Mark Stern Photography

2012-01-14T16:46:00.000-05:00

Portraits

2011-04-20T10:45:00.000-04:00

The Orofino Wedding

2010-04-21T10:26:00.001-04:00

Cooliris Photo Wall

2010-03-17T22:46:00.001-04:00

New Website Launch!

2010-03-17T14:40:00.016-04:00

After a lot of hard work and some long hours, I’m pleased to announce the launch of my completely redesigned website. While the “Client Login” part of the site remains similar, the most significant new features are larger images, full screen slideshows of every gallery, the addition of more that 350 photo products for sale from key chains to canvas wraps, worldwide shipping, and ease of updating, which gives me the ability to update the site with new photos and products much more frequently than in the past.

Some of my portfolio is now available for sale in print and photo product form (Look for the “Add To Cart” button). Below are some of the new products available.

The website is Adobe Flash based, thus still requires a broadband internet connection. Thanks to all of you who waited patiently for a more functional and user friendly site. Your feedback is welcome. I hope you enjoy my portfolio.

New photo products:

Canvas Wraps, Standouts, Statuettes, Wall Clings, Fotoflōts Wall Mounts, Fotoflōts Desk Stands, Calendars, Greeting Cards, Magazine Covers, Tickets, Trading Cards, Photo Postage Stamps, Coasters, Cutting Boards, Key Chains, Luggage Tags, Magnets, Aprons, Sweatshirts, T-Shirts, Tote Bags, Bookmarks, Buttons, Mousepads, Mugs, Puzzles & more!

Photographer's Paradise

2009-09-07T12:48:00.006-04:00

Hawaii. Few places can compare to the raw natural beauty found on and surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. My wife and I recently returned from a 10 day stay on Oahu. We're a little spoiled as my parents call Oahu home. We've been there many times, but it wasn't until this trip that I focused on capturing some quality photographs. Because Hawaii is such a popular destination for tourist and photographers alike, photos of Hawaii are a dime a dozen. (Google finds over 113 million on the web!) With inspiration from friends like Ryan Eng, a local Oahu photog, I was determined to shoot some unique shots. I hope you'll enjoy browsing through them half as much as I enjoyed shooting them. Hawaii 2009 Gallery.

The Photobus Shoot

2009-08-16T10:00:00.001-04:00

My 2003 Chevy Astro (a.k.a. the Photobus) turned its' 50,000th mile yesterday morning. In celebration, I decided to shoot a quick few pics. Not far from where we live, an enormous retail shopping center was partially constructed, but never completed due to our current economic crisis. I had been driving by it almost every day for months, thinking it might be a good place to shoot in.

About a month ago, and on a whim, I convinced my wife (who is also my guinea pig model), to trespass with me and shoot a few pics inside this monstrosity. We got some pretty cool shots once I decided how best to light the place as there is nothing else there but a concrete foundation, walls, and a leaky metal roof. It was dusk when showed up, so not much ambient light to work with. It was a little strange to be in such a huge, open, building - very quiet with the exception the metal roof creaking as it began to cool as the hot Florida sun began to fall. I thought it best to light the ceiling, as well as my wife, to give the shot some depth. Here is what we came up with.

So, yesterday morning, I showed up determined to get a couple shots of the photobus with this cool industrial looking background. To my surprise, I found that the entire concrete foundation (roughly 200,000 square feet) was completely covered with about 1 inch of water due to the unfinished, and very leaky roof. At first, I was disappointed - thinking that the hassle of working with camera & lighting gear in 1" of water would be more hassle that its' worth. I decided to lose my socks and shoes and at least take a look. The first thing I found was that on the concrete floor, a not so friendly layer of algae had grown to cover everything, which made it about as slippery as walking with stilts downhill on slick ice. Although I did not fall, I came pretty close more than once. As I made my way away from the van in order to visualize the shot, I realized that the water on the floor could not do a better job reflecting everything. It was like having a giant mirrored floor. Enough babbling. Here is the photobus in all its' glory.

A few good models wanted...

2009-04-29T15:17:00.013-04:00

Greetings friends!
Mark Stern Photography is looking for a few good models. If you are in the Naples, FL area (or Des Moines/Ottumwa, IA area May 31st), are interested in having some creative portraits taken, and have a somewhat flexible schedule, please read on....

Over the next month, I'm looking to expand the portrait section of my portfolio rapidly. To do this, I'm in need of some new subjects to photograph. (Although they've been very patient with me, my wife and dogs are a little tired of being my most popular subjects. You know it's bad when I grab my camera and the dogs run!)

The Offer:

A portrait session, free of charge, in the Naples area for photogenic adults, couples, small families (max. 5), aspiring models, or possibly even pets.

Free 4x6 prints of the best shots we get.

The Catch:

I have creative control, which means that I choose the location, lighting, theme, etc. Check out my website for samples of my work. (We aren't doing run-of-the-mill portraits or headshots. If that is what you are looking for, Sears or Wal-Mart almost always have a deal going on.)

I choose the date and time. (For example, I may choose to shoot several different subjects on the beach on the same day.)

If you'd like more or larger prints than the 4x6's I'll give you, you may purchase them. (My print prices are reasonable.)

Most importantly, I like to have fun. Photos always turn out better when we are having fun.

If you are interested, or know someone who may be, feel free to check out my website for some of my past work, then shoot me an email letting me know what type of portraits you might be interested in, and when you are available during the month of May. This offer is limited to my friends. Don't delay, I usually fill my schedule quickly.

Good photographers don't take pictures, they make pictures.

Mark Stern
mark@marksternphoto.com
*Please note - my website requires high speed internet access & Adobe Flash Plugin.

Nikon CLS's High Speed Sync

2008-11-02T14:08:00.033-05:00

With the Holidays approaching quickly, we decided it was time to start taking a few pictures to send out with our Christmas cards and such. I decided to tinker with a Nikon mode called Auto FP (aka High Speed Sync). Both Canon and Nikon have this mode that syncs the flash, or flashes in this case, with a high speed shutter. The effect is really different. These pictures were shot today at about noon with the full Florida sun above us. I wanted something creative for our background, so I decided we would trek into the muddy woods near our home. There are charred trees and stumps all over as these woods burned in a wildfire last Spring. After a little exploration, we found a small clearing about 100 yards into the woods. Once I'd set up our lighting and began to take a few test shots, I realized that although it is now much cooler than it has been here in Florida, I was sweating a good deal. Nothing better than a sweaty Christmas photo, huh?! After shooting a couple unimpressive shots of us together, the shoot quickly evolved to become much more about my patient and beautiful model than about getting a Christmas card shot. After all, we didn't haul two light stands, a tripod, and gear through 2 inches of mud and dense brush for nothing. Sara noticed a fallen tree - the one in the upper left of the shot of us together, and said she'd like to try a few shots sitting on it. I was reluctant because she wanted to climb up onto the tree and balance herself about 8ft off the ground. She isn't usually this adventurous, so curiously, I encouraged her. Once we got her up and situated on the trunk of the tree, I began to set up the strobes to light her. For my key light, I used one strobe (SB-800) on a 10ft light stand, and another flash, dialed down a stop, on camera for fill. Here's a shot of our little setup. Notice how freakin' dense the brush is down near the ground. She was a trooper. She was probably up there for a good 15-20 minutes. It's really tough to find a subject that doesn't mind (or will tolerate) being uncomfortable for even a quick shoot. Who would have thought some of these were taken 8ft off the ground, in mosquito infested woods, and at high noon in bright sunlight. Once again, Nikon's CLS system proves itself. I think the pictures we got speak for themselves. We were both pleasantly surprised, but next time we venture out into the woods, Sara will wear close-toed shoes, and I'll bring some mosquito repellent, a sweat towel, and extra flash batteries.

Puppy Portraits

2008-10-26T23:00:00.031-04:00

This week we managed to get our dogs to hold still long enough to snap a few new portraits. As usual, they don't have the patience for me, so I had to make the few we snapped count. Occasionally, I drive them nuts by following them around with the camera, and sometimes I'm able to grab the camera and snap a shot before that "too cute" moment is gone. In this case, I used a snoot on a Nikon SB-800 just to camera right. Like many of us, I'm on a budget, so I crafted my own snoot with silver poster board and Velcro. For me, it works as well as the $25 ones. The snoot controls the direction of the flash and keeps the light off the background (in this case, a wall about 6 feet behind Jet). In the second shot here, Daisy's laying on her favorite blanket. She looked right up the snoot on the flash for me, and surprisingly enough, let me snap a couple before she'd had enough of that bright flash. A digital darkroom effect known as "sepia" has been applied to the photo to simulate a faded brownish color and give it an "old photo" look.