My Facebook Cover for week of January 23, 2011

I know I am a bit tardy in posting the “Best of” for 2011.  After all, it is almost the end of January.  Most photographers put up their “Best of” a week into the new year.  Not me.  Always behind the curve.  It took me a long time to decide what I wanted to say with my slideshow.  I wanted to start pulling out all the photos that I would enter into a print competition, but my mouse kept clicking on the ones that were emotional to me.  So…I went with my gut.

Some of these photos I have entered into competitions.  Some have even won a First, Second or Third.  I am humbled and honored by those awards because I have competed against some very fine photographers.  But the bulk of these photos are not the most technically correct nor have the best composition nor the most fantastic bokeh.  Nor do they take your breath away.  Some are even a bit blurry.  But I love each and every one and I remember the exact moment that the shutter was clicked and why I took the photo.

So here they are.  I hope you enjoy.

2011:  The Photographer’s Favorites

PPS.  I would really like to embed this slideshow on my blog, but I apparently don’t have the Ninja Skills that it takes to figure it out.  So, I’ve included a link (above). But because hope springs eternal, I’m leaving the embed code below just in case it decides to magically work later on.

<iframe src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/35422794?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0″ width=”398″ height=”224″ frameborder=”0″ webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>

PPS.  Don’t try to figure out the meaning of my Facebook Cover (above).  I just love to design with scrapbook elements and I love Lori Davison’s (scrapbook graphics) work.

Edmond Attacks the Santas

I was just beginning to think that Edmond had been fairly good since his last adventure.  I figured “Cookie”, his girlfriend, was a good influence on him.  He had made a beautiful Christmas card and he was keeping a low profile.  Unfortunately, I was wrong.   This morning, as I rounded the corner the above scene greeted me!  What?

Shock and Awe

I have developed a little Santa Collection over the years and I put them by the front door to greet any visitors that may come by at Christmas time.  Apparently, Edmond decided he would have a little fun with these Santas.  He dragged a bag of mini-marshmallows into the entry and began pelting the unsuspecting Santas.  Several of them fell over out of shock.  The rest were in awe of what the little elf was capable of. I guess he figured he was already in the “Naughty” category, so he might as well go all the way.  No sooner had I shooed him away so that I could clean up the carnage (no Santas were hurt during the filming of this post), when I heard the candy jar top being unscrewed.

I hurried into the other room, and discovered this:

Edmond Pop

I need to apologize to the men in my life because I had accused them of eating all the candy when all along it was this little imp.  The bad thing is that he wasn’t the least bit remorseful.  In fact, he was rather proud of his accomplishment and offered me first lick.

Edmond put in his thumb and pulled out a pop

I didn’t think that was a good idea, so I told him that I was on a diet.  He looked a little hurt, so I assured him that it was the thought that counted.  Probably the whole candy thing was a ruse because just as I was beginning to relax a bit, he was off on his real mission:  to challenge the Angel Christmas Tree Topper.

Edmond Challenges the Angel

Luckily, she’s not quite as sweet and gentle as she looks.  She put the potential coup down in one quick lightning bolt aimed just past the little elf to teach him not to fool with her.  I was a little surprised because I had never seen that side of her before. (Note to self:  Don’t tick off the Angels.)

I think that whole episode scared a little bit of sense into Edmond because he hurried away and hid.  Unfortunately, he’s not very good at hiding.  I found him  in the basket of Santa hats with his hands covering his eyes.  I guess he figures that if he can’t see me, I can’t see him. I pretended like I didn’t see him so he would stay there for a while waiting for me to find him.  Every time I walk by the basket I hear giggling.  I’m sure he will figure it out soon enough and then I will have my hands full.  But, for the time being I’ll let him think I’m still looking for him.

Edmond "hides" in the Santa Hats

PS. you may be wondering why I have a basket of Santa hats.  When you visit my house at Christmas time, we always invite you to get into the spirit and wear a Santa Hat.  You would be surprised at how wearing a Santa Hat can brighten your day and make others feel good too.  Joy! to the World Christ the Savior is born.

If you would like a mini portrait shoot, contact me at schmautzhaus@sbcglobal.net.  I’ll make sure I leave Edmond at home.

I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph a little boy’s first day of preschool.  His mother shyly asked me if I could document this important day in both of their lives.  How could I turn her down?  It never even crossed my mind.

We met at a park about 1/2 hour before he was due at school so I could get a couple of shots before the excitement took over.  It was cold and foggy but I knew the story I wanted to tell.  He excitedly got out of the car and began walking to the park with his backpack.  It was the perfect picture of a little boy going off to school for the first time.  So…snap!

Then I had him get up on some of the jungle gym equipment so that I could get some head shots.  It was too cold and wet to play on the jungle gym, happily for his mom, but it made for some interesting effects in the photos.  The background virtually disappears in the fog leaving only his face showing all the excitement of his new adventure.

We left the park and headed out to the school.  He was incredibly excited to see the playground at the school.

As we walked up to the school and just before we walked through the doorway, he showed a little apprehension about the whole school thing.

But, he was a trooper and never cried nor said he wasn’t going to go through with the whole thing.  He got inside and saw that the rooms were bright, cheery and toy filled.

He found this toy camera and began to take pictures of me.  Heh.

When it was time for mom to say goodbye, he looked a little concerned, but he “manned up” and let his mom walk out the door without him.  I think mom had a harder time than he did.  But his mom told me that when she picked him up later on…he loved it and can’t wait to go back.

What a supreme honor to be part of this next stage of their lives.

Now I am not a high fashion (or even low fashion) photographer, by any stretch of the imagination.  I am more of an old fashioned photographer, so the above photo is the kind of photo I like to take.  This gal had never modeled before, but she had the kind of fresh face and refreshingly innocent personality that really came out in her photos. I liked this model very much for her innocent qualities and she was a joy to work with

These next two gals had some modeling experience under their belts and we really didn’t have to tell them how to pose. Again, these gals were incredibly cooperative and very professional.  I learned a lot from their posing techniques. They did all the work, and i just made sure I had the proper exposure (which much to my horror, I found that I ruined many shots because I did not check my exposure enough…

Okay, so this is my attempt at high fashion photography. This beautiful gal came out in this outfit and I was put in charge of a small group of photographers, finding a location for her and helping the other photographers photograph her.  Luckily she was experienced with modeling and knew the best way to show off her outfit.  I spied this metal corrugated building and thought it would go well with her outfit.  She did the rest.  Although I prefer the softer look on my models, this was a fun exercise for me to be able to do a little edgier shot.  (The male photographers were all clamoring to get her photograph.)

My next post will have the shots with the beautiful black corvette and some of the models.

This workshop was lots of fun and Mark Behrens is already talking about his next workshop, which will probably be held in early November in Placer County.