So I spent a day (a few weeks ago) with several women who were all about the “The Aerial Arts”. They twisted and bent for me for several hours and this is a product of me messing around in the post of some of the pictures…

I have been shooting more people lately than other things as I try to improve upon my craft. I stumbled upon this girl quite by accident and I believe that we will be shooting more in the coming months. All in all, she impresses me with her strength. If you look at the details of the pic…she has no hands on the pole. Amazing…

While in Iraq, I met this man who looked a little war-torn. He was kind enough to stop and let me snap a photo. Despite what many think, he is an expat and not an Iraqi.

So it is a Saturday Night and being the “Mr. Exciting” that I am decided to venture into dark, dramatic, duotones. I had always read about them, but was always dismissing duotones for something else that had my attention for the minute (HDR, Masking, Compositing, etc). Since my wife was out wine tasting, I had no subject but myself so decided to set up some lights and make it happen. Some people say that I have a mean face when I am angry, and I might be inclined to agree with them. I am known in the neighborhood, as the guy who is constantly saying, “GET OFF MY LAWN”.

So I apologize for the time in between posts as I have been switching gears and trying to find new avenues for my hobby. I decided to take my first baby shot, and here it is. It was a challenging effort as I had to decapitate the flowers to make the basket, the mother was slightly late, and the flowers wanted to die without their stems…the heat from the lights only made it worse..and the baby was cantankerous without clothes on ( I am too by the way).

In the end it all worked out and I am pleased with the result…there is a black and white version also and I am on the fence over which one i like…but here is the color one…

SO if you have read the “about me” section of this blog, you will remember that I talk about trying all types of photography and gave it a run this weekend when I photographed my 88 year old grandfather. This is a classic type of photography and there are subtle challenges to making a good portrait. Lighting, pose, activity, b+w vs color, depth of field,etc…and a multitude of post processing issues.

This was my go, and over all I am pleased with the result.