Archive for September, 2009

Indian French Quarter

September 30, 2009

I have found that there are some images that you see that just strike you; for one reason or another they stand out in your mind.  When that happens to me, I always have a hard time putting my finger on just why that happens.  But I know that for some reason they stick out and I am drawn to them.

One of my favorite authors is Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  His book El Amor en los Tiempos del Cólera or Love in the Time of Cholera has always been one of my favorites.  For the same reason that a photography sticks out at me, a book will as well.

This image was taken in the French Quarter of Ahmedabad India earlier this year.  Ahmedabad sits on the northwest side of the country;  It has both a large Hindu and Muslim population.  But as I discovered as I was going around the city, it used to have a French population as well.  This small area used to be occupied by the French over 100 years ago.  The same buildings that they lived in are still there and now used by the local population.

As I saw this window, for some strange reason the story from Garcia Marquez jumped into my mind.  It seemed to remind me of the story and the place that it occurred in.  I am not sure of the  correlation between the two, but that was literally the first thought that entered into my mind.

Indian French Quarter

Shadow Lighting

September 29, 2009

My youngest son and I worked this past week on creating shadows with an inanimate object for a local photo contest.  We played with lighting, depth of field, focal points etc.  It really was a great project and one that I enjoyed thoroughly.  Not so much becuase of the subject mater, but because of my partner in the project.

This first shot is his and the 2nd one is mine.  Neither of us “won”, but I was proud that he was brave enough to submit his work to a judge, knowing that he could be criticized.

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Backyard Nature

September 25, 2009

I know that this is a “people” photo blog, but every once in a while I see something that I want to post that is unrelated to people.  Yesterday afternoon, the sun was finally shinning and filled our yard with a nice warm glow.  As I was looking out my office window, I saw a ton of butterflies, bees and other flying things around a series of plants.  I quickly grabbed my 70-200 and went out to see what I could discover.  I was thrilled that I was able to get some many close ups and seemingly fill the frame with color.

More rain is coming this weekend; they say about 3 more inches (like we need it!).  So this may be the last sun we see for a few more days.

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Butterfly-7

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13″ of Rain and Counting

September 21, 2009

We have had almost non stop rain for the last week.  Just in one week (at my house) we have had 13″ of of rain thus far.  And it is not stopping.  Based on predictions, this may go on for a few more days.  So we may get over 20″ by the time it is said and done.  It is so bad in parts of metro Atlanta that they have had to close schools down in certain areas.  I have just never seen anything like this before.

While I like rain and water, below is a better example of the type of water that I woudl like to see then what I see outside my office window right now.

Rain_Sunrise

Like Father, Like Son

September 18, 2009

I know that I have spoken about my youngest son before and his interest in photography, but this one may be tops.  He has always seemed to want to help and participate with me in photography.  He gets up early if we want to shoot a sunrise, or stay up late to go walk around the Washington Monuments and shoot them well into the night.  For the past few months he has been attending a local photo club meeting with me and getting a feel for what other people shoot.  Just last week they gave a Basic Photography talk and he was inthralled.  On the drive home he asked a ton of questions: Tell me more about Iso.  What about shutter speed?  How does that work with aperture?  He was like a kid in a candy store; It was just awesome.

This next week is the monthly contest.  Each month we have a theme of different sorts;  This month it is shadows.  Not an easy one, if I do say so myself.  Well, not much of a surprise, but he wanted to enter.  We spent a lot of time talking about ISO, F stops and Depth of Field.  Trying different things, shooting at different angles with different light sources.  We tried diffrent objects to get shadows, moved them around.  And after all of that (and a lot of shots) he started working with Lightroom and Photoshop.  Again, a lot of questions and experimentation.  Trying to make his shot look just like he wanted.

While I certainly gave him input and guidance, this is all him.  I may have told (and explained) what buttons to push, he did it all.  It was his vision, his hands and his ideas that brought this all together.  I am not sure how he will do next week, but, while I am biased, for a 9 year old, this is not a bad beginning at all!!

ShadowyGlasses

Indian Wedding – Update

September 14, 2009

I know that I have said this before, but this wedding was just unbelievable.  I could not believe the colors and the how much they brightened up a room.   The weekend was full of symbolism.  At each and every turn there was a stage that lead the bride and groom to their marriage.  While I had shot a number of Hindu weddings before, this was my first Sikh wedding.  I have to be honest, they were a few things that I didn’t expect;  But that also made it all of the more fun.

I had a hard time picking the shots that I wanted to blog about today.  These are some of the ones that stood out most to be (trust me there are a lot more that are equally fantastic).  Enjoy the show.  I sure know that I did.

Indian Wedding - Sikh

Indian Wedding - Sikh

I have to be honest, this shot was a mistake.  As I was bring the camera down by my side,  I clicked the shutter by mistake.  But what a cool mistake it was.
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Check out all of this color!

Indian Wedding - Sikh

To get into the hall, the groom needs to beg, bribe anything to get past the bride’s side of the family.  Lots of laughs happening!

Indian Wedding - Sikh

Indian Wedding - Sikh

Indian Wedding - Sikh

As she left her parents house “for the last time” she threw rice over her head.  So cool!

Indian Wedding - Sikh

Saying “good bye” to her parents.  I even cried.

Indian Wedding - Sikh

I think they had as much fun as I did!

Indian Wedding - Sikh

Just before she placed the ring on her future husbands hand………..

Indian Wedding - Sikh

I love how you can see both of them in the same shot.  Both laughing, both with huge smiles!!

Indian Wedding - SikhThese 3 guys greeted us as we entered the temple.  Just wow!

Indian Wedding - Sikh

Indian Wedding Sneak Peak

September 11, 2009

There is a lot more to come, but here is a little glimpse of what I did last weekend.  This was a 3 day event with over 600 people.  Long hours and lots of photos (like 2,786 of them) but it was a blast to do and so much fun.  Thanks to Ruby Rideout for letting me shoot as a 2nd with her.  Ruby, I will do it anytime again!!

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Indian Wedding Weekend

September 4, 2009

I am off to Phoenix this weekend to help my good friend Ruby Rideout of Dazzling Images shoot an Indian Wedding.  This is a 3 day event that I just know is going to rock the house.

So, no photo today, just a minor update on what is going on and where I am.  I will post stuff as we go along and hope that I will come back with some great stuff.

Make sure you check out Ruby’s website @ http://www.dazzimages.com/.  She is an awesome photographer.

Enjoy the long weekend.  I know I will!!

Christopher

PS: For your techies out there, I am on the plane (at 30,000 feet) writing and posting this.  The internet has arrived in the sky!

Student Council Portrait

September 1, 2009

My 7th grader comes home last week and tells me that he wants to run for Student Council.  Of course, I am a proud father and truly didn’t think much more about it other than the obvious stuff.  But last night he comes home and says that he needs to make posters for school.  And that is where my head starts to rush with excitement, because, boy do I have ideas!

I took a few shot of him last night and went to work at it.  When I showed this to him, in typical 13 year old fashion, he just rolled his eyes.  I don’t blame him; but I think it is not only good, but funny and memorable.  I asked him if people would like it, and he said that yes, and that it would stand out as he doubted that many other students had parents that knew PhotoShop.  See, there are some skills that come in handy even for a 13 year old.

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