It's been a quiet weekend for shooting, lots of editing and catching up and new jobs coming in for the next few months. The future is looking steady for now. Today I found myself with a little time to shoot with my long lens off the balcony as a heavy rain storm passed over Queens. I came up with two images that for a short 10 minute "grab shoot" I was rather happy with.



This view never gets old to me. The rain looked intriguing with the soft sunlight cast upon the buildings in the foreground. Just another passing shower of the summer.




Two kids riding through the puddles on my street. There was more to this image with a tree but I was drawn to the diagnol line of the sidewalk and wanted to emphasize that so I cropped it.

NUDE: Round Two

Tonight another friend hired me to photograph her nude in her apartment in Long Island, NY. We had several ideas for poses, lingerie, hats, heels and lighting. I used my same basic set-up as the last nude shoot (Canon 5D and three strobes, one master with two slaves) and came out with some nice images. There is one solid keeper in my opinion, and it's the first shot here, the heels. The only thing I wish that was different about it was that I wish those were my legs!


Long legs with black heels and an arched back really bring this shot together. The lighting was perfect and I was kneeling low to get the white/black/white effect here. The black behind her is her headboard and she is laying on a white blanket on her bed -- it couldn't have been more perfect. This is by far my favorite frame of the entire shoot.



This was a fun shot where we incorporated her boyfriend's drum sticks. We tried several poses with the sticks, trying to find fun ways to bring them into the shot. I'm pleased with this, it's a nice angle for her and the X with the sticks adds a strong part to the overall composition of the image.

We had some laughs tonight and really enjoyed the shoot -- I hope to continue doing more nudes. I love the body, I love the challenge, I love the lighting and I love the final images.

Nude in Black & White

This winter a friend asked me if I would do some nude photographs for her. I haven't had much experience with nude photography, but was excited about the challenge and possibilities for the shots. She hired me for a few hours and I set up a backdrop with a few light stands in her living room and used a very basic lighting set up. And when I say very basic, I mean with Canon flashes only, two 580 EX II's and one 550 EX. I used the 550 as a master on camera and set the other two flashes on slave, varying the zoom and strength of all three flashes throughout the shoot. A pro-lighting kit is in the budget for 2009. I will be doing another nude shoot this week of another friend, with the same basic set up. Perhaps I will get the two women together at the end of the summer for a "couple" shoot and will use new pro-lighting.


I zoomed the flash in for a more concentrated lighting effect, creating very dark shadows contrasting with bright areas of her body. I like the eye contact she has with the camera here.


I liked the lighting effect here from the cowboy hat. I think the design of lighting on her body from the hat makes it unique and with her head looking down also adds a sense of seduction.

Long Lens in Astoria Park

Earlier this week I decided I would try photographing Astoria Park with a long lens only for an afternoon. Today was a great day to enjoy the park, so I packed up a picnic with my friend Sam and threw my Canon Mark II and a 70-200mm 2.8 lens over my shoulder. A fun challenge for the afternoon, came up with a few shots I liked. Trying to build the collection of Astoria Park shots to put together some kind of project in the future.


We were walking back to the apartment and there were several birds chirping around the grass. I had been playing with a slow shutter speed minutes before hand but it all worked and was psyched the little guy decided to fly through the splash of sun for a minute.


Dandelions have been one of my favorite things since I was a little girl -- I always would close my eyes, make a wish and try to blow every little seed out into the summer wind.


The light was reflecting strongly off the East River, silhouetting these kids nicely. There was a good breeze today too. I wish all three silhouettes were separated, but I didn't wait for them to move around and I liked framing them with the road sign.



There were a few little kids playing and running around under the Triboro/RFK Bridge, sidetracked from some kind of family and friend gathering in the park. I was drawn to the lines of the bridge and also how small this boy looks in such a giant scene.


I shot this from our blanket -- I like the nature and steel contrast with the tree and the bridge. The sky had some good clouds in it too, so you've got to take advantage of it when you can.


This reminded me of shots I would do on the North Shore in MA for features for The Salem News. This feels quiet and solitary to me and I liked framing him between the trees.

NY Wedding

The hot topic for June seemed to be all the rain. Quite a damper for all the June weddings. Luckily one of my big weddings for the summer was in July. And yesterday was a great day at the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. The sun was shining, the breeze blew softly and the families were a true pleasure to photograph.

My friend and colleague, Kathryn Deem, worked with me as a second shooter -- we're a solid team and she's a great photographer. We arrived at 11am and were in the car pulling out of the parking lot with the last guests and family members at 12:15am. A long day but a very successful one. I shot a total of 2750 photographs (Kathryn had just under 1000). Did people ever shoot this much with film? The first wedding I did was in 2003, thanks to my college professor Joe Lippincott. I used 10 rolls of 36 exposures. Is there value in shooting so much more? It's a long editing process that's for sure -- thank god for Lightroom, my choice for editing software.I was drawn to the image of Lisa dancing with the blue light -- I was trying some motion blur shots and for this frame my flash didn't recycle quickly enough so it was ambient lighting only. Sometimes accidents are successful.


The sun was bright so it was essential to find shade for the portraits. Kathryn and I went out in a golf cart with Jason and Lisa to drive around the grounds for an hour to shoot portraits with them and stopped at this bend in the road covered in green leaves. The light was ideal and with a little fill flash I was really pleased with how the frames from this set came out -- the line of the fencing on the left and the soft canopy light from the trees filling the background were what interested me.


I love detail shots -- this shot of their hands holding during the ceremony is a strong image, although simple.


Lisa's dress was beautiful and I decided to hang it in front of this window and use one of the tables to display her shoes. A spotlight hit the table so I placed the shoes there and I think I achieved the affect I was hoping for with this shot.


The flowers were incredible and plentiful, as were the stems. The families arranged for the flowers to be delivered to a nursing home today so they wouldn't be thrown out and wasted. I took home a nice bouquet as well to enjoy in my living room.


Weddings are a lot of work and definitely exhausting, but I find myself dancing and laughing at some point in the night at nearly every wedding I have photographed (around 50). That's a good sign when you're at work.

How About Some Color?

The Peppers -- part of my "Mostly Veggies" project -- ongoing for a year now, one day it will be complete and perhaps be on display somewhere funky.

Kite Surfers -- in Westport, CT with my cousins last summer

Confetti -- from St. Peter's Fiesta in Gloucester, MA 2008

Astoria Park Street Shots

Some street shots around Astoria Park. Possible project for the summer that I might try to work on in July/August. Since moving to NY I've tried to take some time to shoot more abstract images. Not sure what I will do with the photographs, or if they draw interest to others, any feedback?

I plan to do a lot more street photography around the city and Astoria. I don't feel I've taken full advantage of all it has to offer. I'm particularly intrigued with Astoria though and hope to focus a lot on the neighborhood over the next year. Projects ranging from Off Track Betting to Break Dancers in the Park.

Bang!

Starting off the blog with a bang. I plan to share photos and ideas about photography and journalism. Perhaps some tangents now and then.

The 4th of July is a great time of year to enjoy lots of fireworks. An early start to the holiday kicked off in Astoria with fireworks launched from Roosevelt Island on June 30th. A couple quick shots of the show over the Triboro/RFK Bridge and Hellsgate Bridge.

I've photographed the 4th of July fireworks many times for The Salem News and The Eagle Tribune in MA when I was a staff shooter for CNHI (Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.). Always stressed out and on a tight deadline to nail the fireworks shot for A1 it was a pleasure to leisurely fire off some frames in the cool summer breeze at my apartment this year. I usually set up a tripod and use a black card to wave in front of the lens in between bursts over a long exposure -- 15 seconds -- exposing for the foreground.

One year in particular I was covering the Danvers fireworks and my tripod got knocked over in the crowd right before the show began throwing my camera to the ground and smashing the lens in half. I will never forget sprinting back to my car parked over a mile away to get a backup lens to try and get a shot for the paper. Navigating through the crowd with all my equipment while trying to run to my car was quite a sight. It all worked out and with only 10 frames of the show I did nail one nice image and it held the front page of the paper just fine. I only wish my sweat and tears were evident to all that saw the paper that day.

I kept it simple this year and just balanced the camera on the balcony railing and crossed my fingers. Just a little fun for the 4th.