More Kids

I have found out through experience that kids are great, which is good because I have one on the way, but they do tend to convey their own spirit in photography. The little kids that I photographed seemed to do pretty much what they wanted and I was more of an observer. These two siblings were much easier to work with. I could tell them a pose and it would work. At least that was until we found some rocks to throw.......But pose them I did. Yet I found that kids are best photographed when relaxed and the only way to get that is to let them breath and move how they like. I can set some boundaries but allowing them to have control of some things makes the pictures seem so much more natural, well because it is more natural. One of my favorite shots was of them running and jumping at the camera. It captures the fun and joy of being a kid. Most of the time the first pictures you take are not going to be good an comfortable pictures. Which is ok if you have lots of time. However; I also found that an hour long shoot isn't all that long. I found myself just getting in the groove and their time was up. It ended up being good because editing the pictures was much longer than I had expected. If I would have had more images to sort and edit I think I might have been done by Christmas, well not really but learning a new tool takes time and Photoshop is one complex tool.

But I like the results....

This picture above is one of my favorites from this shoot. She looks so grown up yet at the same time still child like.

Now like typical siblings they did tend to have their arguments about what they should and shouldn't do. She tended to be shy and quiet about things and he just wanted to play. Which given his age I can't blame him for wanting to play and not pose for an hour getting pictures. He tended to be fine doing his own thing and tended to be relaxed well represented by this fun angle shot ==>
For all the pictures he at least reluctantly did what I asked except for one particular shot. And by looking at the pictures one might guess which that was, and if you know boys at his age the answer lies in the last image....Holding hands. I eventually did get him to hold her hand and walk at a slowish pace but even then their own personalities shown through.

All in all I had a great time photographing these kids. They were at a great age for photography because they could understand what I was wanting and yet still had that childish charm about them.

Again due to a large chuck of empty space and my need to fill it I will leave you with a quote or two.

"Who in the world am I? Ah, that is the great puzzle."
~Lewis Carroll~

Durring this time in my life I feel like quote by Lewis Carroll this sums up my thoughts. Not really sure who I am but I know I am not who I was.


"Fear freezes the spontaneity of life. The more fear there is in us, the less alive we are."
~John MacMurray~


Weird how some people can put into words the thoughts that all of us have floating around in our head.

Till next time, Kelby McClelland

Kids

Kids are great. They always seem full of energy and fun. The reality of the world has no weight in their world. Yet also within them is a spirit that can at times be so very stubborn. I found out this reality when I went to photograph these lovely to children. They seemed to do what they wanted for most of the shoot. The young boy

seemed to love to play and pose for me. Although not alway how I wanted, but still I could work with it. The young girl however had decided that the camera was not something that she wanted to smile for. She would go and play and smile but the minute that I placed that camera in her line of sight the smile faded to be replaced with a

stern face. I couldn't help but laugh at how hard she must be trying to not smile for me. It was quite amazing how fast that face could change. I was glad however that it didn't make her cry.

I was afraid at the time that I wouldn't be able to get any good pictures from the girl because she wasn't cooperating.

I wanted her to smile and be all good for the picture. But a good friend of mine said that it is better to capture the emotions of the day then to try to get a forced smile. Well that is what I feel like I captured. A defiant spirit to the end. Also with the boy he was great and if I showed him a pose he seemed

to imitate it quite well. At least for a few minutes then he would be off playing in the dirt.

It seems that each age group and each individual seems to present itself with new challenges. I find that the more I explore photography the less I really know. I can only hope that through time

I will be able to truly capture life how I see it. So I will leave you with a great quote from a great photographer.

"A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety." - Ansel Adams

Greg and Anna

I have found that I love taking pictures and I love editing pictures but I also have found that trying to manage a house, wife, bills, and on top learning a new program tends to slow the process down. So a little over due but well worth it are my new pictures. This set is of two people from home. Shot early in the morning on a beautiful day. My props go out to Aaron my assistant. Without his help the day wouldn't have gone nearly as well, and I wouldn't have got most of the shots I did. Thanks.

As you can see they came all dressed up for the first outfit. Matching quite well and feeling like I jumped back a few decades. Along with them also came their dog. I was a little hesitant on the dog because you never quite know how an animal will react to flash and cameras, however I think that colder morning affected him more than the camera.

Being that it was early in the morning I was pleased at how well they worked with me to get the right shots. I happened to be a little tired after being on the road for 10 hours the night before and getting in after 1:00am.



The location was Grove City College. There are many different locations at the college that would make for good pictures. It is a more historically looking college with stone buildings and arch bridges. I chose the bridge area for a lot of the pictures that I took. Down by the bridge there was a white gazebo that proved useful in two of the three shoots that day. It was a little disappointing that the trees proved to be poor background as far as color. Brown is just not that attractive of a background. For the next outfit we went up on campus and that proved to give a little more light and the green grass made for a more interesting background.

Overall I had a lot of fun with them and it proved to be a great experience to experiment with some different things. Also I was able to try some new editing ideas for some less traditional pictures. Such as this last pictures which I think would be great if it was printed large on a canvas material.

The world is waking

As it happens every spring, life awakens and comes out or in some cases north. It is an exciting time where the gray and cold of winter is brushed aside and warmth and sun

bathes the earth. In most cases this is a nice and gradual flow, starting at the beginning of March and ending beginning of April. However in Michigan here it seems

to not follow the norm. One week it could be sunny and

warm and then go back to snow storms and frost. I don't quite understand it but then I guess I probably never will. Aside from that the animals still do decide to come out and make the world more exciting. It also happens that I got some new

camera gear around the same time that spring was happening. This meant that I had to use it and capture what life was roaming about. These pictures are form two different shoots. One was around easter on a walk with my dad around Reeds Lake and the other was at Calvin's

nature preserve. Both are great places to take walks and apparently see wildlife. I was surprised at how many turtles I found in such a short walk. I did love

the quality of the new lens and the way worked (70-200mm), but it did add some weight to the walk. The surprise of the walk was most hands down the snake and was also the hardest to shoot. It wanted to move around and I wanted it to stop and pose. Needless to say it won and just went on it's way ignoring me. I did find that in these walks I am a fan reflections on the water and really just how dynamic water can be in an image.

Wife and I

Living in Michigan has it's perks and downers. One of the perks is....ok so I might have to think about that one for a little. But one of the downers for sure is that the winter seems to last forever. Being that it is starting April and they have called for snow is just proof of that. Yet, not all is gloom and doom. On a very special day in March the sun was shining and the weather was bright. This day happened to be the anniversary weekend of my wedding to my beautiful wife. I find that as time goes she just continues to get more beautiful. So on this day to celebrate the beauty of good weather (and my wife) we went on a photoshoot in downtown Grand Rapids.




Setting out to explore down by the river for good photography spots. Bridges and a park make great backgrounds. Really anything that might be fun and different. The fence by the Gerald Ford Museum added a fixed prop to the pictures.









I also got the chance to use my 50mm prime for the shoot. This was the first time that I really had taken some portraits with it. The 1.8 aperture helped to create some fun depth of field pictures. Although I had to be careful where it focused. If I was focused on her hat then her eyes would not be in focus.


I know that I have said that I didn't like Michigan but it is not all that bad. I have taken great sunset pictures at the lake. But I do miss the rolling hills and winding roads of PA.

Also I have to give credit to my wife who took the pictures of me. Although of the two of us she is the prettier one.

Swim Meet

Swimming is not a sport that I have participated. Growing up at a small school without a pool it was not even an option. But it is very much similar to my own personal favorite sport, Track and Field. Having participated in that sport for 11 years I understand that it is an individualistic group sport.
That may seem odd at first, yet if you had the chance to participate in a sport like track or swimming you would understand completely. It is individualistic because preformance is almost solely based on your own performance.
One does not get better simply because he or she is on a great team. Soccer is a great example of a team sport. If your teammates are great than you also will do well because they make you better. (Granted that it may not make you a better player but you could go on and do well in the State) But if everyone but you is great on a track or swim team that does not mean that you will go places with your sport. Now many will argue that great teammates on a track team or swim team will actually make you better. Having been on good teams I understand that they can help push you to do better but they can not take you to States or Nationals because they are good. (Relays excluded because that does sometimes happen) With all that said about swimming and track and field being an individualistic sport. I will say that teams do affect performance and interest in the sport. I love watching and cheering my own team on when at a Track event and I think it is said that Swimmers get even more into cheering their teammates on. Track all by itself would be lonely and hard. The team is what makes some people strive on.
All of that rambling to let you know that these pictures came from a swim meet of a good friend's brother (which I would also call a friend) As a freshman in high school and first year swimming he improved greatly and this was the culmination of his season. From my standpoint I think that he did great and has set himself up well to continue into excellency in the next few years. And I will tell you that he is a man on a mission, a mission to conquer so Grand Rapids and Michigan better be ready.