Movie Star Quality

Matthew has that irresistible off-hand shrug that is so appealing. I shot this very late in the day with the light at his back; note the light along his shoulders and the back of his neck. I used my digital off-camera flash to illuminate his face. To blur the background, putting the focus on the subject, I backed up and zoomed in with my 70-300mm telephoto lens. The results? Tree leaves that look like soft sparkling orbs of light. 1/60; f-5.0.

Rembrandt

This was taken against one of the out buildings on the Bellemeade Mansion's campus. The lighting style created by the small upside-down triangle of light and the surrounding shadows on the left side of Matthew's face is known as a "Rembrandt." I shot this using my 70-300mm telephoto lens. 1/100; f-5.6.

Matthew

This is Matthew, a young actor and model. We were shooting his head shots on the grounds of the Bellemeade Mansion in West Nashville. I used my Sony 70-300mm telephoto lens, backed up and zoomed in, so as to blur the background. It was late in the day, and the sun was behind the subject, so I used my Sony detachable flash to brighten his face. 1/100; f-5.6.

Zoe

I thought I'd share a photo of my cat with you. Her name is Zoe. She likes small spaces. I shot this using my Sony off-camera digital flash. 1/60; f-5.6.

Nuzzling

Julio and Rebeca are obviously having some fun. Who says rubbing noses is just for Eskimos? Notice the green background is blurred like a watercolor; that's due to the wide open aperture. 1/125; f-5.6.

Loungin' in the Grass

Rebeca plays to the camera as a glamorous beauty. Again, I used my 70-300mm telephoto lens, backed up, and opened up wide, to blur the background, and focus totally on the subject. This was shot in an open field in broad light. 1/125; f-4.5.

Mexican Beauty

Rebeca is from Mexico City. She has the most exotic features and beautiful golden skin. The camera loves her. I photographed her, using my Sony telephoto lens, backing up and opening up the aperture, so as to blur the background until it was completely out of focus. This way, you only focus on her beautiful face and captivating smile. 1/100; f-5.0.

Lovers in Spring

This photograph was taken at Ellington Agricultural Center in Nashville. This lovely couple is from Mexico, and they speak broken English, which made my job of photographic direction very interesting and challenging. Mostly through demonstration, we were able to communicate beautifully. The sun had just gone behind the clouds when I started to shoot, so I placed them in the open field, shooting in what is called broad light. 1/100; f-5.6.

Debra

This portrait of a beautiful lady, was taken at Vanderbilt Peabody Campus. The sun was just going down behind the trees, giving her skin an amber glow. I used my telephoto lens, backed up a considerable distance, and employed a low aperture setting to blur the background, so as not to distract from the subject. 1/320; f-5.6.

Burnin' Down the House

This was a fun shot I took at the Nashville State Community College Department of Culinary Arts. I just happened to be in the right place when they were firing up the Cherries Jubilee.
I was only using my on-camera flash, and the lighting in the kitchen was fairly low, so I used a tripod to accommodate the slow shutter speed. 1/10; f-4.5.

Girl With the Hat

This is Yvette. She doesn't speak English and I don't speak Spanish. Yet, somehow I was able to give her directions, and she followed along with me. I shot her very late in the afternoon, with the sun at her back. An assistant was holding a white reflective board to her right, and I bounced my flash off of it, so there would be no harsh flash on her face. 1/60; f-5.0.

Red Pump

I just thought I throw you guys a curve ball, and drop in this shoe. I consider it a work of art. I shot this shoe in the studio with ambient light and a very long exposure; then I dropped out the background in Photoshop. 5.o s; f-22.

Singing Angel

I'm so amazed at the sweetness and pureness of this child's singing efforts. Her eyes are so full of innocence as she focuses on her music director in this shot. 1/125; f-6.1.

Wide-Eyed Innocence

This child's wide-eyed innocence just spoke to my camera lens. Again, I used my 75-300mm telephoto lens to capture this close-up. 1/125; f-5.6.

Shepherd Boy

Another image of a sweet child . What can I say? It tells its own story. 1/125; f-5.6.

Shepherd King

I shot pictures at my church's children's pageant this past Sunday. Children make such beautiful candid subjects! This little boy tugged at my heartstrings in such a tender way; I found myself crying as I was shooting. I used my 75-300mm telephoto lens and Sony off-camera flash for this and subsequent shots. 1/125; f-5.6.

Dappled Light

The last in the series of outbuildings from Clover Bottom in Hermitage, Tennessee. I especially love how the dappled light plays against the old, misshapen siding on this house. 1/125; f-7.1.

This is another section of one of the out buildings at Clover Bottom. I was taken with the unusual blue color and the rutty red. The dappled amber light contrasted with the shadows from the trees and various objects. To me, this shows how you can find beauty in anything. Once again, it's all about the light. 1/500; f-5.6.

Window in the Light

This is a close-up of the same out building on the Clover Bottom estate. I love this old broken-out window, but I especially love the way the dappled light is hitting the siding on the building. Light is everything when it comes to photography! 1/200; f-7.1.

Little House on the Green

I couldn't resist. I had to go back to Clover Bottom Mansion, and shoot the out buildings in the back acreage. In a way, they are more beautiful and interesting to me than the mansion. I shot this late in the day, around 5:45 p.m., when the sun was very brilliant, as far as lighting the house, but low in the sky. 1/320; f-8.

White Blades in Blue

This is the other view of the Rotary Club Sundial in Hermitage. The 5 p.m. sun is facing the blades. I'm shooting this photograph on laying on my back. 1/320; f-9.0.

Two Blades

This is also the Rotary Club Sundial at the Hermitage Public Library. I shot the tips of the blades facing into the sun late in the day – almost 5 p.m. The sun was relatively low in the sky and over the right blade. Notice how the white paint now looks gray, because it's in the shadow of the sun. 1/320; f-9.

Red, White and Sky

This image is of the Rotary Club Sundial at the Hermitage Public Library. It's only one half the sundial. If you have ever driven past this interesting sculpture, you know that, from one perspective it appears to be one piece, then it separates into two pieces, then it becomes one piece again! It's really quite ingenious! I shot this lying on my back. 1/320; f-9.0.

Balcony on the Diagonal

Phew! I'm finally back in! So sorry I haven't blogged in days, but I was locked out of my own blog! Anyway, back to the business at hand...this is the front balcony of the Clover Bottom Mansion in Donelson, right on the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee. These beautiful curvaceous rungs go on forever. (See the full shot of the mansion from two days earlier.)

1/200; f-9.0

This is a close-up of one of the front windows in the Clover Bottom Mansion. The window panes are reflecting the many trees located in the expansive front yard of the property. I shot this with my 75-300mm telephoto lens. 1/500; f-5.6.

Clover Bottom Mansion

I was driving down Donelson Pike in Nashville yesterday, all set to photograph a white fence, when I found this jewel beyond the white fence. Clover Bottom Mansion is now the State of Tennessee Historical Preservation Office. I shot this with my 18-70mm zoom. Close-ups of the facade to come. 1/500; f-8.

Silver Pegs

The last in the series from the Cumberland River Pedestrian Bridge, Silver Pegs is an extreme close-up of one of the towers, taken with a 75-300mm telephoto lens. I love the distress marks on the paint and the drop shadow on each peg. 1/400; f-14.

Slice of Silver

This is another image from my Saturday shoot at the Cumberland River Pedestrian Bridge. I really love this one because the focal point is off-center, making for a more interesting shot. The thin white clouds moving very swiftly over a perfectly blue sky were so dramatic! Again, I used a 75-300mm telephoto lens. 1/320; f-14.

Spencer at Bridge

Spencer was engrossed in watching me shoot the Cumberland River Pedestrian Bridge. I asked if I could take his picture and he said, "Sure!" I love a willing subject. I focused in on his face, reset my aperture on my telephoto lens, from f-13 to f-6.3, in order to blur the background. The sun was behind a cloud, so I didn't get hard light on his face, which would have created dark shadows. Instead, I got nice soft shadowing and contours. 1/320; f-6.3.

Skyward Cable

This photograph was also taken Saturday morning at the Cumberland River Pedestrian Bridge. I used a 75-300mm telephoto lens to get this shot. 1/320; f9.0

Tower in the Blue

This morning I went back to the Cumberland River Pedestrian Bridge. What a difference! It was 10 a.m., and the morning light was crisp and shining right on the towers. Instead of looking black and dingy, the bridge looked shiny and silver. It was very windy and hard to keep my camera steady without a tripod. I used the railings to anchor my forearm as best I could. This was shot with a 75-300mm telephoto lens. Sony A100: 1/320; f14.

New Expanse

This is the Cumberland River Pedestrian Bridge being constructed over the Cumberland River near Two Rivers Parkway in Nashville. I took this on Friday, April 11, at around 6 p.m. The sun was relatively low in the sky and kept peaking in and out of clouds. I shot this with a 75-300mm telephoto lens. Sony A-100: 1/800; f7.1.

Yellow Carpet

This image consists of two photographs, one inside the other, assembled in Adobe Photoshop. The inner photo has a drop shadow applied to it, to give it some depth. Both picts were taken at Seven Oaks Park in Nashville, when there was little available sunlight. Sony A100, 1/400; f5.6.

Redbud Spring

The rosebuds are in full bloom. I got out at 9 a.m., in hopes of catching their pink beauties when the morning sun was shining. Morning sun is more diffused and softer than noon or afternoon sun. Unfortunately, the sun was behind the clouds most of the time, and when it was out, there was a thin haze in the sky at all times. So, I was mostly shooting in broad light. I shoot almost exclusively in RAW, and, when you shoot in RAW, it's amazing how you can bring up the color and even add light, once you're back in the digital darkroom. Shot with Sony A-100, 1/1000; f5.6.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

This is my very first post. Sunday was absolutely gorgeous! The sky was that shade of sapphire blue that we rarely see any other time but in early spring. Unfortunately, the pollen was flying, too. Nonetheless, it was an exceptionally beautiful day, a day made for taking pictures.
Dillon, my 16-year-old son, had promised he would make a small excursion with me to a neighborhood park, to let me shoot pictures of him. I had guaranteed him that they would be cool and artistic, and if he wanted to take on a dark and moody countenance in them, he could. Anything to get pictures of him. But, he reneged at the last moment. It just was not cool for a mom to be taking her teenage son's pictures. No way!
I was hell-bent on shooting that day, after what seemed like an eternity of gray days and endless rain, but time was running out and I need to get back to church for a meeting. That's how I wound up shooting our children's church playground. The bright colors were irresistible, and the late afternoon was reflecting off the curves and corners of the various odd shapes.
I had my real fun, though, in Photoshop, when I melded three of the photos together into one image, a digital collage of primary colors, light and shadow.