BLACKRAPID SPOTLIGHT: Bobbi Lane

Bobbi Lane – Bobbi Lane Photography and Bobbi and Lee’s Photo Adventures

Commercial Photographer and Photo Educator

Bobbi Lane, a Fujifilm “X” Photographer, is an award-winning commercial photographer specializing in creative portraits on location and in the studio. Lane’s multi-faceted approach to photography incorporates over 40 years of technical experience with innovative artistic interpretation.

Her corporate and editorial work includes corporate websites, annual reports and hundreds of environmental portraits for a wide variety of magazines. As a dedicated photo educator, she brings insight and enthusiasm to her students in workshops held worldwide. She is widely known as the “Mistress of Light”, teaching portrait lighting techniques with both natural and artificial light.

Combining her love of travel, photography and teaching, Bobbi also leads international photo travel workshops with her husband Lee Varis, such as Venice Carnival, Tuscany, Neighborhoods of New York and Scotland. Her dynamic workshops are always both education and entertaining!

Do You Have a Good Photography Tip for Us?

Stop and think about the “essence” of your photo, don’t just do a snapshot, take your time, think about what attracted you to want to shot that subject/scene, and explore what it means to you. Taking a breathe and thinking about this helps you make stronger images.

The Magic and Mystery of Venice Carnival! A photographer’s paradise!

Many people don’t know that Venice invented Carnival (also known as Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday-basically it’s the day before Lent) back in the 1100s to celebrate a military victory over an enemy. However, it mainly is about anonymity by wearing masks, so there can be frivolity, amorous encounters, and partying before the start of lent.

Sadly, the Carnival was banned after Napoleon conquered the Serenissima Republic in 1797, meaning Venice was no longer independent. Holy Roman Emperor Francis 11 banned masks, and with that, the spirit of the Carnival died. This was to prevent citizens uniting to conspire against the government. It did not start again until 1979, even though Rio and New Orleans were still celebrating.

Unlike the sexuality of Rio and the drugs and alcohol of New Orleans, Venice is truly about fantastic, magical and elaborate costumes. Many of the costumers design and make their own costumes every year, and some of them cost upwards of $5000! Many bring trunks with multiple outfits, and some are traditional and others are wild and crazy! Their creativity is unsurpassed, and many costumers have been coming for 30+ years.

A couple weeks before the official Carnival date, the costumers line up before dawn in San Marco Plaza and along the Grand Canal. They know that at that time of day, only experienced photographers will be there because it’s necessary to light the subject with a flash and balance the exposure with the background. I bring portable flash with a variety of modifiers, shoot both off and on the camera and use some special techniques like zooming while dragging the shutter. The costumers don’t want money, they want the photographs! Each of them carries cards with their photo and email. They hand them out when asked, hoping the photographers will email photos. This is one of the few places and events where photographers are welcomed, encouraged, and respected!

I’ve been leading a Venice Carnival Photo Tour since 2012 and every year it’s better and more exciting. Over the years I’ve become friends with some of the top costumers and they know that they will get excellent photos from me. I shoot thousands of photographs and send the best images to each of them. Many are in high demand but will only work with a couple selected photographers during the week. We rent grand staircases and halls in historic hotels, bring costumers to Burano, the colorful island, and arrange private shoots, as well as contract a gondolier so the participants can get in the gondola with the costumers and have a quick trip up some canals. The week is creative and fun and filled with endless surprises!

Some of my favorite photographs of my entire career have been created in Venice. I feel that we create a partnership with the subject to make something that is not just beautiful but has a story that evokes the magic and mystery of Carnival. In 2019, my photo “Golden Woman” won Best in Show in an international photography contest! There are many locations in the world that I have visited more than once, but none as often as Venice. I still feel like a curious child filled with wonder for every Carnival!