The website and blog of Joe McNally
This fall, I head to Mexico twice. First stop is San Miguel, an idyllic place to learn about and experience light. Staged by the Santa Fe Photo Workshops, this will be one of those weeks, working on the fly, unencumbered by lots of gear. Beautiful place, beautiful models, shot with small flash. It’s called Traveling Light, Lighting Well, and the dates are Oct. 13-18, 2013, coming up soon.
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Fall is upon us! Leaves changing rapidly in our neck of the woods. Beautiful season, though a tinge of sadness as summer fades away, too quickly. But the colors and energy of fall are always amazing. Here, @marisa.roper obliges in her usual lovely, congenial fashion and nestles in amongst the pumpkins.
#saturdaymorning #saturdayfun #autumnvibes🍁 #fall #portraitphotography #pumpkins #nikonpro #nikonambassador #nikonz7ii #marisaroper
A leap in the desert! From the introductory campaign for the Nikon Z 9. Will C Styles articulates explosive athleticism in the air. A premier Las Vegas performer, he is able to physically make beautiful shapes in mid flight. Shot with the Z 9 and Nikkor 100-400mm lens. Hi-speed sync with the Profoto Pro 11 power packs, a formidable source of lighting power.
#wednesdaymotivation #picoftheday #nikonambassador #nikonpro #nikonz9 #nikonusa #profotosharethelight #profoto #sportsphotography
To visit Tuscany is to visit one of the most amazingly beautiful, serene places on earth. Verdant vineyards, astonishing vistas and architecture, legendary food and wine. Grateful for a memorable week with dear friend and fellow instructor Tamara Lackey, and an incredibly talented group of photographers and wonderful companions! A super fun time all-around. Highlight here was a fantastic photo shoot day thanks to Drive the Vintage providing classic Vespas and Fiats and beautiful Italian models, complete with scarves, sunglasses and a sense of 60’s Italy. Staging was at the picturesque vineyard Fratelli Urbani, with a Fiat converted to an on-location pizza oven! We experienced the romance of Italy with a stay at Villa Pozzolo, as close to an original Tuscan villa as anyone will find. There we languished in the slow tempo of the countryside, as continuous smells of boundless, traditional meals being prepared mixed with the country breezes. There is beauty everywhere in Tuscany when you put your camera to your eye. For those interested in portraiture, landscape, macro work, food, wine, and relaxing camaraderie, as well as advancing your photo skills, there is no more complete workshop!
#photoworkshop #tuscany #italy🇮🇹 #fratelliurbani #drivethevintage #villapozzolo #tamaralackey #joemcnallyphoto
The light goes on! Beautiful thing about photography is you can make a picture of an imagining in your head, and it becomes real. If you have a wonderful cooperative model such as @ambertutton, of modeling fame in the UK. We’ve worked together for about 10 years and when we did this she looked at me and asked, “Joe, have you finally gotten tired of photographing my face?” Never! Amber is beautiful and terrific to work with, always up for a photo adventure. Shot this in conjunction with @profoto, in the UK some years ago. Just did a webcast which lives now on YouTube about fueling a creative life for #brookdaleliving. LINK IN BIO⬆️
#transformationtuesday #tuesdaythoughts #tuesdaymotivation #tuesdaytips #picoftheday📷 #photooftheday #creativity
Heading to Italy! Will be in Florence for a bit and then in a historic villa in the Tuscan countryside. Doing a workshop in this beautiful place w fellow @nikonusa ambassador @tamaralackey. The whole workshop produced in magnificent style by @acahillmac. Landscape, portraits, cityscapes, color, light and lens for a solid week in one of the most beautiful places on earth. This fashion frame shot from a trip years back in Milan in partnership with @manfrottoimaginemore as the Duomo looms beautifully in the background.
#throwbackthursday #thursdaythoughts #italy #picoftheday #nikonambassador #nikond810
A photo walk in Gdansk! A truly wonderful and historically important city in Poland. I was invited by the camera store, @cyfrowe_pl, to participate in the ŚwiatłoSiła Photo-Video festival (Festival of Light) which was enormously popular. What a fantastic experience! I enjoy the company of fellow photographers, and the crowds were friendly, passionate and gracious. I posted a shot from our photo walk using nothing but hard light. Folks asked for other shots and techniques from our walk down by the docks with the amazing @_frostmagdalena. Big Thanks to @zieniuphoto and @filipkowalkowski who were terrific hosts, and we all collaborated so well. A blog about the event to come!
#photowalk #światlosiła #cyfrowe_pl #filipkowalkowski #zieniuphoto #portraitphotography #nikonambassador #nikonpro #nikonz9
Just back from Poland and the ŚwiatłoSiła Photo & Video festival organized by the incredible team @cyfrowe_pl.
The event (The Festival of Light) was a terrific, energetic celebration of photography, attended in large numbers. I had three events, and this particular frame is available light in harsh sun during our Photo Walk. Loved the Photo Walk as it took place as a meander through the old, historic docks and cranes of Gdansk. Happy to have had the opportunity to visit Gdansk, still an important port city in Poland and the birthplace of Solidarity, the labor movement that shook all of Eastern Europe and the Communist bloc at that time. Lech Walesa was a dockworker turned union activist who championed the rights of the workers to strike, and changed Poland forever.
Our model @_frostmagdalena was wonderful and easygoing, giving all the photographers nonstop look after look that was captivating and beautiful. Magda made excellent use of posing in the strong sunlight!
#thursdayvibes #thursdaythoughts #cyfrowe_pl #światłosiła
#picoftheday #photowalk #nikonambassador #nikonpro #nikonz9
Again, this day. Always remember.
This is a powerful portrait…WOW!
Hi Joe!
I love the way you teach on kt and i have a question about gels. Sometimes I just want to create a spot of light with a warm touch but I do not want to light the entire scene with this flash. What kinf of gels do you use to create this feel. Did you use a gel for the face of the man above ? Does Elinchrom sale something like that for the quadra? Best Regards – Marc
Wow!! i like very much this portrait. What lens you used for this espectacular picture?
Hi Marc,
I’m not Joe but I believe that I can help… just in case Joe gets lost in Tijuana.
You need to address two things:
1. The color of the light (with gels, white balance, etc). CTO gels will help with this.
2. The spread of the light. This is where snoots and grids help. If you have a softbox you can also feather the light by turning the softbox mostly away from the subject which would help you approach the look of the photo above.
This picture is magnificent. You are an admirable artist.
It’s great that you come to Mexico, it’s a really photogenic country. It is not great at all that the prices of the workshops are so high that they’re unaffordable for Mexicans and that is a shame.
I’ll have to keep reading your books and watching your videos!
Un saludo desde México,
Lorenzo
Believe was my tried and true 70-200mm ….
Absolutely love this portrait Joe, the lighting is superb! Lots of drama and certainly wants to keep the eye right on it!
Hi Lorenzo,
Carrie here, from Santa Fe Photo Workshops. We have had such wonderful experiences in San Miguel, and we want to be sure to acknowledge how warmly we have been welcomed. We actually do offer discounts for Mexican citizens. Full-time San Miguel residents receive 50% off the package price.
Mexican citizens who do not live in San Miguel and need to lodge at La Aldea receive $500 off (based on the double occupancy price; if they need a single they would pay the additional $480 for a single.)
For Mexico residents who have a second home or family in the area (meaning they do not need to lodge at La Aldea) the discount is $750.
For more information email [email protected].
Thanks for your post!
Warm regards,
Carrie
Joe, this is really a great portrait of Thom! Looking forward to seeing you again at the NYC Workshop in a few weeks.
Scott
@Carrie, does this apply to all San Miguel seminars?
@Feliz It does indeed! In addition to Joe’s Traveling Light, Lighting Well workshop we also have 4 other week-long workshops running in San Miguel, between October 13 and November 1. The full line up is here: http://www.santafeworkshops.com/photography-workshops/category/san_miguel_de_allende
I took this workshop and it was informative and inspiring. San Miguel is a fascinating city and the models and locations were great.
Joe is a terrific teacher. The students had a wide range of photography knowledge and Joe was able to keep all of us engaged and moving forward. Thanks, Joe!