Vendor Profile - DJ Otto Productions - Pittsburgh Weddings Seneca Valley Prom 2011

Recently I photographed the Seneca Valley Prom and the lighting and entertainment was by Otto Productions.  As always, Frank and his team did an tremendous job providing amazing lights and entertainment.  Not only were there great lights and music but he provided glow sticks, balloons, and beach balls.  In the show below, you will see a combination of video and stills that illustrate only a fraction of the fun the youth had on their 2011 Senior Prom.

High School Senior Portraits and Weddings by dr Frank

Seneca Valley Portraits

Black Hawk School District Portraits

Contact dr Frank to photograph your wedding, portraits, or special event.

Visit dr Frank's portfolio site for more fun, exciting, and colorful photographs of weddings in and around Pittsburgh, PA 

Specializing in Wedding and Portrait Photography

Beaver County, Pittsburgh, and surrounding communities.

Buttermilk Falls - Beaver County High School Portraits Cave

Black and white high school portrait

Buttermilk Falls - Beaver County High School Portraits Cave


Continuing with the theme of creating a wide variety of shots from the same location, we will review a few portraits of one of the caves at Buttermilk Falls in Beaver County, PA.


This portrait was done while it was snowing and very windy.  The recent post displaying the winter portrait scenes were taken on the same day but before the snow started to fall.  Not one to miss an opportunity to continue to photograph, I asked Allison to sit inside this little stone overhang/cutout but can be made to look like a cave with ingenuity and creativity. 


Utilizing the natural light coming into the cave, I photographed her with the Nikkor 70-300vr.  I utilized this lens to avoid using a tripod with the longer focal length that I like to use for tight portrait head shots.  This is one of my favorite lenses to use if I plan on shooting around f/4-5.6.  The lens is very light weight and is much easier to use when weight is an issue compared to the 70-200 f/2.8.  The vibration reduction helps reduce/eliminate camera shake.


Although I wore my hiking boots with tremendous traction, I didn't have perfect footing due to the snow falling and slick conditions around the entrance to the 'cave'.  The leaves and underbrush were covered with ice and snow creating a 'challenging' situation and I didn't want to slip and roll into ice cold water. (I am sure that would have made a great photograph.  :-D ) Therefore, I utilized my go to 70-300 vr lens.  

Beaver County Caves

This was taken from the same location but with the 17-50 f/2.8 enabling me to create a much different look and the appearance of a cave.  


Post processing of these images were done in Lightroom 3.x and with Nik Silver Effex pro plugin. (It is my favorite tool to use when processing images for black and white, sepia, and many other non-color finishes.)

Beaver County High School Senior Portraits

Again, I challenge you to find a location near your home and study it in such detail that you can create many different portraits only by changing the poses, lighting, and angle. 

Buttermilk Falls is located in Beaver County along route 18 and near PA turnpike.

Beaver County High School Senior Portraits by dr Frank

Contact dr Frank to photograph your wedding, portraits, or special event.

Visit dr Frank's portfolio site for more fun, exciting, and colorful photographs of weddings in and around Pittsburgh, PA  

Buttermilk Falls - Beaver Falls PA Is it took cold for High School Portraits

Buttermilk Falls - Beaver Falls PA High School Portraits
Is it too cold for great portraits?

Water falls frozen over

Continuing with the theme of discussing one of my favorite places to photograph portraits(Buttermilk Falls); I figured we would discuss the topic of outdoor portraits in the winter.


Allison wanted a different look than most other high school seniors.  She wanted a winter look and we waited until we received weeks of very cold weather covered with snow.


The first shot is at the base of the falls after many weeks of sub freezing temps and multiple snow falls.  I wanted a very unique look and used the frozen falls to help frame Allison.  

Buttermilk Falls Winter

In the second picture, Allison is under the falls and normally this is a tough shot to get because the water would be splashing the subject.  However, in this case, since the main part of the falls was frozen, this shot was a 'breeze'.  


In both shots, I utilized an SB800 on a light pole (camera left) with no difuser.

Glowing frozen water falls

In the third shot, the lighting was the same but I utilized a wide angle lens and got very close to the rocks creating an illusion of size.


The light created a beautiful glow on Allison creating one of my favorite 'environmental' shots from the day.


Although I have shot portraits at Buttermilk Falls for many years, I never grow bored of the unique looks possible.  Thus far, I have shown looks up to and around the base of the falls.  There are railroad tracks that run above the actual falls and a beat up utility shed that creates an amazing look.  


There is no doubt in my mind that there are hundreds of other 'hidden' gems within a ten - twenty mile radius of my home.  I constantly look for these gem locations and attempt to learn everything I can about them in an effort to create unique and creative portraits.

Buttermilk Falls is located in Beaver County along route 18 and near PA turnpike.

Beaver County High School Senior Portraits by dr Frank

Contact dr Frank to photograph your wedding, portraits, or special event.

Visit dr Frank's portfolio site for more fun, exciting, and colorful photographs of weddings in and around Pittsburgh, PA   

Buttermilk Falls - Beaver Falls PA High School Portrait Photography Part 2

Buttermilk Falls - Tremendous setting for Portrait Photography

In part one I started to outline how I found this beautiful spot for portrait photography. Before I go too far into this post, I want to emphasize that I am positive everyone has a tremendous location near their home.  Although it might not have the same features, it is sure to have great possibilities for fun portrait photography.  

As I climbed the steps to the falls and maneuvered around trees in the path, I noticed many beautiful items along the way.  First, the walls to the right are possible because many workers cut out this hillside years ago.  The stone in the hillside was used in many local and not so local buildings years ago as workers worked hard mining the stone. 

I also noticed how some people did not have a love for the land and littered both the stream and path with garbage.  Remnants of civilization that has little regard for the beauty and sanctity of this setting. I noticed names and initials carved in the trees and in the wooden benches along the path.

When I came upon the falls, the roar was very loud and I could not hear anything except the pounding of my heart.  I was mesmerized by its beauty and quickly decided that this would make a great spot for photography.  All around the pool of water that is at the base of the falls are cut out spaces which make tremendous places for portraits.  One beautiful place takes some climbing to enter and unfortunately is riddled with broken glass and other debris.  

Over the years, I encountered many different people along the path and around the falls.  Some are general tourist who found the falls in a similar manner that I did and others were directed here from a friend or flyer. In the fall, I schedule a portrait session with a high school senior.  We waited months for the leaves to change and the weather to be 'perfect'.  When we arrived to the falls, we noticed it was filled with cars along the road and the typical 'quiet' path was filled with people and loud sounds.  From the right and above us came men in blue and gray. Some were covered in dirt carrying long guns and looking very determined to attack the men in different colored uniforms. Did we trip over a switch and end up many years ago in the midst of a civil war battle?  Was this a movie set?   No, scheduled our portrait session on the same day when a reenactment of times gone by was taking place.  What should we do?  Go home and attempt to schedule a future session?  No, we decided to utilize the tremendous props that were made available for us.  I could not pass up these fun props. 

Stage Coach High School Portrait

This first image is not directly at the base of the falls but above it along side the railroad tracks. 

I couldn't resist the great backdrop and immediately asked the owners if we could take a few photographs in front of the stage coach.

The second shot is from the same setting but I added a strong bare flash from camera left and added some post processing in Lightroom to create a more antique look. 

Antique Stage Coach High School Senior Portraits

Buttermilk Falls Camping Portraits

In the third photo, we borrowed a hat from the owners of the stage coach and lit her with a light on camera left.  I couldn't resist the fun look and figured this would make a tremendous memory for this high school senior. 

I have hundreds of different looks that I have been able to gather from this beautiful setting.  Although there are some that look the same, with a little ingenuity, new looks are created every time.

Look for creative ways to use familiar spots.  In this example, we could have walked away and came back when there was no one around, we decided to stay and have a fun time utilizing the change in scenery to create a very fun look.

High School Senior reading on railroad tracks

 Watch for unique ways to photograph your subject. 

Buttermilk Falls is seconds from the PA turnpike near the route 18 exit and close to Pittsburgh, PA and Youngstown, Ohio.

Contact dr Frank to photograph your wedding, portraits, or special event.

Visit dr Frank's portfolio site for more fun, exciting, and colorful photographs of weddings in and around Pittsburgh, PA   

Buttermilk Falls - Beaver Falls PA - Winter High School Portraits part 1

Buttermilk Falls Portraits

Buttermilk Falls - Tremendous Photography Opportunities - part 1

One of my favorite local areas to do portrait photography is at Buttermilk Falls.  I am positive that I am one of many Pittsburgh and Beaver County Photographers that enjoy photographing this beautiful 'hidden' area of our county.  A few years ago I noticed a small sign off the PA turnpike for Buttermilk Falls.  I immediately pulled into a very small parking lot and starting walking the path toward the falls.

With tremendous anticipation, I climbed the steps and winding hill side toward what proved to be a beautiful site.  Along the path are man made benches from fallen trees and some stone.  The steps were made by a local group and cut into the hill side to make the journey to the falls easier.  (Unless you are carrying lots of camera gear.)  On this first trip, I was in dress shoes and not prepared for the trip.  However, the further I journeyed, the greater my heart raced in anticipation.  I believed I found a 'perfect' spot to photograph locally.  (Proving in my mind that there are many hidden gems in our back yard.)

Although the walk is a strong uphill climb, I began to run up the steps and along the path.  On the left toward the falls is a major drop off that will take you to a stream of water and bed of rocks.  On the right are many trees and beautiful stone cut from many years of cutting from years ago.  My mind raced at all the opportunities that existed and every time I walk the trail, my mind continues to see new opportunities for photographs.  I believe years can be spent in this area (although not very large) and never see all of the beauty that is in the area.

When I finally reached the falls, I noticed all the rock and stone that surrounded it.  Although the actual water isn't very large, the sound is tremendous and above it is a train track that is still very active.  There are many different areas that appear to be caves but are not very deep and make beautiful backdrops for portraits.  (More about my first encounter in another post.)


Over the past few years, I have shot wedding, engagement, family, group, and high school portraits, at Buttermilk Falls, and the area adjacent to it.  The images in this post are from a recent High School Portrait session that completed all four seasons of portraits.

A winter portrait session at Buttermilk Falls in Beaver County, PA.

Skiing Portrait

The second photograph was taken on one of the steps that lead to the falls.  Allison was lit with a strobe to the left of the camera on a light pole held by her mom.  Since the weather was very cold, I used two cameras and didn't swap lenses.  The lenses that I used on my Nikon D300/s were the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and the Nikon 70-300 vr.

I didn't want to take the chance of snow blowing into the camera and had both cameras ready prior to arriving at Buttermilk Falls.

Normally when I photograph at Buttermilk Falls, I encounter someone enjoying the beautiful setting.  Although we didn't encounter anyone I am sure others visited the falls during the weekend after this beautiful snow fall.

Buttermilk Falls Senior Pictures

In the third photograph, I had Allison sit on a stone in one of the 'caves'.  Although the cave is barely deep enough to sit, it makes a beautiful setting and proved to be a tremendous wind stop.

At this point in the shoot, the wind and snow was blowing but Allison was a trooper and endured the brisk temperatures.

More about Buttermilk Falls in the next post - until then - Get out and enjoy all of the beautiful photo opportunities in your back yard

Contact dr Frank to photograph your wedding

Visit dr Frank's portfolio site for more fun, exciting, and colorful photographs of weddings in and around Pittsburgh, PA  

Mixing available light and strobes - Cory High School Senior Portraits

When photographing outdoors, it is critical to take into consideration the available light (ambient) even when using strobes.  In this photograph, I positioned Cory in the shade but utilized the fast setting sun that was behind him.  Since he was in the shade, if I didn't use an alternate light source to light his face, it would have been underexposed.  

There are multiple ways to obtain the proper exposure on the face (when back lit) and my favorite is to shoot in manual exposure.  Although it can seem very daunting at first; shooting in manual exposure isn't as difficult as it was many years ago.

In this case, I metered for the background but overexposed it slighting to eliminate some of the unattractive far background that couldn't be avoided from this angle.  In addition, I wanted the middle ground (barrel and part of the porch post) to be partially scene and not underexposed by too much.  (I was using the pole and side of the house to frame him too and I didn't want it to be too dark.)

Sean's mom held the strobe on a pole camera left.  I adjusted the output of the flash to light his face but not overexpose it.  I used the Nikon SB800 set to TTL and modified the light output of the flash from the commander mode in the camera.  This setting enabled me to dial down the flash output by 1 stop of light. 

The light from the sun acted as a hair light and gave some separation from the rest of the scene. 

If a helper isn't available, then a light stand is an option which works well normally.  (When using a light stand, I use my camera bag on one of the legs of the stand to keep it from falling over on uneven surfaces or in the case of a windy shooting environment.)

Get out and enjoy the fun of capturing God's creation!

www.kendralla.com

www.kendrallaphotography.com

The most important picture part 1 - Pittsburgh Wedding Photography

The most important picture is the one you take and is kept cherished for many generations. This is a picture of my mom and dad from over 50 years ago.  (This post is not to be morbid but is meant to encourage each of us to take photos, share photos, and understand their value and importance in the lives of generations to come.)

My mom died last week (Sept. 2, 2010) at the young age of 73 and this is one of hundreds of photos she kept from our family's history.  She kept photos from her childhood and of people that unfortunately, I will never know.  Sunday, I spent a few hours scanning and cleaning images of her life.  Why did it take so long?  Because I spent hours looking at and crying over each one cherishing their value.  The actual time it took to scan and clean the images (remove dust, scratches, etc) might have been 1/10th of the time I spent with the images.  I could not take my eyes off each image.  It is a part of my families history and I will do everything possible to preserve the images for my children, grandchildren, and future generations to come.  We have pictures from their wedding nearly 56 years ago and other images dating 65+ years ago. 

Although we have hundreds of images that my mom and others took and thousands that I took, I am looking for more.  Images that never were taken.  Images that I wish we  I insisted we take.  

My sister asked that I create a table top album of our parents lives.  Although it will be a daunting (not because of the work involved but because of the tears involved) task, it will be a work of love.  I encourage everyone that reads this post to understand the value of pictures that we take today for future generations.  No doubt when this image was taken, my parents like the image.  However, there is little doubt in my mind that this image was looked at for years by my parents (their wedding picture is still on their wall) and its value today is thousands times more than the few cents it cost to print this image over 50 years ago.

The walls, shelves, refrigerator door, and any other holding place, is filled with photographs of our lives.  It includes pictures of when my sister and I were growing up, my children, grandchildren, relatives, and people I don't know.  


Many of the images are 'poor' quality that were taken with a Polaroid with a harsh flash or instamatic camera and no flash.  However, there are many excellent images taken with better cameras and by professional photographers.  Regardless of the quality of the image, they are a treasured image and a part of my families heritage.


I am sure I learned the value of a photograph by observing the collection of images (but its complete value was manifested last week when my mom died) growing up and living in a household that took pictures not stop. 


When I cover a wedding or other significant event, I do everything possible to take pictures of everyone that wants or doesn't want their picture taken.  The value of the image might not be known until 50 years from now when their child or grandchild sits with the print in hand (yes print not digital file) and cries with tears of joy laughing at the outfit worn today.  They might sit and be thankful that someone took time to preserve a little piece of their families history by pressing the shutter, preserving a fraction of a second that will have value years into the future.


The value of a print is why I encourage families, couples, and everyone else to make/purchase prints and albums of their special day.  The wedding album isn't just an album but it is an heirloom that will have value thousands times its current value years from now.  

After I complete the album of my parents/grandparents, I will print a copy for each of our children.  Its value to them and their children (my grandchildren) will be priceless.  I can only image what will be said of the images 50-100 years from now when my grandchildren, great grandchildren, sit and look at the albums.  

I lost count of the times that I attempted to photograph someone but they didn't want their picture taken for one reason or another.  I get comments like, "I don't take good pictures".   That's okay.  I am taking the picture (is what I want to say) and the picture is for (fill in the blank - bride and groom, your mom, dad, sister, aunt, etc).  


I was talking to one of my wife's sisters over this past weekend and we both agreed on the same thing.  Regardless of what anyone else says, each family event will conclude with a group/family photo.  We will not care if the kids (big or little :-D ) don't want their photo taken.  There will be no one safe from the camera.  


For the funeral, I went through thousands I images that I took over the years and cried and laughed.  I looked at images of my father in law who died a few years ago.  I looked at images of my grandkids when they were just born or when my grandchildren were dedicated to the Lord.  I looked at images of my bride nearly 32 years ago and how young we were and marveled at my hair.  Where oh where did it go?  :-D


Mom, we will love you forever and a day!


What is the value of a picture?  In some cases, it is priceless. 

Drew - High School Senior Portrait - Class of 2010

These images were near the Beaver Heritage Museum. A Civil War era home is located at the edge of the property and presents many tremendous photo opportunities. The rustic nature of the building is a tremendous back drop and setting for Drew's High School Senior Portraits. As you can see from the images, Drew has a large frame and a rugged setting was appropriate for his session.




The evening was perfect, overcast skies with enough light to cast some fun shadows.



I used off camera lighting with no difuser or umbrella on a light stand, camera left for most of the images in his shoot. A few of the images, I underexposed the scene by 2+ stops and filled the image with directional light to create a sunset look. This technique is critical to learn, especially living in an area where we go days and maybe weeks without any great sunsets. However, when shooting portraits, I would rather have a dull sky and create my own sunset with either an off camera flash or video light.



I used Nikon’s wireless CLS to fire the remote flash but in bright sunlight it might be a better choice to utilize a radio trigger. (Pocket wizards, Paul Buff’s, radio poppers, or the many varieties on ebay.)



These tricks can be used in many portrait settings and not only outdoors. Experiment with underexposing (use manual exposure on your camera) the scene and filling just the area you want with directional off camera lighting. With this technique you can create many different and interesting looks in your portraits.

Contact Me to photograph your Wedding or High School Senior Portrait in the Pittsburgh area.

As always, get out and enjoy the beauty of life.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Drew - Beaver County High School Senior Portraits Class of 2010

Pittsburgh Wedding and Portrait Photography by Frank Kendralla

Drew is a 2010 Graduate and was fun to photograph.  The images were photographed in Beaver, Pa adjacent to the Beaver Heritage Museum.  The textures and powerful detail in the majestic Civil War era home made for a tremendous setting for Drew's High School Senior Portraits.  Drew, we wish you the best in life!




Drew - High School Senior Portraits from Frank Kendralla on Vimeo.

Gi Gi H.S. Senior Portraits Animated Show

Earlier in the summer, I had the opportunity to capture a brief moment in history of another beautiful H.S. senior - Gi Gi., - Class of 2010

Gi Gi Class of 2010 from Frank Kendralla on Vimeo.