Car Show

The weekend before last, my wife and I checked out the car show in downtown Albany. I had been to it the year before. Even though I'm not much of a car buff, I do enjoy looking at vintage and attractive cars. I don't know cars, but I know what I like. This classic Corvette caught my attention. When I was editing the picture, I decided to try it in black and white. The car is white, so you don't miss anything there, and it gives it more of a classic vintage look.

Overcast Senior Portrait

I had the pleasure of working with a very nice young lady over the weekend on her senior pictures. We shot at Monteith park and downtown Albany. We managed to avoid the rain. It was very cloudy though, which is great for diffusing light. That helps avoid harsh shadows and lights the subject more evenly. This is my favorite of the shoot. The color version is nice too, but I really like the black and white. It was shot with a very wide aperture for a nice blurred background and a reflector held just off camera to the lower right to fill in some light on her face. 

Dog Goggles

I took this picture in the back yard a few weeks ago. There was a dog next door that always became very interested in us and our two little yorkies whenever we were outside. He/she found this perfect vantage point to check us out. If I got too close to the fence, the dog would spook, run away and/or start barking. So, I shot this with a telephoto lens in less than ideal light which is why it's a bit grainy. However, I think it still works. I like that it's not overtly obvious what you're looking at, but it pops out at you after a second of viewing. The family has since moved away.

Dramatic Portait

I did a photo shoot with my lovely wife, Camille, to try some new techniques. We mostly did head shots and a few with the dogs, who seemed to want to be in every shot and yet not cooperate for the camera. That's pretty typical for Chewie and Mara. Aside from the dog shots, I got several keepers and a couple I really like. Below, is a back and white close up that I processed to give it a dramatic, classic look. There's a hint of sepia tone and fairly high contrast. It's one of my favorites from the shoot, but I've posted my top 4 in the portrait section of my portfolio. 

Focus Stacking

I did a shoot a few weeks ago where the client wanted some pictures of the family playing poker. For one shot, I had an idea to put a hand of cards up in front of the camera to give it the perspective of another player in the game. However, with the distances and lighting involved, there was no way to get both the family and the cards in focus. But, there is a technique called focus stacking that made this shot possible. I took two pictures. The first with the family in focus and the second with the cards in focus. Then, in Photoshop, I opened the first image and masked in the cards from second where they were in focus. In the final image, all of the important eliments are in sharp focus. Here's the finished shot: