When I'm 92 . . .

I've always had a fondness for those who lives were about 30 - 40 years ahead of mine. There's something about their life experiences and their diplomatic, courteous ways. It was a generation that was buffalo-like. By that I mean, when a storm brewed up in their life, they put their head down and simply walked right into it, head on, and came out the other side a better person for it. So when a client of mine asked me to create some portraits of her parents, who now reside in a nursing home, I was elated!

Everett is 92 and he acts and talks like a man 20 years his junior. His brain is as flexible as a Cirque du Soleil performer! As you can tell, his eyes brighten right up and his smile is infectious. A laugh is always at the ready, and so it was a relaxing time I spent with he and his wife Eva. The images I made will become family mementos for their adult children.

As I look at the image, I wonder why I'm not asked to do this more often? Is it an age thing? Do people think that beauty stops at a certain age? Perhaps the lesson is to not put off having your family portrait made. I know my client is glad that she did this before more changes occur.

We all get old but our inner beauty ALWAYS shines through and that's what endears us to one another.

FAST Cyclists!

Today I worked on a number of shots to get to my stock house in Milwaukee. So I had to post a few more cycling shots from this weekend. Sports photography is fun for me. It gives me an opportunity to PLAY with my camera, flashes and various settings and then even more magic happens when I digitally enhance the image. My friend, Tony Sweet, told us in his Smokies workshop that your success with photography will depend upon what you can do with the image AFTER it's captured. I agree wholeheartedly with his assessment.

This image, which was rather ordinary right out of the camera, came to life after a little digital manipulation. I guess learning various software programs and their updates has paid off! Who needs crossword puzzles to keep the grey matter active? I've got software programs that stretch my neurons!

When I made the image, I was close to the riders and could feel the wind blow by me as they rounded the corner. Can you feel it too?

Cycling Techniques

Wow! Did I have fun last night at the Downer Classic cycling race! Took my new Honl system out for a spin and just played with some shots I had envisioned, as the hunky, heavily muscled cyclists zoomed around the Downer Ave. neighborhood. People have lawn parties and watch the racers blur by. If they drink a little too much, they probably really see the blur! As I walked around the course I ran into about 20 people I know. So it's a fun, summer evening for visiting and taking in a great cycling event. Did I mention that it's free?

So I share with you a few images that I liked from my experimentation. I love the Nikon wireless flash system - so versatile and lightweight. While I hand held these or hand someone hold the Honl snooted flash for me, the successes came when the flash was pointed dead on a cyclist I was attempting to capture. The blur was all fast panning with a shutter speed of about 1/15th of a second.

Another cycling event is due on Downer Ave. the third Sat. evening in July. Stay tuned!