National Zoo: Animal Portraits

 I posted on my family blog about our most recent trip to the National Zoo with our friends. In addition to the great posts of the kids that I got, I of course took some animal portraits as well.

We were fortunate on this trip to see the orangutan's cross on the O-line, and I captured this shot of them kissing as we walked away.

Philadelphia at night

Last month I went to Philadelphia for work. I only had one evening there, but I brought my camera in hopes that I might be able to take some photos. I was really tired after dinner, but my hotel was just down the street from the beautiful city hall, so I grabbed the camera and headed out to try some night photography.

All Dressed Up

 About two months ago, we had a neighborhood yard sale and picked up a dress for my daughter. She jumped at the chance to put it on with some makeup for an impromptu photo shoot. I jumped at the chance to have a willing model on which to practice using my external flashes and lights. I love the different looks that I can get just by moving around the lights.

NJ Grounds for Sculpture

In August, I took a trip to NJ and had time in my schedule to visit the New Jersey Grounds for Sculpture. I'd heard about this place from a fellow photographer I met on a Facebook group, and was excited to have a chance to go and shoot. Unfortunately, I did not have my DSLR with me, but good photography isn't about the gear, it's about the eye, right?

The first thing I encountered was this sculpture of American Gothic. It was about 2.5 times taller than life size

Headshot Practice

Late last spring, I purchased a new studio lighting set. Previously, I had purchased a very basic lighting setup comprised of two lights with umbrellas for shooting through. I've done a couple of boudoir and child shoots with these and I've been happy with how they worked. However, after talking to some photographer friends, reading online, and learning more how to shoot indoors, I felt that the best way to move forward with studio lighting would be with off-camera flash. So, I purchased two higher-power off-camera flashes than the one that I had (a simple Canon Speedlite; the new ones are Yongnuo, and came highly recommended by a couple of photographers I know), and a wireless trigger/sync system to get them off camera. Then it was just a matter of practice! Luckily, my sister was visiting and was willing to sit for me while I figured out the triggering and light placement. For a first try, I think they came out quite well, and I love the effects that I can create with the flashes.

Political Event: Office Opening

**Disclaimer: This post is not an endorsement of any candidate, simply noting some photos I took at a local political event.

A friend of my husband is running for Delegate in the state of Virginia. We don't live in her district, so we can't vote for her, but he wanted to support her so we went to her office opening in Berryville over Labor Day weekend. She had asked if I would take some photos of the event; these are my favorites.

Her office is in the old Berryville Pharmacy building (the whole town is so quaint!).

Preschool Photos

My son does not permit me to take his photo as easily as my daughter does; at 3.5, standing still and posing nicely for photos just isn't in his DNA! However, he started preschool this week, so I was able to convince him to take a few photos before (and during) his first day of preschool. 

 I cannot resist close-ups of his beautiful little face. And his eyelashes should be outlawed (as one of his teachers noted)!

Happy first day of preschool, big guy! Can't wait to see what this adventure holds for you.

Dogs deserve portraits too

My dog is incredibly difficult to photograph - not because she won't hold still (she's actually quite good at posing), but because of her color. So much shiny black fur is very hard to capture well! She's very patient when I take the camera out in front of her, and I'm very happy with some earlier shots that I took of her lying in the sun. Once a month we get her groomed, and last month she came home looking absolutely adorable. I already had my light kit out for another job, so I was able to convince her to pose for me on our couch while I practiced taking her photo. The black on brown was maybe not ideal, but I think I managed to get a decent separation of her from the background. 

Flower macro photography: Roses

I posted a couple of months ago about my first foray into macro photography, using the inverted lens trick I had read about online. I was pretty happy with the photos i took with the hydrangea blossoms, but definitely wanted to practice a bit more. A couple of weeks ago, my husband purchased a dozen of beautiful pink roses for me, so...take two of flower macro photography!

They grow up so fast

Today was my daughter's first day of kindergarten. I of course took photos of her this morning while waiting for the bus, but I also wanted to do a mini photo tonight shoot celebrating her first day.