Portrait with Yellow

I am entering this portrait in the I Heart Faces "yellow" challenge this week.  I considered using this portrait for last weeks "flower" challenge, but this is a favorite portrait I have with yellow.  Soft buttery yellow looks so beautiful on a little girl...

The I Heart Faces challenge this week is yellow. (I was entry no. 15)

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Black and White

Bridal Portrait

Bundled Up

Bridal Portrait

This photo is from one of the funnest weddings I photographed.  This pose continues to be a favorite.  I love how expressive eyes can be.  

The I Heart Faces challenge this week is faces and flowers - the photo should have both!  (I was entry no. 508 of 646).


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Black and White

Africa Collage

Bundled Up

Africa collage

When I heard the I Heart faces challenge this week was going to be a collage image, I thought of this poster I created for an exhibit about three years ago.  

In fall of 2006, six members of Crossroads Presbyterian Church from Mequon, Wisconsin, USA, traveled to Swaziland, Africa to meet children they sponsor through World Vision and Crossroad's church.  Crossroad church members individually sponsor over 200 children in Swaziland, an area that has one of the highest rates of children orphaned by AIDS in the world.   

I had the privilege of curating an exhibit from the over 6000 photographs taken by the travelers.  It was a huge undertaking, and I loved it.  I felt like I could have been a National Geographic editor sorting through all the photos, selecting and editing and cropping them with a photographer's eye.   

Because I find faces so fascinating, I created this poster for the exhibit.  I spent hours arranging the individual faces for what I hoped would be the best impact, composition, and balance.  I tried to make the faces face in toward the center, or have eyes of some people interact with other people.  I look now and can see some areas I would change...  Oh well.  That is the process of learning.  Color correcting was a challenge, but in the end I was really happy with my collage accomplishment.  I hope you enjoy it. 

The poster was 24x36 inches, but it seems to display fairly well in this web resolution.  Click on the image to see it larger, then click on the image again to zoom in. 
 
The exhibit's images and stories are available via the web so that others may learn more about Swaziland and the opportunities to help and/or sponsor children in Swaziland and other areas where great need exists.  More information and images from this exhibit can be viewed at www.selepimaging.com at The Swaziland Africa Exhibit 

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Family Portrait

Fun Outtakes

Bundled Up

I am participating in these memes:

I Heart Faces (I was entry no. 20 out of 522).
Mosaic Monday.  (I was entry no. 118 out of 126).

Chocolate Delight

The I Heart Faces challenge this week is actually "I Heart Desserts".  (I was entry no. 24 out of 303).

High School Senior: Dramatic Black and White

I am very excited to see the entries for this weeks "I Heart Faces" challenge. The theme for the week is "Dramatic Black and White". Photographers are to submit a photo with at least one person's face, that shows "dramatic, sensational and/or moody" Black and White. Conversion and editing technique is important for this theme.

I have been studying Black and White photos (and conversions) over the last decade. My "style" for Black and white conversions comes from classic film and vintage photography. In the pre-digital photography days, photographers carefully considered backgrounds, textures, and contrast. Photographers thought out and could plan out what areas of a photo would look dark and what areas would be light. Colored filters with black and white film could be used to control what colors "looked" the lightest in Black and White.

Color photography doesn't remind the photographer to remember what a background will look like in a photo - will the greens look dark or light compared to the subject. Will the blue sky look darker then the skin, or lighter? Some photographers strove to make the skin (of a Caucasian) look creamy and light, a point sometimes overlooked when converting a color photo into Black and White today. Today's photo kiosk Black and White conversion frequently leaves skin looking too dark, which the eye perceives as gray. These details are the reason some people are vaguely disappointed when converting a beautiful color photo into a black and white photo.

My current philosophy (tendency) in converting a black and white photo is somewhat classic - make the skin one of the lightest components in the photo (again, for a Caucasian subject). When you have a bride or subject in a white dress, make the white dress the lightest (but still show fabulous detail in the lace and beading); and then make the skin light, but significantly distinct from the dress.

The High School senior image I choose for the challenge shows my current philosophy of black and white conversion. The result does not feel vintage - with the relatively modern white backdrop paper, I believe the look is contemporary and stunning.


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Family Portrait

Fun Outtakes

Bundled Up

I am participating in these memes:

I Heart Faces (Week 13, 2010)
Click here to see the winners. 
(I was entry no. 6 out of more then 1250)
I think this is a record for the number of entries to I Heart Faces.

Angles - I Heart Faces No. 10

I am making a lot of blog posts for photo 'memes'.

Here is my easy definition of an blogging Meme:
'meme' -(rhymes with "theme") - are themes that a hosting blogger will suggest to other other bloggers to post about, and then other bloggers make a post and "link" their post to the hosting blogger's post.

Photo meme's usually have a photography topic suggested, recipes meme's share recipes (perhaps with a theme), some meme's have bloggers write about a particular idea.

The photo challenge at the "I Heart Faces" meme is the largest meme that I participate in. Sometimes over 800 photographers submit a photo for a theme that is changed weekly. On the "I Heart Faces" meme, (and many other meme's I participate in), an internet widget known "Mr. Linkey's Magical widgets" manages the links that people submit.

The "I Heart Faces" theme for the week is "ANGLES". Photographers are to submit a photo with at least one person's face taken from an unexpected angle.  This is the 10th time I am joining this meme.

I took this family portrait for one of my earliest Selep Imaging customers, a friend I have known since shortly after our oldest son's were born. (15 = years now, and counting!) While I have taken photos from this angle since, this remains one of my favorite photos from above... (maybe 'cause I felt so cutting edge at the time. Ooolala.) The three sisters, their spouses and children are smiling and trusting me to not drop the camera!

I am a fan of photographs that capture more then one great expression at a time - because great multiple people photos are exponentially harder to get then a great photo of just one person. ESPECIALLY with children. (Although some adults can can be problematic also.)

Here is my own personal mathematical formula for the difficulty of getting a good photo.

DIFFICULTY = (n) squared ;
where n = the number of people in the photo.

If the difficulty of getting a great picture of one person were rated 1,
the difficulty of getting a great picture of 2 people is 2 squared = 4.
the difficulty of getting a great picture of 3 people is 3 squared = 9.
the difficulty of getting a great picture of 4 people is 4 squared = 16.
the difficulty of getting a great picture of 5 people is 5 squared = 25.
the difficulty of getting a great picture of 6 people is 6 squared = 36.
the difficulty of getting a great picture of 7 people is 7 squared = 49.
the difficulty of getting a great picture of 8 people is 8 squared = 64.
the difficulty of getting a great picture of 9 people is 9 squared = 81...

This formula is NOT to discourage anyone - it is just to encourage photographers with larger families... Take a deep breath and KNOW that what you face (pun intended) will not be easy!
 

The I Heart Faces challenge this week (Week 12 in 2010) is ANGLES. Click here to see the winners.  (I was entry 10 of 802).  

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Black and White

Fun Outtakes

Bundled Up

Bundled Up I Heart Faces No. 9

The photo challenge at I Heart Faces this week is "bundled up". Hundred of photographers will submit a photo showing someone bundled up. I expect many of this weeks entries will have babies and children in snow suits.

My entry is one for the teenagers! This is one of my 'babies' bundled up in a quilt after tubing on the Little Wolf Lake, Michigan, summer of 2009. It can get very cold in between turns in the water, so I bring the quilt along. (Towels get soaked pretty quickly, the quilt can really warm you up.) We were still on the boat, (not that you can see it!); probably a cousin or sibling is being dragged through the water at the highest speed the boat can muster. The glow on Anthony's face makes me smile still. If only our teenagers were always this happy.


The I Heart Faces challenge this week is "Bundled up".  (I was entry 23 of 705).



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Black and White

Africa Collage

Bundled Up

Jump! I Heart Faces No. 8

Jump for Joy!

When you freeze the frame,
for a moment we fly...

I took this photo to illustrate the action "Jump" for a flash card set for children with special needs. In the end, I don't think this was the exact image we chose to use, but my helper really had a great attitude, especially as I tried to line up (frame?) her jump with the yellow panel for the best contrast.


Click in to see the expression on my son as he goes for height!


My daughter can achieve an inner joy - close your eyes and enjoy the sensation.


Tom will jump in the water this way several times a season - I feel it is his happy jump where he is running to embrace the water.


Seven in the air! One of the inspired gym teachers at my children's school does a special jump rope section that the children just love. One of the challenges is to get the most children jumping at the same time. [One of my challenges is to get the shot at the right moment when the children and the rope are at the best position.]

The I Heart Faces challenge this week is called Jump for Joy. This week we were allowed 5 photos. I am humbled by some of the shots you see on the site - my indoor photos are only snapshots. Unfortunately, you can't link to I heart Faces to see more jump for joy photo moments.

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Black and White

Africa Collage

Bundled Up

I Heart Face No. 7

My daughter was wondering - What's an outtake?



Well, honey, it's when a photograph doesn't turn out as the photographer hoped for or wanted when they were trying to get the picture they envisioned. Sometimes they end up with something else; and sometimes that something else is pretty funny. Here, I wanted to document my beautiful young family, on our once in a generation vacation to Washington DC, with the capital in the background lit by the sun, gleaming in the distance with the green lawn in front. What I captured instead was the real life memories - squinty eyes and non-cooperation from some in the family as they made the several mile long walk back to the car after a long day of touring. We would only pass this way once, the shot was now or skip it, and a photojournalistic moment was captured.

(Note: After finding out I could have more then one photo, I added the Washington DC photograph.) The I Heart Faces challenge is featuring photos of hilarious outtakes this week.

Hands Photo

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  Autumn Faces

  Balloon portrait

  Tooshies





I linking this photo to Shutter Love Tuesday.




(I was entry 64)

Puppy Love - I Heart Faces No. 5

I call this photo 'Puppy Love'.

It has a friend's two month old puppy (part bishon, part teddy bear) laying on a heart quilt I made. This photo was taken in early 2009.

I sell this photo as a card in my on-line store.

The I Heart Faces challenge is featuring photos of Pets this week. That's right, Pets, not people. I guess pets have faces too.

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I Heart Faces Autumn

I Heart Faces balloons

I Heart Faces Tooshies

I Heart Faces No. 4 - Sweet Dreams

Anthony asleep with the Dog of his Dreams.

This photo was taken on Dec 16, 2004, the first day when we got our 1st and only dog. My son Anthony, pictured, was then 8 years old and had practiced the piano 300 times to earn the dog. The dog was earned in Fall. On Christmas day the four children (ages 10, 8, 6, and 5 at the time) opened about 28 packages of dog items, and a stuffed dog that fit into the dog crate, etc. They didn't guess what was up, but enjoyed Christmas day with their toys. The next day was super cold. I asked the children - who is up for an adventure. Two of the four, Miranda and Anthony came with me, not having any idea where we were going. We picked up our new puppy the day after Christmas, and Anthony carried him home inside his coat because of the cold. We have great videos of the children playing with the new dog, and Anthony fell asleep with the tired puppy on the hard floor.

For the first several months we worried the children would squash the dog. But Sparky fit in and thrived.

The I Heart Faces challenge is featuring photos of people sleeping this week. 


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Black and White

Africa Collage

Bundled Up