Portraits

One interesting thing about my new site design is that I can now tell which are the most popular images, because each is on it’s own page, so it’s easy to see how many clicks each image gets. Interesting!

The favorites from yesterday were these three, in this order…
2008-04-05-marty-casey-6991.htm
2009-05-16-nathan-9651.htm
2008-09-05-marty-casey-2166.htm

The two of Marty Casey don’t surprise me a bit – of course he gets the most click action! But the other image was a really pleasant surprise – it’s of my nephew Nathan, taken just last month, and it may end up being one of my all-time favorite portraits of all time. It’s just magical…

In fact, all three of the above are among my favorites of all time. Guess my visitors have excellent taste!

My brother and his family moved out of state last week – so before they left California, I shot a few quick portraits of my nephews. Their new home is far away from Southern California, and who knows when I’ll see them again, so it was a good time!





My first goal was to get a beautiful headshot of each of them – something that Grandma could hang on the wall. I definitely feel we achieved that goal!







The second goal was to do a portrait that they got to set up themselves – Josh wanted a shot with his guitar, rock star-style, and Nathan wanted a shot in his bedroom, comfy and relaxed, with bare feet. Very different choices, but I love both images we ended up with!

More later…

I did a really quick engagement session with Richard and Darlene back in March, and these images are from that session. They’re getting married in July!











I think the last image is my favorite. Everything about it – the lines, the colors, the feeling – is just so romantic…

In 1994 I got my first job as a photographer. I wasn’t hired because of my portfolio, or my education, or my skills – I was hired because of my enthusiasm and passion for the art. I REALLY wanted it, and luckily the person doing the hiring thought that was a big asset and took a chance on me. I got a little training – basically set the camera and the lights up like this, use these poses, and work as fast as you can, while making sure the client has a great time. It was a great job! But after a month or so I got bored with the standard poses, and I started to focus more on finding the perfect angle for each person I shot. I started looking for the beauty in that person. And my sales shot way up! I got used to having at least one person dissolve into tears each day – because they never thought they could look that beautiful. It was a very very cool time in my life!

But I started to get bored… I wanted more. I wanted to change the way the lights were set up, I wanted to move the camera, and I wanted to go outside and shoot. I wanted to actually understand how the camera and the film and lights worked. I didn’t want to just set it and forget it, and follow a standard set of poses anymore. Was that asking so much?

So I left that job and started to take photography classes, and then spent the next ten years in the darkroom. I loved everything about the darkroom – the smells, the chemicals, the way you work all day to get one perfect print. There’s just nothing else like a black and white darkroom…

During that first year of school I shot an image that still perfectly defines my style as a photographer. I consider it to be one of my iconic images. There are several very sweet shots on that same roll of film, but this one image, with the wet hair, and the thumb in the mouth, and the big dark eyes – it just says so much about me, as a photographer. I initially titled it “Pure Rock n’ Roll” and I still think that’s a very fitting title.

I’ve thought about retiring it – it was shot in 1995, so it’s nearly thirteen years old now – and I’ve shot thousands of other beautiful images. But something about this one is just so special, and so rock n’ roll, and so me.

For me, it’s an iconic image. It’s who I was at the time I shot it, and it’s still pretty much who I am now – all these years later.

Back in December – back when the weather was gorgeous – I did a session with Karina and never blogged it, so I’m posting it now!


This is my favorite image from the session – it’s all about the eyes!






And finally, Karina with her violin – such a gorgeous instrument!

The hot trend in photography right now is something called “Trash the Dress.” Basically it’s a bridal session after the wedding, where the photographer and client can create crazy-beautiful images without having to worry about keeping the dress perfectly clean and unwrinkled. “Trashing the Dress” is a catchy name, but it’s usually a misnomer since it’s rare for the dress to actually be ruined. The dress may get a little dirty – or wet – or sandy – depending on where the session takes place, but even that isn’t necessary.

I attended a seminar for photographers in Atlantic City last week and a couple of the participants decided it was the perfect opportunity to put together this type of session. Twelve brides, over fifty photographers, and two TV stations showed up. It was a BIG deal – and a lot of fun!

We were divided into groups and “assigned” a bride – I got lucky! Sandy was beautiful, had a great dress, and was perfectly willing to get wet and muddy. The weather in Atlantic City had been muggy all day, and the fog was really low – it was beautiful and very different than what I’m used to in Southern California. Overall it was a great experience! And knowing the story appeared not only on the local New Jersey and Philadelphia TV news, but also on German TV made it especially fun!





















And click here to see a series of images of Sandy playing in the surf – it’s huge, but in my opinion, worth it!

The local Atlantic City paper’s take on the event…
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/top_story/story/7490596p-7386114c.html

I got to do a really fun session last week. Amarantha is not only beautiful, she’s fun and fearless – she was up for anything! The images we got are fabulous – it’s almost impossible to pick out a favorite to post here. Such a nice problem to have! Seriously, click on one of the links below and view the rest of the images – it’s worth it…

You can view the slideshow here:
http://www.cherylspelts.com/albums/amarantha/

Or see more from the session in straight html here:
More with Amarantha…