My photo contributions to Delta Sky Mag

I've been a regular photography contributor to the Delta Sky Mag. I'll post some outtakes from the shoots and talk a little about each shot.

 

Georgetown, Washington D.C.

 

Middleburg, Virginia. These stories always start with a wide pano. This Middleburg pano was a challange because of the parked cars.  Modern cars are so bad for pictures!  The trees were also a problem. In an old town like this, trees are old too, so they're huge and covers the shopfronts. I had to stand on a small ledge so I can see over the cars to include both sides of the shops. I also placed the trees in between the two rows of shops. Sometimes you have to work with what you have.

I enjoy shooting for these types of stories where I just roam around and try to depict the flavor of a specific town. Of coarse the businesses are notified before hand, but I try to get a perspective of a person who is enjoying the town.

Middleburg is a small, cozy historic town located about an hour South East of Washington D.C. 

With the reflection of the colonial architecture in the background, I was able to show not only the shopfront but setting of the historic town.

This is Georgetown. Wanted to show the location and the shopping aspect of the town.Shot with 28 1.8 stopped down a bit to get everything in focus. I shot this for the pano, as you can see by the headroom and vast empty street on the lower side.  but they didn't want people for the opening shot. Understood.

 One of Hillary Rhoda's favorite shop in Georgetown. I was playing with the curve of the furniture with the legs of the woman in the background. I almost always try to shoot with available light. With my 50 1.2L, I can get that selective focus that I really like.

Boxwood Winery in Middleburg. Very hi-tech facility. I thought the light from the room spilling out and the darkness of the foreground contrasts nicely.

This restaurant wasn't on the shot list, but I thought it gave a flavor of the American small town. If it wasn't for the dark tree, his light shirt would've blended with the reflection.

Hi end shopping center north of Georgetown. I didn't want to hone in on the label of the shop, since I wanted to get the "sense" of the shop, not necessarily the shop itself.  But the two cropped out signs does show the full name of the shop. I used my 100mm 2.0 and showed the bag back lit to accentuate the product.

In an assignment like this, you have to be able to switch from interiors, landscape, product, food, street, and portraits. That's why I like this type of an assignment, so much mixture! I normally would not use 28mm for a portrait. But for an environmental portrait like this, I do because it allows me to show what this person is about. 

 

 Small little French cafe in Georgetown. This is a good example of showing people, but not showing people. We wanted the viewer of the magazine to see what the town is about and what it has to offer.  That usually involves people most of the time. But the trick is to show the person without them being the subject. Here, the subject is the tiny cup that I deliberately put against her white shirt. Selective focus also places the attention to the cup, not the bartender.