! Use that light on your key chain or even a flashlight!

No tripod? Try the ground, a ledge, a bunched up coat, or whatever you can get your hands on to stabilize your camera

I must say that I have been pleasantly surprised at some of the images I’ve been able to walk away with during this project.
Whether the image I captured was planned or in the moment, I have thoroughly enjoyed documenting these past 50 days. It’s been great to get out, relieve stress, & press the shutter.

With that said…I leave you with Part 2 of Project 50.

Project 50 :: Day 1 – Day 25

alim — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 06:27:01 +0000

The past 6 months have been quite intense for me both personally & professionally. Needless to say, it’s been stressful in these uncertain times, but thank goodness for family, friends, & photography. Without the support of my loved ones, I don’t know what I would do.

As I’ve been quite busy working a full-time job, my only outlet for stress has been photography. To ensure that I would keep up with my photography, I decided to take on a personal project entitled Project 50.

Inspired by the work of my peers & friends Paul Gero & Bert Stephani, I decided to challenge myself to photograph the world around me, using only 1 camera & 1 lens (a fixed 50mm).

The rules off the project are simple:

◊ 1 camera
◊ 1 lens (a fixed 50mm)
◊ 50+ days
◊ No tripods, flashes, or strobes

The only limits are my imagination & creativity.

More soon…

New Blog!

alim — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 03:56:56 +0000

Hi All,

Been working diligently on customizing the new blog here and am definitely staying busy. I have to say I am very happy with the template so far, it definitely has a lot to offer. I’m also working on pooling my social media resources, so thanks for your patience!

Thanks!

Alim

Colander Light

alim — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 03:33:34 +0000

Played around with some light a while back, as I needed to exercise my “lighting chops” a bit.
Background light here is courtesy of one kitchen colander, which I thought made a pretty cool vortex-like pattern.
Main light is provided by one shoot thru umbrella in reflective mode.

Over The Rainbow

alim — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 03:01:08 +0000

It’s good to finally be back on the blog after many many months! I’m proud to say that we have also added a new addition to our family, so needless to say we have been swamped.

This past summer, my sister & niece came to stay with us for a couple weeks. It was beautiful summer weather, which gave us the opportunity to spend a lot of time outdoors.
Here are some of my favorites…

Cheers!

Be sure to check out more of my work here:
http://www.alimkassim.com

Before firing up the grill one evening, I decided to experiment and take a few photos. This was taken in our backyard with trees, shrubbery, and all
(gotta love the inverse square law here). Face painting was courtesy of our day trip to the local zoo. I think the artwork added some nice lines here.

Tech Specs:
Top 3 photos were all natural lighting.

The bottom was shot with off camera lighting:

Canon 5D
85mm f1.8
ISO 100
1/125 @ 7.1

Main Light – 580EXII into shoot-thru-umbrella
Hair/Rim Light – Nikon SB26 with 1/4 or 1/2 cut CTO gel
Pocketwizards

PhotoVision – The Ultimate Learning Resource

alim — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 06:41:18 +0000

Hi All,

If you have not heard about PhotoVision, you need to check it out.
I’ve been a subscriber for a while now, and have learned a ton of stuff from some of the best pro photographers in the field.

The PhotoVision compilations are great and cover all aspects of the business.
So go on, check ‘em out! =)

http://bit.ly/9MM2uP

If you have trouble accessing the link, you can try this one as well:
http://fansof.photovisionvideo.com/Alim/054237

More soon,
A.

GOYA I :: Results

alim — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 06:50:14 +0000

This last weekend I spent a lot of time catching up on some well needed rest, but I was determined to get out and take a few pics!
Tooth or nail, I was getting outside to get some fresh air and to feel the sun on my back.

After finishing up a few things around the house, I threw on my duds, grabbed my camera, and set out through the neighborhood and into the woods for my first ever GOYA.
(I probably should be on GOYA MCMLXXXVIII by now, but hey, I had to officially start somewhere :)

I have to say after being out for 1.5-2 hours, it was just what I needed to wrap up the weekend. After a bit of a slow start, things began to fall in place, and I felt right at home behind the lens.
I decided to use my trusty 5D, a 35mm f1.4, the late afternoon sun, and a 12mm extension tube, to provide a bit of variety.

Well, ’nuff said, on with the show….

Ruby Revisit

alim — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 05:48:40 +0000

It was around 60F today, the sun was shining, and I’ve been holed up here in my office for most of the afternoon and evening.

I’ve been slogging away at my new website, which I’m hoping to launch soon. However, I have to admit that it’s been a bit of a process working with an entirely different template. In addition, I’ve also been having to think about my contact page, bio, etc…all those things I don’t have on my current site (did I miss the bus on that one or what!). Anyway, I’m sure all the work will be worth it in the end. So, be sure to keep an eye out for the announcement!

While browsing files this evening, I came across another shot from the Ruby At Sundown series. A lot of people commented that they would have liked to see more of the background and perhaps a not-so-serious look. I personally love the intense look, but to each their own right?. So, for all of you out there who prefer “all smile” photos, here’s an image that I think will fit the bill. Big thanks again to Ruby, who made this all possible.

Please don’t forget to leave a comment (bottom right of image)….thanks!