3 Images…

Last night Sarah and I went to the Fasttrack group down at Dane Sanders’ studio in Newport.  The group was started as a way for photographers to meet other local photographers in the area and build an authentic community in our industry.  One of the drawbacks (depending on how you look at it) of being a photographer is not having any other co-workers- well, at least other than Sarah.  This group is a good way to not only have some good “water cooler” talk, but to get different perspectives and support each other, personally and professionally.

Each month there is some sort of topic/assignment and last night’s was to bring 3 images that we really like and share why with a small group of peers.  They didn’t necessarily have to be your “best” shots, just ones that you enjoy.   We had a really fun time, so I thought I’d share it with you, the rest of the world.  Here are the ones we picked…

Sarah-

“I picked this first image because I love the glow of light coming through her veil and I like the composition, but I mostly picked this one because of the moment that it captured… a Dad’s total joy and pride for his daughter. This dad was SO incredibly sweet and kind, after the wedding he called me to say thank you and to share a moment of tenderness about his daughter. A few days prior I had written a post about Raylee where I called her Peanut (as I often do), and he was on the phone in tears because he called his Wendy, “Peanut” growing up. I could just tell he was so fond of her and was so happy for her to be entering this new stage of life… I love how this image captures all that.”

“I picked this next one for more purely photographic reasons. It’s an image that just makes me happy… gorgeous scenery, nice texture and depth, good composition and color, and I like the posing as well.”

“There are a LOT of rather adorable little ones that I have photographed over the years, and it was really hard to choose, but this one jumped out to me because of it’s simplicity in ways. It isn’t about the backdrop, a cute beanie or big flower on a babies head, or how tiny the baby is (like many adorable baby shots are), but I just love how sweet, innocent and simple this shot is. Arleigh’s round cheeks and sweet face make me smile. I feel like this image captures very well all that is amazing about babies… pudgy adorableness, sweet facial expressions, curiosity, and cute little feet.”

Derek-

Each one of the pictures I picked represents a certain aspect of photography that I enjoy.  When it comes to life in general, I’m a pretty calculated person- the same could be said about how I shoot.  I’ll actually spend time planning shots in my head, not even necessarily for the shoot at hand, and wait until the right opportunity presents itself.  And then in the in-between moments, I kind of make myself available for whatever happens and usually end up liking those pictures the best.  The same is true for my relationship with God.  Just a side note…

This picture for me represents more of the “technical side”- the need to challenge myself to see things differently and compose shots well.  We were shooting Tara and Greg standing in the middle of this trail when I noticed how crisp the reflection was coming off this water.  I used a 45mm tilt-shift lens for this picture and actually flipped the orientation upside down.  The colors were beautiful, the day was fun.

Jeff and Tiff are an AMAZING couple!  Their wedding day was emotional, funny, honest, and rich in love.  It was about 80 degrees with a slight breeze in the middle of wine country Temecula- the light was gorgeous coming through the trees and all you could hear was the wind.  For me, this picture exudes warmth.  Warmth in color, but mostly warmth in heart.

This last picture is of my friend Aaron; it was taken at Joshua Tree National Park at sunrise.  (Here’s the original post on our old blog)  We got up at 4 AM to drive out there and hung out for most of the day- good quality guy time.  In between trying to set up the perfect sun flare shot and getting that cool Coldplay-esque album cover look, I caught this honest moment.   I think this picture shows Aaron’s heart- kindness, generosity, humility, and steadfastness.  He’s a great husband, father, and worship leader.

So there they are!  We’d love to hear your thoughts…