Teresa & Gordon

Teresa and Gordon went for a retro-vintage feel from the late 1940's  -- from Teresa's hair style to the lively music played at the reception. Teresa was radiant in her lace dress, stylish hair, and her short retro veil. Gordon was dapper in his gray suit and yellow hi-tops.

The bridesmaids were in yellow or green dresses while the groomsmen wore gray suits with yellow and green argyle socks and green hi-tops.


The outdoor ceremony and reception took place at the well maintained and elegant Manor House in Mason, Ohio http://www.manorhouseohio.com/


 The Wedding Designer flower shop http://www.theweddingdesigherl.com/  did a fantastic job with the yellow and green color scheme. The bright and cheerful displays throughout the reception room and outdoor ceremony area was delightful.

What a beautiful wedding!  

May Wedding

April showers bring May ........weddings.

Tony and Sarah had a great day for their wedding and it was an honor to be a part of the celebration. The bride was beautiful, the groom was charming, and both were in love. Smith Gardens http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc31888.php located in Dayton, Ohio is always a fabulous place for blooming flowers and was a great background for memorable wedding images.

 

Engaged to YOU Sarah & Tevor

 It is always fun to photograph an engagement session because couples are

-- openly share their feeling
-- enjoy being together
-- will play
-- are themselves
-- are relaxed

So, great images are created.

Sarah and Trevor met me at Ault Park in Cincinnati, Ohio for a afternoon of photography. They were great to work with throughout the entire session.

Back in Green Country

Wow, visiting New Mexico was a fantastic experience! 

Even though I have traveled to the southwest many times, it never ceases to amaze me. The vast open landscape, extensive blue skies, scores of volcanic mountains, and ancient Native American cultures are all more than one can imagine until one experiences it. Sometimes it can be overwhelming, but exhilarating.

I started my trip by driving from the Albuquerque airport to the small crossroad town of San Antonio, New Mexico where I stayed at a wonderful Bed & Breakfast at  Fite Ranch http://www.fiteranchbedandbreakfast.com/.  It use to be an old mining town in the early part of the century.  From there I made a number of visits to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/newmex/bosque/  to bird. The people working/volunteering at the visitor center were always eager to help me with the identification of the birds and snakes I had seen.

After two days of birding, I traveled and met two friends in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We spent the day exploring the downtown plaza and ended the evening by eating (along with drinking wine) at the Rooftop Pizza, just a few blocks from the square and our cute rental home on Booth Street.

The next day --- on to Taos, New Mexico to our journaling workshop -- I could describe my experience, but I will let our instructor, Amy Bogard do that for you.  Her descriptive and beautiful blog is: http://www.amybogard.com/

After the workshop I met four college friends (Oklahoma State University) at a wonderful home just south of Abiquiu, NM -- Casa Los Palacio  http://casadelospalacios.com/ -- sat near the Chaco River just off highway 84. It is beautifully laid out with room for everyone to enjoy. We found more artistically arranged sitting areas than we could make use of, but what we did use, we enjoyed.  For two days the WOW group traveled to many places and enjoyed the sites of the Abiquiu area - Ghost Ranch, Monastery in the Desert, and Bode's, just to name a few.

A lesson in Creativity

To get our class of Taos, NM traveler's creativity started our instructor, Amy Bogard had us create collages. We had five minutes for each creation and used items from a small baggie she had prepared. Below are a few of the ones I made. After the exercise I walked around the room to see the collages of the other participant. It was amazing how different and artistic each piece turned out to be.

Taos, New Mexico

Later this week I jump on a plane for New Mexico. A state I love to explore and is a state that is always worth visiting over and over. This time I will be traveling to Taos to meet up with fellow students from the Cincinnati Art Academy for a class by Amy Bogard; Travel Sketching and Journaling. It is in the middle of wedding season and I had to pass on several photo opportunities, but this workshop will inspire my creativity and will help me find new ways to improve upon my portrait and wedding photography.

We will be staying at the historic Mabel Dodge Luhan House/Inn in Taos www.mabeldodgeluhan.com . A wonderful retreat for groups like ours. When I return I will be looking forward to using what I have learned to make L J Franklin Photography even better.

An April Wedding

Outdoor April weddings in Cincinnati, Ohio can be a challenge, but if you are flexible and prepared for inclement weather, it is a wonderful time of year for and outdoor wedding. John and Penny had a plan "B" if the rain did not stop in time for their ceremony, set at the historic Anderson Township Heritage Center in Cincinnati, Ohio  http://www.andersonparks.com/ParkHeritagerental.html . The couple had family and a few close friends join them in their celebration. Penny was beaming and looks fantastic in her tailored suit. John's over sized wedding ring fit him perfectly.

Monroe Elementary Career Day

Teacher, Megan Ehler, of Monroe Elementary School,Pierce Township, Ohio invited me to share with her students information about my career as a wedding, portrait and art photographer. The 4th-6th grade students who signed up to listen to me enjoy photography as a hobby. They are starting just like I did -- taking picutes of their dogs, families, cats, horses, nature and people.

After sharing some photography tips we set up a class portrait of each group. The next generation of great photographers are pictured below. Watch out world.

After Dark Cincinnati

"After Dark" is a great educational event for photographers and it is taking place right here in Cincinnati! I will be attending this four day workshop at the Underground Railroad Museum. I can't wait to meet and learn from some of the most creative photographers in the industry. Sessions go until midnight. I just hope I can stay awake that long.

Emulsion Transfers

Polaroid film was instant gratification for a photographer before the digital age. It was also a great film for creating alternative images. I loved manipulating the SX-70 films and playing with the emulsion of the 696 film. It was such a disappointment when the company stopped making their film and went out of business.

Well, I read an article on how to create an emulsion transfer look alike using Photoshop. Attached is my first attempt. It is of a full moon rising at sunset. I like it.

Celebrate with a Slideshow

A slide show is a wonderful way to share your wedding celebration on a computer or television. Selecting the photographs used in your album or using images you selected just for the show, the images are matched with music. The photos gracefully glide from one to the next using different styles and effect that is elegant and fun to watch. It is a great complement to your beautifully custom designed album or on its own.

Not only can a slide show be created for a wedding, but for family photography sessions, senior portrait sessions or special celebrations.

This above program was created using the images a bride selected for her album.

I think slideshows are fantastic.

Lighting Techniques

Winter is a great time to meet with other photographers and to learn new tricks and techniques. Recently, a group gathered to work on portrait lighting. We started with the basics - one light and then worked up to colored filters, snoots, and dramatic lighting. It was fun and our model was fantastic. Below are just a few samples of what we focused on.

One light with a black background. The model is facing the light at a 2/3rd angle. Delightful.

Still using one light the model was asked to look straight ahead to give a more dramatic image.

Here a red gel was placed on a light pointed towards the back of the head (hair light) and a "snoot" on another light was used to focus light on the face. Very mysterious.

This is an example of the photo above, but the "snoot" light was narrowed and focused on just the eyes -- Casablanca style.

Family

Whenever I gather with my relatives they have learned that there will be an afternoon of photography. So, when I announced one evening for everyone to set aside time the next day to take pictures, they expected it. We spent a chilly afternoon creating images around my brother's home. We came away with some wonderful images. But how can I not with such a great looking family -- as my father says.

One evening, my brother brought out a box of treasures he found in my parent's attic over the summer. Old letters, newsclippings and glasses my mother had saved. The glasses belonged to my grandmother's sister. The letters were to my grandmother from her sister.

 Below is a photo of the items in the box and a pic of my niece trying the old glasses on.

What big beautiful eyes she has.