Patrick Collins Photography

So, we had some wicked thunderstorms tonight!  And I love severe weather.  If we’re going to get more precipitation, it might as well be on the extreme side (ie: hail, wind, lightning, thunder, etc.).  Anyway, around 8:30 the light was just spectacular: all surreal and glowy.  I grabbed the camera and headed down to Long Beach to see if I could find something interesting to photograph.  It was like a laser light show.  The storm seemed to stretch out in a semi-circle, from Milford out across the sound and then back towards NYC.  Lightning pulsed across vast expanses of sky and converged into massive bolts that would blast down (far away from where I was setting up my lightning rod/tripod).  Then there was the fireworks show going on in Norwalk (I think).  And the wind kept the bugs at bay.  All in all not a bad night to be at the beach.  Hope everyone got through the storms unscathed!

It seems like a very long time since my last post.  I know the blog has been silent - but we’ve been extremely busy and A LOT has happened since December.  We’ll get into all that as we start out the new season.  But here’s some news I’m really excited about…

At the end of last year, I was working on a personal project and one of our clients mentioned that I should check out the Easton Arts Council.  I visited their site just before their annual Regional Juried Photography Exhibit.  The exhibit showcases scenes of Easton.  Well, I was photographing fall foliage around the Maple Row farm area (where we were living at the time) and while the images weren’t exactly your traditional landscape/scenic type photographs, I decided to enter the two I had at the time.  And guess what?!  I won first place!!

But wait!  There’s more!  Fast forward to the last week in March and a long time friend of ours from Fairfield cut out an article about the First Annual Fairfield Museum Photography Exhibition and passed it on to me during a visit.  I was immediately interested because two photographers (Stephen Wilkes and Eric Meola) whose work I really really enjoy were on the jury panel.  At the end of last week, I was notified that two of my images were selected!!  The exhibit will be on display from April 25th to June 7th and you can get all of the details here.

Here’s a preview of some the images and you can click here for more.  BTW - it’s good to be back!!!

It happens. Sometimes I photograph something else! Staying creative is a constant challenge, so I try to keep myself from getting too complacent. Usually, it’s with self assignments. I come up with a self-imposed rule or two - something that goes against the grain of what I would typically do. The idea is to try out things you wouldn’t necessarily do on a “real shoot”, like crank the ISO, shoot everything from down low, make the subject blurry, etc. Last week was admittedly on the easy side (but hey, I was busy): photograph stuff in the backyard. I did give myself one “catch” - no 70-200mm (my goto portrait lens). These are some of my favorites (done with either a 100mm or a 24-70mm for those who care).

There are a lot of things I love about being a photographer. This post is about one of them. My dad is a lawyer and a judge - I point that out for a reason which I’ll get to shortly. Of course, he’s much more than that. He’s a role model, a friend, and a genuinely good man. He’s got a bit of a baby face, a laid back but charismatic presence, a great sense of humor, and quick wit - all of which I’m sure have served him well as a litigator.

My mom, who has some modeling experience, is very comfortable in front of the camera and has endured many of my experimental sessions (she is one of my favorite people to photograph). What I noticed when I was looking through the photos I had taken of my father was that he was very “aware” of the camera. He’s used to being in front of a crowd, he’s a great public speaker, and he has to run for office every two years so I’m sure he’s had his share of photo-ops. No doubt, as a result, when I raise the camera, he poses. He’s never completely relaxed or at-ease, never one-hundred percent himself.

My favorite portraits almost always come from the one on one sessions, especially when it’’s family. I love capturing an image that shows me something about the people that are close to me - something new or different, something that I haven’t seen before. And I had those images of almost everyone in my immediate family - but not my father.

So, one day last summer when Laura and I were at a family function at my parents’ house, I asked him to come down to the garage with me (they all know what that means). I took a chair with me and had him sit while I got set up. I took a few shots and got the standard “dad-on-camera” poses. I was trying to make small talk to do something to loosen him up. Eventually we started talking about my youngest brother, JP. JP is a good 17 years or so younger than I am - at the time he was just out of college and had his first “real job” (he’s an umpire now - ump’d a game at Fenway last week - that’s a whole other post). He was telling me a story about JP. I don’t remember what it was specifically, but I remember that we were both laughing - hard. For just a few seconds I think he forgot about the camera, let his guard down and I got one of my all time favorite images.

It’s of my dad being a proud father.