Off To See Some Critters

I can’t talk now ladies and germs, I’m headed into a three day weekend that includes major construction in our backyard (details soon) and a full day at an area campground where Hula shall ride horses and take lots of pictures. Here’s hoping the wildlife if plentiful and my aching back is cooperative. We’ll visit again soon, but until then, talk amongst yourselves!

The topic? Hmm. How about politics? That ought a’ keep you busy for a couple of days!

Oh Shoot!

I’m gonna sound like an old fart when I say this, but I’ll say it anyway. Senior pictures sure aren’t like they used to be when I was young. When I was a senior, everybody went to the same photographer. You shot just enough photos to get a good portrait or two to hang on the wall and fulfill your yearbook requirements, paid your $100 and went home. If you were really ambitious you might bring a change of clothes. These days senior pictures tend to be much more elaborate with multiple outfits and fashion model type poses. They can be really fun, but the prices can run into the hundreds of dollars. By the way, I’m not a fan of the portraits in which the photographer gives the girls that pouty sultry look with suggestive poses. It just seems way too sexual for me and more of an imitation of what these kids see in magazines as opposed to a sincere attempt to capture the character of the person in the portrait. Of course, that’s what some kids want, but my preference is something less “tart”-ish. Hula rant done.

Even the simplest of senior portraits today is way more complex than those of my high school years. And in stumbling across my senior pictures this week I have to say that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Hello feathered bangs and Peter Pan collars! I’ve missed you so. Not.

Oh, and it’s worth noting that when this picture was taken I was terribly annoyed with my mother because she wouldn’t buy me for this shoot a cowboy hat and boots that were all the rage during those Urban Cowboy years. I have to admit, once AGAIN, she was right. Shoot.

The Black and Whites

As I continue to sift through Teen Angel’s senior pictures I can’t help but wonder what’s going through her head as she speeds toward graduation and adulthood. Maybe I don’t really want to know. One thing I have decided is that I like the black and white shots best because they seem the most contemplative, which is the best word I can use to describe her mood these days. Oh, and she loves the humor in the “Pick Up” picture. See why I really don’t want to know what she’s thinking most of the time?

Shout!

So I shot this wedding this past weekend. And it was a blast. And now I have 538 pictures to review and edit. I purposefully didn’t look at them yesterday because I have this issue where the first time I look at a batch of portraits I don’t feel like I did a very good job with them, and I get really critical of myself. Once I start editing them and looking at them closely I start thinking they’re okay and by the time I’m finished I usually like them. I knew I needed to rest a little and clear my head before I touched them or else I’d be a big old mess of despair when I went through them. I think it’s a security thing since I’m so new to all of this. I was nervous going into this because I’m not a professional, and I don’t photograph weddings for a living. But the bride and her family had faith in me, so I put on my big girl drawers and told myself that if they had seen my previous work and thought I was capable of doing it then I should believe in myself just as much. I just ate the elephant one bite at a time, starting with the beauty shop session Saturday morning and working through the wedding party shoot, family pictures and the wedding.

Overall, I’m happy with them. There are several nice portraits of the couple suitable for framing and several beauty shots and fun shots that are appropriate for the book the bride wants to put together. What struck me as interesting though was how much I liked the pictures of the reception. I have to say it was the most fun wedding reception I’ve ever been to. It truly was a celebration. The dance floor filled up on the first song and stayed that way all night. They were still going strong when I left at 10:45pm. Even the bride’s mom and dad who I'm told don’t normally dance burned up the dance floor. There was a rousing rendition of Shout that included mom.
And even grandma.
A great father daughter dance.
And even a little do so do-ing by the bride and groom.

Who each took a turn at solos.
It was a great night filled with lots of memory making, and I’m glad they asked me to be a part of it. Wedding photography is hard work, and I’m sure some brides are not as fun or easy to work with as J., but I would definitely do another wedding. I’ve decided elephant is kind of tasty.

Wedding Bells

Yesterday, I shot photos at the wedding of a darlin’ young woman who attends church with me. It was so much fun! I took pictures at the beauty shop where the ladies got their hair done, we did a wedding party shoot at a home that has the most incredible yard you’ve ever seen and I snapped, snapped, snapped pictures at the wedding and reception while they danced ‘til the cows came home. It was a wonderful opportunity, and I’m most grateful for their faith in my abilities. I am extremely flattered they asked me to do it. I will have plenty of photos to share as soon as I get a chance to edit the pictures and soak my feet. In the meantime, let me share some pictures from the bridal shoot we did a few weeks ago.

I couldn’t show them before now because we kept them under wraps until the wedding day. We couldn’t take a chance on the groom catching a glimpse of the bride in her gown before the big day. She wanted to do the shoot in an older home on one of the city’s most historic streets, so I called up a buddy of mine and said, “Hey Dale, can we take over your beautiful home on a sunny afternoon?” And being the always generous person he is, he said to pack up and come on over. So we did. It’s a fantastic house with Victorian sofas and antique furniture and things like pocket doors and a sleeping porch. And a stunning wooden antique baby grand piano in the parlor. (We shall not talk about the scary moment when I backed into the antique grandfather clock and thought for a split moment I had really screwed up.) We ended up spending FOUR hours there because Hula simply could not stop taking pictures. Every corner of that house was a backdrop. And the big swing across the street wasn’t bad either. We had a large time, and I came away with 118 EDITED photos. 118! I put several of them in a hardbound Shutterfly book that should arrive any day now. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Photo Friday Challenge-"Macro"

My heart just sings every time the theme for a photo challenge is macro. I almost didn't know where to start.

Four Seasons

On the very last day of summer I remembered to run down to my favorite little pond and snap a picture of it so I could have a photo of that spot from all four seasons within a year. I’m not sure why that became important to me, but at some point after I took the first one last Autumn, it did. I may frame the four photos together because I find it interesting to compare them side by side.

When I took the “Summer” picture, I found that the little boat that sat in the same spot on the far bank for so many months had disappeared. I think the owner moved it out of the way to do some dirt work on that side of the pond. He has no idea how much that disappointed me. However, I think it adds a little mystery to the foursome when you put them all together.