From the Vault : Limelight

I started this blog a year ago, and it has really been a driving force in my photography since then.  I feel like a bum when I let it go too long without new posts.  But, I've been doing photography forever, and I have a decent backlog of pictures. (Not sure if I should admit this, but I just checked my external hard drive and it's at 21,000+ files... and I've only had that since I went digital!)  So, I've decided to post some oldies but goodies.  I think I'm also going to re-edit some of my older work and post it.  I've learned so much about Photoshop in the past couple years that I'm interested to see what I can dig up and fix up.   This picture isn't really that old--2010--but I really like it, and it did well in a DPChallenge back then, so it's my first "From the Vault" post.

Here I am High Desert

This is the first time I've gone out shooting since our recent move up to the Hesperia.  I was scoping out locations for the family pictures I was having done the following day--finally going to get to cross off one of my 2011 goals.  All of these were taken in the area of Summit Valley Road and Highway 138.  They're posted in the order that I shot them, and I like seeing how the light changed throughout the day.  One nice thing about the High Desert is the clean air!

  

Can you spot the ghosts in this one?  Flawed, yes, but I still like it for some reason.  Somebody should have brought her tripod.  Another High Desert staple is gusy wind.

 Sadly, there was plenty of trash as I hiked around...

 Loving this mid-afternoon light!!

 ...and this early evening light.  I wonder what book this is.

 A quick self portrait to see if there was still too much sun for a non-squinty portrait.  At 4:45 pm the light was just about perfect...

 But as the sun goes down so does the temperature.  One last shot, before my fingers were too cold.

Grace's Newborn Pics

It's so hard to believe that this beautiful little girl is three and a half months old already!  We got to see her Friday night and she's just getting so big... and laughing!  I just can't believe how time has flown.  Without further ado, here's a look back at Grace at just one week old.

November Brag Post - Rudy T.

My November Student of the Month was Rudy T. from my Advanced Photo class.  He was an easy pick, because he's been impressing me with his work since last year.  I seen a whole lot of photographs over the past four and a half years that I've been teaching photography, and sometimes I feel like I've seen it all before.  I absolutely love love love new ideas, and I think that is what stops me in my tracks as I pass by Rudy's computer.  He also persists with editing until it looks exactly the way he wants it.  Rudy's work definitely stands apart from the rest, and I can't wait to see what else he'll create this year!

Snow Day

We took the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway up into the Mount San Jacinto Wilderness Area.  It has been a long time since I've seen this much snow, and it was beautiful!

October Brag Post - Elvia G.

Ok, so it's already November 1st and I'm just now getting to my October Brag Post... I guess it could be worse.  I've been further behind before.  Anyway, my October Student of the Month and the subject of this Brag Post is Elvia G.  Elvia has been standing out since very early in the year.  Her work is excellent and full of creativity!  She's also done some extra photography at a couple of football games which is always helpful.  On top of that she's got a great attitude, and since she's in my first period it's such a great way to start off the day.  :)  I want to also give credit to Elvia's photography partner Sara L.  She's a terrific photographer as well, and if I could have co-Students of the Month it would definitely have been Elvia and Sara.  They are certainly a force to be reckoned with--already winning two class wide competitions.  Way to go ladies!

Alice : 3 Months

This little lady was ready for her closeup!  She was happy throughout all of her pictures with bright eyes and lots of cute expressions.  To be honest, I was having a hard time planning beforehand what we'd do with a 3 month old--still too young to sit up, but much more alert and awake than a newborn, so I knew we wouldn't be able to do the scrunched up pics I had planned for Gracie.  It turned out to be a really fun shoot with lots of great props provided by Alice's Mom, and in the end I am really happy with how her photos turned out.

Most of these were shot with simulated window light--a softbox shot into a big white sheet.  The really bright ones were shot in front of an actual window with sheer curtains.  Either a single Speedlight or a large reflector was used for fill.

Alice's Dad is a DJ, and I think this one might be his favorite :)