"Guess the Celeb" identity revealed!

And the Mystery Celeb is.....Stephen Colbert.

Stephen was working with Second City in the 1980's and needed a quick headshot for an audition. I got this frantic call on a Saturday wanting to know if I could shoot a photo session and get a finished shot ready for a Monday audition. He came over to my "studio" which at that time was the living room of my Uptown apartment. We shot a quick session and he left. I then processed the negs in my kitchen sink (old school, remember) and then cranked out some prints in my darkroom (er, spare bedroom actually.) Stephen stopped by Sunday evening, picked out a print and took off to become, well you know, Stephen Colbert. I like to think that maybe I was a small step as he climbed the ladder (hey careful due, that's my head.) Just another instance of my quality professional service providing great results on time and on budget. Maybe you could step on me too on your way to the top.


Several people sent in correct entries for the contest. These included:

David Lewton
Mary Kay Kammer
Jerry Bloom
Tim Burke
Michelle Thomlison
Malcolm Rothman
Kelsey Wilkinson

The amazing part is that many guessed immediately from the hair only (jeeze, he doesn't even have that hair anymore) while others needed the raised eyebrow.
The prize winner will be chosen by random selection from the correct entries and contacted to schedule his or her headshot/portrait session.
Thanks to all that played, it made it fun!

So put on your coat and keep warm like Stephen.

Guess the Celeb!-Clue #5

Clue #5: The eyes are the window of the soul.

OK, here is the final clue!

The game is to guess the identity of this current nationally known celebrity I photographed as they formed their vision of the world in Chicago during the 1980's.

This photo snippet clue showing the signature arched brow denotes the subject's keen eye for observation and glee in tormenting his victims.

That's it for clues send your final guesses!

The winner of this contest will receive a location portrait/headshot shoot in the Chicago metro area. To enter just email me at tony@tonyvmartin.com or facebook message me with your guess. If more than one person guesses correctly, I will make a random drawing from the correct entries. The winner will be announced after all the clues are given. (Any of my friends or family that know the answer are disqualified.) Good Luck!

Guess the Celeb!-Clue #4

Clue #4: The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.
-Mark Twain



Another bite to chew on in determining the identity of this current nationally known celebrity I photographed as they cut their teeth in Chicago during the 1980's.

This photo snippet clue showing a broad perfect smile yet with a hint of "sneer" just daring you to engage his wit.

The winner of this contest will receive a location portrait/headshot shoot in the Chicago metro area. To enter just email me at tony@tonyvmartin.com or facebook message me with your guess. If more than one person guesses correctly, I will make a random drawing from the correct entries. The winner will be announced after all the clues are given. (Any of my friends or family that know the answer are disqualified.) Good Luck!

Guess the Celeb!-Clue #3

Clue #3: Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.
-Mark Twain


The game heats up as we bare the identity of this is current nationally known celebrity I photographed in Chicago during the 1980's.

This photo snippet clue showing a coarse woven sweater with wrinkles, holes and ravels and yet neatly cuffed sleeves denotes "a man of the people, yet with elements of refinement." (Or possibly the lack of a steamer in my early studio.)

The winner of this contest will receive a location portrait/headshot shoot in the Chicago metro area. To enter just email me at tony@tonyvmartin.com or facebook message me with your guess. If more than one person guesses correctly, I will make a random drawing from the correct entries. The winner will be announced after all the clues are given. (Any of my friends or family that know the answer are disqualified.) Good Luck!

Guess the Celeb!-Clue #2

Clue #2: Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes.

Another clue to the mystery Celeb.
The game is afoot to guess the identity of this current nationally known celebrity I photographed as they hit the pavement in Chicago during the 1980's.

This photo snippet clue showing conservative dress shoes with jeans denotes a "disregard for social norms and conventions."

The winner of this contest will receive a location portrait/headshot shoot in the Chicago metro area. To enter just email me at tony@tonyvmartin.com or facebook message me with your guess. If more than one person guesses correctly, I will make a random drawing from the correct entries. The winner will be announced after all the clues are given. (Any of my friends or family that know the answer are disqualified.) Good Luck!

A Groovy Contest for a cold February-Guess the Celeb!

Ok folks, it's cold and nasty out and time for us to make our own fun. I was digging in the archives and came up with an image from a photo shoot I did in the 1980's. As it happens from time-to-time, photographers do a shoot with someone who is "just some guy" who then goes on to be "THAT GUY." Well, that is what happened with this photo subject.

The contest is to guess who this person is using the photo snippets and clues to be supplied over the next few days. The basic premise is that this person is now a nationally known celebrity I photographed in Chicago during the 1980's.

Clue #1: There's many a man has more hair than wit.-William Shakespeare

I would say that this photo snippet clue shows "Hair with Ambition."

The winner of this contest will receive a location portrait/headshot shoot in the Chicago metro area. To enter just email me at tony@tonyvmartin.com or facebook message me with your guess. If more than one person guesses correctly, I will make a random drawing from the correct entries. The winner will be announced after all the clues are given. (Any of my friends or family that know the answer are disqualified.) Good Luck!

Failure to Launch, but mission accomplished

I Failed. Yes, it happens to the best of us. As pros we have to "not suck" on a daily basis, that's a given. But in the dog eat dog world of bowling portraits, success has a pretty high bar. For those that care my subject rolls three hundred games like I drink coffee. Over and over. He rolls series (a set of three games) in the 800's routinely. Out of 900 possible you do the math. If I bowl a 300 series I feel pretty hot. (In my defense, when I bowl Miller Highlife is involved).
So anyway, I wheeled into a bowling alley yesterday to meet my subject before a match started. Time will be short so I scouted the location for a good spot and set down my gear. That's when it hit me. The floor. (A side note-I love bowling alleys because they are divine time capsules of space age design where Joe six pack meets George Jetson.) The carpet on the floor of this alley was sooooo cool. A groovy outer space design with planets, stars and even a ringed planet made of a bowling ball being orbited by flaming bowling pins. Wow. I grabbed these shots to show you all. The crowd in the alley thought I was nuts, photographing the floor. OK, here's the failure. I could not get a good shot of my subject and the carpet with laying him down on it. Aaaaargh! Here I was jonesing to get a groovy portrait out of this situation but time and subject willingness was going to blow it.
So I cowboyed-up and shot a portrait of the guy. Nothing to brag about, it was just a good solid portrait that was better than what the client had in mind. The bacon will be brought home but still I looked wistfully at the floor. I file the location away and maybe on some other day...
I have included this portrait of another really good bowler with the psychedelic wall from a different alley. I used a simple radio tripped strobe with a shoot through umbrella slightly off to the side. I guess I'll have to wait until later to add to my collection for the bowling portrait book in my dreams. You take your failures and learn from them to be stronger the next day.

Hoop Girls in the studio-or not...

Oddly enough, while I don't have a strong interest in sports per se, I get assigned to shoot sports figures fairly often. (Full disclosure-the sports I do like are bull riding and sumo wrestling, similar actually.) Shooting sports folks can be fun because of the dynamics: flashy colored outfits, graphic action, etc. Like any location portrait the limits of time and setting dictate a lot of the image. This assignment of a hot girls prep basketball team was in a kinda dull gym during practice before a big game, so little time and no juicy background
I scouted a corner with white cinder block walls a decided to create a white out background effect. Using two small radio triggered strobes I washed the background and set up two more as edge lights slightly behind the subjects. I set up one strobe in front in a white umbrella. I got the coach to release the top players for 9 minutes and got shooting. ( I like to tell them and odd short sounding time like "9 minutes" or " 4 minutes" so it sounds like they won't be gone long. Often when the shoot gets going I can get a little more time.) I arranged the ladies and got them to give me a serious "game face" series of shots. (not easy cause some of them where outgoing while some were shy.) The "game face" look gets them unified to make the group portrait look the team is of one mind. (And kinda moody-tough-cool too.) I then grabbed individual shots that showcased the individual personalities of the players. All done shooting in less than 15 minutes and they were back on the court. Happy coach.
Post production in PS was minimal as the background whited out pretty clean. I jazzed the contrast a little to bring out the glowy edge light, but no tricky "find edges" or "high pass" was needed. The final images look like a cool studio shoot without the massive background, big lights or catering table. I actually miss the catering table a little.

Opportunity knocks, but do I always listen?

Photography is about access and opportunity. I was photographing the author Rosemary Gard for an article about her novel Destiny's Dowry. The former gallery owner was charming and gave me a tour of the art in her stylish home. She laughed when she showed me the "mod" vintage wallpaper she used in a small bathroom downstairs. We shot the portraits for the article then I asked her to let me take one "fun" shot for me. I jammed some lighting into the tiny bathroom and we had a laugh with a few shots that I think show a less canned "author" like image. I did a little PS post production on the image and here you go. I try to always remind myself to go beyond the assignment when there is time.