Father/daughter collaborators George Repetti and Danielle Rayne present a breathtaking collection from their nature-based portfolio. Enjoy and see more by visiting their website.
My name is George Repetti and my daughter is Danielle Rayne. We are nature photographers. Danielle is focused (literally) on hummingbirds and butterflies, and I focus on flowers. It all began when Danielle purchased a Nikon camera a little more than five years ago, mainly for the purpose of making videos. However, her pollinator friendly garden was attracting large numbers of hummingbirds and butterflies. Taking pictures of these gifts of nature soon became a passion.
She posted the pictures on various social media sites to share with friends and followers. Soon she was getting inquiries about purchasing prints of her photos. Neither Danielle or I had a good photo printer, so after some researching, we purchased an Epson Expression XP-15000 inkjet printer. It was reasonably priced, could print pictures as large as 13”x19” and did not need a lot of room.
Printing pictures was not as simple a task as I thought it would be. In time it became obvious that some pictures looked best on a luster texture paper. Others were better on matte texture paper. There was a large number of these types of papers and paper manufacturers to choose from. Fortunately, a major international supplier of photographic supplies is headquartered nearby. They were of great assistance in selecting papers best suited for our work.
As the demand for her pictures grew, we set up a shop on Etsy as Danielle Rayne Photography. About three years ago, we began exhibiting at arts and crafts shows in the greater Los Angeles area.
I had been taking pictures for many years, starting with a 35 mm fixed lens camera which was given to me by a friend. As my interest in photography grew, I upgraded to a Nikon F Photomic T camera with a 50 mm lens.
My job took me to many interesting places which I photographed when I had free time. Hippies from the 60’s and 70’s were a frequent subject, as well as fruits and vegetables to emulate Weston. I used black and white roll film and processed in my dark room, which I would set up in a bathroom.
I did this for many years, but as my job responsibilities increased, I only took pictures when on vacation. Then, approximately two years ago, Danielle gave me her Nikon camera. She had upgraded to a newer model with features she now required to achieve the level of picture she wanted to create.
When it’s springtime in Southern California, beautiful flowers can be found everywhere. Capturing that beauty became my passion. Last year I dared to enter a picture of a white magnolia flower with a purple Duranta blossom resting on a petal of the magnolia in the Burbank Fine Arts Federation show. It received a juror’s award. With encouragement from Danielle, I displayed my pictures on Etsy and at the arts and crafts fairs we attended. The results have been very positive.
Earlier this year we established Dani & Dad Nature Photography and recently launched a website. Being accepted as featured artists on Artsy Shark is very special to us.
George Repetti and Danielle Rayne invite you to follow them on both of their Instagram accounts.
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