Abby's Senior Portraits

On October 4th, I was priviliged to be able to take senior portraits for a friend of our family. We had a beautiful day and lots of great places to take photos. I used natural light and a reflector. Abby wanted some fall colors in her photos which I was happy to do since I love fall and all the changing colors. Below are a few of my favorites from the shoot which lasted about an hour and a half .

This is one of the early shots in the session. I was going for shadowy and dramatic light. I loved how the leaves made patterns on her arms and clothing.

As I mentioned, there were lots of  fun places for us to shoot. This was a ramp next to an old barn. I loved her smile in this one and the pink just pops against the faded wood

These plants were pretty and the light falling on her was just perfect. I asked her to sit comfortably and this is what we got. I didn't even have to coach her much ... 

On the other side of the barn. I loved the angles created by the windows and the door and the faded red made a nice backdrop. This is also one of the first upper body portraits that I did. 

Picked this spot for the lion head and fence which were interesting and fun and then for the tree behind them. The colors and the light drew us to that spot. It felt very fally to both of us.

This old wagon had a lot of character and with the leaves around it, it seemed like the perfect spot. I did pose her for this one but only a little. She just seemed to relax into this place. 

I liked this pose so much I zoomed in and converted it to black and white just to give us more options and because I like the added contrast of black and white 

Her cat walked through and I asked if she wanted a picture. Love the smile in this one and the cat actually cooperated too

This wood pile was down in the woods. I knew as soon as I saw it that I wanted to use it as a spot. At first I just had her stand by it, but then I had her put her hands on top and lean in. This is probably my favorite shot of the session

We moved to lots of different locations-- most were chosen because of the light and the colors or other interesting textures in the scene. This was mainly for the light and the way the branches arched.

I had to get at least one shot with her looking off in the distance. The cinder blocks felt like and appropriate location to do so. 

The porch was another of my favorite locations. I love to colors and contrast of the ferns and the corns stalks and then the orange in the windows behind her. Abby also looks very relaxed and natural in this spot. 

My Aunt who was helping us saw the trees and suggested that we get a few shots there. I definitely think is was a good choice

In this shot Abby is leaning on a stone that is on the edge of the yard. I saw this location and asked her to lean on it comfortably. She chose this pose and I think it worked really well. I love the simplicity of the background as well..

And another in black and white. So simple and beautiful. I love it. 

And one last photo from our session. . I wanted to get another shot that had a really fally background. These trees were across the yard and I had her stand so that we could see them in the distance.  simple yet colorful 

Thanks Abby and Gwen for letting me take these photos and for letting me share them on my blog. It was a pleasure to do this session and I am definitely realizing that I want to do more of this kind of work, especially if I can work with natural light. 

Thanks as always for sharing my photos with me. Not sure what the next post will be, but I hope to continue practicing and expanding my skills. Until next time... 

The sky's the limit

Over the past month the skies in both morning and evening have been amazing. I have been taking lots of pictures of them. I have shared a few pictures and was talking to my friend Brenda -- who always encourages my photography and follows my blog-- about them .  I decided to devote this entire post to the skies. The title for this post is courtesy of Brenda. Thanks.

The first group of sky photos was taken on the morning of October 5th at my sister's house. 

took this one about 6:30 in the morning. I loved the color and the texture of the clouds, plus the silouette of the trees...

and another pinky sunrise through the trees. There are either tons of trees or wires all around my sister's house so I could not get unblocked sky, but I like the leafy effect

My sister drove me up the hill to get the next few shots. The fog was clinging to the hills and the sky was keeping the streaky blue and pink -- great morning for pictures

sharing this one because of the way the sun is highlighting the clouds at the top and giving a hint of yellow. With all the textures of the fog and the branches and the layers of clouds, I just love it

I chose this one because of the silouette and then the streaks and swirly clouds. It creates a dreamy texture that I just loved.

The next series of photos is from Wednesday October 7th. These were taken in the morning and were of the hills just outside of downtown State College.

I love how the color is like flames just above the hills ....

This one was all about the layers in the clouds. Dark on the bottom, blue sky in the middle and then bright fluffy clouds on top...simply awesome 

And this one is for the streaky effect-- I like how it feels like it is coming out of the mountain in rays..

The next series was taken on October 10 in the evening -- on the way home from Bellefonte. These were all taken through a car window....

The combination of colors in this scene is what really drew me to it. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful sky to top it off. It almost looks like a painting, and I love how the light feels like it is coming from the tree on the left ..

The patterns of the streaks is what made me take this picture. It looks like someone took a paint brush to the sky ...

The way the light reflected on the the stone barrier made me want to capture it 

And more streaks just a little darker and more vibrant 

The last series of photos are from October 16th. The first group is from the morning. The light was so beautiful I just had to take some pictures as I was walking to work 

This was one of my first wow sightings that morning. I really love the yellowy clouds and the way they are whispy. I also love the contrast with the blue sky and the dark branches ...

Those of you who follow me, know my love for reflections -- the sunrise was behind me and just looked impressive in the windows. I also like the darker texture to the sky above the windows 

This was all about the shape and varied brightness in the clouds themselves. the sun was just shining through them and silouetted the tower and the trees ( and yes this was still morning) 

and the same scene from a little farther away -- the sun was definitely shining through the clouds more in this one. I love how there is the bit of smoke on the left and how the red tree is on the right also the amount of light in the foreground is nice ...

And now last but not least, the evening of October 16th. We had a brief rain storm and though the sun had come out, there was stil quite a bit of cloud cover... 

This is taken from the 5th floor window of the library -- I love the texture and color of the clouds and especially how the edges are highlighted by the sunlight 

Also taken from a 5th floor window, just a different view. This was right after the rain -- you can see it on the roof still. I love this one for the purple tint to the clouds and also for the golden reflection in the windows and of course the wet look of the roof 

A shot of the same location from the morning. This too has the puff of smoke but such a different feel. The smoke tower feels like it is glowing and I love how the clouds streak and swirl behind it. I also like the shadows in the foreground 

And yes this is a view of the old main tower -- I love the light on the buildings and then the stripes of clouds behind it. The purply blue of the sky just adds to the beauty for me 

Can you tell I take my time walking home (or the sun just sets really really fast) . I love this one for the yellow color of the clouds, for the thickness of them and also for the way they stripe across the sky. Also the light poles show the scope of the scene ( they are just dwarfed by the clouds) 

Color, texture and whispy edges -- need I say more???

I love the color of the sky and the hills -- the hazy effect is very nice-- and then the bird flew through the scene making it even better ...

And finally as it got dark, I took these pictures of the moon. It was such a perfect sliver . I love the dark dusky ble and had to put the branches in for comparison ...

And then over the roof of a building -- just makes me want to say Good Night Mary ....

And that closes this installment of my blog. Thanks as always for sharing it with me. I have a few more sky photos that I want to share from this week and who knows what else I will find in the great big world of ours. Until next time ....

Dogs, nieces, and sky

As I mentioned in my last blog post earlier this week, I have been doing a lot of  practice with my camera out and about in the world. For this post I am going to share some of the fun dog photos I took, some photos of my nieces and a very cool sky (all while I was home) I am also going to share some photos that I have taken around campus of animals, the light and the sky. 

This is my nephew's dog Bandit. He is such a cutie. I took a bunch of practice shots of him when I was at home at the end of September and beginning of October. This shot was on a lazy afternoon. He was enjoying the sun and just happened to look up at me. 

I could not believe I got this shot. I was walking around with the dogs exploring the back yard. I stopped and said Bandit and this is what I got -- so love the look on his face :D 

Later the same morning,  I got these pictures of my sister's dog Marley. I could not believe that I got this shot. She was running up to me and stopped -- it looks like she is laughing -- love it 

And another just a few minutes later. The fuzziness in front of her nose is the mist from her breathing out. Again I love the expession on her face. It looks like she is asking now what? 

Another of Bandit -- this one from the first week of October-- Bandit loves to play tug of war with the rope at his feet. I was sitting on the couch and he dropped it in front of me and gave me this look. I could not resist 

For this one, I was outside taking pictures of the fall morning and Bandit came out on the porch. My sister's pool was still open and I was at the right angle on the hill to see this -- and knowing my love of reflections, you know I had to take this photo

Bandit running down the driveway. His legs are so short and his ears swing -- so cute

And this one is classic Marley. She loves her squeaky balls and she was ready to play

The next series is of my nieces. These were taken in the first week of October. We were decorating for Halloween .. 

Alyssa being afraid of the spider web. Took this using my umbrella and speed light 

Lexi pretending she belongs in the graveyard -- I didn't even coach her. Also took this one with my unbrella and speed light . 

The had this big black cat for the yard and wanted to pose with it. So much fun 

Just out in the yard -- asked them to give me a silly pose and this is what I got. Love thse girls

And then I asked for a nice pose/ smile. Couldn't have asked for better light 

 And the final batch of photos from my trip home. On the morning of October 5th it was chilly and misty. My sister took me out with my camera to get these photos ..

The fog was thing and hanging around late into the morning. I loved the colors of the sky and also the texture of the fog in this one. So fun to get this shot. 

This was on the same hill -- just a little different spot. I tried to get more of the trees and less of the sky and was pleased that I could see the barn and the fall colors of the trees....

I love all the purples and blues in this sky. The striping was awesome and then the added bonus of the fog still hanging in the mountains

And one final shot -- a little more silouettey - I loved the contrast of the bare trees against the beauty of the sky. 

Thanks again for sharing my photos with my. I was going to make this post longer because I have some cool animals and sky  and just some general lighting photos that I want to share, but I decided to share that for another day so that I keep on better track with my posts. Stay tuned :D