Deep Thought

RBrogen · June 6, 2009

My little princess pondering the complexities of life. C&C welcome.

EDIT: POSTED A NEW B/W Version with more contrast.

Nikolai · June 6, 2009

RBrogen wrote:

My little princess pondering the complexities of life. C&C welcome.

Randy, I'm not big on kids pics, but this one is great!

Ever though of making it BW or at least desaturating a bit?
I personally find colors a bit distracting...

RBrogen · June 6, 2009

Nikolai wrote:

Randy, I'm not big on kids pics, but this one is great!
Ever though of making it BW or at least desaturating a bit?
I personally find colors a bit distracting...

Thanks Nikolai. I'll post a B/W version and we can compare.

Nikolai · June 6, 2009

RBrogen wrote:

Thanks Nikolai. I'll post a B/W version and we can compare.

Thank you.
This particular BW seems to be a quick hack, it's actually less appealing than color version...

RBrogen · June 6, 2009

Nikolai wrote:

Thank you.
This particular BW seems to be a quick hack, it's actually less appealing than color version...

it is a quick hack...just a B/W filter lol

codiac2600 · June 6, 2009

Wow that is a stunning portrait. Simply one of the best I've seen in such a long time. So much life, great expression, the lighting is to die for, the colours are rich and pure, the bokeh is a perfect wrap for the subject and the treatment is subtle yet defining. Thank you very much for sharing.

PS. I have to agree with Nik... the B&W is well... not.

RBrogen · June 6, 2009

codiac2600 wrote:

Wow that is a stunning portrait. Simply one of the best I've seen in such a long time. So much life, great expression, the lighting is to die for, the colours are rich and pure, the bokeh is a perfect wrap for the subject and the treatment is subtle yet defining. Thank you very much for sharing.

PS. I have to agree with Nik... the B&W is well... not.

Thanks for the kind words Chris. I took it this morning at the swimming pool where she and my son take lessons. She had finished her lesson and gotten changed and her brother was swimming with mom. She was waiting for me to give her my iPhone so she could play a cooking game on it. The pool has floor to ceiling windows and it provide some great light. I shot it with my 70-200L f/2.8 and had just removed a filter. I shot 4 before that one, two of which I think would have been terrific but for the fact that by removing the circular polarizing filter I forgot to make the adjustment for the additional light and the 4 shots were completely blown out.....ARRRRGGGGGHHHH!

Here's one that I'm really mad about blowing the exposure on:

VayCayMom · June 6, 2009

Amazing shot, lost in a dream, the lighting is divine. I like it best in color I like how her hair contrast against the slight bluish green in the background. Maybe she is already getting her Christmas list in order... next year MY OWN ipod!!

Scott_Quier · June 6, 2009

This is just crazy wonderful!!

RBrogen · June 6, 2009

Thanks VacayMom. I'm in technology for my day job so all of my children are quite adept with PDAs and computers.

Scott thanks for commenting. I just wished there was something I could do to salvage the other shot as well. I'm kicking myself for not checking the settings earlier.

Ed911 · June 6, 2009

O B 1...you have done good. The first two are my favs. How could you go wrong...she is so precious...very photogenic.

Thanks for sharing...

RBrogen · June 6, 2009

Ed911 wrote:

O B 1...you have done good. The first two are my favs. How could you go wrong...she is so precious...very photogenic.

Thanks for sharing...

Thanks Ed.

She now has competition ... we just had our 3rd 6 weeks ago... a little girl, Abigail

imagesofhim · June 6, 2009

Exquisite! I, too, love natural lighting!! Thank you for sharing!

RBrogen · June 6, 2009

imagesofhim wrote:

Exquisite! I, too, love natural lighting!! Thank you for sharing!

Thanks Marjohn

Gary752 · June 7, 2009

I really love the first two. I love how you captured the detail of her eyes! If you can salvage the other one, be sure to repost it, as I loved that pose!

GaryB

RBrogen · June 7, 2009

BroPhoto wrote:

I really love the first two. I love how you captured the detail of her eyes! If you can salvage the other one, be sure to repost it, as I loved that pose!

GaryB

Thanks Gary. I was really happy with this shot.

RBrogen · June 26, 2009

I was shocked tonight to see that my photo had been chosen for the cover of the web gallery on boston.com for a portrait contest. Wooohooo!!!!

rwells · June 26, 2009

Randy,

Congrats on a great portrait

Those eyes...

I'm enjoying seeing your photography skills come to fruition

bdcolen · June 27, 2009

Here's one that I'm really mad about blowing the exposure on:

[/QUOTE]

It's okay that you blew the exposure on this one, Randy - it doesn't begin to touch the other one. The first is a really terrific portrait that appears to really capture the subject's spirit and beauty at the moment you released the shutter. The second is a snap of a child who knows she's being photographed and is posed more like a little adult than a child. But the first one? To die for

bdcolen · June 27, 2009

RBrogen wrote:

I was shocked tonight to see that my photo had been chosen for the cover of the web gallery on boston.com for a portrait contest. Wooohooo!!!!

Congrats! This definitely deserves to be there!

RBrogen · June 27, 2009

Thanks Randy and B.D. I have to admit that it seems that it is not so much me sometimes but just being lucky and letting people be themselves. I definitely agree with you B.D. that this one is special and I wished I could know what she was thinking.

Swartzy · June 27, 2009

This is beautiful Randy. The colors are rich and plentiful. The "distant" look gives the viewer such a sense of wonderment..great capture BTW. I think this could work in B&W as well but maybe not as powerful as the color version. Congrats on the contest! Kids are so fun to photograph! Some of the expressions are priceless and enjoy seeing what you come up with

RBrogen · June 27, 2009

Swartzy wrote:

This is beautiful Randy. The colors are rich and plentiful. The "distant" look gives the viewer such a sense of wonderment..great capture BTW. I think this could work in B&W as well but maybe not as powerful as the color version. Congrats on the contest! Kids are so fun to photograph! Some of the expressions are priceless and enjoy seeing what you come up with

Thanks for the kind words Swartzy...I am having a blast every time I go and shoot.

bdcolen · June 27, 2009

RBrogen wrote:

Thanks Randy and B.D. I have to admit that it seems that it is not so much me sometimes but just being lucky and letting people be themselves. I definitely agree with you B.D. that this one is special and I wished I could know what she was thinking.

Luck has very little to do with it. Very few photographers truly understand the importance of letting people be themselves, and how to do it. And then knowing what you have and capturing it is also a real skill.

Your comment about luck, by the way, raises a very intriguing question:

How many of you, like me, often look at an image and find something in it you don't think you were aware of at the time you shot it? And very often that 'something' is what made the image?

I'd suggest that if that happens once in a proverbial blue moon, it's "luck." But if it happens with some real frequency, what is happening is that you are seeing things, shooting, on a subconscious level; something in your brain "sees" that exciting element of the image, and tells you to shoot.

Or maybe not.

RBrogen · June 27, 2009

bdcolen wrote:

Luck has very little to do with it. Very few photographers truly understand the importance of letting people be themselves, and how to do it. And then knowing what you have and capturing it is also a real skill.

Your comment about luck, by the way, raises a very intriguing question:

How many of you, like me, often look at an image and find something in it you don't think you were aware of at the time you shot it? And very often that 'something' is what made the image?

I'd suggest that if that happens once in a proverbial blue moon, it's "luck." But if it happens with some real frequency, what is happening is that you are seeing things, shooting, on a subconscious level; something in your brain "sees" that exciting element of the image, and tells you to shoot.

Or maybe not.

Thanks for the kind words B.D. and it is quite ironic that my neighbor expressed those very same thoughts about luck. I just think of it as allowing myself to see what is there and not to create something from nothing. In most cases, people would be surprised that there is an instant that many miss because it is fleeting but that instant is the essence of a moment. That is what I see through my lens. I do my best not to influence the shot but record what is presented

Deep Thought

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