It’s not hard to take a good picture with a model as pretty as Lizzy!

The “golden hour” just before sunset makes for some beautiful lighting.

Getting some practice in with the 50mm, F1.4 lens. I’m glad I have some homemade models available.

Experimenting with artistic techniques on a dance photograph.

Trying out my 50mm, F1.4 lens at the pool party my girls went to recently. I composed the photo to include the pool in the glasses’ reflection.

Bill gave me a new lens the other day…one I’ve been wanting for quite awhile. Everyone raves about the 50mm f1.4 lens, and how it is perfect for portraits because it’s so fast, as well as the bokeh in the background. For those of you that are not familiar with what those terms mean, I’ll explain. A “fast” lens is one which you can use in low light situations, since it has a large aperture or opening.

Dictionary Definition: “A lens with a larger maximum aperture (that is, a smaller minimum f-number) is a fast lens because it delivers more light intensity (illuminance) to the focal plane, allowing a faster shutter speed”

Bokeh is that nice blurry background behind my husband. At this large aperture opening, there is only a small part of the photograph that is in focus (a shallow depth of field), and that’s just what you want for a portrait. You want to showcase and draw attention to your subject, and having a blurry background does that quite nicely.

I can tell already that this lens will be my favorite, and it will most likely stay on the camera most of the time.

Each year at the last performance for Northern Virginia Dance Academy, they have the seniors do a solo that they choreograph themselves. I used one of the photographs from the solo to create this inspirational poster.

We have the pleasure of having a daughter who takes dance lessons at Northern Virginia Dance Academy in Manassas, Virginia. She has had a passion for dance since she was three years old. Last year she was asked to join the professional ballet company, The Asaph Ensemble. It is a joy to watch her dance gracefully; she shares her passion with the audience–it’s infectious!
June 5th was the year-end performances by the NVDA studio, and we were blessed to have the opportunity to take photographs there. Katelyn talked her brother, Nathan, into taking the partnering class this year, and he did an amazing job.