A couple of months ago Gina & I got to take a trip to NYC for work & play. Who am I kidding—most of my work is play. One of my favorite photographers & online friends, Ryan Brenizer was hosting a workshop at his Manhattan home. Since I appreciate his creativity, the way he pushes himself I figured this would be a workshop that’s right up my alley. Plus, who could turn down a trip to one of the most exciting cities in the world. It was amazing. I can’t wait to get back there. Here are some pictures from the trip.

These first photos were taken during the workshop. There were many others but it’s really important that I only show photos that are my vision & not Ryan’s or anyone else’s.  So these photos are all set up by me & not technically ‘workshop’ photos. I have plenty of those, but you’ll never see them because I don’t think it’s fair to try to pass off photos that were set up by someone else as my own. I think it’s a little silly when photographers post photos from a workshop where every photographer has the exact same photos that they all took in the same place, during the same time, of the same models.

I also have to add that the workshop was immensely valuable to me. In addition to the techniques that I’ve already implemented to great success, it was a great time to recharge my photographic batteries. Ryan answered every question & was an outstanding host. I can’t imagine a workshop that holds a better value. If the workshop mirrors the value he gives his clients, those are some very lucky people.

The view from Ryan’s roof.

Valerie (an incredible photographer herself) was a wonderful model & completely up for adventure. So when I wandered from the group while in Central Park & found this stream, waterfall, & sun combo, I ran back to the group & asked Valerie & a couple of other photographers to come check out what I found, she was completely up for it. This is the result. Magic.

I felt like that shot needed a full crop to see it’s full beauty.

After that shot, I ran around the big rock & saw the light hitting her. Again, magic.

Not a bad location for a workshop.

Valerie again. While waiting for the subway to take us to Harlem I figured it was a good time to take some photos.

Getting our learning on.

In Central Park. I’m convinced it wasn’t an accident that Ryan stopped to teach by this tree. See Ryan’s book, “Subliminal teaching techniques.”

Some NYC wildlife was on display.

An amazing place. Inspiring on so many levels. All photos in MOMA were taken with the Fuji x100.

Jackson Pollock. I spent a solid 15 minutes staring at this piece, section by section, & as a whole. Seeing it in person was definitely a highlight of the trip. The textures are shocking. Half of the beauty is lost by viewing it on a paper page. I tried to capture it in my close up (my current desktop photo). The textures of all the pieces were wonderful to see. I’d seen so many of the works on display in 2D. They beg to be seen in 3D.

ICP, AKA the International Center of Photography. No photos allowed inside for obvious reasons. 9/11 memorial was on display. I’ll never forget some of the photos on display. The power of photography was on full display.

Got to meet up with some friends & walk around. Brittany (during her USA walkabout), Heidi, Dennis (the only local among us), & Luis.

Some attempts at street photography.

I love contrasts. Especially the contrasts of buildings & trees. Normally in NYC you’re surrounded by buildings & can see some trees. Central park makes the opposite true.

Central Park. One of my favorite places in the world. Even while suffering with massively bruised ribs I had to go for a run in Central Park. Every step hurt, but it was fun crossing the New York City Marathon finish line which was set up for the race.

On the streets of NYC.

What can I say, I love taking picture of couples. It’s what I do.

So many landmarks that, to me, had before only existed in movies, music, & on TV.

The only place in the world where you hear the word ‘subway’ & sandwiches are the second thing you think of.

The amazing food was one of the things I miss most about NYC. Our hotel was on the edge of Hell’s Kitchen. Since we walked most places, there was great food everywhere. These photos were taken at eatery nyc. Yumm.

We stayed at the Hudson New York Hotel. This is the lobby. Definitely a cool place. I could have spent hours photographing the different places just in the hotel. Our room was TINY. I’d have taken a photograph of it, but my macro lens wouldn’t fit inside. But that’s what you get when you want to stay a block away from Central Park. Hey, it’s Gina (talking to our girls)!

The end.

Taken on Gonzaga's campus in Spokane, Washington 11.12.11

Last night I did my usual thing & posted a handful of preview photos following a wedding before heading off to bed. What I woke up to was a little different. One of the photos went viral on Facebook & has been ‘liked’ more than 1200 times, gathered 370 comments,  been shared by 90 people—in one day. To give an example of how crazy this is, I’ve worked for the past couple of years to organically (with almost zero self promotion outside of posting & tagging) build my FB page to 1,000 ‘likes.’ It crossed that mark last week. I’m amazed at that number. AMAZED. Thanks to everyone who has clicked the button on Matt Shumate Photography.

Over the last day it’s jumped more than 600. 2 years to get to 1,000. 1 day to get 600 more. If you’re one of those. Thank you. Hopefully I’ll find a way to add value to your Facebook experience.

That got me thinking that I could do a little more. There were a bunch of people asking questions about the creation of the photo so I figured I could at least create a post where I break down the photo & how it was made.

When we got to the church earlier in the day the weather was relatively pleasant, if not just a bit chilly, but dry. After the ceremony was over we looked outside & saw that the weather had changed drastically. I love shooting in the snow. Love it. Love. It. I got pretty excited, but this wasn’t a normal winter snow. This was a very wet autumn snow. It was like being in a rain shower where the drops were the size of quarters. Fortunately we were able to wrangle a couple of umbrellas to get the bride & groom from the church to the car. It also was much darker than I felt it should be. Of course, nobody asked my opinion about the sunset time.

I popped my flash (Nikon SB-700) into a Lumiquest III mini soft box & asked a bridesmaid’s boyfriend to help me out. I gave him the other umbrella, set the flash to 1/4 power (a good guess), & told him to follow behind the couple 10 or 15 feet & keep the flash pointed at them. I didn’t have an exact shot in mind but I knew I wanted a backlit photo because it would make the snow show up clear. Fortunately Lindsey (the bride) was a trooper & had zero complaints about being cold. She just kept reassuring us that her dress had lots of layers so she was fine.

I had a little more urgency since I was uncovered, & although I know my Nikon D3s is one hardy machine, I didn’t want to risk having water from the instantly melting monster snowflakes short something out. Partially to give myself some time to formulate a plan & partially because I knew I wanted to use the brick walkway in the background I asked the newly married couple to walk the long way around Gonzaga’s roundabout toward the parking lot. Once we got in front of the walkway I found my composition I asked Lindsey & Jaron to keep each other warm with a romantic moment. I scooted to the side to let one of the pathway lights to peek around Lindsey’s dress giving the shadow a reason to be there (even though we all know what really made the shadow) I made a couple of camera adjustments, quickly snapped a few photos, & we all took off for the cars.

My goal with the composition was to show the beauty of Gonzaga’s campus at dusk on the evening of the year’s first snow. For the couple, I wanted to convey the feelings they were having after being married moments before. For the exposure I wanted to keep the skies dark enough to see the white flakes hit with the flash & bright enough to keep the blue color & show the dark flakes in shadow. I wanted the flash to be bright enough to light the edges of the couple & produce a nice cast shadow in front of them but not so bright that I’d get nasty wrap-around flare. I figured that the flash would bounce a little light off their faces & even though they’d still be a little underexposed, the D3s file would withstand brightening them up quite nicely.

I used Lightroom to balance out the exposure, bump the contrast, & fix the colors. There was a girl walking through the background and a bit of the umbrella from the VAL (voice activated lightstand) that I cloned out in Photoshop. Both things I would normally correct in camera were we not under the duress of time. I have to add that I feel like this is a special but imperfect photo, but that’s ok. I can think of at least 4 things I’d do a little different next time. Gotta keep pushing.

Camera settings: Nikon D3s, Nikon 24-70mm @24mm, 1/100, f/3.5, ISO 3200, Nikon SB-700 1/4 power in a Lumiquest III. Triggered with Cybersyncs.

Hopefully that’s helped someone make a better photograph. If there’s something I left out, feel free to ask & I’ll try to answer.

I think I’d like to make this a regular feature (maybe as video next time since I kinda suck as a writer) so if you’d like to see a certain photo broken down, please ask.

I spent most of last week away in Las Vegas for a photography convention called WPPI (where I caught a flu bug that I’m still trying to recover from). There’s a massive tradeshow, lots of speakers, parties, & great food. This year was a little different for me, in that those things weren’t what I was looking forward to the most. The biggest part of WPPI this year was that it was finally a chance to meet up with so many photographers from around the world with whom I’ve become friends with via Flickr, Facebook, & twitter. Let’s just say I was not let down. It’s hard to imagine such a collection of friendly, successful, & talented people all descending to one place to share & better each other.

One of the highlights of it was an impromptu photo shoot we had the day before most of us shipped out. 14 of us packed in to a few cars & headed to one of Las Vegas’ dried lake beds & took turns shooting each other in the massive winds until the sun went down. I had a blast with the others. So much so, that our group immediately started planning for a much bigger & more organized get together next year in New Orleans. I can’t wait.

My Southern Californian roommate for the trip, Luis, on the left. Yours truly posing (tongue in cheek) on the right.

One of the most inspiring photographers I’ve ever met, Aussie, Len. Seriously, I didn’t even want to post her link because I don’t want to draw comparisons between her photos & mine. I was incredibly moved by her series from the same shoot. She convinced me that mine were pretty good too which is the only reason you’re seeing any of mine posted. She’s also a pretty amazing designer as well. It’s not fair how much talent some people have.

As hard as it is to believe, Elyse isn’t just a model, but she’s a photographer as well. Equally talented on either side of the lens. Some of us are definitely meant for being behind the lens. She’s not one of them.

Austinite, Ben Godkin (along with girlfriend Caroline) was there as well. In addition to being incredibly talented with the camera, they could not have been nicer. Not only that, but Ben took this shot of me, which makes me look kinda awesome. BTW, there was no photoshop trickery in the creation of that photo. Just awesomeness taking a photo of awesomeness.

On the left is sir Leo. The man just plain gets things done. Also, despite his powerlifting physique & intimidating facial hair (& lack thereof on his head) a nicer person doesn’t exist.

I had the pleasure of spending some time shooting Katie as well. She was a great subject & was a trooper even though the dust, wind, & cold were not exactly friendly. She could not have been sweeter. The black & white photo is also a great example of why simply turning down the saturation on a photo or clicking a button in photoshop doesn’t necessarily make a good b&w. This was converted in LightRoom especially to get the dramatic contrast. Nothing else was really done to it.

Vancouverite Amber Hughes was also there. So much fun to finally meet her. I was a little disappointed I didn’t get to spend more time shooting with her. Especially after seeing some of the photos the others got of her.

Southern California shooter, Tommy, took the final group photo before we all headed back to the MGM to wrap up the convention.

A huge thanks to everybody for making this such a great week. Can’t wait to do it again—next time in NOLA!

**For the best viewing experience, open up the first photo & use the left & right arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate through the photos.**

Here’s Lindsey & David’s engagement session we shot in downtown Spokane. We had a blast getting these shots. At least I did, & they said they did. That’s good enough for me.