We Can't Forget! Each Memorial Day and Veterans Day is more poignant to me as I get older. The world seems more complex and dangerous than ever before. Can you say you have a friend that would give the ultimate gift to you in a life and death situation.. someone that would willingly lay down his life for you?  I can say maybe one or two possibly.Yet our soldiers do just that every day all day... when we're working, playing and even sleeping. We thank you with all our hearts for the sacrifices you make day in and day out on our behalf. Those of you who have died for me and my family and those who are willing, we won't ever forget you!The young man is my nephew Nick now serving in Korea. The older gentleman will remain anonymous as he remembers his fellow soldiers who never came home. … [Read more...]

When you have to figure out a way to make it work.Our group of six just returned after five intensive days in Haiti. While it's good to be back, part of me wishes I could stay to do more. Resources are few and needs are many.On our last night Melissa, one of the volunteers, asked me if I could shoot a portrait of her and Owens,  a local boy who she has known and gotten close to over the years of her serving there. Honestly I didn't know if I should do the portrait for one reason: there was no light! It was dark already and the few electric lights available were barely enough to just get around in the dark.  Using a flash on camera would have given terrible results in this situation. Wanting to to help Melissa I had one option; to use the small battery LED lantern I had purchased at Walmart for $8 the previous week. As I got thinking; for its size, it did put out a considerable amount of light and it was color balanced to daylight. It was surely worth a try. With Nicky as my assistant … [Read more...]

As we go through life, a lot of things change. Not just our physical looks, but our attitudes about life and what is important. When I got started in this business, I belonged to several professional organizations. These organizations set certain standards; and one of them was to create our best work and compete with other photographers both locally and nationally.  This was really fun for me because I would consistently win or score very well in competitions. Winning consistently was a big part of my receiving my Masters and Craftsmen Degrees from the PPA Professional Photographers of America at such an early age in terms of years of membership. The photograph above represents the last portion of awards that were deposited to the dumpster this week. I do this not out of disrespect for the accomplishments, but as a reminder that this part of my life is behind me. All in all, I think it's good to be in the throws of competition. It makes us sharper, better skilled and brings … [Read more...]

When we consider retouching on a photograph, I see it differently that most clients and even other photographers. It's one of the things that separates me from the rest, good or bad. I was in conversation with another photographer from a different state recently. Looking on her website I noticed that her portraits looked a bit unfinished. Yes, the zits were gone, but other than that I could not see any sort of extra retouching or enhancements. She told me she goes for the "natural look," which I can respect. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just her style. And quite frankly, she does quite well with it. My own style dictates that post production in a portrait is just as important as the capture of the image. It's also part of the creativity that makes what I do a lot of fun, and makes me unique. While the photo on the left is lovely on it's own, the photo on the right is my interpretation of this girl. It was "my take on it." Other photographers may have left it at its … [Read more...]

The short answer is that one is not better than the other. Smiles are expected. No smiles are not. It just depends on what you want to say in the portrait. In a family group I think smiles are important otherwise people can look unfriendly or unhappy. However, if I'm going for a little attitude in that portrait I'll definitely go for NO smiles. The non-smiling portraits in these examples won "hands down" with me and the parents. Non smiling doesn't always mean "having attitude" as in the examples. A neutral expression or slight smile without showing teeth can be the way to go.  When people don't smile big, they usually don't squint. If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then your more soulful portraits are not smiling! … [Read more...]

In 2001 I told my partner Savannah that I think this digital thing is going to catch on. The time also coincided when the doctor report came back and found unsafe amounts of silver in my blood. The 20 plus years of printing black and white photographs had caught up with me. From that point on, the world as I knew it turned upside down. Some photographers didn't want to make the switch to digital. They finally relented or went out of business. The learning curve is huge and when people get set in their ways, change is difficult. The talk on the street in the photography community was that going digital would free up a lot of our time and it would finally be possible to do other things. I don't know if I should laugh or cry, but nothing could have  been further from the truth. The Pros When we look at the image above, comprised of seven separate images, I know this could not have been accomplished without great expense without digital, and my excitement for the digital platform … [Read more...]