Darren Spurgeon Photographer Blog » park

Elizabeth and the Girls | Fort Lauderdale, FL

Darren — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 20:37:45 +0000

Recently, I had the pleasure of photographing Elizabeth and her daughters, Kendra and Sabrina down at Riverwalk in Fort Lauderdale. They’re really into books and wanted them featured in their portraits. So, they brought along some of their favorite books and we had a terrific time at one of my favorite locations. Thanks ladies!

P.S. In case you’re wondering, the girls enjoyed works by John Irving, Stephenie Meyer, Jean Craighead George, and Dr. Seuss.

Ken & Debbie Parents to Be | Davie, FL

Darren — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:17:10 +0000

Couple shoots are always a pleasure and Ken & Debbie were no exception. They were so easy going. Debbie works with my wife at Royal Caribbean and when her coworkers were looking for a unique gift for Debbie’s baby shower, they thought a very special portrait session would be perfect. Debbie’s an avid photographer herself and it was a pleasure to shoot some maternity and couple portraits of her and Ken.

Personal Work | Tree Tops Park

Darren — Thu, 21 May 2009 04:26:06 +0000

A few days ago, my friend, Marc, called to tell me he was “looking” at a Canon 5D MkII. Now, we photographers know that’s code for, “It’s as good as bought.” The conversation started out innocently: “Do you think it’s a good camera? Would you buy it?” Blah, blah, blah. Yeah, he was looking for validation.

So, I did what any decent photographer friend should do. I said, “Eh, the camera you have is good enough, so don’t buy another one unless you think you really need it,” which is basically code for, “Buy the camera already so we can go shoot!” Besides, as any self-respecting male of our hapless species will tell you, when a friend buys something really expensive, it’s almost a free pass to make a purchase of your own down the road. Thanks, buddy! (Note to self: your wife reads this blog. Delete last sentence.)

Long story short, my friend did buy the camera and we were off to play last weekend. After much hemming and hawing on where to shoot–studio or location–we headed out to Tree Tops Park here in South Florida. It’s been a while since I shot some nature stuff, so I was excited to get out there and shoot. No gig. No pressure. Just good conversation and casual shooting.

Actually, from the first frame, I had this idea to shoot and style the whole day like a botanical excursion with pictures that you find in a dusty old textbook. Not that I’m much of a naturist, or is that naturalist? Oh well, either way, it was fun. Below are some shots from the day. Kudos to my new friends at the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research who helped me identify some of the flora, for which you can see common and scientific names on several of the images.