Blog | Jakob Berr Photography

I’ve been wanting to photograph the Dirty Disco Dance Party at Eastside Tavern on Friday nights for a while now, and last night I finally took my camera with me. I was playing around a lot with my new pocket wizards and off-camera flash and finally decided to position the strobe on a shelf above the entrance door, right next to one of the speakers. It took me a while to figure out the proper lighting, especially since I had to light both the DJ area and the dance floor with one strobe (bouncing off a black ceiling), but eventually I managed to get decent results by adjusting shutter speed and f-stop depending on where I was and let the strobe run on the same setting all throughout.

The irony was that my shoot was cut short once I had figured out my lighting and before the party even really started. The bass vibrations of the speaker next to strobe made it slowly bounce toward the edge of the shelf – until it dropped 8 feet deep on concrete. Amazingly enough, it was still looking alright and was even firing fine; however, the reflector zoom is in pretty bad shape, so I’ll have to send it in for repair nevertheless. So behold, here are some of the most expensive party pictures I ever took. You better enjoy!

This is the last set of pictures for now from my trip into the past times of analog photography, shot between February 14 and February 18. It’s pictures from the first week of this year’s Picture of the Year International contest where I was one of the graduate coordinators. It was an electrifying experience and we had a great time with the judges Scott Strazzante, Pedro Ugarte, Scott Mc Kiernan and Kathy Anderson.

Judging in progress at the Fred W. Smith Forum at Reynolds Journalism Institute, Monday, February 15, 2010.

POYi director Rick Shaw introduces a new category for the judges, Monday, February 15, 2010.

Michelle Peltier (center) and Calin Ilea (right) in the “drivers’ seats,” the control center of the judging shows.

Chelsea Sektnan hosts the Adobe Connect Meeting, Wednesday, February 17, 2010.

The judges Pedro Ugarte (left), Kathy Anderson (background), Scott Mc Kiernan (center) and Scott Strazzante (right) stretch their legs during a judging break. Judging sessions usually lasted from 8.30 a.m. until 8 p.m. and consisted of several thousand images a day.

The judging set-up as seen in a reflection of the window of the translator booth in the Fred W. Smith Forum.

Lunch break at Shakespeare’s, Thursday, February 18, 2010.

Calin Ilea, Scott Mc Kiernan and Pedro Ugarte during dinner at Flat Branch, Wednesday, February 17, 2010.

Scott Mc Kiernan, Pedro Ugarte and Kathy Anderson during dinner at Flat Branch, Wednesday, February 17, 2010.

Scott Strazzante, Scott Mc Kiernan and Pedro Ugarte during dinner at Flat Branch, Wednesday, February 17, 2010.

Pedro Ugarte and Kathy Anderson during dinner at Flat Branch, Wednesday, February 17, 2010.

Dessert time at Addison’s, Monday, February 14, 2010.

Paying the check at Flat Branch.

Here’s another set of pictures from my trip into the past times of analog photography, shot between February 11 and February 15. The pictures have all been taken while I was out and about in Columbia’s night life with my friends.

Melvin and Atreyee at Top Ten Wines, Thursday, February 11, 2010.

Another blurry picture, but I love the intensity of the look in Sibylle’s eyes.

For a while, dominos became really popular and we played it almost every night at Ragtag.

Anjali Pinto and Mito Habe-Evans are all dominos…

Beth Suda smoking outside the Ragtag.

Sibylle and I somehow have a thing for photographing each other photographing each other…

Nick King and Parker Eshelman at Flat Branch.

Closing the tab at Flat Branch.

Looking out on the parking lot behind Flat Branch.

Here’s another set of pictures from my trip into the past times of analog photography, shot between February 6 and February 13. They’re just random snap shots of things that cought my eye in the streets of Columbia, but it’s all stuff that sort of makes this town what it is – at least for me.

Even though it’s blurry, there is something about this image that I like. It sort of has something mysterious about it, with the clouds, the lights in the windows and the smoke (or vapor) that’s rising up from the Mosque.

Where else than in the window of Arnie Fagan’s “Cool Stuff” on Broadway can you see Moses next to Big Foot and Jesus next to a Smoking Elephant?

I wish the flag in this picture would be somewhat clearer. This is what happens when you got spoiled by the insane ISO speeds of digital photography and then go back to shooting with 400 ISO film…

Snow falls in front on Lakota’s on 9th Street. Moments after I took this picture, the sun came out and shone through the snowflakes and a guy was standing outside in front of the window in the backlight smoking a cigarette. I missed it because I was talking to a friend and when I noticed it it was already too late. By the time I had my camera up, the sun was gone. I still regret missing that picture.

The view from our apartment at night.