The lights were down as the music for the slide show began to play.  The couple sat on the leather couch in my front room wondering how the portraits of their family would look.  As each image appeared on the screen I could hear them commenting with oohs and aahs  as they took in each portrait.  I had saved the best for last and I waited.  When the final photograph made its appearance the decision was made.  The mother announced, “… that she was wondering how she was going to make a decision until the last one came up.  That when I had said, ” there was “a one” I wasn’t kidding.”  Their decision time turned out to be trying to figure out which images were their second and third choices because they liked the portraits so much they wanted copies of some of the others too.  The success of this portrait started in the consultation where we discussed ideas and clothing.  I explained the importance of clothing selection and how it would make the difference in allowing me to create a professional portrait or a not-so-professional portrait.  Putting together the right mix of clothing these days is not easy.  The stores are full of bright neon colors, huge logos, stripes, and other ridiculous fads to chose from.  This family was serious about wanting a professional portrait and they were 100% successful in doing so.  The second thing we discussed in the consultation was family interests.  They were readers.  Mom asked about the possibility of bring some books along for the portrait session.  My answer was, “sure!”  although I wasn’t “sure” how I was going to make it work at the time.  But that’s OK, its part of the creative process.  You start with an idea and see where it goes.  If it doesn’t work it doesn’t work, but on the other hand the idea can take you to another place.  They also expressed the desire to create a timeless portrait that would be enjoyed for a long time which brought out my discussion on smiles and how they affect a portrait.  While most people seem to prefer large open smiles in a family portrait, the most timeless portraits are not that way.  The smiles are mute and pleasant, but not large enough to show the teeth.  That helps to guide the viewer’s eye to the eyes of the people in the portrait.  You suddenly see into the characters – the soul if you will – of the people in the portrait.  The last thing we discussed was the start time.  We were doing this in the early morning.  We had tentatively settled on 7:00am, but I asked if they would mind 6:30am.  Their willingness to sacrifice for the good of the portrait would lead to a project worthwhile.  The actual portrait session was a lot of fun.  I like to make it that way.  So much so that I forgot about the books which I was saving for last.  Mom had to remind me.  They brought two boxes full, enough so that I could stack them as props as well as have each member of the family holding one.  It turned into the best portrait of the day and a very happy client who went on to express how they had been years behind in getting a family portrait because it had never been a good experience.  But last evening at the sales session they were very please because I had captured the essence of their family in a beautiful and timeless portrait that would be enjoyed for a very long time.

Everyone is familiar with the term photogenic, but do people really know what it means and what makes a person photogenic.  Is it a person’s ability to relax in front of the camera, good posture, are are they just plain good looking   – whatever that means?  It can be a lot of things I think, but there is one overriding characteristic; a symmetric face.  Most of us have one eye a bit larger than the other, or perhaps a crooked smile, or a nose bent to on side or the other.  That’s pretty normal.  We don’t think  much about it until we get in front of a camera and see the results.  Cameras don’t hide a lot.  That’s the value in a true professional photographer.  They understand posing to the degree that they can take the rest of us ordinary folks and pose us in ways that accentuate our strengths and minimize our faults.  Lighting becomes a part of that too.  In my mind I have come to love all my clients.  Where there is love there is beauty and I see that in everyone I photograph.  To me it matters not whether someone on the posing bench is large or small, has wrinkles, or a crooked nose.  I see them for what they are inside and I do that by portraying them the best I can on the outside.  This particular young mother had a very symmetrical face and I found her to be very photogenic.  But it would not have mattered because by following the principles of good posing I would have been able to make any subject look photogenic – that is attractive in his or her portrait.  That is the are to portraiture.  Making people look good is what I do.

The year was 1979.  I was learning to fly in Air Force  T-38′s.  They are a supersonic trainer and quite the kick in the pants!  The summer before my LDS mission I had attended Air Force ROTC training camp.  They flew us to a pilot training base where I enjoyed my first ride in one of these puppies.  I remember telling my companions about taking the stick and rolling the plane over in my first aileron roll.  That was the summer of 1973.  By 1979 I was flying them solo.  Its one of those planes that looks fast just sitting on the tarmac.  I I remember flying the jet for a week or two before I got my G-suit.  The first flight with the suit caught me by surprise.  I was skirting a group of cumulus nimbus clouds rolling in and out of the valleys formed by the endless balls of cotton.  I pulled some G’s in a turn and the air filled the suit – like a blood pressure cuff – and scared me for a moment.  I quickly realized what was happening and laughed out loud for the next minute or so.  Those were good days for me.  Another time when my only worry was trying to get through the training program.  There were things happening in the world, but I didn’t seem to care as much back then.  I was just a cool dude with an airplane and loving every minute of it.  (The first photograph was made when I was in pilot training.  The second photograph was taken years earlier when I was at ROTC camp.)

Last week a client brought her oldest daughter over for some portraits.  She was turning eight-years-old and was about to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  This was a special time for the child’s mother – the first of many important events that would be taking place in the years to come.  I wanted to do better than a simple head shot on an announcement.  The first thing I did was to ask her to wait a week or so.  I had just purchased a new hand painted canvas backdrop and wanted to use it for this shoot.  I wasn’t the only one holding things up because mom delayed the shoot a few days more trying to find the right shoes!  But nothing was wasted when the day of the shoot arrived and everything came together.  First of all the backdrop photographed beautifully.  Second of all, the young model photographed beautifully, and finally the accessories photographed beautifully.  I was giddy with excitement as I went through the proofs.  It didn’t take long to pick my favorites.  There was one in particular that I selected for more artwork.  What intrigued me was the image would not only look nice in the family’s home, it could hang in any home as a piece of artwork.  We have this notion that photography must be an accurate rendition of a person that can only hang in the home of a close relative and yet we think nothing of buying paintings with complete strangers in them and hang them on the wall.  Not that we shouldn’t buy a painting with a person in it, but why not buy artwork with images of our loved ones!  Anyway – I love this rendition of this young lady sitting on the chair.  her serious expression brings out the beauty in her eyes.  The colors in the chair and the backdrop work together to simplify this image and bring your eye to the child in the portrait.   The viewer can peer into the eyes of this child and come to know more about her.  This is a portrait that is timeless in that it will be enjoyed for years to come.

It was down right cold.  With several inches of fresh snow on the ground and the canyon shrouded in fog – darn it – I was cold.  I don’t want to sound totally unprepared.  I had a long sleeve shirt on, covered with a warm sweater and a winter coat.  I had a knit cap in my pocket, but that ruins your hair for the day and all I had to do was lift my jacket hood over my head to keep  my ears warm enough.  The problem and what I always forget to solve after the fact is I needed a good pair of gloves – the kind where your fingers stick out so I can still manipulate the camera gear.  So what I always end up with is holding my freezing METAL tripod that is balanced over my shoulder as I hike with my bare hands!  Not fun!  Fortunately I’m a tough old geezer and I just keep going no matter what.  Anyway, I was so excited about the conditions I could hardly contain myself so the pain went to the back burner.  Today was a day for art and I was intent on creating some.  One of the differences between painting and photography is that when you create an oil painting, for instance, you add paint to the canvas until you have created whatever it is you intended to create.  In photography everything is in front of you and you must wade through noise and distractions to find your subject.  Rather than adding to an empty canvas you must subtract elements from the scene then in the instant of a shutter record the subject on your chip to later transfer to the canvas.  The snow that covered the park also helped to simplify the scene.  Twisted root systems that blended in with the ground the day before now stood out to me and I began to see a simple subject appearing through the snow and fog that subtracted the meaningless  from the image I saw before me.  Although there were other things  presented to me during the day I found trees to be the over all subject of the day and so it went.  Freezing, seeing, and shooting.  Repetition that brought new insight.  Experience that brings new vision.  I found myself imagining new photographs hanging on the walls of my home, how they would look, and how they would be enjoyed by others.  One of the risks of photographing a well known location is that your photographs will look like every other photograph taken there.  That is one of the reasons I don’t like shooting on sunny summer afternoons.  Standing in Zions, I was passed by a fellow with a camera who had obviously been taking pictures.  (I don’t take pictures, I create images, make photographs, but I definitely do not take pictures!)  As he passed he remarked to me, “everywhere you turn it’s a postcard!”  I thought at the time he’s right, but I’m not here to make postcards – again I want to create art.  One of the reasons I did not take many photographs while we were in Zions in the middle of the day.  The morning in Bryce is what excited me.  A chance, a simplification of the scene, something most people do not see, etc.  Creating what I want to create takes work, planning, sacrifice, seeing, and a lot of luck.  Work, because it is exhausting to haul camera equipment on your back for hours at a time as you traverse the countryside.  Planning, because you must know when to go and where to go, and what to take with you.  Sacrifice, because it takes time.  Time to learn, time to shoot, time to rise out of your bed while it is still dark and come home late at night.  Seeing, because you must learn to visualize your image and know how to pull it out of the noise and present it in a way that others have not seen.  You much follow the principles of art to give vision to your work.  Finally there is that thing called, “lady luck.”  I don’t mean the accidental shot that comes while taking thousands of pictures per hour my an amateur with a brand new digital camera.  Even a broken clock is right twice a day.  What I’m talking about is the coming together of the right elements to present your vision.  A photographer can not control the weather.  I could not make it snow.  I could only increase my chances of being there at the right time through planning – in this case watching weather reports.  Luck only favors those who are prepared, but it is luck none the less.  It is that last element that you can not control that brings everything together to help you create a masterpiece.  The fine art of photography is not easy, but it is immensely rewarding.  Bring on the cold, bring on the tired bones, bring on the chance to create beautiful works of art.

By the time we turned onto interstate 70 westbound at Salina, Utah the wind was howling.  My fingers were wrapped around the steering wheel tighter than usual making sure I didn’t leave the road with some unexpected gust.  The weather was changing and I was ready for it.  In the back seat were two cameras, a myriad of lenses, and a tripod.  I was on my way to shoot some photographs and the thought of bad weather had me excited.  Because it was spring break we had been looking for a place to go on a short vacation.  Unfortunately the weather was bad every where except Hawaii.  (It’s a little difficult to drive to Maui!)   My girls were not excited about that and chose to stay home.  No problem!  My wife and I headed out on this road trip.  I found the cheapest hotel in Panguitch to make my base of operations.  It’s not that I was looking for cheap, but the Bryce Way Inn had the best write up of all the places in town including a nice lady at the office.  They were right.  Oh – it was far from fancy, but it was clean and I had little trouble sleeping there.  That’s all I needed because I was hardly every there.  additionally, the place had WIFI so I could load images to face-book in the evening.  After checking into the hotel and the wife and I ran over to the Cowboy Smokehouse for a steak dinner.  Stuffed to the gills we drove up to Bryce Canyon to catch the sunset.  The sunset shortly after we arrived at the canyon rim, but I managed to squeeze off a few shots of the sunlight reflecting off distant rock formations as it dipped below the horizon.  Then It began to snow as I scurried to the car with gear in hand.  That was the end of day one. 

I laid in bed early in the morning thinking about day two.  Everyone said it would be raining all day.  I like changing weather for photography.  When I see  a 30% chance of rain or snow its time to head out into the wilderness.  But solid overcast is not normally that exciting.  One peak out the window and I was ready to go!  There was a bit of blue sky and a little snow on the truck. That was the ticket to a good day!  The roads up the mountain were covered with snow.  I had to force myself to slow down so we wouldn’t end up in a ditch somewhere.  Several inches of snow and fog greeted us as we parked the truck.  I was loving this.  No same old sunrise photos that everyone shoots today.  With my camera mounted on the tripod and slung over my shoulder, I wandered along the canyon rim for hours.  I couldn’t get enough as I looked for points of interest and tried to see the images around me.  It was like Christmas day at Bryce Canyon – I could not ask for more.  It didn’t last forever.  A breeze finally blew the fog out and as if by magic the entire canyon reappeared.  It was time to move on.  We certainly didn’t want to spend the entire day sitting around Panguitch waiting for sunset so we drove the hour and a half to Zion’s National Park where the temperatures where much higher and the crowds much larger.  While I did take a few photographs, the light was boring, and we were forced to ride a tour bus into the park.  I understand their reasoning, but the park service makes it all but impossible for a photographer to enjoy the freedom to shoot where the images present themselves.  Once or twice I saw a nice shot, but I was trapped at the back of a bus that would not stop until the next station.  But I digress.  Stopping for dinner at the Riverside Restaurant, we headed back to Bryce for sunset.  The snow was gone, but the temperature was chilly when I climbed back into the car to head for the hotel and the end of day two.

Day three and overcast lead to a bust.  The canyon was boring under the flat grey light and there was no sun to give color.  It’s the nature of fine art landscape photography.  You don’t know when it will be good, but you have to be there.  After yesterday I could not complain – I was thankful for what I had seen.  I felt like we had seen every season except fall – all on day two!  Part of me wanted to get home and work the images I had taken and of course there was work that had to be done for my clients.  The other part of me wanted to stay – there was another storm coming in that night and who knows what it would bring.  I was tired so the first me won out, but you can be assured I will be back.

A neighbor once told me that grandchildren are a gift from God for having to put up with children.  I don’t know if that is quite true – at least in my case.  Generally speaking I have enjoyed my children.  I suppose the biggest difference is you are not as responsible for your grandchildren.  Not to say that you don’t have to watch out for them, its just that you aren’t constantly taking care of them.  when they come over to visit – you play with them, hold them, get tired, and give them back.  To date I have four grand babies – all boys and one more on the way – another boy!  That’s just the way we are around here – we have boys!  The other day one of my daughters-in-law brought her son over so I could spend some time photographing him.  He turned a year old several weeks ago which is a great time to make some images.  I waited a bit because I had a new hand-painted background coming in and wanted to try it out on him.  I asked his mother to bring his rocking horse which I think is the greatest thing going! (I’m digressing here.) She found this thing at the local thrift shop and turned it into a work of art.  It was a cheap toy built out of 1 x 4′s or some such thing.  She split a log and fastened it to center part of the horse to “fatten” it up.  She made a leather saddle and added all kinds of details to it.  I think it is great!  Anyway we photographed my  grandson on the horse.  I also brought in one of my studio chairs that I use a lot.  I tried sitting him down, but he insisted on standing up.  I thought for sure he was going over the top, but he remained pretty stable.  (His mother was keeping a close eye on him!)  He laughed and cried and ran from one end of the studio to the other.  Patience is a tool of necessity when photographing children and my grandson was no exception to that rule.  Other tricks of the trade come into play too.  Your pride goes out the window while you are working hard to coax the perfect expression out of  a young child.  While all this is going on you must be prepared to shoot when that fleeting expression presents itself.  With children, you do not always know what that award-winning face will be.  One thing for sure, whether it be surprise, laughter, joy, or any other myriad of expression, it will be a gift for you to enjoy in a portrait for years to come.

I’m known for a bridal image where the bride is holding an assault rifle.  The photograph is very stylish, very “James Bond.”   The other day two partners in a law firm came in for a sitting.  They were updating their website and needed some business portraits.  They had found me on the web and liked my work enough to drive down from Salt Lake and have me create their portraits.  The two wanted some images together so I had to come up with something that looked good and said business partners, not husband and wife.  I’m used to doing the later so I had to step out of my box a bit.  I used the guy as an anchor, not because he was a guy, but because he had been in the business much longer.  He was also taller which created more depth in the photograph.  Next I moved the gal around her partner in various positions to enhance both the composition and interest .  I liked this image because it gives that CSI, James Bond  look without going overboard.  I tried the image out in a toned version – black and white with a hint of color.  I liked the look, but settled on desaturating the background and leaving the models in color.  It has a nice look, although the final decision will rest with my clients.  I had to be conservative in the posing because we were doing business portraits and not auditioning for a movie, but I think I accomplished a bit of both in this very business like, but interesting image.

I’ve known my friend, Charlie, for over thirty years.  To my family he’s known as Uncle Charlie, a classic in my list of friends.  We’ve always been friends and we always will be friends.  Charles, as I call him, and I are not the same, but our friendship has endured because of our respect for each other.   This week he and his family dropped in for a week long visit.  The other day Charlie and his wife asked me to photograph two of his children who are turning eight and bill be getting baptized soon.  One is their natural daughter and the other their adopted son.  It took a while to get his daughter to dress up and pose.  She’s cute as a button, but very feisty.  It took a day to get from a definite, “no” to a – can’t wait to shoot the pictures attitude.  But even though she was excited about the prospect of having a photograph taken, she still didn’t want it to take long.  After I took a couple of images of the two kids together she informed me that I could only take five more pictures.  That was it.  Her brother was a different story.  I had little trouble getting him to pose at all.  The funny thing is – he had no intention of putting his suit on until he saw his sister dressed up and watched me set up the backdrops and lighting in the studio.  Because he had been shy,  responding little to my attempts to get him to talk to me over the last few days, I was surprised when he approached me and asked if I would take his photograph too.  I was even more surprised to see him run off all excited to put his suit on.  I was very glad he did.  This seven-year-old young man was very photogenic and did well at following all of my instructions.  His images have that classic feel that I love so much.  The more I shot, the more excited I got.  Now I’m wishing “Uncle Charlie” would just leave his kids here for me to photograph.  One the other hand – I’ve gotten used to the quite of only having two kids in the house – kids who like to sit on the couch and read books all day.  Quiet is good.  But I have to say – I’ve grown to love Charlie’s kids, and he can send them up any time.  I could use someone to pose for  me whenever I want to work on a new technique.   These images are the kind that can be appreciated forever.  That is the beauty of classical photography – years from now the photographs of these kids will still be loved and as the kids grow older they will be proud of what my camera and I were able to capture.

We always want to make a good impression.  When I became captain at a major airline I was invited to a special two or three day class where, as a new captain, I was introduced to the intricacies of what happened behind the scenes to make the company work and what it took to assist me in getting my airplane and passengers safely from point A to point B.  One day the CEO was scheduled to come in and talk  to us so that morning I took the time to prepare.  I took out a nice shirt and dress pants and ironed them to the best of my ability.  I had gotten a haircut and made sure that morning every hair was in place.  I even shined my shoes!  I didn’t want in anyway to be judged as not fit to work for the company.  Off to class I went.  When the time came the CEO walked into the room, took off his suit coat, and sat on the edge of a table.  To my surprise his bright solid yellow shirt was so wrinkled I wondered if he had slept in it for a week!  Over the course of my life time I have had several opportunities to meet people I am in awe of or who are well known or important in some environment or another.  We tend to hold them up on a pedestal, forgetting that they are human just like us.  Not to say that they should not be respected for what they have accomplished, only to say that we can relax a bit and enjoy their human side.  I can remember sitting on the deck of a motor yacht watching my wife hobnob with the commander of the United Nations Forces in the Pacific, a four-star general.  Not about the military or politics, but about his home state, and family, and such.  Friday night when I was photographing Glenn Beck with various people that were in attendance that night I found myself quite relaxed.  A young couple came up with their baby who was out for the count.  Glenn found it humorous and grabbed his wife, Tania’s, hands and wrapped them around him like the mother’s arms that were wrapped around the baby.  Next he slumped over to imitate the look of the baby.  It made for a humorous and darling image that this family will always treasure.  It was Glenn Beck being himself and one of us all at the same time.  Someone told me you should treat ordinary people as stars and stars as ordinary people.  I like that because to me there are no ordinary people.  Most are not as well known as Glenn Beck, but all are stars to someone.  I had someone shoot a picture of my son and I with Glenn.  We had our arms around each other and he leaned over and asked me how I got this gig.  I just smile and said, “it’s a long story.”  He was making me feel special and I was treating him like an ordinary person – and that’s all I had to do to make a good impression.

It’s funny how you form opinions about people you don’t really know.  I’ve listened to radio talk show host Glenn Beck off and on over the years.  While I’m somewhat of a talk radio junky I have to turn it off now and then to keep from becoming depressed.   I try to keep a positive outlook on the future, but the short term realities of the news can get to me on occasion.   I believe much of what I hear  on talk radio, not because I let these guys influence my thinking, but because they mirror a lot of what I’ve been thinking for years – long before they came to town actually.   So – when I was asked to photograph a fundraiser for Chris Stewart who is running for congress and that Glenn Beck would be attending I had to say yes!  I  wondered what Glenn would be like – somewhat expecting a fiery speech about the state of the nation.  What would he say and how would I feel emotionally after the event.  I was in for quite a surprise.  When Glen and his good wife, Tania, came through the door Friday I was immediately struck with how kind and cordial he was to everyone he passed as he worked his way down the hall.  He reached out and shook my hand and I introduced my son.  He was like that to everyone.  I spent the next half hour or so photographing  donors with Glenn and Tania.  The host of the event was trying to move things along because we were on a tight schedule, but Glenn just wanted to talk to everyone who came up to have their photograph taken.  It was amazed to watch.  We were privileged to sit at the head table with Glen.   That put us in a position to listen to his stories as he talked  to folks during the meal.  After dinner we headed over to a private Christian school where Glenn was scheduled to speak.  I spent the rest of the evening photographing the event the best I could under the available lighting.  An interesting thing took place during the evening.  Here was a Mormon, Glenn Beck, talking to a large Evangelical gathering (I have no Idea what the mix of Mormons and Evangelicals was.) and I could feel the love and respect between them.  It was an incredible and moving experience.   It turned into a spiritual event that I think has somewhat changed my life.  It’s interesting how opportunities that you never dreamed of come your way.   While I was serving in the Air Force I had an chance to fly President Reagan’s ambassador, Ed Rowny into China.  I flew ransom money into Vietnam to pull out a guy who had been in prison.  My wife and I spent  time on a yacht with the UN commander in the Pacific among other things.  When I decided to go into professional photography I had know idea what it would lead to.  Yet  because of my decision to start Ted York Photography I’ve had the opportunity to meet senators, and congressmen; the Utah State Attorney General, and Governor; and now a very famous radio talk show host.   One thing I’ve learned through it all  is how you may have opinions about where a decision will take you, but in reality  you don’t really know until you get there.

This is one of those blogs that should just play music – at least if you like the blues!  Captain Len had the grand opening for his new restaurant Saturday night and it was a humdinger.  Their food is great, but on Saturday I went to hear the blues!  Len bills his joint as a man’s place, but they feed plenty of women and children, particularly on this evening.  When we entered the place the band was already set up.  Black and white images of Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, BB King, and other blues singers adorned the walls.  The smell of barbecue smoke filled the air.  I was ready for a good time – and good it was.  The band began to kick in with Captain Len singing the sad song that rocks like no other.  Great instrumentation and vocals excited my senses.  Occasionally they lightened it up with a little rock and roll, but this was a night for the blues and I was in heaven.  I took out my camera and spent some time capturing the action thinking it might be fun to do something different.  The harp player had a case full of harmonicas in every key.  He was fascinating to watch and mesmerizing to listen to.  The captain’s deep raspy singing voice was perfect for their selection of tunes.  I could close my eyes and picture myself in the bayous of Louisiana.  If you get a chance to hear these guys in action go for it.  They are the Smokin’ Blues Band and Saturday night they were smokin’ the blues.

I have to force myself to get out and create fine art images.  I love to do it, but I get caught up in the day to day requirement to create portraits for my clients and I forget that I need to get away and refresh my creativity now and then.  With that in mind I decided to do some photography on my way down to the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International convention in Las Vegas.  About 30 minutes north of Vegas there is a turnoff to a place called The Valley of Fire.  During my years of aviation I had seen the patch of red rock from the air and always wanted to check it out, but had  never done so.  This time I deliberately planned my trip to give me time to drive through the park and create a few images.  There are a couple of  problems that make fine art photography a challenge.   One is you can’t control the weather.  Another is you have to know where you want to be when the light and weather conditions are just right.  It was relatively warm when we got out of the truck to pay the entry fee.  There were a lot of high clouds and it got more cloudy as the day went on, but not bad.  Unfortunately this was my first time in the park.  My friend Mark and I  simply explored and hoped we could be in an interesting place if and when it all came together.  Did I mention there is a lot of luck involved, but hey, luck favors the prepared! The Valley of Fire turned  out to be beautiful and I found myself wishing we had more time.  We were able to create a few interesting images and enjoyed the day.  On the way home we decided to do it again.  The sky looked a lot better for colorful sunset images, we were in the area, we had to do it.  In this instance we had less time, but we had some familiarity with the park.  As we entered the park we found paparazzi stopping everywhere we stopped, photographing everything we spotted.  But that was fine.  When the sunset they were no where to be found.  Too bad, because the best was yet to come, and it came.  After the sun disappeared behind the mountains to the west we were rewarded with beautiful color in the clouds above.  The color surrounded us as it reflected to the ground.  We shot for what seemed like a long time, but in actuality, the light left as fast as it came.  My last shot was a silhouette of the mountains in front of spectacular color shooting into the sky.  I was a happy camper!   The side trip was worth the effort and I’m glad I took the time to force myself out to create landscape images for my portfolio.

A number of weeks ago a gal called me to inquire about having a portrait taken.  She told me they were older and that this would probably be the last photograph they would have taken.  They had gone to another photographer before, but were not that excited about the results and wanted something more professional. As I got to know them during their consultation it was fun to see how in love they were after 50 years of marriage.  I was also pleased to see that having a portrait taken was a priority for them.  I don’t think the image I took was for them really, although I’m sure they will enjoy it.  I think the portrait was for their nine children and who knows how many grandchildren. They are the ones who will treasure this portrait long after they are gone.  There are kids now and in the future who will have this image of their great grandparents etched in their minds.  Posterity who  have never met them will base their vision of this couple on the portrait I took.   What a blessing photography is in our lives.  (Of course it can be a curse.  I think of the early pioneers who had their photograph taken in the early days when the process was much slower.  Folks had to stay very still for a good amount of time because the emulsions on the early glass plates were not as sensitive to light and the lenses did not allow enough light in to the camera.  Often the resulting portraits were awful.)  In this day and age, with the right photographer, we can be remembered more as our loved ones see us, as a work of art.  While my clients had been to photographers before their experiences had been different.  They’re previous sittings were measured in minutes behind the camera – not the hour that I spent with them, getting to know them, rearranging props, moving lights, and changing their pose.  As a photographer and artist I’m not interested in snapshots or picture taking.  My goal when I create a portrait is to capture my clients in ways that will be loved and appreciated for years to come.  There is a difference out there.  I feel  as though I am creating a lasting memory of two fine people.  Not only their memory, but memories for generations to come.

Last fall one of the girls that accompanied me on the Senior Safari turned out to be an ice skater.  Her mother was so enthralled with some of the work I did that she hired me to photograph the entire family and has since worked to involve me with her daughter’s skating organization.  She has also talked to me on and off about photographing her daughter on the ice, a difficult proposition at best without getting the rink to myself for an hour or two.  But I’ve had some ideas in the back of my head that I wanted to try.  I’m always looking for ways to push the envelope in Portraiture and I regarded this opportunity as a chance to create an art piece my client would enjoy.  The idea required an HDR shot of the skating rink.  I also want to take her into the studio and shoot on a white background then run a composite with the HDR imaged background.  I have not had the change to photograph her in the studio yet, but last week I had a quick chance to get the HDR image.  I was down at the skating rink to run some test shots of  skaters in action for an upcoming project.  I arrived about the time the zamboni came out onto the ice after the hockey practice.  After smoothing out the ice I made my way to one end of the rink with my camera and tripod.  Once there I shot the 6 or 7 exposures need for the High Dynamic Range image before the crowd of ice skaters ventured out onto the ice for their practice.  I ran those images through Photomatix and brought the final results into Photoshop.  Anxious to try my idea out I went back to a few image I made my skater on a previous occasion.  It wasn’t ideal for the cutout due to the background I used, but it was good enough for this test project.  I thought the resulting photograph was quite nice.  This composite is part of my push into the world of art.  I would still like to get her into the studio and experiment with some different lighting and posing.  Until then I’m happy with the my effort to create beautiful and unusual portraits.

After several phone calls and a lot of questions to a particular manufacturer, I pulled out the debit card and ordered a backdrop lift system for my studio.  To tell you the truth I was pretty excited about it.  I talked to a company guy at the WPPI trade show in Vegas last spring and was just waiting for the funds to accumulate for studio equipment.  He told me about some of the various features of their product and it sounded like a good solid system.  After I made the order I had to wait for about three weeks before the UPS freight truck pulled up at my door.  Monday evening my son and I unpacked the boxes and went to work figuring out how we would hang  the roller system.  But something didn’t feel right.  I thought the motors were supposed to be inside the rollers – they weren’t.  I had a totally different picture in mind as to how the system looked.  Today I called them up to talk to them and discovered I had a different product than what I was expecting.  They thought I miss ordered, but that didn’t make sense to me because I couldn’t even see the one they sent to me in the catalog.  When I said that the gentleman on the phone went to check the original paperwork.  When he came back he had realized what happened.  The order was written up correctly, but when the gal entered it into the computer she added the letter “C” to the order and I ended up with the wrong product.  He kept apologizing, but I understood.  We are all human and things happen.  They are a good company, and I expect to do more business with them in the future.  The important thing is that they are backing up their product and making it good.  It’s not an emergency – I’m just excited to get it up and going.  I have made similar mistakes in filling out orders.  The wrong file number, or forgetting the extra print, or some such thing.  It’s embarrassing, but I always do my best to make it good.  And when it’s over I try to evaluate why I made the mistake and how I can prevent it in the future.  It’s important to me to serve my clients to the best of my ability.  I don’t want to ruin a great relationship over one little typo.

Weddings are always fun.  You never quite know what is going to happen.  My last one was no different.  It was an LDS wedding and I was waiting for the bride to come out of the temple.  While talking to the bride’s uncle I found out that her sister had forgotten her shoes.  It was freezing cold and we had to get family photographs.  Fortunately my daughter and trusty assistant had brought an extra pair.  I sent her out to the truck to get them – problem solved.  The wind was howling out of the south.  Fortunately I had planned to shoot on the north side of the building.  The temple acted as a huge wind block and saved the day!  The reception was held at The Old Meeting House, an old church that had been turned into a reception center.    My assistant and I arrived early and set up for the family group photographs.  Then I wandered around, preparing ideas for the bride and groom photographs.  I staked out several locations that I though would work well.  Unfortunately the bride and groom were 40 minutes late forcing me to adapt.  It wouldn’t have been a problem except the winter sun sets early and the light was changing rapidly.  The other problem is running up against the reception start time.  Fortunately, being prepared for the family group shots helped to give me more time for the bride and groom.  The first image is one of my favorites.  It is actually the last of the series I’ve uploaded.  I posed the bride and groom between a piano and pillars on a half wall.  The angled piano top and the wall added leading lines that brings your eye to the couple.  You can also see the reception center in the background, though it’s softness takes away the distraction it would be if it were in perfect focus.  The second image was taken out on an east facing porch in the fading light.  I would like to have had more time because I liked this location.  Even now I’m thinking of additional angles I could have exploited!  Lastly – I found an interesting door and window combination.  There were a lot of planters around so it seemed like a nice location.  This one I like in both color as well as toned so I’m showing you both so you can decide for yourself.  I’m a big fan of toned prints, but sometimes the color comes together and I enjoy that too.  We did the entire shoot in about an hour.  That left 30 minutes to shoot the family groups, but that is another story.  As a photographer and artist you would like to control everything, but that is not always possible – specially in a wedding where its not all about the photographs, and things don’t always go on schedule or as planned.  I figure my job is to make as many images as possible without interfering with the events of the day.  I want to contribute to the memories, not distract.  Being prepared takes the edges off your flow so that when things go awry you can adapt on the fly.

I’ve had some great food in the past few days!  Friday night my daughter was throwing a party at the house so my wife and I left for some peace and quiet.  We were driving out of town discussing where we should eat when we passed a new place just a couple of miles from the house called the Tangerine Tiger Cafe.  I had seen the sign, but had not paid a lot of attention to it because I’m always going through the round about – too busy steering the truck to look at signs.  We decided instantly to give it a  try.  What a pleasant surprise.  They serve sushi, and Korean rice bowls along with sandwiches and other things.  I found it fun to watch the food being prepared.  It took me back to Japan and the Japanese careful attention to detail.  There isn’t a lot of ambiance, but that makes it genuine.  (Horumono we’d say in Japanese.)  On my anniversary I go for ambiance, the rest of the time I just want to eat good food!  The Tangerine Tiger Cafe serves good food.  Of course – I like Asian food.  I had some sushi along with a rice bowl and found everything fresh and well prepared.  I’m already thinking about the chicken rice bowl I’ll be ordering next with the shitake mushrooms.   Yum!  http://tangerinetiger.com/ Saturday I photographed a wedding.  Lunch was at the Gathering Place in Gardener Village.  The roast beef was so tender I could cut it easily with my fork and the chocolate cake was out of this world.  One of the best catered meals I’ve ever had!  We finished the night with another dose of good cake at The Old Meeting house on Highland Dr.  I don’t know who was responsible for the cake, but it was really good and no one was complaining about the meal they provided either.  Of course the later two only cater special occasions, but if you like Asian cuisine I highly recommend you give the Tangerine Tiger a try.  Pull into the Texaco parking lot at the southwest corner of the round about as you drive into Alpine.  I think you will like it.

A while back I was walking through a consignment store looking for interesting pieces of furniture for my studio when I chanced upon a Brownie Hawkeye Camera, once sold by Eastman Kodak. Opening the yellow box revealed the black box that was the camera along with a flash and several unused flash bulbs.   The brownie was the first camera I ever used, dating back to elementary school so I had to have it!  Camera’s have come a long way.  If you told me back then I would one day not be using film I would not have believed you, but here I am.  The Brownie allowed anyone to take pictures and that was  a good thing.  Much history has been recorded over the years by non-photographers capturing their families on film.  It was automatic.  Load the film, push a button, and take the film to the drugstore.  Sometime later you had pictures to look at.  Cool!  If you were indoors when you took the photograph – no problem – just clip on the flash, stick in a bulb, and take the photo.  Unfortunately that flash bulb sitting in a fixture next to the lens created the worst possible light on the planet of the earth.  You see a photograph, like a painting, relies on creating the illusion of three dimension on a two dimensional medium.  To do that one has to use light and shadow in the image.  With a brownie flash there is no shadow – only light.  That results in a flat, (one dimensional) image.  Flash forward forty years.  Now we have fancy digital cameras that have an electronic flash that we can use over and over again because it doesn’t burnout when you pop it.  Unfortunately one thing hasn’t changed for the average Joe (or Jane – mostly Jane).  The flash sits next to the lens.  The Brownie was a tad bit better in that the attachment lifted the bulb several inches above the lens.  Today’s cameras put the flash about as close as they can to the lens and that is the worse place it can be.  Ever seen red eyes – that’s why!  But technology had given professionals some great options too!  My camera has the ability to trigger my flash, measure the light from that flash, and adjust the exposure all in the blink of an eye.  Best of all – the flash doesn’t even have to be attached to the camera so I can move it anywhere.  Tonight I was practicing with my Pocket Wizard radio controls – training myself to use them.  My poor daughter was sitting at the computer in the kitchen so I pressed her into service as a model.  Woopie – was the look on her face – not!  The tools were great.  I could use the shutter to adjust for the exposure for the ambient light in the room while the automation kicked in to adjust the flash exposure.  By underexposing the room a touch I was able to produce some beautiful light on her face.  You can see the light and shadow that give the image the illusion of three dimensions. This is the art of photography.

In my last blog I talked a bit about a couple of new lenses that I acquired in the last month.  I also mentioned I would be testing my new Canon 100mm 2.8 IS lens over the weekend.  It sort of happened and it sort of did not.  I didn’t get a chance to do any formal testing other than take a couple of snapshots around the house right after it arrived.  But I did get some images since then that at least show some of the versatility of the lens.  When people hear the word macro they think of getting up and close, but that is not all the lens can do.  It can take photographs of things far away too!  I’m excited to use it at a wedding this weekend, not only because it is good for all the closeup details such as the rings, and flowers, etc., but because it is also a good portrait lens.  That 85 to 300 range in the world of 35mm cameras is wonderful for capturing people.  The compression from the telephoto lens is very flattering on faces.  At large f-stops they help to simplify the image by throwing the background out of focus.   The first shot I made with the camera came when my wife told me the moon was coming up over the mountains.  I grabbed the camera, which had the 100mm Macro on it already, and went out to the front porch.  I liked the results.  The lens is very sharp!  I’m impressed.  The clarity and contrast is very nice and what I expect in a professional lens.  As you can see the lens is not just for close ups.   Monday morning I was coming back from a very early and cold walk and noticed frost on the plants out front.  I again grabbed the camera and went out to shoot some images.  I did not take the time to get a tripod – there was no time.  The sun was about to break over the mountains and I knew what that would do to the frost.  I cranked the ISO up to 1600 and began to make a few photographs.  If I had had a tripod I would have stopped down more for the depth of field which is severely lacking in close up photography.  So I hand help all the shots at about f 5.6.  While I think it helped that the lens has image stabilization It was difficult to hold the plane of focus.  I would focus on something, but any slight (And I do mean slight.) movement forward or backward would put that point back out of focus.  I managed to get some interesting images even if not optimum.  Good thing I didn’t go for the tripod because the sun rose and within minutes the frost was gone.  This is a money lens.  You can capture beautiful portraits with it.  But most interesting for me is a chance to get in close and explore a whole new world.