Saturday, June 13, 2009

Jack


Jack
Originally uploaded by Elessar
I love taking portraits. I love looking at faces and studying them. Jack, here, was attending my niece's 3rd birthday party. He was being very shy (hiding behind his father) for most of the time I was there. The party was at a park and a bunch of the kids went over to the swingset and sliding board. Jack crawled under the slide and was hiding. I bent over to grab a quick snapshot and got this great spontaneous image. He's got a great smile and those blue eyes! Just one of those images that pops out at you. I probably couldn't have gotten as good of an image if I tried to pose him and get him to smile on cue. It was all so natural. It will be interesting to see him grow up to see if he remains this shy.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009


Dorothy King (nee Kintigh)
Originally uploaded by Elessar
This is my paternal grandmother. She's the only surviving grandparent I have right now. I've really enjoyed growing up near my grandma. My family is mostly farmers and she's no exception. She grew up on my great-grandfather's farm, and lives right next to his farm house. My grandfather passed away back in 1980, so she's been on her own for a long time. She turns 91 on June 10. I really enjoy when when she and her sister get together. Then look out. They are so ornery, even today. I could just picture the two of them as young girls running around the farm, looking for trouble. She had 4 other siblings: three brothers and one sister. Only one brother and the sister are left.

My grandfather was a very quiet man and didn't talk much. When ever I would visit, I would ask him how he was doing and Grandma would answer for him. I used to think he was a ventriloquist and say, "Grandpa, I didn't even see your lips move." She's been a great woman to grow up with. She has a great sense of humor and has always been a caring person.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Tuesday, June 02, 2009


Memorial Day
Originally uploaded by Elessar
Meet Mr. Gray.

He's the Band teacher at my daughter's High School. He's in charge of the Marching Band, and all the other instrumental music at the High School. He's a really great guy. He is able to demonstrate his passion for the precision and beauty of music for hundreds of students each and every year. His students and their parents are touched by his love of music and working with young people, teaching them to love music.

This image was taken at the Memorial Day Dedication to the Grounds of Remembrance in Dublin, OH. The Marching Band marched with the color guard to honor service men and women who had given their lives for all of us. After the ceremony at the cemetery, Mr. Gray and the squad leaders from the Marching Band continued on to the Dedication ceremony. After the dignitaries finished speaking and everyone had started to leave, one of the Army service women who was part of the squad firing the 21-gun salute, came up to the squad leaders to tell them how much it meant to her to hear them playing Taps during the ceremony. I don't think that any of those students will forget that moment. She had tears running down her face as she described how important it was to hear that music and how much it meant to her.

I captured this image during the dedication ceremony. You usually see Mr. Gray, standing, straight and tall during a football game, or concert, or civic ceremony, and he usually has this little smile on his face. I don't know what's going on inside his head, but I guess that he's thinking about how proud he is of his students. They work hard and do an excellent job. I'm going to miss being around Mr. Gray. My daughter graduated from High School this past weekend and I won't be involved in Marching Band, or Concert Band, or the Theatre shows. But I've got this really nice image.

Thursday, May 28, 2009


Memorial Day
Originally uploaded by Elessar
This is my second favorite picture from this past memorial day. I chose to make this image black and white to emphasize the link to the vietnam war, where much of the photography from that era was black and white. I also wanted to focus on the image of the veterans bearing the colors. Every year, the city of Dublin, Ohio honors our veterans from the Navy and Coast Guard who have given their lives in service to America by having one of the high school marching bands play taps while a wreath is cast upon the Scioto river. It's a very touching tribute to the people who have given their lives for our freedoms.

Memorial Day


Memorial Day
Originally uploaded by Elessar
Once again, I'm left to ask if we as Americans are still finding something more important on Memorial Day, than just a day off of work or a collection of sales. After attending the dedication ceremony for the Grounds of Remembrance in Dublin, Ohio, I think the answer is yes. The grounds were packed with people attending. The colors were brought in by members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Marines. The power of this symbol was amazing. Thank you, America, for restoring my faith in our shared sacrifice, and honoring that sacrifice.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Dublin Scioto Prom 2009


Dublin Scioto Prom 2009
Originally uploaded by Elessar
My little girl is growing up. I've tried to stop her from doing this, but no matter what I do, she continues her journey toward adulthood. This image was from her senior prom.

Fiona has been dating Jake for about 5 months now and they seem well suited to one another. He's patient and forgiving (much needed with the often mercurial Fiona). She's passionate and expects to be pampered (I don't know where she got that from!).

The night was very special--my little girl is all gown up and ready to graduate from high school. How did I let that happen?

I've taken my share of shitty dance pictures, but I think I'm finally getting it right. I used two lights for this set up: one to camera left ( my new ab800) and a second light to camera right (my SB-26). Both were through white umbrellas to diffuse the light.

Friday, March 13, 2009

self-portrait-1: look deeply into my eyes

I keep meaning to do some self-portraits. Tonight was a good opportunity. I just got a new backdrop, nikon sb26 flash and backdrop flash stand. No one was around to be my vicitim, er.. volunteer, so I set up everything and took a couple of self-portraits. Geez, that's a little scary if you ask me. I wouldn't want to bump into that in a dark alley.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Portrait of two young women


Modeling-13
Originally uploaded by Elessar
I've been wanting to do a series of portraits of my daughter and my friends' daughter for a while and finally got the chance this past week. We spent a couple of hours taking photos, about 130 in all and I posted the best images on my flickr account. This is my favorite. I had this image in my head long before we took the photo and I think it came out really well. Thanks to Fiona and Leslie for posing for me.