Picking up from where I left off and pushing further with this proof of concept session.
I’ve been doing this photography thing for a while. How long, you ask? Well, lets just say that I launched my business the same year Fox and Mulder started exploring their “X-Files.”
I’ve covered a lot of ground over the years. I’ve worked with color, black and white, and infra-red film before crossing over to the digital age. I’ve shot fashion, wedding, beauty (which was called glamour when I started), photojournalism, portrait, boudoir, landscape, sports, automotive, and much more. This is extended to every technique/fad like shallow depth of field portraits, cross-processing film/filters, editing image files, et cetera.
I’ve seen all of this come, go, and then come back around again. I barely prevented myself from laughing out loud last year when someone asked me if I knew anything about this wonderful, cutting edge, new thing called film. Yeah, I know. I’ve become that old guy that complains about these kids today.
I’ve started some things and kept at them to this day. Other things have come and gone due to waning interest, lack of proper gear, or other reasons. Like fashion, for example. I started with a strong interest in fashion and I loved everything about it. But, for a variety of reasons, it got pushed to the back burner and eventually just taken off the stovetop entirely.
That’s changing. I’ve recently purchased new gear that would allow me to start shooting it again in the style and manner that I’ve always wanted. It allows me to combine it with other skills that I know well like off-camera flash.
So, I reached out to my good friend Tershia who had also voiced a desire to get into fashion modeling about doing a session. Our schedules were tight but we found a couple hours to team up in Virginia Beach’s Town Center. All I wanted to do was test out the new equipment and try out an idea. A proof of concept session, if you will.
Despite being more than a bit rusty, it being a typical summer night in southeastern Virginia (read hot and humid), lots of people walking around as there was a concert going on a block over, we got some exciting stuff. I can’t wait to build on this and push on to greater things.
This isn’t to say that I’m giving up other things. I’ll still be shooting beach portraits, fitness, boudoir and such. But I want to resume fashion, professional headshots, and other genres.
There is so much to explore and I can’t wait to push the envelope. I hope you join me on this journey.
Mark Knopp is a Virginia Beach-based photographer covering the Hampton Roads community and beyond. Contact him at mknopp1(at)cox.net with any questions you might have or to book your session today.
Photography by Mark K 