taken with my Nikon FM10


taken with a HOLGA

I particularly love the vingetting with the HOLGA--it's so perfect for a willow tree and a couple photo.

Alex is a kinetic little boy of the tender age of 3. He was very difficult to photograph, for the mere fact that he move so quickly and so much. But every now and then I caught a moment of fun or goofiness that made running around with him worth all the while.

On a technical note, one of the things that helped was keeping the camera on either aperture-priority or shutter-priority, so as I moved through the dappled light in his backyard quickly I didn't have to worry so much about exposure. Usually with portraiture I control everything manually, but there are times (especially when photographing weddings or kids) when it's helpful to have the camera think for you, as long as you're being smart about when you let it do so.

You may remember Liana from her portrait in the Women with Icons series, of course. She and I have been friends since middle school, and it's uncanny the rapport that we still hold together. I met her husband Nathan when they were dating in college, and was honored to be a part of their wedding, and then a part of their chrismation into the Orthodox church.

The two of them are very natural, unassuming, and affectionate together, making them excellent subjects. Liana, of course, is very comfortable in front of the camera, in contrast to Nathan.

It could be that she is so comfortable, perhaps, because we were taking pictures together since we first knew each other. I spent afternoons in high school doodling with her, drawing her portrait while she held still. She (among others) is one of those people I feel artistically drawn to. I find it endlessly fascinating to work with her as a model, and could never get tired of photographing her.