"Megan, Class Of 2008"

"Megan, Class Of 2008"
©David A. Ziser

Here is an image I  made a few years ago.  It was part of Megan's high school senior portrait session.  I used a black cloth behind her for my background.  She was wearing a black turtleneck sweater too.  With all the very dark tonalities, including her hair, the viewers' attention goes directly to her lovely face. The expression in the eyes and on her lips shows a confident young adult ready for the future. Light is coming from my White Lightning studio flash in a single 45" Westcott Halo from camera left. Camera specs: Canon 40D fitted with 70-200mm IS lens, at 99mm, F 10.0 @ 1/160 second, ISO 200.  Enjoy!  -David

"Be Thankful"

"Be Thankful"
©David A. Ziser

I captured this shot last Saturday afternoon from the balcony of our hotel in Waikiki Beach.  The sight was simply unbelievable - the vibrancy of the colors, the size of the rainbow, and the end to end sweep of it's arch.  The view of this rainbow was simply breathtaking. Maybe the folks in Hawaii see rainbows like this often, but to this Midwesterner, it was an eye-popping, jaw dropping site to behold and for which to be thankful. Camera specs; Canon 7D fitted with 18-200mm IS lens at 18mm, F16 @1/800 second,  ISO 400.  Enjoy!  -David

"Grabbing A Kiss On The Square"

"Grabbing A Kiss On The Square" 
©David A. Ziser

I made this image a few months ago.  The wedding and reception were being held at one of the major hotels in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio not far from the square.  Fountain Square has always been a favorite location for wedding photographers when working in the area.  Unfortunately, the city changed the position of the fountain giving us a little less variety in which we can point our cameras.  The large bank building in the background still serves as a nice backdrop for this shot.  Yes, many tweaks in Lightroom to juice the sky blue and a trip to Photoshop to remove the people strolling near the fountain.  Still a nice shot. Camera specs; Canon 40D fitted with 12-24mm Sigma at 12mm, F8 @ 1/250 second, ISO 100.  Enjoy!  -David

"Last Words Of Advice"

"Last Words Of Advice" 
©David A. Ziser

I remember taking this image years ago back in the film days.  We were in the Rabbi's study for the signing of the Ketubah, the Jewish marriage license, when I saw the Father of the bride lean over to his daughter and offer her one more word of advice.  The shot is an extreme crop of that moment, hence the film grain.  I enhance the image a bit more in Photoshop to further capture the feeling of the image.  The light tonalities of the image together with Dad's whisper combined with his soft touch on his daughter's hand make for a very strong image.  Camera specs: Hasselblad 500CM fitted with 80/2.8 Planar lens at F2.8 @ 1/30 second, Kodak Vericolor 400 film (best recollection.) Enjoy!  -David

"Caribbean Breezes"
© David A. Ziser

The is one of the images I made last week while we were in Key Largo. We were just wrapping the rehearsal "walk through" when the sun just touched the horizon line. I waited a few more moments till the sun set about 1/2 way below the horizon. I chose to crop into the palm trees to better visually balance the image and as a way to keep the viewer's eye directed to the center part of the image where the sun was positioned. The sunset, colors, and composition all came together for a beautiful image. Canon 40D with 70 - 300mm lens at 180mm - F 10 @ 1/640 second at ISO 800. Enjoy! --David