A mild moment of boredom....

 

I was sitting on the couch a few days ago watching something that probably wasn't that great because I really don't remember it.  I just remember that it was warm outside, the curtains were open, and that light was streaming in through the window.  The dog came down the hallway, and sat in his usual place on the back of the couch. He could not have set in a more prefect place.  I quietly got up, as I didn't want to disturb this.  I grabbed my camera, and this is what I got.  It's moments like this that I love to shoot, and times like this that I seem to do my "better shots".  This was great! And this is Tank!

 

 

 

Edited or Not?

 

 

After doing this photo shoot, I started to revert back to when I was in school and we were taught to shoot in RAW.  During that period I couldn't for the life of me figure out why anyone in their right mind would want to shoot this way.  It was just more simple to shoot in JPEG, run it through Photoshop, do some quick editing, and move on.  After reading several blogs and articles about how to get a better finished product with RAW, I'm starting to get back to it.  I seemingly find it better to work with now that I did several years ago.  My point here is that I happen to know several people that still shoot SOOC (Straight out of Camera), and are pleased with the results.  If you were a client of mine, which would you prefer?  I would also like to add that there are some great works that have came straight from the camera, and are placed in almost perfect lighting.  So if you are one of those photographers that gives their clients a CD of their images, do you include the unedited images as well? I personally perfer both.  I just like the fact that a subject can be placed in the perfect lighting, and still turn out a geat piece of work. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Katelyn

 

This little girl is quit possibly one of the most well behaved kids that I have ever photographed. 



 

 

Isabella

 

 

 

 

Bikes, Blues, and BBQ

 

This was my first year going to an event like this, and I must say that I am already getting pumped to go again next year.  If you ever have chance to go to Bikes, Blues, and BBQ I woud highly reccommend it. 
 

Bikes, Blues and BBQ

 

 

Bikes, Blues, and BBQ on Facebook

 

 

 



This is me for the first time at Bikes, Blues, &BBQ

 

 

 

 

 



The Magic Mushrooms

 

 

 

It was a lazy Sunday morning and I was letting the dog out.  You know those Sunday mornings when your sitting outside in the chair, cup of coffee in hand.  There was just a little bit of fog, but the temperature couldn't have been more perfect.  I noticed in the yard, where nothing ever grows, a small group of some rather large mushrooms.  After just a quick thought I returned to the patio with my camera and began shooting.  I began to think of when I was in college, and we were outside running around taking pictures of flowers, bees, and any sort of random object that we felt looked good behind the lens.  I must have taken thousands of pictures of flowers in school, each one just as boring as the last.  But to me mushrooms looked a little different.  Even though these types of photos are not something that I would shoot on a regular basis, I do like to branch out every once in awhile.  Just in case you are wondering I enjoying shooting most anything!   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a Really Neat Family!

 

 

 

 

Camping with Armadillos & Cheech

 

These few were taken as I was laying on the shoreline of Beaver Lake.  I was a great day just to sit there and enjoy the weather.  It wasn't too hot, or too cold.  It was just perfect.  I suppose it is times like this that I get my little spurts of inspiration.   Shortly after we headed back to the campsite to find that it was full of about ten armadillos.  No harm done to anything, but that was the first time that I had ever seen one up that close.  They just went about there own business digging little holes, and trying to bury themselves under the leaves.  Oh....and Cheech made his first appearance in the water.  I think he liked it.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Rewarding

It's a great feeling to be able to watch children grown up, especially as a photographer.  I photographed her mother's maternity pictures, and all the way up to these two current ones.  There are many parts about being a photographer that can be so rewarding. 

Branson, Missouri | Ride the Ducks

The first ten or so pictures I took down on Branson Landing.  If memory serves me right I believe that is Lake Taneycomo (please correct me if I am wrong).  After being there for a few days I just came to the conclusion that there is a great deal of water that flows through Branson, and depending on where you are it may have a different name.  At night they had a very pretty fire and water on the landing with music that lasted for about an hour or so.  I should also tell you that this was my very first time in Branson, and now that I live a little closer i plan on making more trips there in the future. 

-Every now and again I like to include some of the very helpful websites that I used-

http://www.bransontourismcenter.com

http://www.branson-missouri.com

https://maps.google.com

This is the hotel that we stayed in the time that we were there.  I really would recommend it; as it was reasonably close to everything that we did.  The only issue was the traffic, but I found out really quick that it is hard to avoid traffic in Branson. 

http://bransonstonecastle.com/

Also, right across the street from our Hotel was this great winery call Mount Pleasant Winery.  If you ever get the chance to go, I would highly recommend it. 

http://www.mountpleasant.com

After a great deal of consideration, I finally gave in to riding the ducks.  I was convinced that it was just a mere ride around town showing off some of Branson's better sites.  I stand corrected! Not only was it an informative ride, it gave some great pieces of history from WWII.  These are some of the pictures that I took along the way.  Not some of the greatest, but for me, it isn't really easy taking pictures from a moving vehicle. I guess I just haven't mastered that yet. 

The three photos above were taken as we drove across the Table Rock Dam.  The photos below I took while driving to the top of Bear Mountain.  I could be wrong about this, but I beleive that our tour guide informed us that riding the ducks was presently the only way to get to the top.  He also stated that if the temperature is anything over 100 degrees that the "ducks" wouldn't go on the mountain.  The heat is just to hard on the equipment.  It also makes for a more enjoyable ride if you go when the whether is cooler.

These next four photos are the view from the top of Bear Mountain looking down on Table Rock or Lake Taneycomo.  Depending on which way you are looking.  I'm really not sure which is which.  

This flag was at the very top of Bear Mountain.

These next photos are some of the war vehicles that you see on the way up the mountain.

These are where taken as we road out across the water.

...And going back across the dam.

And back to the finish! Great Ride!  I would highly recommemd it to anyone if given the chance.  I really is rather inexpensive as well. 

http://www.ridetheducks.com/home.aspx

Lastly we stopped off at the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery.  Again, pretty neat to see the process in action.

http://mdc.mo.gov/regions/southwest/shepherd-hills-fish-hatchery

This is quite possibly the longest blog that I have ever done, but I had a great time!  I would like to encourage anyone who has never been to Branson to give it a try.  I definitely plan on going back in the future. And a very patriotic place too!