I recently upgraded my camera to a Nikon D-50 and this portfolio of images are all made with the D-50. For this shoot I carried both a 28mm f2.8 lens, which is the lens I use most, and a 1.8 50mm lens which I used for available light night photography. However, I felt that I could work more easily in a variety of situations with the 24-85mm medium zoom and it became my prime lens in capturing these portraits.

 Taking good portraits is demanding work. First you have to find the right face. A certain amount of character is of high importance when searching for a subject. Each photo needs to tell a story of its own, and if I am careful in my selection of a face - the explanation will be right in the features of the subject. I view a face as if it were a canvass if I were painting the subject, but I don’t have to add paint to that canvas. The work is finished; I just have to find it, and that takes a lot of time and effort. The surrounding light is important, too, I like to have the subject’s eyes as wide-open as possible because I believe that the depth, feeling, and emotions of a person are confirmed through the eyes. Bright sunlight causes a person to squint, and then we can’t see the life, beauty, sadness or joy that is conveyed by those eyes. Actually, I love to photograph on dark, dull, cloudy days because then the lighting, in my opinion, is at its best, and the colors seem to be vibrant.