I Saw the Light

Okay it's technically a flash and it wasn't just mine, there were lots of them. Lots and lots and lots of them. Going off everywhere. And not stuck on top of the camera like you've come to expect to see them, but rather on light stands and in people's hands, being fired by wireless triggers. Now why would we want to take a perfectly good flash off of it's comfortable perch atop our cameras do you ask? To make better pictures we answer. To take take great pictures where no photographer has taken great pictures before we shout. Okay there wasn't any shouting, but there was great picture taking all over the place. On the beach, in the shade, in the bright sun, in areas that were both sunny and shady. It was all part of the 2008 Florida LUMU event.

This is one of my favorites sets of Nicole. She's in the shade, but as you can see, she looks beautiful.

Here she is standing out along the lake at Ft. Cooper Park in Inverness. Her back is to the sun, without the flash her face would have been obscured by a shadow. The pop of the flash allows her face to have the same light as the background. Taking the flash off of the camera allows us to control where the light is coming from.

In this picture I've got the flash across from the sun which gets rid of most of the shadows. (The sun is up to the right in this picture, the flash is on a stand to the left of the camera, essentially washing away the shadows. If it had been on the right side of the camera, the far side of her face would have been completely consumed by a shadow.)

I've got to thank Nicholaus Haskins and all of his crew for putting everything together. LUMU (Light it Up, Meet Up) was an awesome event and I learned so much from you guys and had a blast. Count me in for the next Florida event.

This is Nic with another awesome model named Gi Gi. The funny looking antana thing at his hip is a Pocket Wizard-the wireless trigger for his flash.

I've also got to thank Jeff, a great photographer and all around great guy. When I had an equipment malfunction he loaned me his back up wireless triggers so I could keep shooting. And when I couldn't get the light just right on the model's face out in the full sun, he helped me figure it out. Jeff - you're awesome. Keep it up!

Texture

I was playing around with the pictures I took at the fair last weekend and decided to see if I could give one of them an aged, old timey feel. Now this picture looks like it's an old photo or even printed on paper. I think it fits.

Cocktails and Carnies

The Florida State Fair is in town. And I am sure that the first thing that pops into your mind when you see that the fair is coming to town is "Let's get dressed up in our party clothes and hit the midway!" Which is exactly what we did. Well, we being relevant. I had two great models agree to spend their evening dressed to the nines and wander around in their 10 inch heels (okay, 3 inch heels) and pose for pictures amongest the corn dogs and carnies.

We started in Cracker Country. Lindsey thought about doing some warsh the old fashion way, but soon decided against it. (Okay, so I don't know how to spell wash with an old-timey, Florida Cracker accent. Please forgive me.)

We put Megan to work in the fields. See how hard she's working?

This nice ol' boy was good enough to stop what he was doing and pose for a few picture. The "accessories" were his idea. I think they add a little something don't you? Because here in Florida we usually accessorize our evening wear with guns and whips. And good ol' Florida Boys.

We had a great time in Cracker Country. But the midway and the carnies were calling..........

Bowling and Not

School was closed for MLK Day so we took the kids bowling. This guy here wasn't too sure exactly what to do.

But as you can see, he got the hang of it.

See his ball waaayyy down there?

Not everyone was bowling.

I must admit, several of the kids had great form.

And style.
Not to mention great hair.

They were diligent about keeping score and who was winning.

Well not all of them.
And definitely not this one.

When she finally woke up she was happy.

And ready to roll.

Birthday Beach Bash

Our dear little friend Cian turned 4 and invited us to his birthday party on the beach. The weather was absolutely perfect... a warm 76 degrees with a slight breeze. And even though the water was too cool to swim, the kids had a blast playing around in it. Here he's having a splash fight with one of his friends.

The breeze was just right for flying kites.

Even the littlest of the kids could handle their kites all by themselves!

Some were more interested in posing for the camera.

Cian wanted to fly his kite as high as possible, letting out all of the string.

And what would a birthday party be with out cake?

Thanks for letting us share in your special day Cian. Have fun being 4!