OK, OK, so this is not a Street Portrait – 20 lashes with a wet noodle. After photographing Anastasia (yesterday’s entry), I attended the Dimage camera club in Sarasota, which usually involves sitting on your fanny for 2 ½ hours watching slides on a screen. This day we met 45 minutes early. Naples portrait photographer, Peggy Farron, set up two “studios” with lighting, backdrops, and two models for our education and practice. Her Facebook page is HERE.

(click to enlarge)

I headed for the “studio” with the model, Mariela. Peggy immediately told me what camera settings to use and shoved a triggering device onto the camera’s hot shoe. I am embarrassed to admit that I’m not sure if it was a Radio Popper or a Pocket Wizard. In this setting, they do the same thing. I photographed Mariela for 30 – 45 seconds, and with the triggering device the strobes fired without fail. At home I did my usual close, slightly atypical cropping.

I sent two images to Peggy, and they were quickly circulated. One was widely popular, and I received ample praise. It struck me funny, as Peggy did all the work. All I had to do was point the lens at the right person. But people are enamored by black and white processing. I don’t know why more photographers do it. B&W images force the viewer to become more mentally involved in creating a reality from an inherently abstract, two dimensional representation. Clyde Butcher says that a color image is like watching a movie, black and white is like reading the book.

Bob