The Angel and the Wingman - Down to Earth for Photo Fun

Earlier this month I had the pleasure to photograph two lovely friends of mine: Rita Strough (who talks to Angels) and Mike Gross (a.k.a. “the Wingman”). They are co-hosts of Talk’n’Angels radio show which airs live every Wednesday night on 1460 AM radio from Florence, NJ and online on blog talk radio.
I had photographed the two of them a little over a year ago, but was never really happy with the photos. (Heck, I had a good excuse - I had a  couple of  cracked  ribs and could barely hold my camera much less use any lighting equipment.)  But this time I was nice and healthy, and we had a gorgeous spring day - who could ask for better!
The photos were shot outdoors at the Ryerss Museum in the Burnholme section of northeast Philadelphia at Central & Shelmire, just off Cottman Avenue. The cherry blossoms were vibrant and the sky was a rich blue, so although I generally love black-and-white, today was a day where color ruled! I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. Thanks Rita & Mike for being such fun and fabulous subjects!

All photos © 2012, Colleen D. Gjefle

 

 

Okay, I had to do some black & white!

 

 

Backlit Cherry Blossoms

While walking my dogs one evening, I picked up a clump of double cherry blossoms off the street. The flowers were beautiful, at their peak of bloom. Not wanting to waste their beauty, I took them home, back-lit them with a small light-box and then photographed them.  I used a Sigma macro lens that I did a review of in an earlier blog. It worked well for this, allowing me to get nice and close. I exposed to get the lit background nice and white, which gave delicate edges to the flowers, partially blending them into the background for what I consider to be a pretty effect.

All photos © Colleen D. Gjefle, 2012

 

 

Below are variations of the same photo:

Urban Jungle: Philly Coal Piers

I love ruins! It’s especially fun when you discover well-hidden, little-known local ruins that are absolutely remarkable. Case in point: the Philadelphia Coal Piers.

Back in the days of the coal-powered transportation, ships had to refill their supplies, and that’s where the coal piers came into use. Now graffiti-covered relics, these behemoths are found on the Delaware river in Philadelphia, right off the intersection of Richmond Street and Girard Avenue.  I took these photos on March 24, 2012.

All photos © Colleen D. Gjefle, 2012