City Break in Savannah, Georgia: October 2021
I’ve always wanted to visit Savannah, in fact since childhood when I read about it in a few books, but when we moved to America, there have always been more famous sights to see: New York City, Grand Canyon, the Niagara Falls, California, Pacific Northwest, the Great Lakes and so on - a very long list of all the beautiful national parks and cities in the US
City Break in Washington DC: October 2021
I finally have time to go through our vacation photos! Here are a few from the city break to Washington, DC, back in October 2021. We just wandered around our favorite spots: the French bakery Paul, the National Mall, and a couple of hidden gardens we keep discovering with every visit.
We visited the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. I think it opened just recently, so we were curious to see what was inside. The Soviet Union/Russian section was really well-represented and we learned something new as we’d hoped. We had a very interesting conversation with one of the volunteers who all but gave us a private tour of the features in the astronaut suit.
And the crown jewel of the Washington, DC, visit was the hockey game at the Capital One Arena. The Washington Capitals played the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Caps lost… at least cameras were allowed and both Dmitry and I clicked away during the pre-game skate and even the game itself.
Christmas at New York City: a portrait session with Shania Shields
Day 5, Part Two of photography workshop with Joe McNally in a New York City studio.
I was looking forward to this part of the workshop most of all as this involved photographing a professional dancer in a studio.
Shania Shields is a 2021 graduate of the New York University Tisch School of the Arts and she is a professional dancer, singer and actress who received her BFA studio training in the drama department at Playwrights Horizons, Atlantic Acting School and Stonestreet Studios. @shania.aprill
Shania’s stage experience was greatly appreciated by everyone in our group and it was mostly up to our skills as photographers to work fast enough to capture every graceful pose and elegant move. Anyone who had ever modeled for a photography session would agree that posing is not an easy matter. You are asked to freeze and keep the pose or repeat a movement over and over, maintain precision in your position and perfection in your moves and while doing all that, your face needs to express ease and happiness at all times. Kudos to Shania for being a perfect model.
Christmas at New York City: a portrait session with Danté Crichlow
Day 5, Part One of photography workshop with Joe McNally in a New York City studio.
Danté Crichlow is an actor known for Netflix movies “See You Yesterday” (2019 and 2017)and he studied at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
Dante was part of our photography group and he graciously agreed to pose for me. I was following Joe McNally’s advice from his book “Sketching Light” to always watch for dusty windows as they are some of the best light diffusers available in the real world. That Sunday morning we found ourselves on an abandoned and badly dilapidated floor of an industrial building with huge windows that hadn't been washed for at least half-century. The bright midday sun rays were bouncing from the opposite buildings and creating ice-like patterns on the glass surfaces. Just gorgeous.
Christmas at New York City: Chinatown and Year of the Tiger
Day 4, Part Two of photography workshop with Joe McNally in New York City during the Christmas season.
The evening at Chinatown and Little Italy. Both quarters are lively and vibrant and they are divided by just one street. Interestingly enough, the crowds don’t mix at all. On one side of the street you are surrounded by Mandarin sounds and red lanterns and then you cross the street and suddenly, as if by magic, you hear only Italian speech and laughter and you smell pizza and lasagna. Both quarters are insanely vibrant and a feast for the photographer’s eye.
Christmas at New York City: Times Square in the Fog
Day 4, Part One of photography workshop with Joe McNally in New York City during the Christmas season.
The initial plan was to photograph the Winter Village at Bryant Park. Internally, I was not so sure if I would be able to get anything Christmassy or worth looking at in broad daylight. Luckily, it had been raining all night (yes, there’s no bad weather in photography) and the morning looked foggy and gloomy - a perfect timing to visit Times Square. It was dark enough to make the neon lights stand out and the wet surfaces provided ample opportunities to capture reflections. Even people lining up for a rapid Covid-19 test at a mobile site looked hopeful and enjoying the views.
On my way back to the hotel I wandered to the Lyric theater, the home of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play. I stopped at a gorgeous Art Deco building to use its windows as a mirror. To my surprise, a kind concierge inside waved to me to come in and he even kindly invited me to visit the upper floor to get more photos of the stunning interior. This completed my happy morning in New York City.
Christmas at New York City: Grand Central Station and Rockefeller
Day 3, Part Two of photography workshop with Joe McNally in New York City during the Christmas season.
We spent the morning wandering around the Grand Central Terminal, alternating long and wide lenses, motion blur and slow shutter speed, camera handheld and on a tripod and different white balance settings. We were even lucky to catch the spectacular display “Into the Northern Lights: An Immersive Experience”. This Canadian interactive installation gave a full experiencing the northern lights in Canada with its floor-to-ceiling mirrors reflecting the northern lights in all directions. They even allowed photography inside, of which we took full advantage, of course.
The rest of the images are from somewhere along Fifth Avenue between the Central Park and Rockefeller Center. The lit balloons were a definite theme this year and the police officers were fiercely guarding the elevated surfaces of the Channel Gardens from public recklessly attempting to climb them for a better view of the holiday installations.
Christmas at New York City: Holiday Window Displays on Fifth Avenue
Day 3, Part One of photography workshop with Joe McNally in New York City during the Christmas season.
The assignment was to photograph the holiday window displays of the high end brands on Fifth Avenue. By this time I had a better sense of what was expected of each assignment - do something that would make the viewers stop and get a second glance at your work. How could I photograph the work of insanely talented designers and attempt to add something of my own? I went with a long lens and focused on tiny fragments of the installations, thus making the photographs more about portraiture rather than holidays and shopping windows.
Christmas at New York City: Rockefeller Center and Saks Fifth Avenue
Day 2 of photography workshop with Joe McNally in New York City during the Christmas season.
This time we spent an evening mingling in with the crowds at Rockefeller Center and Saks Fifth Avenue. It was not easy finding a composition or even a spot to stand anywhere near the ice-skating rink, the Channel Gardens or the Christmas display on the frontal facade of the department store.
Christmas at New York City: Downtown Manhattan
This year, I had a wonderful opportunity to take part in a workshop with photography legend Joe McNally in New York City during the Christmas season.
For several days, we walked the streets of Manhattan, practicing new techniques to capture the festive mood and getting daily critique from the maestro himself. What makes Joe McNally stand out from his peers of insanely talented and successful photographers? He is a very humble and tactful coach who eagerly shares his trade secrets.
Here’s just a small portion of the photographs I took on the first night of the workshop in Lower Manhattan, wandering in and out of Oculus at World Trade Center, the 9/11 Memorial Pools, and Winter Garden at Brookfield Place.
Thank you, Liza and Ari at Fancy Girl Street Boy, for organizing the workshop and being wonderful hosts and welcoming guides.
Portraits on the go: Artists Palette of Death Valley
I always look forward to using my camera on our trips, and not only to capture the memories of the beautiful places we visit. It’s a great opportunity for practicing quick reaction to a photogenic situation, focusing fast, and choosing your composition before your family loses patience and runs away to the next point of interest.
Portraits on the go: Death Valley National Park, California
Our favorite pastime as a family is traveling and documenting what we see. These portraits are from our latest trip to Death Valley in California where we hiked from Zabriskie Point into the desert.