Personal

Erik Almas Reminded Me To Stop Photographing Junk

www

APA DC hosted commercial photographer Erik Almas to speak about his lighting, shooting, and retouching styles this week. I was very thankful to have the time to attend for a variety of reasons. No matter where you may or may not be in your career, it is crucial to take the time to learn from [...]


My Custom Bomber-Inspired iPad 3 Case [Preview]

ipadphoto-3

A small preview of one of my new built from scratch bomber-inspired ipad3 housings. It was built to be used strictly for photo/video-taking for a new special and very exciting ad campaign I have coming up with Nik Software. It first saw light at my birthday party the other night (see below). That’s all I [...]


Loving New Mexico And Exploring The Open Road

iPhone 4 HDR mode, Snapseed App, Instagram

The last couple of days I have been in New Mexico on assignment. My shoot was actually a portrait job that only took one morning, but I decided to take an extra day to just explore, since I have been non stop the past month with shoots and travel. For once, I just pointed my [...]


So The Space Shuttle Discovery Just Flew Over My Building… [Photos]

v2webIMG_9482

So the space shuttle Discovery flew over my building in Arlington, VA… right over. Shot this with a Canon 5D Mark 2 with the Canon 100-400 4.5-5.6 L IS lens. Got lots of sweet photos! So glad I caught it. Just noticed all of the dust on my camera sensor. ARG! Just ran out the [...]


I’m Back! Where Did I Go This Week? LA / DC / Orlando Adventures

The start of the road rally

Apologies for this slow posts this past week. I’ve been on the road shooting various photo campaigns and projects. I will be posting behind the scenes and updates, but here is a small taste… This weekend I competed in a road rally in the new 2012 Bentley Continental GT with my boys. Must have been quite [...]


My New Love For Shooting Polaroid Pictures [Again]

465666_995588096555_24408523_39585307_1448703506_o

When I was 8 years old, my family bought me my frist Polaroid camera. That started my early love for photography. I would capture EVERYTHING the minute my parents would make the mistake of giving me a pack of film. Last holiday season, I treated myself with a Polaroid 600 I purchased on ebay for about $10 [...]


Key To Developing A Successful Freelance Photography Career – Keep Busy

310999_825126692575_24408523_38779246_1614053_n

I’m not going to pretend I am the richest photographer, or most successful, but I do pay my bills, get published regularly, and rather enjoy my career in photography and filmmaking. People often ask what is my big piece of advice for launching a career in professional photography that can sustain you full time. Well, [...]


Some Of My Select Images Available To Be Custom Printed

The Pyramid

For a long time, folks have been asking where they can order prints of my work and I have never offered them to the public. Well, I have decided to change that. Starting now, I am offering select images up for sale. All of the images on this blog post can be ordered in a variety of [...]


Catch My “Behind The Lens” Interview In The New Issue Of Light It Magazine

photo-3

The new issue of Light It Magazine is out, where you can catch a video interview with me discussing my career and photography and lighting. “Light It: The How-To Magazine for Studio Lighting and Off-Camera Flash is the first digital photography lighting magazine made exclusively for the Apple iPad.” Check out my buddies, amazing photographers Erik Valind & Joey Wright, [...]


Announcing My New Photography & Video Production Studio In Downtown Manhattan

2011_11_20_KWC_Casting_ 2219

Announcing my new studio in Manhattan located on West 27th by FIT campus in the Chelsea area. She’s a beautiful spot at around 1500 square feet with amazing available light (which can also be blocked out), full kitchen, wifi, freight elevator, in-addition to some really great raw space in the building. I look forward to [...]


Rest In Peace Winston The Boxer. Remembering A Dog Full Of Life. Hug Your Furry Friend Today.

310783_860463307715_24408523_39072041_1110374789_n-1

Regular readers of my blog will remember my 4-pawed best friend, Winston Churchill. Long story short, I had to put my little guy to sleep yesterday. He was in a really bad way and it was his time. Winton was loyal and loving and truly touched many lives in his short 8 and a half [...]


Up from Under Part 1 – The Start Of A Beautiful Short Documentary Series For A Good Cause

Screen shot 2011-10-12 at 3.28.45 AM

My friend, an American photographer Nicole Wolf, has dedicated a large portion of her life to helping the people of Haiti. She is just an incredible human being. Nicole has an upcoming charity benefit she is hosting in the DC area to raise money for a great cause in Haiti on November 1, 2011. To [...]


Portrait Of “Indian Mike” – Finding My Own New Visual Style

Taken using a variable ND-filter to force the camera into a more shallow depth of field setting

Maybe it’s the nature of being an artist, but every 2-3 years I become completely fed up of my shooting/lighting/visual style. I feel like I my clock has been ticking as of recent and have felt strongly compelled to shake things up. A lot the work I have been known for is my over-the-top cartoon/movie-like [...]


My Personal Beard / Faces Portrait Series So Far…

Click to see full-sized

Going to send this mage out with my email marketing soon. This has been a fun series to shoot and look forward to doing many more. You can see the photos full-sized on my website HERE. Want to see a video on my post-production process on these photos? Click here.


My Personal Take On Life As A Workaholic Travelling Commercial Photographer

263400_786898956265_24408523_38324193_2719169_n

I’m driving a beautiful triple-black Aston Martin DB9 V12 down a florida highway. Its nose so long that the sun striking it practically blinds me. AC/DC is blasting on the radio and the car’s 12 cylinders roar at the slightest touch to the throttle. One client has loaned me his beautiful British exotic so I [...]


A Reminder – Flying Home On September 11, 2011

A practically empty flight back home to DC, morning of September 11, 2011

I flew home to DC from Photoshop World 2011 in Vegas on a redeye the morning of September 11. It was eerily quiet at the airports. It was not as if people were staying home because they were frightened about a new attack on the anniversary of one of our nation’s most painful tragedies… it felt more [...]


New Douglas Sonders Photography Facebook Page

Screen shot 2011-09-05 at 5.17.47 PM

Decided to keep my personal Facebook page more… personal, so I just put together a Facebook Page for those that want to follow my updates and interact with my more regularly. I’ll post new work, fun links, and of course, announce photographer/creative meet-ups in different parts of the country. Just trying to be accessible to [...]


I Am Going To Need Much Bigger Drives (40 Megapixel Medium Format Edition)

Ferrari H4D Unit # 09/499

Details to follow soon… http://www.hasselblad.com/news/hasselblad-meets-ferrari.aspx


Quick! To The Social Media Outlets! My Virginia Earthquake Report Overlooking The Pentagon

iPhone photo from my 15th floor apartment, where we enjoyed a nice sway or two during the quake

As EVERYONE knows at this point, an approximately 6.0 earthquake centered around Mineral, Virginia was felt from Toronto, Canada to South Carolina, according to my twitter feed. I live on the 15th floor of an floor-to-ceiling all-window apartment overlooking the Pentagon and we got a nice sway or two. There was certainly a moment of [...]


Left My Status Update On Facebook’s New DC Headquarters Wall

Photo of Winston Churchill the Boxer

A few months ago I did a photoshoot with some of the senior executives over at Facebook’s Washington DC office merely days after they moved into their new DC HQ. There is an actual “Facebook Wall” in the office where visitors can write a statement or sign their names with a sharpie. As you can [...]


It Is Now Easier To Navigate Through Older Posts On My Blog

Screen shot 2011-08-09 at 10.57.58 PM

As you may notice, I am slowly making some changes to my blog to make your visiting experience more enjoyable. Thank you to my lovely and generous friend Yvette Castro, who took time out of her busy schedule to do some tricky coding, you now may go through my older blog posts in order. You [...]


Want A Google+ Invite? I Have Some To Spare

Screen shot 2011-08-08 at 8.21.14 PM

I have 150 Google+ invites. Want one of them? Join the new social networking evolution. Just comment on this post and I will invite you. Also, make sure to add me on Google+!


The Beard Portrait Series Commences…

DS_BeardSpread1

So this personal beard / hairy dude portrait series has started. Took my first two test portraits of friends Casey and Israel yesterday at Union 206 studios. Casey (left) even shaved his hair into a mohawk on set  for the photoshoot. Now THAT is a good friend. I am scheduling more portraits for this personal series [...]


So I Had A Pretty Full Weekend… 3 Doors Down Album Release Party / Road Trip Edition

Downtown Nashville. Love this town.

I’m addicted to road trips. So much so that I think it may be a detriment to my health. It all started Friday when I picked up my Avis Camaro SS convertible from Reagan National airport in DC. I drove 13 hours to Nashville, picking up my friend, talented model photographer Katie Moore, along the way in North [...]