More Zoo Portraits

I want to share some more pictures from our zoo outing last weekend. I got some great shots of my friend Wanda and her daughter Isabella. I have many shots of Isabella in motion. Like most 2 year olds, she rarely stopped moving.

Isabella was wearing this adorable little red coat. I love red for outdoor shots. It shows up beautifully and provides wonderful contrast for the skin and green grass and leaves. It also provides some lovely opportunities for vintage or selectively colored shots.

Here are some of my favorites of Wanda and Isabella:

Silhouettes

As of today, I've missed 3 out of 5 of my photography classes. Why? I can't seem to stop getting sick!

The first week I was throwing up. The second week I managed to show up. The third week I had the plague. The fourth week, I still had the plague but dragged myself to class and hacked through the whole thing while everyone stared at me as if I had leprosy. I finally dragged my butt to the doctor last week and discovered that I have an ear infection, a sinus infection, and bronchitis. I think I should get bonus points for the bronchitis.

Anyway, after finishing my round of Zithromax, my ear was still hurting. I made an appointment to see my doctor later this week but today the pain started to radiate down my neck. And I was having this lovely little problem where one ear would pop like I was in an airplane and then I'd get dizzy and throw up. Fun times.

So instead of attending my photography class this evening, I spent the time at an emergency care facility getting some new prescriptions. Let's keep our fingers crossed that the Levoquin works because Holden and I are going to California next week to stay with one of my favorite photographers.

Since I don't have any class assignments to share, here are some photos I took at the zoo this weekend. Of course the boys were more interested in the giant pile of dirt from a zoo construction project than the animals. I've struggled with attempting silhouettes. They're tricky because you have to meter off of the sky instead of the subject. And you have to think about the bones of your photo - the outlines you'll see in the silhouette, rather than what you see in your viewfinder.

Hollis and his buddy, Caleb.

I think I finally nailed it with this one:



I love how you can see where a plane has left a streak across the sky.

Chasing Peacocks

Let's take a little break from pink birds and move on to birds of other colors.

This weekend I took the kids to the zoo and met some friends there. You've seen them in pictures here before. While I think they enjoy having me take pictures of their children, I'm not so sure they're thrilled with my price - allowing me to take pictures of them as well. Anyway, Not Exactly A Princess brought The Pumpkin, W brought her adorable daughter Isabella, and A brought her 2 year old twins. We had a whole pack of kids!

As you may know, children in packs tend to be a bit more rambunctious than they normally are. (Well, at least Hollis is. Holden is already rambunctious without a crowd.) We had a hard time containing their little bodies and big spirits at times. Especially when they spotted something to chase:



I kept my camera on a high shutter speed and pointed and clicked. I was thrilled to discover I'd caught the startled geese in mid-flight. But annoyed that they there was that distracting construction site in the background ruining my shot. Oh well. I did what I could to minimize the background.

Then, later on some peacocks decided to strut right across our path. Poor birds. Of course, I didn't help much. I was yelling, "Don't touch the peacocks!" while laughing and snapping pictures with the camera. I suppose it might have helped if I'd actually chased the kids.









Hmmmm.... In looking through these photos again, I'm seeing a pattern. Holden and Caleb are the ones chasing the birds. No wonder NOEaP and I feel it necessary to drink.

Pink, Pink, and More Pink!

Cup on a car.

The other side simply says S.L.U.T.S. I think that's my new motto.



Have there been days when you really didn't want to get up from the couch? Then don't. Just drive your couch. Outfit it with some beverages (and maybe a toilet) and you're set. Now I've seen everything.




Now if you're going to put a tutu on your dog, it's only fair that you wear a wig that matches.




The Jello shots were flying even before the parade started.



A man must have designed this one.






It was a good day for flamingos.

The Photos That Will Get My Ass Kicked

Here they are. The photos I mentioned yesterday of my friends W and Not Exactly A Princess. They both look great in the pictures but neither of them will listen to me!



W with a soft glow.





Not Exactly A Princess with a Soft Bleach Glaze.

Photos of Friends

Today I got to meet some friends at the mall for lunch. Of course, I brought my camera so I could get some pictures. I have photos of Not Exactly A Princess and her little boy, The Pumpkin, and some of our good friend, W.

Here are a few of the pictures of The Pumpkin. I'll try to put up the photos of NEAP and W tomorrow. They're both going to kick my *ss for posting them too!

A close-up of The Pumpkin.
I did some color processing that I do on many of my photos and that's about it.




Here, I used Michelle Black's Soft Bleach Glaze action and then her Soft Color action.




They're always so cute when they sleep.
Here, I used Michelle Black's Soft Bleach Glaze action again, followed by her Soft Color action.




This last one is my favorite.
This is Michelle Black's Rich Mocha RAW preset with her Soft Color Action on the top.