Posing Children

Shooting costumes for a local church pageant would be a boring session if all that was needed was this: a beautiful child/actor standing still waiting for me to click the shutter.  The catalog, requested by the youth director, would also be really boring!  

I decided to try for some personality and character by asking the models who they were.  When I did ask I realized my mistake: “I’m Sue.  That’s my brother Billy over there.” 

I changed my question to “Who do you play?” or “What is your character?” and the results were much better. 

It was easy to ask the angels “And what does an angel do….?”.   That question revealed interesting triangles when this angel showed me how she would fly. 

Hand Tinting in Photo Restoration

This photograph, produced in the 1940’s, is in a very good state of preservation because it was hidden for decades in a metal frame behind glass and behind a more recent picture.  Time and exposure to light and air have given it a noticeable yellow cast.  Another color complication is the image is a black and white print that was hand tinted.  As a result it impossible to know exactly what the original colors were.    

DRUM MAJORS

The subject of a recent senior portrait is Alex, a musician. From the start I was enthusiastic about this job because there was a good chance we would shoot a performance. When I found out he was also one of three drum majors in the marching band I knew we had a great story to tell.













His family wanted picture choices, and we began with Alex in orchestra mode, posed alone on campus with his main instrument.  Later in that session he changed into his drum major get-up and we used the football stadium as a backdrop.  It was October and this is where he “lives” in the fall.

the Western Minnesota Threshers Reunion

For three days every year the town of Rolag, MN, hosts a popular gathering of serious steam wonks called the Threshers Reunion.

Anyone interested in how technology has changed society would be drawn to this collection of working agricultural equipment from around 1840 to 1950.

Hummingbirds

Recently I had the good fortune to sit near a busy Hummingbird feeder that attracted up to 5 individuals at a time.  I took an hour away from chatting with relatives to make the pictures you see here (all are Ruby Throats). This guy probably was recently fledged, and his type constantly blusters and chirps to take a sip.  Females are usually less aggressive, have no markings or color on their cheeks or throat, and their tails are rounded instead of notched.

Lots of hungry birds gave me an opportunity to practice making bird portraits.  One note of disclosure:  the real birders would not dream of hanging out at a plastic feeder.

Creadon Woods Gallery of Art

Dennis Creadon (blue shirt and shorts on the left) and Brad Woods (White shirt and shorts center) are the two artists of Creadon Woods Gallery of Art.  Their first gallery space opened two years ago in Naples, FL.

National Center for Civil and Human Rights

The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is located in Pemberton Place, a park adjacent to Centennial Park in Atlanta, GA.  It is hard to miss the center’s unique exterior design.

The entrance lobby is a popular stop for memorable pictures beside the large collage.  You can also see the second floor mezzanine in this view.