Niece and Nephew (85mm f/1.2)

[Barry Johnston]

Last weekend my niece and nephew came to stay with me for four days. It has been around a year (+) since I saw them last. I took the opportunity to do a few portraits at the Royal Botanical gardens in Melbourne.... despite the severity of the drought in Australia, the gardens still looked magnificent.

I used my beautiful 85mm lens to take these at f/4.0

Meet Jenna & Justin ->

http://www.pbase.com/barryvj171/image/89317374/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/barryvj171/image/89317400/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/barryvj171/image/89317312/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/barryvj171/image/89317458/original.jpg

Regards,
Barry

[janet Smith]

Hi Barry

How nice of you to introduce us to your family, what lovely young people they look. I know that they tend to be difficult to photograph at this age, so I think you've done really well to capture these lovely natural shots.

I particularly like the last one of them together, a typical brother and sister moment, their strong bond shines through.....lovely! It reminds me very much of a shot of me with my brother, where the embrace is almost turning in to a head lock!!

[Barry Johnston]

Hi Jan

Many thanks for your nice comment. Actually, they were easy !! natural models I think. They were great to have around and always full of fun !! I really miss having my own kids around these days. My daughter lives on the opposite side of Australia, and sadly my 20 year old son (Daniyel) passed away a couple of years ago which I am still struggling with today. I take every opportunity to be with my family now and all the children and try to make them memorable occasions.

I too really liked the last photo here. It was spontaneous and I don't think quite in focus, but the mood was fantastic.... actually the events leading up to the headlock were as follows: Justin asked Jenna to hold his bottle of fizzy drink while I took a photo of him. Jenna proceeded to shake it up as much as possible while this was taking place; After the photo, the chase occured and then the catch and the headlock !! Funny....

Thanks again and take care !!

Best Regards,
Barry.

http://www.pbase.com/barryvj171/image/89316679/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/barryvj171/image/89316536/original.jpg

[Edward Bussa]

They are cute together!

The bokeh on that 85 seems nice. Is it known for its bokeh?

[janet Smith]

I take every opportunity to be with my family now and all the children and try to make them memorable occasions

Hi Barry

Two more really nice shots, they look lovely young people. I'm sad to hear about your son......... You're absolutely right to make the most of family moments, it's so important.

My eldest son lives in Gran Canaria now and we miss him, but we speak at least once a week, families tend to be spread around now, which is a shame in some ways but he has a wonderful life style, so it's good really (I suppose!)

Your description of the headlock photograph made me smile, just like me and my brother, he's taller and 2 years older than me, we'd always end up messing around and chasing each other about....

Hope you have a good day.....

[Barry Johnston]

Hello Ed,

The 85 1.2 is very well known for its beautiful bokeh and probably unparalleled by any other lens of the same focal length.

Though these photos were taken at f/4, I find that the very shallow depth of field at 1.2 can be a trap. Photos taken at f/1.2 can have an extremely shallow 'depth of field' only mm's wide, and you may get one eye in focus but not the other, or the tip of the nose completely OOF.

Having said that, it is probably my favourite lens without any doubt.

Many Thanks,
Barry.

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Hi Barry,

This last shot:

http://www.pbase.com/barryvj171/image/89316536/original.jpg

benefitted from the fill flash. In the earlier ones you posted, the partially lit, partially shaded, ones had a bit too much lighting contrast for my taste, but this one has a great balance due to the hardly noticable fill flash (and it adds nice glimmers in her eyes), well done.

You might want to adjust the color balance a little more away from the blue that shows in the whites of her eyes.

Bart

[Barry Johnston]

Hi Bart,

Many thanks for the advice regarding the WB. I will try to adjust a little better and see if I can improve it.

Best Regards,

Barry.