art.of.a.rock

Tag: photoshoot

Let Me Photograph Your Pet!$?

If you have a dog or cat, you know how much they are a part of the family and loved by all (in most cases). For an animal that is so close to the family, I think that they deserve to have a powerful and genuine photo presenting the animal in their best light to be displayed on a nice wall in the house. After all, the family pet brings comfort, company, and cuddles that are appreciated every day for the animal’s life.

After you read this post and see the photos (or have seen my past dog photos), I ask this of you:

If you think it would be a good idea for me to offer DOG and/or CAT Portraits to pet owners, give the post a like or even comment with your thoughts! OR message me

Currently on Instagram, there’s a “challenge” that is being held by a “hub” called @vtpixels. This account showcases the great photos that Vermonter photographers (and those just who just use a phone camera) take in their daily lives. The challenge is basically to get good photos of your dog! The hashtag for the challenge is “vtpixels_dogs,” so you just tag it and you are entered into the challenge.

For the past few days I’ve been taking photos here and there with the challenge in my mind. Today I was headed to my hometown for lunch and to grab a package, so I thought I would take Brixton out to run around for a bit.

I began my drive to the next town over, trying to think of a good place to take Brixton. I didn’t have a lot of time, consider there were 30 minutes until lunch. Driving along, I saw the Lamoille River to my left with the old rail bridge in view. I look at it just about every time I drive by, but this time I decided to pull over and check out the area.

To my surprise, there was a pathway of trampled grass that led down to the banks that I followed Brixton down. This part wasn’t very interesting, so we headed back up and followed the 50 foot long guardrail to turn right and go upriver. My hope was to get a good photo of the old rail bridge that crossed further up. Unfortunately from this side of the current, there wasn’t a good view of the bridge, so I shifted my focus onto what was nearby…

Brixton!

So it began, my attempting to get portraits of Brixton. Luckily he isn’t the most rambunctious dog, so If I’m still he will usually be still. I thought the long winter grass looked cool so I did my best to pair along with him, the sky and trees.

Not a bad shot of a sitting dog, but it’s boring. The scenery isn’t very interesting at this angle.

This is the same shot but he moved his head and his face doesn’t look as goofy. I decided to crop it close to his head and chest, because that is more of the focus. This one does show his eyes well considering the reflection of land and sky.

The next couple of shots are my favorites from the 20 minutes at the riverside.

December 3, 2017
Reflecting Trees of Snow, A Barnwood Pink Glow…

Savannah and I left the cold abandoned bus in hopes of warming up along the car ride. By the time we got back to the paved road, there was a long forgotten Christmas tree farm on a hill across the way. I turned onto this road, but we kept driving until we were ready to leave the car and start shooting again.

I passed slowly through a covered bridge, and ultimately decided to turn onto a rode we had both never been on before. It came to an end at a house with farmland. With our windows both rolled up to retain the warm air, two wide and stout shepherds greeted us. As I was turning around to go back from where we came, the barking dogs were an entertaining duo.

Once we came to the Christmas tree farm again, we decided it we were ready to walk into the tree darkened cover through the single wire fence. There was a wide and slightly lit passageway, so naturally we walked to it.

Savannah with her bedroom mirror in hand and fur vest mentioned reflecting the trees into the mirror like she’d seen before, so that’s what we attempted. I think it was a success!

Whenever you see a mirror, you’re looking in to it…

We also attempted a some from a distance, but I find that the mirror isn’t as effective this way, plus there is a snowflake overload!

With the temperatures still dropping and snow beginning to pick up, we left the overgrown tree columns and ventured back to my car parked on the snowy roadside. We then began to drive, discussing where we should go next. Our words led us to turn up a separate dirt road where a small barn lies abandoned. When we ultimately drove up to it, “No Trespassing” signs were posted.

It’s never a good idea to trespass… It can be tempting to do what a sign tells you not to do, but no good usually comes from it. Signs are made for a reason 😉

We kept driving up the road, trying to figure out what to do. Savannah mentions getting photos of her laying in the snow, so we are each scanning around to see any good spots as we drive past them. Nothing appears. We could go to the swimming hole, we thought next. I was getting ready to find a turn around spot, and up on the left comes an old brick farmhouse with a dilapidated red barn to it’s near right. I reverse and crank my wheel to make fresh tracks into the driveway hidden amongst the deep snow. This place has been abandoned all the times that I’ve ever gone past it. Additionally, there aren’t any “No Trespassing” signs present. We contemplated whether or not we should check it out. The ultimate conclusion was that, yes, it would be appropriate to check it out. I silenced my rumbling Subaru with key turn, and gathered my bag full of gear. We opened our doors and made way to the barn.

Walking toward the structure, I saw an opening in the sparse winter bushes that could be walked along to the barn. A substantial white capped log lies across the path. I climbed up and over and Savannah soon followed. As we got close, I scoped it out and found a crouched opening through a hole in the structure and around the corner. We entered the mess of this previous horse home and began looking around at the dated object scattered around us.

A calendar from 1970 and a telephone from who knows when… worth a few poses!

There was a separate room passed through a wide open rectangle and dropped down three feet. I hopped down and looked around. Definitely an interesting room, but I wasn’t going to have Savannah jump down… She wasn’t having that either, Too sketchy!

Instead, she stood in the rectangle, a slightly safer place to be inside this troubled barn.

Our presence in the barn also brought on some most helpful lighting…. =P

It wasn’t as cold in the barn, considering the wind wasn’t blowing, but soon after this, we agreed to call it quits. So we exited through the same hole that we came in. As we follow our bootprints back to the pathway and once again come to this log, I ask Savannah if she would sit so we could get a few last shots. I didn’t feel bad asking her sit on a snowy log considering she already mentioned laying in the snowy entirely.

She eagerly agreed, so I hopped over the log and had her face me so I could capture the wooded area and vague pathway that behind her.

At this point we were actually finished. Back into the car and into town we went. What a cool experience it was, going from location to location and figuring out everything along the way.

Comment! Which one is your favorite… Do you have any questions… What should I do next? Thanks for viewing, and thanks again to Savannah for being such a champ!

P.S… It was a light orb.

November 30, 2017
Snow Bus to Nowhere – With Savannah

First off, thank you Savannah!

On Monday around noon after spending the morning at Smugglers’ Notch, a winter photoshoot is on the agenda. I drive with Savannah to the first unplanned destination. After a few miles of driving, we turn left onto a snow covered dirt road. As we reach the end, I back into a wide part in the road to park. We gather our things, Savannah with her spare shoes, mirror, and glasses. Myself just with my camera gear. She knows we are going to an old school bus, but she can’t see it at first. It show it to her through the trees and falling snow in the distance. The scene is white… a bus painted white, snow covered logs, trees, mountains and sky. It’s just under 30 degrees, with the temperature dropping.

We enter the bus and immediately get excited at the opportunities around us. The bus is old and tattered, with no seats inside. Snow dustings are scattered about, and beginning to cover the shards of glass that are shattered throughout.

Since we are here, we are ready. It’s time to shoot some photos! We look around a bit and decide what to do first, and that is to go to the back of the bus, being careful not to make footprints. Savannah does a good job at this, but as I am shooting, I’m not paying attention and track up the floor. My bad… Hopefully this photo of the floor untouched can help forgive that.

Savannah hasn’t modeled in over a year, so there was a quick warm up. After several minutes, we both became very inspired with all that the bus had inside and out. At this point, I’d like to share the photos featuring Savannah.

Here are the shots. Make sure to view them all in full screen for full effect!

She wanted the candle, I wanted the broken glass. We got both, plus the snowy outside in this next shot!

Trying different angles, slowly working our way up the bus…

Part of the magic that comes with a photoshoot in a snowstorm. It helps when all of the windows are busted out! (DON’T DO IT)

It was definitely chilly for Savannah, having no jacket, though I’m sure the thick furry vest did some good. We both had to take breaks to warm our hands up again.

She was always good to get back into it!

Before we moved too far along, I wanted to get some photos from outside of the bus. This would offer a whole different perspective from the inside. My main thought was to go to the side of the bus, but before that was able to happen, I got caught up on the backside. It was such a good position!

After being at the back for awhile, I finally decided to make it around to the side.

I asked Savannah if she’d be able to bring her head out of the window and look back; she made it happen!

Lastly, a little slideshow of some images from the front of the bus, a candid, plus some other detail hand shots!

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While we were almost ready to go, Savannah found a small skull, so we decidedly started to take photos with it, At the same moment, I heard a loud beeping noise coming from the road. It was the sound of a vehicle backing up, so I was quite distracted. Unsure if my car was about to be towed or what, a few blurry pictures later, I decided I would run up and check it out. After trekking through up through the snow I found there to be a plow truck and a man with a sheet of paper. I found out (which was my suspicion before) that I wasn’t supposed to park there. It’s a turn around spot for large vehicles… snowplows and school busses. The dude was nice and handed me the note saying I’m not allowed to park there, and asked if I saw any deer, then went on his way. I’m just fortunate he was able to turn around. The long duration of the beeping tells me it wasn’t the easiest task.

Overall this was an awesome location, especially for being just a school bus in a field. We lucked out with the snow, as it made for a unique atmosphere. I was able to work with the falling snow to my advantage in certain shots, and I’m happy with the way they came out. Savannah was a awesome to work with, she was a champ in the cold!

This was only our first location; soon after she followed back to my car and I blasted the heat. We went on our way back down the snowy dirt road to find the next spur of the moment stop.

Follow the blog to stay caught up on the series! Also, any feedback is welcome; likes and shares are greatly appreciated as well! SPREAD THE ART!

November 29, 2017