I'm so glad you found me! I'm a San Francisco photographer, and this blog charts my journey in the ever-evolving world of photography. One of the things I love about photography is that it's a journey, not a destination. I'm constantly learning and meeting wonderful people. Please peruse the blog to your heart's content, then check out my website and feel free to contact me! (I love hearing from you.)

“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow." – Imogen Cunningham

“A portrait is not made in the camera but on either side of it.” – Edward Steichen

Mouseover Monday 9 - The Photographer


Mouse over to see the image in color.  

I've been watching David duChemin on CreativeLive (a class I bought a while ago and hadn't watched yet - yes, I'm behind), and one of the things he said about quality of light really stuck with me. I admit I like softer light most of the time, especially for portraits. But he mentioned one way of dealing with super contrasty light that I haven't used much (mostly because I just avoid shooting it at all).

The method he espoused is exposing for the highlights and letting the rest fall into deep shadow. Especially if you have a small highlight area this can be very effective and dramatic. So while on a photowalk last week (courtesy of the now-defunct Adobe pop-up store) I decided to implement the strategy.

I found a slice of light, positioned myself and waited for someone to walk through it. It just happened to be this other photographer from the photowalk who came through the light first. And I actually like the hard light on his technical clothing and photography equipment - it feels appropriate.

Don't forget to mouse over the picture to see it in color. I like it in color too, but I like the feel of the black and white better.

Also, do you ever have trouble finishing projects? This article might help.

And these are the best 1 minute videos I've ever seen. You must watch all three.