From around 10 years ago, found while sifting through the archives.
I don’t always see the good in an image ’til later. In this case, much later.
I love how the eye is lead from bottom to top, in a clockwise semi-circle, with the last flower barely visible in the blown-out background.
It’s like the little blossoms are lining up for take off.
The night before, I’d attended a talk by George Brainard. George is an Austin, TX portrait photographer who, among other things, spoke about seeking to connect with his subjects, develop trust, hopefully allowing them to reveal their true selves. When you look at the shots in his book it’s clear he succeeds with this strategy.
I’ve taken plenty of portraits over the years, but I was inspired to make as many TtV portraits as I could at the Lonestar Round Up on the Friday following that talk.
And, I tried something new with portraiture this time around. I’d been planning on experimenting with this particular notion for a while. When I make TtV portraits at car shows the shots mostly have an upward angle to them because the subject is standing and my TtV rig is at waist level, and if I get close enough, the resulting picture includes a pretty good view up my subject’s nostrils. Not always pretty!
Not long ago I purchased an inexpensive Coleman folding camp stool from Amazon. It’s very light, but sturdy, and it’s just the right height for folks to sit on while I get the shot.
An added bonus is I can sit on the thing to get low angle shots of any subject and not have the hassle of dealing with my achy knees. All that crazy skateboarding in the 70s trashed my hips, too. I’m really starting to feel it in my old age.
So each time I approached my subject, I had to pretty much explain what I was up to. The TtV. The angle of attack on their nose hairs. And where the chair comes in. To my surprise, only one person declined to have their portrait made.
Sure, it adds one more thing to carry, but I’m really happy with the results. I’m even thinking about getting that little stool’s legs pinstriped! 8^)
Oh, yeah… I also made a few hot rod shots while I was at it. Kinda’ hard not to!
I got out for a little walk around the neighborhood with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 and the Wanderlust Pinwide on April 30th. It was windy and cool in Central Texas, perfect weather for Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day.
Here’s my 2017 submission, “My shadow over rocks.“
I made the above picture 10 years ago, to the day. I used a Samsung NV11 point-and-shoot. 10.1 megapixels. Schneider-Kreuznach 2.8 lens. Awesome macro capability.
It was a pocket-sized little guy that I really liked. The “Smart Touch” interface was quite unique, with user navigation menus and control functions accessed by sliding a finger across multiple buttons that surrounded the 2.7 inch display. Weird but cool.
I got some decent shots with that little guy.
Sadly, it didn’t last very long. The NV11 body only had one connecting lug for a wrist strap. I’m a neck strap kinda’ guy.
I dropped it twice, but it kept working. The third drop killed it.
I have a Nikon P300 that has the same 1-lug problem. I’ve had it for 6 years. Another great little point-and-shoot. I attached a Hakuba Neck Strap to the lug… it’s actually more like a lanyard with a detachable clip that uses a thin nylon string loop. Although it’s no longer available, there are plenty of alternatives available that serve the same purpose.
I’m happy to report the P300 has yet to hit the ground.
I’ve been blogging, photo blogging that is, off and on since 2004. Mostly just pictures. Sometimes words.
I’m living in a different location these days, recently retiring and leaving Silicon Valley. I loved living in California, but it’s just too damn expensive.
That means new experiences. New people in my life. New routines. New things around me to shoot.
I’m making lots of pictures these days. It’s taken me almost 2 full years to get to a point where I’m as active with my photography as I was back around 2009-10.
Feels pretty damned good.
Russ Morris. Slightly Obsessed With Photography since 1964. 