Here's another art gallery interior that is relaxing for me to look at. This photo is calm, quiet and suggests introspection. And yet there is a naked figure "looking'" my way. And are these "real" people sitting on the bench? Or are they reproductions of people sitting on a bench?
incidentally, the three paintings on the wall facing the camera are by Gaugin, Van Gogh and Cezanne. Paul Gaugin lived my current fantasy: he packed up his paints and moved to Tahiti to paint the native women. But I can't paint and I'm quite happy married to my native (Dutch/German/South Dakotan) woman.
Finally, if you've never been to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, where this photo was taken, you need to go.
"Fan" is derived from "fanatic" and maybe these guys serve as a good illustration. what else would make you paint yourselves like this?
These girls are members of the class of 2009, which I'm sure was a great class. Every senior class is, isn't it? This photo was taken at the Powderpuff Football Game, which is part of our homecoming ritual. The seniors won. But they always do, since cheating and bribing of the referees is allowed.
They say that there is no "I" in team, though when gymnasts perform, all of the events are solo events. It's the team total that matters, of course, and our gymnastics team has been on a roll the last few years.
This is another portrait from a session several years ago. We had started in the studio and then, late in the afternoon, headed north to the old farm I like so much. At the time I took this, the sun was about to go down and it was one of those perfect August evenings, when the temperature starts to moderate and the wind dies down to a mere hint. And the silence and the subject remind me of why I like this kind of portrait photography.
I was skeptical when this subject told me she wanted to pose for one of her senior pictures in a prom dress she had bought on eBay. But when she came out of the dressing room, I could see that this had potential. We took several poses but we liked this one best. Sitting and looking very relaxed and natural, she is surround by the ample pink folds of the gown.
This photo was taken just across from the famous Pike Street Market and just down from the famous "Original Starbucks Store." The sound of the guitar caught my ear but the three young listeners caught my eye. I was on the move so I didn't have much time but I did take three or four photos of this group. But this ended up being the best, even though you can't see the faces of the children. But that's probably OK since showing candid photos of children can get a photographer into trouble sometimes.
My mother-in-law is one of the most amazing women I know. When we travel, she can outpace the best of us. She is smart, witty and curious. I'm saying all of this not because she sees this blog (I doubt she'd like this photo), but because it is true.
I just finished teaching a short course at night called "Intro To Digital Photography." I had a great group, though I've discovered that trying to translate the process of conceiving, taking and processing a digital photo isn't easy. But teaching photography has been good for me because it has helped me objectify my hobby and break it down. My conclusion is this: taking and making a good photo is a very complex process.
This is another one of my early experiments in portraiture. Regan had come along on a photo shoot to provide company for a friend of hers I was photographing (whose pictures I can't find :-( ).
In the process of organizing my photo collection (400,000+!) I came across some of my first portrait sessions. This happens to be of a girl named Ellie and is one of my favorite portraits. I was shooting film in those days and then developing it in my makeshift darkroom. Once the negatives were ready, I used a high resolution film scanner and Photoshop to process the pictures.