Beachy Keen!

Yeah, I went with the horrific pun.  You don't come here for my wit, it's the pitchers. 

Today, I am jonesing for the beach, living in land-locked Alabama (don't even mention that dangle-bit) and missing my beloved Tybee.  So, I thought I would do a quick post about beach photos and what you will want to see when you get home and need a mental boost.

Sand-covered kids with creeping swimsuits, sand castles, sunsets-that's all a given.  Walk around and snap shots of what you love about the beach itself, the structure, the birds, the patterns in the sand.

Then, when you get home, you have a visual mini-trip that is uplifting to you, not just a series of your kids at younger ages with sunburned shoulders and where DID that umbrella get put when you got home?

Artifacts

One way to get some practice with depth of field settings is to play around with found items.  These were all taken along the trail at Red Mountain Park in Birmingham, AL.  No doubt there are places near you that have similar 'hand of man' items.

Zoos

 Zoos can give you some excellent practice taking photos of animals who are pretty good at hiding from people.  It's best to go in cooler weather when they are more active and the crowds are lighter so you can stand there blocking the exhibit all you want.

 This is one place where your zoom lens will get lots of use, it's perfect for zooming through the cages and removing the barrier between yourself and your subject.

 

 Ah, the noble capybara.

 I have always liked to take a reflection shot and then flip it.  I have several hanging in my house, all upside down.  Dorky?  Who cares, it's YOUR photography, have fun with it.

Giraffes do not always reel in their tongues while eating.  I had no idea.

 If the animal is very close to you, use the zoom to get detail shots.

Have fun, be patient, bide your time, enjoy your day and take lots of photos!

A Fast Shoot

We recently were invited to Birmingham to do a quick modeling session for a new line of make-up.  The whole thing took less than two hours, but was so much fun for the girls and I was able to get in some practice with head shots.  I did some things right and some wrong.  The first wrong thing was, I did not check my ISO setting!  It was too high and some of the shots are grainier than I would have liked. 

But, everything is a learning process, you can bet I won't forget that again.

I was asked to take some shots for their Facebook page, so I was able to have some fun with that!  The girls had a blast, it was a very positive experience all around, and a new challenge for me, made very easy by the excellent hair and make-up skills at Aveda Institute and the lovely models!

Yes, this is the child does not look at the camera.  Or smile.

I made this grainier because I thought it looked like a shot from a magazine in the 70's. 
And I like to play with my photos.