Monday, September 24, 2012

A Little Bit Western At Wheeler Farm

My brother and his family have been trying to get together for the past several months for pictures. This was going to be the last opportunity to catch them all together as his two youngest are going to be going on their missions for the next couple of years. We arranged to meet at Wheeler Farm here in the greater Salt Lake area. I was a bit nervous as the forecast called for rain that evening. Lots of prayers and the storm seemed to move in the right direction. A few sprinkles, but other than that we were just fighting light or the lack thereof, due to the overcast skies and the sun going down.



 Wheeler Farm is a great place for rustic pictures.
There are lots of fun little places and a great variety of different backgrounds for family portraits, as well as individual portraits. Whether you like the formal portraits or the more whimsical you can find it there.


 To me photography is as much about capturing the personality of the individuals and or the family even more so than image. So, knowing those whose picture you are taking helps you to understand what kinds of pictures you are going to be taking.





Props bring out the best in personality. Nothing like playing with toys to bring a family together.






 You have to observe what is going on around you to capture some pictures. Sometimes when you are rushing you may miss the perfect opportunity for a nice shot like this one I got of my niece.







Nothing like putting a boy on a tractor no matter how old they are you can just feel his personality just ooze out all over this one.

Sometimes it is the most obvious pictures that get left out. Just relax and have fun. As I have said before I may not be the most technically correct photographer, but I have a lot of fun taking pictures and I don't have to delete a lot. And as you might be able to see my abilities are increasing along the way.

So Just have fun and enjoy! 

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

From Nature to Natures God...

 On our way up to Yellowstone we stopped in Rexburg for brief opportunity to capture their beautiful Temple.
 Even though the weather was threatening we decided to taken the loop to see Mesa Falls. This is the upper falls. Beautiful little hike even though we got pelted with hail it was worth the risk.
While at Yellowstone one of the high lights of our trip was seeing a grizzly bear right up close. This young grizzly came within 5 yards of our van. He did not seem to want to have much to do with us, but did not act aggressive either. I was certainly glad to be on the inside of the van when he got close. Beautiful creature, not as soft and cuddly looking as the black bears we saw.

May 2012 Portraits Just 4 Fun


 Well, it has been a while since I have posted and seeing that this is just an experiment in progress I thought would post a few of my more recent photos. Just having some fun....

 This is one of my favorite families. They are so fun. Emily is so funny. Sometimes she will let you take her picture and sometimes she wont, so, you have to act fast if she gives a moment. Hyrum and Sam, once you get them warmed up, will give you great poses. And Millie is just a natural.














Becky is my sister in law. She is really relaxed in front of a camera. It always makes taking pictures fun. This one happened to be taken at a cemetery while we were decorating graves for Memorial Day.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Recent Edits Just 4 Fun

A guided edit using out of bounds with a gradient
in the background.
Recently I purchased Photoshop Elements 10. Someday I hope to get the complete Photoshop suite, but for now I am having some fun with elements. So here are some of my first edits with my new toy. Hope you enjoy!






Black and White enhanced the eyes burned the eye brows and eye lashes.
Added a reflection with distortion and added Text. 

Out of bounds plus vignette
Out of bounds 
This one was a little more tricky, but it was way fun. I took the picture
Bob Wood, my model, positioned just so then used the quick selection tool
copying Bob and then I found this picture of my son, shrunk Bob and
pasted him in the new picture. The possibilities are fun to think about. 

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Perspective Can Make A Picture Interesting

Often times we see something that we like and we want to remember it. This is an example of what I used to take and what I have learned to see.

Back in the days of film I would take a picture be excited to go get my roll of film developed only to find that the picture was not nearly as exciting as I remember when I took the picture.



However, now I can look at something and say to myself, "that looks cool, let's see how many different ways it can look cool." looking at things from different angels can make the object look that much more interesting. It is fun to practice this as well. 

Sunday, February 5, 2012

A few pictures from Cali :D

I may not be nearly as eloquent as my father, but I think I can give him a run for his money with some of these pictures. Check them out and don't be afraid to comment. ;)



Maybe these one will strike your fancy...









Friday, February 3, 2012

So Many Possibilities...

There are so many things you can do for your pictures to enhance them or bring out different elements. A good picture may not need explanation, but sometimes exclamation can be fun. I still feel like a newby to photography, but I was once told by a professional photographer friend of mine that it is all about having fun. Learning how to create different emotions within the same picture, to me, is fun. These were just a few pictures I took on Coronado Beach on our trip to San Diego.











 Often it is the subtle changes of saturation, hues, the light, the darkness, clarity, a little blur, etc that can make a good picture a little better.





 I like the subtle boarder that Lomo effect gives. It seems to pop the picture just a little more the original shot.











 Playing with color is also fun and effective in creating a different perspective.