Raptors

Editing of my raptor shoot is now complete!  It sure takes a lot longer to process images when I only have nap times to work, but that's ok!  I had a great shoot last weekend and got a ton of shots.  I only wish it had been a bit overcast so that I didn't get such harsh shadows.  Overall, lots of fun though!  I think the barn owls are my favourite:)  To me they always look like they're smiling! 

I use my ol' Nikkor 75-300mm lens when I'm shooting birds.  It's an old push/pull lens but it does the trick and is sharper than my newer Sigma lens of the same focal length (which I have now sold because I never used it).  If I had the money I would definitely buy a nice big, fast lens, but for now I'll make due with what I have.

Here are some of the shots, feel free to let me know what you think!

If you want to see the rest please go to my site: http://emilymacdonald.weebly.com/raptors.html

Raptor Shoot

I had a wonderful raptor shoot yesterday so I will upload the pics once I have them processed!  Have I mentioned how much I love birds of prey?!?!  They are so majestic!  And, my camera loves them too heehee!

P.S.  The whale from the previous post sadly died of starvation:(

Grey Whale

A grey whale washed up on shore out in Sooke over the past weekend, so of course I had to go take a look. It's not very often, if at all, you get the chance to get up and close with one of these giants.  It was sad to see one dead, especially one so young, but it was a great learning experience.  There's still some discussion between the biologists as to what caused the juvenile male's death, but one of the more prominent theories is that he was attacked by orcas.  He has big parallel gashes on his body that are the calling signs of orca bites.  Although I can't help but wonder why they didn't finish the job?  Apparently there was a grey whale spotted in the area over the past 12 days...my guess is that he was sick, but obviously I'm no expert.

There were lots of kids out there looking at him.  Two school busses over the couple of hours I was there and tons of parents with children.  If my daughter was in school, I would have pulled her out to go there.  It was really neat seeing the baleen close up and all the barnacles on his body.  I heard some kids say his skin felt like plastic, but I didn't touch him.


It was hard to get any good shots since it was so busy down there, but here are some of the ones I did get:

Cards Galore

I have started making cards!  I've had a blast making them and think that they've turned out quite well :)  I can make any of the images on my site into a greeting card for you (they are blank inside).  They are $3.50 each, but I will give you a discount if you order 6 or more.   Perfect for any occasion!

http://emilymacdonald.weebly.com

Storyboards and Panos

I've been making storyboards and panos for a little while now and wanted to let everyone know that you can order them from my site.  Basically, I can make any of the photos on my site into a storyboard like the ones below.  You would just have to tell me which three pictures you want used and how big you want the print.  I can even do custom sizes, the price would be based on whatever the longest side is, (for example if you wanted a 6x18 inch it would be the same price as a 12x18 inch print).

I can add text, or your favourite saying, like this one (which is 8x18 inches):

Or I can add a bordered effect like this (6x18 inches):

I could even do a combination of the two if you preferred.

Another option would be to take a landscape photo and turn it into a pano.  Again, I could do a custom size if you have a specific area to be filled.  Here's an example (6x18 inches):

Whatever you need, I can do!  (Well, almost everything LOL!)  Don't hesitate to ask :)

Orca vs Shark

This doesn't have anything to do with photography but it does have something to do with nature so I thought I would post this link. This is an amazing video of an Orca taking on a Great White Shark! Not only am I a huge animal lover, but I'm completely fascinated by new, previously unknown, behaviour...and, this one is a doozy!  Check it out:

Orca vs Shark Video

Baby Jakub

I did a photo shoot of little Jakub a few days ago for my best friend and her husband.  He is 4 months old tomorrow and so handsome!  He did really well being my mini model and only got tired of the lime light near the end.  I shot over 100 frames and now have it narrowed down to about 50 that I think (I hope) his parents will like:)  Compared to my toddler, he sure was easy to shoot.  I vaguely remember the days of being able to plunk my daughter down and not have her move anywhere.  Now I have to chase her around with one eye looking through my camera while the other eye scans for objects I might bash into LOL!  Anyhoo, I thought I'd share my fav pics of sweet Jakub:

Playing Around in CS3

Yet another crazy weather day.  Snow, then rain, now sun...winter isn't going out without a fight that's for sure!  During my break today and yesterday (a.k.a. my daughter's nap time) I did some editing in good ol' CS3.  I figure what I know about Photoshop so far probably barely scratches the surface of what the program can actually offer, so I'd better get to know it better.  I goofed around with some actions (yes, again...I just can't help myself they're so much fun!) and also played around with layers a bit.  Here are the results:

I should also mention that I love doing doggy portraits, so much so that I would give you a significant discount if you let me practise on your pooch!  Send me an email if you're interested :)

Rainy Days

I was supposed to do a family portrait shoot for some good friends of mine this past weekend, but unfortunately it didn't go as planned.  The location, Fort Rodd Hill, was great and there were lots of picturesque spots (especially down by the lighthouse), but the weather did not cooperate!  It was spitting when we arrived and continued to get worse and worse the more we wandered around.  By the time we  packed it in it was pouring rain.  So, needless to say, I got very few good shots.  In fact there were only a hand full that were half decent, a few of which I will share with you now.

This is beautiful Isla, my friends' sweet daughter!  She is an awesome little girl and a bundle of energy.  I don't think she stopped running the whole time we were there and didn't seem bothered by the rain at all.  I actually had a hard time getting shots of her because she was running so quickly LOL! (Note the different edits in the photos below.  I've started playing around with photoshop actions and have recently found a few new ones that I really like!)

I can't wait to get together with them again soon and do a proper shoot :)

Since the weather has been so hit and miss lately, I've been practicing on my daughter, Isabelle, a lot indoors.  I've always been a hard core natural light only photographer, but have decided to learn to use a flash due to not only the poor lighting in our house but also to enable me to be more versatile in the conditions where I can shoot.  I'm still getting the hang of it, and haven't yet figured out all the technical stuff, but have had fun playing around with it.  Here are some shots I did of my daughter recently (I just had to dress her up and take some pics heehee).

Again, I would love your feedback so please leave a comment and let me know what you think :)

Winner!

Keri won the special discount deal! Woot, way to go! She, by the way, is a fantastic wedding photographer. I had the pleasure of working with her on a shoot last summer and we had such a great time together and her photos were AMAZING!!! If you're wanting some portraits, think of her, I guarantee you'll love her photos!!

http://www.kericoles.com