Archive for category Portraits

Wow .. Allegra

I’ve been photographing Allegra for about 4 1/2 years now… and I must say, she is growing into quite a lovely young lady. Several years of dance have given her poise… and she’s always had a presence on camera… at 14, I think she’s going places.

And, as a frame of reference… from my first session with her at 10…

Danielle, Surfer Girl

Its not as glamorous as Hawaii, California, or even Florida, but any place you have waves, you have surfers.. and the Texas Gulf Coast is no exception. I was just taking pictures at the beach when Danielle arrived to try some of the waves on a beautiful January day…

Ballet Portrait

Every January, I have a group of ballet dancers that need photos for the upcoming audition circuit… I was captivated by this young lady’s eyes and her long red hair.

Best of 2011

In the end, 2011 was a good year for photography.. I finally joined PPA this time last year and the growth that has come along with that decision shows it was a good choice. Along with that, I decided to stretch my wings (no pun intended) a little and use the competition process to improve the way I approach my photography.

All of that leads to my favorite shot from 2011.. and my highest scoring print in competition… Morning Glide

And its not over, yet.. its off to competition at Nationals next summer… along with a few others.. will keep you informed.

And to recap the other 5 from this week:

Happy New Year, everyone… and here’s to a Happy and Creative New Year

Best of 2011: Jack the Ripper

This is the only place I’m sharing this image publicly since it is going into the competition circuit next year and I want to reduce the odds of a future judge seeing it.

As people who follow me know, Texas Scaregrounds plays a large role in my life – and not just at Halloween time. We are always thinking and planning and marketing – ready to scare the pants off our customers each year. This one was one of those marketing pieces created this year. A lot of planning and some additional composite work turned out this.. one of my top 3 favorites from the year.

Best of 2011: But the Fighter Still Remains

Another sports image – and another composite – stands out on my best of list for this year.. this time a boxer. This image was not originally envisioned as a composite. I shot it so it would look like he was stepping out from the shadows with a dark background and lots of dramatic lighting. At my first competition at the state level in Kerrville, though, it took a lot of convincing by a couple of the judges to persuade the panel to push it into the “merit” category (80 and above out of 100).

After Kerrville, I took some of the suggestions made and added this background to give more of a feel of him stepping out of or into the arena.. ready to go. It scored in the merit category at the district level last fall and will go on to merit at Nationals this year (along with 2 others, one of which is also from 2011 and still to come this week).

Best of 2011: Catching a Train

Composite work is something I’ve been inspired by this year after seeing a couple of speakers, and this is one of my favorites (there are a couple more that have made my best of list later this week as well). This method allows me to do the photography of the subject whenever I want in the studio and the backgrounds when the conditions are ideal. I can mix them together later and come up with images that sometimes aren’t even possible in reality.

Best of 2011: Erin

2011 saw an expansion of my portrait services into Sports and Hero photography.. here’s one of the first ones that was done this year. Erin’s Hero Portrait on a local golf course.

You Only Thought It Was Eight Tiny Reindeer

But with these three upstairs, it sounds like it.

Merry Christmas, one and all.

Bodybuilding

I love photographing athletes… you meet some interesting people. This woman decided several years ago to not just shed baby weight, but to work out with a trainer and become an amateur bodybuilder. At 39 years old and with 4 children, I think she looks amazing.