March 2014 archive

Tatay and his Camera

My dad and his Nikon at the Grand Canyon

From yesterday’s post, you can see I still like to get in front of the camera sometimes. My father was the family photographer. His Nikon was always around his neck, and he brought it on every special outing. Looking back, I am now much more interested in what he was shooting, what lens, what camera body, perhaps what film he was using. I’m thankful that my dad did not shy away from having his photo taken. It would have been a shame to have so many family photos, and not have many of him on film.

Family Vacation Photos

My dad and his Nikon at the Grand Canyon
My dad and his Nikon at the Grand Canyon

If you are the family photographer, be sure to get out in front of the lens! Spending all your time behind will no doubt make your photos better, but after so many years, family will want to see you in there too. Since my dad only had the big SLR camera, all of these were taken with other point and shoot cameras, or maybe disposables. With these subjects, it really does not matter how they were captured, I’m just enjoying looking back and the times that we took time as a family to visit places away from home, and spend time together.

Parents and the camera on vacation
Parents and the camera on vacation

Just writing this post, I thought of a new assignment for myself. With the evolution of Nikon cameras, they have decided to keep the lens mount the same. I should do a shoot with my modern cameras using only my dad’s old manual focus lenses. They still mount on my cameras, and maybe they will make some different images. Will I be able to tell the difference? I’ll give it a try – see if you notice the difference! Thanks to Tatay for getting good glass that I can still use. I’ll be sure that they don’t rust away on the shelf.

Tatay and his Nikon at home
Tatay and his Nikon at home

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Headshots – Northern Virginia DC Photographer

Headshot photography - ©TimeLine Media

Spring is coming soon – hopefully! We had another bout with the snow yesterday, so I had plenty of time to edit photos inside. Every so often, it is good to update your headshots. I have plenty of different images that I use for avatars and profile photos. These are from many test shoots before my clients arrive. I use myself to test lights. Thus, I end up with lots of images to choose from in the collection. This day was no different – T. and I have been coordinating a shoot. Before she arrived, I setup the lights and the background. With the small space that I was working with, I decided to use the beauty dish for the main light on the subject. This modifies produces a very nice quality of light for faces, and there is a huge drop off from the subject keeping the light from illuminating the background cloth.

Home Studio Setup

Portrait lighting testing - ©TimeLine Media - headshots of blog author
Portrait lighting testing – ©TimeLine Media

Keeping the light off the background is important to separate your subject from the background. It works really well for portraits as it gives your subject some space in the photo. This is a piece of feedback I give to a lot of photographers when viewing their portfolios. When you are taking the time to pose a subject, and you are trying to find the best angle to place them for a photo, do not place them too close to a background element. This could include walls, plants, statues, or anything that is behind them. When you place your subjects there, you can get some strong shadows behind your subjects from a flash, and your background will be in sharp focus. I try to minimize both when making portraits – I want the subject to not have any competition from distractions in the background. If you need an updated headshot, contact me at 703-864-8208 or Rassi at timelinedc.com and we can discuss what I can produce for you!

Headshot photography - ©TimeLine Media - headshots example
Headshots photography – ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

SingStrong – High School Competition

SingStrong DC 2014 - ©TimeLine Media

SingStrong has so many ties to the local music education scene in northern Virginia. All of the weekend performances and workshops are held in South Lakes High School in Reston, VA. They have been very generous to allow the festival to take over the many rooms in their art wing for practice rooms, coaching spaces, and some larger rooms where workshops and large group rehearsals can take place.

South Lakes High School

SingStrong DC 2014 - ©TimeLine Media
SingStrong DC 2014 – ©TimeLine Media

The main stage is the auditorium where the SingStrong team transforms the stage into an amazing place to perform a cappella music. It is a lot for both the eyes and ears to take in from the multicolor stage lights, and the professional sound setup. The High School Competition on Saturday afternoon gives the many high school students a chance to use this professional setup. They perform for their family and friends on the big stage as the featured performance at this time.

SingStrong DC 2014 - ©TimeLine Media
SingStrong DC 2014 – ©TimeLine Media

They receive feedback from judges, and the audience gets to weigh in with their votes for their favorite group. For this competition, I listen from backstage. These groups that get coaching over the weekend, really put their newly gained knowledge to the test sometimes with some great results! Directly after their performances, I have them for a few minutes to get a group photo backstage. They are so relieved after finishing their set, and they are excited about how well they performed.

SingStrong DC 2014 - ©TimeLine Media
SingStrong DC 2014 – ©TimeLine Media

All these photos are a really nice memento from a weekend that they have dedicated to improving their singing and stage presence. For a lot of the groups, some members cannot make the trip due to other commitments. I think they have missed out on a unique experience in their music education. Nothing brings a group together like going through a competition together. I hope they take the photos, and enjoy looking back at this time when group singing was such a big part of their lives.

SingStrong DC 2014 - ©TimeLine Media
SingStrong DC 2014 – ©TimeLine Media

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703-864-8208

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