Turning Test Shots Into Portraits

When I traveled back to Virginia I ended up in a city park to take photos of a childhood friend and her mother, but this blog is not about that photo session. Instead I am writing about the test shots that came before the actual session. I will often show up to a new location in advance and try a few different vistas. lighting scenarios or lenses.

My mother, sister and nephew were with me so I was able to use them as guinea pigs. There are cases where I have had to photograph myself in various spots but that is much more difficult to do with a remote control and tripod. My sister is a few years older than me, but that did not stop her from scampering up a tree. She was pretty high up there. I thought about throwing her a banana. Her son, Tyler soon joined her.

I had several cameras with me and believe or not, my pocket camera had a faster frame-per-second rate so I used it to snap Tyler jumping out of the tree.

I was keen to check my 70-200 lens since I thought that there might be a focusing issue. 

I created tight portraits and checked the eyes to confirm that the lens is tack sharp.

Though reluctant, Tyler did allow me to move him to different settings and snap away.

This kid is getting taller by the minute.

Lastly, my Mom who is more difficult to photograph than Bigfoot, sat still for a 1/2 second... just long enough to steal a single frame. I already know that she will hate it, but I don't. This is how I think of my Mom... surrounded by light.

Soon the real subjects showed up and the job began, but having help developing my modus operandi was excellent.

Bruce Munro's Light in the Garden Show in Atlanta's Botanical Garden

Last week I got a last minute invitation from an old pal of mine. He said that he would be touring the Bruce Munro "Light in the Garden" installation in Atlanta's Botanical Garden. His date fell through and he was going solo. I grabbed a pocket camera and hit the door...

Photo by Scott Dorman

Having a pocket camera does 2 things. One, it prevents people from saying "You can't bring that big camera in here" and it also frees me from obsessing over the photos. I used to shoot things just for fun so the limitations of the gear make is a no stress situation.

The images in this blog were created with the Canon S100 which is the size of a deck of cards. Grain... yeah, we got it. Crazy chromatic aberrations? Sure... we got those too. But, it also captured some of the color that I was seeing in the light sculptures that were lit entirely by miles of fiber optic cable... just like those fiber optic displays from the 1970s... but on a massive scale.

These towers were made of the same oval shape twisted and extruded. 

Did I mention is was pitch black while my eyes adjusted... 

These vantage points are identical but you can see how the colors changed over time.

My compadre, Mr. d

It was an unusually clear night with low haze.

I decided that I would love one in my back yard.

A longer exposure revealed some tennis courts right beyond the tree line.

 The last installation reminded us of the science fiction movie Avatar, and looked like Pandora, the fictional alien planet in the film.

The fiber optic "roots" connected everything together and added to the illusion of glowing organic plants.

See how quickly they can change? Now multiply that effect by thousands and you start to get an idea of the immensity of the show.

One thing is for sure... seeing art like this with your own eyes is something you should not  miss should you ever get a last minute call. However, you will have to do it somewhere else. The Atlanta show is officially over.

Family and Baby Portrait Session Moved Inside Due to Rain

It's been another year and it was time to update the Caponi family photos. The kids are growing up fast so it is important to catch them before they become teenagers. Outside was rainy and gross so we moved the photoshoot inside for different styles of portraits.

Little Michael is a beautiful bouncing baby boy. Look at those huge eye and reddish-blonde hair!

Michael's grandparents are from the Gulf Shores so the shirt is a nod to them. He is already standing, and at the current rate of growth, he will probably be running his first half-marathon next year.

Jason is a wonderful Dad, but you can see that he literally has his hands full.

Just the boys of the family pose for portrait.

Alessandra is such a beautiful little lady. Here are two similar photos. I just changed the background and modified the poses to provide more choices for the parents. 

Look at that smile with all her front teeth which is not always the case with kids her age.

Alessandra had been taking tap lessons so we wanted a photo of her outfit before she outgrows it.

Here she is showing off a very special gift that her Nonna gave her. Nona was her grandmother who absolutely adored her. I have rarely seen such a close connection between 2 people of different generations. You can read more about Nonna here.

I think she is a natural in front of the camera.

Here she is wearing her Sunday dress. I'm just crazy about this little girl.

And here she is monkeying around for the camera.

Baby Michael has so many expressions and most of them hilarious. His smile lights up the room and would melt even the most Scrooge-like grump.

Another portrait of the men of the house. I like to make comparison photos when kids are so small. Here you can see that Michael's feet are not even as big as one of Dad's fingers.

A revealing "behind-the-scenes" look shows that the photo shoot was a group effort. Even big sis was helping Michael find his smile. Mom was over my shoulder making all kinds of funny sounds to get the kids' attention. Considering that shooting indoors was PLAN B, everything worked out fine.

A Quick Journey to Asheville, North Carolina

This summer I took a quick 3 day weekend to meet up with my wife and her twin sister's family. I left the heavy cameras at home and took a "point and shoot".  Here are some of the images from that fun time.

I took the Subaru on the road trip and it performed flawlessly in the scary storm that was so bad the radio recommended taking shelter. I think a Subi counts as shelter, right?

The twins sisters. It was strange to see another copy o my wife.

We hit the arts district which is loaded with many great sights to see.

We had some fun taking multiple exposures...

I must be strange... I like this defocused image I accidentally made.

Can I say "Pretty as a picture?" here?

My niece in her athletic glasses. Her regular ones got broken.

My nephew who has grown into a nice young man.

Jenny and I returned to our favorite stairwell for some selfies.

A great family friend kept things lively.

Despite the camera being a cheapy, it captured some vibrant scenery.

We spent much of the time in the ultra-modern rental house on the side of the mountain. It looked like a futuristic movie set... and it had 2 bears who visited. See Asheville bear video here.

There was time to just relax too.

The clouds were spectacular one night.

And a final sunset group photo and we left the next morning.

This would be a great family tradition...