Family

Have you ever spent 10 minutes in the company of total strangers and felt like you know them? Or at least like you'd like to know them. Maybe it was our common Nova Scotia roots or simply their fun (and I mean FUN!) attitudes that left me feeling like my faith in the spirit of family had been refreshed. Giggles, laughs, pokes, prods, and the occassional threat of a beating with a stick... what could be better?

The topper to this wonderful weekend which included a wedding, an engagement session and these family portraits at the Mactaquac Marina was a picnic and a walk through the Mactaquac Picnic Park with the boys.

365 Days - Day 9

My favorite type of picture. One of my boys! This is the youngest sprinting his way to first place in the 400m run. He qualifies for district championships in June. I thought the group of pictures told a better story than just one.

Day 8

I love weekend moments!

Day 7

The 2009 wedding season has begun! And day 7's photo is a wonderful, surprise, candid - shot before the ceremony during a lighting test on my second camera ... yes ... I now shoot with 2 at the same time! It is important to see the opportunities as they unexpectedly arise. Immediately before this was taken, the grandfather of the groom spent a quiet moment speaking privately with his grandson. (It was clear even to a stranger they are close). He then quietly took his place with his partner and waited patiently for other guests to be seated and the ceremony to begin.

Day 6

Separating a subject from the same color background ... in this case the technique used is selective focus.

Day 5

Back lighting. Look through your own photos because we all have one! That photo of someone sitting at the dining room table ready to blow out the candles on the cake with a bright window behind them and a face so shadowed we can hardly make out who it is. Backlighting. It's a difficult task to light the facial features under these conditions without using flash. It happens in many instances both inside in front of windows and outside with the sun directly behind the subject. The cameras meter senses the light in the whole scene. The photographer must know how to adjust. This explains today's photo.

365 Days - Day 4

This may not be the most beautiful photo I have ever taken! It is, however, an excellent example of finding a small area of focus. The dead leaf in the midst of the greenery is sharp while nearly everything else is not. This skill is important in portrait work where it is necessary to focus on the eyes of the subject.

A Great Gift

Engagement sessions are the craze! But not the ordinary, in the studio, posed type portraits we typically see in the paper. Many photographers are now offering e-sessions that are similar to wedding day photography. What is the benefit? Well, this is an opportunity to get comfortable with your photographer and the camera before one of the most important days in your life arrives. It is also invaluable as a means for your photographer to really determine your style. You may think you want casual, candid type photos ... but do you really? We all appreciate the wonderful, artsy, unique, model portraits we see in magazines but are you capable of relaxing and letting yourself go to the extent it takes to produce them? What post processing techniques, if any, are you in love with?

Your wedding photos will be great without the extra expense. But if absolutely fabulous pictures are your priority then an e-session or a wedding package that includes one may be for you. How much is your forever worth?

For a limited time you can purchase a full engagement session including prints in an album and digital images for a grat deal at Radio Price Club. Here is one photo from a RPC session given to the happy couple as a gift. See others on my wedding blog and more still on facebook.

Day 3

What luck. Two days after blogging about the scents of spring flowers and the sweet sounds of the first frogs of the season, my boys capture a beauty!

Day 2

In keeping with the theme of flowers, showers, wide open apertures and fast shutters ...

365 Days - Day 1

Practice makes perfect! With the daily advancements in technology and technique I have been inspired by my photograhy peers to accept the challenge of 365 Days. Each day this year I will post a picture of something?? Anything. The goal ... to try new things, to test new equipment purchases, to blog more... It will be interesting to see the progression a year from now. Hopefully as interesting for you as it is for me!

Day 1: The beginnings of spring! In this case May showers bring May flowers. My favorite sound is that of the spring peepers and the best smell in the world is that of the lilacs I am "patiently"waiting for.

Surprise!!

This photo was taken in a field between a parking lot and a busy highway in the middle of Moncton, New Brunswick. I was there strictly to watch my son's volleyball tournament. Who would have thought!!