Fraternal Twins

I had the pleasure of photographing fraternal twins today. A boy and a girl, 6 years old.

My mother is an identical twin. It's been really interesting growing up with a mom who has a sister who is so close.

These two were a lot of fun, but like fraternal twins, quite different. Natalie was a bit more reserved, Kyle was typical rambuncious boy.

I think I've photographed four sets of twins recently, all of them fraternal.

I liked this toned translation of Natalie's portrait....and loved this one of the two of them together.

Ships out on the ocean

Since I do most of my work outside of the studio, I sometimes get asked if I will do that kind of work. Yes, I would love to bring my studio background, lights, stands and all that jazz to your home if we can find a fun way to work with your children. I really like to capture children as they are. They shouldn't be asked to sit passively for a portrait session. It isn't very likely that your young child is happy to sit passively for a photo shoot. If I can somehow find a way to make it fun for them, I'll be happy to work with your family on a studio backdrop. It needn't be boring or static.

I have to say that I just adore these clients. I've been working with them now for some time. Mom, Dad and kids alike are easy and fun. I had the pleasure of photographing Max and his sister Madeline just the other day.

I call this portion of the session "Ships out on the ocean." Because we dreamed up some play with Max and even dropped bubble stars out of the sky for him. After that the kids changed clothes and we went outdoors to finish the shoot in the wildflowers.

Golden Hour

As a volunteer for the State Parks, I sometimes have the pleasure of leading photo walks. I just lead two walks at Henry W. Coe State Park this past weekend. It's so beautiful up there at that hour most days.

Next walk I lead will be at the Backcountry Weekend but late afternoon rather than the golden hour. I plan to offer another golden hour walk in July. Stay tuned.

So, in preparation for Golden Hour I like to spend a couple of sunsets up at the park to see what I can photograph during that special beautiful time of the day. I like to challenge myself to take something new and special within a few steps of the Visitor Center just to prove to both myself and visitors that you can make really nice images without going very far.

Here are some grasses literally ten steps north of the Visitor Center, catching that special color of the golden hour.

Last Light

Sometimes leaving Henry Coe State Park right around sunset means that we get to linger over last light on the way down the hill. If I see something setting up, I call a halt and Bruce cheerfully pulls up to give me the time to try to capture the scene. Things happen so fast during these last few moments that I often miss my shot.

Here's one I caught. One minute later and it was gone.

Spring's color palette

I love this season. Bright blue skies, still a few clouds from the lingering storms, soon to pass, vibrant greens on the black oaks. Others just coming into bud. And last year's grey cones on the ground.

This was taken at Henry W. Coe State Park where I spend about 50 hours each year working the visitor center. On a quick break, I dropped down over the side of the canyon to photograph this scene.

It's springtime. I'm spending less time in front of the computer and more time out there. There's just this one spectacular month of spring and I don't want to miss one minute of it, so between outdoor sessions with kids and high school seniors, I'm getting lots of fresh air in our local parks which are simply spectacular this time of the year.

Spring Wildflowers

I spent quite a bit of time on my belly in this amazing patch of wildflowers this past weekend. I have to dig out my flower book to identify the pretty pink one. The yellow is Goldfield. And the pretty blue flowers with the blue anthers is Birds Eye Gilia....how romantic is that name !!

A Bit of Sunshine

I love Mules Ears. These members of the sunflower family are just starting to bloom in the backcountry here in Northern California. So just being a little bit backward this morning, I'm posting this photo, the first photo I took yesterday. A little bookend for the other post, which was the last photo of the day.