I saw Helen sitting on a low wall across the street. Her red outfit and bling attracted my attention – ironic that my close Black and white crops shows neither.

(click to enlarge)

Usually I crop differently, so that the eyes are about 1/3 down from the top of the frame. But I like the reflection in the sunglasses and don’t want to lose that. I always try to get bright catchlights in the eyes; Helen’s are complex and almost surreal. It looks like I did something fancy in Photoshop, but that is not the case. Lastly, I asked her not to smile, but just look natural. So here, she almost has a tough person look, but that is not how she was at all.

Helen’s son is in High School ROTC, so he will be spending some time in the military. Also, he likes photography, and Helen is encouraging this, thinking that he may be able to put this skill to use in the Army. I explained to her that Edward Steichen was a famous photographer who had served in the Army in WWI, and the Navy in WWII. Both times, he was involved with military photography. I gave her my card (with website and e-mail address) and wrote Edward Steichen’s name, so that her son could Google him.

Bob