This summer, while Squiddy and her family were with us up at the lake in Minnesota, some good friends of theirs came to visit for a few days. Their daughter Sassa is very close to the same age as The Elf and the two had a grand time playing with each other. I love photographing family and friends, and this is one that I made of her while The Elf had her momentary serious attention.
I processed the image with Nik software’s Silver Efex Pro 2 program, starting with the Antique Plate 2 preset, then slightly lightened her amazingly intense, deep-blue eyes.
I’d also like to include a nod here to my photo-friend Adrian, who has posted several lovely portraits of some of the young folks in his family and circle of friends; here is a link to his most recent one.
krikitarts 
Absolutely beautiful!
Thanks for letting me know that you liked it, Hien!
Beautiful study, Gary, just wonderful. And certainly best in mono. And thank you very much for the plug! Adrian
You are very welcome, Adrian. It is so fascinating to be able to look so deeply into the eyes of a child in a photographically-frozen moment in time.
Such incredible beauty in the face of a child! I often look at my granddaughters and wish I could freeze the moment. Wish you or Adrian were around to capture my girls…
It’s really not all that hard, just a matter of having a camera handy when they’re in serious play. It does help, however, to use either a moderate (100-200mm) telephoto lens, if you have a camera on which you can change lenses, or if not, then the higher end of your camera’s zoom range. Just be ready, push up the sensitivity to ISO 400 or so, and make lots of photos–you can always delete most of them and not waste any film at all!
Beautiful shot Gary – you’ve caught a great expression :) When I first saw it the reader I did think that you and Adrian were in tandem again!
I find that Adrian and I are often in tandem, in one way or another, and I have hopes of crossing paths with him one of these years. Who knows what photographic adventures might emerge from the melding of minds, methods, moods–and madness?
Beautiful image, Gary.
I like the processing you’ve given to it also – very dreamy and soft.
Thanks a lot, Vicki, it seemed especially appropriate for her wistful expression. She’s a remarkable child.
That is a nice portrait.
Thank you, Steve!
Very fine portrait!
Tak!
Velbekomme :-) – nice that you speak my (small!) language!
I’ve been there a few times and wish that I’d had time to learn more. When I tried to get a quick grasp on your numbering system, however, my enthusiasm faded rather rapidly, I’m afraid. We spent part of our honeymoon there, and it will always have a special place in my heart.