St. Thomas

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Grand Turk

Grand Turk.
Grand Turk is the capital of the Turks & Caicos Islands located 575 miles southeast of Miami, Florida. The port is one of our favorites as you can walk right off the ship to a very cool port with lots to do.  Turn left and you can enjoy Margaritaville with a huge pool, swim up bar, cabanas for rent, full restaurant and lots of crazy entertainment. They also have a surf machine we have yet to try.  Get there early and grab a lounge chair under an umbrella.  Or a table by the pool for lunch.  Later in the day the pickings are slim and the "entertainment" can get a bit wild with cruisers letting their hair down.  The beach is also to the left with lounges available to the early birds.  Further down the beach are several beach bars whose drink prices are a bit more reasonable.  To the left off the ship is a quieter area with lounge chairs, a fairly new bar/restaurant, and even a massage table.  And some beautiful scenery.  Our first stop is always to the right to capture the perfect shots before the crowds arrive.  Much easier to produce fine art without having to use the "people filter".
Here are a few of our favorites.

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Ocean Spa.

Taken in Grand Turk. Grand Turk is the capital of the Turks & Caicos Islands located 575 miles southeast of Miami, Florida.

I planned this picture a few days in advance.  I bought the conch shell the day before at an open market in Dominica. More about that island later.  We were on a Carnival Cruise Ship, and their bright white towels became a prop.  This location is at the Grand Turk cruise port, but you have to turn right when you get into the public area, instead of left with most of the other cruisers.  My settings were f/8, 1/650sec at ISO-125. Just lay in the sand and wait for the perfect splash. Just be ready to protect your gear.
Then after you finish the photoshoot, get to the other side and enjoy the Margaritaville swim-up-bar.

Seashell in Foam

This was also taken in Grand Turk. Grand Turk is the capital of the Turks & Caicos Islands located 575 miles southeast of Miami, Florida.

I made sure to protect my camera and lens as each wave hit, but I got very wet.  

We had the Spa and Shell photos printed on metal and hung them in out spa-like bathroom.  Perfect since the metal material makes them water-resistant in the steamy bath.

Dock

One of my all time favorites.  This is a wooden dock which leads out to the crystal clear, turquoise blue waters of the Caribbean Sea.  To get there, just walk through the custom free shops and turn right.
I shot it at  F8 at 1/320, ISO 100.  If I had to do it over again, I might use a aperture of around F16 to get the background in better focus.  But the woodgrain in the foreground is crisp and clear.  The challenge here: There was a rope with a warning sign hanging across the railings blocking entrance to the dock.  Since we were in a foreign country I was a little leery about removing the security measure.  So I took the shot, then pixel by pixel, deleted the rope and sign.

We have this piece as a 20x40 metal print and you would never know there was a barrier there.  At our art fairs, customers would comment that they felt they could walk right on the dock and go sit on the edge.

Taking Better Pictures

Introduction:

Taking better pictures……

What’s the difference between a snapshot and a portrait, or a piece of fine art photography? For one, probably price; then the photographer’s skill and experience, the equipment used, the lighting, the post processing, the print quality. That’s a start. Normally, a snapshot comes from your own point-and-shoot or camera phone, then is either printed as a 4x6 by your local department store, or simply shared on social media. Hopefully it’s not kept on your device and never shared, then accidentally deleted.

Here are some definitions:

Source: Me

Portrait: Result of the mind of the artist in connection with the subject, taking into account the environment, mood, and lighting.
Snapshot: Result of a camera picked up to capture a moment.

Source: Dictionary.reference.com

Snapshot: An informal photograph, especially one taken quickly, by a hand-held camera.
Portrait: a likeness of a person, especially of the face, as a painting, drawing, or photograph

Then we turn to Wiki:

Portrait: A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position.
Snapshot: A snapshot is popularly defined as a photograph that is "shot" spontaneously and quickly, most often without artistic or journalistic intent. Snapshots are commonly considered to be technically "imperfect" or amateurish—out of focus or poorly framed or composed. Common snapshot subjects include the events of everyday life, such as birthday parties and other celebrations, sunsets, children playing, group photos, pets, tourist attractions and the like.

OK, then - Can you get a snapshot that looks like a portrait? Absolutely, and I hope to help you get closer to that goal.

Can a portrait look like a snapshot? Well, of course the goal is “no”. But it happens! Those are the images that you don’t see! They are left in-computer. Deleted? Probably not – I have a hard time deleting anything.

So why hire a professional photographer? To keep me in business of course, and it IS all about me after all, right?  But seriously. A professional photographer has the experience to quickly analyze the scene and capture the best shot. She knows how to: Best pose a subject; Take advantage of a model’s best features, and diminish the not-so-perfect features; Use lighting to enhance the model; Capture a child’s personality; and Use props to accentuate the scene. And hiring a professional provides that special experience. It says “this is a special day” and “I can be the star”. And lastly, a professional photographer has a “good camera”. And I say "lastly" and rather tongue-in-cheek because it’s so minor. Equipment is important, but it’s not the most essential element. One of the most frustrating statements I hear when a client sees some of my most prized pieces is “wow, these are wonderful, you must have a good camera” arrrrgggghhhh!!!

So here are some tips for getting your snapshots to look more like portraits. This is the outline I intend to follow, but it may change as I get questions or comments, or more ideas.

1.          Composition

2.          Lighting

3.          subject

4.          focus

5.          surroundings

6.          mood, story

7.          pose

8.          photo editing

  1.  Composition.

Since a photograph is simply capturing a scene, a moment, a person, a feeling, etc, the composition shouldn’t matter, right?  If you are simply documenting an event so you can remember at a future date, probably not.  But how much more feeling and interest would that image have if you put some thought into composing it?

a. The Rule of Thirds:

Rules?  We don’t need no stinkin’ rules!  But often rules help us organize our landscape for a more pleasing balance. This is one of the more key photography rules, and simply stated: Don’t automatically put the main subject or interest point right smack in the middle of the picture.   But remember, rules are made to be broken, as long as you know and understand the rule and are breaking it on purpose.

Imagine an image divided into thirds (so nine sections). Your subjects or points of interest should be placed along the lines, or even better, on one of the intersections points.  Or at least close. Studies show that your eye more naturally goes to one of the intersection points.  So for instance, the horizon or the seashore shouldn’t cross the middle of your shot.   If you look at the images below, you can see that I’ve broken that rule in some cases.

This is one of my favorite “breaking the rules” shots.  I admire the work of famous photographer Peter Lik.  When I saw this scene in Grand Turk, his style inspired me to capture “Dock”.  Yep, the main subject goes right up the middle of the picture.  I was careful not to cut the image in half with the horizon, but the wooden dock breaks the rule wonderfully! We present this as a 20x30 metal print at our art fairs, and customers say they feel they can walk right into the image and out to the dock.

b.  Add interest

Think of this: What is included in the subject’s foreground, background, immediate area? What colors exist in your picture canvas? Are there any interesting objects, or patterns? Is there a feeling or mood for which you are shooting?  Is there a story to tell? Of course, if you are quickly capturing a surprising moment, you won’t have time to think through all of those aspects. But the more experience you have shooting pictures, the quicker you can analyze those possibilities.

Foreground/Background:  A photo is more interesting if you plan out the space.   Frame your subject, pay attention to the objects around you.  Move your subject around and move around your subject. See if you can move an object to a place in the photography (be careful of safety, weight and legalities)

This picture of a sunset is very pleasing.

But take that same scene, and add a rowboat and some sea oats in the foreground, and a sailboat in the background for a much more interesting picture.

Portrait Examples:

This portrait of beautiful Emily is an example of interest in the foreground (she’s holding some of the plants in front of her) and the background (an old building), framing the model.

Foreground and shapes come into play here.  The shape of the water spouts in the foreground mirrors Emily’s pose.

Use props:

We bought this seashell from an open-air market, then snuck the towels off our cruise ship for this shot in Grand Turk. (we took them back of course)

Not much explanation needed for this prop.  Just the thought process: – this is a beautiful sunset – what could I put in the picture to make it more interesting?

Tell a Story:  When interviewing a portrait customer, it’s really important to discover “the story”.  I happen to know the story of Owen and Julia (pictured below) very well, since they are my grandchildren.  Owen takes great delight in teaching Julia all about the world around them. So all I had to do was let them interact, and be ready.

This shot of an adorable brother and sister is nice. They look comfortable and casual in this park setting.

But this shot tells a story of the big brother teaching his little sister about the magic of making a wish and blowing dandelion seeds

Daddy’s love of music prompted this shot of adorable Finley fast asleep on his father’s acoustic guitar.

This newborn photoshoot included a very proud mom and dad. I borrowed their wedding rings for this precious shot.

Draw from the energy of your models.

This beautiful little girl was full of ideas. Some of the best shots came from her brainstorms.

Let them dance then stand back and be ready

What stories can you imagine?

Alaska

What a beautiful, sunny day in Juneau, Alaska.
We took a helicopter and landed on the Mendenhall Glacier, then hiked for an hour. It wasn't even that cold!


















Our guide holding on to Mick's belt so he doesn't slip into the moulin. The next shot is the result.

Deep Blue. Taking the shot of this Glacial Moulin was by far one of the most exciting shoots we’ve experienced. You can see the water rushing down the chute to a depth our guide estimated at 1,000 feet. You can see several chips of ice falling, caused by our cleats scuffing the ice as we were getting the picture.

This is a shot from the helicopter on the way to the glacier excursion.

On our way to Mendenhall Glacier

Tropical

photos

This photo of a deep blue crevasse was taken in Juneau, Alaska. We took a helicopter and landed on Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, then hiked the glacier. Majestic glaciers act like filters that absorb red light, making the ice appear blue. The black deposits are years of sediment scraped up as the massive ice flows move across the land.

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