Thirty Days of Thanksgiving - Day 3

Today I am thankful for:

• An awesome dentist - she and her staff take such good care of me!
• Stumbling on to an opportunity to do something I haven't done since high school - play handbells!! I don't know if it'll pan out, but I'm excited about the possibility!
• Parents who are always there for me

Critters!

One of the most unique (and unexpectedly enjoyable) photo shoot workshops I attended at the California Photo Festival was the Critters! class with Jennifer Wu and Dennis Sheridan's Critters. In general I'm not a fan of creepy crawly things but I had a blast photographing lizards and frogs! I kept my distance from the spiders and scorpions, though.

Here are a few of my favorites - I loved capturing each critter's personality and the detail in their eyes. It was fascinating!

This guy was my buddy - his eyes followed me around the room. Aren't his colors & details awesome?

Ornate Horned Frog

Sonoran Desert Toad

These frogs were hilarious - so Kermit!

Aren't they fun?!

I was fortunate to be able to borrow a 60mm Macro lens for this shoot. I learned that I'm not really afraid of lizards and frogs. For many of these shots I was in their faces - literally inches away from them. I surprised myself!

Initially I wasn't keen on going to this shoot - between the creepy crawly's and not having a macro lens I didn't think I'd have much fun, but between borrowing a lens and getting to interact with the lizards & froggies, I had a blast!

Finally, don't forget that Thirty Days of Thanksgiving starts in two short days! Get ready to count your blessings!

Cayucos at Sunset

My first photo shoot during the California Photo Festival was at the Cayucos Pier at sunset with Juan Pons and Rob Sheppard.  I already shared one of my photos from this shoot last week, but I have a few more that I love and thought you might like to see.

Cayucos Pier with the Morro Rock in the distance

Cayucos Pier with the Morro Bay Smoke Stacks in the distance

I had more fun the darker it got - the colors intensified, the silhouettes became more defined, and the slower shutter speeds allowed for a lovely smooth water effect. I could have stayed well past dark, but I had a dinner to get to with Rick Sammon. Shooting with pros, dining with pros, I learned so much and had a blast!

Limitless

Digital photography presents limitless options in creating art. When I shoot a photo I often have a vision of what I want for the final image.  However, as I move through my post-processing workflow my vision evolves. Sometimes I end up with two, three, or even more versions of a single photo.

This is where I find myself this morning - with two versions of the same photo from my Horses on the Beach shoot at the California Photo Festival. I would like to know what you, my readers, think.

Color or Black & White?

Which do you prefer & why? Cast you vote in the comments or on Facebook!

Horses on the Beach

On of my favorite photo shoots of the California Photo Festival was Horses on the Beach.  Imagine 200+ photographers lined up on the Morro Bay Strand photographing at sunset as horses gallop by. It was stunning!

I was honored to be in a group where I received instruction from Rick Sammon, Hal Schmitt, Parish Kohanim, & Juan Pons - a truly amazing lineup of instructors! Perhaps with such great teachers its no surprise that I had a hard time narrowing down 611 frames and deciding which ones to share here.

So, what do you think? Do you have a favorite? Let me know in the comments! :)

Wild Things

Last weekend we braved the heat and crowds to visit the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (previously known as the Wild Animal Park) with my hubbie's parents. It had been several years since my last visit and much has changed. We had a lot of fun exploring and watching the animals - they have so much personality!

This week's Photo of the Week (hosted by Jessica Rogers Photography) is from the Safari Park.

Do you like my Zebra socks?

A couple more fun shots from that day:

Sleepy Kitty

This Lion has the right idea - it was a hot & humid day and I would have curled up in the shade for a nap, too, if I could have!

Mmmmmm.....tree :)

I had no idea that Giraffes had black tongues!

I will definitely head back to the Safari Park when the weather cools. There is more to see that we didn't get to. We took off early afternoon - I'd had enough of the heat and it was getting too crowded for my taste, but that is what we get for going on a holiday weekend. At least we had the sense to get there when they opened!

Wine Tasting in Paso Robles

Not long ago I had the pleasure of going wine tasting with my cousin, her husband, and my mom at Justin Winery in Paso Robles.  I took several photos that day, but its taken me a bit of time to to get around to editing & sharing.

Today's Photo of the Week (a feature hosted by Jessica Rogers Photography) was taken in the wine caves at Justin:

In the Cave

A few other shots from that day:

And two of my favorites:

That is Dexter - my cousin's Pekingese puppy.  He likes wine :)

Have a wonderful weekend!