Making the Best of an Difficult Shoot August 19, 2009

When I do shoots with models, frequently they show up late, don’t show up at all, or come unprepared. I say “when I do shoots with models” but after having perused the forums at models sites I read that this isn’t an unusual occurrence. Frequently called “flaking” some models can be unreliable.

I should point out that most of the girls that fit this description aren’t professionals. They don’t make their living doing these shoots, usually the work is TFP/CD (Time for print or time for CD, which is essentially an exchange where neither the photographer nor the model get paid, they trade services,) and most the time this may be a new experience for them, so they don’t always know the do’s and don’ts of a shoot.

Yet I am always amazed when someone shows up bruised because they did a sporting event or rough and tumbled the day before a scheduled shoot, or they show up hung over, on drugs or outright drunk, or- God forbid, they haven’t washed their hair or brushed their teeth. (Try applying makeup at six inches from someones face with her teeth green and unbrushed…)

I did a shoot last weekend with a model who was hungover and sick at her stomach. She didn’t feel well, to say the least, and so she seemed to struggle with expressions and working through the heat. As a result the images required more photoshopping than usual, but I think I managed to save the shoot.

Not what I was hoping for, but not as bad as it could have been considering the circumstances.

Unhappy Posers August 13, 2009

Not all my customers are happy to have portraits….

Cute is Always Good August 12, 2009

I haven’t been posting much lately, bad me.  I am sometimes not sure what to post,posting oink what I’d want to see when I am looking at other blogs, and the truth is I think I am going to start posting some stuff with a different focus soon.  Something I would want to read.

But for today I am going to share some photos of Mr. Stubs, a cute seven week old Pomeranian I got shots of at the last family cookout.  Isn’t he a doll?  Doesn’t hurt that my wonderful new camera took the shots pretty much as you see them, the only post processing was to brighten the highlights a bit. 

Test Shot with New Camera July 14, 2009

From the Garden to My Lens July 2, 2009

I bought six strawberry plants about five years ago, maybe six years ago.  I now have an near about 10 x 5 square feet that is covered in them, thick as thieves.

This time of year you can bet that not only am I out there picking the strawberries, but I am taking pictures over and over again.   I can’t exactly tell you why, but I suspect it has something to do with the fabulous red.

My strawberries are almost unnaturally red, sweet as sugar, and exploding in flavor in a way that store bought just can’t come close to.   This year I plucked, collected, and then made sorbet and strawberry jam.

I have to keep an eye on the kids because they want to eat the jam straight of the jar with a spoon.

Canon 5d Mark II! July 1, 2009

I have a new camera. You can’t hear the tone of my voice, nor see the light of excitement in my eyes, so I can imagine that you don’t understand that I say this with much of the same excitement I used when I announced the birth of my two sons.

WoooHooo! I own a Canon 5d Mark II!

This camera is wonderful. I am having fun in the way only a small child at Disneyland can relate too.

My photos, sadly, are not as good as the camera is, as I am learning to use it’s functions and adjusting to it, but I have much hope for the very near future, so stay tuned. I expect to be doing portraits at the rate of 1 per second for most of the next week.

Duckling Addition June 26, 2009

If you know me you know I love my birds (poultry). I have a new addition. The mama, or the duck that sat on the nest, is a Muscovy. Originating from Brazil, Muscovies are the only domestic ducks that is not derived from mallard stock. “Mallard stock” in this instance refers to all other ducks that are not Muscovy. The two can breed, but their offspring are considered “mules” and are born sterile. But they are happy to sit on each others eggs, and as I have found recently, They have no problem raising the hatched young.

Below is my female Muscovy, whom we simply call “Mama” because she loves to sit on eggs. Here she is watching a hatching egg. The white in her nest is shredded paper being recycled as nesting fodder, which will then eventually be composted).

The egg, strangely enough, has a bit of the shredded paper firmly stuck to it, and I cracked up at the “lable”.

The little duckling is really working to push it’s way out….

And a day later, we have a new addition to the flock!

Bunny Love June 25, 2009

Experimenting June 22, 2009

I used to love landscapes more than anything. Which meant as we drove down the road if I was in the car we might just have to stop every five miles for a photograph.

I haven’t totally stopped this annoying (to others, at least) practice, but since I really got involved with portraits and photographing people, my fascination has at least shifted somewhat and we seem to only stop every ten miles now.

I love peoples faces. Character is what really draws me, though beauty hasn’t lost my interest. The challenge is to do something striking.

I like to experiment, trying to get different looks with the same person, and these images of Ashley, a new model I worked with this past winter, really have me wanting to do more, something spectacular.

365 Portraits, Wonderful Series June 21, 2009

I follow a great many other bloggers, most of them photography blogs as my obsession is with photography.

Have to share this one today, if you haven’t been lucky enough to see it before. Wonderful work by the talented Bill Wadman, a New York-based photographer.

http://www.365portraits.com/index.php?date=1201