Helen of Troy (Page 2): This is so nicely done and exemplifies the rapid growth in your efforts at portraiture. I always enjoy your posts - photos and the comments that accompany them.

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

This is so nicely done and exemplifies the rapid growth in your efforts at portraiture.

I always enjoy your posts - photos and the comments that accompany them.
They're a delightful way to start the day.

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

quixdraw wrote:

Excellent shot, fine model -- I find the eyes looking "beyond" a little unsettling. A bit of a chill..in a warm picture. Likely just me.

Thanks, Quixdraw. It's Halloween! She's probably just looking at the ghost that haunts my clinic, lol. But you're right, and it's not just you. Her eyes aren't perfect here. Still a lot to learn about posing and the right moment to press the shutter.

I'll get there. Probably not by Halloween, tho, lol!

Thanks for looking and your suggestion, it's appreciated! It's the little things like that which make the difference between a great portrait and a discard.

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

ebbote wrote:

Very good looking Woman Randy, with all the rain we are
having right now I am going to pack up my boat and head
that way, I should be there in a few years, I have to row.

Thanks, Earnest. Ought to be some consolation you'll have the wind with you on your way. Ought to speed and shorten your journey by at least a couple of months, lol!

And bring some of that precip with you (so long as it's not white). We're bone dry. Way down on rain for the year, while you and the Carolinas are drowning in the stuff.

I'll pass along your compliment to Madame Pocahontas, and thank you for visiting. Just a note--you might want a nice pair of gloves, save you some blisters from all that rowing... ; )

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

angler wrote:

She is Beautiful Treepusher and you always get perfect and beautiful eyes.Great stuff,love it.

Thanks, Angler. It's not been my lot in life to be surrounded by beautiful women. Should have gone to Hollywood once I got out of school, I guess, or been a rock star.

But I'm blessed to have Madame P around at work every day. That's enough. And probably just as well for the world, as I can't sing a note (of course, neither can some well-known rock stars...). ; )

Thanks for your very kind comments and visit. I'm always grateful for them!

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

rlaugh wrote:

What great eyes this lady has, beautiful work you're doing on these my friend..beautiful model also!!

Thanks, Bob. With a model so pretty, I think a ten year old with his great-grandfather's Brownie could do just as well. However, that kid's not getting near her--she's mine, I found her first, lol!

Thanks for your very kind words, which I'll pass along to her and make her day. I do much appreciate your visit and help, thanks so much!

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Linda From Maine wrote:

I remember it on a couple of your others, including a pp forum "playtime" shot you did with my Mt Rainier. Seems I've read that it has something to do with converting to RGB (or SRGB??) before uploading. I bet Searcher would know :)

I do think your switching to name-brand garbage bags has made a ton of difference - rotfl

Thanks, Linda. Maybe that's it. They do come out of Photoshop, and maybe there's a change being made somehow. I haven't noticed it before, but certainly did with this one, maybe just because I spent so much time trying to get her skin color right. Dropped the saturation a number of times before I was satisfied, and Great Caesar's Ghost--here it is back to haunt me again!!!

And decisions, decisions--Hefty or Glad for the next shoot? LOL

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

John Lawrence wrote:

Your talent and skill as a photographer combined with Madame P's good looks have definitely created magic, Randy. You've achieved your goal of becoming an excellent portrait photographer while establishing Madame P as a wonderful model while doing so. You must both be very proud.

PS. Helen of Troy is a perfect name for the classic beauty you capture and enhance in your images.

That's really nice of you, John, and thank you. I'm not there quite yet, but these are definitely improving. As I mentioned in my reply to rlaugh, I think any kid taking photos for the first time could do equally well with a model so pretty. I'm just lucky to have her around and willing to put up with my efforts to do a shot worthy of her.

I am proud of this one, tho, and some of others that came out of that session, as is she. For our level of knowledge, it's not bad, and it definitely shows progress. But we both still have a lot of learning to do before these are done to my complete satisfaction and what I would consider a professional level.

As for 'Helen' here, I think it's not so much me and the camera, but her parents she has to thank for giving her those genes, lol. But the camera definitely likes her.

And so do I! ; )

Thanks for your visit and once more for those very kind comments. They're much appreciated!

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

James56 wrote:

This reminds me of some color portraits made in the late 50's only a bit more saturated. I have a cherish portrait of my mother taken during this period that has a soft glow about it, similar to your work. Great Job...keep learning!

Thanks, James. I appreciate that. As I mentioned to Linda, the saturation level here is much higher than what my own computer monitor and cell phone (the shot's there, too, and looks fine) show. Not sure what's up with that, a color conversion error, just a fluke, too much LSD, who knows?

But glad you enjoyed the image. I'm not consciously mimicking any of those older shots, but I do remember that softer look of portraits from that era, so maybe there's a bit of it locked in my memory as the 'correct' way to do these, lol.

Thanks as always for your visit and kind comment. I greatly appreciate them!

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

vicksart wrote:

This is so nicely done and exemplifies the rapid growth in your efforts at portraiture.

I always enjoy your posts - photos and the comments that accompany them.
They're a delightful way to start the day.

Thanks for your generous comments, Vicki. I'm glad they bring a smile. So much of what we do is very dry or technical--"I did this at thus and such a setting for 1/1000 sec." Nothing wrong with that, either. But life's too short not to laugh a bit along the way. So I do, and I often enjoy adding a 'bit of a giggle' to the photos.

We haven't had an episode from my 'Tales of the Ridiculous' for a while now. I think we're due, and I'm hearing rumblings from the Ministry of Mayhem even as we speak. We'll have to see what's going on over there...

Thanks for your kind comments and visit, I always appreciate them!

Pierre H.J. Dumais Loc: Mississippi Mills, Ont.

Beautiful portrait of a beautiful lady Randy. Tops in any league.
Of all you have done of her, this in my opinion is the best.
I have no problem with the eyes. They are in my opinion what give the image such great appeal. These eyes bring us her personality. They are unique to her.

Pierre

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Pierre H.J. Dumais wrote:

Beautiful portrait of a beautiful lady Randy. Tops in any league.
Of all you have done of her, this in my opinion is the best.
I have no problem with the eyes. They are in my opinion what give the image such great appeal.

Pierre

Thanks, Pierre. There's always room for improvement, and no exception here. She's such a beautiful woman I think it distracts from the actual technique, and that's to my advantage, but still, even with the limitations of my equipment and lighting (not to mention the garbage bag backdrop) I can do better. But I'm learning, and having a blast doing so, and at least as far as I can tell, so is she. This is really fun!

Glad you enjoyed this one, I'd agree it's one of the best so far. And as long as she doesn't get tired of posing, I'll keep at it.

Thanks for your very kind comments and visit, they're always very much appreciated!

Sylvias Loc: North Yorkshire England

Wonderful portrait, they just keep getting better! :thumbup: :thumbup: :D

Geezer Loc: Capreol, Ontario, Canada

My wife is getting the hang of Peter Hurley!!!! :D

She loves this one!!! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Camshy Loc: Erie Michigan

Treepusher wrote:

Madame Pocahontas is not the face that launched a thousand ships and started a war that lasted ten years. But then, Helen had a great publicist. Altho it boggles the mind that with all the hubbub, no one bothered to take a decent shot of her to pass along.

At the very least, this modern version of Helen ought to be worth a few rowboats and a good bar fight.

Very nice Randy, and a beautiful model. So do you keep her in a kennel?

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Sylvias wrote:

Wonderful portrait, they just keep getting better! :thumbup: :thumbup: :D

Thanks, Sylvia. It's been a fun project, and far from over. But these are actually beginning to verge on 'almost acceptable,' lol.

I still have a lot to learn, and of course downside is there are limitations in my equipment and I'm a long way from mastering lighting, so they're far from perfect. On the bright side, tho, the trash bag backdrop seems to work pretty well, so we're saving all kinds of money there! : )

Thanks for your visit and kind comment, I really appreciate it, and thanks for those thumbs! Someday I might even deserve them!