Clifford Brown Jazz Festival

My boys enjoy music so my wife suggested we make a family outing downtown at the jazz festival.  There was great food and music.  Because of the likelihood of rain, I left my camera in the car.  However, after sitting for a while watching my boys having fun, I had to get my gear and a blanket for us to share.
I only had the 50mm f/1.4 lens, but this workhorse can get the job done, flash or no flash.  I cranked up the ISO and caught the moments.  Soon it began to rain and we opened our umbrellas.  The large golf umbrella served as a mini tent as my oldest son let rain drops roll down the back of his hand.
It wasn't long before the boys had to burn off some of the funnel cake energy and played in the rain drops.  My youngest let the light rain sprinkle his face.
Little moments like these are what I like.  My oldest took a picture or two of me.  However, the funnel cake sugar didn't allow him to keep a steady hand and the shots were left on the editing floor.

BPAS - Family Photography Workshops Beyond Point and Shoot

I have been asked many times for advice on photography methods and if I give classes.  On rare occasions I have given private lessons, but had not given workshops much thought until now.

Why now?  Well, because as I enjoy the moments I spend with sons capturing the little things they do, I realize the connection my clients have when they request my services.  These loving parents want to document a special time in the life of their family.  Some of these moments happen when I am there and other moments are not so structured and occur at the oddest of times.  If I have my camera available, I capture it as close to the way it occurs as I can.  Most of my parent clients would like to do the same.  So, I have started gathering my notes from what I have done or shared to put together the BPAS Workshops.

Here's how to tell if BPAS is for you:

• You are a parent or grandparent of small children
• You love or want to take pictures of your children
• You want more than the traditional and common point and shoot poses
• You want to get more out of your camera

Well, BPAS is designed so you, the common parent can feel comfortable with your camera and take pictures beyond the stop-pose-point-and-shoot method.  Topics include camera basics, advanced camera settings, personal style and digital file management.  Yes, I have forgone film years and years ago and like the quick gratification of digital.

The workshops are structured for small group, direct interaction between me and the parents.  There will be hands-on activities setup in a comfortable family room setting staying away from the technical theory and more toward the application to get family album results.  The information is derived from my personal documenting style for my clients and my own family life.

If you are interested, send me an email or use the contact link and I will add you to the distribution list to be notified as the sessions are scheduled.

Baby's First Year for Lawrence and Titania

I love this couple. From their wedding until now, they have been great. Now there is more to love about them with their baby son. For this session they chose to mingle with the vibrant colors of a local playground. Nothing says baby more than bright colors.
With my extra gear in my backpack, the baby bag and my two cameras, we started off with a few posed shots since the baby was into it. The 50mm f/1.4 was great for the opening shot, but I switched to my trusty 70-200mm f/2.8 for the lovely portraits.
Toward the end as the sun began to get lower in the sky, I decided to give the photos a kiss of flash to brighten up the family while maintaining a decent background. For the photo below, I blew out most of the frame and then brought it back in with post production exposure to give it a special look.

Every family has a story and this one has beautiful stories.

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Corinne - A Day in the Life

Corinne is a high achiever with many accomplishments to her name. On this day, I had the opportunity to document a day in her life with her latest milestone of her prom. No prom day would be fitting without fresh make up and hair styling from the professionals. In the presence of her onlooking father, she transformed from the day to day to Miss Extraordinaire.
It was a fun day hanging out with Corinne and her family learning about the major tasks and volunteer efforts she had done. Using my prime lenses, I was able to up the ISO and capture nice photos in her home with no flash (except for one or two posed shots). Outdoors, lovely shallow depth of field portraits were achieved of her, her date and her friend.


A fairy tale ending for a princess to be home by midnight (or there about).

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Give Emerald Some Love... Your Vote

I covered Emerald's wedding last year in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. A beautiful wedding with a 1930's era feel and theme. This year, she is one of the finalist in a bridal contest.

Show her some love by giving her your vote at this link http://www.totheeiwedbridalshow.com/Face_of_the_Show.html

The contest ends soon so act fast. Vote. Forward. Encourage to vote.

One More Year - Birthday

Yes, I have officially added one more year to my age. This year I had a small celebration with my family before going back to work. Oh yeah, one candle is all I need. I have learned that there is a point when you go with one candle and forgo needing a leaf blower to extinguish the multitude of candles.




Ice cream and cake for everyone!

Walt + April = Family

I love it when I just feel the love. Three generations in one photo in a place they call home. I was happy when Walt asked me to schedule some time for his family to celebrate their bond at his home. He and his wife always appear to be great parents and It was confirmed at the session.

I arrived a little early to see if we were going to shoot inside our out. Though it was a sunny day, the wind drove us indoors to protect the ladies' beautiful hairstyles. A quick count let me know immediately we were missing the oldest son, his wife and the third generation. With a bright outside and windows bringing it in, I opted to add some internal lighting from my Qflash set up in a stationary location to insure proper contrast and light to the shadows for this family fun setup. For couples only, I would opt for more contrast to set a special mood. Here, light means fun, see for yourself...

While finishing up with one set, this adorable little guy gave a quick lovable poses on the sofa. He feel into so naturally that I quickly stopped speaking to Walt and started capturing him.

They told me that not posing was the hardest part of the session. I guess they didn't believe I would catch a few good, unrehearsed shots, but here's proof. I love laughter. I love good, heartfelt laughter. Aside from that, I love to see cute babies having fun with their grandfather.

If this last picture does not make your heart melt, I'm not sure what will. However, there are a few more heart warming shots from the session. Check out the rest on the slideshow and at the event.

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Music volume and disable controls are at the left.