Actor’s Portfolio: Milla Dobrovolska-Ivanova
Milla Dobrovolska-Ivanova as Hope Cladwell in Sewickley Academy’s Senior School Musical “Urinetown” running on March 3rd-5th 2022.
Milla is a senior and this is her first high school production. She performed with the Junior Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in 2019 and Beauty and the Beast and Les Misérables outside of SA.
She will be attending the University of Chicago in the fall to study Biology and Global Studies. Congratulations, Milla!
Actor’s Portfolio: Sajen Schuchert
Actor’s portfolio: a headshot and show action photos.
Sajen Schuchert as Bobby Strong in Sewickley Academy’s Senior School Musical “Urinetown” running on March 3rd-5th 2022.
Sajen is a senior at Sewickley Academy, participating in his 3rd high school production. He will continue performing arts at William & Mary next year. Congratulations, Sajen!
Georgia Bedford - Headshots for a University of Pittsburgh Professor
“The retouching is beautifully done. I have never before been pleased with a photo of myself.”
~ Georgia Bedford
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Leanne Elliott and her family
Family Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
Have you ever seen a 9-months old baby smiling and looking at the camera for all 30 minutes: no tears, not even a trace of dissatisfaction, just a pure bundle of joy? I now have! It’s Leanne Eliott’s little son. We were able to create so many photographic memories for this family, what you see here is just a small fraction of their gallery. :-)
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Noah Robbins and his family
Family Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
It was the second time I photographed Noah Robbins, his parents Michaela and Dave. It was great to re-connect with them again. Noah made great progress and looked strong, happy and handsome! This time the family came with the grandparents, all dressed in themed, beautifully created costumes - Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, John Darling and Mr Smee. We had a blast creating a story for their family album.
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Spencer Kingman and his family
Family Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
Spencer Kingman brought his family fully prepared for the inclement weather, armed with five umbrellas in case of the forecasted torrential rain. We got lucky and had a blast creating group and individual portraits for all the family. Love their outfits in jewel colors - a perfect way to look gorgeous in any season.
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Andrea D’Alessandro and her large family
Winter Mini sessions in the City.
Andrea D’Alessandro presented me with a special challenge that day: to photograph her extended family of fifteen. They did a great job of dressing in one style and the children were incredibly cooperative, so we had plenty of time to create a few of all family portraits, photos of just the kids, every family individually and even a fun time running around for the little ones.
And of course, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens are gorgeous in any weather and any season, even when the skies look menacing.
Winter Mini Session at Phipps - Mother and Daughter
Winter Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, PA.
Mother and daughter were wearing navy, beige and burgundy colors, perfect with the remaining golden fall foliage in the background. They both looked gorgeous and were incredibly easy to work with.
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Zach Reed and family
Winter Mini sessions in the City.
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens look gorgeous in any weather and any season, even when the skies are threatening with rain any minute.
Love how Zach’s family played with the earth colors in their outfits. I personally have a weak spot for light dresses combined with cowboy boots. So fitting for winter and just gorgeous!
Alena’s Studio Headshots in Pink
We were creating headshots for Sewickley Academy’s senior school musical and Alena asked me to keep these portraits as well. I’m in the process of creating a wall art showroom in the studio and these portraits will be a great addition.
Keep an eye for the musical action shots in early March. I’ve just been backstage and the decorations promise to be stunning!
City Mini Session for Crela Frye and her family
Mini sessions in the City.
Some shoots look better in black and white. Pittsburgh’s signature yellow bridges are spectacular but sometimes you just want to focus on the emotions, not the surroundings and thus black and white perfect.
Winter Mini Session for Rufa Akhmedli
Winter mini sessions.
Rufa Akhmedli wanted a bunch of portraits to use on her Instagram account. They had to look different enough, as if taken on separate occasions. Rufa brought 3 charges of clothes and I was amazed how quickly she changed into yet another gorgeous outfit within the allocated 30 minutes still keeping her poise.
Winter Mini Session for Victoria Detweiler and her new husband
Winter mini sessions.
Victoria Detweiler booked a session for all her extended family but it was so cold that day that the rest of the siblings chickened out.
I always say that the brave and stoic get it all. Victoria’s session turned into a romantic shoot with her new husband who went along with any idea I came up with on how he could say “I love you” to his young bride in a silent photograph.
I wish all the happiness in the world to this sweet and beautiful couple.
High School Senior Portraits for Colin Elias, a baseball player
“Thank you for the amazing job you did on Colin’s senior album! You are such a talented photographer and I couldn’t have asked for a better photographer! It was wonderful to work with you and your creativity!"
~ Judy Elias, Colin’s mother
High School Senior Portraits for Brooke Menzock
“The photos are gorgeous. Brooke really likes your attention to detail."
~ Stephanie Menzock, Brooke’s mother
An Ode to Winter with a Macro Lens
Still testing my new Nikon camera, this time with a macro lens Nikkor Z 105mm f/2.8.
Love this prime lens for its versatility. It’s very sharp and produces really beautiful portraits with a swirly bokeh. I can capture a dog running at me at full speed or a bird taking off from a tree branch or a feeder.
Having switched to the macro mode, I can fill the whole frame with a close up of a water droplet frozen mid-flight from a tree leaf at f/18, still hand holding the camera.
All this beauty was captured last week and now the Winter Wonderland has melted away and Spring is in the air. Can’t wait for the cherry blossom!
If you would like to lend me your dog to test this camera’s boundaries, please reach out. :-)
From Pennsylvania with Love - February 2022 edition
New Nikon camera with Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 again.
I had to bring this lens again into the woods as the light conditions were perfect to capture the sunshine reflected in every single icicle on the the branches. In my eyes the sparkly winter wonderland wins over the bright-colored fall foliage we enjoy in Western Pennsylvania
I wanted the snow fairytale and I got it and now it’s gone sadly. I must say judos to Joyka who patiently waited for me stopping every five minutes and completing our morning hike only by lunchtime that day.
If you would like to lend me your dog to test this camera’s boundaries, please reach out. :-)
Testing Nikon’s focus tracking in combination with an ultra-wide lens
I continue testing my new Nikon camera - this time with Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 on.
It was the last day when we could enjoy the light reflected from every single surface - leaves, tree branches, snow flakes before it all melted away. I thought that I needed an ultra-wide lens to capture the overall atmosphere of the ice kingdom while it lasted.
What I also love about shooting wide is this wonderful feeling of a participant in the scene, not a distant observer.
If you would like to lend me your dog to test this camera’s boundaries, please reach out. :-)
Fall Mini Session for Shannon Brady and her family
Shannon Brady wanted this session to be an 8th birthday present for her elder son. Love how they thought through all the little details of their outfits and how naturally they settled into suggested poses. We got quite a lot of color into the background on that cold November day.
Fall Mini Session for Briana Honrath and her family
It was pure joy photographing Briana’s family: 2.5-year-old daughter Aurora, husband Marc, his mother Pat and two friendly labradoodles Leonardo and Arnold. It was mostly chaotic but also organized, if you know what I mean. They certainly came well-prepared for the shoot and I just love the results of our mutual efforts.