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.

ZHOU31: #22 - 31

Hey hey hey

WEEK FOUR OF ZHOU31 !!!

For this final blog post in the series, I’ll just be looping in the final two days so that we can smoothly wrap up this reflection. So instead of the usual 7 photos, we’ll be looking at 9!

Hope you guys have enjoyed this brief review on my work this year. Stay tuned for my FULL SIZED year end review, coming out TOMORROW, January 01, 2020!

Xanadu Games, Laurel MD

This was just an outtake for some footage John (of Lofton Films) was creating for Pound 2019, a Super Smash Brothers tournament being held at Xanadu Games. The goal was rather simple, but the execution was a bit tricky. Matt and Calvin were supposed to walk towards the door, fist bump (as shown by the signature “Pound” logo), and then walk through the doors into the sunlight.

The idea was simple. The reality if the situation was everything but HAHA. First the smoke machine was throwing a fit. And then they couldn’t get the fist bump right (doing it without looking is harder than you think). Needless to say, it took a little while and a few test runs. In frame is Matt and to the right holding the camera is John. Calvin is nowhere to be found. We DID get the shot!!!! The tournament was a huge success! But yeah, I love this frame. There’s so much passion in esports. I can’t wait to do more next year.

Shot on Sony A7iii, 24-70GM

UMBC, Baltimore MD

This is my friend Tyler. He primarily works in art handling and installation, but his eye for editing and selection is almost as valuable to me as his friendship. Not only did he keep me company when I was making my book, Second Generation Plates, I’ve gotten his help in choosing photos for my website revamp as well as photos to be included in this series.
This photo happened on a random afternoon when he had some collodion plates to prepare and I tagged along to keep him company. Cranked the ISO right up to 12800 (this was a darkroom, after all. Lights were all but off) and managed to take this. I don’t think he’ll ever let me take a proper portrait of him but we’ll see, eh?

Shot on Sony A7iii, 24-70GM

University of Maryland, Shady Grove, Rockville MD

Another portrait of a friend. Rayma hit me up a few months ago asking for some actor headshots but we never nailed down a solid date until a few weeks ago HAHA. We initially planned to shoot in a newly constructed building on the USG campus but when we got there, it was locked. So we changed plans and found new spots. The completed set will be up on the blog soon!
But until then, check out our little BASEGRAY inspired shoot: Comp

Shot on Sony A7iii, 85mm

1840s Plaza, Baltimore MD

1840s Plaza, Baltimore MD

What a dream wedding! This might have been the quickest booking client I’ve ever had. A colleague I had been working with at the Shriver Center told me one of her best friends was getting married and that they needed a photographer. From the day they called me to their wedding couldn’t have been more than a week or two! Buckwild.

These two had a SUPER intimate wedding, with 15ish of their best friends and family. Along with some beautiful Baltimore afternoon light pouring into the room, it was one of my favorite weddings I’ve ever shot. They were so down to explore the wonderful venue and experiment. The entire portrait session consisted of me seeing something cute and asking “hey do you mind just sitting right over here?” and them happily complying while looking SO cute. Anyways I’ll put this wedding on the blog sometime. It’s cute.

Shot on Sony A7iii, 24-70GM and 85mm

Pound 2019 at Xanadu Games in Laurel, MD

Another frame from Pound 2019.
This was a photo that cemented my love for esports. It’s so much more than people staring at screens. It’s so much more than just video games. The passion people have for the players, for the games. It’s unreal. The atmosphere in a room when Grand Finals hits is like some spicy fried chicken, a bowl of ramen on a winter day. I wanna shoot more in 2020.

Shot on Nikon D810, Sigma 70-200

Silver Spring, MD

Day 29.
A wonderful wedding I got to shoot in the July heat. Dressed in David’s Bridal , Jimmy Choo and flowers from Park Floral, JiangLing was literally angelic. Also, that dress has POCKETS!

What I had meant to be something else turned into a heavenly shot. A happy accident, if you would.

Shot on Nikon D810, 85mm

Cover image to Second Generation Plates, by Winston Zhou

Day 30.
This image is special to me. As many of you know, I graduated from UMBC this past May. For part of my senior thesis, we had to pitch, and bring a concept to life. The reason I said “part” instead of saying it was the entire class was that I had the idea that I wanted to flex a little. I usually try to stay pretty quiet about the things I do, only posting final results, and quietly working in the night. But I’d also spent 3 years working at The Retriever, our school news publication, and had gathered a rudimentary understanding (some might say, average+) of inDesign and I wanted to see fi I could put that to use. So I decided on a book!

What began as a simple 10-15 page endeavor quick evolved into a 60 page marathon. Before I knew it I’d had found 5 friends who were willing to cook and let me just photograph them. Making a book had never been a childhood dream of mine, but I’m so so so thankful for everyone that helped me create this book. Thank you Charissa, Nina, Steven, Nitesh, Tyler for design support and feedback.
Thank you Jess, Biobele, Raghav, Gabriel, Morgan for allowing me into your homes and kitchens.
Thank you professor for roasting all the other kids in class except for me LMAO.

Second Generation Plates is still available for puchase, if you forgot to send a gift to someone. Perfect as a coffee table book, or as a recipe book. Purchase a copy HERE. 30% of profits will be donated to RAICES.

Shot on Sony A7iii, 24-70GM

Quiet Waters Park, Annapolis MD

Day 31. My favorite image of the year.
One of the final double exposures made from a relaxed afternoon spent with Meghan and Chris at Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis, MD. These past few months I’ve been constantly researching, note taking, and observing other photographers I look up to. Looking at things I like and can implement into my own work, looking for things I’m possibly even better at than them, looking for things I’m lacking in and need to improve upon.

For the past few months I’ve felt my work has stagnated. Not that I’ve been working professionally for a long time (only 3 calendar years, with this being my first 7 months working out of school). But I constantly felt like my work was just constantly repeating itself, singing the same songs, cooking the same dishes. But for the first time in a long time the idea of making a double exposure popped into my head. I’d seen them all over the place and knew how to make them….I just never could figure out how to make them look good with my work????? Anyways, I cobbled together this image and it feels like I hopped over a great plateau of growth. It’s not the most technically advanced or complex image, but it’s growth. And it sure tastes great.

Shot on Sony A7iii, 24-70GM




I’ll be coming out with my full 2019 review on new years day! Or maybe the day after. I think a lot of people will be hungover on new years day. Stay tuned for that, or check out any of the previous weeks in my ZHOU31 series! Week One, Week Two, Week Three

ZHOU31: #15 - 21

Hey hey hey

WEEK THREE OF ZHOU31. We’re almost there! Same drill as always, I skip the talking here and do it under the photos. Let’s get to it, shall we?

Washington, DC

This was such a cute session! Annie wanted to propose to her girlfriend and had planned to do it with an intimate group of their friends on a DC rooftop. The plan was to propose during golden hour for some extra juicy photos….but some things went off schedule and the proposal ended up happening almost 45 minutes after the planned time. The sun was gone, Annie was getting anxious, and we were starting to get worried that this proposal was going to go south.

Or so we thought! (or maybe just me) As soon as Kiita walked up those stairs, the room was silenced. We didn’t get a sunset, but really, who cares about that. She said yes, and we celebrated. Bopped down to take some photos in an alley and on our way back I caught this tender little kiss.

Shot on Sony A7III, 24-70GM

Glenview Mansion, Rockville MD

This was an incredibly cute, but also incredibly hot summer wedding I got to shoot with my good friend Hawraa of Sweet Charms Photography at Glenview Mansion in Rockville!

If you’re regularly leaving your home to go out into public and engage in activities, you probably noticed that we had a hella intense heatwave this summer…and this wedding fell smack in the middle of that. After we sweated our way through an adorable little portrait session, everyone heads on inside to cool down and prepare for the reception. Once all the ducks were in a line, Ashley and Collin came down the steps, all of their friends gathered up around them and she was SWEPT off her feet.

It’s traditional for photographers to want to be in front of all the family and friends with their phones but when you see a couple surrounded with so many people that are so invested in them….it just feels right to keep them in frame.

Shot on Sony A7III, 24-70GM

Glenview Mansion, Rockville MD

Ashley + Collin wedding (pt. 2)
The photography timeline for this wedding was slightly atypical in that the time we would have to capture details would not happen during the getting ready phase, but instead happened in between the ceremony and the reception. We found these beautiful shadows pooled across the jade toned marble and it only felt right to take advantage of that.

Shot on Sony A7III, 24-70GM

Ashley + Collin wedding (pt. 2)
Near the tail end of our portrait session, one of the flower girls came running down because she wanted to play. Almost IMMEDIATELY after running down one set of stairs, her aunt/sister yelled down to tell her to come inside (we were all hot, sweaty, and trying to get dinner started).

She eventually complied, possibly out of fear of la chancla, but it does make for a pretty sweet moment.

Shot on Sony A7III, 24-70GM

National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

This photo joins the ranks of the few photos on this list that weren’t shot for clients (I’m trying to change that for next year).

With the help of a fun little facebook group called Asian Creative Network, I found myself in DC in the middle of the summer with some complete strangers. As we slowly made our way through the National Gallery of Art we eventually found a cute little staircase tucked into the back. In frame is wonderful DC comedian, Shelley Kim!

Shot on Sony A7III, 24-70GM

Spirit of Baltimore, Baltimore MD

Just a cute little frame from my wedding with JiangLing and ShuHao! They got married at their home church in Silver Spring and trekked up to Baltimore to take their intimate reception to the inner harbor on the Spirit of Baltimore!

I usually won’t try to bend the timeline for extra portraits because I think it’s important that couples get time to relax and celebrate with their friends but when we saw the sunset over the water….we kind of just had to.

Shot on Sony A7III, 24-70GM

1840s Plaza, Baltimore MD

HANDS down (get it?) one of my favorite photos. Taken during the tail end of Leah and Jesus’ intimate 1840s Plaza ceremony. In total there were maybe 20-30 people in attendance? Super small, super cute. Honestly, some of my favorite weddings have been extremely tight, super intimate weddings. I noticed her holding her sisters hand and exchanging nervous glances and next thing you know: a tender moment like this is born.

It also totally helps that the huge windows washed them in some beautiful fall afternoon light.

Shot on Nikon D810, Sigma 70-200.

Next week we’ll be going through our final 10! Hope you’ll come back around for that.
You can find the other weeks right here:
Week One
Week Two
Week Four

ZHOU31: #8 - 14

Hey hey hey

We’re back for week 2! As I was posting this week I was thinking about how strange it was that this might be the first time I have posted SO MANY days in a row! Maybe I should post more in 2020? Do you think it’s important that I squeeze content out every day? Let me know.

Anyways let’s get right into the content.

Day 8, Ellicott City, MD

Day 8 was a surprise proposal into an engagement session in Historic Ellicott City. I initially had this saturday morning off after 3 straight months of weddings but this seemed so cute, I couldn’t resist. We were able to squeeze it into the one saturday I had free.

Courtney was under the impression that she was getting brunch with her girls and then going shopping….but what she didn’t know was that Phil was waiting right outside the restaurant where she was eating! We took a little walk into the forest and once we were a bit away from the trail path he popped the question, and it was all history from there.

Shot on Sony A7III, 24-70GM

Shot for the Baltimore Waterfront Partnership

This was part of a marketing series I was shooting for the Baltimore Waterfront Partnership, “Waterfront Wellness”. The series is part of an effort to get city residents to get out and exercise with local fitness professionals.

This was shot during a MidTown Yoga class from on a nice sunday morning at 8am. Everyone else was pretty into it….except for this kid. Me too, dude.

Shot on Nikon D810, Sigma 70-200

Shot for the Baltimore Waterfront Partnership

Another image from the Waterfront Wellness series!

Taken near the end of a Hiit Cardio class. Don’t let this posture fool you, this lady was crushing the workout in 90º heat the entire time.

Shot on Nikon D810, Sigma 70-200

Ah!

This was a frame from bridal prep at Christina and Johns beautiful Elkridge wedding. At our pre-wedding consult I asked them if there was anything special that they wanted to do before the ceremony, like a first look, or anything like that, and they told me they wanted to pray together!
They were getting ready in houses literally across the street from each other, so as soon as Christina was all dressed and ready, we got John to come over, hide himself around the corner of their kitchen. She would come down, they’d hold hands around that corner, and they prayed.

It took EVERYTHING for them to not have a peek at each other, but this was one of the final frames from that beautiful moment. Christina giggling her way up the stairs. John wiping his eyes with tissues from Christina’s father. One of my favorite images of all time.

Shot on Sony A7III, 24-70GM

Madison, WI

This was an image taken on my trip to Madison, Wisconsin! After I graduated I pulled together a few of my friends and we decided to road trip it up to Wisconsin! Eating the finest local foods, like Taco Bell, Hot Cheetos and custom olive oils and vinegars from Galena Garlic.
It just so happened that one of the biggest fighting game tournaments of the year, Combo Breaker was also happening that weekend so we also dropped in there for a few hours. If you grew up in the arcades or have any sort of love for fighting games like Tekken/Street Fighter, I’d HIGHLY recommend you check this midwest regional out. Rick and co put on an incredible time every single year.
The next day we decided to just chill out and take a walk through downtown Madison. I thought it’d be fun to toss the drone up and was able to catch a local family taking their boat out for a spin.

Shot on DJI Mavic Pro

Taken at Genesis 6, Oakland CA

An insane experience. To kick the year off I was invited to help work on the live-stream team with VG BootCamp at Genesis 6 in Oakland, CA. While I wasn’t contracted to work on photo coverage, I was put in charge of managing the Smash Ultimate stream on stage, which gave me prime real estate for photographing during the off-moments.

The days were insanely long, running nonstop from 9am-2am, but it was an experience I’d absolutely fight to experience again. If you play Smash Ultimate and have an itch to compete, Genesis is coming back this year for G7. Register on their Smash.gg page: Genesis 7.

Shot on Nikon D810, Sigma 70-200

Taken at Genesis 6, Oakland CA

The final day. Genesis, much like most tournaments, run brackets that span Friday to Sunday. Massive crowds of contestants are eliminated in single/double elimination setups and before you know it, 2000+ contestants have been narrowed down to the top 128, top 64, top 32…and before you know it: the top 8 have been selected at the end of Saturday night. While the bulk of the event happened in the Oakland convention center in downtown Oakland, the top 8 grand finals changed venues to the Paramount Theater.

The room wass dark. With no lights anywhere except for two spotlights highlighting competitors that fought their way up over thousands of others in various games, such as Super Smash Brothers 64, Melee, and Ultimate as well as Rivals of Aether. The atmosphere was absolutely unrivaled, and unlike anything I’d ever seen before.

Thanks for reading this weeks blog! You can find the other weeks right here:
Week One
Week Three
Week Four