Stray Cat Strut

My dear friends at PFN ( PhotoFocusNetwork.com ) have a photo contest every week. This weeks theme was blue. Richard recently bought a new blue guitar, making it the subject matter of my blue shoot. My first take turned out okay but I needed to tweak a few things in the image, so I set out to reshoot. I set up again and as I start shooting a cat hopped over the fence and head straight for my staging area. All I can say is this cat love the camera. She must have been a model in her past life.
On the image with the cat I changed the color of the guitar I just felt it worked better being a brown guitar. The second image was what I turned into the contest.






During this time with the cat I have the 80s song Stray Cat Strut stuck in my head. I bring you the Stray Cats complements of YouTube.com Fitting I think.

It’s all about the Bert Man

Well he is 16 and ready to take on the world. We took the DART down to Bray a few weeks ago all the images are from that trip. Plus one I added from his first shave.





On a side note I was excepted into DWF. It is a big community. I am guessing they will let most anyone in who will pay and wants to learn wedding. I am cool with that that is how I am there. I am on information over load from DWF. I will most likely pay the 100 bucks at the end of my 30 days, hop on the roller coaster, hang on and pray my brain doesn't blow.

Carnival Venice Italy 2007

Venice is truly and understandably one of the most romantic cities in the world. Okay so I am overly worldly but I will say it is at the top of my personal list.

I went with my family and my brothers family the finally Sunday of Carnival. To say it was crowed would have been an understatement. I found it harder to shoot while worrying about were the children were. I will hand it to my brother and husband. When I wanted to shoot they stepped up to the plate with the kids (we had six children and two grown children with us) All in all I am very pleased with I shot.

I would love to fly down for a day for some serious shooting next year. I will return to Venice this month to shoot the city with out the masses.

Here are some of the first images I have edited from the day:

Weddings

The topic of my day. I have applied for a membership to DWF and wait to see if they will except me. At the same time I received word from the States that one of my portrait clients are looking for me to shoot to shoot her sister's wedding this next summer. All signs are pointing for me to open not only my portrait studio but also get into weddings. I am really excited about the thought of it all. Richard and I have been talking about the remodeling that will be done in the house to make all this happen.

When I stop and think about wedding I can’t help but think of my ol' friend Randy Jenkins from Chattanooga TN. August 2002 Randy took me under his wing to teach me the ropes of shooting weddings. Randy worked at a Christian College in the area and shot weddings part time.

Our first shoot together was a Bridal on a beautiful Wednesday evening. I truly enjoyed working and learn from Randy. We had a great time. Here are a few images I shot that evening.





That Saturday I woke early met up with Randy at a convent store. He grabbed a bag of M&Ms and a diet coke (Randy said the diet coke took away calories from the M&M so it was a balanced breakfast) he did this before every wedding. We spent most of the day shooting the wedding finally about 5 pm we head home. He was talking about how much he missed his wife who was out of town, and what he was going to do with his teenage son the rest of the weekend. Randy and his son went to the movie that night where Randy had a heart attack was in ICU for two weeks until he past.

I still stop and wonder why God had me spend Randy’s last living day with him. Why me?

I miss Randy not only was he a great photographer but he was a great man, husband and father. In some way when I rebuild my studio I know Randy will be there helping out on the wedding side of it all. Thank you Mr. Jenkins for all you have given me, I could only hope I can find another mentor as grand as you.

I leave you with an image of Randy driving the bride.

Lunar Eclipse

In the recent days I have found a new photo forum here in Ireland, http://www.photographyireland.net/ . There is a lot of good talent there, that I hope I can learn from. Another thing that really excites this will be a great resource for here in Dublin, and maybe just maybe a few shooting buddies.

From PI learnt of a lunar eclipse last night. So I stayed up, froze my bum off and shoot some of the event. I don’t think I have ever shot images of the moon before. My images were all soft, I found it very hard to focus. So I jazzed of some sad images in Photoshop and will show them in a small version here. I did not think about it at the time, I should have used my 10D. With the digital cropping factor it would have maybe help. Live and learn. I do think in the digital age I do not stop and think thing through as much. I have been sloppy with my work. This I really want to work on.

Another Brick in the Wall

Just up the road from my brothers house in Italy is a place I call the “The Water” . I asked if it had a name no one seems to know. Located at the foot of the Alps this sight is where the water makes first contact with air after going underground in Germany.

On this spot there is the ruins of an old mill in all it’s glory. I have photographed my nieces portraits at the mill and my own children.

Simply beautiful.

The Starting Line

Here I am, joining the hundreds of photographers that are blogging. I have became the herd.

I shut down my web page at the beginning of the year due to the fact that I move out of the country and am no longer in business and not sure if I want to go into business again.

Photography is in my blood, like a sickness almost. At time it has totally take over my life. I am now learning a new balance of photography and family life. I could never walk away from my photography again. I now get to be a flamboyant hobbyist.

I have read, searched and pondered the idea of blogging my images. I think it will be a fit for me.

I would love to say I can post an image a day, but I would only be kidding myself and any reader if I ever pick up any. This I do not expect, thus I am Photographer Unknown.

Welcome to my blog.