7-21, Seattle

I learned a lot from my Intensive Course in Portrait Photography from the New York Institute of Photography.  I wish I could say that I learned a lot about portraiture, but I honestly feel I learned more about different styles of photography and how one person's passion can be of total disinterest to another.  In simplest terms, my advisor and I clashed....seriously clashed.  Some of his reviews were thought provoking while some were infuriating (for those of you Kings Pointers out there, think Captain Hard..... and for those of you who aren't KP almuni, his name really was Captain Hard.)  As I wandered the streets of Seattle, I thought of different comments that my advisor had made.  His life and my life are like apples and oranges.  He is a freelance photographer in Manhattan, and obviously, Parker, CO, just simply isn't New York.  Being in Seattle for a few days, I was given the opportunity to  explore a city through street photographer eyes.  (And, no, you didn't read my sentence wrong, it was a course in portrait photography, not street photography, but don't get me started on that.....)  Anyway, the below images are a tangent from my normal work, but I must admit I did like taking a walk on the other side.  And, any day I can take a walk in Seattle is a good day!!

7-18, Another year already?

Prior to our trip back home this summer, my cousin asked me if I would take some family pictures of them.   I love spending time with my family and documenting their lives as they change from year to year.  This little girl has changed so much since last summer, I could hardly believe my eyes!  Where was that little baby I'd photographed in the red wagon last year?  She grew and grew and grew and is now a beautiful little girl and not just the adorable little baby.  How I wish I could see my extended family more than just once a year.  But, for now, I love having these images of them until that next visit comes around.

7-18, Skalkaho Schoolhouse

My grandpa has been gone now for quite a few years.  Every year my birthday is bittersweet because we shared the same birthday.  On a recent visit back home this summer, my grandma informed me about the school my grandpa had attended 'back in the day'.  I'd driven by this schoolhouse many times, but I never realized my grandpa used to go there.  It was like a little gift from above that my grandma had mentioned this little tidbit of history to me.  So, we went on a field trip TO the school!   I'll leave out all the little details about the locked gate, etc, (LOL.....) and reveal this step back in time.  Sneaking up the drive and exploring this old schoolhouse was amazing.  To think of my grandfather, as a young boy, playing around the trees and running up the steps gave me a chill.  I also had to laugh when my grandma reminisced about playing around the May pole when she, too, was young (though she didn't attend school there).  Simple memories from the aging can be tremendous gifts to the younger generations.  None of us would be where we are today without the steps they took before us.

9-3, Baby Hudson

Remember the maternity session I photographed a few months back?  This cute little guy was the surprise inside!  I met him for the first time as he and mommy arrived for his three month session this week.  This little guy stole my heart in an instant.  What a sweetie!  Full of smiles and coos, Baby Hudson lit up the studio with his charm.  The session was made even more special because I got the rare opportunity to photograph baby Hudson wearing a christening gown that has been worn by every member in the family for 150 years!!  Can you imagine?  His mom explained to me how the christening gown has a 'keeper' and every time a member of the family is born, no matter where in the world they are, the gown and accompanying photo album are sent to the family.  The baby is christened in the gown and the photos are added to the album.  I'm honored that my photographs will be included in such a precious family keepsake.  Jessica, thank you for not only sharing your baby with me but your amazing family traditions as well.  It was an honor!  I'll see you in three months!!

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7-11, Flathead Lake

When I have the time, and when I think of it, I enjoy a meditation app called "Calm".  It contains guided or timed meditations with soothing sounds and a still image.  My eyes are closed when I do this meditation, so I'm not looking at their stock image.  Instead, in my mind, this is what I see.....

........ a little bit of paradise in Montana.

6-27, Rainbow Lakes

Colorado is growing on me.  With each additional exploration, I am finding things that make my heart sing.  When I'm busy and stressed, the thought of taking photos of flowers is about as inspiring as watching paint dry.  But when I'm out hiking, breathing the fresh mountain air and exploring, the very same flower photos can make me smile.  I haven't identified all the flowers that I saw over the weekend, but I was happy to finally put a face to the name of the Columbine-- how lovely!  One of the hardest challenges I face with my images is including all the 'keepers' while not being too redundant.  With the Columbine images below, I tried to show them in different ways, under different lighting and with different backgrounds.  To me, each image captures a different mood.  

This weekend's explorations targeted lakes-- some of the explorations were more successful than others.  But as you hike over logs, under branches, around moose poop while dodging rain showers, nothing makes the view from the top more spectacular.  Sometimes the path less traveled reaps the rewards (like the image below), while other times it's just easier to go along the well-beaten path to where others have discovered the beauty before you (as with the other lake images).

I have been thinking about my need for a graduated neutral density filter for my landscape photography.  This last outing solidified that wish.  So many of the images I want to make include extremely bright skies with dark foregrounds.  A graduated neutral density filter (of which there are many formats and densities) allows you to place the darker half of the filter where the sky is in the image while maintaining an accurate exposure in the foreground.  The image below is a good example of this-- the lake and rocks in the foreground are quite dark while the sky (in the original image) is almost blownout.  Thanks to the GND filter tool in Lightroom, I was able to mimic this result in post-production.  I held out as long as I could without this handy filter, but upon returning home I finally caved and called my favorite photography store (B&H Photo in NYC) and placed my order.  The exposure tolerance in digital photography is quite impressive, but sometimes it's virtually impossible to create the scene you have in your mind without the proper tools.  I can't wait to get that filter into my hands and in front of my lens(es) and see what kind of results I get.  

This is one of those flowers that I haven't been able to identify.  Anyone know what it is?

The skies here in Colorado are so amazingly blue.  Attaching a polarizing filter manipulates the sun's rays to boost the saturation in an already vivid sky.

I have a  tripod, and I also have a monopod-- I rarely carry either on hikes.  So how did I take these slow shutter speed  images of the cascading creek?  I gripped my camera against the base of a tree, turned on the back LCD on the camera, composed my shot, then released the shutter on a time delay.  I'm sure the use of a tripod would have given me more liberty with image composition and, probably, clearer focus, but using the 'tools' available to me at the time, I was was able to create images that I am pleased with.  The lush, green vegetation along the creek banks almost made me think I was in Washington.  Now that's almost the best of both worlds, isn't it?!