Thank You.
I'm so grateful to see that you are still you after all this time. You're going into open heart surgery tomorrow and the outcome is a heavy fog, but your eyes s...
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I'm so grateful to see that you are still you after all this time. You're going into open heart surgery tomorrow and the outcome is a heavy fog, but your eyes see it as cloud nine. Thank you for helping me through this.
-July 31, 2015
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-July 31, 2015
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Aug, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photograph at my Pop Pop's house in August 2015, on the corner of Plank Road in southern Pennsylvania across from the-church-with-the-red-roof. Three cars crashed into that house before the township supported his requests for stop signs- until then they claimed he was only trying to get more people to stop so he could sell them old lawnmowers he'd fix up in his Morton building. I was the only grandchild who would come over just to pass time with him, so he took a lot of pride in me and my artistic interests, particularly photography. This was the last photograph I took of him in his house. It was in the kitchen where he spent most of his time, eating and cracking jokes. He's gone now, and the house is going back to the bank. I still wave when I drive by it like I used to when he'd sit at his front window.Time
This was the middle of the afternoon, a normal time for me to decide I could sneak over and surprise him. This time it was with my new $300 SB-700 that I knew absolutely nothing about but decided that it was going to change my life. If this was the only thing I ever made with that speedlight, it was worth every penny. (It may have been a part of my bought-but-never-used equipment pile).Lighting
I feel funny talking about this, because this time last year I knew nothing about photography, let alone lighting. I intuitively bounced the light off the ceiling because it looked bad if I pointed it directly at him, but that's almost exactly what I would have done today, too. Although I would have brightened the ambient light to set the scene- this picture is too dark to capture his warmth.Equipment
I created this shot using my Nikon D610, a 70-300mm Nikkor lens, and an SB-700 speedlight. Settings: f4.5, ISO 400,1/160, 290mm, and flash on auto.Inspiration
I was using my Pop Pop as a test subject, which he was very used to since I was always around and my camera was always with me. I didn't really know what I was doing, but he leaned over and took on that pose and just stared at me, like he was so infatuated with what I was doing. I didn't know if it was intentional or natural, but I quickly mimicked his position to get to his eye level and snapped away. I remember he sat up and with a lot of enthusiasm in his voice asked, "did you get it?!" Whatever the circumstances were, this photo didn't gain any meaning until I looked at it. It was one of those pictures that makes you think "that captured his soul."Editing
At this point, I didn't know much about Lightroom. So I made it black and white, and made some basic exposure, contrast, highlight, and shadow adjustments. I do want to go back and edit the RAW file again. Knowing what I know now, this photo has the potential to look much more powerful.In my camera bag
Nowadays I keep my Nikon D610 and Tamron 24-70 on hand at all times, but I like to switch back to my 50mm Nikkor lens sometimes. I also have started getting into off camera flash, so I keep my octabox and Magmods on hand with my Phottix Mitros+ series.Feedback
This is just a simple portrait, really. You don't have to know much to take a similar one because I didn't know much more than the basics when I took it. Keep the depth of field small enough for a nice bokeh while keeping majority of the subject in focus (this was at f4.5, but a longer lens helped separate him from the background). For lighting, if it's on camera like this was, bounce it off the walls so it will come back with soft shadows on their skin. Point it towards the upper right or left wall to get flattering shadows (you want the light coming from a 45 degree angle above and on the side of them). Don't point it straight up above them or they'll get raccoon eyes. My best piece of advice is to put your subject in their comfort zone and make them feel completely at home with you. That's what they'll remember most. That's something my Pop Pop taught me before he left, and I remember it for every session.
