Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day
April 21st, 2019
Next Sunday April 28 is Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day.
I try every year to do a pinhole photo on that day and upload it to the website.
Since I’ve been working with a pinhole on my micro 4/3 cameras making pinhole photos is much easier. The viewfinder works, so I can see what I’m getting. And the high-ISO quality is good enough that I can often just hand-hold the camera. The meter in the camera works, so I can get the correct exposure. Very different from the old days when you usually were guessing about pretty much everything. I like it better this way.
Another advantage of the method is that the exposure times are usually sort enough that taking photos of people is a reasonable thing to do. This photo is my submission from two years ago. I did use a tripod for this one, but it is a single exposure, not a double exposure as you might suspect at first. I just had Ayn hold still at first and then move quickly and hold still in the second position during a fairly long exposure.
Daisy In The Park
April 19th, 2019
More photos of Daisy Von at one of my favorite local waterfalls.
I’ve photographed at this spot many times with many models. I gave Daisy the challenge to find some new poses for the spot.
I think she did an excellent job of working the location and making her poses fit with the background.
And she did a great job at all the other spots we tried. More to come in the next post.
Pinhole Day Is Coming Soon
April 15th, 2019
It’s time for a reminder that Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day is less than two weeks away. Get your pinhole cameras ready and take part in this fun event on Sunday, April 28.
Woodland Daisy
April 8th, 2019
This was my first shoot with a new model, Daisy Von. She contacted me about doing a shoot and I am very happy that I said yes and we made it happen.
It was a good day to be outside, so we headed to some of my favorite local spots just as the sun was coming up.
The sun has been a problem ever since digital photography came onto the scene. Until recently digital cameras couldn’t really handle the contrast range created by direct sunlight. That is no longer so much of a problem with my Panasonic GX8 cameras.
Add a beautiful, talented model like Daisy into the woods at daybreak and some delightful photos are possible, even with the sun out in a cloudless sky. That wasn’t the case just a few years ago…just one camera ago, in fact. The old Nikon D7000 couldn’t have handled this light nearly as well.
There’s lots more to come from this shoot with Daisy.
More From Vermont
March 25th, 2019
In addition to Ayn I also worked with a local Vermont model while I was on this shoot. Chrystal Hutchins did a great job and we got some fine photos both with her and with her and Ayn together.
This waterfall was really lovely.
And that’s it for this shoot.
Ayn and the Green Mountain State
March 18th, 2019
Some photos from a great road-trip shoot with Ayn in Vermont.
Vermont is an incredibly beautiful state. It’s hard to miss with the lovely landscapes everywhere.
Add a great model like Ayn and results are pretty much guaranteed.
More to come from this trip.
Testing…testing…
March 7th, 2019
These photos were a test. Angie agreed to help me try out a new lens I’d just gotten.
I’ve been hunting for a good soft-focus lens for my Micro 4/3 cameras. I have an old single-element lens that I’ve used for many years that is just about perfect. It’s Nikon mount, but can be easily adapted to Micro 4/3. But, it’s a 100mm lens. That worked well on full-frame Nikons. It was manageable on crop-sensor Nikons where the effective focal length was 150mm. But on Micro 4/3 it is effectively a 200mm…and that’s just a little too long for most of what I want to shoot with it.
I heard of some cheap lenses used for surveillance cameras that were sharp stopped down, but get softer as they are opened up to their maximum f/1.4. I got a couple of them to give them a try. These are the results.
My verdict is: close, but no cigar. These lenses are ok, but they aren’t going to produce the soft results with the kind of highlights that I’m looking for.
Angie, on the other hand, is definitely wonderful, as she always is. Thanks Angie!
French PHOTO Strikes Again
February 28th, 2019
Once again one of my photos has been selected as a winner in the annual contest sponsored by French PHOTO magazine. I’ve lost track, but I think this may be about the 18th time I’ve had a winner in this contest. The magazine claims that it’s the largest photo contest in the world, with around 50,000 entries each year, so I’m always very pleased when I win.
That’s the winning photo above. The model is the lovely Angie who has been working with me almost (but not quite) as long as I’ve been entering this contest. She remains one of the most beautiful models I’ve ever worked with.
My good friend Dave Rudin found the magazine with the winners and sent me this snap shot of my photo in the magazine:
Mr. Rudin was also a winner this year. Here’s his snap shot of his winner:
Variations on a Place
February 23rd, 2019
I did several photos of Areia at this one spot at Starved Rock State Park.
I found the different feel of these interesting, so instead of just picking one, I decided to share the series with you.
I guess the one above is the “classic” photo with Areia in a pose.
But I really like the “in between” photos better. They seem more alive and real.
And, of course, being that it was a hot day, Areia just had to get wet.
A Favorite Model in a Favorite Place
February 20th, 2019
Starved Rock State Park, not far from Chicago, is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places in the US, if not the world. I love visiting and shooting there. It’s always a bit of a workout. There are steps, sometimes wood, sometimes carved out of the stone, that lead down into the canyons. As they like to say, “140 steps down, 280 up.”
Working at Starved Rock is made even better because I’ve often been able to work with one of my favorite models, and one of the nicest people I know, Areia. This was one of those times.
We had a lot of fun hiking around and looking for new places where we hadn’t already shot. I’ve worked at Starved Rock enough times that finding new spots to shoot is beginning to become a challenge. But I think I’ll keep going back. Things are always changing in places like this.
Even the same spots can produce new photos when you see them with new eyes and your model is talented and beautiful and works to find interesting poses.
Or sometimes it is just a great place for a portrait.
More to come from this shoot.
