Candid Portrait from the Frog & Onion

While in Bermuda, we visited the Frog & Onion Pub.  (Come on, I went to TCU.  What did you expect?)  It's named for it's two founders, one a Frenchman (frog) and one a Bermudan (onion).  I was walking around photographing while Lynn sat at the table.  As I walked back, I noticed her gazing out the window so, without even putting the camera up to my eye, I just took this shot.

Sometimes, I just like a photo because I like it.

For more, click here to visit Mark Oristano Photography.

Bright Ideas in Bermuda

You have to climb 180 steps to reach the top of the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse in Bermuda, but it's worth the climb.  Not only are there fascinating things to see about lighthouse technology, but when you get to the top, you can pretty much see all of Bermuda.  You have to brave walking out on to the little landing at the top of the light, which I did.  And it was windy.  But it was worth it.

I'll have lots more travel stuff up on my website soon, but for now, if you're in the market for a portrait, please visit Mark Oristano Photography by clicking right here!

Just Because I Like It

This is a shot of my friend, the great comic actor B.J. Cleveland.  It's from a PR photoshoot from WaterTower Theater.  He was working the mic, and went into this pose, and I just couldn't resist.

B.J. has been in any number of great productions lately, including an incredible turn as Max Biyalystock in THE PRODUCERS at Uptown Players.

Back on Stage

My favorite place to work as an actor, without question, Lyric Stage in Irving, Texas.  Stephen Jones musical theater is an amazing place, where they do classic American musicals (Oklahoma, West Side Story, The King & I) with full, 40-piece orchestras and the original Broadway scores.  The shows done on Broadway now aren't even done this way.
I'm getting back up at Lyric in June in the first show I ever saw, The Music Man.  I was 5-years old and went with my mother and older brother to the Majestic theater on Broadway. And when the curtain went up, and I saw the guys bouncing up and down on the train in the opening number, I knew I wanted to do what they were doing.  It took awhile, but starting in 1980, I did.  Start on stage, that is.
Here's a shot from the last show I did at Lyric...

You don't need to be told, do you?  It's 1776, and these are three of the finest musical performers I've ever shared a stage with.  David Coffee (Ben Franklin), Brian Gonzales (John Adams), and Bryant Martin (Thomas Jefferson).

Here's a way to get some more info on Lyric. Click here to visit the Lyric Stage website.  And come see The Music Man.  Cause you ain't heard 76 Trombones until you've heard it played by the full, Broadway band.

Liberty & Freedom

A side of the Statue of Liberty you don't often see, from the New Jersey cruise terminal.  Waiting for a cruise ship to leave, I got this shot of the Statue along with the new Freedom Tower on the site of the old World Trade Center, straining to get up to it's full height of 1,776 feet.

For more click here to visit Mark Oristano Photography

Peace, Hope, and Butterflies

This June 1st, Lizzie Cochran's annual fund raiser to fight childhood cancer, called "Peace, Hope, & Butterflies" takes place again at Flagpole Hill in Dallas.  The shot below is from last year's butterfly release.  This is my friend Cara Serber, whose daughter Libby was fighting cancer at the time.  The now 7-year old Libby is cancer free.

It's a great event to bring the kids too.  Lots of fun, games, music, food, etc.  For more information, visit the official website, the Miracle Players Foundation.
The goal this year is $100,000 for cancer research at Children's Medical Center, Dallas.  And don't think Lizzie can't do it.  Last year she raised $75,000, and I'm sure more arms have been twisted for this year's event.  I'll be there doing portraits, so I hope you'll come see us.

A New View of Liberty

We saw this view of the Statue of Liberty a few years ago when we sailed out of New York harbor on a cruise.

What's really cool is, we'll be seeing it again soon, for the very same reason.
The neat thing about this shot for me, though, is the strong backlighting, causing the statue itself to be solely a shadow.  It was, obviously, a gorgeous sunset over Jersey.
There's one more angle of the statue I want to take some day.  I'm not going to spoil it by saying what it is, though.

Turn a Corner... Find a Shot

We were walking around Tunis, Tunisia a couple of years ago.  We'd spent some time in the Bazaar, which my wife found quite bizarre.  And now we were away from the crowds.  I was just looking at the architecture, always a favorite pastime.  We turned a corner, and I saw this.

Not a big deal, I grant  you.  Not the best photo I've ever taken.  But it has an interesting look and composition to it, and some very strong colors.  The only point being, if you want to take better photographs, look around.

The great Jay Maisel says you need to do "visual pushups" every day.  That's a pretty good way to phrase it.

Putting Your Photos on the Line

So, let's do a little something to help you take better pics, even with your cell phone.
The old master painters knew something about how to frame a shot.  I don't know how they figured it out, but they came up with something called the "Rule of Thirds."  They used it for portraits, landscapes, everything.
Here's a Rembrandt portrait.

If you look at it, you'll notice that nothing important is directly in the center.  The two key things, the faces, are near what we call the "third lines."  Here's the same painting with lines dividing it into vertical and horizontal thirds.

Somehow, the old dudes knew that the center of the frame is the last place the human eye looks to.  They learned to place important stuff at least on the lines and, hopefully, where two lines connect.  Because those four spots are the most interesting to the human eye.

Here's a shot from downtown Dallas I took a couple of years ago, with lines already added in.

But wait, you say, the horse is in the center.  Yes, it is.  But it's so dramatically framed by the building's architecture on the third lines that it works.

Most cameras today have a setting where you can see the third lines in your viewfinder when you take the shot.

Start thinking about putting stuff "on the line."  Your photos will improve dramatically.

Welcome to Mark Oristano Photography

And welcome to our newly redesigned website.  Hoping it will make it easier for all concerned to find what you're looking for when it comes to the best in portrait photography in Dallas-Fort Worth.
We're going to attempt to do several things here.
1)  Keep you up to date on what's going on with our portrait business and advise you of specials, etc.
2)  Help you become a better photographer in your own time.  Because after all, if you have a phone, you're a photographer, right?  And the laws of photography even apply when you take photos with your cell phone.
3)  Have some fun looking at photos we've taken around the world, and in the past.  And sometimes, putting up photos others have taken of us.  Here's a great way to start off a new blog about my photo business... a photograph of me, John Rainone (Chico) and Doug Jackson (Harpo) for our 1986 production of ANIMAL CRACKERS.  This photo was taken by the excellent Dallas photographer Steve Riley.
And if you don't know who the Marx Brothers are, Google them, and then download one of their movies.