Photo Blog
May 11, 2010
I have been very guilty of not keeping the blog up to date. However, we have been very busy, photographically speaking. I intend to update this more regularly with equipment reviews, portrait sessions, and other ramblings.
Here are a few images made earlier this year:
January was a quick group shot for the up and coming band Sharkweek. The wide-angle effect is a little extreme. The lights were placed as close to the guys as possible to allow the background to falloff into darkness.The low camera angle makes these guys seem even more imposing than you would expect for a heavy metal band. The shot was taken with an Olympus E3, 12-60mm lens, 2 alien bees b800's and an FL50 strobe on a light stand.
In February, I conducted testing on the Olympus 35-100mm f2.0 zoom lens. This amazing little jewel allows hand-held images to be taken in low light. Yes - this is a bat, taken in near-total darkness at the Akron Zoo:
Stay tuned for more 2010 images...
June 6, 2010
Dave and Neil Van Niekerk flash seminar
Olympus E-3 with 50mm f2.0 zuiko macro lens at f2.0 and FL-50R flash - bounced to camera left to simulate window light
Even though our wedding and portrait photography in Wadsworth, Ohio is for charitable causes, we invest in training and equipment to continually improve.
Neil is a top-notch wedding and portrait photographer in the New Jersey and New York City area. Neil has an uncanny ability to use on-camera flash and make pictures that look like they were shot in a studio.
Above is one of the first portraits I took after attending the class in Jersey City, Manhattan and Brooklyn May 24 and 25th. This is my good friend Dave. Dave was displaying a dark greenish photo on one of the social networking sites and I managed to talk him into a quick 5-minute portrait session in my kitchen. Dave was very happy with the results and I was happy that the lighting was easy to set up and the flattering results meant very little Photoshop was needed. A 30% opacity adjustment of Nik Dynamic Skin softener and a little color balance adjustment warm the skin tones is all it took.
June 11, 2010
A couple more shots from the Neil Van Niekerk seminar, here with
Precious who is a very elegant model from London.
Nikon D700 with 24-70mm f2.8 lens. Off camera flash.
Olympus E3 with 150mm f2.0 lens at f4.0,1/640s. Natural late afternoon sunlight. A subtle application of Nik dynamic skin softener and sunshine filters.
June 14, 2010
Shelley and Todd's Engagement
Todd and Shelley's wedding is coming up soon, at a beautiful
location. We really look forward to it. Shelley has a personal connection to our
fundraising efforts as she had a loved one with Type I diabetes who was taken too soon. We are honored that they picked us as their wedding photographers.
I usually recommend an engagement portrait shoot, usually just so the couple can get used to my shooting style, which is probably best described as artistically klutzy...I like people to know what they are getting into ahead of time.
7/6/10 Todd and Shelley's Wedding
Below is a link to some of the images from Todd and Shelley's Wedding
Despite predictions of 80% rain, it was a beautiful day and the rain held off until late evening.
It was a very nice ceremony - thank you guys for inviting us to be a part of your wedding day.
7/13/10 Rachel and Brad Engagement Pictures
One of our favorite activities as wedding photographers is to do an engagement portrait session. These pictures are from May - the weather was nice, and the setting around University Circle in Cleveland was very picturesque.
I love the soft natural light in the first image, it seems to convey the feeling of spring.
The second image, I think, shows their relaxed, easy going personalities and their natural affection for each other.
Here is one technical note - we added diffused off-camera flash to this image - it allowed us to place them in shade, get the harsh mid-day sun off of their faces and balance them with the brightly lit and colorful trees in the background.
The last image was taken in color, but I just noticed that the texture of the stone tile is brought out better in black and white - adding a little bit of mystery to the image.
7/27/10
Its been a sad day - I lost a friend yesterday and it hasn't fully sunken in. Today, two friends lost a parent as well.
Seeing the newness and limitless potential in a tiny child's face, somehow restores my optimism in people, in the future and in life.