I think it is safe to say that surfing is a sport. There are surfing championships, after all. But what about skimboarding? There are no teams, no spectators and no competitions. So, perhaps it is just a pastime rather than a sport. Who knows!

But I do know a good subject when I see one. Since I am not a frequent sports shooter I relied on good timing rather than a fast motor - my Canon 5D only shoots three frames per second. A frequent sports shooter, or wildlife shooter, would be wise to have a camera with a faster motor, but as you can see you can still get a good shot without one.

I shot this from the Manhattan Beach Pier with a long lens.

Equipment: Canon 5D camera, Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6 IS USM lens

Exposure: 1/1000^th of a second, f6.3, ISO 200

 

For this past weekend's wedding I am choosing to focus on the Flower Girls. Kids are lots of fun to shoot. When I am with a bride who is getting her makeup done it is a good time to get some shots of the kids who are usually already dressed. Then I turn my attention to the bride and the bridal party.

A lot of my work explores the environment in which we live. We like to think of ourselves as civilized. But we are still animals, even if we are on the top of the food chain. We are the smart apes and we live in an urban jungle that is increasingly looking like a human zoo. This series explores our urban jungle.

See the whole gallery of images at www.larrybrownstein.com under Fine Art 2 portfolios.

Usually one thinks of scenic and landscape images as being done with wide-angle lenses. The classic landscape image depicts a sweep from just a few feet away, all the way to infinity.

But, what if you aren’t a classical kind of guy or gal? Maybe you prefer jazz, reggae or European Electronica to Beethoven and Bach! Well my friend, you are ready for the telephoto landscape. Using a telephoto creates a feeling of compression – the opposite of the expansive feeling of the wide angle. I like to use it to create a bit of a chaotic feeling in an image.

Here is an image of power lines in Torrance, California. The image was chaotic enough to my eye, but, by using a telephoto lens, it became hyper-chaotic (chaotidelic?)

Equipment: Canon 5D camera, Canon 100 – 400 f4.5-5.6L IS USM, Gitzo tripod

Exposure: 1/60^th of a second, f40, ISO 250

 

How can light be hard or soft? Would hard light hurt? Would soft light feel good. Well hard light won't make you bladk and blue, but it could sure bruise your ego after you see those ugly shadows and every skin imperfection. On the other hand, soft light will be like a nice warm Epsom salts bath to your ego, as it can make you, or your subject, look years younger.

Direct light from the sun is the best example of hard light. The light from a flash is hard light too. Of course, a flash can fill in shadows and make the hard light from the sun a little softer. But that isn't what I mean by soft light.

Soft light is diffuse. It could be directional. But it is more like a wall of light than a beam of light. That is why photographers put soft boxes over their lights in the studio. It turns a "point source" like the bulb into a "broad" source, which is more like an overcast sky.

Overcast skies are wonderful for photography, particularly people photography. (Now you too can laugh to yourself when you overhear a photographer talk about what a beautiful, sunny day it is fpr photography.) But sunny days can provide soft light too.

The sun bouncing off a building provides beautiful soft light. There is always shade to be found, too. And the best natural light can be found just after the sun has gone down as it has done on this golf course allowing me to make a beautiful natural light portrait of this bride and groom.

I placed them so their faces were bathed in the warm, sweet light and gave some simple directions and allowed them to do the rest.

 

Tech Details:

Equipment: Canon 5D, 70-20mm f2.8 IS USM lens

Exposure: ISO 800, f2.8, 1/125th of a second

I have noticed how much people love photography. Wherever i go with my cameras there are amateur paparazzi already there! Even at weddings I have begun to make it a habit to photograph the paparazzi guests. It's fun.

So, I thought all those aspiring photographers would enjoy learning a bit about photography from my blog.

I plan to add a lesson every week or two, so keep checking back. 

The flower girl at Karen and Dean's wedding was very beautiful but very shy. I tried my ususal (typically successful) strategies to get a good expression from her but to no avail. When I gave up and took my eye from the camera I saw this beautiful vision - her shoe against the wedding dress.

Why does this image work so well? Simplicity! Simple light, simple background and simple subject. The light is soft as it is diffuisng through the tent that is keeping the bridal party comfortable as they await the ceremony. The background is simple - just the wedding dress - but also appropriate. If I had used the white tent as the background the photo would have much less meaning. And what could be simpler than a child's shoe.

But what makes the photo so impactful is the "high key" composition. That is what photographers call an image that consists of mostly light values. The high key composition allows the red details to pop out!