Bus and Ida May are good family friends of ours, and they live on a farm near Seattle. Their farm used to be even larger than it is now, but there is now a major highway, several off ramps, businesses and condos where the cows used to graze. Every summer for the past several years, my wife Nichelle and I have enjoyed homemade desserts with them on their back porch made from ingredients picked just several yards away. After spending time with them one evening, I felt compelled to photograph them. To make things as comfortable as possible, I set up in their back yard, while friends and family came over for dinner. A good amount of my studio work is actually done on location like this. Not necessarily on a farm, but in a place that my subject feels most comfortable. In this case, it was a farm. Not to mention, I would choose to work outside on a warm summer evening instead of in a studio any time given the choice.
I have a photography show opening in a few weeks, and the headshots of Bus and Ida May will be two of the 12 or so images on display. I will have more information about the show shortly, and after I wrap up a few large projects, I will be able to get back to a more regular blog schedule. Thanks for taking a look, and I hope you are enjoying what is left of summer.
Comments
Those are just wonderful. I hope your show is in Seattle so I can drive up from Portland to see it.
wow… just… wow!
John, how do we find out about the show? Do you have a mailing list? Would love to attend. -Kirk
The show will be Thursday October 1st, and it will be at Publicis in Seattle. I will let you know the time when I find out, and I will make an announcement with all of the details.
Thanks Kirk.
Thanks John Keel. Yes, the show will be in Seattle. I just replied to Kirk (above) with some of the details.
Very intimate shots and great style! Well done!
Hey, is there a book you’d recommend to anyone interested in developing this kind of portraits?
Thanks a lot!
Amazing work, John. I am a fan/student of your work. One question, out of curiosity how much ‘post-processing’ (photoshop) do you do on these portraits? To be sure, I am not asking ‘critically’, just wondering if you try to get most of your vision in shutter-time or in mouse-time.
@ Ernest
Thanks so much Ernert! I always try to be as perfect in camera as possible. I am pretty picky and pay a lot of attention to detail when I am shooting. I also do a fair amount of post work on my images. Not necessarily to fix something, but to get the color, contrast, and feel of the image that I want. The nature of digital photography is RAW images tend to be flat, and require some work.
Love the catch light in Ida’s eyes. Can you share some information about the lighting setup used in these photos?
Thanks
Hi John,
I’m a starting photographer and found your site through the strobist site.
I’d *love* to hear how you pulled these shots off? They’ve got a great, extraordinary touch to them.
How did you light them and what else did you do to get this style?
Thanks a lot in advance!
Joost
Netherlands
Beautiful portraits! I really like the environmental portrait of the man, but I love those backgrounds you created on the first two portraits.
Hello John!
For the headshots, what did you use for background? Do you use a collapsible muslin, or just a wall? In the case of a wall, do you usually light it with a coloured gel?
Superb shots!
Thanks!