Monkeying around

What else is there to do on a rainy day than lie around with your best friend...?

Photo 52: Color of Light | Blue

Mostly everyone has heard of the golden hour in photography - that time right after sunrise or before sunset when the outdoors turns into a warm, yellow paradise.  But there is a brief period of twilight each morning and evening where there is neither full daylight nor complete darkness.  In photography it's quite simply referred to as the blue hour.   

Over the next four weeks Photo 52 will be exploring the various colors of light in our photography starting with the color blue.  With a new baby that wakes up at 5:00 a.m. and my driving need for caffeine, I've been traveling the neighborhood streets during twilight and was able to capture the image below on my walk home.  I particularly like the crosswalk's lack of travelers at this hour as well as the cool light that washes over the concrete.  It's only a matter of time before its filled with people and the light shifts from a cool blue to the warm yellow of another morning.     

 

Please continue along to see the rest of Photo 52's images for this week.  Next up is the supremely talented street photographer, Stacey Vukelj, who is not only my friend but fellow New Yorker.     

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Directional Lighting - Week 5

Maybe it was a moment of reflection or just a chance to catch his breath before taking off again?  Either way my son's fleeting stillness, captured during one of our many trips to the playground, is the subject for this final week of our directional light challenge.  

Please continue along to see the rest of Photo 52's images for this week.  Next up is Justine Knight, my talented friend and fellow New Yorker.    

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Directional Lighting - Week 4

This past week some friends invited us to spend the day at the private Catalina Beach Club on Long Island.  It was our first trip to the beach this summer and my son had the greatest time playing in the sand and water with his classmate turned best buddy, Esme.  The photograph below is a favorite from the day and since it was taken in full sun, I was able to get a high contrast image with my little boy in total silhouette.  Just like the Catalina Beach Club and its Art Deco design , I feel this photograph has a retro style, like it could have been taken on a white hot summer day back in the 1950's.

 

Please continue along to see the rest of Photo 52's images for this week.  Next up is Linda Hooper, my New York friend and extraordinary talent.   

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Directional Lighting - Week 3

Summer is in session and that means many family trips to our local Harlem playgrounds. While taking photos of my oldest son running around the jungle gym, I noticed that my husband was standing in the gazebo covered in light spots.  My beloved reptilian was the perfect subject for our third week of directional light.

 

 

Please continue along to see the rest of Photo 52's images for this week.  Next up is Julie Kiernan, an amazing talent and friend of mine out in Minnesota.   

Fatherhood | Guy Talk

On this Father's Day 2013, I wanted to post an image that still remains one of my all time favorites.  Taken last summer, the photo shows a tender moment of guy talk between my husband and oldest son who was one year old at the time.  My husband is an incredibly loving, engaged and playful father.  When I see him with his children is when I'm most in awe of him, most in love with him.       

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Dads out there!

 

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Directional Lighting - Week 2

This week I used underlighting to create an image of high drama which, quite simply, occurs when the subject is lit from below.  When I took the photo, the only light source in the room was that coming from the iPad.  As a result I had to crank the ISO on my camera way up thereby introducing a lot of grain to the image.  I don't mind the grain however, since I find it adds to its tension and film noir effect, as if the iPad is a mighty vortex drawing him into its clutches.   

 

Please continue along to see the rest of Photo 52's images for this week.  Next up is Linda Hooper, fellow New Yorker and master of beautiful out-of-focus images.  

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Directional Light - Week 1

For the month of June we will be exploring directional light.  Just this morning and in the knick of time, I captured a post for this week of my oldest son voguing by the window. Initially he was watching his daddy move the car below and then decided to climb onto the table and strike a pose.  Voilá!

 

C'mon, vogue!

Please continue along to see the rest of Photo 52's images for this week.  Next up is Jill Cassara,  my dear friend and exceptionally talented lifestyle photographer.   

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Diffused Light - Week 4

It's not surprising how sentimental I've been this final week of my second pregnancy.  The photo below of my first born was taken just before bedtime with a diffuser attached to my flash unit.  He appears so big to me and I'm sure will only seem more so once there is a newborn in the house.  I like the evenness of the light that the flash diffuser was able to create as well as the innocence of his gaze.  And the bruises on his legs are a reminder that he is definitely an active boy growing up far far too quickly.     

 

Waiting for brother

Please take a spin to see the rest of Photo 52's images for this week.  Next up is Jill Cassara, one of the most talented lifestyle photographers I know.   

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Diffused Light - Week 3

As I mentioned in the first post of our diffused light study, one way to soften the light is by shooting through a gauzy, sheer material.  The photo below was not staged.  I promise.  Rather I was lying in bed when I saw my son playing behind our bedroom curtain and frantically raced for my camera.  With a playful moment so fleeting, I managed to capture the photograph for this week which has since become one of my favorites taken so far this year.  Sometimes in photography you are given a gift.     

 

Please take a spin through the rest of Photo 52's images for this week.  Next up is Erica Collins, a most talented photographer and midwest friend of mine.   

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Diffused Light - Week 2

For this week the car wash was my diffuser.  I've been meaning to take photographs while moving through the wash cycle and this month's theme was just the push needed.  The light was filtered through the car wash's side windows as well as the front window of our car.  It was so much fun to shoot through a surge of water, capturing all the droplets and soapy streaks without the interference of windshield wipers.  

 

 
 

Please take a spin through the rest of Photo 52's images for this week.  Next up is Kim Dupree, resident of Texas and talented senior photographer.   

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Diffused Light - Week 1

For the next four weeks Photo 52 will be tackling diffused light photography which occurs when soft light, with neither the intensity nor the glare of direct light, is used. The light is scattered and comes from all directions, thus seeming to wrap around objects.  Also shadows are less sharply-defined and have a lower contrast.

Shooting through windows or soft, gauzy material or in open shade can soften the light while clouds are an example of a natural diffuser when shooting outdoors.  Photographing subjects in light falling through trees is yet another example and was my experiment for this first week.    

This past weekend we spent the afternoon at the Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City, Queens.  My husband and I were seated on one of the wooden chaise lounge chairs shaded by a weeping willow tree while our son played along the waterfront.  Despite it being a rather bright afternoon, the willow's canopy provided the perfect diffusion in the series of photos seen below.  Though not typically my style - I usually opt for strong contrast and sharply-defined shadows - I actually ended up liking the images.  The contrast lies rather in the scenery itself -  tall grasses and the East River juxtaposed against Manhattan's skyline of tall buildings.

 

 

 

 

Please take a spin through the rest of Photo 52's images for this week.  Next up is Linda Hooper, my friend and fellow New Yorker.   

"Boardwalk Empire" in Harlem

Yesterday we were beyond excited to find out that our favorite series, Boardwalk Empire, starring Steve Buschemi was filming down the block from our Harlem digs.  The show takes place in the 1920's during Prohibition so you can imagine the dozens of vintage cars that were lining the street and all the actors dazzling in their finest uptown threads.    

It was such a beautiful spring day in New York City, so my beloved husband and son, donning their best 1920s garb, went for a stroll along the set while I had my camera in tow.

We spotted some of the cast getting styled and even encountered the kindness of the production manager who allowed us to take photos within a cordoned off area.  It was a real thrill.  And if for some strange reason you haven't heard of Boardwalk Empire, click HERE to find out about this amazing show.  You'll be hooked.