Congratulations Garrett!!!

Last Saturday I had the good fortune to spend a few hours capturing images of Garrett for his senior portfolio. Aside from being an awesome young man, Garrett also serves as Drum Major for his high school's marching band, and plays saxaphone in the jazz band. Our afternoon took us to several locations in the downtown Baton Rouge area. We began on the State Capitol grounds, and finished up after dark under the contrasty lights of the Catfish Town area.

High School graduation is a special time, and is perhaps the first milestone in a young person's life. It is also a time when parents begin to contemplate the fact that our kids are growing up...even if we cannot comprehend the speed at which that has happened. There are some major decisions to be made... Which school to attend? Career paths? What should I major in?...a time of excitment as well as uncertainty.

Congratulations Garrett, and may God bless you and your family at this exciting time in your life!

Telephoto Maximus

I try to set up goals for myself and my photography each year. This years goal was to get the equipment needed to begin experimenting with off camera flash, and to aquire a 70-200mm large aperture zoom lens. I have been exploring off camera flash for quite some time now with excellent results, and a few weeks ago I finally purchased a 70-200mm zoom. I had a two-fold reasoning behind the purchase of such an expensive lens. First and foremost, it would enable me to get better images of my youngest daughter performing on the football field with her dance team. Secondly, the large aperture combined with the long focal length would allow me to take better looking portraits by throwing the background more out of focus...especially on full length type portraits. I have had a chance to use the new lens, a Canon 70-200mm F2.8 "L" IS, on several occasions and I have to say that it is an extraordinary piece of glass. The proof, though, is in the pudding and below I have shared a couple of the captures I have made on these preliminary outings.

These Are the Days...

Our local high school held it's annual homecoming dance a few weeks ago. Breanna, my youngest daughter, allowed me to capture in photographs the early evening part of her festivities. This is a fun time for me as a father and photographer. The kids always look their best, and it is a time when even the shyest of them will allow a photo or two.

I have now had plenty of experience with high school dances. We usually begin in our own backyard, capturing photos of our own kids and their dates. Then, usually, we meet a large group of kids and their parents for photographs at some other pre-determined location. Here the kids get together for large group shots with friends, and I usually come away also with some nice candid photos from these gatherings.

Afterwards, the kids all leave for a resturant, and then on they go to the dance. The waiting begins...and if you are a parent you know exactly what I mean!

Overflowing

"Overflowing was the theme for a recent Corner Challenge at http://www.photographycorner.com/. The object was to portray overflowing in a photograph. My entry, "Suds" at left, held it's ground during the voting for a first place finish. This image represents one of only a handful of others where I have utilized multiple off-camera flash sources for light. Using the Canon STE2 transmitter to fire the flash units, I located One at camera right and one at camera left. This was a simple set up, with a 1:1 ratio on the lighting. I used a small aperture to hold as much of the texture in focus as possible. Both the bottle and the mug had spent some time in the freezer before hand to also add to that texture.

Heavy Metal

Hurricane Ike arrived this morning in Galveston. The effects here in town were limited to a bit of wind, rain, and a some limited power outages. I was in need of shooting an entry image for the Digital Sharp Shooters Challenge#8 that takes place every two weeks at http://www.dgrin.com/ . The challenge theme this go 'round is "Weathered or Polished". I had an idea about what I wanted to use as a subject when I first saw the theme. Anyone who knows me well will know that aside from people, my next favorite subject to photograph are well worn and discarded cars and trucks that are silently rusting away in their final resting places. A friend of mine is the proud owner of three late forties model Chevy trucks. One is nearly pristine, the other two are used for parts. I made a phone call to him about photographing them tommorrow, but quickly called him back when I realized that hurricane Ike had left us with some great overcast daylight.

"Nearsighted"

I shot these photos at mid day. Usually, this would have been a time of harsh undesirable lighting. Today, however, I was treated to the giant softbox effect photographers love about overcast skies. This results in softer shadows, and nice even lighting. There were a few breaks in the cloud cover that I had to wait through. Luckily, though, the wind was still brisk enough to make those breaks short in duration.

"Diamond in the Rough"

I haven't decided for sure exactly which image I will use for the contest. Having such an affinity for these old relics as I have makes it tough for me to eliminate a choice. For now I have chosen the image below, "American Pie", though I am not sure that I will use that title. Trey, the owner of this truck, is lucky to have the chance to breath life back into at least one of the three that he owns. He has offered, and I have accepted, the opportunity to use them as I wish as backdrops for portraits. I can't wait, and hope that when that day comes the light will be as great as it was today.

"American Pie"

Up To the Minute...

For the last few weeks, I have been involved in several small photo competitions. The first is at www.photographycorner.com . In this competition the theme was "silloutte". I entered a photo that I had captured at a recent wedding in Gulf Shores, Alabama. My efforts produced a first place win in my first competition on that website.

"The Honeymooners"

The second competition I was involved with is at www.dgrin.com . Here I had qualified for this quarterly challenge with a photograph taken several months ago. This quarterly "Mega" challenge was made up of photographers who placed in the top 5 in votes for the photographs they entered in the qualifying rounds. The theme here was "The Elements". I chose to enter an image that was built in several steps, a layered composite. It followed a very basic and literal interpretation of the theme. When the final scoring ended, it had done well with the judges, but not well enough to win. Maybe next time!

"Tungsten No.74"