Scattered Thoughts . . .

W e did a photo shoot with Lukey and Kenzie at sunset last night.  At around 6:30 yesterday evening, we headed out for a nearby grassy field where I could put the setting sun behind them.  It worked out fairly well and the kids learned a little bit about the real difficulties of modeling.  The kids learned that good modeling is about knowing which angles and poses work well for you...  about knowing how to express a natural smile and not a forced plastic goofy smile...  about knowing which clothes make you look good...  it is about knowing what to do with your eyes, your hands, your feet, your chin, every part of your body.  What they learned is that modeling is not about simply being a beautiful, attractive person and just standing there but that modeling is actually a verb that requires a lot of knowledge, skills and abilities.   This was good practice for me too.  I haven't done any sort of photo shoot in about two years or more.  Shooting portraits with the sun behind your mode

Back a few months ago, I wrote about the grandchildren playing with bubbles with Gee as they went for a walk. I even recorded some video of that outing and shared the video here on my blog.  The kids were liking the bubbles so much that we decided to go a bit overboard with bubbles while the grandchildren visited us at the lake house this summer.  Below are a few photos from one evening of bubble fun!  The sun was getting low... the temperature was just right... and we were all winding down from a day on the lake. Gee filled a stock pot with some overly slimy bubble mix and placed it on the dock... the kids were like jumping beans filled with boundless energy and excitement but careful not to slip in the soapy water on the dock... I grabbed a camera, leaned over the railing of the deck, and shot a bunch of photos... Kenzie managed to create a bubble Genie... A big bubble beginning to pop after hitting the deck railing... This is what happens when yo

I've really been slacking on sharing photos from the lake. I'm even further behind in editing and sharing video but that is a whole other story. Since I have hundreds of photos from this year alone, there are always new lake photos to share. Recently, I pulled out a few interesting photos. In this first shot, this loon was way out there on the lake. The lake is almost a half mile across to the opposite shore and this loon was much closer to the other side of the lake than our side of the lake.  I was on our dock at the shore... it was early morning and the bugs were feasting on me... you can faintly see the remnants of morning fog closer to the shore across the lake. The lake was flat, calm and quiet... I steadied myself against a post like a village drunkard leaning on a lamp post... slowed my breathing, focused... then I saw this distant scene more clearly in my viewfinder.  A boat had just passed this loon and the wake created by the boat was reflecting the

While I wait for some paint to dry so I can apply another coat of paint, I thought I would write a little bit about some photos I shot recently. I was out on our dock one morning and I noticed this tiny wake about one hundred yards away... I grabbed the camera that had the longest lens mounted on it...  zoomed... I quickly confirmed it was a beaver. I was hoping to get a tail slap and a big splash but that never came. He just swam around for a little while and then quietly slipped underwater. I just wish he was a little closer to the house so I could have gotten a slightly better shot.... It was early one morning... one of those rare mornings at the lake with no fog and no clouds... over in a darkened corner to the left of our house, about one hundred yards away, I noticed a loon. He was alone and just paddling around in the dark shadows of early morning. I kept my camera focused on him... it was too dark for a shot though... a black and white loon in black shadows would have ma

I'm always looking at the light and hoping to find interesting light as it contrasts with shadow, texture, and patterns. I constantly see the scenes in front of me framed as a photo composition in my head. I don't put the camera to my eye until I see a composition in my head which I find interesting. One evening, a pair of loons visited while the sun was setting. The sun was a bright orange and it was behind this pair of loons. The scene was actually quite blinding but I was able to see something interesting... I was just barely able to see the silhouette of one of the loons... just enough to be able to focus on the loon... all around this loon, the water was shimmering and reflecting the warm orange glow of the setting sun...  The moment I depressed the shutter release, I knew that this would be an interesting photograph... a different photograph... I like it!

About a week ago, I was headed out the door to try to catch a decent sunset. As I approached the door, I began to hear the familiar sound of a distant helicopter... fortunately, I had a medium length telephoto lens mounted on this camera body so I just picked up the pace and continued out the door to see if I could spot him in the sky... I got lucky... I even managed to capture the blinking strobe on the tail as well as some interesting color in the sky!

So, while I am still recovering from another week or two of lousy health, I'm revisiting photos of events, vacations and wildlife I've shot. Since the lake is now on our minds, this blog entry includes photos I like from our times at the lake.  I have this first photo in two versions... I shot it in landscape orientation (picture frame in horizontal position) but also took a shot in portrait orientation (framed in the vertical position). I will sometimes take a shot of a subject both ways so that I have the option of displaying it on a wall either way depending upon the circumstances. Truth be told, I actually prefer the landscape version of this photo but I'm on a search for photos in the portrait orientation to hang in our living room. (I occasionally rotate photos through our frames on our walls and I have three frames to fill which are in portrait orientation.)  This was one of those "last night at the lake" times... it was our last paddle around the lak

The moon... crisp, clear skies with no light pollution help in capturing some crisp crater detail. For the most part, the weather at the lake has been beautiful. Most of the clouds and rain have been at night. Getting the rainy weather only at night has been great and makes for a lot of beautiful, sunny days but it really puts a damper on any photography of the night skies. Fortunately, we did have a few nights of clear weather at night... very few. On one such night, I grabbed my tripod, my best camera, a couple of good lenses, and a wireless remote shutter release and headed outside to the dark and very buggy deck. One of the newer cameras I have been using is amazing for low-light work but I am still learning what it can do and trying to figure out how to do different things such as shooting night skies. The unique thing about shooting night skies is that each exposure requires a few minutes plus a couple of minutes of adjusting settings... over and over... until you get

We had a brilliant, colorful sunset last night that lit up the stormy skies...resembling a distant forest fire or even a distant bomb blast. The colorful, bright, fireball setting sun contrasted perfectly with the stormy clouds looming overhead...

Loading up the cars on another final night at the lake house... Every year, we always dread one particular night. As this night approaches, we would prefer that time stands still so this night could never come to be. This dreaded night is our last night at the lake house until the following year.  Putting aside all the work that must be accomplished in packing, cleaning up and securing boats, loading up cars, and cleaning the house, it is always a bit depressing knowing that it is our last night at the lake and we will be headed back to civilization and the real world in the morning. This is now the time of year when we start planning for the upcoming summer at the lake house. As I begin thinking about all that must be accomplished in getting ready for this year at the lake, I can't help but remember our last night at the lake.  Two things always stand out in my mind about this dreaded night... The first image which seems to be etched into my mind is one of the cars being

View of the night sky just after sunset from the deck. I think it is safe to say that we are all looking forward to heading to the lake. As I sit here typing this post, I can hear the rain falling outside my window and I can't help but hope the weather is nicer very soon. There is sailing to do... kayaks to paddle... swimming to be done... short hikes to be done... socializing with guests... a lot of photos to shoot... and simply enjoying ourselves every moment of every day. I'd prefer not to be doing all of this in the rain! Well, really, I'd prefer not to be doing any of that in the rain! Adam is graduating high school on Saturday so he is busy this week with finals and some last minute projects. I know he is looking forward to getting back out on the sailboat. I notice him eyeing the boat whenever he is in the yard. I am sure he is definitely ready to be graduating high school! So Adam is a bit antsy to get to the lake as well. I'm sure Sheila is looking