Category Archives: Portrait

Photographer’s Choice – Stephen Hill

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Capturing the Exuberance of Youth

Stephen Hill - Bass Lake Runners

Stephen Hill – Bass Lake Runners

There have been several photographs posted in this weekly series that portray the absolute joy of the young at play but none better than this, Stephen’s capture of two lads running with complete abandon. The expressions are natural with no forced smiles for the camera. One can almost hear the laughter and feel the emotion as nothing is held back. Wouldn’t you like to feel this good and have this much energy again? The shutter setting is perfect, with just enough blur in the feet to show real motion, and the focus dead on. A wide open aperture creates a pleasant background blur. This is Stephen’s first posting – a winner.
By the way, this is the perfect occasion to use your camera’s AI Servo(Canon) or AF-C(Nikon and Pentax) setting for automatic focus of moving objects. If your camera has this feature, be sure you know when and how to use it.
Canon EOS 7D with a 70-200 mm lens
Focal Length – 120 mm
Shutter speed 1/200 sec
Aperture f/2.8
ISO 200

Photo of the Week – Kim Hadley

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Feeling Her Oats and Cavorting for Fun

Kim Hadley – Portrait of a Horse in Action

Kim Hadley – Portrait of a Horse in Action

There’s one of those high knobs on Kim’s land where you feel on top of the world, well worth the climb for sunset viewing. Late on a recent afternoon when the light was just grazing the landscape, she was greeted by a neighbor’s horse hungry for attention and happy to have some company. With only a few moments of light left, Kim grabbed her camera, set a slow shutter speed and began panning and shooting. “I didn’t have time to switch settings fast enough…followed her but only got this one that is remotely in focus.” The focus is indeed sharp where it counts but blurred, almost ghostly at the legs and hooves, clearly showing quick movement. The flying tail and mane, reflecting the fading sunlight, add the perfect exclamation point. It requires good camera technique to successfully pull off a shot like this. Well done indeed.
Canon EOS 50D with a EF 28-135mm lens at a 90mm focal length. Shutter 1/25 sec, aperture f/5.6 and ISO of 100.