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Experimenting more with portraits and headshots.  My daughter Alayssa bought some “doll’s eyes” contact lenses as part of her Halloween costume this year.  The effect adds a thick black ring around her bright blue eyes.  It was a little jarring when I first saw it, but it really works for her.

This was a fun impromptu shoot when she came to show me her Halloween costume.

We were there five days, and I was incredibly nervous for four of them.  We stayed with my friend Krissie, who is always very gracious to let us crash at her place when we visit.  The first day we were there I pulled Krissie aside and said “It’s going to happen this weekend.  I’m going to need your help.”  She knew I had been planning to pop the question for a while, she just didn’t know when.

On the last day I said I wanted to get family pictures out on the beach.  I asked Krissie if she would be willing to take the photos.  At this point she knew the plan, and she couldn’t wait to get to the beach.

Now, parking near any beach in California is cause for a headache.  Unless you want to pay good money for beach-side parking, you usually wind up parking a couple blocks away and walking.  We had parked our jeep as such, and on a side of the street that was scheduled for street cleaning the next day.  So before we could go to the beach for pictures, we had to move the jeep.  As Anita, Alayssa and Krissie sat in the living room, I went to our bedroom to grab my camera and slip the ring into my pocket.

At every opportunity, I will hold Anita’s door for her.  I take joy in attempting to be a gentleman.  So as we re-park the jeep, Anita stays in her seat and I move to get out.  Out of the corner of my eye, I see something very small and shiny fall out of my pocket and fall under the seat.

You know that “zero-gravity” feeling you get just before a roller coaster drops you?

“There’s no way she didn’t see that.”, I thought.  This is one of those things that only happens in romantic comedies.  “Joe Schmoe wants to marry the girl of his dreams.  What could possibly go wrong?”

As I’m trying to hide my abject terror that the surprise was ruined, I began to realize that I had to find the ring while Anita was sitting right next to me.  There was no avoiding it.  I couldn’t just ask her to get out of the jeep while I sat for a few seconds.  So I gritted my teeth, reached under the seat, said a prayer, and started feeling around.

“What are you doing?”, Anita asked.

“Uhm… I think something fell out of my pocket.”

“Like what?”, she said, concerned.

“I’m… not sure… I think I saw something fall out.”

I don’t know what good deed I did to deserve it, but it was at this point that I found the ring.  I palmed it immediately, and sat up to get out of the jeep.

“Did you find it?”, Anita asked.

“Nope.  Oh well.”, I said.

I got out of the jeep and put the ring back in my pocket, checking every few minutes to make sure it was still there.  I let Anita out, and the four of us made our way to the beach.

We arrive, and the sun is just setting.  It’s amazing.  It’s beautiful.  It’s perfect.  I set up a few test shots to make sure the camera is ready to go for Krissie.  I turn on continuous exposure so all she really has to do is hold down the shutter release.  We start walking towards the water while Krissie snaps shots.

We got some of the three of us.  Then some of Anita and Alayssa.  We were having fun.  I kept checking my pocket.

“I want some of me and Anita.”, I said.  This was the signal for Krissie, whose grin was now a mile wide.

As we’re getting our pictures, we exchange our usual “I love you”s.  Whatever anxiety I felt before that moment suddenly washed away.  I became very calm.  This was it.  I realized I had no reason to be afraid or nervous, because this is what I wanted to happen.  It was going exactly as I hoped it would.

I said, “I’m sorry it took me so long to do this.”

“Do what?”, she said.

I got down on one knee and reached into my pocket.  I could hear my camera’s shutter clapping away.  As I pulled out the ring, my calm turned into excitement.  I know the question came out of my mouth, but I don’t actually remember saying the words.

Now, I’m a bit of a smart-ass.  I’m a nervous guy and humor is my ultimate coping mechanism.  I can’t go a single day without feeding someone a line of bullshit.  Because of this, over the years Anita, bless her heart, has learned to take a lot of what I say with a grain of salt.  I’m sure it hasn’t always been easy.

But on this particular occasion, she would later confess that she thought I was playing a cruel joke on her.  It didn’t help that I had accidentally tried to put the ring on her right hand before she corrected me.  After moving to her left hand and holding the ring on her finger for a few seconds, I realized she hadn’t given me an answer.  After repeatedly asking if I was being serious, she snapped out of it and realized what was happening.

Needless to say, she said yes.  We are making plans for a Victorian/Steampunk-themed wedding for next summer.  I will post any significant updates here.

Thanks for reading.  And now for pictures:

Updates: I’ve been practically silent for the last month or so.  Frankly there’s only so much I can do with my limited equipment before I tend to get bored.  But that will change in a week or so, as I’ve finally ordered a muslin backdrop, some lens filters, and a better tripod.  I know it’s not the equipment that makes a good photo, but with this new gear I am hoping to start taking some professional portraits.

My girls and I are taking a trip to Venice, California in a few weeks.  I will have all of my best shots up here soon after we get back.

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For my birthday my parents bought me some nice lighting equipment for portraits and I decided to put it through its paces a few hours ago.  I’ll need to pick up some slightly stronger bulbs, but in a completely darkened room the kit bulbs fared very well.  This will be a good start for eventually doing composite photography.  I have at least one idea that I’m hoping to get done before summer is over.

]]> http://inspireatwill.com/2011/self-portrait/feed/ 0 http://inspireatwill.com/2011/saturday-afternoon-with-amy-and-madeline/ http://inspireatwill.com/2011/saturday-afternoon-with-amy-and-madeline/#comments Sat, 21 May 2011 01:32:30 +0000 Lewis Knorr http://inspireatwill.com/?p=62 read more +]]> It’s weird when you hear that your best friend is going to be a parent.  Someone you’ve known for years.  Growing up together and creating so many memories.  On the surface you know that you aren’t kids anymore.  But when one of you announces that you will soon be having a kid of your own, that realization hits hard.

The first time I held Madeline I asked how I was supposed to do it.  Her dad said “If you don’t drop her, you’re doing it right.” That’s the kind of zen clarity that only comes with being a parent.  I never would have thought of that.

Madeline recently had her first birthday.  Amy has been a mom for a little over a year, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.  But more than anything I’m proud of her.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen her as happy as when she’s with her baby girl.

This is where I will be showcasing my photography.  I’d like to turn it into a side-business some day so we’ll see how that goes.  It’s small peas right now, but that should change over time.  I don’t have a Flickr account or anything like that so everything will wind up on here.  Thanks for checking it out.  I’ll be making updates as often as I can.