Capturing professional headshots outdoors comes with its share of challenges and opportunities. Elements like wind, shifting natural light, passing vehicles, and the constant presence of pedestrians add an element of risk and surprise. However, during a recent three-day outing that spanned many locations, we skillfully navigated those obstacles and reaped the ultimate reward: awesome outdoor portraits.
Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Vinay Prasad in San Francisco and making some portraits of him. The first image I shared was black and white. It was dramatic and perhaps a little too moody. After all, Dr. Prasad is a smiler. Truly. Here’s a fuller collection where you can see him under the influence of color.
When I told family and friends, a couple of whom are doctors and research scientists, that I was photographing Dr. Vinay Prasad, one said, “Be sure to capture his heroic visage.”
Another said, “Thank him for his clarity, honesty, and courage.”
I did both, I hope!
For more on Dr. Prasad, check out his:
—Observations on Fauci’s retirement: bit.ly/3OpoPUd —Views on vaccine efficacy and forward transmission of covid: bit.ly/3QvPlhn —Opinion on the costs of masking children: bit.ly/3s0VOXF
My family and I are back from a road trip that saw us from the Ruby Mountains in Nevada, through the Wasatch range in Utah, to the Bridger-Teton Forest in Wyoming.
This is an image of the famous Moulton Barn on Mormon Row, which sits at the feet of the Grand Tetons.
I arrived at 4:30 in the morning and had the place to myself till 5:30 or so.
Although the sky didn’t blaze at dawn, I like how the color of the wood—a warm brown-orange, an almost vital living color—has an opportunity to stand out, complementing the pink and magentas on the horizon in the right part of the frame.
I also like how the gable of the structure sits neatly among the peaks of the Tetons in the distance.
Plus, the bottom right portion of the image is dominated by tufts of grass and fragments of stone.
The dusty emptiness, encroaching on the barn, is a powerful reminder that as beautiful as the landscape is, it’s difficult to scratch out a living in such circumstances as pioneers did in the long ago.
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the photo as much as I do.
Here are additional images that make the cut but lack—at least for me—the magic of the panoramic above.
