Archive for June, 2011

  |  
June 19, 2011

Taking a Moment to Enjoy the Sunset at Pike Lake

The other night I went hiking at the Pike Lake, in Hartford, which is part of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. It was a beautiful night, about 72 degrees, with minimal mosquitos. I began my walk at my regular brisk pace, and then I slowed down, looked around, and took in all of the beauty that was surrounding me. Once in while, we need to stop what we’re doing, take a deep breath, and look around — look up and out to see the sunset, and look down to see the small details – the wildflowers, the prairie grass, and fallen feathers — take a moment to fill all of your senses.


Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

June 14, 2011

A Tale of Two Lambs

My husband, Tom, and I don’t have children of our own, but we absolutely adore children. Tom is like a walking jungle gym, as soon as the kids see him, they immediately start wrestling with him. We love to spend time with our nieces and nephews, our friend’s children, and especially the neighbor kids, E., 11, and N., 8. I was laid off over a year ago, so I took the opportunity to be their nanny last summer, and I got them off to school every morning this past school year. So we’ve grown quite close, we’re almost like family — we’ve kind of adopted them as our own. They stop over any time throughout the day, they know where the candy jar is, and they help themselves — they’re our refrigerator friends. In case you haven’t heard the term before, a refrigerator friend is someone that’s so close to you, and so comfortable in your home, that they walk through the front door, open the fridge, and help themselves to food and drink. E. and N. are that close and comfortable. 

A couple months ago, E. and N. adopted two lambs to show at the fair for 4-H. They’re so excited about their new pets, that they invited me to the farm to meet Chuck and Sarah.

Mom and dad thought it would be a good idea for these city kids to find out what farm living is like — on a small scale, but they get a taste of it.  So, they rented a stall at a farm not too far from home; the kids will take care of the lambs all summer, show them in August, and then the lambs get auctioned off to the slaughter house. I saw the lambs once, and I’m already attached. Even though E. and N. understand what’s going to happen, it’s still going to be heartbreaking for everyone. I’m going to have to have some extra hugs ready for E. and N.






The kids have excellent work ethic out at the farm — they practice walking the lambs, shovel up the dirty pine shavings from the stall, add new shavings, and sweep the barn, all without being asked – this is way more work than unloading the dishwasher or walking to school (only four blocks away), in which when I ask them to do either, I simultaneously hear, “Tiiiinnnnaaaaa.” I guess shoveling poo is more fun :)

Always remember to capture the setting. I have a combination of zoomed in close up shots, as well as zoomed out environmental shots. The close up shots invoke emotion. The zoomed out shots create the setting. It’s nice to have both to really capture the essence of the day.
Notice that in all of these photos, the kids aren’t looking at the camera. I’m in the background, capturing their day with the lambs. If I would have had them pose, the photos alone wouldn’t tell the story. Always remember, to stay in the moment, but step back and let things happen, then snap the shutter.
To capture these photos, going from the bright sunshine, to the darkness of the barn, I had to be quick in “tuning my guitar,” as Me Ra Koh puts it. I left my aperture at f2.8 the whole time, and I changed my ISO and the shutter speed, when going from light to dark. The low aperture allowed me to blur the background (beyond the fence), when outside in the bright light; and when I was inside the barn, in low light, the low f-stop allowed more light to reach the image sensor, so I could use a faster shutter speed. When I was outside I set my ISO at 200, with my shutter speed at 1/800. When I was inside the barn, I quickly changed my ISO to 5000 (so I didn’t need to use my flash), and my shutter speed to 1/160, so I could stop motion — as the kids were on the go.


Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

June 11, 2011

After the Rain

No scribbles today…just pix…enjoy!

To view more images from this collection, please visit the Galleries section on my website: http://www.TinaLeAnnPhotography.com

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

June 7, 2011

What to Wear for Your Next Photo Shoot

The Hareng family and I met at the Lakefront Brewery in downtown Milwaukee last Saturday. Dressed in various shades of blue, and mom in white, they really stood out against the neutral colors of cream city brick, beige and gray. Even though it was hot, hot, hot…they were up for anything! We scaled the hill up to the pedestrian bridge, sat atop a brick column by the river, snuck into a stairwell at the back of the building, and climbed on the concrete and steel beams in the parking lot. We had a lot of laughs — and I captured many memorable moments. It’s shoots like this that make me happy I changed careers!

Tips on selecting an outfit for your next photo shoot:

1. Know your shoot location/scenery beforehand — dress to stand out, not blend in.


2. Adults – wear bold, solid colors, leave the prints to the children. 

3. Don’t dress your whole family in the same outfit – wear colors that compliment one another. If your son is wearing blue plaid shorts, wear a solid color top and bottom that match, or compliment, the colors in the plaid (same with polka dots and stripes).

4. Choose a color that suits your skin tone. For rosy skin tones — wear cool colors, such as blue. For apricot skin tones — wear warm colors, like brown, orange or yellow. If you have pale skin, stay away from white tops — they’ll often make you look “washed-out” (it worked on Mrs. H., above, because she has a nice tan). Black looks good on almost everyone, but may get lost in the background. 

5. Denim, sweaters, lace, wool, or linen fabrics, not only look great, but they add texture to the photo — wear them. Knit hats and sweaters, look especially good on babies and children in photos.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

  |  
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.