Most photographers spend their lives looking for the perfect photo subject. Most never find it. But when you've got a wonderful subject following you around every day, what could be better!

Such is the case with design professional Penina Finger in Atlanta, Georgia. Her son walks around making the photo opportunities happen. Penina has the insight and awareness to recognize those opportunities and capture them at just the right moment. Being able to recognize those moments is the key to capturing truly beautiful images.

Penina writes:

This photo of my 7-year-old captures one of the keys to a boy's character: He spent ten minutes in absolute focus on that piece of cactus at the farmers' market, trying to find a way to pick it up without getting nailed. Others stopped to watch the interaction with a mixture of dismay and fascination. In the end, he triumphed.

(click images to pop open enlargements)

Being a spy is serious business. A little afternoon sun through half-open blinds is pretty cool, too. And yes, that is a scratch on his nose.
That's my boy, not my client.

A young knight and his pet dragon.
We did shell the bucks out for that "toy", but for big brown eyes like that
I'd do it again.

My son was sneering at me and I thought he looked so interesting, I asked if he would hold the pose.
Yes, I was being somewhat sneaky, and it worked. We both forgot what he had been mad about.

Our first ice storm, in 2005, when we were living in hyper-urban Atlanta. I was all set to do a tight crop, but couldn't bear to cut out the warm kitchen light on the left or the cold,
bluish woods on the right.

We walked out into an ice covered world. It was at least a quarter inch thick in places.

Penina Finger

Actually, Penina, we liked the tight crop on the ice as well, so have included it here.

Visit Penina at www.fantastic-machine.com/ and enjoy her superb collection of work.

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