More fun kid pix

Baby Mondays: Rock-a-Bye, Baby

 

Sweet Baby Z was as content as can be nestled upon her Daddy's drum and melting his heart, I couldn't have been more thrilled that she slept as long as she did as I worked out so lighting issue with some much need assistance, I definitely need to work on my timing and rhythm, special thanks her the M&D!

Ballet

I find photographing the ballet just as relaxing and enjoyable as watching even on the days when I have a mini Ballet 101 photography class that pops up in the theater's first row with eager students(not really my students just a few local photographers) asking me questions on how to set their cameras when you have moving subjects under ever changing lights that aren't really that bright against a dark backdrop. Well I've created my own method and when I shoot the camera's on manual and each image is in sync with the dancers as if the camera is moving on stage with them. I have thousands of images but these two just speak to me the most. 

Images: Kate Mercer for the Press-Register

I love photographing kids!

oily update

This will be the first time I've mention the huge oil spill in the gulf, I've steered away from filling my blog with images of oil covered beaches, sea life and devastation. I began my weekly now daily trips to our local beach back on May 3 the oil hadn't arrived and talk was everywhere about what to expect and when it would finally reach our white sandy beaches well about a month later we had the first tarballs hit and a few days later sheets of oil the smells arrived way before any oil hit the beaches and I question it's effects on us so I thought fitting to post a photograph of mine from a few weeks ago, I just hope it doesn't lead us all on the gulf coast to this.

                 

                                     Kate Mercer / Mobile Press Register via AP

Sonja Daniel, who has a house on the Fort Morgan Peninsula, wears a mask Sunday as she sunbathes on the beach of the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge in Baldwin County, Ala. She told ABC News that the fumes from the oil washing ashore sickened her, so she brought a gas mask to the beach. Sunday, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour angrily blasted news coverage that he said was scaring away tourists by making it seem as if "the whole coast from Florida to Texas is ankle-deep in oil."

Europe 1993

I'm fascinated by my old photographs(I shot mostly black and white back then) the ones taken before I officially became a "photographer". I can spend hours looking at them trying to see if there was any hint of my style in these images I snapped randomly with my manual Minolta camera. Whether it's images of my high school friends or when I was 18 and backpack through Europe I like to try and remember what I was thinking back then, what was it I saw through my untrained eye that stopped me in my tracks to take these photos. So much of my work now is focused on a finished product, I know what to look for and what the outcome will be, the magic and beauty of photography will always be there even though the wonderment I felt when I was young seems to have faded.

Belgium 1993 (I'm thinking it's either Antwerpen or Brussels)

Eiffel tower during my 19 hour walk through Paris 1993

Paris bridge with deteriorating statue and graffiti 1993

Notre Dame's flying buttresses 1993

The images above are of my travels through Europe in the spring of 1993, I wasn't much for photography people back then but the photos still hold memories that that will last a lifetime.

Old market

I use to buy my produce locally from a farmers market just a few miles from our house until one day the mega Mart found it's way into our community and took over. I stumbled upon the remanents of that old market in a barn across the street covered in dust and cobwebs.

(Lucy with Moth 2010)

I found this dried moth in our garage, the kids were fascinated by it as was I , Lucy tried so hard not to laugh during this photo but there was a bug was on her face , we tried goofy looks, crossed eyes but in the end  it was better not to look.