WINTERSEAM

I am beyond happy with this latest test shoot! Testing is all about allowing yourself the freedom to create! I absolutely love film and wanted to go back to the basics. I wanted to create a menswear spread that was clean and authentic, without compromising quality and, of course, style! Erick DeLeon styled the shoot, and I had my heart set on using attire from BlackBlue. I absolutely LOVE this store. The vibe, the selection, the clientele - everything about it is beautiful and I just had to have them be a part of it! Lucky for me, they agreed and some pure magic happened!

This shoot was so refreshing for me, because it was truly so simple! In studio, all natural light, and since we photographed it with film, there wasn't any post production! The process was just about as inspiring to me as the final images!

CREDITS//

Photographs: Eliesa Johnson

Attire: BlackBlue

Styling: Erick DeLeon

Talent: Jason of Ignite Models

Hair/Makeup: Margo Gordon

Film Development: Richard Photo Lab

Grandma Nolan!

Each summer, there is a family reunion. This summer, I was bound and determine to get a fantastic portrait of Grandma Nolan! This is a very strong woman who has such a big heart and spunk for life!

I wanted to shoot film of the family and I was SO excited when the film came back...I nailed it! I absolutely love this image. I think it is classic and it was exactly the portrait I was going for!

And don't you just LOVE film? Each and every time I get film back from Richard Photo Lab, I get all giddy, because it looks SO good! You'd think it's new technology or something!

LOVE>FILM!

eliesa

Film: Pinhole Camera!

Before my last trip to Vancouver, the shutter on my film camera went out; therefore, I had all of this film to shoot and no camera to shoot it with! My good friends Ral and Danelle of RAD Studios took me to their local camera shop, Beau Photo, where they had a slew of film cameras to purchase! I was originally going to get a Holga camera, but I own 3 of them already...and then I saw it...Holga's newest in their line of simple cameras - the panoramic pinhole camera.

This camera is as basic as it gets. No viewfinder, no shutter (really), and no telling how you have exposed correctly or if anything at all is in focus. I. was. in. heaven. Just the anticipation to see how things would turn out was too good to pass up, so I purchased the camera and on I went!

My good friend Bill, with Richard Photo Lab, gave me a call one night asking "Eliesa, what in the HECK did you do with this film?" Here are a few of the results...

LOVE > FILM!

eliesa

Photogen Inc Blog Episode #8: A Bryan Photo Workshop!

Photogen Inc Blog Episode #8: A Bryan Workshop! from eliesa on Vimeo.

I also want to give a HUGE thanks to B-Funk for REALLY doing a fabulous job on editing these blog episodes! Now, I just have to be more steady with the camera! ;0)

Enjoy!

eliesa

A Bryan Workshop!

This past week, I was SUPER pumped to be a part of the first ever workshop, put on by A Bryan Photo! The workshop was held in Alabama and I have to say: I have been to many awesome workshops. THIS WORKSHOP WAS THE BEST - HANDS DOWN!!!

Seriously! I am SO excited for what A Bryan's workshops will be in the future, because this one was truly unbelievable! Why? Allow me...

First: We were separated into groups of 3 based on our experience level! GENIUS! Because of this, I was able to learn and have conversations and go beyond the general-ness that can sometimes happen when in a large group.

Second: Guest Speakers! The A Bryan Team invited some of the coolest people in our industry to speak and hang out with us! Lara Casey of Southern Weddings, Bill Pyne of Richard Photo Lab, Shoot Q and Dena Robertson of Cypress Albums all gave very inspirational talks - outside of their realm of their products!

Lastly: They were open, honest and SO much fun! No topic was untouchable, no question went unanswered and I can't say enough about their hospitality and just TIME they gave to listen to us all!

I had SO much fun with my little group - and everyone overall at the workshop!

Be sure to check out the uber-cool Polaroids taken by Stephen DeVries!

My awesome group! Taylor Christian Jones and Jory Cordy - two KILLER photographers!

 

Thank you SO much to the 'Alabama Boys' for putting on such a fabulous workshop!

I KNOW there will be many more workshops by A Bryan Photo! For all of you photographers who are looking for a solid workshop that is totally inspiring - these are only going to get BIGGER and BETTER!

eliesa