Kyle Dreier Photography

Day Six - Photo a Day

Good morning. Remnants of a quilt Amy is making caught my eye and became the subject of my shoot this morning.

– Kyle Dreier

Day Five - Photo a Day

Just so you know, you may notice two posts/photos in a single day. I’m allowing myself a little grace as the intent of this self imposed assignment is to shoot. Shoot more than normal. Shoot to be pushed. So, the net will be one photo per day, but you may see me shooting to get ahead or catch up.

I love the irony of this tag.

-Kyle Dreier

Day Four - Photo a Day

I found this fella in Florida a few months back and have been keeping him waiting for an opportunity to shoot him. Today was his day.

– Kyle Dreier

Day Three - Photo a Day

Well, I’m absolutely enjoying the self-imposed accountability to shoot a photo a day. I’m using it as a way to push and exercise my abilities. I’ve been holding on to this belt a while now in hopes of shooting it and now that hope is realized.

What will tomorrow hold? We’ll just have to see.

- Kyle Dreier

Day Two - Photo a Day

Well, I’m keeping good on my goal now in day 2. I think I’ve found that I like shooting really small stuff. These little guys came from a recent stay at a hotel. They are about 1.5 inches tall. Boy howdy does dust show up when shooting that tight.

What will tomorrow bring? Stay tuned.

– Kyle Dreier

Day One - Photo a Day

While walking today with Thomas Ryan of Thomas Ryan Design of Nashville, TN and Brian Dominey of Brian Dominey Design of Franklin, TN an object on the sidewalk caught my eye. Interestingly enough, Thomas was at the moment explaining the Painting A Day Project and the use of ordinary objects as subjects for these self-imposed painting assignments.

My mind immediately went to the idea of a Photo A Day. Why not challenge myself to simply shoot something, anything once a day regardless of what my schedule seemingly allows. The goal or agenda of such an assignment is to keep one engaged in their art.

You know the saying … “A writer writes.” This applies to any art or craft and goes well with my personal modus operandi these days.

Additionally, anyone that knows me can testify that I like found objects. I have stashes here and there to prove it. While this is only day one of my assignment I feel as though it may end up being somewhat of a documentary of what I’ve found over time.

Bottle Cap found in Nashville, TN. Wallpaper background was found in a now gone and forgotten post-Victorian house where Fellowship Bible Church now sits.

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So, herein begins my Photo A Day project.

– Kyle Dreier

Confessions of a “Texture-holic”

OK, can I just say that I love textures! I’m drawn to textures. Texture is so much more interesting than smooth.

I was darting down an off the beaten path highway in Alabama and this old weathered billboard caught my attention. Two miles and one (safe) u-turn later I was recording what I saw through my lens.

Doesn’t this speak to you? It does to me. It say “I am interesting. I am more beautiful than ‘new’ and ’smooth’.”

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Enjoy.

-Kyle Dreier

Lovely Subject for Test Shot

I’m working through some new gear and needed to fire off a few test shots. Enter model. I managed to coax my wife who was rather tired from managing her staff of 3 children. Herein are the results. Chimeara softbox camera left. Fill card camera right. Hairlight with grid behind subject camera right. A little cross processing and “wa-la”.

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Stay tuned for more test shots and different subjects.

- Kyle Dreier

Lunar Eclipse

Last night was a beautiful evening to watch, and photograph, the lunar eclipse. We won’t see another until December 2010. I captured these images with my Canon 20D with a 300MM 4.0L lens. I chose my 20D over my 5D to get the 1.6X benefit of the smaller sensor making my 300mm a 480mm. Even with that focal length I had to crop these images by about 50% to get a decent sized moon.

Full moon one hour prior to the lunar eclipse.

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During the lunar eclipse.

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Saturn during the lunar eclipse. (lower left corner)

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I wonder what people thought back in the dark ages or before when they experienced a lunar eclipse. Must have been a little scary to them.

- Kyle Dreier

The Fire Truck Attraction

Why is it that boys always love fire trucks. Even today,  I’m drawn to the big shining red bahemoths.

I was recently given an assignment for Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company to shoot a local presentation of a grant to the Arrington Volunteer Fire Department. While this could have been a drab “grip and grin” assignment the guys at the department were more than amiable to allow me to shoot some fun stuff with them.

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Thank to the guys at the Arrington Volunteer Fire Department.

– Kyle Dreier

Cookie Monster

There’s nothing like ending a photo shoot and getting to eat the props. Brooke Trusley is currently in the process of starting a bakery here in Franklin, Tennessee. I sure love shooting (and eating) food.

What next? I plan on getting on the short list for her R&D. This recipe gets a thumbs up from me!

- Kyle Dreier

Another New Toy … Walnut Pinhole Camera

Today I felt a little like Nicéphore Niépce as I shot photos from the top of a building on Main Street in downtown Franklin, Tennessee. My camera? A beautifully crafted 65mm f/130 pinhole camera made of walnut by Dennis Wilder.

This is such a contrast to my “normal” shooting with digital SLRs … and I LOVE the serendipity that this old technique allows. Digital is fast, immediate, highly controlled … where this is slow, clunky and far less control … all good therapy for me.

My first Polaroid pulled from my new pinhole camera. Niépce would be proud.

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One of my favorite Polaroid shots from my afternoon on the roof in 30 degree weather. The exposure time on this was about 6 seconds … as I counted in my head … one Mississippi, two Mississippi. Oh, and the shutter? … my finger.

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What next? Who knows, but one thing’s for sure, I’m having fun.

- Kyle Dreier

An Inside Job …

Another fun job. I continue to enjoy shooting interiors, particularly when the subject of these shoots is so cooperative … sitting still and just looking pretty.

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Ok, maybe this last one isn’t really an “interior” but I treated it as such with lighting and styling.

-Kyle Dreier

Running (and shooting) the Streets of NYC

Well, I was there … catching the action of the 2007 ING NYC Marathon. What a fun time! I shot from sun-up to sun-down … actually before sun-up and after sun-down.

What a day. I walked about 6 to 8 miles and captured many aspects along the route. Thanks to the subway system that allowed me to walk then jump ahead 5 or so miles at a time then emerge from the subway for a new view. I was on Staton Island, Brooklyn, Queens and finally at Central Park.

I was there on assignment for the Tug McGraw Foundation. See my link below to look at the results from the entire shoot.

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There’s much more to this story. The Tug McGraw Foundation raised over $250k for brain cancer research. I was privileged to be a part of their weekend and team. See the entire shoot here.

- Kyle