Seeing the Scene

Our city has been blasted with snow! This is unusual for us, meaning when snow hits the city shuts down. Katy and I have been nestled in our home, not wanting to drive anywhere. Since snow here isn’t common, we thought it would be nice to get some photos. Katy offered to be my model, so we ventured outside our front door.

This was our scene:

Doesn’t look like much, does it? Sure, the snow is pretty and there are some trees. But we live in a high traffic area and it looks like just that (well, minus the traffic). However, it didn’t take me too long to see the spots with potential. I decided to use my Canon 70-200 f/2.8L II lens to compress the nice pockets of the scene with my subject (Katy). And here are a few samples of what we got:

You wouldn’t have guessed that these were taken right outside my front door! And the trick is simple: use a lens with a longer reach, find a little piece of the scene that will make for a nice blurred background, take a few steps back and shoot. These were all taken at f/2.8. Looking back, I might have shot a few at f/4 to get a little more detail in the trees in the background, but overall I am really liking what we got!

And below is a picture of me taken by my wife. I listed the equipment I used for these photos, including my old ski jacket that I found in the garage – still equipped with old lift tickets!

Quinn Burke Photography is based in Salem, Oregon and specializes in wedding photography. Quinn primarily serves Oregon and Washington (Portland, Salem, Eugene, Ashland, Bend, Lincoln City and Seattle), but can travel to nearly any destination. Contact Quinn to see if he is available for your wedding day!