Energy in a Can

Sometimes, when you are constantly on the go you need a boost of energy. I avoided energy drinks for years because I figured they all taste as terrible as Red Bull does. Even they know their drink tastes bad. I once saw a print ad for Red Bull that showed a can, and a checklist of three features. It read something like: Boosts Energy - Check, Natural Ingredients - Check, Tastes Great - "no check". I thought that was really good marketing; since they were being honest about the flavor of their energy drink no one could be disappointed when they took a sip.

Amp, on the other had, tastes pretty good. The flavor resembles that of those green freezer pops in the plastic tubes; which by the way, is my favorite flavor of freezer pops. Amp is made by PepsiCo and is pretty close to the flavor of Diet Mountain Dew. Wait....I'm not trying to advertise for Amp, I am just illustrating my addiction to it!

This picture is an ode to my newest vise. The can was sitting on my desk aching to photographed. I do like the colors in this photo, and of course the can was soon empty after I captured this image.

Dog Days

So, the black and white dog, Gizmo, doesn't really care for the tan and white, Jake. On this day, however, they were as close as they had been up to this point. They were laying on the deck looking all lazy while watching from beneath the railing. I couldn't resist taking the photo, and adding some sort of saying. The only fitting thing I could think of was "Dog Days of Summer." Not very original I know, but I thought it was cute.

Night Visitor

I thought the title would capture your attention. It may have worked. :)

This little guy stopped in to see my wife and I the other night while we were out on our deck visiting with our neighbor. I had spent some time earlier in the day looking for bugs in the yard to photograph with no success. I was able to find a bunch of tiny spiders and ants, but the spiders were nearly translucent and not that interesting; ants just don't stay still long enough to photograph. This walking leaf, I think it's called, seemed to pose for me as I got very close to it for these photos. I think these are really neat insects, and I was happy he stayed long enough to capture these shots. It was night time, and I had lent out my speedlight, so I used my onboard flash, set my ISO to 200, shot it aperture priority mode with my aperture varying between 7.1-5.6 for a nice bokeh.

Random Shots

So, I got a new lens; I bought a 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 Macro. But, I'm not sure if I'm in love with it. Here are some random shots I have used to practice with the new lens. I think the focus points may be off slightly because it just doesn't seem that crisp where the photos are supposed to be crisp. I love the idea of having a macro lens, but am not sure I have the right one.

I Apologize

I am sorry I haven't been keeping up on my blog lately. I promise that I will do better. Summer has proven to be very hectic for my family and I; seems like we are always on the go. Here's a shot to hold you over though. This is a shot of a couple that have been married for 25 years, and they got married in this park, so I thought it would be fun to return to the park for a session before shooting their anniversary party. They are a great couple, and fantastic to work with. I don't think there is a nicer couple alive.

Alex's Senior Portraits

This was a really fun shoot, despite it feeling like 120 degrees. We found some really cool locations that I will be using in the future for some other sessions. Alex was very easy to work with. He has a natural quality that makes him really photogenic.