Gladys, born in 1912, passed away yesterday at the age of 97. She was my father's sister and when I was growing up, we would make the trek out to Olympia, Washington, every other year to visit her. Like my aunt Betty in California, Gladys moved to the west coast from South Dakota looking for opportunity.Throughout her entire life, she was an amazing woman. She was organized, decisive, caring and deeply involved in her church. She was a driving force that even time and sickness couldn't slow down. Diagnosed with cancer in her 70s, Gladys scheduled her treatments early in the morning so they wouldn't conflict with her home visits to shut-ins and "real" sick people, as she liked to refer to them.In 2004, Deb and I visited her and we watched in amazement as she stood behind her walker in the day room of her assisted living center and, at the age of 91, danced the Charleston. We laughed and applauded.If any angel has a special place in Heaven, Gladys does. And she is no doubt entertaining all the other angels by dancing the Charleston.
people
12-07-09 Look At Me: Friends
in people
Getting a decent portrait of one person is hard enough. Photographing two people increases the challenge. Not only do you have to hope that they both look good/happy/whatever when you snap the picture but there are technical considerations. The two biggest are lighting and focus. In the studio I generally use two light sources to light the faces, though you can tell from the highlights in the eyes that the main light is to my right. Since eyes need to be sharply in focus, I coach the subjects to try to have their eyes on the same plane relative to the camera. I also use a high f-stop (8 or 11), which helps the depth of field.
Canon 1DII 1/400s f/8.0 ISO200 45mm
Look At Me: Pastels
in people
By Scott Shephard
This photo is largely "un-photoshoped." When I process a photo, I try not to take away the actual person, which is a temptation given all the things you can do with software.
This is one of my favorite portraits. I like the relaxed and natural look of my subject, Noel, but I also like the colors. The soft pink of the stone building, the pale blue of the t-shirt, and Noel's beautiful red hair go very well together.
08-13-09 Today's Our Anniversary (34th)
How are Deb and I celebrating? I'm in Minnesota at the PGA tournament with my son Brian and Deb's in Sioux Falls. How's that for romance? But she is special and I am lucky. And we will no doubt celebrate our anniversary on Friday. Will I give her an opal, which is the gift you give on your 34th? I doubt it.
Happy anniversary, Deb. You are still beautiful.
(PS: Can you see the shadowy figure reflected in her eyes? He looks alot like this guy.)
Canon 5D 1/320s f/8.0 ISO400 105mm
03-25-09 Katie & Brian
Here's another one with high sentimental value. I was asked by my recently-engaged son, Brian, to take engagement photos of him and his fiancée, Katie. Of course I said, "Yes." But I was nervous - partly because I hadn't done any studio portraiture in months and partly because I had never done any real formal portraiture of my own family. But both subjects were relaxed and easy to work with. And they were photogenic. (How could a father and future father-in-law say anything else?!)
Brian has been the subject of another post to this blog - Take A Leap (02). Some might argue that delving into a relationship and ultimately into marriage constitutes a sort of a leap of faith, as well. But as I observe Katie and Brian, I don't think this about them. Their relationship seems like the perfect mix of reason and emotion - but it's not a leap of faith.
Canon 5DII f/8.0 1/100 Canon 24-105 4.0L 88mm ISO 100
03-06-09 Helping Hand
By Scott Shephard
03-06-09-helping-hand
My nephew's new born son Ethan was only a few weeks old when we visited him for the first time. I wish all portraits were at simple as this one - both subjects were easy to pose.
I intentionally used a narrow depth of field so that most of the photo would be out of focus. I shot this in available light in Derek and Alicia's kitchen. An assistant (my wife?) held a white sheet of paper to the left of the hands to provide a little more light. I also used a soft focus action in Photoshop to make details in the photo less distinct. Finally, I applied a sepia action to the picture.
I am told that this picture has considerable meaning and symbolism but I guess I'll admit that all I was trying to do was to get Ethan's grip reflex on his father's finger.
Canon 5D f1.2 1/640 50mm 1.2L iso640