I didn't get to make one, but Sarah Hodzic also taught many of the participants how to make encaustic wax images from digital prints.  The technique is one of the oldest known methods for painting, and creates some very unique one-of-a-kind pieces.  Hosting the entire event (and the gallery show) was Will Jacks, while being assisted closely by Chris Willams, Chris Pike, and Jessica Del Vecchio (among others).  I can enthusiastically recommend any of these photographers, and thank them immensely for putting on the workshop.

Lately I've been working a little more with film, and this was an opportunity to just get out and play.  One of the formal activities was to make an image using a 4x5" view camera - then print that image using palladium.  Here's the final result (it's a beer growler, with my reflection).  This work was led by New Orleans Photographer, Thom Bennett.

Another formal activity was to create an image using one of the oldest photographic techniques, wet plate colloidon, on an aluminum plate - the so-called "tin type".  (This is very similar to the process which was used to document the Civil War)  Of course I couldn't pass on the opportunity to be in one - so I made a self-portrait using a replica outhouse on the property.  Instead of a Sears and Roebuck catalog, I was reading a Wal-Mart sale ad for an excruciating 60 seconds.  I'm really not fond of black widows or brown recluse, both spiders are notorious for hanging out in such places.  Wet plate colloidon photography was led by the enigmatic Euphus "Butch" Ruth.

Oh, how I would LOVE to make glass plate negatives for contact printing to palladium or silver... (next year?)

As stated above, I also played with film cameras.  My personal weapons of choice for the week were my trusty Agfa Isollette and a borrowed (about to be purchased) Mamiya 645E.  I had a remnant roll of color film in the Agfa, and the Mamiya ran nothing but black and white.  Both use 120 size film.  Here's a few of my favorite scans.

From Left to Right:

Miss Capital City's Outstanding Teen Jaryn Waguespack

Miss Greater Baton Rouge Junior Teen Makayla Williams

Miss Greater Baton Rouge Fleur de Lis Princess Brynn Weber

Miss Capital City Kassy Sanchez

Miss Greater Baton Rouge Megan Miller

Miss Capital City Fleur de Lis Princess Desiree Green

Miss Capital City Junior Teen Katelyn Scannell

Miss Greater Baton Rouge's Outstanding Teen Rachel Segreti

One of my favorite things to photograph pageants like this one (part of the Miss America System) is to try and capture the contestant/performers either in the air (dancing) or with great still poses.  This one did not disappoint, as several of the girls danced, one played Jewish fiddle, and some others sang and played piano.  A few of my favorite performance photos:

It helps tremendously as a photographer to have a final product in mind when making images.  My Mom likes physical prints that she can display in her home, generally 11x14 for the walls, and really prefers having images she can group together.  This was what I shot for on Sunday, the first and third images are on the way.

There is a small group of muscovy ducks that lives in the neighborhood lake, and they generally approach anyone who stops.  There was one duck who was mostly underwater with another on top of her.  "They're fighting! It's gonna drown!"  The ducks were not fighting.  Ah, memories.

On the way back I got my best stuff of the day, some long exposure dashboard shots.   

We wound up back in downtown Baton Rouge, and stopped for a few minutes at Happy's on 3rd Street.  Caught this one looking out the window from our booth.

The event was also held in honor of James deBrueys, a facial hair enthusiast and all arounnd great guy from New Orleans who went missing while at sea a few months ago.  His family was in attendance wearing t-shirts emblazoned with a graphical representation of his moustache and beard.  That logo made it's appearance on the Best in Show trophy.

Now that the links are out of the way...

Participants competed in five categories: Full Beard, Moustache, Freestyle, Fake Beard (the girls), and Sh*ttiest Beard.  The winner of that last category was awarded with a new razor.  And now, on with the photos!  I also have a Facebook Gallery posted, and the full gallery with over 600 images HERE.

The judges confer.

The four category winners line up to compete for Best in Show.

Facebook Galleries: Walkaround Party Pics and PHOTOBOOTH!

If you've never had a photo booth at a party, and your friends like being silly, I highly recommend it.  It's pretty much just a camera with a flash or two and a cable release so photo subjects can click their own.

Some of my favorite shots...

The concert was put on by student group Up Til Dawn LSU partly as a celebration of the letter writing campaign, and partly to raise money on it's own.  Serrano's Salsa Company hosted the event on their parking lot, and generously pledged 50% of sales for the evening to St. Jude's.  Music was by local bands The Botanist and The AutoPilots.  Several patient families were on hand, including a few kids who had been successfully treated for leukemia at St. Jude's.  By the end of the night, these college students had raised over $3000 not including any direct donations as a result of the letter writing campaign.

I wanted my photos to have a different look from anyone else's who might have been there, so I set up several small flashes around the parking lot and used my Pixel Soldier radio triggers to make them fire.  Shot the entire event with a 35mm lens on a full-frame camera, and a 50mm lens on a cropped sensor body (wide and telephoto).  With this setup, both cameras were able to utilize all 4 of my flashes in the area.  Yep, I lit it like a wedding reception.  Wireless range was not an issue at all, but I did get quite a lot of phantom triggering.  Maybe the band or PA company's equipment was operating on the same frequency?  I'd never seen it before, but firing the flashes at 1/4 power or lower,  it wasn't really a problem.

Anyhow, here's some of my favorites from the night.  More can be seen in my Facebook gallery HERE.

Wait, there's only one dude involved in this charity group?  That guy is a genius, kudos Sir.