I love lots of shadows in my portraits. This one is from an outing with friends at a coffee shop a few days ago.
Shadow Portrait
Tag: Portrait
An Image of Balance
I took this portrait of my friend Michael yesterday.
I recently purchased a TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 lens (a copy of a famous and very expensive Zeis BIotar lens from the early-mid twentieth century), and this is the first portrait I took with it that I am really happy with. It’s a manual focus lens, and my eyes are not getting any younger, so focusing wide open does have its challenges.
A friend looked may the portrait and said it was “balanced.” That description works for me!
The Endless Stairwell
Last evening I was at a show opening at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Toronto at the invitation of a friend. The building is an old factory, and still has that vibe; he showed me a stairwell that went nowhere and I thought it was the perfect spot for a portrait, so out came the iPhone.
Portrait of a Friend
I met up with my friend Yuri this morning. He is an amazing photographer who can find something interesting in any setting.
Hard Shadows
Normally one tries to avoid hard shadows in portrait photography. But last Sunday, sitting by a window in coffee shop on a brilliantly sunny morning, I decided to go with the hard shadows, and go for an affect of anonymity.
At a Coffee Shop
I was at a coffee shop yesterday (for a photo print exchange event as it was), and this person was sitting near a window, and the light was perfect. The goalie mask in the background was a problem. I ended up with an “Alas, poor Yorik” moment.
Portrait in the Stone Lion Pub
The Hasselblad does not have a reputation as a great camera for available light shooting, and this portrait shot indoors on Ilford XP2 film is not technically perfect, but I like the expression.
Hasselblad 500CM, 80mm/f2.8 Planar lens
Ilford XP2 film
Essentials
Black and White photography by definition is a reductive exercise, just by stripping away colour, to focus on light, shadow, tonality and texture. In this portrait, we go even further; only the eyes and hands are unobscured, but even so the model packs a lot of expression into her eyes and hands. On of my favourite portraits of 2011!
Picture taken with Mamiya M645, 80mm f2.8 lens with 25A red filter, Ilford SFX Infrared film. One shoot through umbrella to model’s right.
Distilled
At lunch on an island, a local hanging around the restaurant posing for photographs and getting free drinks. This image for me distills the experience.
My Third Eye 