ok, ok this is the last post about the fall, I swear. This season just seemed to be totally perfect and last forever. The color of the leaves with the crisp blue sky backdrop always has me reaching the camera. All frames here are shot with the old 1DSmiii. As always the colors are spot on, to me anyway. A few of these frames were snapped in my backyard, actually most. The truth is, sometimes the best subjects and materials are the things and people that are the closest to you. Somewhere along the line, I heard the saying, ‘master your backyard first’ or something like that. To practice photography and shoot accurate exposures, you don’t have to travel to the end of the earth. Sometimes the best photos are the ones that came from being totally honest with the subject and yourself. Sure, staged commercial photos are wonderful and make an impact that sells products. But for the average individual, they mean nothing and hold no value. The photos that are valuable are the ones that hold meaning and are a visual time capsule. Sometimes it doesn’t even have to be a good photo. To sum things up, if you love photography and have a camera, get out there and shoot. Keep it simple and have fun. Get close, get low, get above, and look underneath.
It was genuinely nice to get to know Melinda and Brian. They have such a natural connection and are easy to hang out with. These two are some of the most laid-back, observant, and caring people I have had the pleasure of photographing. Here are some examples. During our engagement session at Tyler State Park, we walked around and talked for hours, they listened to me yap about hockey and the weather and even popped some bubbly at sunset. No rush, good vibes, totally laid back. A few weeks later a package arrives with my name on it. To my surprise, it was a replica 24-70mm Canon Lens coffee mug! It was a gift from Brian and Melinda! During our session, while I was blabbering on I’m sure I mentioned how much I love Java or reeked of spilt coffee either way. What a lovely and observant gesture. The newlyweds met at work. I know, how retro right, lol. They both work for NJM - NJ Manufactures Insurance - the dudes with no jingles. Thankfully, cause one of those stupid insurance ads – that will remain nameless – gets stuck in my head, :). Melinda found the Manufactures CC to host their wedding and what a great choice it was! They had a stunning backdrop with a touch of mist that kinda made it feel like the Scottish Highlands. Their choice of venue was very caring.
All in all 10/10 peoples and an honor to know them.
Peak fall color! It was a blast to take a walk through Wissahickon Park with Annmarie and Matt. These two were a pleasure to hang out with and I look forward to their wedding day at Ramblewood CC - one of my most fav places :)
Does anyone else have a hard time staying inside this time of year? It’s too perfect. I gotta get next to the trees and feel the breeze. Crunch some leaves, and feel the wind blow. I did manage to stop and take some pictures. My favourite local fall spot for photos around town is Rosedale Park. Yes, I purposefully posted an inverted image, just thought it looks cool. Three photos, three different edits. Why not. Also, Rosedale is an easy place to send the drone up to take a looksy – I’m like a bird … I’ll only fly away …
This past weekend I drove nearly 500 miles for a few portrait sessions and Jalen’s basketball camps. Some stops along the way included Freehold, Doylestown, and Jersey City. Although the drives were long and sometimes boring, the colorful leaves helped ease the monotony. I wasn’t able to stop as much as I would have liked to, but I did get a lot of time to think. I thought a lot about stopping, and what it is to stop. Mostly I was daydreaming of stopping in my car to take pictures, but just stopping in general. Thinking back to March 2020 when we all stopped. We stopped and waited for things to get better. It was no doubt a scary and uncertain time, one that I am glad we have mostly moved on from but one thing we all did, was stop. Stopped going out, stopped making plans, stopped working, stopped planning. All these are shitty things to stop, but we stopped to to help make things get better. Fast forward to this weekend, and by the looks of traffic and how packed the parks were, it was clear that we have un stopped. Life has started up again. So, on my way home from my last portrait session of the day on Sunday, I stopped. I pulled my cover over stopped and took a few pictures. I stopped and took a deep breath. I stopped and looked at the landscape. For now on, Im going to be stopping a lot more, but for the right reasons. And you might see the results here on the Northern Touch Blog.
For an experiment, I tried using an AI site to write this post. I had no intention of using what the bot spit out, I just wanted to see what it would say. It was intriguing because recently I tried other AI programs to help me with post-production with mixed results. I was skeptical in the first place and as expected, the content was stale and predictable. The fact is, no bot can capture the true vibes of a rad portrait session. We connected at Liberty State Park, mid-peak fall season on a sunny Saturday. It was a busy day, the park was packed, to say the least. I can load the dialog box with all the right keywords, but it still wouldn’t be able to describe the actual moment Judy and Raph had a first look for fun. The cloudless sky and perfect sun, the wind, the 5 weddings happening at the same time, a sweet 16, surprise proposal, families, jet skies, jets, helicopters, and content creators. Can’t forget the jokes, obligatory useless facts about Canada, and most importantly, vibes. Good vibes. No bot or computer can ever truly describe what good vibes are never mind what they look like. Judy and Raph have a great connection and it was a pleasure to be their creative third wheel. I think we did a pretty solid job capturing good vibes :)
Seriously, I can’t wait to share more photos of this beauty! I have been waiting for fall to come around to do a full detail shoot, but I can’t wait anymore..lol. This build was so much fun from start to finish. The inspiration was early 1900’s Italian race bikes as most bikes then were fixed gear and built for short distances. It’s a modern spin on a vintage style. The only frames I would even consider building on were Italian built, the same for all the components. I will list the components and more in my next bike post.
Classic never gets old. Claire and Chris had a perfect day for their wedding at the Rumson CC and it was a pleasure to capture their day. Everyone had a great time, there were lots of laughs and nothing but good vibes all day as well - the sunset was so beautiful!!!
