HOTPPG Shoot Out 2016 Famillies

We had two families.  They first was this couple and their daughter.  This was really hard as the little girl was not really into the experience.

Christa Aaron and Noraa

My second station was with a teenage girl.  As we were finishing with her, her mother came up and wanted a picture of the two of them.

Courtney and Cindy

The second family was my last station.  It was getting dark, and the little girl was obviously done for the night.  As I was setting up the light and getting my exposure, I clicked this one and it turned out to be quite good.

Benjamin and Baby

I did get one of the whole family after that.

Stevens Family

HOTPPG Shoot Out 2015

The Heart of Texas Professional Photographers Guild held their annual Shoot Out on October 13.  Because there was a competition, I did not post any of the pics.  We had several models and each photographer shot each model for 15 minutes.  After everything was done, each model got several images from each photographer.  This was the best of mine.

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HOTPPG Shoot Out 2015

The Guid held its annual Shoot Out at the Arboretum on Tuesday.  We had several “models” for the competition.  My first one was a couple of bikers from Gatesville. The light was strong, and patchy through he trees, but this turned out to be a really good image

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My last session was with a senior.  By that point, the models and photographers are all kind of tired as we have only 10 minutes to shoot, and it is quite hectic.  In spite of that, I god a nice head shot of her.

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Denton Guyer H.S. Silverados

Audrey is in the Denton Guyer HS Dance Squad – The Silverados.  We went and watched them at halftime of a football game on Friday.  These are some of the pictures I got.

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Family Photography

We had dinner with a couple of friends a few weeks ago, and while talking, I mentioned that I was seriously considering photography as a means of staying active in retirement.  She said she really wanted family pictures, and asked if I would be interested.  Well, their three sons and their families visited on Saturday, and they asked me to come and take some pictures.

I had visions of getting some really dramatic shots, as the forecast was for overcast skies and periods of rain.  So, I thought we would find a place where I could use some lights to get under-exposed skies.  Well, it turned out to be mostly sunny.  They had a spot in the yard where they wanted them taken.  So, I set up a light, and we shot there. The ended up being really good pictures and just what they wanted.

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HOTPPG “Ballerina”

The “Ballerina” at the HOTPPG Shoot Out was Genna. Again the light was harsh, and you had to shoot either in shade or in bright sun.

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Debbie really liked this one of her holding the cedar tree.

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I tried to get a good image of her doing a jump.  Between the timing and the framing, it was nearly impossible.  I probably should have zoomed out more. I finally go this one, but she was way off to the side.  So, some cropping was in order.

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HOTPPG Shoot Out – “Family” shots

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My first shots were with a nice family, Brandy, Tye, and Tripp. It was windy and the light was pretty bad, but I found a nice place for them to stand, and things worked out OK.

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I kind of liked the wider view just as a little distraction.

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As with all kids this age, the challenge was to get him to look at the camera.  I really liked this one because he is actually looking at me (in spite of the hair problem).

HOTPPG Shoot Out

Last night, I had the pleasure of being a guest at the Heart of Texas Professional Photographers Guild open shoot out.  The event was held at Airport Park.  The HOTPPG is a group of professionals in the area.  In this meeting, they allowed local photographers who were not so professional to tag along.  I had a great time.

They had a variety of models representing different types of photography, and, there were so many I did not get to photograph them all.  They had a family, a bride, a teen age girl, a ballerina, a “tween” girl, an infant and a bride and groom.  We each took 10 minute turns with the models.

I had a great time, but it was hectic.  Ten minutes does not give you much time to find a location, build a report with the model, and get some shots.  Additionally, the circumstances made it difficult, if not impossible to use any kind of lighting.  The even was in the evening.  So, there was a pretty good sunset, but it didn’t really play into the even that well.

Anyway, it was a great experience.  I will be posting images as I get them processed.  This is a group I would like to continue to be associated with.  However, I may not quite be in the same league, professionally, as they.

Vision

I just came back upon Don Giannatti’s “Project 52” web site.  I had seen the site several months ago, but it slipped from my memory.  I have been a member of the flickr group for a long time, but, I can’t remember the last time I actually visited the group page.  On this site, there is a weekly photography assignment. The assignments for this year start on February 1.  So, I looked at the 2012 assignments.

The first assignment is to create a Vision Statement.  This is basically a statement describing why it is that I take pictures.  As described on the web site, “Tell us with a single paragraph what you want to be able to do with your images. Tell us what you do without telling us you are a photographer. Accompany that message with a single image taken around your home.”

To me, the reason I enjoy photography is it differs from other modes of expression, and there is something that is transcendently stimulating when I see a really great image I have taken. In 2012, my Aperture Library has over 7700 images.  Every once in a while, as the image would come up on the screen, there was a moment of awe.  Kind of, “Oh boy.  That is good!”

It is becoming easier to take technically perfect images – those with proper exposure, composition, lighting, whatever.  I can look at those and think, “That’s a good image.”  But there is the added, intangible element that is included in an image that is really great.  I take photographs because I enjoy that feeling of producing a picture that is really great.

Now, what kind of image around the house can I make that illustrates that?

Best of 2012

I have gone through the over 7000 images from this year and chosen five that I think are the best.  I am not going to rank them.  Rather, I will present them chronologically.

The first one is from Galveston.  Earlier this Spring, Debbie was walking on the beach and saw that someone had started to pile rocks on each other.  As other people came along, they created their own piles of rocks to the point where eventually, there were hundreds of piles of rocks.  I took this picture of one of the piles.  I used a strobe and softbox to help me make the sky a little darker and to help define the surfaces of the rocks.

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Earlier this Summer, Pat Jones asked me to serve as a second shooter at a wedding.  I enjoyed the process.  The wedding was at an interesting outdoor area in Roundrock.  As the sun was going down, we got the couple to walk with us. There was a place in the woods where the setting sun was coming through a break in the leaves of a tree.  I positioned them in the spot where the sun hit their faces and got this picture.

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For the Waco Wild West 100 Bike Ride, last year, I stood at the end of the Washington St, Bridge and tried to get pictures of the cyclists with the suspension bridge and the Hilton in the background. I got some similar shots this year, but noticed that the river was absolutely still.  So, I went down along the river and shot up at the cyclists on the bridge, with the reflection in the still water.

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Ashley Henager wanted to get some pics at an old house in Speegleville.  A couple days before, she contacted me and asked it we could change and shoot with her husband and son.  I loved the idea.  We shot at Midway Park.  Noah was as cute as could be, but he really wanted to get in the water. He kept trying to get away and get in the water, and at one point, the tug between them resulted in this picture.

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Finally, the last shoot with a model I did was with Heather Lynn Johnson.  I have already discussed the lighting issues, but this shot was really great.

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