A (little) Spring in Our Step

There were moderately (I say this conservatively) spring-like temperatures this past weekend, so we were able to get out for a bit in Cattus Island State Park. I have been DYING (dying, dying, dying) to test out my new 100mm Macro f/2.8L on bugs so I was REALLY (really, really, really) hoping that we were finally going to see some signs of life. With the exception of a couple ants, my macro pickings have been limited to plant life, household objects, and my extremely uncooperative schnauzer. I’ve gotten to use the lens for bling shots of my brides/brides to be (which it’s awesome for, and I love the bling!) – but I was really hoping for some creepy crawlies.

I was in a little luck, and was able to spy a caterpillar on our walk. It was kind of windy, so holding his branch steady without freaking him out was difficult, but I got a couple of snaps. I also took a few other shots. Check out these snaps from our ‘nature walk’. There are only a few, because it really wasn’t that exciting.
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This is How We Roll

I am sorry for the lack of posts! Lots has been going on with our business (check out the site if you haven’t already, www.deepsixphotography.com – and ‘Like’ us on Facebook!!).

Here is a behind the scenes look at what was going on when I got some shots the other night!

The main goal of the evening was me wanting to catch a cow-nosed ray. I suspected it would be easy to do this, since they are visible in the waves from shore right now (you can see them kind of surfing the break). I pretty much figured the second that I tossed my bait into the water, I would have one on the line. I wanted to be the girl fighting the huge fish on the beach while all the bennies watched.

Unfortunately, the rays weren’t picking up what I was putting down, and I instead decided to venture off and get some photos.

It was great, and I was getting some nice shots.

Here’s what our set-up looked like. Ray was staying pretty still, so I figured I’d try to sneak some HDR in and do something a little different.

That is pretty much our set-up. Camera bag, orange bucket, and two poles. It was such a gorgeous night, and the colors of the sky were so beautiful.

As I was photographing, I kept looking at my pole. There was nothing doing.

All of the sudden, I heard the tell-tale squeal of Ray’s drag, and it was fish on. I actually took a video of him reeling it in. It is not the best quality video (and I apologize for strange camera angles) – but you’ll get the idea. I’m going to try to embed it here:

Long story short – when he was done, he pulled in this cute little bugger:

Yes, they have stingers. I was a little nervous this thing would pull a Steve Irwin and stab Ray through the heart, but luckily nobody was injured, and this ray swims free.

Here’s just one more quickie. I made Ray cooperate for this:

Before We Were Famous

So I was exaggerating. We are not famous now. However, if you are looking at comparative fame from 4 years ago, we are doing awesome.

I’ve noticed lately, that my computer has been insanely bogged down. My CS5 is running at a really glacial pace, which is slowing down photo editing something awful. I’ve been working on a nice watermark to slap all over our photos, but I was barely able to create a text box in under 3 minutes. I realized that the sheer mass of photographic excellence on this computer’s hard drive might be the culprit. There are easily close to 10,000 photos on my desktop, if not more than that. While I do love each and every one, it was time to do some deleting.

Here are some photos from before we really started doing photography seriously, and some from the very beginning.

I used this shot in our promos up until very recently. It is stupidly simple, but I’ve always loved it. It was taken early in our game, but it still makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

One of my all-time favorite shots. Ray and I went crabbing and caught 1 crab. We had him in the bucket for a bit with a cutting board and knife. When I went to check on him, the crab had picked up the knife and was waving it around. Really. Just goes to show you: New Jersey crabs are badass and carry knives.

I rarely go see sunrise. I typically run in the mornings, so I wake up for work at around 5:30. The last thing I want to do on the weekend is drag myself to the beach before sunrise – that’s Ray’s thing. Luckily, the couple of times I’ve done it – I have been richly rewarded. This sunrise was simple – but my timing could not have been better with that bird.

Each year I obsess over what I term ‘the running of the duckings’ which is when the ever-present Canadian geese have their babies. I consistently go on the hunt to obtain photos of the cute little balls of fluff.

There are many more favorite old shots – but these were the ones I stumbled upon early. Hope you enjoyed!

It’s a Zoo in There.

I’ve done quite a bit of animal shooting lately. I usually count wildlife photography as one of my specialties, but find zoos and pets difficult. Any animals worth shooting at a zoo are in a cage. It can be difficult to do magic tricks with the bars to make them disappear. Pets are another story. My own hates to be photographed, and I have little to no practice feeling out the rhythm of other people’s pets unless they are incredibly well behaved.

I had the opportunity to do a teeny impromptu shoot with some very special puppies. Here are my faves from the bunch.

How handsome is Jetzon?

These guys were incredibly fast.

Then, I went to the zoo. Here’s a favorite:

I know. Not exactly a glamour shot. But you have to admit that this guy was working for the popcorn.