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Tiki Artist Brad Parker | Hana Hou Magazine

Tiki artist Brad Parker. Kona, Hawaii | Hana Hou! Magazine

Hana Hou! Magazine, the magazine of Hawaiian Airlines just published some portraits I shot of tiki artist Brad Parker in Kona, HI. The portrait of Brad above was shot at the Royal Kona Resort. Since this was an editorial travel gig, I didn’t get to bring my normal set up. My lighting kit for this job included: a speedlight, silver reflector, umbrella soft box, a handful of rubber bands, gaffers tape, and myself as the human light stand/assistant.

CamRanger. The tape and rubber bands were used to attach the speedlight to the umbrella box, only because my swivel mount was a few thousand miles away. It was a clumsy fix that worked because of one key piece of gear that allowed me to be a human light stand. By using CamRanger to create a wireless connection to send preview images from the camera to my iPhone, I was able to hold the light in position while using CamRanger to remotely trigger the camera mounted to the tripod. So I wasn’t even standing behind the camera, and Brad was being directed from me only a few feet away out of frame while I held the light and proofed captured images on my phone. CamRanger is fairly pricey considering the same wifi hardware unit sells for peanuts on Amazon, but what you are paying for is killer software that is even better than Nikon’s wireless app. There are a million things you can do with CamRanger, but they forget to mention you can use it to be your own assistant on a photo shoot. They also have great tech support. It’s a simple portrait, but under the circumstances (no gear, not much time, no extra assistant) I couldn’t have made this image if it weren’t for the CamRanger.

Artist Brad Parker outside his home in Kona, Hawaii | Hana Hou! Magazine
Tiki artist Brad Parker working at his home in Kona, Hawaii | Hana Hou! Magazine
Tiki artist Brad Parker working at his home in Kona, Hawaii | Hana Hou! Magazine
Artist Brad Parker at the Royal Kona Resort in Kona, Hawaii | Hana Hou! Magazine

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Jay Watson
San Francisco Bay Area based lifestyle and people photographer Jay Watson shoots editorial, apparel, automotive, corporate, and sports subjects for commercial clients. Published in over 70 magazines.

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