Tag Archives: family

Portrait

Arvada, CO | Baby Portrait | Smile, It’s A Holiday Weekend!

A baby boy smiles for the camera
Smile everybody, it’s a holiday weekend!

Let’s kick it off with a picture of a happy baby. Check out those new teeth.

This scene was photographed during an at home portrait session in Arvada, CO. All of the light was provided by large windows to camera right, and a smaller window just out of frame above the baby’s right shoulder. Fill light was provided by the window light bouncing off of the rest of the walls in the room. Fast film (ISO 1600) and a fast lens (50mm f1.4) let me grab this shot while keeping motion blur to a minimum.

You can click on the image to see it larger. Enjoy…

Tech Info:
Nikon F100
Nikon 50mm f1.4
Fuji Neopan 1600
Processing and scanning by Richard Photo Lab

Portrait

Arvada, CO | Documentary Family Pictures | At The Bowling Alley

I love to go “on location” to shoot family portrait sessions. When you can get out and do something, people start to have fun and interact. This interaction makes for much more natural and spontaneous pictures. When the natural location is coupled with available light photography (no annoying flash pops), subjects tend to open up and let me document who they really are. The resulting pictures tell a much better story about the family than a studio portrait ever could.

Below we have pictures from a trip to a local bowling alley here in Arvada, CO. Everyone had a great time, and I was able tell a story about the family and how they interact. Even though bowling alleys are not exactly know for their great light, I was able to push my black and white film and use a fast lens to capture these moments, and I think the grainy look really adds to the authenticity of these images.

You can click on any of the pictures to see them larger. Enjoy…

Father feeds his infant son a bottle
A five year old boy watches his ball roll down the lane

A five year old boy picks up his bowling ball
Five year old cousins sit at the scoring table
A woman takes a picture of her niece
A woman and her nephew smile for the camera
A man holds his son and his niece

Tech Info:
Nikon N90s
Nikon 50mm f1.8
Ilford HP5 Plus – pushed 1 stop (ISO 800)
Processing and Scanning by Richard Photo Lab

Documentary

Glenwood Springs, CO | Documenting Family | Summer Barbecue

Here are a few more pictures of my favorite subjects. These images are from a family barbecue at my father-in-law’s house in Glenwood Springs, CO. I had great late afternoon light and a beautiful day so I decided to shoot some film.

I love to document these small events, they are authentic moments in a family’s history that could be easily forgotten if they are not captured on film (or a digital sensor, if you must).

Click on any of the images to see them larger. Enjoy…

Six year old girl sitting in a deck chair
A three year old girl hugs a dog

A couple looks at a photo album with their granddaughter
Happy couple at a family barbecue
A three year old girl looks into the camera

Tech Info:
Nikon F100
Nikon 50mm f1.4
Legacy Pro 400 (AKA Neopan 400)
Richard Photo Lab

Documentary

Salt Lake City, UT | Family Gathering| Kids Crack Me Up!

We recently went out to Salt Lake City, Utah, for a Bat Mitzvah (attending, not shooting). The night before, there was a reception at our hotel. I brought along my camera and grabbed some fun pictures of Molly at play.

For me, these pictures fall somewhere between wedding photography and documentary portrait photography. I shot them at a family gathering (similar to a wedding reception) but they are really all about my subjects (Molly and her Grandfather) rather than the event itself.

Almost any situation or event will give you an opportunity to get great pictures of kids. Get the camera ready, pay attention, and they are bound to do something funny or interesting. Along with being ready and paying attention, I am always on the lookout for great light or great expressions. Either of these things can make for a nice documentary photo, if there is a chance to get both, that is when exceptional photographs can happen.

In the case of these three images, I didn’t have great light, but the expressions are really fun and they tell us a lot about Molly’s personality (and Papa Al’s as well).

Just click on any of the images to see them larger. Enjoy…

A two year old girl plays with her grandfather at a hotel reception the night before a Bat Mitzvah in Salt Lake City, Utah.
A two year old girl surprises her grandfather at a hotel reception the night before a Bat Mitzvah in Salt Lake City, Utah.

A two year old girl looks suspiciously at the camera. Picture from a hotel reception the night before a Bat Mitzvah in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Note: Molly is always perplexed by my old film cameras. She asks “Who is it? Who is it?”, Which actually means “show me the picture on the back of the camera”. Of course, I have to tell her “Sorry, this camera shoots film.” Which usually gets me the suspicious look you see here.

Tech Info:
Nikon F100
Nikon 50mm f1.4 lens (wide open)
Fuji Neopan 1600 (@ 1600)
Processing and scanning by Richard Photo Lab

Portrait

Yuma, CO | Portrait Of A Young Girl | The Eyes Have It

Portrait of a five year old girl standing against a brick wall. Photographed at a farmhouse in rural eastern Colorado, on a Mamiya 645AF using Ilford HP5 film.
This is what I would call a “quiet portrait”. Soft light, simple background, traditional clothing and hair – all of that simplicity works to reinforce the main point of the photo – the eyes. They really draw you in and hold your attention.

The simplicity also lends an air of timelessness to the picture. Aside from Emma’s ear rings and hair clips, this image could have been made any time in the last 80 years. Shallow depth of field and medium format black and white film also contribute to this feeling.

I really like this image because it is a very traditional portrait, but it doesn’t feel contrived like a studio portrait would.

Click on the image if you would like to see it larger. Enjoy…

Tech Info:
Mamiya 645AF
Mamiya 80mm f2.8 AF
Ilford HP5 film

Portrait

Westminster, CO | Haircut+Warm Spring Day=Park Photo Shoot

Back in the spring, my daughter Molly got a nifty new haircut. A warm spring day and a delivery of fresh film provided a great opportunity for a photo shoot. We just took a quick trip over to our local park – Nottingham Park in Westminster, CO – and shot all these pictures in about twenty minutes. There is a pretty short window of opportunity when working with a two year old, especially when it’s your own two year old.

There are a few things that I really like in these photos:

  1. Molly’s pixie cut
  2. The vertical bars on the playset vs. the horizontal stripes on Molly’s dress
  3. All of the different settings that we were able to incorporate into the images
  4. Molly’s interaction with her surroundings as well as with the camera

You can click on any of the pictures below to see them larger. Enjoy…

A two year old girl looks through a playhouse window on the playground at Nottingham Park in Westminster, CO. Photograph from a documentary portrait session using Fuji 400H film in a Nikon N90s camera.
A two year old girl sits for a quick portrait on the playground at Nottingham Park in Westminster, CO. Photograph from a documentary portrait session using Fuji 400H film in a Nikon N90s camera.

A two year old girl peers through bars on the playground at Nottingham Park in Westminster, CO. Photograph from a documentary portrait session using Fuji 400H film in a Nikon N90s camera.
A two year old girl looks through a telescope on the playground at Nottingham Park in Westminster, CO. Photograph from a documentary portrait session using Fuji 400H film in a Nikon N90s camera.

A two year old girl standing on the playground at Nottingham Park in Westminster, CO points in to the camera. Photograph from a documentary portrait session using Fuji 400H film in a Nikon N90s camera.
A two year old girl goes down the twisty slide on the playground at Nottingham Park in Westminster, CO. Photograph from a documentary portrait session using Fuji 400H film in a Nikon N90s camera.

Tech Info:
Nikon N90s
Nikon 50mm f1.8 lens
Fuji 400H film
Straight scans from Richard Photo Lab

Portrait

Arvada, CO – At Home Family Portraits – Baking Cookies

Nearly any family activity at the family home can be a great occasion for a documentary photo shoot…

Here we have kids baking cookies with their grandmother. These images were shot in the family kitchen using only the available light. I really like the story that you can piece together with these images. Everyone has a purpose and is in their element. We are capturing a memory, not just recording how these people look at this moment in time.

For this self-assigned shoot, I was testing out a used medium format camera, and though I was not crazy about the camera itself,  I love the medium format “look” of these images. Even an in-use kitchen does not become a distracting background when you shoot with the 80mm lens wide open.

Family portrait of a Grandmother and grandson baking cookies at home in the kitchen. Shot on a medium format camera using black and white film.
 
Documentary portrait of a baby boy with a spoon in his mouth sitting in a walker in the kitchen. Shot on a medium format camera using black and white film.

Documentary portrait of a 5 year old boy frosting cookies at the kitchen table. Shot on a medium format camera using black and white film.
 
Documentary portrait of a 5 year old girl decorating cookies at the kitchen table. Shot on a medium format camera using black and white film.

Tech Info:
Mamiya 645AF
Mamiya 80mm f2.8 AF lens (at F2.8)
Ilford HP5 film

Personal Work

Documentary Portrait – Mother and Children

A mother and children sitting on an airplane.

Here is a fun picture from our recent family vacation. The image has a lot of layers to pull you in. The obvious focal point is Molly’s face, but what is making her smile like that? Pull back just a bit, and you notice the puppet on Julie’s hand. If you look past Molly, you can see the boredom that usually accompanies air travel all over Emma’s face.

Finally, there is the light. You don’t usually associate airplanes with flattering light, but in this case the cabin lights were off and the strong back lighting from the windows gave me great rim light on the girls, and bounced around the cabin enough to fill in the shadows. Of course, the wide dynamic range of medium format black and white film was a major help.

Tech Info:
Fuji GS645S Medium Format Camera with a fixed 60mm f4 Fujinon Lens – Wide Open
Ilford HP5 Film

About Jason

Welcome to Jason Noffsinger Photography

Hello,

Welcome to my new website and blog. Here is some information about me. This will also be posted over in the about section, but I thought it would be some good information to get the ball rolling. Let me know what you think about the new site…

I have been living and breathing photography for the past 18 years.

It all started with the photography program at Westminster High School. I caught the bug, and proceeded through the Professional Photography program at Colorado Mountain College. After graduating, my (very understanding) new wife, Julie, and I picked up everything and moved to New York so I could take a job as a Studio Manager for a commercial photographer. After four years of working on lots of exciting shoots and meeting lots of great people, we decided it was time to move home and start thinking about starting a family. Shortly after returning, I started learning web design and looking for jobs where I could apply my knowledge in both photography and web technology. Before long, I started working for a large corporation, managing all of the images for their website. This role evolved to the point where I became the corporate photographer – shooting products, catalog covers, marketing pieces, events, executive portraits, etc. This role provided experience in a broad range of photographic specialties, and also provided the stability that we needed to start our family. We now have two beautiful daughters, Emma-6 & Molly-3, and a great life in Colorado.

Of course, the economy finally caught up with my employer, and we were purchased by an even larger corporation. This effectively ended my role as corporate photographer and over 18 months I helped the new corporation take over all of my imaging duties.

This put me in the strange position of being sad to leave a great company and great co-workers, but excited to get back to photography full-time.

So that is where I am now… Excited to be working with real people, documenting real moments, creating images that will be appreciated for generations to come.