Spontaneity

For me, spontaneity is the key to a good portrait. I've never been particularly good at posing people. And even when I try, they're uncomfortable and too conscious of the camera to allow their true selves to emerge.

Here's a prime example. Last Saturday I crammed my grandson's new bike, his birthday present, into my back seat of my Honda Insight where it barely fit. Then, I proceeded to his party held around the block at our village park. I had hoped that he would be playing in the field or otherwise occupied when I arrived so he wouldn't see the handle bar jutting out of the window.

However, they pulled up right beside my car when we arrived at the same time. He jumped out and peered through the window. Luckily, my camera was resting on the passenger seat and I had the presence of mind to pick it up.
For a more poetic rendition, visit Recovery Thru My Lens!

Lavender

Each Mother's Day, we go to the North Fork to buy plants for the garden like so many Long Islanders. But this year there was a special treat. Lunch at the Tea Time Cottage in Jamesport where it's all about lavender. Thriving everywhere, the fragrant herb abounds in the gardens, the greenhouse and inside as well. It's in your tea, your whipped cream, your soup, your chicken wrap, you name it. They also sell a line of lavender soaps and lotions that smell divine.

Although it was midday, I challenged myself by attempting to photograph the brightly illuminated place including the sign near the road that resided in deep shade. There must have been about a 3 or maybe 4-stop difference between the two. I accomplished this image by overexposing by 1/3 stop and brightening the sign--as well as the porch--quite a bit in Photoshop. Rather contrasty for my taste, but fitting for the warm, cheerful day! 

Leaving

While I try not to use this blog to showcase my family, I couldn't resist posting this image. Here's my younger daughter, Jaclyn, (my baby) at the airport a few days ago, about to leave for her semester abroad in Barcelona. Excited yet clearly apprehensive, she clutched her wallet and her rollie in the middle of the terminal just after checking her other two bags.

When I raised my camera, she covered her face and screamed, "Noooo, Mom, it's so embarrassing!"

"Come on, let me take just a few."

"Ok," she sighed and looked away."

At first I thought this image so aptly epitomized the moment. But maybe, it just mirrors the mixed emotions of the photographer who happens to be her mother. Even though separating has gotten easier, I must keep reminding myself that she's twenty years old not twenty months. Which raises an interesting question about portraiture.

Where do we leave off and they begin? Are we portraying how they feel at a given moment or how we feel about them?

For me, it's a dance of give and take, just like any relationship.