A strange twist of fate recently landed me a couple of new sessions types- an engagement session and a wedding!

I have actually vowed (pun intended) to never do weddings- too much pressure, no second chances for once-in-a-lifetime moments, etc.- not to mention the hours. But this one was a little different. Some close friends, who had been engaged for a long time, decided to make it offical recently, and with very little notice. They emailed close friends and family on Monday for their wedding on Wednesday!

They asked if I would mind taking a few photos… I couldn’t resist. Here are a few faves…

You learn something new every day…

I learned that product designers do sometimes listen to feedback and rework their original designs. And, sometimes it’s just the little things. For instance, I cracked open a new canister of Enfamil baby formula this morning to find a re-designed scoop. The new design has holes in the handle near where it meets the scoop so that formula doesn’t build up there and spill on the counter when dumping the scoop in the bottle! Brilliant. And, like I said, it’s the little things that make me happy

And, yes, I am completely aware that I’m getting excited about baby formula. It’s a strange realization for me that that’s where I am in life! I actually even twittered about this this morning, too.

Wow, it’s been a while, huh?

Having a newborn, getting an aging house ready for the market (in a tough selling market!), an economy in general that tightens potential clients wallets, and an increased workload at my other job all have conspired against me the last couple months… but enough with excuses!

Spring is here and I’m optimistic that the change in climate will also bring a change in opportunities! One change that is already taking root is my acclimation to using Twitter (for the uninitiated, Twitter, according to wikipedia, is a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length). 

So, think of it as an extension of this blog. If you’re on Twitter and you care to know more about what I’m doing, feel free to follow me- DavidKeyes.

In the meantime, here a couple photos of my sons from last week… they’re getting so big!!!

 

You learn something new every day…

Today I learned that the combination of tilt-shift and time-lapse photography, through the eyes of a brilliant photog/director, can be a mesmerizing experience! Check out this video!

BTW, I found out about this from another photog I follow on Twitter- ScottBourne - and one of his blogs, Managing Your Digital Life

I know there can be large time lapses between posts here once in a while… well, this time at least, I have a great excuse. The birth of our third son, Langdon James! He joined us on December 6 at 7:00 pm, weighing in at a whopping 7 lbs., 8 oz., and stretching out to 20.5 inches! He and mom are both doing great!

As you may have guessed, it didn’t take dad long to put him in front of the camera… and yesterday we had a full-blown newborn session. He was a pretty good sport as I subjected him to some precarious, if not chilly poses (don’t worry, mom and grandma were always just off camera with supporting hands and a warm blanket! ).

Here are a few of my favorites… if you’re interested in more of them, feel free to visit my website- davidkeyesphotography.com- and go to ‘Clients’ and enter the password ‘langdon’.

 

 

You learn something new every day…

Sleep is under-rated, under-appreciated, and… zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Oops, sorry!

Last weekend I got to have a session with this cute, little peanut! We had hoped the weather would cooperate to be able to shoot some outdoors but, alas, we live in Minnesota. So, we made the best of it and played around his house.

Even though we set up the white backdrop, one year olds aren’t too fond of staying in one place. I managed to get a few of him there, but I think some of the better shots came when we just let him roam…

 

You learn something new every day…

This session just reaffirmed my need to upgrade my camera. It was a very overcast day and even though the room we were in had ample windows, there just wasn’t enough light to get the fast shutter speeds needed to catch the actions of a toddler.

My current camera, a Nikon D70, is an older generation pro-sumer DSLR that just doesn’t have the ISO range necessary to get those faster shutter speeds… and I am using a fast lens (f2.8). My effective ISO range is up to about 540, after which I start seeing noticeable noise. I’m really looking forward to the day in the near future that I can pull the trigger on my (realistic) dream camera- the Nikon D300- and push that out to 1600!

Of course, I’m still pining for a camera that implements my idea of a combined aperture/shutter speed priority via a floating ISO, as I mentioned in my previous post, The Future of ISO. But, in the meantime, I’m fairly certain the added stops of effective ISO will suffice.

About six years ago a few friends and I started playing poker on regular basis. Over the years the venue has changed as we’ve all moved around the Twin Cities. Other friends have joined the game and some have left (leaving their money behind ). Still, the core group of us who started this regular ritual has remained in tact… until now.

One of the original and founding memebers, Colin, is moving on to “greener” pastures- Boston, MA. Last week, we had our last game together. We invited most everyone who has ever played with us to his final game but, for various reasons and somewhat fittingly, the only ones to make it were the usual suspects.

Knowing how much Colin loved our games and how much he’s going to miss them, I took the opportunity to capture the essence of our games in Troy’s garage. I’d always wanted to photograph our poker games and this gave me the perfect reason. I compiled a few of the best and descriptive photos into a story board, had the usual suspects sign it, and framed it as a going-away present for him. I’m fairly certain it’s not going to be found on a wall in the living room of their new house, but I assume he’ll have a “man cave” and it should go quite well there!

Here are some of my fave shots from that night…

 

We’ll miss you, Colin! Good luck in Beantown! You’ll always have a chip and a chair here in Troy’s Garage!

You learn something new every day…

In the game of life, good friends are hard to come by. And when you’re lucky enough to find one, treasure the moments you have with them because you never know how long they’ll be around.

In the game of Omaha, every starting hand is a good one… except four-of-a-kind in the hole!

I really love fall for sessions. The colors are great, sure. But it also seems to elicit a playfulness in kids. Maybe it’s the nip in the air, or the fact that they’re back in school and a session is a chance for them to blow some steam… whatever it is, I love it! And so did these two sisters I shot recently…

 

 

 

You learn something new every day…

Many a little girl’s dream is to be a model… give them a couple wardrobe changes and accessories and let them go to town and you’ve got yourself the makings of one great session! Tap into their energy and just make sure your shutter speed is fast enough to catch the twirls and jumps…

One of my favorite morning activities is to go for a “Photowalk”. Just grab my camera and go for a walk to see what new things I can see… through my lens. I find that it’s a great way for me to get back in touch with the passion I have for this art.

Recently, I was visiting some friends in Evanston, IL, and found myself with some free time in the morning, in a place that had previously been unexplored by my camera. I got out just after sunrise and there was this incredible mist that gave everything a beautiful sheen. Despite having to constantly guard my camera and wipe my lens clear of droplets, I was incredibly happy that Mother Nature had provided such a great atmosphere for my session!

Here are a few faves from the photowalk…

 

You learn something new every day…

People-watching and sight-seeing, combined with a healthy stroll in a new environment can be such a liberating and eye-opening experience. Throw in a camera, a favorite playlist of music, dramatic lighting, and a light sprinkle, and that experience quickly becomes a transcendental one. I got it all this day.

So, what I learned is that I need to do this sort of thing (a lot) more often. And, if you’re ever looking for a quick and easy “get-away”, I strongly suggest giving this sort of thing a try!

Ahhh, fall. Bold colors, crisp air, and lawns filled with fallen leaves. Throw in a family having fun playing around, and it makes for a great photo session!

There’s really only a few-week window here in Minnesota for this type of setting and we were able to take advantage of that recently. Again we were lucky that their backyard was able to serve as the perfect space, and the kids were comfortable and care-free… and it showed!

 

You learn something new every day…

About half-way through the session the kids were starting to wind down and I was trying to come up with any sort of inspiration to keep them going. Then, in a light bulb, “a-ha” moment, it came to me… I could use my iPhone, with its built-in speaker and integrated iPod, to play the theme songs from some of their favorite cartoons! It just so happened that I had recently loaded a playlist for my own toddler’s favorite songs and these two cuties liked the same ones! Thirty seconds later they were twirling around and laughing up a storm!

On my drive home I started thinking of other ways to incorporate the awesomeness that is the iPhone into my sessions… I’m still tweaking a few ideas, but I will definitely be revealing them in future posts!

I had a session with these super-cute twins for their two year birthday recently… We tried a morning shoot for best light, and we had wanted an outdoor shoot to capture the beginnings of the fall colors. A nearby park with a pond had all the amenities we were looking for- tons of open grassy space, a pond and reedy marsh as a backdrop, a playground to burn off steam, and a tall, steep hill to roll down. Everything we were looking for… and then some. Given the location near water and relative seclusion, it was also a haven for Canadian geese… lots of them! And we all know what these geese like to leave behind as token reminders of their presence It took us about 15 minutes to realize that, as much as we wanted it to work, it just wasn’t going to and it was futile to force it.

So, it was back to the house and their yard. Although it didn’t have a reedy marsh, it also didn’t have the geese and served us well. We also moved inside for a few shots with the backdrop.

 

 

 

You learn something new every day…

Well, it kind of goes without saying that I learned a very valuable lesson on this day… be cognizant of geese and their preferred habitat. If not, it can make for a messy situation! As much as water and marshes can make great backgrounds, this time of year they own that space.

The golden rule of photography is to shoot during the “golden hours” of the day- the two hours after sunrise, and the two hours prior to sunset. Shadows are long, light is soft and warm, and there is a beautiful glow that permeates the photos.

Yet, this is still just a guideline… Even with all the best planning and intentions, we are at the mercy of Mother Nature to actually produce.

Though most of my shoots recently have technically been in the golden hours of the morning, it wasn’t until my last session that Mother Nature truly cooperated. An early morning stroll through a small Twin Cities park in these great conditions let me capture some of best outdoor session-work yet!

 

It didn’t hurt that they were a really cute family either!

 

You learn something new every day…

I’ve realized lately that I really must have been on to something when I posted back in February my thoughts on The Future of ISO (including comments). No less than 3 times in the last week have I referred someone to that post to either learn more about the basics of light capture by a camera, or to help them begin to think about their exposures differently (which was my main intent). And it is, by far, my most frequently visited post.

We’re starting to see the camera manufacturers introducing an “Auto ISO” mode in their high-end cameras, presumably to help nudge us along the requisite paradigm shift in how we think about exposures. Not that I’m suggesting they’re taking advice from me- I’m sure their R&D had been on this track for years- but I like to think that I’m at least helping a few people see the amazing advantages to shifting their approach to photography. Personally, I’m really excited to upgrade my camera soon and begin my own journey down this new path…