Back in June 2008 I produced a photo shoot with my dear friend David duChemin (photographer, author, and all-around creative genius). The purpose of the shoot was to get some great images of people practicing yoga. It wasn't for a client specifically so it was mostly ''just for fun'' but we had in the back of our minds the idea that these images might be useful in the future for helping promote a charity event we're both involved with: The Camp Moomba Yogathon & Blissfest.

David is a seasoned professional. When it comes to a photo shoot he was the bossman. I had never produced a photo shoot before and outside of the logistics I was pretty much at his mercy. I was on the learning end of the process.

Now, when it comes to these silly images David showed no mercy. I was his lighting geek. Not to be confused with techy - as that would imply I setup, moved, manipulated, design, or planned the lighting. David did all that. I was the guy who stood in front of the camera while he adjusted the settings. The talent got the final versions... I got the experimental flashes and endless requests to “stay there, move left, don’t MOVE”. I got bored. I started bring objects with me so that I would have something to do (I don't usually stand still). I didn’t realize David was keeping these shots.

I actually have an ulterior motive to sharing these somewhat embarrassing images of my winter pudginess, un-photogenic face, and apparent nerdy persona. The truth is I felt like I needed to ''release'' these pictures prior to David doing something truly horrific with them. So, I'm leaking them here to steal his thunder.

As it turns out, we did use a few of the real yogi shots to help promote the charity so that’s cool. Ultimately, I just wanted to share my experience producing my first photo shoot. It was really fun and I learned a lot about helping people on both sides of the lens. A happy, well-timed, and successful photo shoot is a blast to be a part of. Hopefully David will bring me to India, Africa, Guatemala, or some other far off land on an assignment someday so I can continue providing my professional stand-in (or pack mule) services.

To see David duChemin's portfolio or read his wildly popular blog please visit http://www.pixelatedimage.com.