Category Archives: Friends

Medium Format Hearts Mallory

I’ve decided that medium format film loves my friend Mallory.

I first suspected this to be true back in 2011 when I photographed her with the Contax 645 I’d borrowed from a photog buddy

Then, when I was given the opportunity to use a Hasselblad for several months in 2012, I decided that medium format (MF) film might have a “thing” for Mallory

Now, with my latest foray into MF – a Bronica ETRSi* – I’m convinced that this film format ♥ Mallory


See? MF loves Mallory just as much as I do! Can’t wait to do more photo sessions with her and the Bronica!


*Coming soon: a more extensive blog about the Bronica ETRSi, with more details and more photos. Also, with many exclamation points. I’m so excited!!!

Hosoi Bros & Tanks {& Polaroids, Too}

How bout some band photos up in here? It’s been awhile!

I went to my friend Alex’s birthday party/show at the Hi-Tone last night. He had a couple of awesome bands play, and it was a lot of fun to hang out and hear some local bands play in honor of Alex. It was especially great because the Hi-Tone will be closing its doors soon. Sad face. I’m glad I got to go back, at least one last time!

 {Click through to photos of Hosoi Bros & Tanks @ The Hi-Tone. January 19, 2013.}

Happy birthday, Alex!

 

 

 

 

Technical note: Can you believe I took these band pictures with my point-and-shoot digital camera?? I sure didn’t expect that working with the manual controls  would allow me to get some decent band photos outta that thing! And the Polaroids were taken on expired Polaroid 600 film (probably the last original Polaroid film I’ll ever have a chance to shoot) and a Polaroid one600 camera, both of which were gifted to me by my buddy Daniel. 

Long-Term Project {My gift to you}

The Shoot With Personality you see today is not the first incarnation of SWP. I began doing live band photography in 2000, when I’d go see my friends’ play local shows with their bands. By 2002, I registered shootwithpersonality.com, as a place to put those photos as well as snapshots of friends when we were all attending shows. In 2009, I changed SWP to a blog/portfolio site. The sheer volume of band photos meant that most of the ones I took at shows in the early days of my photographic “career” didn’t make it into the new SWP photo galleries. I felt like this was the right move for my website, but I felt it left my friends without a place to look at pictures from the good ole days.

I’ve had plans to find a way to get a lot of these older photos back onto my website in some way, as a gift to those who’d like to look back on years past. This plan got derailed when my external hard drive took a dive and was rendered completely useless at the beginning of 2012, meaning a lot of the photos archived on it are unreadable.  There are some photos which I may never recover. The plan right now is to publish the photos that I am able to gather, bit by bit, and have them available in a photo gallery on SWP. You’ll always be able to find these photos if you go to the Photo Gallery link you see above, and visit the “live band photography” section. In the olden days, I didn’t know that I needed to save high resolution copies of my photo scans, so I will apologize on the front end that the photos aren’t quite as large as others found on SWP!

As you see the shows I’ve been able to get online as of right now, you’ll see that it doesn’t even scratch the surface of all the bands I’ve photographed and that which used to be housed on SWP. Never you worry. I’ll be working diligently to get more archived here. I feel like this is the least I can do, since all those shows I photographed and friends I made along the way have shaped me as both a photographer and a person.

 

 

FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHY: THE JACKSON FAMILY, Fall 2012

Maybe you’ll recognize these beautiful people from the photo session I did with them last year. Imagine my delight I received a very charming message from Meagan:

Mike and I are wanting to hire the talented A. Raney for family fall portraits again!!! We absolutely loved last year’s and hope that you can help us out again this year!

Well of COURSE I could! The Jacksons are such awesome people, and I had been secretly hoping they’d invite me to photograph them again this fall!

Daddy, helping Ezra get ready before our photo session

We began our session together in a skate park near the Jacksons’ home. That gave us lots of color to incorporate into the photos!

My my my, how baby Ezra has grown into a proper toddler since our photo session last year. And like most toddlers, this boy was on the moooooooove!

Next, we headed over to the Overton Park and found our way to a wooded area of the park. It was a gorgeous autumn afternoon for an outdoor photo session!

Ezra was enamored with the leaves. He & mommy had just done a craft project with some! 

Squeeeeeeeeeze!” (ALSO: MIKE’S FACE IN THIS ONE!!!)

Poor Mommy. I hope she doesn’t mind me sharing this outtake – but the boys look like they’re having so much fun in it!
Ezra made a couple of new doggy friends along the way

Mommy and Daddy allowed Ezra a little play break before finishing up our session.

We call this one “Determination”

Sliiiiiiiiide

All the best models have the “pouty” look

And so ended another fun afternoon with Meagan, Mike, and Ezra! (The latter of whom I wanted to take home with me by the end of the day – he is sooooo cute and let me tote him around!)

 

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