Nikki Devereux

I always want to schedule at least two or three shoots a week, but I am never able to, because I am the type of quasi-anal planner that has to have a shoot ORCHESTRATED, not just thrown together. A few weeks ago I did a shoot with a model that I had just found the day before in a last minute casting call, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t have time to think about theme, wardrobe, makeup, etc., and it just didn’t feel right. The best shoots I’ve had have been ones where I plan for months and then at the shoot I have a whole team of people to help, including an assistant, MUA, my props and location are perfectly thought out, sometimes I even make my own shot list. Oh, and not to mention the refreshment table, which is always an amazing addition, because then everyone is happy for hours! It’s kind of anal but it works for me.

I have the next two weeks off and I’m trying to plan a lot of shoots to keep my creativity flowing and use my time wisely. Lately I have been drawing a lot of inspiration from movies and film, and my two latest projects were born from watching Bjork’s “Hyperballad,” directed by Michel Gondry, and a movie called “Brideshead Revisited,” which is based upon the literary classic of the same name. I am still working on the background for the Bjork project, but I have a model and makeup artist all lined up. For the Brideshead project I am still working on a model.

I am going to shoot both with my Mamiya 645 Super, so I have to buy a pocket wizard so that I can use the strobe with it. If you’ve never seen a pocket wizard, it is just a little radio thing that plugs into the camera and then another thing that plugs into the strobe light, and when you press the shutter the strobe is triggered by the radio. It’s pretty freakin’ awesome. Anyone using strobes needs one.

From now on, for my personal shoots I am going to try to use the Mamiya 645 Super exclusively, though I’ll bring my Nikon D300 and my Nikon N6006 35mm film camera as well just for fun. I just love film so much, and the Mamiya renders color and light so beautifully.

One of the reasons I’m writing is because I get so frustrated sometimes because I have so many ideas running through my head all the time, and sometimes I just overwhelmed because I want to try to control them and reign them in but I can’t. And then I just get lost in this sea of ideas and I can’t single any of them out to try to really get them going. I mean, aside from the Bjork thing and the “Brideshead Revisited” thing, I have so many others, I could be shooting EVERY SINGLE DAY, but I just don’t seem to have the time or money to put all of these ideas into action, especially considering my very detailed organization of my shoots. I would need like three or four more of me in order to get that many shoots organized per week.

I have a new idea for a shoot, and it involves one of Bjork’s videos directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep, etc.), and I already have a model who is super thrilled about the idea! This is good. The model is awesome and I am excited. She is very flexible with incredible facial and body expressions, so I think it will be super to work with her. I am going to get to work making the background and planning out lighting and such. I love orchestrating photo shoots!

I was driving by an old warehouse building in downtown St. Petersburg and I saw this really cool window reflecting the sky. Of course I pulled over in that lonely alley to take this photo.

About a week and a half ago I did a photo shoot with model Heather Fusari and makeup artist Jessica Scott. I designed wardrobe and did Heather’s hair, and Jessica doubled as my assistant. It was a lot of fun. We started out in my backyard with all the weeds, aka tiny white flowers that are actually really beautiful. Here, Jessica held the reflector for me, the sun was setting so it was coming from the west on Heather’s right and she was standing to the left of Heather, reflecting the light directly back at the sun and onto the other side of Heather’s face.

We then went to Sam Ash, Kapok Tree in Clearwater. It is so beautiful there, and the shots are endless! Heather and Jessica were both very cooperative even though we were all getting eaten alive by mosquitos, and for the first 20 minutes we were there, it rained so we had to sit in the car. But it was worth it! Here I used natural light just before dusk, no reflector or anything…

And in this photo, I used a strobe to Heather’s left, at lowest power, I believe 1/16. Then Jessica held the reflector to Heather’s right for fill light. The sun had already set so it was completely dark outside.

I would love to hear comments, critiques, etcetera. I experiment with all this stuff so I don’t use any traditional techniques, just my knowledge of light and the way it works!

These are totally unedited, except for some cropping. Pretty exciting. Looks like light metering with my D300 worked pretty well.

First photo ever! Russell holding a BH Photo catalog. Shutter speed: 1/60

Swimming pool at the location of my fashion shoot for Haute Collective.  I used the 90mm fisheye for this one. Aper: 5.6, Shutter: 1/250

Fashion shoot with Heather Fusari. Wardrobe by me!  This is not a dreamy field of flowers, but my unkempt, weedy back yard. The miracle of a good crop job! Shutter – 1/250, 90mm fisheye at Aperture 4.0. Natural light with a reflector to right of Heather. Same for below photos:

I just bought a Mamiya 645 Super. It is a marvelous piece of equipment. And I do mean EQUIPMENT. It’s so robust and heavy that my Nikon D300 feels like a point and shoot in comparison. I still LOVE my D300 though, don’t get me wrong.

I am still getting to know my new friend. The Mamiya is so foreign to me, a medium format camera with film backs and hand cranks and all kinds of interesting buttons and levers! One of my favorite things about it is the way the shutter feels and sounds when it clicks. It is strong and sturdy, and it almost announces itself with the opening and closing. You cannot ignore that sound.

And the lenses!! Oh the lenses! A gorgeous 90mm fisheye is my favorite, with a piece of beautiful convex glass that looks exactly like a crystal ball. I also have a 45mm f2.8 and a 120 mm f2.8. Pretty sweet. When I look through the viewfinder I am brought back to photography classes years ago, when the old manual cameras still used the circular viewfinder in which you have to match up the lines before the subject is in focus.

It is difficult getting used to not being able to see my image directly after I’ve shot it. I have discovered that with digital I rely on my first shot almost as my own light meter, where I eliminate the need for an actual light meter by taking a test shot, then looking at it, looking at the histogram, and determining what needs to happen with shutter speed, aperture, ISO. Now, my ISO is set for a given roll of film. I cannot see my shots, so I have no idea what’s happening with them. I used my D300 as my light meter, doing my normal course of test shot and histogram check, and then used the results to determine the settings for the Mamiya.

I have used the Mamiya on two fashion shoots thus far, and I am looking forward to seeing the results. The suspense is almost too much for me – I feel like a kid at Christmas time! I’m so eager that I can hardly sleep (it’s 5 a.m.!). I will share the photos when they are processed.

Next stop: HOME DARKROOM… I will be like a mad scientist in my lab 24 hours a day processing photos!

This is my first post on my new photography blog! Here, I will avoid, as much as possible, the rantings and ravings that have previously characterized my personal blog. This place is for photography only, so that I can share with my readers my progress, my creativity and my journey.

First off, I am working on a new website, so that will be up within the next few weeks. Stay tuned.

Photos from my trip to New York…