Mark Ressl visited because his grandfather died, and he was taking a pit stop here in NYC on his way to Chicago post-funeral. A couple months ago I was on a date with someone and they got a call that their grandfather had died. Now in less than a couple months, I’m at the Met with Mark and he gets a call that his grandfather died as well. I feel like a curse is upon me.

Anyway, about these photos: Mark stayed at my house and was using my computer. I snapped these shots on my GH2 and new macro lens while he was surfing the net. I was shooting in black and white and had the on-camera flash going. I used to hate the on-camera and only used external flashes, but like any tool it’s all about knowing where and when to sue it. I love how silvery and harsh it makes the hair look here. For such a close range subject, it was exactly what I needed to get those details such as the flakes of skin or the breaks in the hair strands to shine.

VERY minimal editing in Lightroom before exporting. In-camera I had upped the sharpness and contrast, so there wasn’t much post-work to be done.

Here’s some bonus photos. I don’t like these as much because they are too obvious. I prefer the more abstract pictures, but these still have some merit.