A Fresh Start

It has been a hectic last three years.  But now that I finally feel settled in South Florida it's time for an update.  I have been working full time at a puppy boutique which provides me the opportunity to photograph our wiggly little bears on an almost daily basis.  These little guys give me such joy and I love going to work every day because of them [and my work family of course].  We have another move coming up this summer, the purchase of our first home together but now that South Florida is my home I can focus more on photography.

The Painted Veil

I couldn't sleep one night so I decided to take a few photos of the sunrise.  Instead of lugging my camera out to the lake I brought my cell phone instead.  It has an eight mega pixel camera on  my MyTouch 4g slide [one of the main reasons why I bought it] and I was very happy with how these photos turned out.

The below shot it my favorite out of this set.  It felt as if this sunrise was specifically for me after having such a rough night.

Of course a camera rarely does a sunrise justice I felt that these were as close to shooting with a 50mm as possible [comparable to what the human eye sees.]  Enjoy!

Calypso

You know when you have this awesome gift and you just can't wait to give it to that person?  Eitan's [my boyfriend of 2 1/2 years] birthday was the first week of December and although we didn't get to spend the exact day together I had a heck of a birthday celebration planned for him.  I ended up telling almost everyone what it was, but it was not nearly as satisfying as giving it to him.

We had to leave early in the morning and Eitan is not a morning person at all.  I kept telling him it would include breakfast but he still complained the whole way there.  Even when we arrived and he saw the sign he still had no clue where we were.  At the front desk he still wasn't understanding what Discovery Cove was.  When I explained to him that we would be swimming with dolphins he actually got excited [or as excited as Eitan gets].

Although it was a bit chilly out we stuck to the warmer waterways until it was time for our dolphin swim.  The water was freezing and I slipped more than once.  I know that I enjoyed myself greatly and it seemed to me that Eitan had a wonderful time.  The smaller dolphin we were kissing and hugging was Hurley [like from Lost] and the larger dolphin who pulled us around was Capricorn.  I think we could have stayed in that pool all day.

Obviously the below photos I did not take, but I could not resist posting the photos of the dolphin swim.  I also really liked the photo of Eitan throwing the fish into Hurley's mouth; perfect action shot.

Typical Eitan always acting like a goob.  He told me, "That is the fastest I have ever gone in the water."

The dolphin swim was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I was so glad that Eitan enjoyed it.  After the dolphin swim we snacked and drank a bit before going snorkeling at the reef.  I kept pestering Eitan to get into the water but when he finally jumped in I was to cold to do it myself.  When I finally joined him we tolled around for a bit although the masks kept filling with water.  Deciding we were sick of being cold we went back to the warmer waterways and stayed there until we got hungry enough to get lunch.  After we spent some time in the aviary so I and Eitan could get some decent photos of the park and the birds.

There was one particular part of the aviary where this one particular species of bird would land on you.  It was scary at first [I am not a bird person] but once you got used to it it was actually fun.  There was once bird in particular that landed on Eitan's shoulder and got very comfortable.  The trainers told us his name was Sheldon [like from the Big Bang Theory.  Our second television celebrity of the day].  He refused to move and ended up falling asleep right there!

I wanted nothing more than to take little Sheldon home with us.  The only bird I have ever liked.

This photo below is my favorite shot of the day.  It was actually taken with my cell phone which is a MyTouch 4g Slide.  It does have an eight mega pixel camera built in which is one of the main reasons why I bought the phone.  I was using the macro setting on the phone which is why you can see all the little details of his feathers.  I absolutely love this photo because of all the little details and how sweet it was that he found it comfortable enough to take a nap there. 

The landscape of the park was absolutely beautiful.  All of the tropical plants and the way that the sun filtered through the trees made everything feel like you were at a resort.

This last photo is my favorite landscape shot of the day.  I loved all of the beautiful flowers around the park and near the blue water it was a shot too sweet to pass up.  I love the foreground being shady and cool while the background is warm and inviting.  I could have spent all day sitting right there.

The day ended after our second visit to the aviary.  We didn't even stay the whole time the park was open which was the plan.  We were both exhausted and Eitan fell asleep in the car on the way home which tells me he had a good time.  

Little Talks

At my parent's house there is a large family portrait that hangs over the mantle.  I was nine years old and we were in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Mom and dad thought it would be funny for us to dress up in Union clothing at one of those goofy photo shops.  That is the only professional family portrait we have ever done.  Needless to say, it was time for another family portrait. When Eitan was in town for Thanksgiving weekend we took a quick trip to the beach and set up the shoot.

We set up the camera and tripod and mom put everyone in the perfect positions when these people stopped right in front of where we were shooting.  Needless to say we were pretty bummed since we had chosen a spot with no people for a reason.  Luke stands up and yells "Hey, can you move?!"

They got out of the way but it was pretty funny that they had miles of beach and chose to stop right there.  We all got a good laugh at it and were able to take a wonderful new family photo.

I personally prefer the previous photo because our smiles are genuine and Luke and Matt were making us laugh.  But unfortunately mom got cropped off a bit.  So the second photo wins for our official family photo. 

When I was getting mom and dad set up for the next couple of shots I was looking through the lens and felt a presence behind me.  Thinking it was my brother or Eitan I looked up but surprisingly it was the guy who had  gotten in the shot.  No one had noticed him creep up behind me; it scared me a bit too.  He asked what we were doing and my dad being a smarty said with great dignity, "No autographs until after the shoot, sir."  He asked if it was for a magazine or company or anything  but we explained it was just a quick family photo shoot.  Eitan said we probably looked like a cult.

I am not entirely sure what was said in the above photo but this is my favorite shot of my parents.  This may be my favorite photo out of the shoot.  I am so pleased with the grass that we found to use in the photos.  The way it crops out the ocean a bit makes you focus on everyone a bit more.  It was the perfect setting.  But the location isn't all that makes this my favorite.  When I can catch genuine smiles those pictures usually turn out the best.

I don't know what I would do if I didn't have my brothers.  Matt recently went to Florida Atlantic University for college and it had been lonely without him.  Luke is a funny guy but get them together and they feed off of one another.  Some of my fondest memories are of family dinners where my stomach hurts from laughing so hard.  Going through these photos as I was editing them I was laughing all over again.

They started goofing around and decided to replicate the pose I had mom and dad do.

The photo before the photo is always my favorite shot this is the true display of their relationship.

And then dad started goofing around; they don't get their sense of humor just from him though.

Mom decided to jump into the photo, "Hold me!"  Matt was quickly getting tired of the shoot.

I was only able to get one good photo of Eitan and I and it wasn't a posed one.  He makes me laugh so much and I am so thankful for him.

We experimented with shadows per request of my mom.

Luke was getting pretty sick of the taking photos too.

As we came to an end I was able to get more wonderful shots of my parents as they walked hand in hand down the beach.

After we were done we headed over to Beef O'Bradys like the Irish family we are and sat down to a hearty brunch.  Although we had to sacrifice a bit of sleep to go and do this it was worth it.  Not only did we get some great photos but we also got to spend some much needed time together.  I love my family and sweet boyfriend and would not trade a single individual for the world.  I am so incredibly pleased with how the photos turned out and couldn't have asked for a better location.  Until next time!