About a week ago, I had an assignment to make a portrait of roller coaster enthusiast Todd Neese.  Normally, I would attempt to photograph a subject participating in their activity of choice rather than posing for a portrait. But Neese did not have any immediate plans to ride a coaster.  Also, the nearest roller coaster would involve a lengthy drive.  So, I did the next best thing and brought a roller coaster to the photo studio.  Before Todd came to The Times building to have his portrait made, I had him email me a couple photos he had taken during his recent coaster excursions.

With this set of images, I decided to project one photograph against a white seamless backdrop to give the appearance that Neese was in front of the coaster.  In addition to that, I used an off-camera speedlight to separate Todd from the background image.  I also used a slower exposure and moved my camera to give the sense of motion.

Here’s the final product that accompanied Doug Doughty’s August 15 story. To read Doug’s story click here

- Jared Soares