Last weekend I created photos during a “Frogs, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails” themed baby shower. (There were a few “snips” thrown in there as well – does anyone use the word “snips” anymore?)
Photographed on location at The Chocolate. I love their desserts – particularly their chocolate chip cookies and salted caramel brownies. Next time you’re in Orem, Utah, check ’em out.
His eyes — how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow….
Meet Dan. He has long hair (or used to, anyway). And a grey beanie that goes well with his shirt.
I created some portraits of Dan to commemorate his long locks before they hit the salon floor.
One more shot, in black and white.
Do you have an event, a hobby, or a favorite hat that you want to immortalize? Contact me and we’ll throw our hair to the wind.
I had the opportunity to do the bridal photos for Kristi, a firefighter/paramedic, a month before her wedding. The photo shoot had everything that I could have asked for – beautiful weather, a beautiful bride who was up for anything, and killer locations. I shot in a fire station and on a runway at a commercial airport! (Still giddy about that!) I guess the only thing that we could have added would have been to have some actual fire on the set, but I’ve heard that wedding gowns and flames don’t typically get along.
Here are the results from her bridal session:
As I mentioned in my previous post, the other photo subject that you can usually find in an otherwise barren parking lot is people. Because I was at a photo workshop, the other participants were easily accessible for portraits (read: they couldn’t really run away) and they were a little more tolerant of my camera aimed at them than a random passerby or visitor to the coffee shop might have been.
It started with Mr. Blue Eyes….
I was going to call him Ol’ Blue Eyes (a nod to Frank Sinatra), but he might not appreciate the “old” reference and he might hate to sing. I don’t know. But his eyes were definitely the focal point of this photo.
In a similar way, Eleanor’s quirky glasses and the layers and texture of her scarf were what inspired me to create a portrait of her.
If I hadn’t mentioned it, I’m guessing that you wouldn’t have thought that this photo was taken in a parking lot with dead trees and trash and possibly Sasquatch in the background.
Anyway, as this portrait of the super-friendly Dan shows, a shallow depth of field and precise focus on a person’s face can create great portraits in environments that are *ahem* less than ideal.
So, don’t be discouraged if a photo-creating opportunity doesn’t happen in the perfect place, or with a breathtaking backdrop, or during the most perfect light of the day. Sure, that is what photographers aim for, but if there aren’t any other options, shoot anyway! Use your brain, move your feet, and see what you can come up with.’Tis better to shoot and practice then go home with an empty CF card, I say.
On Saturday I attended a photography workshop and was quite surprised to learn that the promised photo safari to an “undisclosed breath-taking location” meant walking out into a parking lot. We safari-ed about 30 feet. It looked like this:
Perhaps when the brochure said “breath-taking location” it was referring to the cigarette smoke from the patrons outside of the coffee shop.
Nevertheless, I had committed to be there and my son’s babysitter was scheduled for 4 hours, so I figured I might as well try to make the best of a disappointing situation. I made the parking lot my creative challenge – how could I get great photos out of an area that at first glance held nothing but wire fences, cars, cigarette butts, and dead vegetation? What can you do if you’re in a similar situation, stuck somewhere that feels like a photographic dead end?
Well, you can search for color….
Or you can play around with depth of field:
Or you can look for a scene that would convert well to black and white:
You might want to keep an eye out for texture and pattern…
I liked these canvas umbrellas so much that I decided they needed the macro treatment.
Perhaps by keeping your eyes open, you’ll get a shot that combines lines AND color AND texture AND pattern:
What do you think? Do my photographs indicate victory over the parking lot?
Coming up, I’ll share some more photos from that day of the other subject available in a parking lot: people.
It’s been a while, dear readers! An explanation might take too long to write and I already chastise myself daily for not blogging more regularly, so let’s just move forward…
Here are a couple shots I created during a portrait session with A., who is cute and sassy and outgoing. I love both pictures…
Thanks for not being afraid to make faces at the camera, A! It was fun to work with you.
I am obsessed with thoughts of spring and summer. Seriously. It’s as bad as a six-year-old waiting for Christmas. Visions of warm sunniness torture my days and makes me cry myself to sleep at night (kidding). Unfortunately, neither of these seasons has arrived yet in the area where I live, so I’ve had to find ways to bring green and flowering beauty into my life while the snow refuses to melt outside and temperatures stubbornly remain at 40 degrees.
About two weeks ago, I received a calla lily plant and I put it on my dining room table (good light there) so I could enjoy the beautiful pink flowers. Then, a few days ago, a strange thing happened. A white calla lily flower began to grow in the midst of the pink ones and then shot up Michael Jordan-esque heights in a very short period of time. Leader? Over-achiever? Vanity? Purity? It was an irresistible image full of fun metaphors, and I knew I had to shoot it.
I’ve made a series of images from that calla lily plant on the table in my house. Which is your favorite?
Kick-butt vehicles in fog = gorgeousness! Awesome. Stunning, even. (I just love tossing vocabulary together in unexpected ways, like using “gorgeous” and “kick-butt” and “vehicles” all in the same sentence. It’s fun.)
Those of you who know me well know that I’m a big supporter of the good men and women in law enforcement and public safety. As one of my service projects during the holidays, I shot one of the local “Shop With a Cop” events for free. It was a terrific experience, and one that probably would have brought tears to my eyes had I not needed them to be blur-free so that I could see through my viewfinder. 😉
Even though I was shooting on assignment for a client, I made sure to look out for personal work/fine art print opportunities. And I found a great opportunity as I watched a very long line of law enforcement vehicles drive through the early morning fog to the store where the kids and cops would shop. I’ve shared three of those prints on my website. (Here’s a little preview, too.)
Officers! Deputies! Chiefs! These prints would look KICK-BUTT in your office! They’d look AWESOME! They’d look GORGEOUS! Contact me if you want a picture that will make you the envy of the department…
I’ve been looking forward to sharing my latest fine art print design with you, but I had to wait until after Christmas had passed because it was created specifically as a gift and I didn’t want to ruin the surprise! But the 25th has come and gone, and the print was unwrapped and well-received, so here we go…
The quote (by President Abraham Lincoln) reads: “Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower could grow.” It was chosen because it was a very relevant and meaningful quote for the recipient.
Do you want a beautiful, custom-designed fine art print like this for your office or home? Choose your favorite photos from my portfolio and let’s talk! If you want custom photography of your favorite place or subject, I can take care of that, too.