52 Frames: Week 37:  Portrait Of A Stranger!

Portrait Of A Stranger.

Well, there’s more to it than meets the eye, of course – your location, time of day, and the willingness of a stranger to be kind enough to take some time out of their life to help you (a stranger yourself to them). But there’s magic in a camera – some people just open up when they know they’re the focus of a well-crafted photograph.

There’s creative and technical hurdles here too – one of the more important ones being time – you’ll have far less time to compose and take your photo(s) than you would if you had pre-arranged a shoot. You could grab a candid shot or something more glamorous; go low-key to get a moody and intense look. It’s portraiture after all and the images you can get are as varied as there are humans on the planet.

You’re about to experience a shared moment with someone you’ve never met before.

Please don’t shoot from the hip. Talk to a person. If your palms get sweaty just thinking about it, like me, then go with an easier subject, like your local coffee barista, mailperson, or waiter.

Don’t over think this one, other people are just you in a different rental. 

Visiting a nice Italian restaurant in Lahti, I asked our pretty waiter if I could take her photo. She kindly agreed. Haven’t been out much this week as it’sbeen rather rainy, so the chances of taking photos once again happened nearly at the last day. I thought of cropping it to a more portrait, but as it was an at during her work time ,capturing a moment photo, in her busy shift, I wanted it to show the place and to highlight what her job was ,to give context to the shot. Iussed thhe last photo in this post.

warmth of the golden hour

TIPS:

  • Be Friendly: A warm welcoming smile can work wonders
  • Be Patient: People might be busy or not trusting a stranger. That’s ok. Respect their space and choice and look for someone else.
  • Be Prepared: Keep your camera ready with appropriate settings. Scour out cool backgrounds or locations near by.
  • Be Mindful: Do not shoot someone without appropriate permission especially children. Be respectful of people, places and occasions where it might be considered impolite or discourteous to be shooting – like funerals or religious places.
Golden hour by the sea

52 Frames: Week 36: Golden Hour!

Warmth, Tranquility, Contentment… just a few things I tend to feel when I’m watching a low Sun 🌅. I hope you do too, this week during Golden Hour – soft, golden light that happens twice each day. Golden Hour, or “Magic Hour”, is usually considered to be the first “hour” after sunrise and the last “hour” before sunset. 

Golden Hour is when light is diffused and soft and the shadows are long and less harsh than during the day.. Golden Hour offers pretty directional light, so your composition needs to account for the angle and direction of the sun. You could use light flares as a creative choice and shoot into the light or use the shadows to add more depth and dimension to your scene.

Remember, the length of golden hour will vary with where you are on the planet and the time of year.

I seem to leave this always to the last moment. Golden hour, Saturday evening I had an epiphany, I have not taken this shot. Sunset. where I live , was at 8PM, I left the house at 7:30 seaching for a place where I could capture the golden hour. I did not head west, as I was not trying to capture sunset. East that is the direction I drove to. I had half an hour to get the shot. These are some that I considered for the challenge.

warmth of the golden hour

TIPS:

  • Stability: Use a tripod for longer exposures – you would need a stable platform for the camera to avoid shake
  • Get creative: Consider using the lighting in a variety of ways – as fill light or as rim lighting to highlight a subject. (the sun BEHIND the subject)
  • Plan ahead: Be mindful of the time – good light can disappear just as quickly as it can reveal a new facet of the scene.
  • Color Tone: White balance is quite important – whether you’re shooting RAW and then post-processing or editing JPGs straight from your camera.
Golden hour by the sea

52 Frames: Week 35:  Edited By Someone Else!

This week we want you to release your artistic expression by having your image Edited By Someone Else.  The point of this challenge is to gain insight into the creative process of another person and see how their interpretation would perhaps differ from your own.

Seeing different creative strokes can not only help to broaden our own understanding of other styles, but also help us to grow on our photo journey. I want to thank Pirjo Tuominen as she kindly edited my photo for this weeks challenge.

Pirjo Tuominen edited this photo of me.

Below you can se the original and the three different edits, I am sure you are able to pick the original easily that has no edits at all 🙂 I did not take time taking this mobile phone shot, I had my phone in the position that I have while i read something on it and I took the picture. I didn’t have other makeup than I had done my eyes 🙂 Now that I look at it, a foundation would have made a difference to the skin.

taking a Selfie

I am posting this for no other reason than I like this, I might have posted this before in color. This shot says so much about our culture nowadays. Post yourself in all photos, all in glamorous or nice places. I do not do that many selfies, but I do also like to look my best in them.

I also played with the light and contrast in this, how it sets the mood of the photo. I prefer the darker image myself

A Photo a Week Challenge: That Face!

It has been a while since I participated in a challenge, this one is one a Photo a week challenge theme That Face!

Morning walk

This trip down the memory lane to one of our travels to Thailand brought back to my attention some of the photos taken there. This is also at Koh Yao Noi. This woman walking on the beach at low tide pick goods from the beach on the way.

morning walk
dreamy morning walk

How to survive November 2020-26

Reflections

Now we are at heart of November, even gray morning, dull would be the best word to describe it! Grays in different shades can be beautiful, but not this. Veikka is purring an keeping me company, laying on my desk, so soft and furry and content looking big cat. Boy, he sheds so much fur 🙂

Once again it 2 PM, to my surprise there is slight line of baby blue in the skyline. one thing to ne happy about in an otherwise BORING day. Now I have wo cats sitting on the desk and looking out of the window keeping me company.

I was so out of ideas that I could take photos of at home. So I took this reflection photo.

Reflections

I took this photo of a Asian woman taking a selfie a year ago. I tried two different variations of black and white editing, by changing the contrasts and  emphasis of lights, I feel there is a notable change of the mood in them. I myself prefer the darker version.

If you wish to participate in this survival of the darkest month challenge, use this link to add your post to it. PARALLEL LINES

How to survive November 2020

It is here the dreariest moth of the year for me here in Northern hemisphere. The whole month is a constant loss of light. Gray. Depressing. I am taking on a theme for this month. Monochrome. Black and White photos all month. I am taking on a challenge of editing one old photos to my best ability to Black and White, plus one new photo a day, hey, you guessed it in Black and White. Do you you want to join me with this theme? If you wish to participate add your link here to LEPIS

This is the First of HTSN- 2020

Happy smile – portrait of a graduate

An old chest of drawers that is in my husbands office, we have several old side boards or bureaus or what ever you call them in our home. My husband lovers to restore them and we have more of them that we have places for them. It is his hobby. My hobby is art, paintings, sculpture and photography, for some reason they are also all around our house. I have placed my sculptures on the one that is in his office ,that I have not found proper places elsewhere, my four refugees and a woman with a book. Our wedding photo is there and so is my oldest sons wedding photo too, side by side. Continuance.

I was too lazy to go out into the grayness, this being the reason for this photo.

if you wish to participate add your link here to LEPIS

Strike a pose

I took photos of this girl, she posed next to a graffiti in Wynwood walls, I tried several editing ways. What do you think, which one works?

wynwood-walls-62

wynwood-walls-74

Woman

I love taking photos of people. I try to capture a moment in the photo, A true feeling, not a plastic smile. I say this woman sitting and taking in the life around her – and took the shot. Black and white portraits are something I really enjoy. I have here the original photo in color and this final version. Do you agree with me that the BW has more magic in it?Maposa , Goa (91)-4

I have  here also the original photo, color crop, and first version in BW…what speaks to you the most, please let me know.

Black and White Wednesdays ~ Profile

 

portraits_-121

My Memory Art