2011: The year for making beautiful pictures! (with guest blogger Pam)

If there is one time of year that we can’t help but to embrace our inner photographer, it’s got to be the holidays.  Family, friends, travel, blizzards!  So many opportunities to record great memories! As we begin a new year, think back on the photos you took over the past weeks. What kind of reactions are you getting from family and friends? How do the pictures look to you? Do most of them make you smile, scratch your head, or groan? Are you thinking, "Why do I bother?" or, "Hey, that turned out better than I expected!" Or maybe somewhere in between--good enough to evoke memories of the occasions, but not worthy of matting and framing for posterity. 

Nelson (circa 2007, he's in doggie heaven now)
Photo by Skye's sister Kyle

 Your photographs are the products of two ingredients: you and your hardware.  A picture is like the end result of a recipe--some cooks just throw together anything in the pantry without looking at expiration dates or instructions, and cheerfully hope for the best. Others buy beautifully-illustrated and detailed cookbooks, the finest kitchen tools and cookware, the most precisely-calibrated commercial stoves, and shop specialty stores for the highest-quality ingredients, before using carefully-practiced skills to create culinary delights . Both can produce delicious results, although in the second example, they are more predictable, not necessarily because of the fancy pans, but because the cook cares more about the outcome.

Skye's friend Janet Halpin took this gorgeous shot

Regardless of whether you are the Joël Robuchon or Rachael Ray of photographers, you don't need to invest a small fortune in your camera equipment (although it's easy to do, and you may ultimately want to, once your expertise warrants it) to get excellent pictures--I've seen amazing results from camera phones--but if you want to improve, and control the end product so that the picture you want is the one you get, you will need to spend some time and attention on using what you have. (Then work on upgrading!)

Think back again to those holiday pictures. If there is something you want to change, you have to decide what. Is your camera still pretty much a mystery, and you want to get control of it instead of letting it make all the decisions? Or have you learned everything in the manual and still can't get the results you want? Can you see that this year's pictures are better than last year's, and want to keep on in this positive direction? Or have you reached the point where you are picking apart each photo as far as composition, lighting, focus, detail, and content, and are continually setting higher standards for yourself? 

Skye's high school classmate, Maria Strinni Gill

No matter where you are along the spectrum, the answer to helping you succeed in taking better photos in 2011 is some kind of guided practice. Practice, practice, practice! Randomly snapping hundreds of shots without any assessment, while it may produce a few good results (and a comical candid shot or two), won't help much over the long run. It's an easy habit to fall into--I still find myself giving in to the impulse to click away--but taking a deep breath and giving some thought to getting the settings right, will probably make you happier at the end of the day.  

Skye's talented intern Phoebe Chung

In upcoming blogs we will discuss these things, sometimes addressing your hardware, and sometimes your knowledge, skills, and inspiration. Assessing those holiday pictures has probably nudged you in one direction or the other--you are ready to graduate to a new camera, or you want to spend some effort educating your inner photographer. Or both! Next time we'll revisit the ongoing point-and-shoot vs. DSLR debate, and maybe touch on style and subjects.

Every time you import a new batch of digital photos, or open an envelope of prints for the first time, there's that tickly rush of anticipation, whether you are a newbie or a pro. My resolution for the new year is to make that experience more enjoyable for everyone I can, including myself!

Meanwhile, have fun and keep snapping! 

Let it snow, let it snow, let it... ok, ok, enough! Stop snowing already!

As you may have heard, we had a blizzard here in the Big Apple.  The tourists don't seem to mind at all!  So you may be wondering, what to do in NYC if you happen to be here during snow time. So here's a few ideas that I had over the past few days:

#1. Try to get out of your apartment so you can commute three times as long as usual to be one of four people in your office.

view out the front door

# 2. When you are leaving the office after sitting all day in wet boots, stroll by and see the massive snow banks in Times Square while you are trying to find a subway entrance (that is actually still open)

look, you can stand with your friends in the middle of the street!

# 3. Take pictures of your kids in the massive snow banks in Times Square. Or in my case, take pictures of other people taking pictures of their kids on the massive snow banks in Times Square.

# 4. Go home to your local and drink a bunch of hot toddys ...or what the heck, hang your wet mittens by the radiator and make one yourself at home!  Here's how: Get a glass mug.  Coat the bottom with honey or sugar.  Pour three fingers of whisky (I like Irish whisky but bourbon works too). Add the same amount of hot water.  Squeeze 1/4 lemon into the glass and stir.  Add a slice of lemon studded with cloves and you are good to go!  Some people like a cinnamon stick as a stir, like this:

You can't go wrong with a good hot toddy on a cold day. 

Hopefully wherever you are this week, you are warm and dry.  But if you DO end up in the Big (frozen) Apple, drop us a line.  We can always be coaxed out for a good central park snowball fight with the promise of hot whisky after.