5 of my favourite portrait shots






Candid or posed portraiture is probably my fave genre of photography - there's something so fascinating about the human face. These are 5 of my favourite shots from the last couple of years.

The top photo is of a friend of mine - Ellen, just after she had her arm tattooed by another friend. It's a strange feeling having your first tattoo, especially a big one. This shot seemed to sum up the contemplation well.

The shoe shiner is one of my faves simply because of the loneliness that comes through. Just nearby, a south american musician was playing some very upbeat music through a pa. All around, people were rushing through the city. This guy was oblivious to it all - completely caught up in his own world.

Phoebe is the daughter of very close friends of mine in Gosford. She loves attention and I thought this photo summed up her playful curiosity.

The photo of Nat and Erin was one of those spontaneous shots - I really like the way Nat is side on, while Erin is looking directly at the camera - I'm a fan of the colours as well.

The photo of Bek on the beach was shot with my little point and shoot - it was the shot that made me think I'd like to buy a dslr and start taking photography seriously. It really says a lot about where Bek was at the time - in a lonely and difficult place in life. Thank God she's now enjoying life.

Twilight


Something about twilight gets me excited and melancholy at the same time. It's sometimes my favorite, and sometimes my least favorite time of the day. Either way - it's the time that tends to draw out more emotion in me. Today I said goodbye to Deb for a few days - which is never easy, so this twilight was more melancholy. Something about this pic sums up how I was feeling - the stairs going down to the water, the golden glow of the sunset. Anyways, enough rambling - it's funny how so often something about a photo doesn't hit you at the time - but really makes the shot in the processing phase. In this shot - it's the green posts down the bottom of the stairs that really stand out for me and make the shot - combined with the sharp contrast of the stair boards. I wasn't too pleased with yesterdays shot - this one makes up for it. Shot at Sawtell - Bonville Creek @ f22, 5secs exposure, 15mm.


Shot this at a fish cleaning bench on Sawtell Headland after a run with Deb. Wishing now I hadn't shot quite so open, would have liked a little more in focus. Oh well, it's a learning thing!

And finally...





up to date! My fave here is the shot of Peter Boyce - a guy who I meet up with each week to pray, chat and read. He's in front of one of his many vintage cars.

Just hanging in...






This part of the 365 project has easily been the hardest. The stress of life during this time was pretty extreme, and the last thing on my mind was getting the camera out. Still - I figure if I've made it through this, I'm in pretty ok shape to make it through the whole year.

Christopher James

These are some shots from my first baby shoot. Christopher was awake enough for much of the shoot to get some good open eye shots - he's such a cute little man! It was a lot of fun, but also very challenging - giving me a few ideas for next time. My plan is to develop myself to be able to take really quality pics for friends, families from Church, etc as a gift to them in celebration of their newborn.


Why?


Welcome to my blog - over the next few weeks leading up to my wedding and honeymoon this will become a vehicle for my photographic efforts.