19 February
On
In Film
With

We shot these a while ago, while Ellen was home on Christmas break.  I’ve been hanging onto them, trying to figure out what I wanted to say about going back to shooting some film…..and, I still don’t really know 🙂

I shot a little 35mm black and white film at a couple of high school senior sessions last fall, Emily and Sam‘s.  There’s definitely different look to film vs digital, but I don’t really know if non-photographers really see it.  The colors are different.  There’s always this slight amount of grain that I find pleasing.  Digital can be too sharp and smooth sometimes….at least, for me.  Film is slightly softer, which makes it nice for portraits.

Film cameras, at least the ones I have, are also manual focus.  That slows things down.  I take less photos….so I spend a little more time on each one.  I think that makes a difference.

The photos below were all taken on Kodak Portra 400 120 film.  It’s a considerably larger negative than 35mm, 2 1/4″ x 2 1/4″.  And, I do like the square format.  There are some comments on the photos below.  PLEASE leave me a comment and let me know what YOU think!!  Positive or negative…..

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The focus is off on this one, you can see that some of the foreground grass is the point of focus…..but I like it. I like the imperfection 🙂

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Had I shot this photo with digital, I would have noticed the flair, and moved enough to correct it….but with film, you don’t know you’ve made a “mistake” until about a week later when you get the film back from the lab. Again, I like the imperfection of this.

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This is color film, Kodak Portra 400, converted to black and white in Lightroom. It just couldn’t be much better.

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This is one of the photos that just “hooked” me on film color. It was taken on Davis St. in Culpeper. You’ve been by the hardware store. This IS NOT digital color, and there’s something I just LOVE about the color in this photo!

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And, if you’re interested in doing a film session, click the Contact Me link in the left-hand menu and send me a message.  We’ll work something out.

09 February
On
In Princess Ball
With

Another great night at Madison Primary!!  Thanks to everyone who came out for the Ball.  I took pictures for two solid hours, no breaks, and it was fantastic!!  Thanks to you who waited patiently in line for photos!!  Click either of the photos below to see the galleries.  Photos are separated into two galleries, one with the Candids (dancing) and one with the Posed photos (in front of the white background).  You’ll need a password to get in to see the photos.  Hopefully if you were at the Ball you received a card with web address and password.  I cannot give out the password, sorry.

February 07, 2014. Madison Primary School. Princess Ball 2014.
The Princesses are waiting to get in 🙂

 

February 07, 2014. Madison Primary School. Princess Ball 2014.

16 January
On
In Film, High School Seniors, Portraits
With

…..or Samantha 🙂

October/23/13: Senior Portraits. MCHS Class of 2014.

Edited to add the photo below.  Not sure how I possibly missed posting it the first time.  It’s one of my all time favorites….parting the clouds…..

October/23/13: Senior Portraits. MCHS Class of 2014.

October/23/13: Senior Portraits. MCHS Class of 2014.

And, we shot a little black and white film during her session also.  Love the “feel” of film.  It just looks different than digital.

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31 December
On
In Family Portraits
With

Let’s finish off the year with these lovely folks.  They’ve come back to me several times over the years for updated family portraits.  As a photographer, we just love our “returning customers”!   It’s so nice when they put their trust in us time and time again.  THANK YOU!!

November/16/13: Duncan and Lambrich Families.

November/16/13: Duncan and Lambrich Families.

November/16/13: Duncan and Lambrich Families.

November/16/13: Duncan and Lambrich Families.

November/16/13: Duncan and Lambrich Families.

November/16/13: Duncan and Lambrich Families.

November/16/13: Duncan and Lambrich Families.

November/16/13: Duncan and Lambrich Families.

27 December
On
In Family Portraits, Portraits
With

It was a somewhat chilly day in November, a little windy, but we survived quite well!  🙂  Thank goodness we had a nice warm sun!!  And, the leaves stuck around a little longer this year, so we had some nice color in the backgrounds too.

October/26/13: Massey Family

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20 December
On
In MCHS
With

Today, Friday, December 20, 2013 was proclaimed “Mike Sisler Day” at MCHS.  Mr. Sisler is retiring and today was his last day at school.  I was able to get by the assembly held this morning for a few pictures.  I’m sorry I missed lunch, I understand there  were quite a few cupcakes made to also celebrate Mr. Sisler’s birthday.  Here are a few photos from this morning’s assembly.

December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School. December/20/13: Mike Sisler Day at Madison County High School.

17 December
On
In Family Portraits
With

As you’ve noticed, I don’t usually write a lot about portrait shoots.  I’m a photographer, not a writer.  (“Better to keep my mouth shut and be thought a fool, rather than open it and remove all doubt.”)  Anyway, several years ago I read about a photographer who, when doing family portraits, always took a photo of the family in front of their house.  These were photos for the future.  The idea being that as the family changed over the years, more kids came along, the kids grew up, the family moved to a different/bigger home, etc., that these photos would be a nice little “history” for the family.  I thought it was a cool idea.  So, whenever I do family photos at a client’s home, I do at least a few photos in front of their house…even if they don’t have grass in their yard yet :-).  The Shiffletts JUST moved into their new house a few weeks ago.  This photo will be a nice start 🙂

December/7/13: Family Portraits.

December/7/13: Family Portraits.

Logan’s cousins were there for some Christmas photos too.

December/7/13:

I’m going to write one more time, then I’m quitting for a while, I promise.  I just can’t tell you how much I like the photo below.  I’ve done their photos for three years now I think.  And in previous years, Logan has given me about 5-10 minutes.  Then, he has had better stuff to do!  🙂  This session was different.  I think it helped that he was home.  He’d already given me a tour of his awesome new room.  This photo was taken near the end of the session.  He was sitting on a bench telling me about what he wanted for Christmas….those eyes, those hands….I don’t have to take another good photo for a while now.

December/7/13: Family Portraits.
(And, just a note here. No retouching was done on those eyes. I don’t like that over-retouched look for eyes, so I rarely do any eye enhancement. It can be done with good lighting, and it looks so much more natural.)

December/7/13: Family Portraits.

December/7/13: Family Portraits.

05 December
On
In Film, High School Seniors, Portraits
With

October/19/13: Senior Portraits. MCHS Class of 2014.

October/19/13: Senior Portraits. MCHS Class of 2014.

And, one more, I shot some 35mm black and white film at a couple of my last senior sessions this year.  Different look than digital.  Film is where I started.  I love how “clean” digital is….but sometimes, it’s just TOO clean.  I like the softness of film, particularly for portraits.  I’ll be shooting more of it.

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01 December
On
In Landscape, Madison County
With

I shot a few photos of the Christmas wreathes on Main St last Friday evening, first night that they were lit up.  More will come next week with the lighting of more trees along Main St., as well as the lighting of a big tree in front of the War Memorial Building.  More on that on the Madison Chamber of Commerce webpage.  A few photos are below.  You can click on any of the photos below to see a gallery of more Main St photos….and order prints or cards if you like 🙂

November/29/13: Main St. Madison, VA Christmas Wreathes

November/29/13: Main St. Madison, VA Christmas Wreathes

November/29/13: Main St. Madison, VA Christmas Wreathes
You can see this one in color in the gallery. Personally, I prefer the black and white. It’s a stronger image to me. I know what color the flag is, I don’t have to see it in color 🙂

01 December
On
In Cows and Calves, Farm, Landscape
With

Now that fall sports are over, as well as high school seniors for the most part (still have some to post here), I’m trying to catch up a little bit on posting other images.  I just moved this site to a new web host, so I’ve been chasing a few bugs while I get it set up here.  I’ve been posting on Instagram (@berrysports) and Facebook, so I’m doing a little catchup here. If you’d like to purchase a print, or note cards, of any of the images, just click on any of the photos to see a gallery of these photos, and more.October/22/13: cows, calves, and sunset. landscape

October/22/13: cows, calves, and sunset. landscape

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