glangerBlog

Thank you All American mag. for the cover story!  Worth a read about this tragic yet inspirational story. It was wonderful to meet this beautiful and resilient family.  Sue is to be commended and I could really feel the strength this family had despite the very untimely loss of their clearly dynamic father / husband.

IT’S NOT ABOUT THE CAMERA

This was also shot on the 4th of July with iPhone 6 plus (in burst mode).  

When I say “it’s not about the camera” that isn’t me saying how great this shot is, just that technically it is a sound image of action even including frozen water droplets mid air. That is mainly due to the fact that it was shot in daylight when most cameras are at their best.  (High shutter speed, low ISO, capable of smaller apertures)

But beyond any of that, in my humble opinion what will always resonate far beyond the technical, is literally everything else.  The subject, the light, the composition, the mood etc…  So, to young shooters or “gear heads” (whenever asked my 2 cents) it is always to focus far more on those things than on what equipment you have. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a techno/gadget-nerd at heart, but it is all fun for me and I treat it as a means to an end with full awareness that it will never hand me a strong image.

MAKE A SPLASH!

Some 4th of July lake fun – shot with iPhone 6plus (in burst mode)

Strangers in a strange land. 

Ok, so I said I’d post more from inside the town of Civita Bagnoregio, and I didn’t waste any time.  I couldn’t resist one more before turning in for the night.  My nephew, Ethan is in the grey shirt and he’s just one of those kids that never met a stranger.  He has such an open heart and speaks to people so freely it’s a pleasure to witness and I hope he never grows out of it. We were walking through this, as I mentioned before, magical little town (there is simply no better word to describe it) and next thing we know Ethan is having an impromptu soccer game with another American child who happens to be spending the summer in this tiny town with his mom. I was suddenly nervous since everything was almost sacred feeling in this place. According to Wiki it is 2,500+ years old!  So part of me thought "don’t break anything!” and part of me realized that this place is thousands of years old, so a soccer ball is unlikely to bring it down.  

Make yourself comfortable, take your shoes off, find a power outlet and live life with STYLE. 

I love seeing moments like this when I travel, or just in life in general. Why is it we seem to notice so much more when we travel though?  I think it’s not always that there is so much more to notice, as much as that we are in “seeing” mode.  All too often I am the lady in this photo, glued to my phone, missing a spectacle that may be unfolding in front of my nose.  

I must say I love how savvy she is to have found this spot to plug her phone in. Respect. This was a single table outside of a tiny convenience shop in Italy where people crowd in to hydrate and refuel just before making the very long trek up a footbridge to Civita Bagnoregio - a place not to be missed if ever you are in the region. Truly. 

Double Portrait

This is an outtake from a recent shoot I did.  For fairly obvious reasons, this shot was a little “much” to be used as the final.  I'm simultaneously drawn to and repulsed by it. Down to the coffin chairs in the background, it is downright creepy and sad and it makes me want to be vegetarian. But... I don’t love vegetables and therein lies one of my many life dilemmas.  

SODA GIRLZ! 

I remember my photo professor at University once said “throw away your camera bags!  What if you are walking on campus and you see the second coming? You want to be ready!”  ; )

Zagat - 30 under 30

https://www.zagat.com/30under30/2016/dallas

Shooting 30 portraits in a short space of time is INTERESTING!  And I need a nap!  This was a lot of work, but mostly the fun kind.  Driving all over town was not the highlight, but getting to meet all of these cool, talented and interesting people was an absolute pleasure.  

I approach these hoping to succeed in as many facets as I can.  Firstly, I want the subject to feel as comfortable as possible (but really, who is super comfortable with a fairly large picture taking device pointed at their head?). This naturally varies so much from person to person.  That variance is part of what makes these so much fun to shoot, just working out how to very quickly strike some level of comfort or rapport with so many individual personality types.  

Secondly, I try to capture a sense of place, since these are environmental portraits, but I don’t want it to overpower the person either.  The rest of the normal elements matter to me, too - the light, the mood, composition etc… and I’m a stickler for focus, so unless it’s pretty tack sharp exactly where I want it to be, it will likely never see the light of day.