Call for Local Models

Good morning.  I apologize that I won't be posting any images this morning but I will be adding some comments and writing a bit about improving my photography skills.  As you can see from the title, I'm looking for some local models.

My tastes in photography haven't changed but I'm looking to improve my skills with lighting and shooting people.  I really enjoy viewing high quality photos of people and want to create my own.  So here I am asking for models to volunteer some time in exchange for images they can have for personal use.  And it's not specifically folks from the modeling profession that I want.... I'm more interested in the average citizen who has a little free time and would like to receive some attractive images in exchange.

The ideal person would be a middle aged woman who doesn't have the perfect blemish free skin.  It doesn't matter if she's plump or thin, ugly or drop dead beautiful.... just an ordinary person who is down to earth and easy to work with.  I'm not going to wait for the "ideal" woman to respond so any female who is age 18 and above is welcome to contact me.  I have no interest in photographing children at this point.  Presently, I'm going to focus on headshots and perhaps later, move along to full body images that involve some fashion posing and different styles of clothing.

Some may ask why I'm excluding males from this lesson?  There are a couple reasons and I'll share them with you.  I enjoy shooting beautiful things so eye pleasing females definitely fit that requirement.  Women, in general, are more interested in being photographed than the male.  I did advertise once (online) for any gender but it resulted in several vulgar queries from gay males who were more interested in having "their junk" photographed.  I'm not going to waste my time filtering out the perverts who respond.  Perhaps though, in the future, I can find a few males who would like a traditional and conservative photo shoot.

If you.... or if you know someone who is interested, lives in my local area, please contact me.  I'd love to get started.  All comments and questions are welcome.  Thanks.

When strays become family members

I am shameful for not posting enough here.  Time flies so quickly when you're involved in projects that update your property or pay the bills.  I'm sure that you can understand that.  Today, I'm going to share a quick story about a new addition to our household.

About four weeks back, we had a lost (stray) cat show up in our garage.  Well, he wasn't so much of a stray because last November, he showed up here then.  At that time, we kept him for a week while searching for his owners and then luckily, we found them.  This same cat (who is about one year old now) came back five months later.  We called the owners and they came to take their pet home.... but then a week later, they called to ask if we'd take him.  He's beautiful, healthy, and affectionate so we agreed.  After three weeks though, we're regretting that decision because he persistently picks on our older cat.... he just doesn't know when to let up and then a fight begins.  Unfortunately, we're going to find a good home and give him away.  In the meantime though, we still enjoy his affection and playfulness.  I'm posting photos to show this beautiful animal..... these images are available at my online gallery.  His name is PeeTee.

Click to view at my online gallery

Click to view at my online gallery

If you are local to me and know of a good home, please contact me.  If you have comments, please leave them below... you're very welcome to browse and shop at my gallery.  Thanks for coming by.

When ugly becomes beautiful

One of the reasons that I love fine art photography is that I can literally experiment with hue, contrast, and excessive sharpening to "make" that photo.  Ansel Adams is famous for that quote and it's so true... we don't simply document views but create something that is eye catching.  Recently, I came across an area where the lake water had gone down and the tree line had such obvious storm damage.  The look was somewhat dismal until the late afternoon sun popped through and everything changed.  When I began processing the RAW images, I could easily make some adjustments to make the images appealing.  Let me share a couple with you.

From my Flora Latentes Series - BW image reminding the viewer of an apocalypse

From my Flora Latentes Series - A color solarized version of the apocalypse

From my Flora Latentes Series - Beautiful skies, exquisite detail in the mud, dormant trees with splatters of warm color

Our landscape in Oklahoma can be pretty rugged and I'm pleased to create some beauty from that dormant ruggedness.  These images and others are available at my online gallery.  To view these and others at my online gallery, click here!  All comments and questions are very welcome.  Thanks for coming by.