Bloom Battle #8

Hej hej,

I recently had the chance to photograph one of the best local holidays in Baltimore: Bloom Battle at Local Color Flowers! The premise is simple, but so wonderful: Amateur flower enthusiasts gather and have 2 hours to make the best arrangement they can. No restrictions on vessel, and no restrictions on the amount of flowers they use.

While I knew this was something that was on the same scale as Black Friday shopping in 2005 at the local Best Buy for the chance to get the Mean Girls Deluxe Edition on sale for $9.99, I didn’t know that it would be as intense and magnificent as it was! Like, I shoot weddings and I’m used to over the top florals but the way that these competitors were giving my brides a run for their money! (Sorry)

It was such a pleasure to see the community bond over something as beautiful as this. Click on a photo to see it in full size, and please be sure to check out the final arrangements at the bottom of the gallery.

If you’re interested in getting some beautiful flowers for yourself, stop on by the Local Color Flowers shop! Open every Saturday from 8am-12pm in Waverly, right alongside the Waverly farmers market.

If you’d like to make some beautiful photos with me, holler at me via email: winstonqzhou@gmail.com or through my contact page.

Cheers

If you’d like to make some beautiful photos with me, holler at me via email: winstonqzhou@gmail.com or through my contact page.

Lunar Review: 2023 (Year-In-Review part TWO)

Hej hello friend!

Welcome back to a year-end review….again! If you missed the first one, you can find it just below this post on my blog. This second post will be focused on food photography, and still-life photography (product photography? I’m not sure what people are calling it, honestly).

In a couple months I’ll have been in my current studio space for a year now!!! Studio photography was always a bit of an Moby Dick to me before now, both in terms of the financial aspect of paying for it, as well as the nitty gritty of having enough stuff to shoot to warrant a space to begin with! Admittedly, the first few months of having access to it were a bit wibbly wobbly. It was super exciting to get in there and try things out. Every single session was teaching me something new. But at the same time, I’d been so used to shooting in these crazy little cramped spaces that it felt like a waste to drive all the way to the studio sometimes.

Back when I first started experimenting with food, the very first “set” I created was literally a piece of foam core from Michaels on top of a Krispy Kreme box just haphazardly placed in the center of my bedroom floor. The shooting situation after that didn’t really improve much though. It went from shooting on a floor, to using a discarded white IKEA shelf on top of cardboard crates (still in my bedroom), to somehow having not enough floor space and shooting within the the square of real estate created by my L-shaped desk….HAHA. That last setup was probably one of the tightest I’ve ever had to shoot in, being a room that was about 2-3 steps wall to wall. We’re gonna omit what happened when I moved into an apartment and basically used all of it as glorified studio space though. That was really some peak bachelor living that I’d rather not share online haha…

And now we’re here! In 2024! With access to a studio! When the year was starting, there was this sense of decision paralysis for what to do. Obviously you can do almost whatever you want, given the space to do so. There’s almost this preemptive fear that I wouldn’t be able to create anything good? That there were too many things to photograph? But as time went on, (and the monthly rent continued to leave my wallet) I realized that there’s not only nothing to fear, but that there are so many things out there isn’t just one way to bring an idea to fruition. In the previous review, I mentioned my love of shooting on alternative cameras for the love of photography, and for the purpose of keeping my vision honed. Using curiosity to try new gear helped make the prospect of creating in a studio environment a bit less daunting, and a bit more exciting.


The photos in this review are going to be from January 2023 to December 2023. My hope is that this is a fun little start to the new year, but without all of the hubbub that comes with the Gregorian new year! As fun as it would be to include photos shot in January 2024, we’re going to save them for the next year-end review just for consistency’s sake :) This year I was really fortunate to have been able to work with some really incredible people. I’m grateful for the projects that came to fruition, and the ones that got put on the back burner. I really am.

If you’d like to make something awesome with me, call me beep me if you wanna reach me. Shoot me a message via instagram, email at winstonqzhou@gmail.com, or through my contact page.

As always, thank you to everyone who’s supported me, worked with me, or been a part of this year. I’m grateful. I’m grateful to be able to continue this journey. Please enjoy this selection of photos from this year.

-Winston

 
 

Shown above is a small collection of images from my very first time shooting inside Prop Up Shop by Limonata Creative! I’ve gathered some experience art directing and prop styling over the past few years, but being given the opportunity to create my own project from scratch in a prop wonderland was something next level. I’m incredibly grateful for Giulietta and Nate for giving me this opportunity! And I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention NIM/Liam for the camera assist on this project.

For this project I knew that I wanted to use something I’d be able to handle with relative logistical ease (since I didn’t have a food stylist friend at the time. Honestly, if you’re seeing this as a food stylist and you’re looking to do some test shoots….please hit me up!), and something that wouldn’t be found anywhere else in the city. The natural choice was Henry from Hyde Handmade Knives.

While the majority of my work is shot on my normal A7iii kit — the set of 12 above were all shot on the Ricoh GRiii.

So much of my time is spent tweaking the lighting, and styling in the studio, that I didn’t want to lose the instinct to create images on the fly too. For almost all of these images, with the exception of the pizza images where I used a pocket flashlight, were shot with natural/environmental light. Nonexistent lighting equipment, minimal styling beyond light poking and prodding.

There’s so much beauty to be seen just out and about in the world - I’m glad I bought this EDC staple camera. Let’s keep going.

 

This final set was a really fun series I did with a few different rings I’ve found over the years. Exploring different lighting setups, color palettes, and figuring out how those things play into the physical form of the ring. In my mind, they taste like the juiciest Starburst, don’t you think?
From left to right: Square ring and pair of stainless steel rings from Chaz / @Object History, glass ring by Echo / @zaoglass, Sirius ring by Tyrak Moore / @39superorange

 

Thank you for taking the time to explore my 2023 with me. I’m grateful for your presence! There’s so much talent in Baltimore, I’d love nothing more than to be able to bring it forward in a new and exciting light.

I’d love to work with you in 2024 — shoot me a message via my contact page / winstonqzhou@gmail.com.

Drink some water, and peace out.
Thank you

Year In Review: 2023 (part ONE)

Hej hello friend!

Welcome back to another year-end review. Thank you for sticking with me for another wild ride. To me, 2023 was a really juicy year. Juicy in the same way that those oat clusters in Honey Bunches of Oats sometimes take in some of the delicious cereal milk and become a crunchy berry of sorts. Yknow? Ok, maybe not.

Every single year I try to do something slightly different from the previous years, both in an effort to improve but also to just keep things fresh. The function of doing an annual review serves as a celebration as well as a reflective tool for me. I’m a strong believer that while the practice should remain consistent, the methodologies needn’t remain stagnant. There should always be time made for experimentation! Anyways the little twist this go around is that I’m doing this review as a TWO-PART review!!!! That’s right boys, girls, and non-binary pals. You get to read my blatherings not just one, but twice! (Alexa, play “Feel Special” by TWICE). We’re gonna get into the first one today. The second will come later on.

This first part will be focused on personal and fun work. Not that the work I normally do isn’t fun. It’s that it doesn’t always quite fit into the food/still life portfolio I’m building, y’know? :) These photos are shot on all sorts of cameras, not just my normal kit. I’m a strong advocate for the premise that “gear doesn’t matter”, and that you should be able to create images you love on any camera. It’s something that I try as hard as I can to embrace; shooting on anything and everything I can get my hands on. Point and shoot cameras. Beginner cameras. Different camera brands. I think it’s important to get experience working with all of it.

For the NERDS that want the technical stuff, here’s a breakdown of the photos I shot and the different cameras I used to make this final selection. Something to note is that I omitted photos I took on my phone….because I don’t have time to sort through all of that haha.

Sony A7iii - The current workhorse camera in my kit. I use two of them! No complaints.


Fujifilm X-M1 - My first foray into the Fuji family! Not my last, for sure. In 2021 ish I got burnt out on taking photos and I wanted something fun and fresh to take around as an EDC camera outside of my phone. It because a bit burdensome to bring around with me everywhere, despite its already fairly compact form factor. So i sold it. But I’m eyeing the GFX100, X100V, or X-T5 though.

Nikon Coolpix S230S - This thing is so small, it’s perfect. The love of my life…sorta. The files are adequate, and the shooting experience is nice. :) The only downside to this cameras is that it only shoots JPG files, so the files go from “so shitty, they’re good” all the way back around to plain shitty really quickly. That being said, I still love her. I don’t use this camera that much these days but it’s great.

Ricoh GRiii - This is my new girl!! My everyday carry camera. My dream of having a high powered EDC kit is essentially contained within this body. It’s small, shoots RAW files (or JPG if you’re nasty), and has the simple point and shoot features while still giving me the option of full manual control if I want it. I’ve been using this thing a LOT.

Nintendo 3DS - What started as a bit has since turned into something moderately serious???? Ok, not serious. I’m never that serious. But it’s certainly something that’s become much more fun than I initially expected! Actually shooting with this camera is a bit of a pain in the ass, but it IS very fun. It also forces me to be more stark with my compositions due to the sensor being so so so so small. But that’s a pretty good tradeoff, wouldn’t you say?

This year was a bit of a bop. Took on my biggest client to date, got my new portfolio reviewed for the first time. Revamped my website. In total I took on 24 projects throughout the year, and shot about 30,000 photos (this part I’m unsure about). But all of that seems strangely….secondary? Because I guess my goal was to avoid burnout, and get into the practice of taking personal photos on a (near) weekly basis! Getting client work is always much appreciated but I think the importance of producing art just for yourself should come first. In my mind, that’s the key to longevity, or survival at the very least, as a creative professional. These photos aren’t going to end up in MoMA, or a show. But they kept my heart warm, and creative cup filled. And for the purpose of this first part in my annual review series: that’s more than enough.

If you’d like to make something awesome with me, call me beep me if you wanna reach me. Shoot me a message via instagram, email at winstonqzhou@gmail.com, or through my contact page.
As always, thank you to everyone who’s supported me, worked with me, or been a part of this year. I’m grateful. I’m grateful to be able to continue this journey. Please enjoy this selection of photos from this year.

-Winston

 

Thank you for taking the time to explore my 2023 with me. I’m grateful for your presence!
I’d love to work with you in 2024 — shoot me a message via my contact page.

Architectural Study: Institute of Contemporary Art at VCU

A trip to the Institute of Contemporary Art at VCU in Richmond, VA

Shot on Sony A7iii
Sony GM 24-70 f/2.8

If you’d like to work together on something cool, let me know! Let’s make it happen.
Shoot me an email at winstonqzhou@gmail.com or via my contact page.

 

Year In Review: 2022

Hej hej hello! Welcome back for another year.

2022 wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned for it. It was my first year as a full corporate drone, which meant there was relatively limited opportunity for juicy work outside of that. There was a point in the year around August where I really….didn’t want to do this review because for most of the year I felt super drained and unmotivated. But I think even on the drought years it’s important to still follow through! In my mind, doing this review is one of the most invaluable things I can be doing for my growth as an artist. It was the year of personal work, and trying to lean into the weird abstract photos that I love making. I’m choosing to view this annual task as a release of sorts as opposed to some Ourobourian ritual. A sexy little treat for myself, regardless of my accomplishments or lack thereof. So here we are!

I guess I should really quickly add that while I say this was a “drought” year, I really only mean that in the sense of drive for creative personal work. On paper I did take fewer clients this year but I’m still extremely grateful for the people who I was able to have in front of my camera and the projects I was able to participate in! The idea that you’re lazy if you’re not working on things constantly has been something that’s been a consistent soggy crust in my pie. But with this year being the first time my calendar wasn’t already pre-filled with contracts, I decided to make a bit of a conscious effort towards keeping it that way? This year really felt like a year of introspective growth as opposed to strictly being focused on technical knowledge/money. And looking back, I really wouldn’t have it any other way.

This first section of photos encapsulates my favorite work that happened when I was able to be alone. One of my favorite things is to go for walks with my camera on a quiet day and just watch. Sometimes I get to make photos. Sometimes I come back with nothing. These photos are my favorite little “somethings.”

As always, if you’d like to work with me to make a little something, call me beep me if you wanna reach me.

 

Some things to note in the photos above:
- A revisiting to my Alma Mater on a blistering afternoon to celebrate the PhD of a dear friend.
- Discovering the neighborhood cats that live by my new apartment
- Scenes from my first vacation in many many years
- A beautiful slicer from the incredibly talented Baltimore knifemaker, Henry Hyde (see what’s available on his storefront here).

This next section of photos are an ultra condensed snapshot into the people I was able to photograph this year. Some of these projects were work. Others as “work”. A rolling stone gathers no bridge birds, or whatever. All of these people do incredible things, so I’ll be sure to be highlighting them in the future with more dedicated posts :)

This past year has been restful, draining, mind-numbing, inspiring, and juicy in completely backwards unexpected ways. Making attempts to be more public with my work seems to be an annual declaration (so I see no reason to stop saying it now, haha!) I’ll do my best to share more.

As always, thank you to all the people who continue to grace me with their presence and support. Thank you to my friends who keep me anchored when storms brew. Thank you to my bidet for giving me relief when my stomach brews storms. And thank you (yes, you!) for taking the time to read this! I’m sure this year will bring boundless challenges, but I’m quite optimistic that there will be an equal share of joyous experiences just waiting to be unearthed.

Thanks for sticking around. Let’s make something awesome this year.

Cheers,
WZ

This Photographer Did WHAT For Kaiser Permanente?!

Just kidding. Could you imagine? If i went full Fstoppers and started clickbaiting all my blog posts? How crazy would that be haha……unless?

Anyways. This all started about May 2021. I receive a surprise email from the good folks down at Artist Circle Fine Art that they were looking for a local photographer to help create some images for a new Kaiser Permanente facility that would be opening up in Timonium, MD the following year. Naturally, I JUMPED at the opportunity! This project was a collaboration between Artists Circle Fine Art, Gresham Smith , and numerous other local Baltimore based artists.

The premise of the commission was to create images that were centered around iconic Baltimore landmarks, while not being “cliche postcards”. We wanted to create images that were recognizable as Baltimore, but not strictly the kind of image you’d see on a tourism brochure. We wanted unique, but still clockable, with a focus on pattern and texture. If you know me, you know that I’m always looking at light and texture. The way light interacts with different surfaces, different scenes. Sometimes the morning sun looks like a gentle milkshake on the treelines. Sometimes the beams of light through a break in the clouds makes the sky look like a tiramisu you loved. I’m a huge believer that there’s beauty wherever you go. And Baltimore is filled with fantastic, juicy opportunity.

And so as soon as we finalized the details, I set out to start shooting! For 2 days, I made appointments with Miss 5AM and broke bread with her. The third day was a meal with her elder sibling, Miss 8PM. The idea of these images being printed and displayed in a medical facility made me think that it should be oriented towards hope, and sunbeams that nourish your bones like sul lung tang. But I knew that I’d be remiss to ignore the beautiful evening golden hour (morning golden hour is nice, but it Is quite different).

Anyways. You didn’t come here to watch me wax poetic about sun patterns. Here are some of my favorite images. As always, you can click on the images to see them bigger!

I’d like to thank the team at Artists Circle for entrusting me with this incredible project, and Kaiser Permanente for making this entire project happen.
If you’d like to work with me on an upcoming project of yours, holler at me through my contact page! Let’s make something awesome. :)

Year-end Review: 2021

 

Hi! Hej! Hello! Are you well? What’s your flavor today?

This year was honestly a whirlwind in almost every possible aspect. I got a job! I was able to commission my friend Charissa to create a logo for me! I launched a print shop! People bought prints! (Thank you 10Q Thank you so much!) I moved 3 times! I turned 25! Truly the most. By the time December was rolling around, my motivation was so fickle, it felt like a coin flip on whether or not I even wanted to complete this review. But after a few days of mulling, I was reminded that the entire purpose of this annual review is so that I have something to act as an anchoring point of reset and reflection. It's nice to be able to share this with you guys, but the primary purpose is in the name. A year end review. What’s the point to make this review, and rush it out if it doesn’t fulfill that base purpose, y’know?

This year was quite different from previous years in that it was also my very first year of stepping away from full time freelance work! For the longest time I thought that if stopped trying to make a living as a full time photographer (/videographer/designer/email monkey) that it'd be the same as giving up on my ambitions. But this year I realized that it’s really…not that simple? And so I’m leaning into the mess, and pivoting! Also I want health insurance. (Maybe I’ll talk on quitting when I have more life under my belt.)

It feels quite ironic, really. To have the year I step away from full time freelance work be the most creatively fulfilling year to date. But I guess that's the way the pajeon flips sometimes ! I really enjoyed the format I used last year, so I'm going to return to that one more time. I love being able to tell stories, and I love being able to give context to what might otherwise be assumed to be a simple recipe. But this time I'll start by sharing some of my personal work and then move into professional work afterwards. As a fun twist from previous years, some of these photos will also be available for purchase as prints via my shop!

ALSO! Click on the actual pictures to tab through so you can see them in their entirety.

As always, if you'd like to work with me on a project, feel free to reach out to me via my contact page.

Let's ride.

This first set of photos is fun! (well, I think all of them are fun)
So something I had the leeway to explore this year was what it'd be like to really put the idea of "gear doesn't matter" to the test by becoming an inverse gear-head. Instead of vying for the newest gear, I'd just use what was available and convenient. (Obviously only for my personal work). And what a ride that's been!

I bought some cheap point and shoot cameras just so that I could have something with me wherever I am. Slowing down, making time to take walks, trying to see the beauty in all the spaces I’m in. Scenes taken on walks, scenes taken around the neighborhood, scenes taken at home. There’s something picturesque wherever you are. A few of these are actually available for purchase as prints! You can find em at my shop over at winston.darkroom.tech.

The photos in this set were taken on a few different cameras.
- Nikon Coolpix S230
- Canon Powershot 180
- Fuji X-M1

It’s incredible what these old cameras can do. It’s not that they’re professionally viable, but it’s inspiring to shoot on these cameras and realize how powerful the cameras on our phones are in comparison. It’s been fun to see the different limits of these cameras and figuring out what quirks on these cameras help me create when I’m not shooting on professional grade gear. Let’s keep going.

ALRIGHT this one is cool. The first two are just scenes from Adorn Vintage Furniture in Baltimore! I love watching how light trickles in to different spaces and how it interacts.
That next one is an image I shot on a Nintendo 3DS! Did you know that those old things have cameras too? Surprisingly they do, and they’re not bad (Also read as: they’re bad cameras, but the novelty of using one for photography just seemed too cool to pass up).
The next 2 abstracts are scenes that I found while sharpening knives. The material left behind on the whetstone looks like sand. Sharpening knives can be such a meditative process, seeing the different patterns go through cycles like waves is really something to behold.
And the last 2 are just spec product images of the new beater camera I bought this year. Getting into photography doesn’t always require having expensive gear, and this camera was a fun manifestation of that. The body and lens were $300 in total. I brought it with me on all the work trips I had to make. It is absolutely not an understatement to say that purchasing this camera helped me reignite my love for taking photos for fun.

Now THESE photos. The first set was when my friend and I took a jaunt down to see JP Brammer talk about his new book, Hola Papi: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in DC. Here he’s being interviewed by Jack Harrison-Quintana from Grindr 4 Equality. A lovely night, with some lovely people.

The next set is unironically some of my favorite photos from the entire year. Taken at the Institute of Contemporary Art at VCU. I’ve always had a love for architectural photography, but especially when I’m able to create abstractions from the preexisting forms. When I went there, I realized that the museum staff were just side eyeing this strange man hobbling around, looking at everything except for the actual art on display. (I DID look at the actual work being shown…but I truly wasn’t as entranced with the work as I was the form of the building)

Finally we have some beach! Anyone that knows me well knows that I don’t really enjoy the holidays. I loathe them, in fact. So this year for Thanksgiving I went out to a beach alone, with a little whiskey, some char siu bao, and camera in hand. I spent the day just roaming and walking on the shore. The perfect holiday.

Now then….let’s see some professional work!

 

We’re starting the set off with a bang. The first few images are from a little project I was commissioned to do for a new facility by Kaiser Permanente. Initially I’d thought about just sitting on this until the building was finally opened and official but this feels like as good a time as any. I’ve never shot purely on commission like this before, so it was a fresh experience!

In between is my favorite image from some straggler real estate contracts from last year. Love the work. Could do without the lowball budgets. The other photos in the set are BTS photos from when my friend John of Lofton Films was participating in the 100 Hour Film Racing competition. The competition is exactly as it sounds. Teams are given prompts and have 100 hours to script, cast, plan, film, and edit an entire film. I’d never shot BTS on a film set before, so this was a completely fresh experience for me.

Both of these were super fun experiences, with plenty of room for growth. I’m grateful for these opportunities.
Next up we have some love and stuff.

Ironically, there isn’t much for me to say about these. It’s been really cool to connect with these people after an incredibly lonely previous year. Weddings and stuff are still fun, but I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t a little more cautious to accept them with Miss Covid running rampant. I took on a lot less work than I would in previous years due to Covid + work schedule and I’m really glad I did. If I hadn’t, I don’t think that I’d have had the emotional bandwidth to work on these. That’s growth, baby!

Onto the next.

Whew, I love these portraits. And I love these people. The first set is of NIM / Liam for some general promotional material. I was lucky enough to cross paths with him when we were in college, and it’s been incredible seeing him grow as a person and a musician. Also we totally got yelled at by some Karen while taking these photos, so that adds to the spice too.

The next set of portraits are grad photos for Charissa! She was actually who I commissioned to create this branding I’ve been using! The way that we’ve been cheerleadering for each other from the across the fence for years and then finally had the chance to work together! I drove down to Richmond, VA to shoot these portraits for her because not only is she working full time, she also graduated from GRAD SCHOOL! Insane.

Aaaaand this set is sort of cheating but also there are no rules so who cares. These portraits of Nathan from Crawl Across the Sky were for an upcoming album he was releasing. We actually shot these late 2020 but I didn’t have a chance to edit them until 2021 so :) Like most of my clients, he just said “do whatever you want”, and I did! It’s always so great when clients let me run loose like a rabid fox.

Finally, Rayma. Who needs no introduction at all! We’d been planning this shoot around the concept of “RED” for almost 2 years now. This thing was so funny, I’ll ALWAYS laugh about it because we planned, made inspo boards, booked Sonne Studios in Baltimore, and got the stuff together…but when we actually walked into the studio and took some test photos we IMMEDIATELY scrapped everything.
Honestly, saying “test photos” isn’t even accurate because we took 1 test, realized that it was Not going to work with the stuff we had there, and pivoted away faster than the hairline of a middle aged man rocking the worlds most pallid comb-over.

Anyways, let this be a reminder that no matter how intricate your plans are….sometimes the plans make you. Following these photos is what I’m really trying to do more of: FOOD

A direction I’m trying to move in for 2022 is doing more food work! I don’t know if it’s taboo to admit but these are all actually part of extended studies, so keep those eyeballs peeled to see the completed sets later on. My friends are always giving me shade about saying “I have fun things coming. Can’t wait to share!” and then FORGETTING to share and leaving the work to rot like the last instant ramen noodle you’re too lazy to fish out before throwing the pot in the sink…..and they’re 100% right. Oops! So this year I’ll try to be better about that.
This year I’ve been trying to pay attention to the different textures in foods that we’re eating. Part of that has been investigating what specific aspect of those foods encapsulate their personality the most. I’m not quite sure myself what that means, but it’s been really interesting to explore the way to accent the visual elements of a specific flavor.



This year has been simultaneously one of the most challenging, fulfilling, and refreshing years of work to date. I’m infinitely grateful to the people I’ve been able to meet, and even more grateful for the friends that anchored me through it all.
As always, thank you for continuing to read all the insane things I spew from these fingers of mine. Thank you for supporting my work. Thank you for the encouraging words, loud and quiet. And thank you for continuing to break bread with me. (And thank you for buying my prints!) The days continue to twist and furl, but there isn’t a day that goes by where I’m not grateful for this tailwind.

Thanks for sticking around.

Cheers,
-WZ


 

Prints Now Available!

 

I suppose that this post a couple months late but after regularly getting DMs on facebook (yes, I’m serious) about where the link to my print shop is, trying to reply to said DMs and comments with a link and then literally being blocked from sending the link (out of some fear that I’m a Russian bot trying to peddle some little photographs?), I figured it’d be good to just make a blog post and add it to the menu bar up top!

For this next sentence, please pretend that I’m standing up on a step-ladder yelling this in my loudest wedding-photographer-trying-to-get-the-attention-of-the-whole-wedding-party voice: My print shop can be found at WINSTON.DARKROOM.TECH !!

It’s honestly quite funny at how long it took for this print shop to come around. I’d been selling, making, and gifting prints to my clients here and there ever since the beginning. But I guess the thought to make an actual shop never occurred to me (rather, it DID and I was too busy or lazy to do it). A few years ago I actually ended up making a profile here to sell some photos. But somehow the timing didn’t feel right. The photos didn’t feel right. The entire operation just felt like it had rancid vibes!! So I just let it sit and occasionally someone would stumble in and maybe buy a print or two and then mosey on out. But I think now that I’ve officially left the full time freelance world (make no mistake: I’m still AVAILABLE for booking!) and transitioned into the 9-5 corporate art production life, the fruit of my work has seemingly ripened. Either that or I finally decided on some arbitrary factor that my photos were now juicy enough to sell. All this to say: I’m finally in a place in my career where I feel good about my photos, and that it really hooves my horses that there are people that actually want my work as part of their home spaces! So thank you. Really.

If you’ve ever enjoyed my photos and wanted to support me without actually having to have photos taken, this is the way to go !! (Outside of throwing cash at me outside of the local H-Mart or sending me tips via Venmo, that is)

Once again, the link to the shop is Winston.Darkroom.Tech.

Here are some of the photos that will either eventually be available for purchase, or are currently already available!
Cheers

 

Portraits: Liam "NIM" Greaves

 

It feels so crazy for me to be writing this, but somehow here we are. One of my best friends from college is launching his music career with his first official single!

Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to be in his orbit, and to have been able to make some portraits with him too. And so when he told me that he had finally made plans to officially make his entrance into his career it felt appropriate that we link up one more time to make some promotional material for him.

Listen to NIM’s debut single, “Silky” on Youtube, Spotify, or any other major music streaming platform.
Find him on instagram at: nimsmusiq.

 

Gabriel + Katy // Seneca Creek State Park Engagement Shoot....but for REAL this time

 

This shoot feels like it happened many years ago. Or maybe it’s just because the last time we got to shoot together they ended up getting a flurry of messages from excited friends and family about them being engaged (they weren’t…yet). But now they actually are!!!! And I’m so excited and honored to be able to join them at their upcoming wedding.

I’m not going to write a whole paragraph of backstory for this one. Just old friends getting together to make some pretty things. I enjoyed these photos immensely. I hope y’all do too.

 

DONUTS GALORE

 

This was a test shoot with Krispy Kreme donuts!

A couple weeks deep into winter, I found myself absolutely unable to fall asleep. I had spent the evening playing Pathfinder with some friends and after going through my entire evening routine and attempting to fall asleep for almost 2 hours….well none of that worked. At this point I realized that not only was it 3 am, but that Krispy Kreme opened up in just a few short hours.

Anyways long story short, I decided to get a dozen donuts (6 chocolate glazed, 6 original glazed) and do a test shoot with them. After having dipped my toes into the world of food photography for my combination senior thesis/APAHM inspired cookbook, Second Generation Plates, I was fixin for a little more action.

There was no large production budget, no complicated lighting setup, no nothin. Just me, my camera, and these donuts.
In terms of setup, this was shot with my Sony A7iii, with a 24-70 f/2.8 GM. 1/200 shutter, f/8.0 ISO 125.
Processed in Lightroom and Photoshop. Lit with a single Alienbee B1600 at bare bulb 1/8th power and a piece of white foamcore opposite to act as a reflector. See? Nothing too difficult! What I did learn was that while I personally enjoy the original glazed donuts better, the chocolate glazed donuts read much better on screen as “donuts”. I found that the pale, matte sheen of the original glaze made them look like bagels at times. Additionally, there was a lot of time I spent retouching the shape of the donuts themselves; something that I might skip entirely next time! I got them to look the way I wanted for this shoot, but maybe for the next shoot we’ll skip the liquify tool entirely.

In terms of inspirations and direction, these were heavily influenced by the likes of Scott Choucino, Laura Murray, and Melanie Kim.
One of the images is actually an attempt at emulating one of my favorite photos from Scott! I wanted big, bold colors, and solid light to make these donuts look like they belonged in a mid-2000’s pop art advertisement.

I’m absolutely thrilled to be doing more of these this year. I hope you stick around :)
If there’s any food that you’d like me to work with, let me know!

If you’re interested in working with me for a project like this or if you’re looking for a Maryland/DC wedding photographer, please shoot me an email (winston@wzhouphoto.com) through my contact page.

 

Portraits: Dr. Jasmine Lee

 

At its very core, photography has always been a way for me to connect with people, and helping them see themselves as complex, competent, and deliciously confident individuals. After having to contend with so many events and weddings being postponed (or worse, cancelled), this was honestly a much appreciated chance for me to

Several months ago I had the opportunity to connect with Dr. Jasmine Lee, about shooting some simple portraits to update her website, and I jumped on that SO quick. The goal of these photos was obviously so that she could use them for her website, but also so that they could properly encapsulate who she was now, as opposed to who she was several years ago when her previous portraits had been taken. We discussed that one of her biggest hopes for these new photos would be that they’d show her as an experienced professional (check that Dr. in the name), but also as someone who is just as laid back as she is professionally qualified.

Dr. Jasmine Lee is a highly motivated, passion driven individual who considers herself a scholar, practitioner and activist. She is proud of her Lansing, MI roots, where she started her college career at Lansing Community College.

Through customized training and consultation, Dr. Jasmine Lee helps universities, non-profit organizations, and faith-based communities build capacity for diversity, inclusion and equity based leadership. With personal and professional values of social justice, community, integrity, grace, authenticity, and faith, Dr. Lee seeks to inspire, educate, and equip tomorrow's community leaders and higher education scholars.

To learn more about Dr. Lee, visit her site at drjaslee.com

 

Idania + Max // Seneca Creek State Park

 

When I say that we’d been waiting to get to shoot with each other for almost 9 MONTHS !!! Almost an entire baby! Absolutely bonkers. But getting to just walk around and shoot with two people so in love makes the wait completely worth it. We had to reschedule

Every single shoot I go on I try to go in with a hidden challenge for myself. There haven’t been as many shoots for me to go on this year for obvious reasons BUT there are challenges nonetheless. This time around I wanted to really get some practice in with integrating a little bag of tricks: ring of fire, a prism, my phone, etc.

If you’d like to make some magic with me, shoot me a message and let’s make something happen!

If you’re in the market for a 2021 Baltimore/Virginia/Maryland wedding photographer, shoot me a message and let’s make something happen!

Feel free to check out more of my work on my blog here.

 

COLLABORATIONS: i.d. Kathi 2

 

Kathi and I are back for ROUND 2! The Illustrator extraordinaire and your favorite neighborhood photographer join forces to make some more delicious art.

Last time we worked together, she approached me with the idea her creating illustrations inspired from photos I send her. This time we decided to flip flop and run it the other way! We started this with her sending me 3 illustrations and this time around it was my job to create photographs that would not only fit the illustration compositionally, but also thematically. (Okay, the themes part was just a personal goal, but I do think they fit fairly well)
The previous project, which you can find here, was primarily focused on the blending of architecture and insect life. For this project we took a turn and delved into creatures of fantasy. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do.

Hint: CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO SEE THEM BIG ON YOUR SCREEN.
BETTER YET: Buy them as a print to see them even bigger

Kathi Ha (@i.d.kathi) is an illustrator and graphic designer based in MN, USA. Originally from the east coast, she misses the ocean but enjoys living in the midwestern tundra. Her art is inspired by nature, etching methods, and other creatives making the world a more interesting and honest place. She works hard to support her ferret, enjoys indoor gardening, and naps as often as she can.
Prints are available purchase on her shop, customizable cards and stickers are available for purchase via etsy and more of her work can be found on Behance!

Siren

“The tenth-century Byzantine encyclopedia Suda says that from their chests up, Sirens had the form of sparrows, and below they were women or, alternatively, that they were little birds with women's faces. By the Middle Ages, the figure of the siren has transformed into the enduring mermaid figure.”

Adze

“In the wild, the adze takes the form of a firefly, though it will transform into human shape upon capture. When in human form, the adze has the power to possess humans.”

Longma

“It was spotted blue and red, and covered with scales. Its mane resembled that of a dragon, and its neighing was like the tone of a flute. It could cover three hundred miles. Its mother was a common horse which had become pregnant by drinking water from a river in which it was bathed.” (Taiping Yulan, 10th century)

 

These are available as prints on my Darkroom shop here.
You can find more of Kathi’s work at @i.d.kathi
Interested in making some magic with me? Shoot me a message via my contact page! Let’s chat