Today's Talented Guest Blogger: Kathie Austin

Kathie Austin is my guest blogger today.

Take it away, Kathie!
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I had the pleasure of attending Rick Sammon's Times Square Photo Shoot with 60 other photographers! Wow! What an event!  

Imagine walking the surrounding areas of Times Square with a group of 60 fired-up photographers, cameras in hand, each of us searching for the 'shot.' Talking, sharing, learning, networking as we walk and snap. When we all wanted to photograph the same thing, it was challenging getting into the position I wanted to get the right angle because my nature is to be front and center, down low or up high to get that shot. I'll move garbage cans if I have to - and Rick and I did just that! Here are some of the images I'll cherish from the event.
 
JOY JUMP

This is my eight year-old assistant for the day. I quickly positioned her in the middle of the road at a red light, kindly asked some oncoming pedestrians to walk around us. Got down on the ground, counted to three, and she jumped at "three!"  Continuous shutter . . . got the shot!  You should know that this beautiful child shines from the inside out, a complete JOY!  Processed through OnOne Focal Point software to blur down some busy background. The sky behind the buildings was overexposed, so I dropped in a cloudy background I had from another image, just to soften the bright white. (Canon EOS 20D, Tamron 17-50 lens, f9.0, 1/100, ISO200).



 
SOULFUL BLUES

Darn, the beauty of a 10mm lens! Rick Sammon's colleague who I just met at the event, Juan Pons, lent me his Canon 10-22 EF-S lens for this shot. I just go crazy for shots from a lens like that!  This man was unique, full of character, some funky music, just a little amp. Gotta love NYC!  Rick Sammon suggested we shoot him because of the cool-colored, blue background. Made for a very vibrant shot, full of personality and character. Processed through Topaz software to emphasize the distinguished facial wrinkles and create more vibrance in the colors.  (Canon EOS 20D, Canon 10-22 EF-S lens, f5.6, 1/40, ISO200, flash).




YOUTHFUL VIEW
Again, my "Chicken Noodle" assistant at work. I was behind her, teaching her how to "tilt" the camera to add personality to a photo and suggested to her that she get herself into the photo via the mirror as a 'self portrait.'  

Am I a bad mama for having a child in the street with a camera in her face with oncoming traffic?  Hell, no!  The round image in the reflection is the original picture she took, but the background is sandwiched in via Photoshop, the image I took to show her how to do the 'tilt.'  Slight processing via Topaz, a little HDR added to the mirror reflection.  As Juan Pons said, "We start them young!" I'm hoping to inspire her entrepreneurial spirit! (Canon EOS 20D, Tamron 17-50 lens, f5.6, 1/100, ISO200).

Thanks, Rick, for an inspiring day! It was super! We're making memories, learning and growing!


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Thank you Kathie for a great post. 

Explore the light,
Rick