Kevin Fiscus -Photographer-

Sacramento Skimfest 2011

2011-09-19T22:33:00.000-07:00

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)

2011-03-16T20:01:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-06T23:07:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-25T12:11:00.000-08:00

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.

Wind Project teaser vid.

2010-12-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

Andrew Nixon is a good friend and talented multi-media producer. He is helping me with a promo video about the Wind Project. He has made a small teaser video you can check out right here.

Stay tuned for the new video and more photos released soon.

More PhotoBooth Madness

2010-11-26T09:47:00.000-08:00

A friend called me recently and told me his ex-girlfriend was hiring him to shoot her wedding. It sounded like it could go very badly or extremely bad. She wanted me to do a photobooth at the venue and really treat it more like a studio shoot instead of those cramped little boxes. After meeting with the bride-to-be I thought the whole affair was going to be a blast, she was really laid back and ready to have fun.

Kieth Slagerman is the friend I mentioned, he does great photography in a number of genres. He took these shots of me as I worked with the guests to get the most ridiculous pictures I possibly could.

2010-11 season begins!

2010-11-26T09:36:00.000-08:00

Here's wishing everyone a safe and fun season up in the Sierra resorts and beyond. I will be up as much as I can to bring back shots of freinds and strangers. If you have an extra ticket to your favorite mountain, why not bring this guy. I promise to snap shots like this one of my buddy Danny doing turns out of bounds at Heavenly.

WIND PROJECT continues!

2010-10-12T14:22:00.000-07:00

We are having a lot of fun with this project and have been getting a great response.

I appreciate everyone who is making this project possible. Andrew Nixon rules for making a sweet promotional video . And all the models rule for being so trusting.

Here are a few more:

WIND PROJECT begins!

2010-09-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

Fellow photographer Andrew Nixon and I are teaming up on what should be a super fun project. He is creating a sweet video promo for the whole project. There are a lot of serious topics to cover in the world of photography and I don't remember ever tackling such a fun concept. My aim is to make really engaging dynamic portraits and laugh a lot.

Check out the quick video:

WIND PROJECT Kevin Fiscus

Folsom Fam Jam

2010-09-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

Went out to Folsom Bike Park last Friday with freelance writer Josh Staab. The 2010 Folsom Fam Jam was packed with pro and some riders as young as fifteen. The event included a competition for big air and best trick.

Ryan Shine of Folsom took home $300 for the big air competition clearing 21 feet. Another rider, Ryan Wood took the honorary best trick prize, but paid a painful price for it. Read the full article over at Wrecknation.

Wedding at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe, NV

2010-08-22T21:51:00.000-07:00

I recently photographed a beautiful wedding at the Hyatt Regency in Lake Tahoe. It was a casual event with a short ceremony and casual dinner and drinks on the lawn overlooking the gorgeous lake. While the four piece string group played softly, we were causing quite a stir with the most successful photo booth yet. For some reason the photo booth is hit or miss, either guests really embrace it or they don't participate at all. For two solid hours we had a line going and everyone was having a blast.

Groom and the Mother of the Bride.

Bride and one of her good friends

I feel like the booth is a great way to get everyone participating, and sometimes it is difficult to get meaningful pictures of all the guests. This way everyone can come over in their own time and not worry about getting their picture taken while they are stuffing their face.

The whole idea behind the booth is to get fun, engaging shots of wedding guests in a semi controlled situation. This way, when a spontaneous moment happens, it can be captured and remembered as such.

Another cool thing about doing this set up is people really get to become creative, they can express who they are in front of the camera.

Some get wacky, others just stare straight ahead. When someone gets up to bat and they are stiff, or unimaginative, I provide a bit of creative inspiration.

These guys were awesome, I love when they come back for more rounds!

The most important thing is to show a different side of the many guests. I try to make everyone comfortable enough to let loose.

Squaw Valley Lake Tahoe, CA

2010-04-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

I recently got up the hill and spent the day with some good riders at Squaw Valley. They all happen to be good buddies and it was a great way to end the resort riding season. They are couple journalists, and a few shredders, check out the full write up on their blog here.

Drew lives in South Lake and was able to meet up with us at Squaw Valley. I'm glad he did because he charges and we got some great shots.

Wallner has been trying to get me up to Squaw all season and I'm bummed it took so long. I have been fantasizing about terrain like that at a resort for a long time. I can't wait for the next POW day. Why it took me nearly five years living in Sacramento to finally go is a mystery.

Snowboarding at Heavenly in Lake Tahoe

2010-03-10T15:49:00.001-08:00

Finally got a chance to get out of town for some much needed recreation. I ended up working, sort of. I have wanted to get some new action photos for a while now and have been dying to see what my new shooting rid is capable of with fast action.

I had some friends flying up from San Diego to ride in Tahoe for a few days and the timing was impeccable. Conditions were pretty fun with about a foot of fresh snow and mild temps.

We rode Heavenly, which is one of the larger mountains in the area with a lot of tree riding. I was hoping for big open runs with lake views but didn’t get any this time. Again, lots of tree riding and a little bit in the terrain parks.

The Canon 7D performed awesome. I enjoyed shooting bursts during the peak action then later choosing the very best one. I kept it protected safely in a backpack wrapped in a waterproof shirt and a few puffy beanies.

I’m looking forward to getting back up to Tahoe with some other athletes to get some different looks at the surrounding terrain and more importantly, ride some deep snow.

ACTION!

2010-02-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

A while back I had an opportunity to work with a couple very talented individuals, Peter Dixon, and Mary Haines.

Peter has amazing circus like abilities in a number of disciplines and I'm not at all surpirsed to find out that he is actually joining a Circus.

Mary is awesome to work with. She has an unmatched enthusiasm for the task at hand. She is graceful and tough.

I had so many great shots from these two shoots that I wasn't sure what to do with them. One day this idea popped in my head while driving to a job.

I liked the idea of slamming all these different still shots together to see what they would create. With a little tweaking, the end result is an idea of how the entire shoot went in about thirty seconds.

January 2010 update

2010-01-03T22:14:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for the opportunity to make my passion for photography such a rewarding career. Without your support my business would not be growing the way it has been over this past year.

In 2010, I have decided to expand my business in any and every way possible. I’m going after bigger clients, faster athletes, and more travel. So I am proud to announce that I now have my landscapes for sale at:

http://kevinfiscus.redbubble.com

This site allows you to purchase my work in the form of greeting cards, mounted prints, matted prints, canvases, as well as framed work. RedBubble handles everything from printing and shipping, allowing quick and easy access to my best work.

If there are any images on this site that you like, but you do not care for the options in sizes or you want a signed piece, please feel free to contact me via email and I will handle it personally. Please note that the canvas prints on this site do not wrap all the way around, leaving the sides white. I am able to have large canvases stretched all the way around, which makes beautiful art that requires no framing.

My goal in 2010 is to allow my clients access to all of my best work, whether it be art for your home or capturing an important event that will create lasting memories for you and your family. I hope this site is a catalyst to realize my sizeable goals. Again, thank your support in the past year. I look forward to another great year in 2010.

Good Day Sacramento - Got Milk Recreation

2010-01-01T20:08:00.000-08:00

A little while back, I had an opportunity to go on Good Day Sacramento to showcase a Got Milk ad campaign I'm working on with Lori Llanillo. She is a talented designer who I have worked with in the past. www.heylori.com

We met up with Mark S Allen for a segment he was doing in downtown Sacramento. We had Mark jumping off his desk.

Next, Lori and I set up a shot for Tina Macuha where we tossed her Thoughts of the Day" around her while she stayed cool, calm, and collected.

Finally, Julissa Ortiz is glamorous and alert in the morning when she has her milk with breakfast.

This is a collaborative project that will be included in a Second Saturday show at Beatnik Studios, located in on 17th street between X and Broadway. The show opens on Saturday 9th at 6pm.

Art Restoration with Canon 7D

2010-01-01T19:48:00.000-08:00

A client asked if there was any way to restore a painting that had been "damaged."

I said sure I can reproduce, and clean up artwork that is old, discolored, or damaged. I found out this painting had been in the family for a long time and had been used for a target at some point. The person who used it as a target was a good shot too, seems to have one shot in the forehead.

I set it up outside in bright open shade, took a meter reading and adjusted exposure and white balance.

Using the new Canon 7D and it's live view shooting mode I was able to zoom in and adjust critical focus to pick up the texture in the original painting.

After capture, in Photoshop, I enjoyed the challenge of restoring the look of this painting while keeping the texture as well as the brush strokes.

Richard Avedon at SFMOMA

2009-12-14T22:29:00.000-08:00

We had the opportunity to take a day off and decided to go see Richard Avedon's show at SFMOMA. We parked in Berkeley and rode BART into the city.

I am a huge fan and have a lot of respect for his work, it was great to see it on a larger scale. The show walked you through some early fashion work, to a huge collection of politicians and ended on arguably his most significant work. He turned the same straight forward approach for shooting celebrities onto ordinary people he found along his travels, including a bee keeper from Davis.

After the show we walked the streets for a while passing Macy's as they set up their Christmas tree, and stopped into old hotels. I enjoyed shooting some pictures with Canon's G10 digital camera. This thing is great, it offers full creative control in a very compact and tough design.

Portrait Event

2009-10-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

We kicked off the Empire Oaks Elementary portrait event today in Folsom. The weather was perfect this morning, minus a bit of wind. The early sessions were treated to great light and with the help of Denise we were able to wrap that light around these awesome looking families. I am looking forward to showing some examples, they are on the way.

There are open spots available for next Saturday the 24th of October, if you are thinking about signing up, we'd love to have you.

Hike for a Cure 2009

2009-09-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

We are gearing up for another Hike for a Cure.

For the last three years I have been photographing an amazing grassroots fundraising organization. We rely on family and friends to help support us on our hike to the summit of Half Dome in Yosemite California.

Donations help provide research studies to find a cure for Langerhans Histiocytosis, a white blood cell disease that affects mostly young children. The reason for hiking 21 miles to the top of Half Dome is the help understand the uphill battles and struggles that face the families and children that live with this disease.

HikeforaCure.com has a ton of information about the disease as well as ways you can help. You can donate money, time or your walking legs.

Doughnut Guy

2009-09-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

We produced a shoot recently for an email marketing company here in Sacramento.

I was excited about the opportunity to work with a working model. Amos of Cast Images was a real pro, he was able to bring the feeling of this delicious doughnut to life. Garth, of G Creative and I, tried many different configurations and scenarios but this was by far the most effective. Garth is a wiz with photoshop and works so quickly. Each element of the photo has been manipulated to emphasize impact. The model's expression is used from one file, the model's hand from another and the doughnut itself is yet another shot entirely. He stitched them together for this final product.

In the process Amos had to eat close to a dozen doughnuts so I'm thankful he came hungry. He told me afterwards that he won't be eating any doughnuts in the near future.

We shot at Photo Source in Sacramento and their studio facility is top notch. They have anything you could want or need in terms of lighting equipment. The staff is always friendly and willing to help out.

Nikita Clothing limited edition coffee table book.

2009-09-02T11:11:00.000-07:00

I was recently contacted by a designer in Iceland, to provide photos for their coffee table book. I was thrilled that the photos Denise and I produced were remembered and then placed in their book. The company that is making these limited edition coffee table books is Nikita. (Nikitaclothing.com) They are based out of Iceland, and specialize in outdoor wear for "girls who ride."

A while back, Denise was looking at some of their stuff online when she thought to ask if they made clothes for girls who climb rocks. They responded by saying no, and that many of the people associated with the company do in fact climb as well. A week later a box came in the mail filled with sweatshirts, shirts, belts, and other cool stuff. She was so happy we decided to go out and shoot some photos of Denise climbing some buildings in downtown Sacramento. She was climbing on old factories in the heart of downtown, and on burger places near our house.

We had a great time shooting the photos and then sent them off to Iceland to see if they would use them. The coffee table book will be out early next year.

Sacramento Wedding in Farm Country 8-8-09

2009-08-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had an opportunity to help my friend, Keith Slagerman, photograph a wedding in Elk Grove’s farm country, just south of Sacramento. The family’s country house was on quite a bit of land and was a great venue for a morning wedding. The bride and groom seemed very much in love and the groom was definitely excited to “finally” be married.

After the ceremony, it was off to the tri-tip lunch they had lined up for the nearly four hundred guests. It was a large wedding with eight bridesmaids and groomsman, but it was a lively group that made our job easier.

While we ate I spotted a nursery school door open with perfect light pouring in. There were two little girls eating their sizable portions of tri-tip and chicken and I asked if I could take their picture. Afterwards I went to grab Katie, Phil, and the reflector in my car. I had them stand in the doorway and gave very little direction. Keith helped me this time, holding the reflector to bounce more light into the doorway. I really like the feel of this image; it has an easygoing country look while showing a newly married couple completely at easy with each other.

The group dance shot was a great mix of a little planning and a little luck. I was cruising around the dance floor with my camera gear in one hand and a chair in the other. I was dragging it around the perimeter of the dancers. When an older gentleman approached me and said there was a latter in the hallway, I don't know if he thought I would actually use it. I grabbed the latter and was not shy about plopping it down as close to the dancing mob as I could. The latter became engulfed with all the dancing guests as I made my way carefully to the top. This photo was the first shot after the crowd realized I was there. I made several more photos right after but the magic was gone.

Folsom Lake, CA Family Portraits

2009-07-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

On a slightly cloudy day in Folsom California right after a long heat wave, I had the pleasure of sharing an afternoon with a great family on Folsom Lake. They fired up their brand new Malibu wakeboard boat, and we set out for clam waters.

We arrived at a secluded section of the lake to find fading light on granite boulders sitting right next to the water. After scrambling to get everyone on land we realized our light was fading quicker than expected. The Silver’s were troopers; they endured mud pit crossings and all sorts of lake debris on the shores to get back to the boat.

We raced across the lake where we found a great beach set up. There were granite boulders, a small island, and great orange sand that felt sharper on your feet than almost anything I’ve encountered except coral.

The sun finally dipped down over the bluff and the light became very clean for family portraits. The hill blocked the direct sun light but there was enough hitting the surrounding hills to keep the scene saturated and crisp.

I want to thank the Silver family for trusting me with their very first family portrait. They were naturals! I loved the opportunity to show this family in their element.

Robert

2009-06-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

Robert was one who shared his story with NPR (National Public Radio) and SN&R (Sacramento News & Review).

Sacramento News and Review - Homeless Connect

2009-06-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

So the new issue of Sacramento News and Review came out yesterday. As I said before we worked on the cover story. Check out the online version http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content?oid=1010578

It was a great experience and I learned a lot about what it means to be homeless. There are so many different situations people find themselves in, but there was always a shred of hope and determination.

James, "the captain", is affectionately known as the Mayor of Loafs and Fishes which is the most prominent shelter in Sacramento. I heard from others that he is a great guy, if there was anything he could do to help you he would.

2009-06-04T13:54:00.000-07:00

Last week I participated in an event at Sacramento City College to benefit the growing homeless population. The College hosted Homeless Connect, where they could get services from a number of providers including medical, dental and psychological.

With the help of Paul Estabrook, Director of Photography at SCC, Louise Mitchell (fellow student), and David Jayne, Art Director for the Sacramento News and Review, we created portraits of 21 people who represented a wide variety of homeless situations. Everything from the stereotypical to individuals who looked like accountants in denial of their own situation.

The photos will be part of the Cover story for next week's issue of SN&R. It will be on Sacramento newsstands on the 11th.