Photo of the Week - Practice & Preparation

My shooting this weekend has been practicing with my speedlight as a fill light for outdoor portraits. My model was my daughter Melanie. She's my princess (and knows it!). She will be a sophomore in college, and turns 20 this week.



The reason for practice is that this coming weekend I will be shooting the re-commitment service for Cat and Darren. I say re-commitment because they eloped back in the spring. They will be celebrating their union with family and friends on Sunday. The site of the ceremonies is the park at Lake Shawnee that we visited (and blogged about) a few weeks ago. This is my first attempt to shoot this kind of event as the primary photographer. I'm looking forward to it, and a bit apprehensive as well. But with practice I have a good feel for my SB-600 and Lumiquest diffuser.

After the ceremony and reception Debbie and I are headed west to the family ranch in Nebraska for a week on vacation. This is my first "photo" trip to the area where I grew up. I have two projects that I will be working on. One, I will be shooting landscapes of the area around the ranch and the nearby lake. I have a long-term project in mind about publishing a book of landscapes from Western Nebraska.

Second, the timing is about right for us to document the wheat harvest. I haven't been home at this particular event for 10+ years. I am really excited about the opportunity for both potential sets of images.