Baroque

So I've been doing a lot of shooting for Baroque.  Every first Friday at Liberties- 2nd and Fairmount.  It's been kind of cool to have a steady gig, working with a bunch of my friends.  That's got to be the best part.  It's been a lot of fun having this team of guys that all work together to throw an awesome shindig.  If you're in Philly on a Friday night, you should come out!

Nothing super special about this picture, I just liked it.  So there ya have it.

Finally all signed up for classes at Temple this fall.  I think I can complete the degree in two years- maybe three.  We'll see how it goes.  This is going to be a very challenging next little chunk of life, but I'm excited to see where it takes me.  Photojournalism, here I come!

Short one tonight, guys.  Hope you're all well.

Awe and Wonder

My niece was being especially cute yesterday during a rainstorm and I couldn't help but break out the camera.  I got a ton of shots that I really loved- she was really hamming it up!

Maybe my mom has a point about my work, though, because as much as I loved the ones where she was smiling, laughing, showing off, my favorite shot is the one where she's simply sitting close to Mommy, looking up at the rain.

The shot has an element of melancholy to it and maybe it comes off as 'dark' because of that, but I look at this photo and see so much wonder and vast imagination in her little face.  I wish I knew what she was thinking just then.  Whether she was thinking about the rain- how beautiful it can be.  I can't wait until she grows up- she's going to be such an amazing young lady some day.

Take Two

Sorry guys, just couldn't resist posting another shot from yesterday with Grace.  I can't help it, I just love the way these pictures turned out!

It's always nice working with someone who has a natural affinity for the camera.  I felt like we were working together on this- like we were both interested in creating something.  A good model understands that they are there to be a part of the creation of art.  I mean yeah, you can just stand there and I can move you until you look the way I want, but it's nice when you understand how to just... be part of the picture.  She was really wonderful to shoot with.

That's all for now.  =)

Grace B.

Wow.  I had such an amazing shoot today with Grace.  It's been a while since I've been this excited about a shoot, but we got some really fantastic photos!

We got some stuff done for my Scar Project as well as some really beautiful headshots.  She hasn't been modeling very long but she has a natural comfort with the camera that is really hard to teach.  It was so much fun working with her.

A lot has been happening in my little world!  I'm moving to a new apartment in a month- this one has grass and trees and is two blocks from two different parks.  Yay, it's almost like not living in the city!

So, if you want to see more photos from the shoot with Grace, go ahead and check out my myspace or my facebook.  Feel free to add me on either, as well!

Have a wonderful day, everyone.  I did!

Honesty

If there's one thing I never get tired of, it's photographing my nieces.  They are by far my favorite subjects.  They're very expressive- some of the looks they come up with have me wondering why they aren't Baby GAP models!

I like working with them for a lot of reasons.  A teacher I had once told me the worst compliment you can get on a photograph of a child is that it's 'cute'.  Well, of course it's cute- babies are hard-pressed to be anything else (frustrating, yes, but ugly?  That takes finesse).  To get a photograph of a baby being something more than 'cute' is the real challenge.  Alyssa has such intensely blue eyes and such a dramatic personality, I am constantly running for my camera when I'm with her.

I want to get the shot that tells a story.  I know there are twenty other people in the room with point-and-shoot cameras who will get the 'cute' shot, and that's important.  Everyone wants cute pictures from their childhood.  And certainly I take those, as well.  But my favorites are the ones where there's something more.  Something deeper.  Emotions they probably don't even fully understand yet.

I guess, I want to try to capture all aspects of reality.  The happy and the sad.  The hopeful and the forlorn.  Everything we feel, from birth to death.  Maybe that's the photojournalist in me?  I just... want to show things the way they really are.  No crazy set-up, no contrived facade, just... people captured honestly.

Making do.

Today is the family reunion, and it's raining.  Well, if I've gotten good at anything, I'd like to think it's making do with what I've got.  I almost never use professional lighting- I depend largely on sunlight and what's available in my settings.  The photo I took here was in a poorly lit bedroom with sea-green walls and piles of clothes.

When I'm not having fun with my digital-manipulations, I do try to avoid excess altering.  I don't mean lighting and color- I fiddle with those a lot, but I almost never add or remove objects from the original shot.

With this one, obviously I did a lot of work.  I took out the piles of clothes and shelves to her right, I changed the color of the wall and a few other little things.

I doubt I'll be doing all that with the pictures I take today- probably just color correction.  We'll see how it goes.