The Engagement Session !

Love is "one of those things". Sometimes you sit and dream about it for days or weeks or months and sometimes you don't give it a thought and all of sudden... there it is. Such was the case, I think, with Ahmad and Brandy. Quiet, soft spoken... not a lot of wasted words. Perhaps that is as it should be.


Let your hearts do the talking... like these two did.

Cool... Fun...and High School Seniors

Several years ago, I got a call from a mom who'd seen some of my work, and she asked me, "Do you do senior portraits?" I said (at the time), "I don't know; I've never tried." She said, "You wanna try? I'd rather give the money to someone I know than a stranger." Thus started my senior portrait business.















In the beginning we had a *really* scarce budget. My first background was a nice little gray blanket that I'd bought in Korea, but you couldn't tell. It looked more like mink in the photograph.
















I don't photograph tons of seniors, and I still don't have a bazillion backgrounds. I'm a minimalist by necessity, so I try to capture the essence -- the personality -- of the senior, rather than stick them in the middle of a bunch of props.

And, of course, if we have the chance to go outside and take advantage of the natural backgrounds provided by Mother Nature then, that's even better.















Of course, everyone needs the perfect yearbook photo, but we need something with just a bit more zzzzzzzing for our friends. Some kids bring the zzzzzzing with them, and some just ARE the zzzzzzing.

















Be honest. Don't all these just make your heart smile ?


I thought so.

Kelvin

Two Heads are (sometimes) Better Than One

Photographers are a creative bunch, and often when two or more creative people get together, ideas flow, creativity multiplies and energy starts sparking like tin foil in a microwave!

Such is the case with myself and my friend and colleague Renee Marquis of Capture Your Moment Wedding Photography, little fireball that she is.




















Two photographers, one common goal (great images), different perspectives... as we collaborated on a double bridal session on September 16th with two of Renee's clients.























These are a few of the images I captured. See Renee's site (above) for more images from her eye. Hope you enjoy.

And ... as for why a photographer would direct you to the site of another photographer? We just have that kind of respect for each other. It's as simple as that.

You might want us both one day. And now you know... we make a great team.

Have an awesome day.

Kelvin

A Man's Best Friend(s)

My specialty, if I have to pick one, would be weddings and portraiture. I include those in one unit because, really, a wedding ends up being a bunch of different kinds of portraits. Usually, that involves... humans.

But every once in a while we get to do a portrait of a non-person, so say some, but many people consider their pets to be more human than an awful lot of the two-legged members of their families, which is how I got to meet this little fella, Diesel. I should probably be more respectful when I say "little".

At any rate, I got a call one day from Suzanne -- a very nice lady -- wanting to surprise her husband for Father's Day, with a portrait of his "two favorite people" -- she and his little patriotic bundle of joy. So, we met one day at a local park and had some fun.


A couple of visiting squirrels helped add a little excitement to the day...




...and while we were trying to get Diesel to give us a nice 3/4 pose so we could catch the light just right, we had to pause for a play break, because after all.... all work and no play makes Diesel a bit grumpy.


But all's well that ends well and dad ended up with the lovely portrait below for Father's Day.... of his two favorite people, Suzanne and Diesel. One man's two best friends.

Have an awesome day.

Kelvin

What Better Way to Start?

I've been a professional photographer since 1989. Originally, I learned photography in the U.S. Air Force in the early 70s, but I didn't consider myself to be a professional, because at first I was just a lab guy and didn't really learn extensive camera skills. As a matter of fact, I actually trained OUT of photography in 1974, but decided I really liked it and went back to it "on the side." But once I became a professional I learned very quickly that one of the things I needed to do was keep learning! and always aspire to be better. So, I'd find someone who is BETTER than I am, and learn from them and increase my skills and motivations -- such as I did this past week at the annual PPSNYS Summer Workshop in Geneva, NY!

I spent an awesome week studying with one of England's best, Mr. Brian Barrett. Not only was he an great artist, but also a great and compassionate human being (and jokester) and I learned at lot. Shown here, Brian instructs an intimate group of photographers on bridal and wedding photography techniques.

It was great fun, because not only did we learn from Brian, but 4 other instructors, plus about 85 other accomplished photographers from around New York and Canada, so the energy -- and synergy -- was awesome.

AWESOME! Stay tuned for good stuff! in weeks to come. Who knows? Maybe we'll get YOUR image on here... being the star you are.

Take care for now.

Kelvin