Fatu Photography: Family & Lifestyle Portraits

Christmas with many Blessings...

2012-01-03T22:07:00.004-06:00

I can call myself really fortunate having as best friends people named Blessing and Love. On Christmas day together with my little family I embarked on a 800 miles trip from Missouri to North Virginia to spend the holidays with Bill and and his family. Bill was my best man and he is like a second father for both me and my wife. This summer he came to Bucharest for Vivienne's baptism!
Here you can see photos of the Blessing clan, from the oldest to the youngest below. This was Elijah's first Christmas and he seemed to enjoy it together with his older brother Isaac aka IP which got loads of presents from Santa.
As usual, my daughter Vivienne melted some hearts and posed full of energy for daddy's camera.

Elijah

Vivienne

Isaac & John

Isaac and uncle Joe

John, Vicky, Vivienne (in arms), Isaac, David and Joe

Bill - proud and happy grandpa

Bill, Elijah, Vivienne & Leslie

Wren & John

Vivienne's first steps (sort of...)

Happy, happy smart boy!

The Blessings and Bailey (Joe's blue eyed puppy)

Wren and Grandpa who will be 90 in February

The Blessings, Vivienne, Vicky and me (right there in the middle with short curly hair)

Christmas Eve with the Loves

2012-01-02T08:32:00.000-06:00

Here is the annual Christmas Eve Party that our good friends Jim and Betty Love are giving each year for their beautiful family and couple of lucky close friends. The new generation is adorable and it's a treat to see them grow from one Christmas to the other. If you scroll back a year ago you'll see photos from the same event. Vivienne, (the little girl with the red christmasy dress) made her first steps that night and that was the best Christmas present for me and her mommy.
It's amazing to see the kids expressions while receiving and opening Christmas presents. So much excitement, joy and playfulness.
Another highlight is Natalie's pregnancy. She's expecting in a month or so and has no idea what gender baby Singletary will be.
All was shot with the Nikon D90 in manual mode, ISO1250, f/2.2 and 1/100 sec. with the 50 mm f/1.8 lens which once again proves to be the best bang for the buck.
Stay tuned. More to come from the Christmas Day party we've attended the following day.

Aicha, Rukhsora and Ravshan

2011-12-09T08:53:00.001-06:00

These are our very good friends Aicha, Rukhsora and Ravshan. We wanted to shoot some family portraits and also couple of solo shots for more official purposes. Rukhsora is from Uzbekistan and I used this opportunity to take some shots of her in a traditional Uzbek costume for a project I'm currently working on. All was lit with a key light and the main umbrella hooked to a SB600 strobe.
Cheers.

Steve's Concert Hall

2011-12-07T06:48:00.001-06:00

Last night I performed together with my friends and colleagues at Steve's home. I must admit it was a delightful evening and everyone seemed to have a great time starting with us the musicians. I snapped here couple of shots to record the moment with my new stealth camera, the little S95. Very impressed by the results and just love the manual mode. Technical details: ISO 100-400, 1/20 sec., f/2.0
Thanks to our hosts for welcoming our music in their home.

Canon S95 Test

2011-12-06T08:41:00.001-06:00

I always missed to have a small camera. One that could go in my pocket and now, after much debate and some research I made the jump and got the Canon S95. I have it for a week already and I must admit it's a smart little camera with dSLR like feel and in certain conditions even results.
Couple of days ago I went to some Christmas Festivities in the little town I live in and shoot everything at ISO 1600. The first two shots are ISO 400 with the macro setting.
Again, I'm astounded by what this little package will give me and very excited for the world of possibilities that opens up when I'll travel abroad next summer.
Could be a good gift idea for your photography addicted or non-addicted friend or family this Christmas!

Chevrolet Cruze 2011

2011-11-26T08:00:00.001-06:00

I'm really impressed by the looks of this little Audi A4 in disguise. Car photos tips:
- shoot in an overcast day or at sunset
- choose a not so busy background (which i didn't here :)
- wide-angle lens can help emphasize features and lines
- wash the car before
- have fun!

Robert of Cincinnati

2011-11-25T13:38:00.001-06:00

I just met Robert yesterday at Thanksgiving and I thought he has a very interesting and expressive look. Here are couple of shots taken with the 50mm stopped down at f/2.8

Updated Blog/Website

2011-11-08T23:50:00.001-06:00

I'm keep hearing it's good to be up to date... So, that's just what I've just did here.

My love for photography has only grew more since I started this blog three years ago and I'm happy to be able to share with the world some of what I think to be my most successful images in the portfolio sections above.

Lately I've been thinking and reading a lot about the purpose I should be serving with my photography. The following mantra coming from photographer and author David duChemin pins down very well my feelings: "Emotionally compelling photographs create extraordinary memories for years to come."

I am very grateful to all that have been supporting, encouraging and cheering me since I've embraced photography. Thank you for making me feel it's worth it and for being such amazing friends, models, inspiration and never the less clients.

If any of my photos make you feel anything, please make the effort and drop a note. I'd love to hear your comment.

Cheers and stay tuned.

Aisha & Rukhsora outside

2011-11-06T08:31:00.000-06:00

Right after the studio shoot we stepped outside and continued with the following. The fall colors are still on and I was pleased to capture couple of frames showing Aisha's happiness and joy of life.
Technical details: D90 with the 18-200VR and a bit of fill flash
Enjoy.

Aisha and Rukhsora

2011-11-06T08:23:00.000-06:00

Meet Aisha, a lovely baby and her mother Rukhsora. Aisha is my daughter best friend and they have a rendez vous each Wednesday! I was delighted to take her photo and she was very nice, calm at the photo shoot.
Technical details: white backdrop, SB600 strobe fired through and umbrella which was positioned very close to Aisha to achieve the softest light, D90 with the 18-200VR somewhere around 50mm stopped down to f/8 and 1/100 sec.
More to come...

Portrait Study

2011-11-02T01:04:00.001-05:00

Hi all.... long time since my last post on this blog. Keeping busy with planning the future, so busy that sometimes i forget there is a future :)

Here are couple of studies I shot and retouched tonight using myself and my wife. Lightroom is and can be a box full with gems... just dig in and see what makes you tick.

Happy Halloween! Twilight theme anyone?

5 hours in Helsinki

2011-08-15T08:22:00.002-05:00

Helsinki is a magnificent city, one of the jewels of the Baltic! It was founded by a Swedish King in 1550 and became the capital of a newly founded Grand Duchy of Finland in 1812 when a monumental Empire-style city plan was drawn to reflect the power of Russia and the Czar.
I have a secret passion for boats, yachts, water... and I wanted for a long time to shoot this kind of photos. Taking advantage of my 21 hours layover, I spent 5 unforgettable hours in Helsinki walking, photographing, visiting, dreaming, absorbing the culture of the place as much as one can do in such a short amount of time.
The air is full of sea flavors and there's a bird sing song present constantly. It's almost like a soundtrack for this city.
People seem very happy, carefree, enjoying life on their yachts or sipping a cup of tea at one of the numerous street cafes. Many tourists as well waiting in line for a water bus or a delicious ice cream sold at every street corner.

The Perfect Dinner : Champagne, Cheese and fresh rolls!

The Uspenski Cathedral - 1868

The largest Orthodox Church in Western Europe with 14 golden cupolas and an interior that reflects the Byzantine tradition of the Orthodox Church.

Girl's boat night out

A bit of glamourous romance :)

Marina view of the Cathedral

Oldies but goldies

...a bit expensive for a chair?

The Helsinki Cathedral

Czar Alexander II & seagull

Fabulous moon

Romanian Trip Journal

2011-08-14T02:39:00.002-05:00

This year's trip was very special. Beside playing couple of concerts, practicing the violin, taking photos, traveling to Romania and Germany, we also christened our daughter Vivienne on July 31 in Bucharest. There are photos of that ceremony (used with permission of local photographers) on Vivienne's website.
For this event we had guests and family coming from USA, Greece, Russia and of course from Romania. So, we can say it was a pretty international event!
The ceremony happened at the St. Nicholas Udricani Church in Bucharest (above) and it was performed by Vivienne's godfather Pr.Dr.Univ. Constantin Patuleanu (below).
After this event, taking advantage of the good weather we went for a trip around Romania and here are couple of images we took. Some of the photos are taken by Inna, my wife's sister. We used two Nikons D90 & D40 with 18-200VR & 18-55.

Bucharest, Peasant's Museum

Traditional handmade jewelry

My youth dream car (around kindergarden)

Sinaia, Peles Castle

Interiors

Inna

Bucegi Mountains, Sana Regala 1299 m

comestible wildlife

wheels - 3rd century style

Sinaia Monastery

Brasov, The Black Church

Piata Sfatului

Vicky

Poiana Brasov, Stana Dacilor Restaurant

Foggi Day

Rasnov Citadel

Bran Castle (Dracula's.....)

Vivienne enjoying the terrace sun

Romanian Flag

Vicky

My two muses

Sighisoara

Taking a moment

Danes Dracul Inn

What's for dinner?

and back to Bucharest, The House of People

the second largest administrative building in the world

plus interiors (the place is HUGE)

midday Bucharest views

Thanks for watching so many photos!

George Berindei - Painter

2011-07-05T02:32:00.001-05:00

I was very fortunate to be asked to make a photographic record of the work of the painter George Berindei. He can be seen in an auto portrait in the next photo below. Painting and photography are very much connected and one can grow immensely as a photographer by studying the work of the older or newer masters.
In Berindei's works I love the use of color, symbols and the overall mood that his paintings convey.
Please enjoy here couple of works that caught my eye.

Bucharest by night...

2011-06-14T08:48:00.000-05:00

Fire Watch Tower 1890

Hello from Bucharest. Back in my hometown. I always thought it's difficult to shoot places where you live and that's mainly because of the familiarity that develops. Everything becomes normal, usual and there's not much to excite the artistic eye. But... since I no longer live here, I feel like a visitor and there are some creative juices flowing.
Here is a short collage with shots taken at the blue hour and past that. The concept behind the shots is: What can I show to someone that has not been here?
I must say I'm very excited about the 18-200VR Nikkor which opened up a world of possibilities. Excellent for street photography!
More tk.

Street View

Greek Church

Men at work (11 pm!)

Night Life

Le Bourgeois Restaurant - Old Town

Night Lights

Old Fashion Beer Cart

Ice Cream & Pancakes

Court House

Parliament Palace or Casa Poporului

(second largest administrative building in the world, the Pentagon being the first)

1983

Two happy fellows

The real Black Swans!

Casa Scanteii - 1952

(similar architecture to the Moscow University)

The Triumph Arch - Arcul de Triumf

1921

Lilly

2011-06-01T10:00:00.001-05:00

My first cover!

2011-05-23T00:13:00.001-05:00

Ok... this was a nice gig and I got to admit that I am pretty proud to have been hired to shoot the main story for the Spring '11 issue of the Park University Magazine.
The concept was pretty straight, basically to portray our subject Dr. Kleindl in various locations around the beautiful and historical Parkville Campus.
As we all know (or learning about it), it's kinda difficult to include too many elements in a frame before it becomes awfully cluttered and weak. So, we went for some classic shots in front of interesting door frames. Interestingly enough, the photograph that won the cover was one of the last ones we shot, in the shade of this big glass wall with the earth and all the cool stuff portraying the global connection and vision of both Park University and the newly appointed Dean of Business!
The schedule was tight and after rescheduling twice due to inclement weather and spring break we finally met in a beautiful sunny February morning. The weather was nice but my problem was the sun... just to much of it! Tried to shoot as much as possible in the shade with some light bounced from the reflector for a natural fill and also using a diffuser where there was no shade.
If you don't have a nice charismatic assistant get one (and that's a gold tip!). I was fortunate to be assisted by Vanessa, a wonderful very talented writer, which made everything come very smooth and natural. Dr. Kleindl was very nice and cooperative and I think he enjoyed taking one hour of from all his businesses.
More t k...

Appalachian Trail Hike, Virginia

2011-05-19T08:26:00.000-05:00

Happy Hike!

Couple of days ago I returned from a great adventure. A five days hike on the Appalachian Trail. It was tough but rejuvenating and excellent experience. Here are some pics taken with the Nikon D90 + 18-105VR combo. Due to weight I do recommend a lighter camera for such hiking conditions.

Train-wreck and 2 Medicine (Everybody gets a trail name:)

My good friend Black Dog (aka Bill Blessing) who is hiking the whole Virginia

Sunrise on top of 3 Ridges at 5:30 am

View before breakfast, 7:00 am

Many beautiful butterflies at this time of year.

Very, very step ascend

Paul C. Wolfe Cascade

Campfire

5 Stars Tent

5 Stars Hammock

Where people draw pictures of food :)

"... third day, the skies descended on earth"....as the bible would say

Sierra (coolest dog on the trail)

Lunar landscape

The face of happiness after pushing through 60 miles in 5 days

I am Legend!

See you next time...

Yogi

2011-05-07T19:41:00.001-05:00

Giana, Shan-Ken, Angel, Vicky and of course Vivienne!

2011-04-21T21:22:00.000-05:00

Giana is totally cute!
Our friends Shan-Ken, Angel and grandma visited us today and we've all got to meet this sweet 4 weeks old little gal.
Vivienne was totally shocked to see someone smaller than her and we had a great laugh at her reaction.
Except for one shot, all was captured with available light, the 50mm stopped down around f/1.8- f/2.2
Cheers

The tulips from my backyard

2011-04-14T22:26:00.000-05:00

I love this season and ll the colors that come with it. This early morning I went to my backyard and with the help of some very warm sun light I took this shots. I was inspired by two things. The subject and the two lenses that I used. An old Pentacon 50mm f/1.8 that came with my Praktika manual SLR and the Lensbaby Composer, a lens that is a new found love. Enjoy the shots and go out to shoot things that inspire you! Cheers

Magnolia - Spring mmmm....

2011-04-04T22:17:00.002-05:00

I love flowers, spring, color, nature, beauty in it's most incipient raw form. Here are couple of magnolia flower shots I made this weekend in Wichita, KS.

I see people all the time asking, complaining, whining about subjects to shoot, the latest and the greatest gear.... you name it and cannot help to think that the easiest place to find inspiration for your next shoot is... right under your nose. Just look around, discover what moves you and do it.

The last two shots can be used as an example for inspiration. They both portray the same flower. One before and one after a big wind came and swept away all those beautiful petals. If you are inspired, if you have an idea that moves you go do something about it. If you postpone/delay it might dissapear/fade just like the petals from that gracious flower. This is the beauty of photography. It encapsulates in a time bubble a certain moment in time, forever!

Thomas Goering - Bowmaker

2011-03-25T18:09:00.002-05:00

Mr. Thomas Goering is an excellent bow maker which I came to know recently. Today I went to pick up one of my bows which needed a bit of TLC and took the following shots. I'm fascinated by people like Tom who create beautiful and useful things with their own hands from scratch. Tom's workshop doesn't have much light so I shot everything mostly wide open f/1.8 or f/2.8 with my 50mm. Since bow making is such an old craft I decided to use a duo tone treatment for the shots to better represent what I felt being there. In this case the absence of color makes everything look timeless. The same shots could have been very well made in 1911...

Vivienne's Spring

2011-03-22T21:52:00.000-05:00

Beautiful day today in the Midwest, warm and windy. Just perfect for some spring photos with this pretty yellow flowers. Shot everything with D90 and the 50mm f/1.8 at f/1.8 and f/4
All natural light with a bit of the golden hour touch in the first two shots and than blue hour in the last three shots.

The hat is quite catchy and adds a funny note to the serenity of Vivienne and natural beauty of the spring flowers.
My tip for this week is to go out there and take photos in the colors of the season.
Thanks for reading

Vivienne's Passport Photos

2011-02-17T09:39:00.000-06:00

Last week had to make Vivienne a passport photo and we had lots of fun doing it. Being a two months old baby she can't hold her head yet. So the photo that made it to her passport (the one above) had to be retouched in photoshop where I removed her mom's fingers. Content aware fill is amazing.
As seen the photos were made on a white backdrop with 2 strobes. Tried different placing of the strobes. I think it's essential to try different settings and adjust accordingly constantly. It's part of the beauty of digital photography.

Kansas City...a winter wonderland..day time

2011-02-02T11:25:00.000-06:00

Kansas City...a winter wonderland

2011-02-02T00:05:00.002-06:00

Big storm today in Kansas City. So big that they had to shut down schools, business... you name it. After a cozy day inside I took my toy point and shoot plus a crappy tripod and off to the snowy streets. It was really cold outside, so cold that I had to change the batteries twice in my little toy camera. I am amazed of what I've got with such a small one.
Anyway, I toned the images to the way I felt out there. Cold, cold, cold! It was pitch dark so each exposure ranged from 1 to several seconds, and that's where the tripod helped. Would have liked to have some more live subjects but I guess everybody and everything was under a thick layer of snow or behind a nice warmed electrical blanket. Really, no cats, squirrels or even bunnies were to be found. If this would have been in Bucharest I'm pretty sure you'd see at least one shot with a hoard of stray dogs chasing me :)
Some really fun shots with Vivienne on a white seamless coming up. Toy, toy and stay warm

Vicky with Red Hair

2011-02-01T00:02:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I manage to set up home studio in the living room and here are couple of shots of Vicky. I used a white back round and two lights. A continuous strobe to the left and an SB 600 flash to the right. Both shot through umbrellas and triggered wirelessly. I wanted to create a glamorous clam shell lighting. While fiddling with the lights and camera settings I came to realize that expression/feeling is maybe even more important than the perfect technical execution. I know that some of this shots have blown highlights and I am totally fine with it because I like what that does to the picture.
Some more studio photos to come. Stay tuned!

Kansas City to Texas & 35mm f/1.8G DX test

2011-01-24T19:28:00.002-06:00

Last week it was a great snow here in Missouri. It just so happened that I had to take this road trip to Texas and used the opportunity to test a new lens that I bought, that is the Nikon prime 35mm f/1.8G DX. I wanted to see how it will feel to shoot for couple of days only with one lens, with a prime!
It's a great experience and I recommend it to anyone.
This will force you to flex your creative muscle and figure out ways to make photographs happen without the luxury of a zoom.
This particular lens is very nice, lightweight and pretty sharp. However, I came to realize that I prefer the 50mm f/1.8D more and therefore will return the 35mm. It's something about the perspective and quality that the 50mm offers which I value more!
Anyway, check out this shots from this trip and figure out your opinion on the 35mm f/1.8G DX
Cheers...

Victoria & Cristian...Lensbaby

2011-01-08T20:30:00.002-06:00

Today I went with Victoria and Vivienne to this fabulous Vietnamese Restaurant called Sung Son located somewhere in Westport, Kansas City. After having a great lunch I snapped couple of shots with my long forgotten and neglected Lensbaby Composer.

This is fun lens but a bit difficult to use due to the very delicate manual focus. It's also great for videos, bringing a fresh, vibrant look.

All shoot in manual ISO 400, 1/250 sec and f/4 with Nikon D90, processed in Lightroom 3.3

Nora...9 months old!

2011-01-01T09:51:00.002-06:00

Nora is already 9 months and is more adorable than ever. Her parents Matthew and Angie have made a great job!

The photo shot took place @ at the Cincinnati Conservatory, a huge and very nice botanical garden. The light was pretty nice, overcast, diffused through the large glass ceilings. Since the light was changing constantly moving between locations I enabled the Auto ISO function on my D90 which allowed me to keep the 1/125 sec shutter speed and all was shot from ISO 200 all the way to ISO 1600. I love the shallow depth of field so I used an aperture of f/1.8 to f/4. The 50 mm f/1.8 prime lens is the best kept secret out there. If you don't have one, get one!

Photos processed through Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.3

I just love the mood this duotone gives to Nora's shots. It's just feels right for her.

Happy New Year Everyone and Happy Shooting!

Christmas with the Loves

2010-12-25T09:25:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone!
Last night it was the Christmas Eve and we celebrate it with our good friends Jim and Bette Love and their big family.
This was the first Christmas for two newcomers to this world, my daughter Vivienne and James, Mr. Love's great-grandson. It was a warm, christmasy atmosphere and we all enjoyed each other.
We all got wonderful gifts from Santa through the hands of our good friends. Vivienne acted beautifully and made new friends among the little and bigger people.
This event happened in Mr. Love's italian themed basement. I used only available light so had to shoot wide open, f 2 with the 50mm lens, ISO bumped up to 1600 and occasionally 2000, 1/1oo sec shutter speed on my Nikon D90.
Children are wonderful subjects and if you wait enough they'll give you some wonderful candid natural expressions. Enjoy the shots.
Thank you Mr. Love for a wonderful Christmas Eve Party!

Abby

2010-12-23T00:32:00.002-06:00

Meet Abby. She's a beautiful young actress, daughter of my good friend Michael. Today it was a cold, cold day in Kansas City and Abby faced the cold amazingly well! In the beginning I was a bit concerned the cold might spoil her mood but it was the opposite! It made us both work more to create this great looking portfolio shots. At the shoot we had also her sisters and dad who agreed to pose a fun shot.

The sky was a huge soft box and gave us a nice even light. All was shot in Aperture Priority, ISO 200 with the 55-200VR Nikkor lens stopped down from f 4 - 5.6 and 1/250 sec. + paired with the Nikon D90.

After the shoot I went to my other job which is teaching violin and on the way couldn't help giggling like a little girl a the thought that I have such a blessed life to be able to play music and take photos!

Margo, Vivienne, Ben, Victoria and Sophia

2010-12-22T01:43:00.001-06:00

An old friend of my blog, Margo. Tonight she met for the first time Vivienne, her future best friend. It turns out she's very excited about high tech gadgets, even more than about toys.

All shoot with the D90 + 50mm stopped down at f 2.0 with 1/125 sec. and ISO 1600 handheld

Houston Trip

2010-12-18T10:59:00.001-06:00

We just got back from a short trip to Houston. 1500 miles in 3 days is a bit much driving even for my taste (and I love driving!). Here are some photos from the beautiful land of Texas. All was shot with the D90 paired with an excellent all around lens, the 18-105VR.

We also visited the Downtown Aquarium in Houston and saw some very interesting creatures!

Vivienne didn't seemed to be very impressed by the White Tiger so Grandma got her a small one to ruffle with in the near future.

I love the weather we found in Houston. Considering in Kansas City there are around 29, the 70 + we found there were heaven!

I'm not sure how many posts will follow but I want to make sure I'm wishing you all a merry and happy holiday season!

Shan-Ken & Angel

2010-12-14T22:06:00.001-06:00

Shank-Ken and Angel are two young and proud future parents. Today they came to visit us for some photos and lunch. I used one SB 600 Strobe shoot through an umbrella, camera on manual mode set to f 8 with 1/100 sec.

CD Project Shoot

2010-12-06T22:51:00.003-06:00

Hi everyone. Today I went to Beau's house and shoot this good looking people for a CD cover. The light was kinda dim so had to use a strobe shoot through an umbrella triggered wirelessly, aimed at the ceiling for more natural looks. The big surprise came when some of the shots where the strobe mis fired came out really contrasty and cool looking... So a mis can be sometimes a good thing! Shoot everything in manual, ISO 640, f 8, 1/80 sec.

I felt a bit frustrated due to lack of space. We were in a house and the working distance was relatively small. Also, there was a lot of clutter around and was a quite a challenge to keep the frame as clean and straight as possible.

Perspective is a wondrous thing and have tried to keep all the shots above 50 mm for more pleasing looks. Ideally I would have shoot everything with a 200 mm lens but the space didn't allow more than 100mm. I used both a zoom 18-105VR and the 50mm f 1.8 both from Nikon.

The guys did wonderful. They're professional actors and you can see they've done this a million times. Well, thanks for looking.

3 Guitars

2010-12-04T21:44:00.001-06:00

So today there was some hardcore guitar photos happening in my studio. My good friend Beau brought these beautiful instruments and we had tons of fun shooting them.
It took us about 2.5 hours to shoot them and than another 2 hours to process everything in Adobe Lightroom 3.0
All was shoot in manual on a white seamless background around 1/200 sec stopped down to f 8 - 11 tethered straight into Lightroom. I love this program and cannot imagine shooting such a project without being able to check the results on my large 15.4 screen
More to come...

Clouds @12000 feet

2010-11-29T22:12:00.001-06:00

Meet Vivienne Nicole

2010-11-17T09:44:00.002-06:00

Meet Vivienne Nicole Fatu. She was born today November 16, 2010 at 7:05 pm after a 16 hours of labor. She weighs 3.5 kg and is 50 cm long. On the Apgar scale she scored a beautiful 9.9 score which is the best!

Her hair is curly, blond and her eyes are grey/green.

She seems to get very quite in her Dad's arms and I just love that. It seems she has quite an appetite and already started her breast milk diet.

Victoria feels good and is happy mother. Beside Victoria, our two faithful nurses from Shawnee Mission Hospital Lacey and Ashley, the birth crew included the brilliant Dr. Finkelston, grandma Sophia who came all the way from Moscow and dad Christian.

I got to admit, my chest gets full with pride when the medical staff calls me Dad.

I am overwhelmed with happiness and I am grateful to God every second.

More to come. Stay tuned.

For a complete photo reportage please head out to her own website: http://viviennefatu.blogspot.com/

My family

2010-11-14T09:03:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was family picture time and we had a blast. Here is my wife Victoria, her mother Sophia, somewhere there Vivienne and me in the last shot.

I used a single light, the SB 600 strobe shot through an umbrella triggered with this nice and cheap chinese triggers I've bought from Amazon.com I believe they're called Cowboy something...

Costumul nou - New Suit

2010-11-13T14:44:00.001-06:00

Draga mama,
Acesta este costumul cel nou. Ma simt minunat in el si iti multumesc pentru cadou.
Te imbratisez,
Cristi

Letter to my mom in Romanian.

Margo

2010-11-13T14:35:00.001-06:00

This is Margo, daughter of my very good friends Ben and Lolita. We visited them on Halloween and I had the 50mm with me. Since the light was very low I stopped down to f.2.2 - 2.8 with ISO 800. It's amazing how good is the low light capability in the new DSLR's.

She's very cute and posed like a real model for us. Enjoy

Sophia, Victoria and Vivienne

2010-11-10T11:33:00.001-06:00

Last week while waiting for Beau, Aidan and Zhanna I took this shots of Victoria and her mom. Beautiful chili morning. The light was a bit harsh but I used to highlight their hair and the nice tones in the fall foliage. This was Halloween day so, Victoria dressed up :)

Girls

2010-11-03T23:29:00.002-05:00

Our friend Natasha came all the way from St. Petersburg, Russia to visit us and here are couple of shots with her and Victoria in Vivienne's room.

Off camera strobe in various positions...Manual ISO 400, Shutter Speed 1/100 sec. at f. 8

Enjoy

Selim and his mightiness Batman

2010-11-02T08:47:00.001-05:00

This was Halloween and this Selim/Batman. Very cool kid! Had loads of fun taking this shots.

Aiden, Zhanna and Beau

2010-11-01T10:31:00.001-05:00

Hoorayy... Aiden's first Halloween together with my best friends, mommy Zhanna and daddy Beau. Chili morning yesterday in Loose Park where we met for this wonderful photos. He's a real sport and endured bravely the 3 or 4 outfit changes he went through. There were times where he protested but we figured out his just trying a new pose so we went with him.

The lighting was mixed, sunny - overcast - sunny - overcast.... so we adjust accordingly using a nice, big Westcott reflector kindly handled by my trusty assistant and wife Victoria.

All was shot mainly with the 50mm stopped down around f 1.8 through 5.6 and some with the 18-105VR at 18mm. Camera of choice, of course Nikon D90!

Playgrounds are great places to capture kids or babies. One quick tip: Go on a cold morning or as early as possible and you'll find it empty or mostly empty. That will cut the clutter and distractions coming from the other little clients.

Well, it's a new week and I need to go back to my real job, music.

More to come. Two really cute ones awaiting to go online :)

Cheers

The Carter Quartet

2010-10-29T16:47:00.002-05:00

Within a short period of time the Carter Quartet has developed from a chamber music lover's insider tip to one of the most sought after strings quartets in Kansas City.

The group current members are the violinists Christian Fatu and Trisha McGovern, the violist Shih-Hsun Pan and the cellist Alice Huang. This is a trully international group blending musical traditions from Romania, Taiwan and the US.

Their concert repertoire covers a wide range of styles which promises to deliver a unique, vibrant experience to listeners of all backrounds.

The Carter Quartet’s members hold graduate degrees in performance from the University of Missouri Kansas City and are part of UMKC’s prestigious Professional String Quartet Training Program.

Fall with the Loves

2010-10-28T00:45:00.001-05:00

Meet two very important people for me: Mr. & Mrs. Love. I have been blessed with great friends. They are both like family to me and my wife.
Today we had a small interview for the Annual Report for Park University and I used this occasion to take their Fall photos.
We had a great time and the timing was perfect. The shots were made around 5:30 pm when some beautiful golden light was coming through this superb tree located in Mr. Love's driveway.
The rest of the photos were made indoors with a bit of help from a strobe aimed at the ceiling.
I'm really happy with the results. The fact that we're such good friends made a difference, it has opened them up. Often times a photographer has to be a good psychologist. The camera looks both ways! A stiff photographer will produce a stiff expression from his subject... Anyway, that's my piece of wisdom for the day.
Enjoy the photos and catch you up later.

Vicky, Vivi & Cristi @ 38 weeks...

2010-10-24T21:30:00.003-05:00

As you'll notice in this post, my wife Victoria is an avid tree climber. Normally I guess that's ok for a lady, but when you're 38 weeks pregnant it's a bit more special...

Today after she finished teaching, we went to Loose Park in KC and took this photos. We arrived just when to golden hour was over and the blue hour was starting. So not much light to start with. Therefore a bit of fill flash needed to be added. Just a kiss of light :) All shot in manual around f 5.6 with the zoom racked out to 105mm except this first one where I used the amazing 50mm at f 2.8

As much as I appreciate the flexibility a zoom lens provides, I must say that the look I get from this little prime lens is unmatchable. All processed in Lightroom 3.0

For the photos where I'm also present I used the little remote control ML3. Great little gadget to have in the bag!

So, baby Vivienne is about to come anytime now. Vicky prefers Tuesdays so she can have the rest of the week free from school. Classes are though but she's a fighter.

Happy shooting everyone :)

The Graduate Fellowship Strings Quartet

2010-10-22T11:04:00.002-05:00

Paris Je t'aime!

2010-10-20T11:44:00.004-05:00

Couple of shots from last week's trip to Paris. Great city, never can have enough of it. The clouds were a bit heavy and I felt this treatment would suit better the mood I had when taking the shots. It also helps eliminating those pesky tourists showing up everywhere :)

My good friend Olaya which was an amazing guide. We have't seen each other in 5 years and made it all possible through the marvels of modern social media aka Facebook...

Notre Damme @ 4:30 am. Had a hard time sleeping so I packed my tripod and went for some long exposures. This one was 3 secs at f 3.5 ISO 400...It was cold

Erin

2010-10-12T00:37:00.001-05:00

Hi everybody. Tonight I took some portraits of a good friend of mine. Her name is Erin and as you can see, she plays the piano. We worked in a small room so I used both the 18-105VR and the 50mm lens.

It was challenging. How do you portray someone with a big, black instrument and make it look nice? So, we tried various poses, angles and these are the ones I liked the most. I hope Erin will agree with me.

The lighting was extremely poor so I used my SB600 strobe mounted on a stand off camera and shoot through a white umbrella. It was a lot of fun to move the light in various places and see what came out. Also, to play with the shutter speed, aperture, ISO triangle to get an optimal exposure.

I processed all shots in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.0 and applied different color treatments for different looks.

Had lots of fun and didn't even noticed when the 1.5 hours passed at the photo shoot.

Wednesday I'm traveling to Paris and I think there will be some photos happening over there. Very exciting times!!!!

Cheers

My new bike

2010-10-09T23:40:00.003-05:00

Not long ago, I had the unpleasant surprise to discover my bike was stolen. The shocking part was that it was stolen from my front porch where I had it tied. Soon after, I discovered my life got really complicated getting late to classes and rehearsals without a bike. So, soon after I bought a shiny new blue bike from Walmart. Did a bit of research, new what I was after, budget, other details and got this nice Schwinn Sidewinder.
Photos taken in Loose Park, in Kansas City with my D90 together with the Lensbaby Composer with the f5.6 aperture. The color treatment is a but wild and I was after this look since a bike can be a pretty darn little wild thing.
Cheers

34 Weeks... White Hall... Piano & Violin @UMKC

2010-09-30T00:43:00.013-05:00

Yesterday we had a big marathon video recording in White Hall @ UMKC. It was brutal, but we did it. There might be some new clip coming on my YouTube. We'll see...

Anyway, while I was on this cool stage with great continuos lights next to an extremely attractive pianist, future mom (who happens to be my wife, incidentally: ) I took this couple of shots. At some point, the roles changed and I became the one standing in front of the lens... Funny feeling.

Everything was shot with the D90 paired with 50mm for the close shots and 18-105VR for the wide angle ones, all processed in Lightroom.

Thanks for visiting :)

Pam & Co

2010-08-28T20:59:00.016-05:00

Today I got the pleasure to shoot some very pretty ladies! It was lots of fun. Vicky was my trustful assistant and had some creative ideas.

Everything shot with the D90 paired with 18-105VR, 50mm f1.8 and the Lensbaby Composer.

Very important was the fill + the reflector Vicky was holding giving some much needed natural light.

It all went so nice that I even didn't realized when the whole hour passed. In the end we chose to wrap the photo session with a nice jump.

Tomorrow, baby shower photos....whooooo

My Vicky @ 8 Months

2010-08-27T20:45:00.014-05:00

I am very happy and lucky man. I am married to this gorgeous lady and she's the light of my days. In November we'll have a baby girl and cannot wait to meet her.

Here are some photos taken today, around 6 pm when the sun was glowing nicely with my 55-200VR lens paired with a bit of fill flash. I am amazed of what a difference the fill flash makes in terms of skin tones, colors and catchlights. Highly recommended technique.

Everything was processed in Lightroom version 3 which is absolutely kick ass! (excuse my french)

More to come soon!

Margo & Ben

2010-08-17T21:06:00.005-05:00

Hi everyone. These are two of my best friends, Margo and her dad Ben.

Margo is four months and lovelier than ever. Ben is a wonderful musician and he was my violin teacher for the last four years.

I am and will always be grateful for all that Ben did for me.

Hopefully next time I'll get mommy Lolita in the shot as well!

More tk...

Switzerland's National Day

2010-08-07T11:57:00.010-05:00

Switzerland's National Day was a real treat. Not only that I've got this great fireworks show which lasted for 25 minutes but also I got the chance to see everyone happy, celebrating.

The fireworks were shot from Le Chateau de Batiaz which is a 13th Century Fortress!

A bit further down you'll discover few posts with cute little Swiss Kids that were playing, while waiting for the fireworks and a soccer match! Enjoy

Trust No One!

2010-08-07T11:55:00.005-05:00

Little Miss Shoes

2010-08-07T11:53:00.004-05:00

Switzerland - France

2010-08-07T11:46:00.007-05:00

While walking the Place Centrale in Martigny, I discovered an important match happening. Can you guess which one is me?

Mont Blanc

2010-08-07T11:36:00.016-05:00

So, here it is my Mont Blanc Expedition. Took the Montblanc Express train from Martigny, Switzerland to Chamonix, France and than hiked the mountain. Awesome experience, great panoramas and really fresh air. Loved it!

The Old Lady and the blind dog

2010-08-05T04:07:00.002-05:00

While visiting Crans-Montana I found this interesting couple. An old lady and her blind old pet carried in the stroller. Interesting..what do you think?

La Fondation Pierre Gianadda

2010-08-05T00:59:00.013-05:00

The Pierre Gianadda Foundation is one of the highlights of Martigny. It's a wonderful museum with several very interesting collections including one on Leonardo da Vinci, one on Nicholas de Stael, one on the first automobiles ever built, one on Roman Artifacts discovered in the area and nevertheless an extraordinary park with sculptures and wildlife.

If you ever visit the Valais region, drop by to see one of their collection or listen to one of the concerts they organize on regular schedule with world renowned artists.

More to come soon abut Switzerland...

Martigny - Valais Region - Switzerland

2010-08-04T15:12:00.019-05:00

Martigny is a beautiful and picturesque swiss city with ancient gallo-roman roots. As you'll discover in this short monograph, there are a lot of mountains, wines and... history.

The air is very clean, the food very tasty and overall, one will feel as being in the healthiest place on earth. Beside the Roman Amphitheater built by the Emperor Claudius, I found a nice clean architecture with narrow roads and generous mountain panoramas. We need to mention also the Summer Beach which was created in the center of the city for the younger citizens who are playing joyfully each day with little buckets and shovels under their parent's eyes. Next to the beach there is a very nice concert stage where each night bands form all over Switzerland are playing for the locals and tourists as the evening reigns over the city.

I shoot lots of photos during this trip and currently am preparing several posts which will follow shortly. Stay tuned...

Monsieur Porsche

2010-07-30T14:45:00.009-05:00

At the moment I`m in Switzerland, one of the most beautiful countries I have ever been to!

Today I visited a very nice gentleman, Mr. Brisgand and his family. You can imagine my amazement when he came to pick me up from the Cable Train/Funiculaire (yes, Crans-Montana is high in the sky!) with this super sexy Porsche Super 1600 from 1959!

The driving experience is beyond comparison. Let`s just say there are no seat belts and the engine roars like a small power plant.

Shot everything with my trusty Nikon D90 paired with the 18-105VR lens and processed in Adobe Lightroom. I just love the feeling that the duo tone treatment gives to the shots. They look timeless. No difference if the photo was taken back in 1959 when this car was born or in 2010! I loved the clouds as well. Very dramatic.

Thank you Mr. Brisgand for a wonderful day!

Mama 2010

2010-07-17T04:32:00.005-05:00

Visiting my home country I thought of creating a series of portraits with important people for me...like my parents. This is my mother. She is 62 and freshly retired cello teacher.

I took this shots in a nearby park from our home here in Bucharest in the shade.

I used the 50mm stopped down somewhere between 1.8 and 2.8

Lately, I started to grow this feeling that I need to slow down a bit and look between the lines. In this case, making a portrait of my mother...

Cheers

2010-07-02T00:57:00.004-05:00

Last week I took a road trip to Virginia with my beautiful wife Vicky and our good father Bill. On the way we bumped over these guys with their shiny cars. Oldies but goldies!

Peles Castle, Sighisoara Medieval Foretress & WWII Cemetery

2010-07-01T16:12:00.009-05:00

These days I'm taking a trip with my dad in Transylvania and here my favorites shots from the Peles Castle and the Sighisoara Medieval Fortress.

In the photo bellow is a little marker that shows the building where Count Dracula was born.

I also found an abandoned WWII cemetery for German Soldiers. Very impressive to see a whole platoon of 20 years old soldiers dying in the same day 5.24.1945 after the war had been over already!

IP

2010-06-28T09:20:00.007-05:00

So, yesterday I've done one of the coolest things ever. White water rafting! AND also took photos of this adorable boy named Isaac Paul (IP) together with his grandfather, Mr. Blessing. Great company, good looking people, cool shots!

Enjoy.

Cincinnati Zoo

2010-06-25T06:35:00.014-05:00

Hello everyone. As I was mentioning in yesterday's post, recently I visited the Cincinnati Zoo together with friends. Great place, awesome experience! Highly recommended.

We picked out a very hot & steamy day and I was reminded about the importance of comfy shoes, light fabric clothes and proper hydration. Without all that all your interest and ability to take good shots will sink very quickly.

All the shots were taken with D90 paired with the 55-200VR lens which doesn't get to be used that often these days but it's a tack sharp lens as long as is used above the shutter speed 200.

Peace

Nora...3 months old!

2010-06-24T14:53:00.006-05:00

Nora is the most gorgeous 3 months old baby I've ever met! Yesterday I went to the Cincinnati Zoo together with Vicky, Nora, Matt and Angie. We had a great time and we also had a small photo shoot with Nora who was a real sport and acted bravely the whole day.

All photos were shot with my Nikkor 50mm and a tiny bit of fill flash to preserve the wonderful skin tones. Enjoy the shots.

Two friend... Cosmo & Stone

2010-06-09T21:01:00.008-05:00

Two of the most cute and playful dogs I've photograph... Cosmo & Stone. Even if some frames might look a bit brutal, they're actually just playing! Enjoy

Hot Air Balloons

2010-05-28T22:52:00.008-05:00

Today it was a wonderful day! Among other things I went to the Kansas City Hot Air Balloon Fair which was a lot of fun. Thanks Tessa for the info!

Lots of colors and lots of enthusiasm around. Boy, I wish I would have been in one of those puppies! Enjoy the shots.

Baby Aiden Update

2010-05-26T22:54:00.006-05:00

Baby Aiden is so cute and has grown so much since our last meeting a few weeks ago. Tonight I was invited to Beau's home where we had a nice friendly party with grilled chicken, kebab, corn, chips, salsa, Vicky's famous cookies, Zhanna's tasty salad, Randy's moon shine, Boulevard Pale Ale and some tasty Agave christened Mascao?!? Great people and awesome atmosphere!

Before the party I snapped some shots of baby Aiden shmoozin with the ladies from mommy's arms....so cute!