2-6, NYI Photo Project #2

The eternal nerd in me loves being a student again.  The over-achiever in me loves that I have excelled on the first two unit tests and received praise for my first two photo project submissions in my Intensive Portraiture Course.  Sometimes you just have to toot your own horn if it makes you happy, right?  All joking aside, I'm surprised to find that I am already halfway finished with my course.  The focus of the second assigned photo project was different poses.  I am including the images of the required five poses below:

"Full Face" -- straight on, both eyes and ears visible, looking straight at the camera.

"Profile" -- not much more to be said about that (except-- doesn't she have the cutest, little nose?!).

"Full Length"-- Entire body from head to toe.

"3/4 Length" -- above the knees to the top of the head

"3/4 Face" -- both eyes visible, one ear visible, one ear hidden from view
and the nose not protruding outside the line of the cheek.

So, those were my five assigned photos.  The only one I should have chosen differently was the 3/4 Face pose.  Technically, as my advisor pointed out, Emalie's head is more tilted than turned.  Perhaps the one below would have been a better submission for this requirement.  

"3/4 Face" pose

You can pretty much assume that I took more than five photos to capture the ones I felt were sufficient for submission to my advisor.  I won't admit how many I did take, but trust me it was a lot!  I enjoyed spending a sunny, spring-like afternoon with Emalie.  Emalie enjoyed having my full attention, too.  Here are some of my favorites from our time together:

Oh, what a girl... so full of laughter and love.  Such a special helper with mommy's homework!

1-30, Impromptu Emalie

I had an impromptu photo session with my daughter Emalie this morning.  She was having fun with her bear running around our empty living room which we'd just painted and I was in the process of cleaning.  I'd always wondered how the light in this room would look for portraits.  It has a large, north-facing window and a sliding glass door facing west.  In the world of studio set-up and natural light, north-facing windows are considered the best.  The light remains consistent throughout the day as the sun travels its path from sunrise to sunset with no effects of harsh, direct sunlight shining through.  Today, I finally was able to test my theory since, literally, there was a blank canvas where furniture would normally reside.  I asked Emalie to sit next to the wall in the empty space between the window and the sliding glass door.  She scooted her little bottom flat against the wall, and I took the first photo.  As in with artificial lights (flashes, strobes, etc), the light source coming from one direction caused a shadow on the other side of her head on the wall.  Cute smile, cute pose, cute bear, but I'm not a fan of the  shadow.  

I asked Emalie to move away from the wall a few feet (of course, you have to show a preschooler who has no idea of what a 'foot' is where you mean).  Keeping the same distance from the window, I shot the next photo.  As you can see, the shadow no longer falls on the wall.  However, the shadow side of Emalie's face is more prominent because we've lost some of the light coming from in front of her from the window.  She's now positioned in the middle of the length of the window, so some of the light is now falling behind her.  (Had I used a reflector in front of her, opposite the window, it would have reflected light back into her face and opened up those shadows nicely.  But, when working with a little one, had I taken the time to go get a reflector she may have decided this wasn't so much fun after all!) I prefer this second photo to the first one.

In this image, Emalie has turned her face, by her own doing, in the direction of the window.  As you can see, the shadows from the above photo are not as prominent now.  Her face is turned toward the direction of the light source (the window) providing for more even illumination.

This is what happens when you get too close to the light source-- bright lights and dark shadows.  The left side of her face is overexposed in stark contrast to the shadows of her hair on the opposite side.

This last photo is all about the fun. If you read my previous post about the fox, this follows-on with the continuous shooting concept. I fixed my focus and continuously pressed the shutter release button.  The result was a wonderful series of shots such as this one.  Each photo had a subtle difference, either in her facial expression or the placement of her hands.  Any of them would have sufficed, but given options, I was able to choose my favorite.  Every time I look at this photo, I will hear her sweet little voice saying, "I just can't stop laughing!".  And that, folks, is what it's all about!

1-29, Sly Fox

I think I have an idea for a new direction for this blog.  My followers know that I have struggled with balancing the content of this blog with the photos from my personal, family blog.  Usually, some of the photos overlap and I don't want it to be redundant for my viewers.  When I created this blog, it was an outlet to help me find my way on my photographic journey.  I am currently taking an advanced portraiture course from the New York Institute of Photography.  The idea came to me today:  use my Finding Focus blog as a way to share tips and knowledge about photography.  So, today marks the first day of posting with this in mind.  You never know when I will again alter course, so take it for what it's worth for the time-being!

Yesterday, I observed this fox that resides in our neighborhood.  I missed the unique opportunity to get photos of the fox and a cat having a stand-off, but I did capture this series instead (thankfully after the cat made an escape and went into hiding).  I have two bits of info to share with this post:  1) a series of photos can be much more informative and interesting to viewers, 2) continuous shooting can yield desirable images more frequently than a single image.  

Let's consider the first point of creating a photo series.  If I had only captured the first or last image, they would be pretty ordinary photos of a fox.  However, as you watch the momentary transition of one image to the next, you can see the 'story' unfold from beginning to end.  Now, the viewer gets a better idea of the storyline:  being sly is pretty exhausting work!  Had I only had a single image to work with, #5 would have been the best choice.  But, isn't it pretty neat to see the whole series as it unfolds?  This concept can be applied to many ideas and events.  How many times have you heard, "Oh, you just had to be there to see it"?  Well, now, don't you feel like you were almost there with me witnessing such a neat, wildlife experience?  I know I'd never seen a fox yawn before!

My second point has a technical basis.  I shot this photo from my front deck looking all the way across my yard and up the opposite hill of my neighbor's driveway.  I didn't have time to get my tripod (I'd already missed the end of the cat encounter, after all, just getting my camera out).  I quickly attached my longest lens, a 70-200 mm telephoto, and set it to 200mm.  Even with this size lens, the fox was incredibly small in the viewfinder.  (I cropped these images in Photoshop after the fact, a digital zoom, if you will.)  When shooting with such a long lens, you have to be very still and use a shutter speed fast enough to negate any handheld motion.  By shooting in a continuous mode with my finger on the shutter, I was able to freeze this momentary action into a series of photos.  Likewise, if you're shooting a stationery object, the outcome is higher for a better image if you rapid-fire.  In a portrait, a subtle change in facial expression can mean the difference between a good photo and a great photo.  Lastly, when you hand-hold the camera, odds are that some of the images my be blurry but by having a continuous blast you'll hopefully be able to find one that is sharp.  We live in a digital world, so shoot, shoot, shoot!

# 1

# 2

# 3

# 4

# 5

# 6

# 7

11-29, Maurer Family

You know you've hit the jackpot when your neighbors are more than friends, and the thought of either  of you moving just wouldn't be right.  We've moved around (....a LOT), and we've never been so fortunate to have neighbors like Mark and Dawn.  Our friendship began the first morning we were in our (empty) house.  We awoke (from our air mattress) to the sound of a humming outside.  We peered out the window to see a man snow plowing our driveway.  After coming from Maryland where we never saw the family who lived in the townhouse next door, we were amazed (and grateful!).  This was the beginning of our friendship with our next door neighbors-- a little give, a little take and always a smile with over-the-fence conversation.  We are so lucky to have this wonderful couple in our lives.   We hope they know how fortunate we feel to have created our home next to theirs, and how much we enjoy the way our lives have intertwined in the (almost) four years we have lived here in Colorado.  I was honored when Dawn asked me to photograph their family over the Thanksgiving holiday.  We enjoyed a fun afternoon with smiles and laughs as I did my best to capture the spirit of this wonderful family.  Thank you, Maurers, for the role you play in our lives and for inviting me to photograph your family.  You're beautiful-- inside and out!

11-19, And it goes on....

Well, how about that..... I've been holding off adding the text to this post because I wasn't really sure what to say.  My intention with this blog is for it to be more photography focused rather than "Isn't my little girl, cute?!" focused (but you have to admit.....).  I now, following the events of the last half hour, know what to say for this particular post:  I am once again a photography student!  There has always been a blur in my mind with the professional label.  I would have trouble saying I'm a professional anything until I know all there is about whatever subject is at hand.  Of course, you see the ridiculousness of that statement, right?  I admit, I do.  Nobody can ever know everything there is to know about a subject.  It's impossible-- especially in this technical age we live in where everything changes so fast.  So, I guess in my mind, a professional equals a perpetual student. Therefore, I'm thrilled to once again officially don the title of student.  I am enrolled in the New York Institute of Photography's Intensive Course in Portrait Photography (accredited and everything, how about that!).  I graduated from the Complete Course in Professional Photography in 2006.  I'm so excited to add another certificate to my wall (and no, I'm not kidding).  I love learning, I love exploring, I love growing.......... and I love that I'm doing it for myself.  No goals.  No reasons.  Just because I want to learn.   And, since all of my upper education has been conducted in or through NY, it only seemed fitting to go back to the school that helped me get started all those years ago.  As the intention of my Finding Focus blog has been to help me find MY focus, this chapter is on me and my continuing education.  Won't my son be absolutely stumped that I VOLUNTARILY signed up for studying and I'm PAYING for it?!  That must be insane through the eyes of a struggling middle-schooler.  I want to teach him that in life there are things you're going to have to learn and things you're going to want to learn.  I hope someday he finds his camera-equivalent and that the idea of studying will not be so burdensome.  So, as I introduce a few favorite pics from my latest session with my little girl, stay tuned as I work my way through my continuing education.  (Why is it I'm hearing a voice in my head...never a good thing to admit, I know.... saying "YOU TAWKIN' TO ME?!" LOL. Now if only I "had" to go to NY for this course would I be even more psyched!  Oh, how I love NY!).  Catch you all later. And if you're really lucky, I'll have my camera in hand.  Ha!

9-28, St. Mary's Glacier

"Let's go see the aspens!" I told my husband a few weeks ago.  'But the post title says something about a glacier' you might be thinking....yes, well, if you're along for the ride and you don't want to plan the day's outing, then you get what you get ('and you don't throw a fit,' as they say in preschool)!  This particular outing, I got a glacier and a few aspens.  I think it will become a new running joke between me and my husband......although I'm thinking he's thinking it's not a very funny joke!  I do appreciate his drive to explore our surroundings, his willingness to drive as we explore those surroundings and my desire to simply sit in the passenger seat armed with my camera.  I think he does feel a little bad that our outing was more about ice than leaves, but there's always next year's fall colors, I suppose.  I have to admit, being able to touch North America's southernmost glacier is nothing to trivialize.  But now that we've 'been there, done that', I'm still dreaming of the day I can walk a trail in a forest of aspen hearing their quaking leaves and seeing their beautiful foliage.  Maybe next year.......

"St. Mary's Lake and Glacier"

"Colorado Contrast"

"St. Mary's Glacier"

"St. Mary's Lake"

"Glowing Aspen"

"Pine/Aspen Contrast"

"Filtered Aspen"