I thought we'd see what all the HDR fuss was about...

I've never been a huge fan of HDR because a lot of images out there seem so cartoony and fake, but I thought it would be fun to try it out.  I only bracketed 1 stop in either direction for these shots.  Next time I will probably try 2 stops but I think these turned out pretty sweet after some tweaking.

Gerard picked the location and it was perfect...I couldn't have chosen a better spot.

These were taken at the Charleston Marina.  I'd love to do an fun couple or engagement shoot here...

weekend

We checked out the Caribbean festival downtown for a minute on Saturday.  They had Reggae and Red Stripe and it was right on the water.  It was a really small event and the air was full of smoke from wildfires in GA (? I think), but we had fun exploring the marsh, finding crabs and people watching.  Later parked at the Charleston Battery and walked to Blind Tiger and had some drinks and nachos on their awesome patio.  I pretty much love walking around downtown with the boy.  And what weekend photo reel would be complete without a picture of Ajax's enormous head?

another picture of my favorite pupper

I love him

natural light portraits

A few months ago I helped out with a natural light portraiture class put on by the Charleston Center for Photography. I got to use Lastolite tri-grip reflectors and diffusers and they were awesome!  I'm actually trying to decide which ones I want to order for myself.  Personally I thought the 30 inch 1 stop diffuser was the easiest for solo use, but the 48 inch would be better for shooting more than two people if you had an assistant or arm to hold it for you.

We also used some inexpensive white poster (or panel?) board as a reflector and it worked perfectly.  We all learned some neat tricks on how to shoot in less than desirable outdoor lighting conditions.  Here are some shots I took.

Happy Birthday Jaxsters

One of my loves is having a birthday today!  Gerard's pup, Ajax, turns the big 3 today.  He is probably the coolest dog on the planet and I'm so glad he won't notice that we're not celebrating until tomorrow.  This post is dedicated to the most photogenic, adorable, slobbery, smelly, tennis-ball-loving, howling, loyal fuzz ball I know.  Happy Birthday Sir.  We sure do love you.

 this was in iphone photo hahaha

hampton park

Some pictures from Memorial Day.  We took Ajax to Hampton Park downtown.  He enjoyed watching the ducks and chasing his tennis ball.  I know I'm biased but I totally have the most handsome boyfriend and dog pair that a girl could ask for.  Just sayin'.