Derek Olson Photography | Asheville Photographer

Blindfold Magazine

Derek — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:09:38 +0000

Today I received the first issue of Blindfold Magazine. It’s a ‘socially conscious photojournalism quarterly’ focusing on important issues. According to their site it’s about people and companies doing things outside of the box with an emphasis on giving back.

There is a story about my hometown of Asheville, NC in this issue which features several of my photos. I was thrilled that the magazine’s print quality and paper is gorgeous.

Ian Somerhalder is on the cover; he was in Lost and currently stars in Vampire Diaries (which he “sucks” in) and they interview him about his charitable organization IS Foundation. Good stuff! I recommend ordering a limited edition copy, not just because my photos are in it, but because it’s a magazine with a great cause. You can order a copy right here:

http://www.blindfoldmag.com/merchandise

I did not photograph the cover photo of Ian Somerhalder. Though I would do a photo shoot with him in exchange for a Vampire Diaries t-shirt

San Francisco, California

Derek — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 02:00:41 +0000

Sometimes it takes 2 years to get around to blogging personal work… I visited San Francisco a couple years ago to photograph a wedding (technically in Palo Alto) and spent one day downtown shooting for fun. All these shots are taken within a 4 hour period, and I particularly enjoyed photographing Chinatown.

Fall in Asheville

Derek — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 01:38:11 +0000

I sure am going to miss the beautiful fall colors here in Asheville. Here is a photo from a recent engagement shoot with a perfect autumn tree.

Photos Taken with iPhone 4S

Derek — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:52:01 +0000

Call me a sellout. Or, call me on my iPhone 4S and tell me that. I’ll admit I’ve silently made fun of people for taking images with cell phones cameras (mainly when they were about 1.2 megapixels). I’ve taken photos with my cell phone camera in the past, but never shots that I might want to print or have for archival purposes. The iPhone 4S has changed my view on that. I’ve been having lots of fun playing around with the camera. I am a professional photographer (i.e. – full-time) and have lots of great Nikon gear, but there is something very liberating about using such a small, simple device to take photos on. It’s great to always have a good camera (for most scenarios) in my pocket. For instance, I would never bring a big, full-frame camera into the grocery store to take random pictures of vegetables (see carrot shot).

I have been using the Instagram app, which forces me to shoot in a square ratio (1:1). It’s a lot different than just taking a 6:4 ratio shot and then cropping it. I rarely intend on cropping an image to square when I’m shooting with 35mm.

All these images were taken using an iPhone 4S (most of them with Instagram). I am amazed by the sharpness of the first picture of my cat, Pierre.

On the Streets

Derek — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 02:30:01 +0000

Here is a series of photos that I feel go well together. All of these were taken somewhere in downtown Asheville.

North Carolina Wedding – Black and White Photography

Derek — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 01:01:41 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything wedding related, which is odd since that’s what a lot of my time is dedicated too. I’ve fallen back in love with black and white photography lately so figured I’d post all monochromatic (five-syllable Andrew Bird way of saying it) shots mainly in the photojournalist style. Moments like these define a wedding for me, and as much as I love color, stripping it away often leaves nothing but that pure emotion. Not every photo looks great in b+w, and I notice while editing that b+w can potentially make a decent photo look kind of … boring. I don’t typically shoot with the intention of making a photo b+w, but sometimes while shooting I’ll know on the spot what will make a good monochromatic image. And sometimes I’m wrong because my first name is not Ansel.

So here are some of my favorite images from Jen and Phil’s recent wedding in North Carolina.

Above the Tracks

Derek — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 02:35:00 +0000

Sometimes the first shot is all you need. I pulled my car over and walked onto an overpass for this vantage point. I hurried to a spot for the view I found most aesthetically pleasing, adjusted my camera settings, then snapped the photo with my Fujifilm X100. I took 11 more shots with different compositions and exposures, and even tried to get the train to look ‘blurry’ since it started to move a minute after my first photo. Turns out my first impression of the scene was my favorite.

Also worth noting is I couldn’t have gotten this exact shot with my Nikon dSLR. a) Because I wouldn’t have taken a big camera with me just to get a bite to eat, and b) because I was shooting through a fence and my Nikon lenses would have been too big to fit through. So, yet another reason I’m an advocate for this X100 camera.

Photo taken with Fujifilm X100 camera

Rural Carolina (Taken with Fujifilm X100)

Derek — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 04:36:25 +0000

A few rural shots of western North Carolina taken with a Fujifilm X100. Overall I’m loving this camera and am really impressed thus far. I’ll be posting more photos with it in different environments.

Rural setting near Barnardsville, NC

Cow ratio: 3:1

An old barn

New York City

Derek — Thu, 05 May 2011 18:33:46 +0000

In April I traveled to New York City for a client photo shoot. Here is a slice of the Big Apple via some of my personal photography from the trip.

After Hours Cabaret at Diana Wortham Theatre

Derek — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 02:56:53 +0000

Here are some more photos from the After Hours Cabaret at Diana Wortham Theatre. Along with great performances from Al Petteway & Amy White, Swayback Sisters, Tongue and Groove, and Boom Chix, there was a silent auction that benefited Artspace Charter School.

Al Petteway and Amy White on stage

Swayback Sisters

Lyndsay Wojcik

Laura Blackley

Nikki Talley