Evening light

Evening light, originally uploaded by joel9778.

Out for a sunset family shoot yesterday. No matter how many pictures you take, it's usually near the end of the shoot where things start to dial in really well. After all the kids are gone and mom and dad are left, peace reigns and great pictures are there for the taking....

Strobist: SB900 Camera left in a 51" umbrella, 1/4 power. Slight LR3 tweaks.

Family Portrait on the Lake

Family Portrait on the Lake, originally uploaded by joel9778.

It was a cool night on the lake this past weekend as we towed and rowed the swim platform into place. My assistant (and lovely wife) held the SB900 and umbrella on a stand just out of view on camera right. I had an SB800 on a stand, bare, camera left for a little rim lighting. The overall effect is to get the folks on the platform to 'pop' just a little.

It certainly is interesting how all the lighting notes and camera settings get lost along the wayside when the picture itself grabs your attention. I've had numerous comments and observations made by all kinds of people, who appreciate a little different thinking when it comes to the family picture.

The funny thing is I didn't pose them for this shot. They were all milling about as the platform floated closer to the dock. I saw them all standing in a bit of a set-up and waited for the platform to rotate around and present them in an evenly distributed pattern. There you are. Click.

Melia Senior Shoot

.Melia Senior Shoot, originally uploaded by joel9778.
I'm a bit new to the senior picture shoot - this being my second - but Melia was a joy to work with and warmed right up to the ideas and attitudes I suggested.  Here we went for a bit of old glamour to try a little something more than the typical piano shot.  I think we pulled it off. 
Shooting indoors with a DIY beauty dish-gelled- overhead w/ an SB800.  SB600 gelled from the rear for a hair/rim light.

Lori and Donald

Lori and Donald, originally uploaded by joel9778.

I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of Lori and Donald this past weekend. They are a very unique, genuine, nice, and thoughtful couple - I had a blast. My sister-in-law, Ashley, spent the day with me as my assistant and second shooter. Her contribution can not be overvalued - I couldn't have done it without her. These few pictures of Lori are to show the lighting effect created by my home-made beauty dish. My D700 ISO is set to 1000, F-stop is 4, shutter is 1/60th - handheld with a 20-35mm 2.8 lens - in order to capture the ambient back ground. Ashley has the dish about 6.5 ft high and to camera left.

Jordan and Kristen

Jordan and Kristen, originally uploaded by joel9778.

I made Flickr "EXPLORE" for the second time in a month. This picture of Kristen and Jordan was selected for the honor of gracing the main page of Flickr.com - the largest photo hosting/commenting site for photographers in the world - quite an honor, but as you can see, quite a cool picture! This was on Oval Beach in Saugatuck, MI.

Sam at Sea Helping BP

Sam at sea soaking up oil somewhere in the Gulf.

In light of the recent happenings in the Gulf, I thought a little tribute to the absorbancy of the latest diapers was in order.  Our little Sam LOVES the pool and all thing aquatic, even when conditions are rough.  Here he is in our round pool riding a wave that Karen (my wife) created by keeping the water in sync as she pushed up and down on a boogie board.  I added a sunset to the back ground that I shot the other day in Jenison.  The end affect is quite exciting!  Shot with my D700 and SB800 with a shoot through umbrella held over the pool on a 7' pole.