Characters

I'm very fond of this portrait — a character in every sense of the word, Jim has earned the right to live life on his own terms. He and his wife are within days of purchasing this house with the sole purpose of giving it away.

One of the things my daughter and son-in-law are really fussy about is not posting images of their first baby online... so here's a way I obeyed the letter (and intent) of the law, but still recorded a stroller ride we enjoyed together one afternoon. Photo was processed "Orton" style. Walk was enjoyed "Whitney and Mimi" style.

This is one of my favorite photos, not because it demonstrates any great skill, but because it was a moment of true honor I had to capture. These veterans are paying tribute the "four chaplains," who gave their lives to save other civilian and military personnel during the sinking of the troop ship USAT Dorchester on Feb. 3, 1943, during World War II. The four are credited with helping other soldiers board lifeboats and giving up their own life jackets when the supply ran out. The chaplains, it is said, joined arms, said prayers, and sang hymns as they went down with the ship. Seventy years later, these Ontario County veterans continue to remember.

 My daughter and future son-in-law were cranky while I shot this photo, but liked the results for their save the date cards. The second was taken in blazing hot sun that left nothing but blown out skin and deep shadows. Photoshop picked up where natural conditions left off. Best thing about both is that they describe the relationships beautifully, and for me, that's what it's all about.

This image is actually of my daughter playing her guitar (believe it or not).  After a fairly basic kaleidoscope treatment, this is the result. And here's the original photo.  Granted, the treatment has limited application, but it was fun, I learned some new shortcuts and I got to look at one of my favorite photo subjects the whole time. Here is the "quit-lovers" version of the same pattern repeated.  Check out the tutorial and see what you come up with!  http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-create-kaleidoscope-patterns-from-your-photos

These are from a collection of photos on Flickr and were taken at a horse show in central New York.  It was a grey kind of day, and Creekside Photo was contracted to capture jumps & portraits for riders and owners.  They invited me to tag along and I was captivated by the atmosphere and characters and of COURSE the beautiful horses at the show. You can see larger images of shots in the slide show by clicking on them as they appear.  Check out the whole collection on Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/melodyburri/sets/ Check out more of Creekside Photo's offerings on their website.  http://www.creeksidefoto.com/gallery/Portfolio

I am NOT a "landscape" person.  If given a choice I would rather shoot a hundred tight, clean, surprising close ups than one sunset, skyline, mountain range or... you get the picture.  I'm just not that good at it.  Still, in the name of getting to know my camera better, I shot this sunset on Keuka Lake a couple days ago at every possible setting. Inside of 8-10 minutes I shot about 50 images... all equally "average." Here are a couple of unremarkable shots, just to prove why I should leave landscapes to others. Here's what happened when I turned the camera away from the sunset and onto the "sunshine" sitting right beside me...