More Fun with Boots

I had a fun week of shooting with my combat boots. It was very enjoyable playing with them. I like the contrast of the colors with the look of the black and white feel. I need to take a break from shooting boots for a bit. I would like to come back to it again in a week or so.

My Beautiful Old Boots

I was setting up some still life shoots the other day and had an itch to pull out my old combat boots. I haven't worn them in years, but just can't get rid of them either. I love these boots. I love the way they look and the way I fell when I wear them. So, I dusted them off and had a great time shooting them. This is one of the most dramatic of the photos. I ended up shooting like 150 photos of my boots over 2 different nights. Thank heavens for digital and no film costs! I incorporated some flowers in the second night. I'm still working on editing those and will share when I narrow it down to the one or two that I absolutely love. Anyway, back to this photo. I love the contrast in it and how you can "feel" how worn and loved these boots are. The original still life shots weren't nearly as exciting and haven't really gotten more than a look or two from me. Maybe I'll share them at a later time . . . and maybe not.

Playing with light

Earlier this week, I got to have a fun time with my niece and different dramatic lighting. I really like these pics! We had a great time working on them. We played with using one light source and then bouncing that light into the shadowed side of her face. I didn't want to lose the dramatic lighting, so I kept the light very bright and dramatic on the left side of her face. A big thanks to my niece for being so fun that night - and very cooperative. I look forward to shooting some more pics with her.

I have been working on some fun still life images. Those should be ready to be shared pretty soon. Keep checking back for more . . .

Flash: Friend or Foe

I've always stayed away from flash. It is not my friend. I don't like how it blasts everything and makes your subject look less than natural and not very flattering. Instead, I have preferred to use natural lighting. I shoot almost everything in daylight, or shade whenever available in the sunny Southwest. Mostly, I like to shoot out and about, what I see when I am out (buildings, signs, etc.) but there comes a time when you need to shoot humans too (in a posed, controlled situation), or animals, and sometimes the lighting is less than ideal. I have done okay in these situations and have continued to stay away from flash.

Just recently, I have learned about rear-curtain sync. I way to show motion using flash. I couldn't wait to give it a try. On my particular camera, it was not very user friendly. I spent 2 days trying to get it to sync right and to produce the results that I wanted. Honestly, it was rather frustrating. Then, when I had all but given up, I decided to give it one more try. And to use the words of a photographer teacher, I used my "photographer's karma" to make it work. Isn't it funny how sometimes you just have to remove all the thinking and just go with the process? Well, that is when I finally got some results. I will not share with you all the trials of this process, but here is the one photograph I am very pleased with. My dogs were play-fighting in the backyard and that is when I finally got this technique to work.

Cards for sale & more to come

Well, today started another new venture for me. I have opened my "store" at etsy.com. To view click here http://www.melzdezines.etsy.com. For now, I have a few Christmas Cards listed. Soon, I hope to be listing more hand-stamped items - some for holidays and everyday, in addition to some photographic work. Any feedback would be great.

Now, this was fun

I just learned a new technique called painting with flash. This was so much fun to do. I've been looking around my house trying to find other items I want to try this out on. I hope you enjoy them! I know I had a great time making them.