Looking backwards

Reminiscing a bit...this little beach on the Indian River is part of a property on which I spent some of my younger days...many years ago my family had a restaurant/club with hotel rooms and a few cottages here.  Back in those days US 1 was the only route south on the east coast and this property is just off US 1  ...the restaurant and rooms attracted travelers and locals alike.  My cousin, who also lived here for a while, and I used to swim and fish off the beach and coral rocks and had the use of a little boat to cruise around in.  It's a coincidence that at this end of my journey through life I live very close to this place which is now a county park and have the chance to visit often and dream of days gone by. Back in those days there were colored spotlights at the base of many of the palm trees and the light would shine up to the fronds and color the trunks, I loved the way that looked...still do.  There are lights in the park now but it's just not the same.

New style

I'm not sure it's a new style, just a little different setup for our weekly photo sessions at the Humane Society.  Instead of setting up lights, backdrops and props I shot this week's photos in available light in the room with no props or backdrops...just the bare room. I rather like the way the photos came out and, except for possibly holidays, plan to continue this setup for a while. It sure is a lot easier for me...no setup, teardown, lugging equipment, etc...   And I think they will look better on the Humane Society's web page without the clutter of props.  I'll just have to wait and see if there is any feedback.  Here are a few samples.

This week's Portrait

I think this little doggie's name is Gilligan...well, one of the dogs we photographed this week had that name and I'm pretty sure it was this cutie. The picture never made it to the Humane Society's website because he got adopted before the photo session was finished. The cute little ones seem to get adopted fast while some of the really sweet older, larger dogs spend more time at the facility.

Portraits

A couple of new portraits from recent photo sessions. Boxers are so regal looking and the other guy...well...Mr. Personality. 

Negitave Space

I was asked to photograph a cat for the cover of a local Humane Society publication, the photo had to be in the vertical orientation to fit the format of the magazine.    I took a number of shots and submitted them to the publisher and while they liked the photos they thought there was too much negative space (empty space) in the photos.  Personally I like negative space but I was doing the job for them, not for me. They did decide on one of the photos in the end and I may do more work for them in the future but I will have to be careful with my compositions.  This is one of the photos from the session, I'm pretty sure they won't be using this one not just because of all the empty space but I also cut of the end of the kittens' tail. Sorry kitty.