I have a few reasons for my haitus …

1. Thanksgiving Holiday (and a visit from my buddy WendyVee) 
2. Christmas Holiday  
3. New Year’s Holiday  (okay, this isn’t really a good excuse, but work with me)
4. I had to send my favorite lens to Nikon for repair
5. I gave three nephews and a niece scrapbooks for Christmas.  I had to buckle down and get them done!  I finished them up on Christmas Eve at 9:15 pm!

This really is the basis for my absence.  Without my lens, my favorite lens, I was somewhat uninspired to shoot.  And on top of that … lots of holiday stuff going on and really, working on those scrapbooks took a lot of my time and mental energy.

So … to catch you up on the past SIX! weeks, here are a few highlights …

My cousin, Barbara, and her family came to LA from Kansas for Thanksgiving this year.  Here is a picture I took of her beautiful little girl, Reagan:

While they were here, my sister-in-law, cousin and I took all the little kids to my sister-in-law’s parents place at False River so the kids could go fishing.  This was my favorite picture of my niece Brianna.  She was the first kid to catch a fish and, despite the look on her face, she was very excited.  (All the other pictures show her smiling; I’m glad I managed to catch this shot!)

WendyVee and I went to Hemingbough in St. Francisville the weekend before Christmas for a photo shoot.  I really needed some updated pictures of myself and Wendy is always up for an excuse to shoot.  Here’s one of the pictures she took.  She makes magic with that camera!  My mother has expressed disappointment that she doesn’t have any pictures of me for her wall of family pictures.  She has wedding pictures of my brothers, family pictures of their families, pictures of the grandchildren, but none of me.  She actually had an empty frame on that wall for a picture of me.  The empty frame had been hanging there for years.  I kid you not.  Now she has a picture of me on that wall!

Lastly, and sadly, a local bar caught fire on New Year’s Day.  It literally burned to the ground and it took 50 hours for firefighters to totally extinguish it.  It wasn’t my favorite bar and I probably have only been there once in the past ten years.  But it was one of those places that everyone goes to at some point or another and has been in Baton Rouge for years and years and years.  As sad as it was, it presented me with a unique opportunity – night shooting.  I headed over there in a hurry – too much of a hurry – it would have been nice to have had my tripod.  There were no visible flames while I was there, but there was no shortage of activity.  I played with my settings (adjusting ISO and shutter speed) and managed to get a few decent shots (WITHOUT USING MY FLASH!) even though it was dark.  Here are a few of my favorites. 

This is the front of the bar about 7 or 8 hours into the fire.  It looks like it’s over, but it’s not.  All the rescue vehicles were outside the frame of the camera (to the sides) and behind the bar; I got lucky and there were no vehicles immediately in front of the entrance. 

This is one of those right time, right place, interesting subject shots. There were three guys (firefighters) sitting on the back of a vehicle taking a break.  (They fight fire in shifts when the fire is as big as this one was.)  I caught this fireman taking a break, having a smoke.  Ironic, eh?

So now you’re pretty well caught up!  I’ll try to post again in the next few days.  I can almost promise that it won’t be SIX! weeks, but never say never.  No really, check back in a few days!

Happy Snapping!

GingerSnapps

In Baton Rouge, we are lucky enough to have a flock of White Pelicans stop at the City Lakes during their migration.  My mother says a small flock of them first stopped here about 6 or 7 years ago, staying 2 or 3 weeks before moving on, and each year the flock grows.  I’ve been down to the lakes about 5 or 6 times to try to get some good pictures, but they were always huddled up on the shore opposite the public parking area.  Unfortunately, where they were huddled up is inaccessible because it is private property.  Each time I went, though, I felt the flock had grown.  I think they are still arriving. 

But Thursday I took a chance and drove over there during my lunch hour.  I was thrilled to find lots of them out swimming on the lake.  I managed to get a few shots before they noticed me and started swimming away.  I decided to drive around to another, smaller lake on the off chance that some more pelicans were over there.  It was my lucky day!  There were a ton more on the small lake that has a one-way drive all the way around it.  I drove around the lake, taking pictures out of my window, and was able to catch up with them as they swam away.  I hope to go back and try again, but I was pretty pleased with the pictures I got.  Here are a few of my favorites.  Enjoy!

GingerSnapps

I can’t get over how beautiful they are.  The Brown Pelican is the state bird of Louisiana, but I’d never even heard of White Pelicans until I saw these.

I managed to get a picture of this one flying overhead.  Wow. 

This is just a portion of the flock.  Or one of the flocks.  They were everywhere.  And when I saw this group, they were diving for fish, I guess, and almost diving in unison, bobbing their mouths/beaks (whatever they are called!) in the water at the same time.  It was really something to see!

Anyway, right after logging on, I saw that my sister-in-law, Aimee (Mindful Exercise & Therapy, LLC), had posted that she was headed to Fleet Feet Sports for their Diva Night to promote her business and the Trigger Point tools.  I immediately thought that I should head over to support Aimee and her new business venture.  I grabbed my camera and thought maybe I could take a few pictures that she could use on her website or something.  You just never know, right?

So I got there and I actually got a demonstration on the Trigger Point tools.  I’ve seen them before (briefly) and always said I was going to get some.  After using them, I definitely am!   But I digress.  While Aimee and I were talking she suggested that I might as well register for the Diva Night prizes while I was there.  So I did.  Just a few minutes later they started drawing for the door prizes and I won a sandwich or salad from Fresh Salads.  How cool!!  Aimee continued with her demonstration and a few minutes later my name was called again.  I told them that I’d already won a prize and they said that everyone had won, so they put all the names in and started over.  This time I won a free pair of Mizuno running shoes!  I was so excited!!!  While I was there I picked up a few other things I needed – including a light that clips on my shirt.  I run in the morning in the dark and I can tell you that drivers don’t pay attention.  Hopefully this will help and catch their eye!

Anyway, I thought I’d post a few pictures of Aimee in action.  We were indoors at night under flourescent lights – not exactly optimal shooting conditions – but sometimes you shoot anyway. 

Enjoy!  Ginger Snapps

Aimee instructing a customer on the use of the Quadballer:

Aimee talking to a customer about the Foam Roller:

Aimee demonstrating the foam roller.  It has so many uses and I can’t wait to try it on my back!

While we were in N.O., we had a few fake photo shoots where we were each other’s models.  We took pictures of each other (using both cameras) and it helped us get a feel for how to work with someone during a shoot, work with different lighting and just generally have some fun. 

I’ve quickly gone through the 90 pictures that were on my camera and picked out some favorites.  I had already copied these pictures from my camera so that I can send them on to Wendy.  That’s why they are ‘available’ to post but my other New Orleans pictures aren’t.  Wait … now that I think about it, I realize there are more pictures from other locations that I haven’t located/sorted/sent to her yet.  I’ll get to that soon.  But for now, here are some of my favorites.  If you’re interested in me taking some pictures of you, let me know.  For now, I’m shooting for free.  Later, I’ll cut friends and family a good deal.  But eventually, when I’m really famous, you’ll have to get in line for my services just like everyone else!    Enjoy!

GingerSnapps

I think this picture captures the *essence* of Wendy.  Or something like that.

Look!  I’m a photographer who can make my models laugh!  I love how spontaneous the laugh is!  The fact that it looks like we rented a wind machine to blow her hair was an unexpected bonus!

We actually had fun doing the shoot, once we got past the awkwardness of pretending.

I think this is the kind of picture that makes you dream up stories about who she is and what she’s doing.

In addition to Wendy’s expressions (or lack thereof), what I love most about the following photos is the angles that are going on.  I think the pictures have more interest and, in a few of them, I am thrilled that I managed to get the subject (Wendy) in a somewhat vertical position while the building in the background is at an angle!  Believe it or not, I have actually been working on that – I think I’m making some progress!

Between my Saturday events/obligations (Senior Olympics Dance Competition and my nephew’s football game), I had about 45 minutes to kill so I popped into the Main Street Market downtown.  On the first Saturday of the month there is an arts market in addition to the usual farmer’s market, and I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff.

One of my favorite photographers, Joshua Lee, is usually a vendor at the arts market.  I’m really inspired by his photography and his sense of humor.  I almost always pop into his booth and check out his work, though I’ve seen most of it plenty of times before.  On Saturday we struck up a conversation and I noticed he had his dog, Fritz, with him.  Since I had my camera with me, I couldn’t help myself.  Look at this face.  Could you??

It wa s a bit of a challenge shooting Fritz because he was in the shade, but the ground right behind him was in full sun.  Not sure how to deal with this situation.  If any of my photographer followers (Wendy, that’s you!) have any advice on dealing with this situation, I’d love to hear it.

GingerSnapps

For much of the shooting I used Wendy’s 50mm lens.  It was quite different than the ones I have and although I became somewhat accustomed to the differences, when I switched lenses, I usually forgot to change my settings.  (My delete button will get a workout!)  I had fun and learned a lot, and I really want another lens.  But I think the biggest lesson I took from all of this is that I should master the lenses I have before acquiring more.  New toys are always fun, but from a practical standpoint, I need to get better with the equipment I already have first.  That being said, although shooting at night was not easy, it would have been more difficult with my lens since the aperture settings are more limited.

I haven’t edited my pictures yet, but hope to do it soon.  I will share some when I can.  In the meantime, here are a few pictures I managed to grab off the camera tonight.  Enjoy!

GingerSnapps

I just really like this picture for some reason.  I suppose it is imperfect in many ways, but I think it has some sort of something that draws me in:

This picture is for my cousin’s, daughter, Clare, who never met a train she didn’t like.

GingerSnapps

Admit it … the cutest little ghost you’ve ever seen!

Spanky, Alfalfa and Buckwheat (my nephew, Grant):

Chris as a “redneck”.  His idea, and he really got into it.  He insisted on making this face every time we took his picture.  I had the pleasure of giving him the “mom” tattoo!

My adorable nephews …

A random trick-or-treater that I thought was too cute to photograph!

So I know you’re wondering… what could we possibly do in such a short time between the aforementioned activities?  Well, we went “to shoot” of course.  We went to Perkins Rowe, a local retail area and just wandered around, seeing what we could find.  Wendy blogged about it here and posted a few of her pictures.  (Don’t let the title of the post fool you … read on!)

One of the fun things about our brief excursion was that Wendy let me try out her new 50mm lens.  With that lens, I can shoot with a “wide open” aperture (f1.8 or 2.1 or something).  It’s great for portrait shots and has the effect of blurring the background.  I couldn’t quite get it to do what I wanted (remember, it was a BRIEF excursion) … the sun was super bright and I just didn’t have time to fool with my settings.  Plus, I don’t think I was using the right subject … I was shooting itty bitty flowers … I think I need more of a big focal point/subject for the effect I want.  Hopefully I’ll get to play with her lens again soon (Friday in New Orleans) or maybe I’ll get one myself.  She says they aren’t too expensive!

Here are a few shots from our excursion.  Enjoy!

GingerSnapps

Chimping … fun for the whole family!

A really cool reflection …

Look who’s been infected by the Shutterbug!  (Wendy’s husband.)

I just think this is a pretty cool picture.  You can see what a beautiful day it was.  I haven’t enhanced this photo a bit!

It was perfect football weather and I spent the better part of the afternoon tailgating before the LSU v. Tulane football game.  It was not near as rowdy as tailgating usually is.  I chalk that up to the fact that it wasn’t a “big” game and since it was Halloween, many people stayed home to take their kids Trick or Treating. 

I didn’t take many pictures while tailgating (there just wasn’t too much going on), but I did manage to catch these spirited fans.  Aren’t they cute??

 GingerSnapps!

Taking pictures at night was a challenge.  Since I became immersed in this new hobby, I have a healthy disdain for the use of the camera flash.  Unfortunately, I don’t have an off camera flash and, truth be told, I wouldn’t know what to do with it if I had one, but I enjoyed taking pictures all the same and hope you enjoy them too!

The birthday girl, Wednesday Addams:

My brother (Kevin) and sister-in-law (Aimee):

Aimee’s makeup is definitely worthly of a closer look!  I can’t believe how fabulous she looked!

My mother … she served the witch’s brew:

Aimee’s sister and brother-in-law, Pam and Mitch, travelled all the way from the 8o’s … they barely made it in time for the party!

What a great picture of the sisters … I know Sarah is disappointed she couldn’t be here too!

Aimee and Kevin would make Martha Stewart proud!  I am especially impressed with Aimee’s witch and cat yard displays.  Aimee jigsawed and painted those herself one weekend when Kevin was out of town!  She’s quite possibly one of the most creative people I know.  (She made the cake too!  It’s actually made of little cupcakes. )

I have lots more pictures to share from the weekend (including more Halloween pictures!), but this post is plenty long for one sitting.  I hope you had a haunting Halloween as well!

GingerSnapps