Ted York Photography

The Timeless Portrait.

TedYork — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:13:47 +0000

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.

Photogenic People

TedYork — Tue, 15 May 2012 01:45:01 +0000

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.

Another Time

TedYork — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:45:40 +0000

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.)

Portraiture Can Be Art Too.

TedYork — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:14:34 +0000

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.

The Fine Art of Photography

TedYork — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 19:57:12 +0000

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.

Changing Weather

TedYork — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 17:56:46 +0000

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.

The Gift of a Grandchild

TedYork — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:48:32 +0000

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.

Salt Lake CSI

TedYork — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:47:36 +0000

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.

The Classics

TedYork — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:51:17 +0000

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.

Making an Impression

TedYork — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 20:51:04 +0000

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.