I do like portrait photography. Unfortunately, it's not an aspect of the profession that I get to practice too often, although I'd like to do more. There is something so incredibly powerful about seeing a subject's personality emerge from the facade people usually put up between them and the world. Of course, there is a bit of facade-building in any good portrait, but some part of the inner person shines through in the really memorable ones.
I shot this when Christie was 18 or 19. She and Mike came out for several weeks that summer and we got a chance to play at our friend Roy King's studio (Esperanza Studios) for a day. We did several costume changes and scenes, many with a bit of role-playing involved in the staging. But this one is one of my favorites because it catches Christie in a very pensive mood. I like to think something of her true self came through here; that it was not all acting in this shot. There is that old cliche' about still waters running deep. That is the feeling I get when I see this portrait of her.
There are places that truly inspire the soul in this world. Yosemite Valley is one such place for me. The sheer granite walls and towering geological features never fail to elicit within me an awe toward the powerful forces of Nature with a capital "N". Certainly Inspiration Point is a visual high point in this place of photographic wonders. No one standing there today with a camera at the ready can forget the iconic images of Ansel Adams. Yet Adams isn't the first nor the last person to attempt to capture the essence of Yosemite on film. So how could I resist?
Inspiration Point is spectacular in color, especially when weather crowds the valley with clouds and shadows. I caught this view on one visit and was quite pleased with it.
The drama of light is amazing. It is just as amazing, if not more so, in black and white. This was a different visit.
Both images took a bit of luck and several hours of waiting. Fortunately the clouds were properly majestic and the light magnificent. I like them both; but the black and white is special to me. It is my "Adams" moment. And while no one will forsake him for me, I can at least feel that I have felt the same rush he must have experienced when capturing for posterity that one grand, fleeting instance in this timeless place.
I do like portrait photography. Unfortunately, it's not an aspect of the profession that I get to practice too often, although I'd like to do more. There is something so incredibly powerful about seeing a subject's personality emerge from the facade people usually put up between them and the world. Of course, there is a bit of facade-building in any good portrait, but some part of the inner person shines through in the really memorable ones.
