As my skills as a photographer have improved, I find my self looking at the world around me differently. For example, this weekend I was in Chicago for a street photography workshop given by Steve Huff. We were all standing at Crown Fountain in Millennium Park taking pictures and this couple were having their pictures taken by a professional photographer. As I stood and watched, I looked down and liked the reflection of the couple, photographer and background. Therefore, instead of taking a picture the couple I decided to focus on the reflection.
I have to admit, I didn’t come up with this one but I really like how it turned out. I wanted to get one great out of place picture or pictures that would really stick out. I found a picture of someone who took a self portrait of themselves in a old, 70’s style bathtub while wearing dress clothes.
My sister’s house is very nice and one of their spare bathrooms has a shower and tub that fits a 70’s style theme. I talked my nephew into wearing his dress clothes and getting into the water and letting me shoot a few portrait shots. Personally, I think they turned out great!
You should have seen my nephew’s eyes when I confronted him with the idea of taking pictures of him in a dress shirt, tie, and pants in the shower. I’m sure he thought I was crazy but after the shoot and post processing, he really liked how the pictures turned out.
P.S. As I said, the best is to come. In the next couple days I’ll post my favorite picture from his senior photo shoot (it again involves water and dress shirt, tie, and pants).
There’s nothing wrong with traditional portrait photography but after a while I feel like I’m seeing the same thing over and over again. That is why I asked my nephew if he would be ok with shooting some non-traditional senior pictures. He was a great sport and I felt we got many great pictures.
Both of these pictures were taken in the country near their home in Madison, Wisconsin. Madison and the surrounding country side is beautiful. It’s full of many rolling hills, with great winding roads and old barns and buildings. We walked along a hiking path and came to this wide open field and thought it would be great for a few pics with his tie, white shirt, and black slacks.
Once we were done shooting at this location we decided to drive around and we came across this old church that was built in the late 1800’s and had this old outhouse.
Both of the these pics I really like because of how out of place he is in comparison to his surroundings. I think this is what makes the pictures interesting?
P.S. You should ask him about all the wasp above his head at the outhouse some time 🙂
Recently, my wife, our baby girl, and I drove to Madison Wisconsin to visit my sister and family. My nephew Sage, who is a senior in high school asked if I would consider taking his senior pictures. My comfort level for portrait photography has significantly improved and I decided I would be up for the challenge with the exception of one stipulation, I could be creative in the pictures I take.
I have to give credit for my wife for this one. She thought a pic with Sage against a tree and an arrow above his head in the tree while going through an apple would be unique. I would have to agree with her, these pics came out very well.
P.S. The out of focus portions of both pictures is not created by post processing. I was able to do this with my 50mm Summilux.
Often, photographers are attempting to find symmetry or patterns within their environment that would be eye catching. This picture is a great example.
I was standing in the airport waiting to get on one of the trains and noticed the adjacent train sitting there. I noticed the ceiling tiles, train doors, windows, floor tiles, and even the trash can all had a similar linear pattern. I felt this would be a great place to focus on the train and hope that a subject would walk through. Fortunately, I got lucky. This man carrying a piece of paper walked right where I wanted him. I love that I caught him in mid stride because his front leg, back foot, upper torso, and paper all became symmetric with the environment. By focusing on the train, I was able to blur the subject so the viewer could get a sense of motion.
This past week I’ve been in San Diego teaching. It’s always enjoying going to this meeting because I get the opportunity to assist in teaching future surgical podiatrists. Unlike some conferences I go to, where many of the participants are there to get their CME’s (continuing medical education), these participants (residents) are eager to learn and try to grasp as much information we can give to them. I also enjoy seeing colleagues of mine who are some of the best foot and ankle surgeons in the country.
Unfortunately, even though I get to travel for these meetings I typically don’t get much time to explore, thus there are not many picture opportunities. Fortunately, last year when flying to San Diego I happen to sit next to an airline pilot, Elijah Nicolas. He and I have very similar interests and I think we spent the entire 3 hours trying to one up each other in our knowledge of technology related stuff. Since then, we have kept in contact and I had the opportunity to meet up with him for dinner last night and a quick tour of some of the popular places in downtown San Diego. Elijah has a blog,elijahnicolas.com, if you have time please visit it. Thanks Elijah for a great time and good luck in your triathlon today.
Elijah drove me to Balboa Park to see if I could find any interesting picture opportunities. The area is very cultural and has many beautiful buildings and museums, hopefully I can return some day. As we were walking towards a large fountain in the park, a couple just happened to be standing there and both decided to show their affection for one another. It immediately made me think of my wife and daughter who I haven’t seen for 4 days. I can’t wait to get home and show both of them affection. Here is a picture of that “moment” I was speaking of.
A few weeks ago we went to the Fort Wayne Taste of the Arts festival. For a small city, there were many vendors there. Unfortunately, I didn’t find a whole lot worth taking pictures of. This picture was taken while walking through the crowd with my 28 summicron. Something caught their attention.
Recently I decided to sell my Leica 21mm elmarit and move to a 28mm summicron. This decision didn’t come easily. I’ve enjoyed shooting with wide angle lenses (I had Canon 16-35mm on my full frame 5d Mark II) but have noticed recently my interest is beginning to change. As I have become more educated in photography, I’ve realized that wide angle lenses are not always the best for landscape. Wide angle lenses can flatten your image and typically have a lot of distortion. They are best, when you have something relatively close to you in the foreground and are attempting to add some depth of field. Telephoto or at least 90mm lenses are often times better for true landscape with no subjects in the foreground.
Leica 28mm summicron is still considered to be a wide angle lens but it doesn’t have any noticeable distortion. On the Leica M9 it also will allow you to use the internal viewfinder versus an external (needed for anything wider than 28mm). This lens is very popular with journalist because of its wide angle, no distortion, low light performance, and sharpness. So far i have to agree with their assessment. Hopefully soon I’ll post a few more pics using the lens.
A few days ago I drove to a small rural Catholic church. Behind the church lies a small cemetery. I captured this image using my 28mm summicron at sunset. I really like the sharpness and bokeh produced.
Continuing with my monthly series of “Our Future”, I’ve captured our baby girl at 3 months. Each time I setup for this shot, I get scared that she may not cooperate. As she has gotten older, she sleeps less, and is more in tune with her surroundings, thus it’s hard to get her to stay still for any duration of time. With this said, it’s actually been easier to get this shot.
I’ve only posted one picture from each photo shoot so far but this time I have two. Maybe you can comment which one you like best? Personally, I like her looking forward but I think her mom likes her smiling at the camera. In either case, it’s remarkable how much she has grown and how she can easily hold her head up now. Enjoy, we sure have!!!
