Trust Your Gut....Don't Miss That Photo!

On my way to work Saturday morning, I saw the sun rising over a bridge in a local park just off of the highway and thought it would be a nice photo. I almost kept driving, but I had some extra time so I thought, "What the heck!" and pulled into the park. It was foggy and the sun was giving everything a nice, warm glow. I went into "Landscape Photographer" mode and starting grabbing some shots of the beautiful scene unfolding before me. So far so good!

Within a couple minutes of showing up, some beautiful ducks starting swimming over to some nearby trees and decided to hang out so I could make their portraits. Then, a few moments later, Canadian Geese starting flying in to join the party. Within about 10 minutes I went from Landscape Photographer to Wildlife Photographer! All with my Canon "Nifty Fifty" lens on the Canon 80D camera body. 

So far, nothing out of the ordinary........but then the magic happened! Over the bridge came a young man with a skateboard, followed by what I'm guessing was his family. The young man's name was Victor and he was more than happy to let me take photos of him performing some awesome tricks! I then switched into....."Action Sports Portrait Photographer" mode?(Is that a thing?!) And all of this happened within about 20 minutes. All because I didn't say "I'll come back later." 

The moral of this story is, if your gut is telling you to stop and take the photo....STOP AND TAKE THE PHOTO! You never know what you will see or who you will meet that will change your day, or even your life. 

Christmas Fun with Nick, Natalie and the Pups!!!

Last week, I got the chance to take portraits of my good friend Nick, his girlfriend Natalie, and their adorable pups, Indy and Maggie. It was my first indoor portrait shoot and let me tell you...it was an adventure! I had a great time and learned a ton! Here are just a couple of my favorites!

First Snow and First Tilt Shift

Last night was the first snow of the winter! Expecting heavy traffic, I left my house earlier than usual. To my surprise, traffic was not bad at all. I got to work early, so why not walk around in the 20 degree weather and try out the Canon 24mm tilt shift lens that I borrowed form work....right? Besides losing feeling in my fingers, it was really fun using the tilt shift lens. Here are a few of my favorites from this morning's frigid stroll through the downtown neighborhood!

Lunch Break

Since I've started working Downtown Indianapolis, I frequently walk around at lunch and take a few pictures. Recently I was testing out the Panasonic 35-100 f2.8 on my Panasonic G7. I was really pleased with the results. It's extremely sharp, with nice bokeh when shot wide open. 

I also decided to use NIK software, including Silver Efex Pro and Analog Efex Pro, to edit the photos. It's a little change of pace for me, but sometimes I just like to mix it up. I really enjoyed shooting with the 35-100 and would certainly recommend it. 

Here are my favorites:

Walking the Dog with a Fisheye!

So I recently took home a Fisheye lens from work and couldn't wait to test it out. I was a little bummed because it was raining, but I didn't let that stop me. I decided to snap a couple shots of Cajun while we were out on our evening walk. 

I can't wait to use this lens tomorrow durning Thanksgiving festivities for some close up fun!

Here are a couple of pics from my walk with Cajun tonight.