So after spending the first two and a half hours finishing up the keying in of baseball pictures, I spent almost an hour with Mrs. Bennett and her daughter going over dance pictures for the last three dance seasons. This is one of our favorites of her. A little of the new Impressions has been applied. You can see that the skin glows a little, there’s more emphasis on the face and it just seems so much softer. There are technical descriptions for what we’ve done, but the picture speaks for itself.
After that, I hurried down to Inwood to do some team photos for Professional Realty, Inc. in Inwood. I was really taken by the building they occupy. Built from modulars, it has the appearance of a nice home on the side of the road, but inside it is all office. I really liked the front porch – which needs some furniture, but did have a lot of nice hanging flowers. So, when they tell you it’s the fourth driveway on the left, don’t pass by the blue house with the wide front porch – that’s the office!
Here’s a shot from their sitting. They had about 15 photos taken in four locations and in two outfits. We did it all in about an hour. Very cooperative and helpful, Kathy, Pam, Melissa and Sam made this job a real delight.
When I got back, and after relaxing for a brief moment, another of our dance parents stopped by to see some of the photos. Mrs. Stocker has always been one of our best clients, and enjoys the photos of her daughter a great deal. Diana and I enjoyed sitting with her and talking about her daughter’s portraits, and reviewing something special we’re doing with one of her portraits in particular. Hopefully I’ll have more on that later this week.
Speaking of dance pictures. It’s time for a brag. It’s not often during dance picture season that you have the opportunity to take a magnificent image – one that turns everyone’s head. Well, in a dance studio like Tari Jo’s, there are going to be talented dancers. And Sara is quite talented, and challenged herself and me to capture an image that embodied the skill of the dancer and the timing of the photographer. That image is below. An image like this deserves special treatment, so Diana added some wonderful Impressions work and it went from “wow!” to stunning.
At home, I picked up some branches so Diana could continue mowing while the dogs were out romping around. I did a little more painting around the windows, and took a short fall that bruised my right elbow… I think I’ll live. But the painting will continue. 🙂
Good night, all.
Instead of trying to go back and catch everything up, I’ve changed the way I’m doing things. I’m going to spend at least 10-15 minutes EVERY DAY on my blog, regardless of what else goes on. It has been my sanity in the past, hopefully it will just be a good release.
So, we’re painting the house. We moved into our home in 1994 and it was in great shape. The former owners took exceptional care of it and we enjoyed how well they had done so. Over the years, though, we kept promising ourselves to paint the house. We got close a couple of times, even taking the paint chips home and looking them over. But alas, we never resolved to do it.
This year, we were determined. Diana was more determined than I, so it was important to me as well. We agreed on a color early in the spring and it got put aside again. But around the middle of May we were at the Home Depot and picked up some more paint chips to look at and matched one with the color we had settled on over the winter. We went ahead and bought the paint, plus some white for the trim, some roller kits, brushes, tape, everything we thought we’d need. We had some stuff left over from when we painted the studio, so we were ready to go.
On Memorial Day Sunday, we had a lot of help in doing a lot of the prep work and starting the painting. Jeff and Mike removed a lot of the caulk and replaced it around many of the door and windows in the front. Jill and Diana worked on trim and the front patio. I was power washing the house and trying to remove much of the damage done by ivy vines we had over the years. The power washer was phenomenal in removing most of the grime, some of the paint, and a few pieces of the siding. 🙁
After lunch, Tara came by with some friends and worked on the north side of the house for an hour or so before they had to leave. Jeff kept working on painting that side of the house, fighting with a bush. I went to pick up crabs while Diana finished washing the house, and Jill continued painting the trim.
We cleaned up around 7 and sat down to some great crabs and fixin’s.
Thanks much to Jeff, Jill, Mike, Tara and her friends and of course my lovely wife Diana.
Since that time, we have been dabbling. I went to the Wal-Mart and picked up a Wagner Power Painter. Why hadn’t I done this before? Holy moly.
After figuring out a new plan, I decided to spend each evening doing the edge work (around windows and doors) and then this weekend I’ll use the power painter to do everything else. I can’t believe how fast this thing covers. I’m really looking forward to getting it all done. The gutters in the back are next, then a thorough cleaning of the gutters.
I’m off to bed. I have a location sitting on Wednesday. Looking forward to it. 😉
So what have we been up to for the last few weeks? Just name it. And that’s what the answer will be.
In the last week of April and the first week of May, we spent each evening taking soccer pictures for Jefferson County Youth Soccer. There are a LOT of kids in that league, and it takes every day to get them all photographed. The parents and players have all been very cooperative.
On Wednesday and Thursday, April 26-27, we photographed most of the members of the Shepherd University fraternity Delta Sigma Pi. Since we offer extensive school-based services, we do several composites each year for local college/university organizations.
We were contacted on Thursday, April 27 by a young lady who was getting married, somewhat impromptu on Friday evening, April 28 at the Bavarian Inn. It was a lovely wedding. Diana officiated in the gazebo behind the main dining room, and I took photos of the ceremony and family members present.
On Saturday, April 29, we photographed individual racers for the American Scholastic Soap Box Derby which was being held in Shepherdstown on May 13. Each racer was photographed with their car on the practice and weigh-in day at James Rumsey Institute.
Later in the day, we photographed most of the teams from Summit Point Baseball, doing team and individual photographs. I think there were about 20 teams. The weather was beautiful… cool with a light breeze and plenty of sunshine – my favorite!
More to come in the next entry.
It seems like everytime I’m at a family event or somewhere outside among other people where there is a camera present, the question always comes up about where the sun should be when taking a picture of someone.
The short answer is that there is no hard and fast rule. It depends on what else you have available and where the sun is in the sky. Here are two scenarios where the placement of the subjects with relation to the sun are different.
You’re in an open area outside, with very few trees or other covering structures, such as a ball field or the beach. The sun is at about a 45-degree angle to your position, so it’s either mid-morning (10am during the summer) or late afternoon (4:30pm in the summer). Let’s think about this for a moment. If you put the sun behind you (the one with the camera), that means the sun will be on the faces of your subject. They will be very well lit and you won’t need to use a flash. But there’s also a problem with that. Because the sun will be on their faces, it will also be directly in their eyes. Bright light in anyone’s eyes causes them to squint. It also causes their face to distort from the squinting. So now you’re taking a well-lit picture of someone whose face is squinting so much that they look like a raisin. Not good.
So, you decide to put the sun behind them (in front of you) by turning everything around. That works to make sure there isn’t any squinting! But it creates two new problems. The first problem is that now your background is very bright and your camera will underexpose your subject’s faces, making them appear very dark (see the picture below for an example). You can turn on your flash (yes, turn ON your flash – even in sunlight) to fill in the dark spots on their faces, but your camera has to be smart enough to know how to do this properly. The other problem you face is the sun beaming directly into your camera and causing a phenomenon referred to as camera flare. These are bright flares of light that can show up as streaks, circles or a combination of both in various colors. It’s SOOOOO complicated.
But here’s the solution. Place your subject (and yourself) so that the sun is to the SIDE of where you are. That’s right, so that the sun is coming from the left side or the right side. There won’t be much squinting, if any, you will still have brightly lit faces, the shadows will be at a minimum, and the chances of camera flare are almost non-existent. The picture below gives you an idea of what that might look like.
Second problem. Outdoor at the local park, enjoying a family outing. You want to take a picture of your family for the scrapbook. The sun is directly overhead. You want it to be nicely lit, but you are worried about the horrible shadows that are caused by the direct sunlight (these appear as dark spots under chins, noses, eyebrows, etc.). What to do, what to do?
You could wait for a cloud, but sunny day clouds aren’t usually thick enough to dim the sun’s light sufficiently to reduce the shadows. Instead, move your family under a shady tree. The direct sunlight is reduced significantly, and you still have enough surrounding light to get a good photo!
There are lots more scenarios you could come up with, and I encourage you to do so. Please post a comment with your outdoor lighting question (or indoor if you like) and we’ll see if we can come up with a solution for you.
Until next time, keep those cameras snappin’!
I rarely take any real time off. I go home at night, eat, sleep and all that. But time off is like 2-3 days of doing not much of anything. But this past weekend was just that… a few days off to kind of relax and enjoy family and have some fun.
Diana’s mom lives in Robesonia, PA… near Reading. The state capital is just 45 minutes west and Philadelphia about an hour and a half east/southeast. We left straight from the studio on Friday night, hoping to get in and get a good night’s sleep. That’s exactly what happened, except for the sleeping part. Sometimes you just aren’t comfortable in a bed that isn’t your own.
The dogs weathered the 150 minute trip pretty well. They liked that we put down the huge doggy pillow in the back of the car, along with a chew bone and a rope toy. Admittedly, though, they were just as happy to get there.
Jack, our Scottish Terrier. He’s 4.
Saturday was a real do-nothing kind of day. Jessica, my daughter, and Mike (her husband) came up later in the morning along with Cameron, my constant-motion two-year old grandson. We spent the majority of the day on Saturday catching up, chasing Cameron and watching the multitude of trains go by (my mother-in-law’s home is a mere 300 feet from a set of dual tracks that carry a LOT of train traffic). We also took some photos of her beautiful flowers, which involved me on a stepladder to shoot down into some of them.
Diana’s friend Elaine visited from nearby Frystown, bringing Diana a beautiful new spinning wheel to use for her yarn-spinning, at which she has become quite adept. The conversation and good times that ensued lasted well into the late afternoon. That night Dawna (mother in law) made a big pot of spaghetti and meat sauce… everyone ate. Cameron wore a good portion of it, but enjoyed it anyway. Diana’s sister Joyce came up from her nearby home (a block away) to have dinner with us and watch some TV. They left when the yawning started. 🙂
Joyce and Cameron played with the dogs in the backyard. Benny is the wheaten Scotty you see and Bagel is the Basset/Beagle mix in the center, along with Jack.
Sunday morning came with cooler weather and a beautiful bright sunshine that just says “Easter Morning.” We were all anticipating Cameron’s easter egg quest and as soon as Joyce and Bruce (Joyce’s husband) arrived, we got to the goodies. Cameron had a LOT of Easter baskets. This kid was in chocolate heaven. But the real fun came after he was quite content that he had baskets, candy, new toys and stuff to play with.
NOW it was time to go outside for the easter egg hunt.
With only a little help from the seven adults there, Cameron found all twelve of the dyed eggs and four plastic eggs with MORE chocolate goodies inside.
Mike (Cameron’s daddy) helps him recover an egg from the tree.
After a wonderful dinner of ham, potatoes, brocolli, asparagus, and rolls, we were all wondering why we felt like we did at Thanksgiving; full, ready for a nap and feeling hungry an hour later. Unlike Thanksgiving, though, there was no football. So while Bruce and Mike found a baseball game on, Cameron was outside watching for trains, exploring Dawna’s gardens and chasing the doggies around – among other things.
The dogs frolicked in the backyard on Sunday.
When he went inside and demanded Bambi, we were happy to oblige – well, they were happy anyway. I was throwing the ball for Oreo (our Sheltie).
But the movie was soon less important because of something that distracted Cameron. We all snacked on some very sinful cake combinations that Dawna had gotten at the local store. Coffee complemented the desserts and we were once again stuffed. I think Cameron missed out since he was napping. But, he played awhile longer after he got up before Jess and Mike had to head back to West Virginia, since Mike had to be at work later that evening.
Diana and I stayed on, I worked on crossword puzzles and Diana read. It was quiet and peaceful and I felt really relaxed.
Monday morning we got up and got our things together to head back home. After a quick breakfast and gathering up of the dogs, we started the trek. We made a couple of stops along the way, Benny barfed in the back of the car, and we got home in one piece.
Now, back to work. 🙂
Tony
On April 14, I had the privilege of taking some publication photos for Valley Homes and Style at the Happy Retreat home of Bill Gavin in Charles Town. You don’t get to go into many homes with so much history, but Bill was happy to share that the home’s wings were built by Mr. Charles Washington (brother of George Washington), and that the main home may have originally been built as well, but had since been razed and rebuilt in the early 1800’s by another owner of the home. With 12 foot ceilings in the main floor and eight foot ceilings in the upper floors, you can imagine I was enjoying the view.
One of my favorite rooms was the original dining room.
This exterior view would have been nicer if the weather had cooperated a little more. But I wasn’t complaining too much. 
Lastly a view in the living room(s) area. Originally the living room you can see on the other side of this picture was the dining area for guests. As with most early homes, the kitchen was not inside the house. The existing dining room was for family and close friends. Today, the room you can see the most of is used as a living area and the room beyond, for which there is a sliding door, is used as a reading room. Opened to their full volume, 20-30 people can mingle easily.
You can see more images of the home in the upcoming issue of Valley Homes and Style. The history alone is going to make you long for more.
Tony
Starting Wednesday, April 5 and running through Saturday, April 8 there were four softball games that I called. Okay, so I was “scheduled.” The game on April 8 was rained out. I didn’t mind. I had a lot of stuff at the studio to do.
I also had games on Monday, April 10 (Goretti) and Tuesday, April 11 (Martinsburg). Diana came with me on Monday and ran the scoreboard. We had a great time, laughing at all the silly stuff that happens at ballgames.
One of these days I’m going to put my umpire hat back into the ring. ‘Nuff said.
Tony
Another of our friends, Kim, called just prior to the end of March and said that her husband and daughter were having a birthday party (complete suprise to Bill, by the way) on April 8 at the old Shepherdstown Train Station. They wanted pictures, but not the bother of taking them on their own. So she hired me to come take some shots.
After a tea party for the kids, Susha ran the show and decided it was time to open presents.
After that was no longer as much fun, she decided it was time to go outside for awhile and climb nearby rocks with the rest of the kids.
By the time she was done, all were exhausted. Kim was delighted with the photos.
This girl and I have a long-standing interest in her photos. Her mother, our dear friend Frani has been coming to us for pictures of Raegin for nearly seven years. Dance pictures mostly, but also other events, sports, and school functions.
This picture was taken for a dance contest that Raegin, 16, is entering. She’s small, so I call her little Raegin. She has other names, I’m sure. But she’s sweet and smiles a lot, so I stick with little. 🙂
From April 5, 2006
Bev and Pete D’Amour are real estate people. Bev’s been doing this for quite awhile and Pete is something of a newcomer. They wanted headshots, then something a little unusual for Pete’s article in an upcoming magazine. I obliged both requests, and we discussed more pictures out at The Woods Resort west of Hedgesville.
Great folks, Bev and Pete. I look forward to working with them more in the near future.
