Tolman Ethan: Newborn Photos

Earlier this summer, I had the honor of photographing our family's first baby—my "nephew", Tolman. I put "nephew" in quotation marks because he's my cousin's son, but we're close enough that I fully intend to earn my "aunt" title!

I'm admittedly biased, but he's just perfect—healthy, happy, strong, curious, and content. I'm so happy for this new family, and I was truly honored that they would ask me to photograph this momentous milestone in their lives.

325/365 Looking up, literally

Here's a slightly different take on the Look Up theme this week. Instead of an upward perspective through the lens of the camera, it's a self-portrait of me looking upward.

(That hat on my head has been a regular feature this winter, and it doesn't look like that will be changing any time soon. I'm definitely ready for the time to come when I can stash my winter gear in the closet.)

I made this photo using a tripod that was extended so that the lens was right at my eye level when standing, and I used a remote trigger to focus. I bounced a flash off the ceiling to camera left.

Here's a tip if you're ever trying a self-portrait (with a fairly large lens): use the front of the lens (or filter, in this case) like a mirror. My reflection off that flat surface is handy in figuring out where you need to stand for composition and focus!

Camera: Canon 40D with 430EX Speedlite, 1/125s, f/5.6 at ISO 320

233/365 Available blank canvas

Time for a new self-portrait.

I vowed to practice this technique more this year, since I have a willing model with a schedule that fits mine quite well. And if you haven't noticed, this year is quickly approaching its end.

I find focusing correctly to be one of the biggest challenges in self-portraiture. Yes, I can put an inanimate object in the frame on which I can focus, then move it when I'm ready -- but depending on the setting, it's hard to get something at the right height and position to do so.

So it's a bit of a guessing game. Trial and error. Thank goodness for digital cameras.

For this one, I used a wall in my house, near the front door. That wall will eventually be adorned with a collage of photos and art, but for now, it's a smooth, blank backdrop. Fluorescent lights are casting a shadow on the wall, and I also used my hot-shoe flash bounced off the ceiling. And a tripod, of course.

Fun to do -- but I still have years of practicing to do.

Camera: Canon 40D with 430EX Speedlite, 1/50s, f/5.6 at ISO 500

217/365 Ouch

I have one very reliable indicator that fall has arrived: my hands.

Each year at this time, when the moisture gets sucked out of the atmosphere and taken down to Florida with all the snow birds, my hands dry out over night.

You see it first on my knuckles and along the top of my whole thumb. First, they lose their softness, instead becoming rough and scratchy. At the next stage, they turn red and rather shriveled. And finally, small cracks form and they bleed. It's really annoying, and it hurts.

And I have yet to find a lotion or cream or remedy or spell that will cure this curse on my hands. I've tried dozens of brands from dozens of recommendations, but nothing really helps.I even have to resort to piling on a thick cream at bed time and sleeping in cotton gloves. It works for about six hours after waking, and then I'm pretty much back in the same painful boat.

It's that time of year again.

Camera: Canon 40D with 60mm macro lens and 430EX Speedlite, 1/125s, f/3.2 at ISO 500

208/365 Lightning-fast portraits

Today's pink-themed post is a photo of my beautiful mother. And yes, the pink item is indeed another article of clothing. But at least this time it didn't come out of my closet!

Mom needed a quick headshot for use in her church's new directory. Because of her recovery from her riding injury, she didn't feel up to going and sitting for a studio-type shot, so she told them her daughter was a photographer and would take care of it.

(I have the urge to insert evil laughter here. Why is that?)

Sunday was a beautiful day (though chilly), so we ran outside and did a super-quick photo with the light of the setting sun. I think it lights her beautifully.

And thanks to Chase for making her laugh behind me. I enjoy happy photos.

Camera: Canon 40D, 1/60s, f/5.6 at ISO 800 at about 6:30 p.m.

117/365 Sneak Peek Part 2 -- Kelly & Matt's Engagement

Kelly, Matt and I met for Part 2 of their engagement shoot on Friday evening. And boy, did we luck out with the weather! The high topped out in the 70s, very unusual for July, and the overcast skies acted as a big, wonderful diffuser. I couldn't have asked for better conditions.

We had lots of fun walking around campus, shooting in various settings that are recognizable to any Butler alumni or student. It brought back a lot of memories.

This shot of their clasped hands came by special request on their part. They're very active in their support of cancer research, and it's a passion that they share as a couple.

Kelly and Matt are glowing in their happiness together, and I was completely honored to have the chance to try to capture just a bit of that in a photo.

As I work on their proofs, I'll give you a bigger look at their shoot(s) in the coming weeks!

Camera: Canon 40D, 1/250s, f/2.8 at ISO 200 and 1/125s, f/5.6 at ISO 500 at about 6:00 p.m. under cloudy skies.

109/365 Sneak Peek - Kelly & Matt's Engagement

Kelly and I know each other from our days on the ballroom dance team at Butler University. I haven't seen her in several years, so I was surprised -- and completely honored -- when she emailed me, asking if I'd shoot her engagement photos.

It didn't take me long to respond, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

She said she and her fiancé, Matt, have been following along with SightSalad and wanted to support a fellow BU alumna. How in the world could anyone turn that down?

I asked them a series of questions to find out more about how they relate to one another and what they had in mind for their photos, and Matt said his dream would be to have a photo of them sitting at center court in Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Well, let's see what we can do about that!

We met for Part 1 of our session at Hinkle last night, and we're planning to head back to campus on Saturday for more outdoor photos. (Cross your fingers that the weather holds out.)

You get a sneak peek today, with one of my favorites from the Hinkle series. And yes, they are indeed at center court. Stay tuned for more shots in the days to come!

Camera: Canon 40D, 1/60s, f/4 at ISO 640 in halogen gymnasium lighting.

351/365 Before and after

[FYI: girlie post ahead.]

It was time for a change.

I've been letting my hair grow out for a couple of years, not knowing how long I'd let it go, but loving the fact that I could get it all into a ponytail.

But after a while you just get sick of it. And once I've made the decision to do something about it, I want to do it now. That day came on Saturday.

I had my hairdresser cut 4-5 inches off my hair, and it feels great. I'd love to be one of those women who grows her hair out and donates 10+ inches of it to Locks of Love or Beautiful Lengths, but I'll never make it. I'll have to make my charitable contributions in other ways.

I ascribe to the theory that once you've known the wonders of short(er) hair, you'll never go back.

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD1000 indoors at about 11:00 a.m., and Canon 40D, with on-camera fill flash, 1/250s, f/5.6 at ISO 100 at about 4:00 p.m.

284/365 Closing out 2008

Goodbye, 2008!

What a year it's been!

From what I've seen online, the most common way to take on Project 365 is by starting it January 1. But in my case, it took me a couple months to decide, "Yes, I'm going to commit to taking a photograph every single day," so I still have 81 posts to go.

I don't make New Year's resolutions -- instead, I set goals for the year. It's a more positive way of thinking about what I want to accomplish in the coming year.

This year I have a long list of goals, most of which involve new activities I want to try, but one of the items on the list is finishing Project 365. I haven't decided yet whether I'll restart a new 365-day project or just maintain regular posts, but I can tell you I'll be continuing this blog.

One item that I plan to finish within the next month is my portfolio for my Photography Certificate. The photo on this post, a self-portrait, is the last one I needed to do before printing and submitting samples of my work.

Now I'd like you to tell me this: what kind of photos and posts would you like to see more of? What are your favorites?

Happy New Year!

Camera: Canon 40D with Calumet studio light, 1/60s, f/8 at ISO 250.

197/365 DIY portrait lighting

My final class meeting at the IMA on Saturday morning focused on shutter speed and lighting.

The teacher hired one of his other students, who is a dancer, to come in for an hour and be our model. We started with her in the classroom, focusing on simple portrait lighting that can be replicated at home with basic tools (I love DIY versions). She's lit in the portrait above by a standard desk lamp.

She came outside with us for the second half of the hour so we could work with using shutter speeds to alternately blur and freeze motion. I felt for her -- we had her jumping up and down, running back and forth, spinning around in circles... she was out of breath by the end (but seemed to be having fun).

My final evaluation of the class is positive. No, it wasn't as advanced as I had hoped, but it did fill in some gaps that other classes had glazed over or skipped. And I really liked the teacher, so I'll know to be on the lookout for more of his offerings.

Camera: Canon 40D, lit with a single halogen bulb in a desk lamp, 1/40s, f/5.6 at ISO 1250.

177/365 Jim and Joe

I got to do four great things on Sunday afternoon:

1. Go to the IMA to do a photo shoot (gorgeous. perfect day.)
   
2. Be the "official" assistant photographer at that shoot (first time!) with Mark, who has been my photography mentor for the last couple years
   
3. Spend time with some friends from work -- outside of work (doesn't happen often)
   
4. Finally put to use the answer to the question I asked in my last class in March: how might you use a "couples" pose but adapt it for two gay men?

Awesome day.

The request, from Jim, came up months and months ago, and we finally were able to coordinate schedules and weather to do the shoot.

As a gift to celebrate their first anniversary, Jim wanted to have some "formal" photos done of he and Joe. I did some research, asked questions, and brainstormed with Mark before Sunday. Mark acted as primary photographer, using some flash, and I acted as secondary photographer, walking around to get different angles while he shot, and I used only natural light. We had a ball working together.

Here are four of my favorites.

A shot to show their rings:

A great one of them together:

One in kind of a "GQ-style" (my phrasing) pose and location, with the color toned back a bit for mood:

And I love this one of the two of them. They were so natural and happy together the entire time, and this photograph really shows that:

Great way to end the weekend!

Camera: Canon 40D under overcast skies and in shade between 1:00 and 2:30 p.m.
1st photo: 1/125s, f/5.6 at ISO 160
2nd: 1/125s, f/5.6 at ISO 125
3rd: 1/125s, f/4.5 at ISO 800
4th: 1/125s, f/5.6 at ISO 160

96/365 Second outdoor portrait shoot

Kristin and I met at Butler last night to do a second outdoor photo shoot. I wanted to try more full-length poses, so I asked her to wear long pants for added flexibility.

It worked!

We had beautiful weather, the setting worked perfectly, and we had a blast yet again.

These are four of my favorites from the night:





Camera: Canon 40D in natural light between 5:45 and 6:30 p.m.
1st photo: 1/125s, f/5.6 at ISO 400
2nd: 1/250s, f/4 at ISO 640
3rd: 1/250s, f/4 at ISO 640
4th: 1/125s, f/4 at ISO 640

79/365 A day of girlfriends, in person and on the silver screen

I have now finally seen Sex and the City in its entirety! My friends and I met for a 1:15 matinee on Sunday and rejoined the NYC ladies without interruption. I enjoyed the movie very much even though I still don't feel like they should have even made it in the first place. I loved how the series ended, so I was certain the movie would only be a disappointing last-ditch effort to resurrect the phenomenon (and make more money). I was pleasantly surprised that it was done so well. It will definitely become part of my permanent collection.

Sunday also marked a milestone for me photographically: I successfully held a photo shoot with my first paying customer!

My friend, Kristin, will be moving to NYC in the fall, and she asked if I would do some portraits of her before she left. I gladly agreed, because not only is she a friend, she's continually one of my favorite subjects.

We scheduled it for Sunday evening after the movie. When we left the movie, approaching thunderstorms darkened the skies to our west, but we chose to give it a try and see how much we could get done before I needed to stow away the camera.

The weather cooperated with us long enough!

These are some of my favorites from the day:





We're going to meet again to do a second outdoor shoot, and then we're going to experiment with some indoor shots in a more studio-like setting.

Camera: Canon Rebel DSLR
1st photo: 1/125s, f/4.0 at ISO 400
2nd photo: 1/125s, f/4.5 at ISO 400
3rd photo: 1/125s, f/5.6 at ISO 400
4th photo: 1/60s, f/4.5 at ISO 400

27/365 Mirror, mirror, on the wall...

I finished my portrait class last night! It was a session mainly of questions and answers; we didn't do too many new poses. This was the only one. I think it's an interesting pose, but if I were to do this with a subject outside of class, I would modernize it and make it a little more contemporary and nontraditional.

And on the subject of making a pose more contemporary, I actually have the option to go back for one last class session next week... but I think I'll skip it. I found out what the class focus will be -- glamour or fashion photography -- which initially piqued my interest, because if nothing else, I think would be fun to try with my friends. But I got a preview of the "glamour" photography we'd be doing, and it was more along the lines of Glamour Shots than Glamour magazine.

You remember Glamour Shots -- feather boas. Sequins. Soft lighting and fuzzy edges. Loads of makeup. Making 12-year-old girls look like they were 18. And I think of big, teased, permed hair. When I think of Glamour Shots, I think of a teenage girl who was our neighbor in the 80s and early 90s. I used to walk into her room and just stand and stare in awe at her collection of hair products -- crimpers, aerosol hairsprays, picks, curling irons, you name it, she had it. And she had the long, permed hair and three-inch-bangs to support it.

Glamour Shots was a huge success in its heyday, and more power to them for finding a business plan that worked. But my interest leans toward more contemporary -- or even classic old-Hollywood -- styles of glamour photography. So I think I'll save my gas and consider the class complete!

Camera: Canon Rebel DSLR 1/60s, f/8, ISO 100. One studio light off-camera right and one reflector behind the subject.

23/365 First solo portrait photo shoot

Yesterday, on what has to this point been the most gorgeous day of 2008, I did my very first solo portrait "photo shoot"! My friend, Beth, needed some photos of herself for a special event. But she found, as she dug through her options, that in nearly 100% of her photos, she's pictured with a group of people. That's great for filling frames on your desk at work and your wall at home, but it doesn't work so well if you need something a little more professional.

She explained the situation to me one day a few weeks ago as I was telling her about the studio/portrait class I've been taking. And she asked me if I would mind helping her by doing some portraits for her. I was floored and said, "Absolutely!" I was so honored that she even asked.

My mind immediately started turning over ideas -- locations, poses, and that completely unpredictable Indiana spring weather. We decided to try to do the shoot outside, especially since I don't have studio lighting equipment. We picked a few dates, one for our first choice (yesterday afternoon) and a couple this week for backup in case the weather was miserable. We lucked out, it warmed up to 67 degrees, hardly a cloud cluttered the sky and the breeze was manageable.

She was a little nervous about the occasion, I was a little nervous about my first real portrait attempt, but I'm very pleased with the results all around. We both benefited -- she got some solo portraits to use, and I had a willing model to practice with! Here is one of my favorites, converted to black and white:

Camera: Canon Rebel DSLR 1/30s, f/5.6 at ISO 100 between 4:45 and 5:30 in the evening. This photo was taken under a bridge in the shade with natural light.

20/365 Dawn of another rainy day

Thursday morning, as I was driving to work, the sunrise was gorgeous -- and only lasted for a couple minutes. When the sun had risen higher in the sky, the day's clouds obscured it and the vibrant yellows, oranges, pinks, reds and blues dissipated. I stopped my car on the road to snatch this remnant before it disappeared.

Thursday evening, I went to the fourth of my six weeks' class sessions. This week we practiced posing and lighting children. We had hoardes of them at class -- a couple of my classmates brought their kids (and their neighbor's kids), and the instructor brought her 3-year-old grandson. I grabbed a couple chances at the helm but chose this week to step back a little bit. I recorded each pose without the use of the studio lights for my library of ideas, but since there were parents in the room, I let them have much more time actually photographing.

The rules for kids built on the basics we'd learned in our previous weeks, except the imperative is to work faster! The 3-year-old was especially squirmy but cute as a button.

Camera for this shot: Canon PowerShot SD1000 at about 7:30 a.m.

13/365

I think I made some of my fellow photographers a little freaked out in class last night. To learn various portrait poses, whether they be single individuals, couples, families, whatever, we take turns being the "model" and photographer. It gives everyone a chance to experience it from both behind and in front of the camera. Now, keep in mind that none of us know each other, so it can be a little awkward, but we have to learn, right?

We were learning a pose that would be suitable for a portrait of brothers. Like this:

Nice, right? Very traditional, nothing exciting about it.

So then I, being the inquisitive, not-shy-to-ask-a-question, ever-eager student that I am, raised my hand and said, "I won't ask them to demonstrate, but what would you change if this were a gay couple?"

The two guys immediately separated as though they had been two magnets that all of a sudden flipped to their opposite poles and were propelled in opposite directions across the room. Laughter rippled through the entire room. But I was serious! I happen to know a gay pair who wants to have a professional photo done. What rules do you follow? What rules do you break? What changes?

Luckily our instructor took me seriously (thank you!) and gave us one possible pose that would work. It's a very traditional "couple" pose that is by no means exciting or boundary-pushing, but it would be fine:
And then these guys were done being the models. Someone else's turn!

Here's another one from later in the evening. I love how I caught the look on her face. It's not at all how it is supposed to be, but I like it.
I can definitely say I'm learning a lot.

Camera: Canon Rebel DSLR (I cleared my memory card before writing this, but I think the settings were) 1/60s, f/8 ISO 200 using a single off-camera studio light and a reflector.

6/365

It's been a few days since I've been able to post, but I've been keeping up with my project! First up:

I'm taking my third of five classes in pursuit of my photography certificate. This current class is Composition and Lighting for Studio/Portrait -- something I definitely need help with! In the first session we learned the C pose, S pose, and "senior" pose, along with the key lighting elements that go along with each pose. This week we learned so many poses I don't know their names... but this is one of my classmates in one such pose. The class is six weeks -- four to go!

Camera: Canon Rebel DSLR ISO 1600, 1/30s at f/5.6. No flash, one studio light off-camera on her left with a white reflector on her right. White background.