Portrait – Page 4 – A Photo A Day (Squarespace)

08-15-13 The Pensive Nicole

2013 08-15 Pensive Nicole by Scott Shephard
This portrait of Nicole was taken in the Black Hills at my July “Black Hills Photo Adventure.” I took quite a few photos of her and she was a great subject. I teach that the eyes are one of the most important parts of a portrait and yet I have her looking away from the camera. Why? Well, we were working on a pose that showed her relaxed and seemingly unaware of the camera’s presence. In the next frame, Nicole is looking at me but I ended up liking this one best.

Is this the “real” Nicole? I can’t say, though for the three days she was part of the Workshop, she impressed me as a fairly quiet girl and I think this photo captures that.

For those interested in technical things, this photo is lit with natural light and with a small soft box being held by Nicole’s aunt, Patricia. I converted to black and white and then did something I don’t think I’ve done with a portrait – I added grain so that it looks like it was taken with film. Imagine that!

Canon 5DIII 1/640s f/3.2 ISO400 120mm

07-30-13 Photographer At Work

2013 07-30 Photographer At Work by Scott Shephard
A concern I have about retirement is that as I transition from my “normal” public self to my retired life, some people will start to think about me in the past tense. An even bigger fear is that I might show up somewhere and someone without proper social filters might say, “I thought you were dead!”

Well, I’m alive, though this blog has been on hiatus. So today, like the mythical Phoenix, it rises from the ashes. At least for a while.

And is it any surprise that I return with a photo of our amazing grand daughter, Glenyce? And there are more where this one came from. Do you have a few minutes? There are only 600 or so . . . .

06-24-13 Local Color

Deb and I are on the island of St. John for a couple of days and it turns out that our visit coincides with the annual street fair. The downtown area was open to pedestrian traffic only and was crowded with street vendors of all kinds.

I was trying to capture the spirit of the street fair when I saw this colorful gentleman, who was selling hand carved rattles and decorations. I was working on getting a good candid shot but when he saw me, he called me over a B&D agreeably posed for me. But in the end, it was when he wasn’t looking directly at me that I got the photo I liked best.

His name, by the way is Delroy Anthony, and he is a life long resident of St. John.

Here’s are a few examples of the many things he makes:

Check out more of my Virgin Islands photos here here

06-13-13 A Firm Grip

It is my wife’s birthday today and we are observing it in the Virgin Islands, where are are going to be sailing for a week. But, of course, neither Deb nor I can stop thinking about Glenyce Jane, our new grand daughter, who is pictured here gripping her father’s thumb.

As I look at this photo in the context of Deb’s birthday I am wondering what Clint and Glenyce imagined about the future of their child, Debra. Would she be happy? Would she be healthy? And would she find success?

I would say that for Deb the answer is “yes” to all of the questions. And for Glenyce Jane, the expectations are the same. . .