Early Morning Surf Trip

Living on the Gulf Coast of Florida the surf is pretty inconsistent, so we often venture to the East Coast. East Coast surf trips consist of waking up at 4 A.M. and making a 2 1/2 hour drive to the East Coast. I have to admit I am not always a happy camper at 4 in the morning, but  the drive is absolutely beautiful in the early  hours. The first hour and a half of the drive is spent in the dark, but when the sun rises there are neat layers of fog you can see across the fields and roads. On one of our recent trips I shot the picture below. I uploaded the original image, because I liked the grain and ominous feel, what do you think of it?

A Seaworthy Logo For An Underwater Photographer

Mike Powell is an incredibly talented underwater photographer, whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with for two years now. Mike recently asked if I could design him a new logo and I jumped on the opportunity. I just finished it today and I couldn’t wait to share it. I also posted some of my favorite photos I’ve edited for Mike over the years along with his new logo. If you would like to view more of Mike’s work you can visit his website at mikepowellphotography.com

Orchids Galore

My boyfriend’s step mom has an amazing variety of orchids throughout her home and all over her backyard. Her orchids seem to constantly be in bloom, when mine are shriveled up and dying. I’m getting better at it though. Below are a few pictures of Cindy’s magnificent orchids displayed in her backyard.

One Banana, Two Banana…

Zero bananas. We have been waiting patiently for our banana tree to put out bananas, but none yet. It has been popping out leaves left and right and I’m hoping there are some bananas soon to follow. Below is a shot of our beautiful banana tree from above. I liked the picture in black and white and I also loved the color, so I’ve included the original and the black and white image.

All images © carliechew.wordpress.com. Duplication of any material listed herein without expressed written permission from the blog’s author is strictly prohibited.

A Family Portrait Session at Sand Key State Park, Clearwater

I recently go the chance to shoot an incredibly fun family portrait session at Sand Key State Park in Clearwater, Florida. The family portrait session was held for two sisters and one of their children. I love photographing kids, it’s always such a blast. I thought my job was to keep the boys laughing, but they kept me laughing the entire time. I don’t think I could consider this work, it’s too much fun. I’ve posted some of my favorite shots from our session below and I hope you enjoy.

So cute, he wanted to do the moon walk for me.

This was his first time ever seeing or feeling the ocean. I’m so happy I got to capture it.

All images © carliechew.wordpress.com. Duplication of any material listed herein without expressed written permission from the blog’s author is strictly prohibited.

A Quick Lesson on Outdoor Lighting

I was recently asked to write an article to be featured by a fellow blogger and I thought I would share it.

Photography has been a passion of mine since childhood, but I didn’t just pick up a camera and become a photographer. It takes time, patience and many mistakes. When I took my first photography course in college we only shot with natural light. Natural light is known as available light, most commonly, the sun. By not allowing us to use a flash my professor taught us how to be prepared for any lighting situation. To this day I still do not use flash even if it’s dark out. For any beginning photographers out there, my advice would be to experiment, experiment, experiment! Once you have mastered shooting with natural light, the possibilities are endless. Lighting can be used to create intense and dramatic photo effects. Here are a couple pointers that I wish someone had given me when I was starting out. The best time to shoot is known as the ‘golden’ hour, which is just before sunset or sunrise. Pay close attention to which direction the light is coming from. Let’s say you are shooting a woman in front of a tree. If the sun is shining upon her face (direct sunlight), you will get a warm, light and detailed photo. If the sun is coming from behind her, which is known as ‘backlighting’, it would create a hard, vivid and contrasted image. Both lighting situations can work to your advantage, I love to use direct sunlight for portraits to bring out the details in my subjects faces and to get a beautiful glow. I like to use backlighting to create artsy and contrasted silhouettes. Shooting in shade also makes for a beautiful, softer image, but make sure there aren’t shadows being cast on your subjects. I hope this article was helpful. Remember to experiment and learn from your mistakes : )

A backlit image. You will notice that the photograph is darker, contrasty and you lose detail in the subjects face.

Now I’ve turned him around and he has direct sunlight hitting his face. We can now see more and a beautiful glow upon his face.

In this image I used backlighting to create a contrasted and colorful silhouette of this little boy running along the beach.