Help-Portrait- Photographers giving

Our community of photographers just finished the local rendition of a World-Wide movement Called Help-Portrait. On December 12th 2009 portrait photographers all over the world gathered in their communities to photograph families and individuals that otherwise might never have a nicely made portrait of themselves. Here in Fort Collins about 15 photographers and another 15 or so volunteers joined together at Every Day Joe's Coffee House and spent the day making pictures. 8x10 prints will be provided to all the familes that came out to enjoy a small part of their day with us. Giving back feels good, and as a bonus, friendships have been made within the photographic community. I teamed up with Brent Yoder (Capturesqe Photography) from 8 to 1:30. When I left for another commitment, Matt Dickstein (duke PHOTO) took my place with Brent to finish out the day till 5:30 PM. I want to thank Brent for his long day of hard work. Thank you to Sarah Boyd (PHOTO DENOVO) for organizing the Fort Collins event, and for managing a herd of photog's throughout the day.

Father and Daughter

For some years we've been invited to make portraits at an annual Father Daughter event. Dad's spend an evening with their daughter making crafts, playing games and such. A hectic adult world plays against simple time with your kids. Here's Dad's chance. A few days after, he receives a nice portrait with his little girl. One for their family history. How often does a dad get a portrait with his daughter? Some opt not to sit for a portrait. I can't imagine. The discounted price $10. I... can't imagine.

Some of the years past, the organizers wanted to do the background and propping. Other years they leave it to me. I usually go for a clean and simple portrait letting their clothing or costumes represent the theme of the year. This year I put a bit of our relationship style in, to provide something more treasured. I ended up conceding on my B&W standard for this, as we have no control over the clothing-some themed and some quite colorful- I instead opted for color photographs.

I used an old Ed Pierce signature Westcott halo as a main light camera left (which covered me with silver glitter - the silver inside is flaking away). A ringlight for fill, a striplight for a little rim from high and behind subjects camera right, and a studio strobe behind the subjects for a background light.

Some of these families I've photographed for years, the girls change while their dads stay the same, the nature of youth. Children grow up. Become young women. Go to college. Get a job. These portraits are the memories of their sweet youth.

Fireman - Explorer

I had a High School Senior consultation a few days ago with a mother and her son. The consultation appointment is important to the success of the photo session. We visit to get to know one another. I ask the Senior about what they're envolved in, what they do for fun, plans after High School, etc. Then we develop a plan for their senior session. At this meeting Michael told me of his plan to become a Fireman. He's currently in the Fire Department Explorer Program. The lightbulb above went on, and exciting ideas started flowing through my head. I asked him if he would like a few photographs with his fire gear and he agreed to bring it along on our scheduled photo session.

The Fire Explorer program prepares teenagers with training and participation. They go on calls with Firemen, assisting with some tasks both in the station and on calls. Gives them a leg-up on the career when they get out of school. After high school Michael is headed to college and a degree in Fire Science.

Near the end of our session he donned his gear and we made a few photographs that were really fun. My assistant Garrett and Michael's mom helped shape the light and here you see the result. The background was under exposed and a shoot thru umbrella with portable strobe was used as a Main light camera left. A portable strobe with a warm gel and no other modifier was aimed at the subject from behind and to camera left for an edge. In post I darkend the foreground and background and Micheal is lookin' cool man.

MotoPortrait

Moto-Portraits have become a large segment of our Lifestyle Photography. In September we made a Biker portrait at a local motorcycle hang-out here in Fort Collins, Colorado. The FTC Coffee House. I've written about this shop before here and here. A nice family motorcycle themed place to enjoy your coffee or stop for lunch. They have a Bike Night every Thursday. Being part of their Thursday night crowed, I offered a Bike Night photo session as a raffle prize. They loved the idea and here you see the result.

I wanted to capture the evening atmosphere, so on the night of the shoot we waited till after sunset. I found the owners of particular bikes and had them park in a row behind the subject bike. I had them turn on their lights, making a nice background. This combined with the incandescent lights coming out from the shop, and a large red L.E.D. sign out of the picture background camera left (casting a red hue on the building), really made the mood of the shot. The exposure was set based on the continuous light on the background. I lit the subject and front of the bike with a medium soft box and portable strobe from camera right. Light was added to the motorcycle from a gridded strip light with portable strobe from low camera Left. A large panel was held over the strip light (by the Biker's mom and a friend, Thanks!) to keep light off the rider but still on the lower half of the motorcycle. Test shots were made, strobe power was adjusted, and we made our shot.

The in camera capture was very close to the end result. In post, I darkened the foreground which was too bright from the strip box, and darkened a couple headlight reflections on the block wall. We got a neon look to the shot and a 20x30 canvas is hanging on the wall of the Coffee House. The winner of the raffle now has something he'd likely never have had done. He loves it. His family loves it. His kids and grand kids will love it. That's what I'm her for.

Dark Shadows

Todays post is a departure from my usual. I'm a member of a local photography group that meets occasionally in various locations to shoot, or just gather at a local Bar & Grill to talk photography with other like minded photonuts (our spouses can only take so much). It was arranged for us to get inside the more than 100 year old Feed & Grain building in Loveland, Colorado. I've shot outside the building a few times (see Nov, 21 '08 post) and was really curious to get inside. These are just a few of the photographs I made. The building is really dark and spooky inside with only a few areas lit by a single bulb here and there, and as I felt my way around, I kept thinking I was in a teen-terror movie. Without a tripod, I kept leaning on walls and beams, bracing my Nikon against anything I could for the long exposures. When we exited the building, I found my black camera bag (and much of me) was near white from all the dusty surfaces. Next time I'll be sure to have a tripod - There were many cool features I couldn't capture without one... like all those cool rope and pulley man elevators that were in the dark.

It's not the camera, it's the photographer.

On a recent weekend trip my son and I were at the hot springs pool in Saratoga Wyoming late in the evening. I noted my son's attention kept turning toward an attractive girl there with her family. The light was real low and moody, and I saw a great photo opportunity.

To make the picture I had in mind - I used what I had, an old point and shoot Nikon ActionTouch waterproof film camera I brought for the river paddling we were there to enjoy. I set the focus, locked an exposure bias, carefully composed and braced the camera on a side bench, and squeezed the shutter. On our return home I had to wait for the lab like the old days. When I picked it up - Bingo! Just as I visioned. I scanned the print. Opened it in photoshop and adjusted the contrast and sharpened it a bit. The slow shutter speed combined with the characteristics of film give this shot a painterly look. Like George Peppard used to say... I love it when a plan comes together.

People often say to me "That's a really nice camera". It's not the camera, it's the photographer.

Longboard

Making photographs with High School Seniors can be a lot of fun. I like to work their lifestyle into the images we make. Linebacker, Videogamer, Kayaker, or Longboarder, Their interests captured in a few photos adds excitement to the session, and some great memories. And later in life their children and grandchildren will love them when discovered. I made these photographs with Annie after meeting with her and discussing cool ideas for her senior portraits. A big thanks to her mom and sister who were there to help me shape the light.

Evening Ride

This was a valentine gift from he husband. I drove out to their home on a warm evening in the spring for the consult. We discussed ideas and locations, deciding on a nearby property with a classic red barn we would use as background and a tree for shade and framing. The plan was to wait until late May when the Tree was in full green, but it never happened. The tree was dead, so on to plan B - a sunset shoot along the foothills near their home. Sometimes plan B is better! Thanks goes to my assistant Garrett for maintaining light placement as the horse was moving around a bit. And to Robin's husband who ran interference keeping Molly in position and from knocking the lights (and Garrett) over. We lit with post sunset on the background, Large Octabox and portable Strobe as main, camera left, And a und modified strobe behind and to camera right of the horse. It was a pleasure photographing Robin who was all smiles enjoying the whole experience. Molly was mostly tolerant only showing her impatience near the end by pawing at the ground. This horse was easier to work with than most, Thanks Molly. Once back at the studio I darkend the foreground from flash spill, touched up Robins shirt, and applied a slight vignette.

BookMed

Paige has always loved books. She wants to be a Writer. Her 6th grade teacher, noting her writing abilities, asked for a future autographed copy of her first book (Wow!). She's headed for college and an English major. Stacks of books fill her room. I wanted to make a photograph telling of this part of her life and future.

The mosquito's were after us, but a can of "OFF" made the session tolerable as we raced the sunset before the sky became black. I lit her with three lights. The main light a Quantum T2 with a shoot through umbrella on a boom stand from camera right placing the light nearly above the camera/subject axis. Two studio strobes on a battery pack behind her and out of the picture camera right and left as kicker lights. In post I darkened the grass from strobe spill and softened her skin a bit. Packing up was a chore in the darkness. I now keep a flashlight in my bag. This was a self assignment. If you have a idea you want to get out, don't wait for a client to sell the idea, just go out and do it!

Hand made jewelry

So, Valentines day was getting real close and I was mulling over gift ideas for my wife and daughter. The day before "V-day" I heard a suggestion to check out a local jewelry designer, and realized this could be just the ticket. I went to her hand made jewelry shop that afternoon. The designer, Cathy Green, guided me through here numerous creations helping me make my selection from among the many on display. I even bought a third piece for a future holiday. I carefully viewed all the styles and settled on an oriental piece for my daughter (she's fascinated with other cultures), and a lasso style necklace of pink stones for my wife. These gifts were a hit and I was the hero that day! During the course of all this Cathy asked if I would make some promotional photographs for her. So a few weeks later we got together with a couple beautiful young models and made some images. If you want your sweetheart to beam (like mine did), check out this designer in Fort Collins, Colorado (970) 407-1487. The name of here business? Jewelry Inspired by the Wonderment of Life.

Timberline Edge

The church I attend has added a service to it's list of venue's with a little more POW! The Timberline Edge. Lights, smoke, faster beat to the music. They asked me to make some photographs that would convey the feeling of this new worship experience.

Photographing musicians is fun for me. Probably because Id like to be one of them, but I've discovered, sadly I'm best as an appreciator and not a participator. Timberline church has grown from 200 people in the mid 80's to over 5000 people now. I've been part of this congregation since I was born in the ... um... somewhere in the 60's. In those days we went to church twice on Sundays, and Wednesday and Thursday nights. I remember every Sunday at 6PM a television show I loved was on (The Wonderful World of Disney). I would watch until torn away at 6:35 to go to church. As a little kid, I was always sad to miss half that show. I remember praying that Mom and Dad would decide to skip church, and I could finish the program (Yeah... cause' that happened like once every year or two). Sometimes it would get to be 6:40 and hope would rise... but then I'd hear the call. Funny how kids think. I did enjoy Sunday night church though, and going out with friends afterward. That was always more fun than that final half hour of Disney.

Valentine Ball 2009

We were invited again this year to photograph couples at a Valentine Ball. The last few years the dance band has been Swing Essence. They have such a smooth sound, great to listen to as we work. The dancing gets better every year. I think some couples take lessons with this event in mind.

Maybe we'll take some lessons and enjoy a late dance or two next year. I'll have to call our local Dancer Guy Studio. Swing Essence is a popular band for weddings here in Northern Colorado. I made a quick group photo during a set break, and pitched a personal project for my Musician Series to Kevin Karreck the Band leader.

The MC of the Ball did some fun giveaways as tradition. Trips to Europe, New cars, Etc. (he says), but I think the gift bags have more token gifts like a massage for two or a gift card to Bed Bath and beyond and such. It's a lot of laughs. We had a nice Valentine's evening again this year.

Full Throttle Coffee House

In a previous blog post I wrote about a local coffee shop that I frequent. Last fall the shop's owner closed up and moved away. Josh and Amy Ratzlaff reopened the location with a new name... Full Throttle Coffee House. They continue with the motorcyclist theme and warm cozy ambiance. One change they made is bringing you the best pork chili smothered burrito I've ever had. Simple and delicious. I recently caught myself there for lunch 3 days in a row (day 4 I stopped myself, though I don't know why). I made these photographs as a thank you for displaying a few pieces of my Motography work on their walls (motorcycle/car enthusiast portraiture). I wanted them to have a nice portrait as well as something for promotion/advertising if needed. They show the warm and friendly atmosphere you'll experience when you stop by for coffee or lunch. Donuts, Ice cream and frozen drinks are offered as well. They have a specialty energy drink called the "Throttle-Bomb" which is fun. Stop by and give-em' a try! Like me, you may find yourself driving south when your hungry.

Katie at the park

I love it when a client takes me to a new location. It expands my thinking. Katie wanted this playground for her senior pictures. Her mother and I were sceptical but accommodating. I'm glad we did because for me, these are some of the best of the season. Not your typical setting, and I love them. It took some creative light control and I'm jazzed with the result. Because Katie has a black belt, I wanted one to show a little feminine toughness which you can see in the 2nd photograph. Thanks Katie for broadening my locational horizons.

Logan

I asked Logan if there was anything specific she would like. Something with a more dramatic look was what she said. This is what we came up with. She's an aspiring actress, and already has a film offer in the works. This is my favorite from our shoot together.

Old Town afternoon with Amy

Where I live we have a nice old downtown with shops and restaurants. It's a great place for Saturday shopping or evenings out on the town. Concerts are in the old town square every Thursday night during the summer months. The city and business associations have done many projects to restore and maintain the buildings as or similar to what they were originally. But my favorite parts as a photographer are the back alleys where things are a little less polished. If a Senior wants an old town look, I'm all for an afternoon downtown. Below is a sample of an afternoon with Amy for her Senior year.