Sacramento Skimfest 2011

This year I attended the Sacramento Skimfest held annually at Paradise Beach. The first time I saw this event was five years ago and I can say it has come a long way even in that short time. Now in it's 15th year, it is the longest running flatland skim boarding event and is seen as a model around the globe. This contest attracts riders from all over the US and also Canada and New Zealand. Read the full write up by Brian Kniveton over at Inland Skim Movement.

This was an opportunity to self assign a video project for myself. I shot the whole thing with my Canon 7d with a 70-200. This is the same combo I use to shoot family portraits and almost everything else. Did I just mention family portraits? Christmas is coming.

Wind Project (Full Video)

Hold on to your butts! 

In collaboration with Andrew Nixon we created some wind action in the studio of SCC.  The wind idea came to me while riding my bike through downtown Sacramento.  I saw a motorcyclist on the other side of the street, beard parted straight down the middle with half his hair going over one shoulder, and the second half over the other.  I immediately thought I could recreate that energy in a studio setting, and just needed to find the right delivery system for the wind.  After trying a few different options we settled on the trusty leaf blower. 

After the first day of shooting, the response we received from the teaser video was very inspiring and loads of folks wanted to participate.  I wanted to see the expressions caused by a short blast of wind in the face.  I felt like it was impossible not to react in an interesting way.     

Andrew Nixon shot all the video using a Canon 5d mkII and we think the footage is pretty exciting.  The still shots were made using Profoto lighting taking advantage of the built in Pocket Wizard, with a Canon 7D. 

After many hours spent sifting through nearly 200 gigs of media we present the wind project. 

Enjoy it in full screen format in HD.

You can see more of the still images on my website:  www.kevinfiscus.com

Wind from Andrew Nixon on Vimeo.

Krush Boutique

I had the opportunity to work with Krush Boutique at the Fountains in Roseville.  Here is a couple favorites from the shoot.  Stay tuned for more and a little behind the scenes video brought to you Brian Kniveton.

All styling done by Krush 

Hair - Cristina Razumorsky

Model - Shanna Artishek

All styling done by Krush 

Hair - Cristina Razumorsky

Model - Falicia Crane

Clarence "Clansy" Sutton

I had a fortunate encounter meeting Clansy out on a job somewhere and had to ask if I could photograph him.  It turns out he has maintained the beard for over fifteen years, and has many running relationships that stem from his unique look.  The versatility was clear when we started shooting the standard Wind Project shots. 

What is fitting about this project is that the idea of someone's beard being blown around was what started the whole thing.  I saw a guy riding a motorcycle with half his beard over one shoulder, and the other half over the other shoulder. 

I have never had the feeling of completing a project until now.  There have always been more shots to get or more shots that are still in my head.  I will post more of the regular wind shots to my website when I finish the editing and processing.  

After running through a few scenarios with the blower, clansy recommended switching to a black and white look with minimal lights.  What a great idea that was, I love when you can collaborate with someone and produce killer results.