This week promises to be another busy one, and as I look through the shoot results from the past few weeks I'm not even sure where to begin with my blog entries, here! I guess I'll start by talking about the fine folks we met over at the law offices of Steven A. Morelli in Carle Place, in an after-hours shoot that illustrated each attorney in the firm as well as group shots for their upcoming website.

The offices had a bit of foot traffic as we started, so to nab the individual headshots posed a quandary as to where we'd shoot. We decided to stay put in an office, which never offers as much space as I'd love for portraits - if I can I like to have a little more separation between the person and the environment. So, to thwart the confines we pulled out an old trick: we grabbed a nearby leafy office plant, and put it between a second strobe and a blank wall. The resulting shadow, which we varied from shot to shot by simply moving the light, let the look of the final shots offer a more dramatic sense than we would have had if we had simply used the blank wall.

Turning around, we were able to make a shot with the desk again by being a little creative with the lighting. With one light for Mr. Morelli, one for a little ambiance in the room, and a third gelled with blue below and behind, we give the shot a little depth and interest as opposed to delivering a standard, deer-in-the-headlights photo that really doesn't do a subject any credit at all. Not that Mr. Morelli needs a photo to help - he's a wonderfully inviting and friendly man whose confidence and intelligence immediately let you know he'd be precisely who you would want on your side should you need his legal services. And next time, folks, we're going to get that shot from the third-floor window like I'd hoped!

Special thanks to Stephen for his running around on that shoot...!

Recently, I was lucky enough to meet two Northern Irish vacationers to America, Jemma and Craig, who were full of questions about our Memorial Day and its significance. I won't get into how we all met last week (Craig, don't forget - in these shady U.S. pubs, the pool table rack is usually in a slot in the back of the table!), but will say that I can't help but wonder what they took away from the holiday weekend between the barbeques and the flags and somber moods. That said, meeting again before they left for Ireland, we went to Jones Beach for the practice workouts of the Blue Angels flight demonstration team and quite a few other jet and propeller-driven performances. It was Jemma's first time to the ocean in the U.S., and I'm pretty sure the first time either of them were treated to an F-22 Raptor in a deafening, vertical climb at 700 knots. My first time, too!

I made about 1,200 images of the jets over three days, and have to admit that the one above from a day before is among my favorites. I have a few dozen close-up, tightly focused shots of the Blue Angels and others in a perfect, cloudless sky - but love the depth and drama of the clouds that rolled in on Thursday. I think it sets this shot apart.