Mooresville Portraits

The historic town of Mooresville, has been called the "Williamsburg of Alabama". I don't know if I'd go that far, but it is one of the oldest and historic places in the state. When cotton was king, Mooresville was home to many of the cotton planters, field workers and merchants from that part of Limestone County. Remarkably, the town has changed little since then and appears untouched by time. Some of the current residents are descended from the earliest settlers and they strive to maintain the look of the original structures, while adding the conveniences that make modern living possible. One former resident, a tailor's apprentice, Andrew Johnson, went on to become President of the Unites States.

The town's historic and unhurried charm have made it a desired location for several Hollywood movies, including "Tom and Huck" starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas. It also attracts countless photographers, both amateur and professional. Some just photograph the historic homes and beautiful gardens, but many portrait photographers use the buildings as artistic backdrops for their subjects. There have been so many photographers on spring afternoons, that the town now requires that commercial photographers purchase permits, and adhere to certain rules and regulations in order to limit the numbers. The permit is costly, so I'm sure it has had the desired effect.

One day this week, I jumped into the fray, and attempted to take some photos of my daughter, Michelle, and my grandson Kendall. She wanted a new picture to give her husband as a Father's Day gift. I wasn't sure how her 19-month old would do. A child's attention span at that age is about fifteen seconds long, and getting their cooperation is certainly a challenge. My daughter came armed with toys, music and snacks that she used to entice, and otherwise bribe her son. My other daughter, Jennifer, came along to assist, create distractions and get Kendall to smile by making faces and noises that I wasn't aware she was capable of making. I'll have to admit, that he did pretty good, and much better than expected. Here are some of the results.

Orton Effect

This weekend I thought I'd experiment with the Orton effect on a couple of recent images I made on my return from Canada. The Orton Effect, named after Michael Orton, is a technique whereby two copies of the same image are sandwiched together. One image is rendered sharp and the other is shifted out of focus. Together, they create an image that displays a kind of wispy, dreamlike quality. The effect is not successful on every image however. Generally, it takes an image that has a good bit of detail. There are a number of ways to achieve the technique using Photoshop; some employ layers, and others use separate copies of the image, and the trick is to exactly superimpose the sharp copy on top of the blurry one. Each is underexposed so that once combined, they retain the density of the original.

This first shot was taken in the the town on Inlet, New York which is located within the Adirondack region. This scene was taken on 5th Lake. The Canon EF 70-200 f4L was used on a Canon 5D.

This second one was created from a photo I made inside the Chinese Gardens at the Montreal Botanical Garden, which is located just across the road from the site of the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. Here, the Orton is more evident due primarily to the greater detail of the foliage. The Canon EF 17-40 f4L was used on a Canon 5D.