Several years ago I was asked to do a few portfolio photos for a woman named Jill, who had modeled in her teens and early twenties and who was interested in trying to get back into the market as an "older" model. I said, "Yes" but told her that I had never done anything like that. She had worked with many photographers and told me that she would help me get the poses she needed. Needless to say, I had fun.The interesting thing about the job was that she told me that she wanted very little "photoshopping" done to her photos because a model portfolio should show potential customers what the "real" person looks like. Thus, I gave her what she wanted, though I did use a slight soft focus on this photo.Canon 1dII (?) 1/400s f/8.0 ISO200 95mm
people
05-12-12 My Favorite LATI Graduates
in people
From left to right, top to bottom, you are looking at Danine, Lexi, Sara, Kendra, Kaila, McKenzie, Ashley, Holly and Kelly. The were all students in our Photo/Media program at Lake Area Technical Institute. And, if you'll forgive me for saying it, they were my favorite nine graduates walking across the stage yesterday.Click here if you want to see more from the Lake Area Technical Institute graduation ceremony.
05-11-12 Pomp & Circumstance
in people
Having marched in, the Lake Area Technical Institute class of 2012 wait for the ceremony to begin.Canon 5DII 1/60s f/2.8 ISO1000 200mm
05-08-12 Picture-In-Picture
in people
I took this at Evie D's baptism back in February. I don't really have much else to say about it, though I suppose it is an example of how photographer's try to see and capture things that other people wouldn't.
05-03-12 Desi
Every once and a while I discover a photo I'd forgotten I had taken. Such is the case with today's portrait of Desi. This photo was taken in 2002, when I knew very little about portraiture and digital photography.What I did know was that the secret to good photography was good light. In this case, there is some ambient light in the old farm house we are in. But I was also using a Canon strobe light and a white shoot-through umbrella to my right. The beauty of this lighting set-up was that if I used aperture priority with my Canon flash, my Canon camera would meter the flash just right. It provided wonderful light that looked like window light. You wouldn't necessarily know that this is an example of flash photography. (I checked the metadata, and, if you look at the catchlight's in Desi's eyes, you can see the umbrella.)Canon 1D 1/160s f/1.8 ISO320 50mm Scott Shephard
From Another Time
in Family, people, Portrait, Uncategorized
While going through my Aunt Betty's photo collection, we came across this portrait of her sister (my aunt) Phyllis. I was struck by the beautiful, Rembrandt lighting. I also like the sepia tone of the print. I remember reading that toning was more about preservation than it was about creating an effect. Of course, it would be decades before color film would be introduced when this photo was taken - the early 1920s.Three other things strike me about this photo. First, the aspect ratio is very odd by today's standards. I have cropped this photo a bit and the original was narrow and tall. Why? I don't know. The second thing that I noticed was that Phyllis' right hand is blurred, no doubt because the photographer had to use a slow shutter speed. Old films were slow and required several second exposures. Finally, I am impressed with the perfect condition of this photo. It was properly processed and then properly preserved.Who will be looking at our photos 90 years from now and writing commentary?In my continuing effort to get more people to see my students' photos, here's another great portrait, done by Kendra Gortmaker. Her subjects are her daughter and husband and she used availably light to make this photo. Here's Kendra's web site.
Lil Ann
This is an informal portrait I took of Ann, who was a friend of my aunt Betty. Ann is 90 years old but looks, sounds and acts like she is at least 20 year's younger. You've got to love Ann. And her red Ford with vanity plates.And this photo was taken by LATI Photo/Media second year student Ashley McCormick. It was taken in one of the many famous New Orleans cemeteries. Here's Ashley's web site.
At the Zoo
in people
It was a perfect day for photographers to visit the Bramble Park Zoo in Watertown, SD. Posing with me are Lake Area Technical Institute students Megan, Ashley, Shelby and Cody.Canon 5DII 1/160s f/9.0 ISO400 40mm Scott Shephard
04-24-12 A Good Crowd On Hand
in Architecture, people
On April 23, 2012, Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown South Dakota, dedicated the glorious new student center, aka Phase 3. There were speeches, fireworks, and treats. And there was also a very good crowd, as you can see in this photo.Giving an idea of scale in a big space can be difficult. My thinking when I took this photo was that if I could frame the crowd on the first level with people standing at the railing of the second level, you would get a better sense of space. Plus, it's not bad to find elements within a scene that provide framework within a photo.Canon 5DII 1/80s f/4.0 ISO800 24mm ©Scott Shephard
Candid Camera
in people
I didn't take many photos of people while Deb and I were in California recently. But I couldn't help taking this one. The photographer was "in the zone" and seemed oblivious to my presence.The setting is in the Mexican garden at the San Diego Botanic Gardens near Carlsbad, California. If you are wondering about the brown figures, they are what I would call "plant people." They are made of metal and moss and then implanted with a variety vegetation. Here's a close-up of of the dancing couple, who are almost too camouflaged in this photo.
Mother and Child
I took several photos of Evelyn D's baptism, but I liked this one best because while the main elements of the scene are identifiable, the purest point of focus is mother Alicia's face, which is suffused with a look of love and concentration.
Of course, Evie is not an afterthought in this image, nor is her oldest brother, Ethan, who, if you ask me, has one of the best seats in the house.Incidentally, I mean no sacrilege in this comparison, but it was hard for me not to see similarities in the expressions of Michelangelo's Mary and Alicia. Though the circumstances in Michelangelo's Pieta are vastly different from those at Evie's baptism, both mothers exude a sense of calm that is striking to me.Click here to see Michelangelo's Pieta, which is housed in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Tiny Dancer
in people, Photography, Travel
I am going on my third full day in New Orleans and I still haven't found what I would called a "brilliant" photo. Nor has one found me. In analyzing this, I realized that when I'm not attending the photo conference I am at, I am more tourist than photographer. And there's a difference.The difference lies in intent, I think. I carry my camera almost everywhere but generally I am more intent on seeing things or on soaking up the culture and ambiance of New Orleans. I am not really intending on taking photos.When I go out to take photos, normally nothing else matters. Hunger, thirst and often even self disappear. And when I'm a tourist, that generally doesn't happen. And when I am in the company of people as I am at this conference, I can almost guarantee that it doesn't happen.Tomorrow is my last day here, and I will try to find the opportunity to become a photographer. Meanwhile, I am posting a photo I took near Jackson Square. Though the musicians were great, I found dancing girl especially intriguing.By the way, I have a parallel Microblog called "The Things I See" and I've posted a few of the photos I've taken in New Orleans. Go here:The Things I See