It's always a pleasure working with L., and even better when it's to celebrate her new life. N. and L. make such a great couple, and perfect subjects for my work, too. And did I mention they have a great temperament? Even after we got (gently) thrown out of this terrific location, we went on to make more pictures to commemorate their wedding.

L. is moving right along in her skills as a stylist and makeup artist, as well, so give me a call and lets put her to work! After a session making pictures with me and her, I'm sure you'll agree that she's an artist.

Nikon D800, 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro lens, f/4.5, 1/100s, ISO 400, Nik Color Efex 4, CS6.

Red, Gold, and Green

You know that song, right? It's a bit kookie, but it really sticks in your mind...and if you haven't seen the video--well, it's an early 80's British band, so be warned, but here you go.

What has it got to do with these colorless images I'm sharing with you here? You see, T.'s hair is hot red, and K.'s hair is blonde (gold?) and we were shooting on a beach in Oregon surrounded by the greenest greens on planet earth. "Karma Karma Karma Karma, Karma Chameleon..." See what I mean?

It was really a pleasure and an honor making pictures for these newlyweds. My wife and I were guests and photographers, so we were busy. We started by arriving early and scouting the beach to find the best place to have the ceremony; someplace with beautiful scenes and not too much noise from the surf. We built a walkway from heaps of drift wood for the bride to walk down on the way to the beach. This first image is shot on the same spot where the ceremony was performed.

Nikon D800, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @ 98mm, f/5.6, 1/320s, ISO 800, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

 A serene vista for the ceremony wasn't our only goal. We also need to find the perfect places to make portraits of the bride and groom. It's true that we're on the beach, and it's early September, but this is Oregon, not Florida: it was about 60 degrees in the sun...but there was no sun. So we needed to be ready to quickly make portraits of the bride and groom before she turned into a popsicle. Plus, there was the seafood dinner awaiting us, so we needed to shoot, you know, pronto.

Nikon D800, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @ 135mm, f/5.6, 1/320s, ISO 800, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

The bride loved this location for the lighthouse on the cliff (I think she's a Pete's Dragon fan), but she didn't know the lighthouse was closed for restoration. And in Oregon that means that it's covered top to bottom in a black tarp. Not exactly the picturesque backdrop we had imagined. Fortunately, the caretaker's house was in perfect shape and gave balance and interest to the background.

Nikon D800, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @ 180mm, f/5.6, 1/320s, ISO 800, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

Still, it's just a background, and I'm always telling my students that backgrounds don't make good pictures: good light makes good pictures. And the thing about that house back there is that it's white, and surrounded by dark green, which really makes it pop. Add to that the sun setting behind dense diffusing fog, and it was pretty dark on that beach, and the light was totally flat. Looking at people there were no harsh shadows, but there was also no direction to the light on their faces and little light in the eyes--especially K.'s eyes which are rather deeply set. Without intervention we were doomed to pose people facing the beach to try and get a little light in their eyes, which left the highway dissecting the images in the back. 

This is where off camera flash saved my bacon. For all of these images I used a Nikon SB-900 in a 24" softbox to bring definition and contrast. It was controlled using the popup flash on the D800. The great thing about the Nikon CLS is that the brightness of that SB-900 can be controlled wirelessly from a long distance (Joe McNally recently tested it to 85 ft. is full sunlight). That means my wife can be anywhere on that beach and I can make the light brighter or darker by simply pushing some buttons on the camera. It's really a powerful tool and makes the images I have in my mind's eye possible. That first image above is totally lifeless without that flash, and the one below lacks definition without the light from behind separating K. from the trees.

Nikon D800, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @ 90mm, f/5.6, 1/100s, ISO 1600, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

This image was the one I was most excited about making. While we were scouting I saw the road coming out of the trees and the tunnel like nature of the branches overhead. I knew that right at the edge of that tunnel there would be great light, like a porch that shields the light from overhead leaving a directional brightness. I balanced the flash to add a little kick from behind and positioned the couple with cheesy thoughts about roads to the future running through my mind. Anyway, it's the picture I envisioned while scouting and it's a real pleasure to be able to make something in your mind into something shareable.

The dinner was wonderful, and we had a lovely evening--even the cop who pulled me over was kind enough to let me go with a warning. I do love Oregon, and being there with loved ones, doing some picture making for loved ones, makes it more memorable even than those Culture Club lyrics.

Nikon D800, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @ 180mm, 1/110s, ISO 1600.

Finally!

Last fall O. and S. joined my class as models for an evening. We made some great pictures for them, and were eagerly awaiting their wedding to do it again. Well, yesterday I finally got to make some formals for them in their wedding garb. Always a pleasure to make pictures fro such wonderful people.

This is just a quick sneak peek...

Nikon D800, 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens @105mm, f/5.6, 1/400s, ISO 400, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

Doppelgängers

Doppelgänger means someone who looks like you. Historically, it usually meant some kind of imp who had your form and did bad things and made people think it was you doing it. For this post, we're going with the first definition.

This is Tyler and Rachel, of TAustin Photography, based in Seattle. Yep, I met them while I was there for that creativeLive workshop I attended a couple of weeks ago. Tyler and Rachel attended as models for Bambi Cantrell to demonstrate posing and lighting techniques on, and we all had a great time learning together.

So, why the doppelgängers? Cause they're just like my wife and me! (Except, I don't have that "I'm-also-a-rugged-fireman-when-I'm-not-making-pictures" look that Tyler does...)

They were married just a few years ago, but they don't really have many pictures from the day, and neither do we. For our part, we hired a guy without any vetting or shopping, thinking, perhaps, that "Pictures are pictures." When he showed up at our reception with a print of of us from earlier in the day made on typing paper and showing the two of in a closeup with my eyes closed, we realized that not all pictures are created equal.

So, Tessa and I stuck around and made more pictures for them. Tessa is a terrific ball of photographic spunk from Texas who was also attending the workshop. Click on this link to see her take on our time with Rachel and Tyler.



I really enjoyed Seattle. the weather was wonderful, and I'm told I must be a leprechaun for how lucky I was with weather--each evening when I took people out to make pictures, it was gorgeous with great sunsets every time. I'm excited to be heading back there on May 7th to present to the Seattle SMUG. If you're in town, I hope to see you then!

Still Crazy After All These Years

Photographer unknown. This was R. and I.'s original Wedding photo, and the only copy; I photographed it to preserve it for the future.

R. has been my student this last term, and he's been enthusiastic about learning photography; it's always a pleasure to have him in class. A couple of weeks ago he mentioned that he'd like to rent the studio to make some pictures for his 50th wedding anniversary. Ladies and gentlemen, I've only been married eight years, but one thing I've learned is that there is a time for self portraits, and a time for hiring the right person for the job. I suggested to Robert that perhaps I could make pictures for he and his wife; I may well have saved this marriage for one more year.

Anyway, they were wonderful. I. brought their original wedding picture from when they were married in Holland in 1962. She said that she has always loved this pose, and wanted me to recreate it if possible. Then, as we were making pictures, she mentioned that R. has a photo in his wallet that he has had there since 1963. This I had to see! Needless to say, it has probably seen better days. So, I recorded this one for them, too. 

Photographer unknown. It's been in R.'s wallet for 49 years.

Actually, I'm not really recording it for them--they've seen them, they've had them hanging in their home (or squished in his wallet) for fifty years. I'm interested in photographing their photographs so that their great-grandkids will know what they looked like!

I. told me that they have not had a professional photograph made since that day in 1962, and I'm so glad that they allowed me to  make these new images for them. I really think it's important to have the history, to have the images that show who you were--both for yourself as well as your posterity. 

Have a look at this little slideshow, and a few of my favorite images below.

                 

Nikon D7000, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens @ 82mm, f/13, 1/160s, ISO 200.

Nikon D7000, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens @ 100mm, f/13, 1/160s, ISO 200.

Nikon D7000, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens @ 78mm, f/10, 1/160s, ISO 200.

Nikon D7000, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens @ 190mm, f/10, 1/160s, ISO 200.

Good Things Come To Those Who Ask

This morning I met A. and J. briefly--they were helping one of the club members make pictures while she rented the studio. Those pictures will no doubt become some wonderful works of digital art and compilation--the gal shooting is an incredible photoshop artist. Well, when they were leaving I  asked if they would care to come back and model for a class sometime. They're a cute couple, and that could be handy for helping teach students how to work with two people together. SInce they're married, much of the awkwardness is also eliminated and chances are good that they will still be married the next time I'm looking for a couple, so I won't feel uncomfortable asking for them and finding out they broke up last month, and could you please destroy the cute pictures you made of last time we modeled for you?

So, I told them I teach classes and we're always looking for people to work with, for instance we have a class tonight, and they said they'd be happy to come sometime. Then they called me back a few minutes after they left to ask if they could come for tonight's class. I'm glad that they came! The whole class loved working with them and we made some good pictures together. Sometimes, you just need to open your mouth and ask that question even when you think the answer will be no. Didn't you learn it's rude to finish other people's sentences for them? Ask and let them reject you. The fact is, they are at least as scared to hurt your feelings, and they rarely turn you down. Go ahead: ask.

Nikon D7000, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens @ 200mm, f/3.5, 1/1250s, ISO 400.

The Best Season

Spring and Summer really are a great time to get married. Everything is new, so making a new life just fits. In this image I love that B & D are wrapped around each other and shrouded in the new blooms and fresh greens of the season. We had a great time making these pictures right before the wedding. This was great because they knew they were ready, and were actually quite relaxed before the nuptials, and didn't have to worry about managing their time between the ceremony and luncheon afterward. I really like this pattern for making wedding pictures.

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens @ 200mm, f/3.5, 1/500s, ISO 640.

An Evening Out

We had the pleasure of working with P and M during our photo class last Wednesday night, and it was fortunately warm enough to get a few pictures outside. This one is an idea brewing in my head, and i'm excited for warmer weather so I flesh it out. 

Today, with temperatures in the single digits and winds in the high double digits, is not the day to try this one again.

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens @ 125mm, f/3.5, 1/60s, ISO 1600.

Blizzard Wedding

This is about an hour before the hugest storm of the century. Pretty fun for a gal from Florida, and a guy who lives in Oklahoma.

How did they meet, anyway?

Nikon D700, 300mm f/4 lens, f/8.0, 1/400s, ISO 800. There'll be many more from this fun wedding fiasco soon.

Just One More...

I was saying that all day shooting these two...then I'd shoot ten more. It's not that I'm trying to fool them, or that I'm just not getting the picture. It's that they keep helping me make more and better portraits of themselves. Jay Maisel says that portraits are a cooperative effort between the subject and the photographer.  K. and A. were very cooperative.

Nikon D90, 70-200mm VR lens @150mm, f/8.0, 1/400s, ISO 200. 

K. & A. Forever

These two were married, today. What a fun time for them--new beginnings together, new lives together. We were sure grateful to take part in the festivities to help memorialize their first day together.

Angie Olsen of Sassafrass Photography was also helping out on this shoot, and we couldn't have done it without her. Each of these images has about five minutes of post work done--blemishes, white balance--but nothing big. The look here was created on location. Personally, I like these very much. They were good sports, too, because the clouds were not continuously cooperating. Anyway, it's all paid off here, I think.

Nikon D90, 50mm lens and 70-200mm VR lens, f/7.1, 1/4000s, 1/2500s, 1/1250s, 1/500s, ISO 200, one SB-800 and one SB-600 firing full power.

Like the Weather

I got a call Tuesday morning to shoot that afternoon. T. and K. wanted a few more portraits after their wedding day, and they needed them before moving across the country at the end of the week. A storm was rolling over the mountains with rain forecasted for the next three days. "Tonight it is!"

The storm was already picking up by the time we got together. "Cloudy weather is the best for taking pictures," everyone recites; funny, they don't mention the wind that brings the clouds. So, with darker than average clouds and gusting winds we were constantly on the move creating better light with flash lighting and reflectors. Even with the rain, we made some beautiful pictures that T. and K. were quite pleased with, and learned a few things along the way. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were beautiful, sunny days.