BE MY VALENTINE!

I'm so lucky to have this angel to be my valentine every year!  This photo is from Nini's house in Hazaribagh, in the state of Jharkhand, India.  Isn't she pretty?  I used a small reflector to create the catchlights in her eyes and spent about 15 minutes processing this photo in lightroom.  Overall, it's pretty simple when you have a beautiful model!

Photo taken Jan 4, 2012

BEAUTIFUL DADI, HAZARIBAGH, JHARKHAND, INDIA

My favorite photo from our recent trip to India.  This one makes all of the gear and time spent studying portraiture worth while.  This is Nini's grandmother Dadi, and she is too amazing for words.  I'm so happy to have a few good photos of Dadi in my collection now, some from this trip and some from when she visited the states in the fall of 2010.  To me this photo is priceless, and I would gladly pay any price for a photo of my own grandmother just like this one.

I used one light for this portrait, a speedlite in a softbox in front of Dadi and to the camera right, lighting Dadi from just short of a 90 degree angle (maybe 80 or 70 degrees).  I always start with one light, usually a softbox like this, and then add additional background, hair and fill lights or reflectors.  Usually I like the results with one light the best so I make sure to spend a lot of time shooting with one light at the start.

THREE AMIGOS, HAZARIBAGH, JHARKHAND INDIA

Ever been to Hazaribagh in the state of Jharkhand India?  It's a small town by Indian standards, but I love it there.  When I'm travelling in India people are always asking me how I like it and what part of the country I like the most.  I always say Hazaribagh and most people have either never heard of it, or say something like, "I can't believe you went to Hazaribagh, Indians don't even go there."  But I love the small town pace and hospitality, and of course my amazing family that lives there.

From left to right, Kaushik, Dinesh and Paul.  In total I've spent about a month in Hazaribagh over the last few years and I've never seen a cloud in the sky.  But on this day it was quite cloudy and I knew there could be a nice sunset.  So I convinced my father in law to let the three amigos climb up to the roof for some sunset photos.  Kaushik is Nini's brother and Dinesh is the handy-man of the house.  The three of us are always getting into trouble when I'm in town.

This is a three exposure HDR.  The selective de-ghosting tool in Photomatix has opened a whole new world of HDR portraiture.

RAJGIR SUNSET, BIHAR INDIA

The view from a hilltop in Rajgir, a holy town for Buddhists.  We made a quick one night trip to visit Nini's Aunt and Uncle during our trip to India in late December 2011.  You can see the row of tour busses carrying mostly Japanese and Korean buddhist travelers.  The main road was completely swamped with people wanting to see the holy hot springs where Buddha himself once bathed.  I much preferred the view from the hills and the fertile valleys beyond.  It was amazing that in one minute I was on the road below, stuck in a traffic jam and breathing fumes with thousands of others, and 10 minutes later I was on top of the hill, all alone, taking in this beautiful view.  Everyone was amazed that I could run up the hill so fast!  I was amazed no one else wanted to do the same!

HOLY FAMILY SUNSET

On December 22 2011, my little sister and I went out and photographed the Holy Family Shrine near Gretna Nebraska.  The Holy Family shrine is located about 20 minutes West of Omaha on Interstate 80 and is clearly visible from the interstate.  Look for exit signs on the interstate that will lead you right to it.  The chapel is a stunning combination of glass and wood designed by famous architect E. Fay Jones, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright.  To find out more about the The Holy Family Shrine you can visit their website here.

This is a seven exposure HDR.  There were serious halo problems around the top of the shrine that took a lot of time to fix and I'm still not totally satisfied with it.

HINKSON CREEK GOLD

The golden morning light diffusing down through the trees and reflecting on Hinkson Creek.  Grindstone Nature Area is full of beauty.  This was about an hour after watching an awesome sunrise with Big Red on the cliffs.

WATCHING THE SUNRISE

Another photo from Big Red and I's recent sunrise hike.  This is one of the six exposures used to make the seven exposure HDR photo below.  Which do you prefer?

SUNRISE WITH MY BOY

Big Red and I woke up early for once and watched the sunrise over Grindstone Nature Area.  It was awesome.

LIGHT SNOW AT GRINDSTONE CREEK

Big Red at Grindstone Creek after a light snowstorm.  We had about two inches of accumulated snowfall overnight and a few flurries earlier in the day.  I was surprised that both Big Red and Cheech had no problems hiking in the snow for two hours with 25 degree temperatures.  Big Red even took a little swim in the creek.  It was pretty funny because he got stuck on the other side of the creek and couldn't get turned around, so he just jumped in and swam back to the side of the creek I was on.  I was a little worried since it was definitely a below freezing temperature, but he didn't miss a step.

SUNNY TRAIL, COLUMBIA MO

Most of the leaves have faded at Grindstone Nature Area, but the light is still beautiful and I'm in love with the prairie grass.  This photo is an experiment for me with shooting into the sun and using HDR processing.  I had to make a couple of rough drafts but the third one was the charm.