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Rangefinder Magazine
June 2004

Rf Cookbook by Jen Bidner
Flying High: Greg Gorman’s Rooftop Studio Cage

Celebrity photographer Greg Gorman attended the Cirque de Soleil’s “Varekai” show and was impressed with the acrobatics of the Atherton brothers, Kevin and Andrew. He instantly knew that photographs of these talented athletes would be a great addition to his personal series on images of the human form.

Gorman photographed the two on his roof, using a portable “cage.” This 10x10x10-foot steel frame creates a very controllable daylight studio. Using Velcro fittings, silks can be added to the top and sides of the cage to diffuse the sunlight. Black-out materials can be attached to block the light or create a dark background. And the cage can be quickly and easily repositioned to give the photographer control over the direction of the light, by rotating it relative to the sun. Depending on the position of the cage, a large white “cyc” wall on the roof can also be used for fill.

The image was shot digitally with the Canon EOS1-Ds digital SLR camera and the EOS 70–200mm USM IS f/2.8 lens. Image stabilization (IS) was activated on the lens. Metering was done with a Minolta AutoMeter V5. Gorman shot the photograph in color and then later converted it to black and white using Adobe Photoshop CS.

In the original image, the bottom acrobat was standing in a flat-footed stance, and helping to support his brother who was suspended over his head. However, to make them appear to be flying in a seemingly impossible pose, Gorman digitally curved the foot of the standing man. This was done primarily using the Free Transform function in Photoshop CS. The image was printed on the Epson Stylus Pro 9600 with Ultrachome inks on Epson Fine Art Velvet paper.

To see additional samples of Gorman’s work, or to learn about upcoming workshops and shows, visit his web site at www.greggormanphotography.com/.

INGREDIENTS
• Camera: Canon EOS1-Ds
• Lens: EOS 70–200mm USM IS f/2.8
• Meter: Minolta AutoMeter V5
• Software: Adobe Photoshop CS
• Printer: Epson Stylus Pro 9600
• Ink: Epson Ultrachrome inks
• Paper: Epson Fine Art Velvet paper

 

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