photographer – Page 2

June 6, 2018June 6, 2018

Share Six | Abstract

June’s theme over at Share Six is abstract. Those of you who know me personally as a photographer know that I am a portrait photographer. This is what I love though about being part of a photography group that does themed challenges like this. This group of gals is constantly stretching me and helping me grow. If you are a photographer and haven’t taken part in these monthly challenges or any other challenges, I highly encourage you to do so. You will find that it’s very fun and you learn a lot, therefore your skills improve.

As I said, abstract is not something I’ve really even dabbled in. So I was really racking my brain trying to figure out what I was going to photograph. It dawned on my that I could use intentional camera movement to make ordinary objects become abstract. I haven’t even really played with intentional camera movement either, but what better time than now?

For my first image, I waited until later in the evening. I knew because of using a slow shutter speed I’d need less light. I pointed my camera up at some trees. When I pushed the shutter button, I twisted my camera creating the swirl.

For my next image, I just pointed at some grass (still in the evening when it was getting dark) and moved the camera a bit as I pressed the shutter.

For my third image, I actually shot it during the middle of a bright sunny day. I pointed up at a tree. I shot at ISO 100 and f/29 and 1/2 sec. shutter speed. I used my 28-135 and started wide, but zoomed as I pressed the shutter.

My fourth image was the same technique. This was a picture of the pond behind our yard. This is one of my favorites of the set. Who knew I’d like intentional camera movement and zooming so much?

For my last two, I waited until after dark and headed to the carnival/fair that happens to be in town right now. I wanted to do some light painting, and I once again used a slow shutter speed and intentional camera movement.

For this first one, I just left the shutter open and moved my camera all around.

For this second one, I held the camera still for a second so I could get the ferris wheel somewhat defined, then moved the camera in a wave pattern.

I hope you enjoyed my interpretation on the theme abstract. I have to say, I had a lot of fun playing around getting these images. I hope you will too! Get out and have fun creating art! First though, continue through our circle to see Janet’s blog. You won’t be disappointed!

May 6, 2018May 5, 2018

Share Six | Urban

This month’s theme is urban. I live in the Midwest in a community of a few cities which are surrounded ultimately by miles and miles of farms. We don’t necessarily have what I would call a big city feeling to our communities, but urban ultimately means “of or relating to city”. So I guess it doesn’t matter the size of the city.

My first picture is of my boy on the sky bridge here in the Quad Cities. For those of you not familiar with the Quad Cities, the sky bridge is one of our iconic landmarks.

My second image is a double exposure of my son and part of the Davenport skyline (mainly the skybridge).

My third and fourth images are of my girl during a session we did downtown. She wanted more of an urban feel for her pictures.

I had to include a picture I recently took while we were downtown Chicago. Most people will recognize this iconic location.

And last, and quite possibly least, LOL, is an image that I think accurately depicts urban areas, or at least our urban area here in the QC. You wouldn’t be in the urban areas without being surrounded by construction. I thought I’d end with a bit of humor. This is obviously not a very artistic image, but it depicts our urban area we live in.

Continue though our blog circle by heading over to Janet’s blog to see her amazing images!! You won’t be disappointed!

October 6, 2017October 6, 2017

Share Six | Double Exposure

So this month’s theme is Double Exposure. I unfortunately have an old DSLR that does NOT have a double exposure function, which means I have to do it in Photoshop. I did however find that one of my favorite photography phone apps has a double exposure function, so some of my photos are done in photoshop and some are done in my phone app.

My first image was one that I did in the app using a picture I took of one of my antique cameras and another picture I took of a flower a while back. So every aspect of this image was done with the phone, except I used photoshop to add my watermark.

This next image is two of my favorite things – the Milky Way (at my favorite vacation spot) and a piano. These photos were taken with my DSLR and merged with the phone app.

The next four images are of myself and my family members with something that we love. First up is my husband and a baseball. These images were taken with my DSLR and merged in Photoshop.

Next is my son. He LOVES the outdoors and climbing trees. So I took a picture of him (with my phone) and a picture of some branches of a tree (also with my phone) and double exposed them in the phone app. I have to say, this is probably one of my favorites.

My daughter’s images were also taken with my phone and double exposed in the app. She is an avid reader, so the other image is of some of her favorite books.

(Their pictures kind of remind me of those childhood profile cutouts we did in school as children.)

Last is a self portrait of me that I took several years ago. I LOVE playing the piano and have been playing since I was five, so I double exposed the image of me with a picture I took of our piano. I took the images with my DSLR, but I double exposed them in the phone app.

I hope you enjoyed my take on this month’s theme. Oh, and if you are like me and your DSLR does not have a Double Exposure function, download the app Snapseed. It’s a great photography app!

Head on over to Claire’s blog and see her lovely images! Be sure to continue through the entire circle. You won’t want to miss everyone’s awesome images. Also, don’t forget to post your own take on this month’s theme either on our Facebook page or on Instagram! Tag #sharesix #sharesix_doubleexposure

July 5, 2017July 5, 2017

Hanna’s Senior Session

I had the privilege of photographing Hanna for her senior portraits. I’ve known this young woman her entire life. I even babysat her a few times when she was little. Her family is very dear to us as I have also known her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles my entire life. They feel like family to me.

It’s been so fun to watch Hanna grow into the beautiful young woman she is. She is beautiful both inside and out. She is also incredibly smart and talented.

I had a blast doing her session. She drove us around her grandparents’ farm on their gator…her friend beside her in the front and my husband (my assistant) and I in the back with my equipment. What a fun ride. Talk about a dream session. The farm offered wonderful backdrops!! Here are some of my favorites from her session.

Hope you enjoyed these pictures! If you or someone you know will be a high school senior this coming school year, it’s time to start thinking about senior portraits. Head over to my website for info and pricing, and feel free to call if you have any questions!

January 6, 2017January 6, 2017

Share Six | Music

It’s hard to believe it is 2017 already!! Happy New year!!

I chose this month’s theme of music. Music has been near and dear to my heart since I was little. It has been woven into the tapestry of my memories….from sitting in the pew as a little girl listening to my aunt sing harmony, to the weekly piano lessons my grandparents’ gifted me with, to the evenings spent listening to classical cds with my dad, to my very first job as an organist at my church at 15 years old. Music courses through my veins. It was my first love. I remember years ago, my sister’s friend getting annoyed with me because she said I was always humming. What can I say…there is always a song in my heart. My grandpa always told me to never stop playing the piano. He said, “You’ll make money playing the piano some day.” I vividly remember him repeating those words when I visited him at the nursing home and played some music for him on the piano. Well I don’t ever plan to stop and I AM making money playing the piano and organ. Music just brings me such comfort and joy.

Your voice is an instrument you can take with you anywhere. My family knows that well, as I love to live in a musical, singing about my daily activities while I’m doing them. My daughter is following in my footsteps with a love of singing. Over the summer she auditioned to sing the national anthem at our local baseball team’s game. She was chosen, so we picked up this pitch pipe for her to help calm her nerves. I just love how shiny and pretty it is.

Brass instruments are simply beautiful to look at, especially the french horn.

This is my grandfather’s tambourine. He played the drums in a jazz band. He was a big proponent of me getting into music. He and my grandma insisted I take piano lessons, and they paid for them. I am forever grateful for their influence and generosity.

As I mentioned back during our black and white theme, I LOVE the insides of pianos. They are simply gorgeous. Not to mention, they are my favorite instrument. I could sit and play the piano for hours. Here is a picture of some of the hammers.
Here is my daughter playing The Entertainer. I asked her to dress up to do her piano practice so I could get some shots of her. I have basically the same shot of her from a few years ago. It’s sad to see how much she has grown up. My how time flies!!

Here’s another one from a different angle and some more creative lighting.

Thank you so much for stopping by and seeing my take on this month’s theme. I had a hard time narrowing down my images to just six. As I said, I just love music.

Head on over to Sharleen’s blog and see her beautiful images!! Then continue through the circle to see the rest of the contributors’ takes!!