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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. :-)

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. :-)

I decided to test my new Nikon camera with all my lenses. This time I have Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 on.

Love this lens for its versatility. I can start shooting Joyka when he’s quite far away and keep zooming in until he bumps his head on the lens cap (he does this quite often actually). Wide angle shots give the feeling of presence, as if you are part of the scene. Zoomed in shots offer a nice separation from the background. Both options are available within milliseconds by turning the zoom wheel on the lens all the while the dog is closing up on me.

The only downside is the aperture that wouldn't go wider than f/4 but then again, when the background is not completely obliterated, it offers great for story telling.

Regardless of the distance from the subject or numerous distracting objects around it, the camera locks its focus dead on Joyka’s eye with an amazing sharpness!

If you would like to lend me your dog to test this camera’s boundaries, please reach out. :-)

I am getting to know my brand new Nikon Z9 camera and its outstanding focus tracking abilities, this time with Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 on.

Joyka is finally cleared for unlimited physical activity, so we are back to daily hiking. This Golden loves to run fast. Anyone who ever tried to photograph a dog galloping at you knows that it’s not easy to get your photos in focus. But not with the Nikon Z9! This camera tracks not just Joyka, but his eye with admirable determination. Every single shot. Wow!

If you would like to lend me your dog to test this camera’s boundaries, please reach out. :-)

As we are anxiously watching the snowflakes outside, bracing for the snow storm, a few positive winter photos are in order. Our Golden Retriever Joyka loves winter and all winter activities - hiking, playing with snowballs and especially “helping” to shovel the snow out of the driveway.

We really enjoyed the end-of-term Christmas concert organized by Leah Givelber of Center of Young Musicians at Edgeworth Club in Sewickley.

Hearing Alena perform her beautiful and complex musical pieces she’s preparing for an ABRSM diploma exam got us thinking that it’s probably time to upgrade her violin.

So we paid a visit to Phillip Injeian, a master violin maker, one of the many hidden jewels of Pittsburgh. He helped Alena navigate through a variety of instruments and choose the right fit for her and he even performed a short piece for us saying that “you shouldn’t trust a mechanic who doesn't drive a car himself”!

Thank you, Phillip, for this memorable experience.

Halloween is my favorite holiday in the fall. This time I met two very friendly ghosts who didn’t mind posing for the camera. ))

I needed to do a 10-min fall mini-session photo challenge, natural light only, any place, any time. So I asked my favorite model in the world to pose for me in our backyard. It was raining really hard this week but there was a short window yesterday when we could go outside and do it. Love these impromptu moments.

Thank you all for your birthday wishes. Here are some bright spring colors from Pittsburgh with love!

If you ever wondered what the winter scene looks like in senior photos, here are the photos that we took with my daughter on one of the hikes on a snow day. Book your senior session before the beautiful white snow melts!

As far as winter photography goes, fresh snow ranks second only to the Christmas lights. It’s so light and clean and beautiful, like in a fairytale. Is it too cold to pose in a fancy outfit? Who cares! Put on a warm coat, hat and gloves and get the most out of the day.

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