Senior Portrait Session

Back in the beginning of March, I had an opportunity to do Senior Portraits for a friend's son.  Normally I prefer to do Senior Portraits in the Spring or Summer before the student's senior year.  Sometimes the Fall season works as well for last minute portraits.  March was a bit cold to be taking pictures outside.  Given it was a last minute request, I couldn't turn it down.

We met up at the local train station.  I could tell my friend's son was a bit unsure of the portrait session.  I immediately took charge and started to take pictures of him.  After the first ten shots, my friend's son started to relax in front of the lens and started posing for me.

Here's a sample from the photo shoot:

Her son is not an early morning person, so we agreed to meet in the late afternoon.  I spent two hours with my friend and her son taking his portraits at two different local locations.  I used both my 85mm/f1.8 and 24-120mm/f4 lens.  I used my 85mm for the first hour and literally had to "zoom with my feet" to get the right shot.  I used the 24-120mm lens for the second hour and at the second location.  It was a sunny day and I still used my flash for fill-in shots.

He really got into posing for me.  He was a natural at this and made my job easy and fun.  Moments like this is why I enjoy photography.

Frederick House Bed and Breakfast

After we ate lunch in downtown Staunton, I called the owners of the Frederick House to see if our room was available.  It was!  Little did I know, it was a 3 minute drive up North New Street.  We parked in one of their designated spaces and entered their side entrance of the Frederick House:

Frederick House and side entrance (parking lot entrance)

Beautiful maples

 We met the owners and Evy gave us maps and directions to the house we reserved a room in.  Basically, it was up one block to the north.  Our room was in the Patrick House:

Two doors leading into our room

Living area

Sleeping area with closet and entry into the bathroom with tub

Extended bay window area in the sleeping area

Living area with false fireplace

In the entry way of the Patrick House

Waiting area/foyer of the Patrick House

Beautiful lighting

Simple and beautiful

Beautiful furniture in our room

Looking at the doorways from inside the room

It was a home sweet home stay for us.  We enjoyed the squeaky floors.  The B&B is conveniently located and within walking distance to many restaurants, shops and historic sites.

More to come with a post of the beautiful architecture in Staunton....

Outside with My Full Frame Camera

Early this week, I jumped at the chance to take a quick field trip to test out my new camera in bright daylight.  I headed over to a local nursery as they have more interesting and colorful props to help with my test.  

Colorful gourds

Reminders of Fall:  mums, gourds and pumkins

Mums on a bench

A small fountain in the garden

Colorful pansies

Wood carving

Orchids with watercolor-like background

Striking flowers

At first, I wasn't sure how my D600 would handle the daylight.  Compared to my D7000 which has the tendency to overexpose in bright sunlight, my D600 handled it well.  I left my exposure compensation at 0.0. 

All pictures taken with 85mm f1.8 lens and in Aperture mode.  

My Nikon...Another Milestone!

I did it again.  I rolled over my Nikon D7000 DSLR for the second time.  This year.  Another 10,000 pictures taken.  I've taken over 20,000 pictures.

The 20,000 picture...blooming hybrid tea rose

Our Anemones are still blooming like crazy

I found a bee in our daylily patch

I have a lot more pictures to take this month.  I get to do a photo shoot at a local private school.  They want me to take pictures of individuals as well as group shots.   I am so looking forward to this.

Another Civil War Commemorative Event...150 years Second Battle of Manassas

Demonstration on how to prepare, load, and fire a civil war cannon

Discussions and talk about civil war life

Taking a break and playing cards

Chatting with the young ladies about their garments

I spied a Nikon camera!  Way cool!

The men slept here at night while the ladies slept at a lodge nearby

Getting ready to fire...plug your ears!

Kabooooom!  It was so loud that it shook my camera!

Swallowtail Butterfly in Our Garden

I followed several Swallowtail butterflies in our garden.  They flittered to and fro and around several buddleia flowers.  The common name for this flowering plant is Butterfly Bush.  How appropriate.

The background in this picture reminds me of a watercolor painting.  I just might have to add this picture to my portfolio for a future painting.

Anemones in Bloom

My hubby spotted these Anemones in bloom.  I'm looking forward to the next few days as more and more of them open up.  I took this picture using my 85mm lens and compact speed light.  I was waiting for the rain showers to stop and by then it became evening.  Still not a bad time to take pictures.  

Photo Challenge #2 From Last Week

Last week on FaceBook, I published another photo challenge.  The theme was...My Five Senses (smell, touch, taste, hearing and sight).  Here's the results of my photo challenge from last week:

Smell:  fragrant candles for relaxing

It was a challenging theme for everyone and I had little time to get something together (other than the candles above).  I decided to go through my pictures from VBS (+1000 pictures) and see what I could come up with.  I decided to a do a collage that captured the remaining senses:

Touch:  Ted the bear used at VBS

Taste:  Locust treats and the taste test from VBS.  Early b-day cake from work.  It was chocolate cake and it was yummy!

Hearing:  Can you hear the kids at VBS?

Sight:  Beautiful people at VBS and borrowing someone else's glasses

After July's photo challenge is over, I hope to start another one for the month of August and incorporate some photography techniques to keep the challenge more interesting.

Are you interested in joining me?

Happy Birthday to Me!

I'm celebrating the big 5*0 today.  I've been celebrating since the beginning of July and will continue to the end of this month.  Today, I spent time at a fabric shop looking for additional back drops for my simple studio.  I also went to my local camera shop and bought an inexpensive 50mm f/1.8 lens (equates to 75mm in DX format).  A 50mm lens for my 50th!  Neat huh?

Birthday flowers from my brother

I have so much that I want to write and post for my blog and I'm so behind in getting photos together for several people.  Somehow they will get done.  For now, I'm celebrating!

My Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G Lens...Results

When I attach this 85mm lens to my D7k, it becomes a 128mm lens.  Basically, it's an FX lens on a DX camera.  I've had to physically take two steps back to get my subject framed correctly in my viewfinder.

This lens does a beautiful job with portraits and general photography.  I've found that I like setting the aperture to f/4 and the results are clear, sharp photos with beautiful bokeh.

July is typically a busy photog month for me.  This week we're having a VBS event at our church.

Initially, it was very hard for me to leave my wide-zoom (18-200mm) lens in my bag and just use a prime lens.  My instinct told me I don't want to miss a shot and you know it's easier to zoom in and out than it is to walk back a couple of steps.  I made do and in a short time, I felt at ease with my prime lens.

I noticed, since there is some distance between my subject(s) and my camera, the kids and adults felt more comfortable and relaxed when I took their picture.  

Taking pictures at this event has allowed me the chance to try out my new flash, new lenses and trying out different features of my D7k.  In the next few weeks, I'll share my findings.