Olivia headshots

I do not do a lot of headshots, but they are still fun. (Headshots, like when they are intended for modeling or acting.) For the person in front of the camera, skill is required to create meaningful changes in their expression. This is a lot harder, and subtler than my normal portraits. From a photographers perspective, every little detail counts and lighting needs to flatter based on the subject. I tried 2 different lighting configurations: (1) clamshell (or butterfly) with a soft box centered overhead and a fill below, (2) for the last shot below, I used a traditional soft box to the side, and then added in a soft side light to accentuate the hair. It was a lot of fun to try new things and work with Olivia to get what she wanted.

Seniors 2022

Fall is always a fun time of year; one reason is that it is senior portraits season. This year started off with a new location; the gardens and architecture of Epic Systems. Epic is a software company with a $1million budget just for landscaping, that is not including all the fun architecture...it is like Disneyland.

A couple others took advantage of the many parks and prairies here in Madison.

Lou and Nikki

My wife and I have known Lou and his daughter Abby for many years, they was part of our bible study almost a decade ago and we have stayed in touch since. So when Lou asked me to photograph his wedding to Nikki, I jumped at the chance. Seeing how nervous he was before the first look was so much fun (in a friend sort of way) and seeing how his daughter has embraced Nikki was heart warming. (You can see it in her speech in the second to last image.) This is why I love photographing weddings of people I know, you get a front row seat to all the behind the scened emotions that are rampant throughout the day.

Congratulation all!

running after light to fend off the mosquitoes

Over the weekend, I found myself able to head out with my camera at dusk. Since my big fancy camera is in the shop, I ended up walking around with just my x100s point and shoot and an extra battery in my pocket. After about 20 feet into the woods I realized I should have brought one other piece of gear...bug spray. I ended up chasing the light as I was running from the mosquitoes. About an hour later, I realized I forgot another piece of gear...a compass. I was glad I did think to bring a flashlight though.

Shooting film - because it is better

I have been shooting a single role of medium format film for the past 8 months. (Kodak TMax 400, 120 film, for those that want to know.) Here are all 15 exposures on that role of film.

This all started during a long e-mail conversation with a friend of my dads. at some point in the conversation, I mentioned how I have always loved the look of medium format slides that we have in our work archives. A couple weeks later, an entire Mamiya 645 1000s kit (4 lenses too!) showed up at my door. 

Shooting film has been a lesson in the basics. Not as much exposure, but intentionally. I really think about shots before I hit the shutter. not just because each frame costs money, but of how much work it takes to get that frame back.

And that is why film is better. I never said at what, mind you. At least for me, film is better at making me think about the frames I am getting, and to be supper intentional about the shutter release.

Film is not better at image quality, I will say that. In fact, I used a digital camera to digitize these images (more on that later) but what it is better at (from a quality stand point) is dynamic range (more on that later too).

I made a huge mistake here at the end. I was unaware that i had to seal the film once it was done. I was puzzled that there was nothing to seal the film after it was on the spool. I found out later that i had to lick a flap of paper to activate the glue (think mailing envelope) to keep the spool tight. i did not do this. Therefore, there was substantial light leakage at the end here. But to be honest, i thought i would have lost a lot more than I did. Also there are odd Kodak watermarks through the images...not sure if that is the film developer (therefore not my fault0 or if it is another side effect of the sealing failure on my part.

Why is it "Better"? Not because of the quality of the images, but the experience. It forces me to slow down, and only take the images I really think will work. 

15 hour layover

On a recent trip for work, guess where I had a 15 hour layover?

Dubai is like Los Vegas...without the debauchery.

And the mall that I visited was 3 times bigger than the one I am used to here at home. And that is just one of the 4 floors.

After 15 days of foreign food (that was good by the way) I was craving something more familiar.

I think the next time I am there I will have to try and find the indoor ski resort. But just walking around and taking in the sites was enough for one evening.