Photo Friday: Sky High

I didn't actually participate in this weeks competition. The only photo I could think of using was one I already had of Masi and I'm trying to not always submit photos of my dogs now, but I thought maybe you all would enjoy seeing it anyways!

If I had thought of it I should have brought my camera to the concert I went to on Wednesday. It was the Slightly Stoopid show with Cypress Hill and Collie Buddz, and the tour was called Legalize it 2010. What do you think they meant? In any case, the crowd, the majority at least, was...sky high. If you breathed deep enough you'd probably have been as well. The most memorable parts about the crowd, besides the plums of smoke surrounding us, was this incredibly intoxicated, glistening, overweight man who nearly took out our entire row and this stoner in front of me who I nearly backhanded for trying to untie a girls dress as she walked by him. I'm thinking box seats next time. 

Allow me to get back to the point of this post - the photo challenge. The photo I wanted to submit is one I've had around for a couple years. I call it, Stoner Masi...you'll see why in a minute....

I get a giggle whenever I see this photo. 

We're only a couple weeks away from my bridal portraits with Chrissy. I'm really looking forward to the experience, it will be a lot of fun. Other than that, I'll keep posting my weekly Photo Fridays!

As always, thanks for reading!

Liz DiNatale

www.oakcityphotographync.com

Photo Friday: Summer Fun

I had the perfect opportunity to capture some real summertime fun for this challenge. And yes, I actually did it! My friend Kate and I visiting my S-Mom at my parent's beach house on the weekend of July 10th and it proved to be the perfect setting for some summertime fun!

It was a spectacular weekend of gabbing, food, drinking and more gabbing. We did some very important research for the upcoming bachelorete weekend. I also managed to make pretty good headway on my terrible bike tanlines, Yay!

But I digress. For this Photo Friday submission, I thought a picture of something pertaining to the beach would be perfect! What is the first thing you think of when you think of the summer? The Beach! Thus, I came up with my submission...

Carolina Beach was never my favorite beach (that would be Oak Island) but it is certainly growing on me. There is so much more to do there than one originally realizes. So much history! Besides the Fort that's just down the road, you have old time staples like Britt's Donut's that's been there since the 30's! We discovered a very tasty Mexican restaurant on the boardwalk too! I still think that the shining beacon of fun would have to be the Fat Pelican. I love that place. I'd stay there forever if they only served food. ::sigh::  The one thing Carolina Beach is lacking as far as I can tell is an excellent hole in the wall seafood place. So for that, we took the ferry over to Southport and ate at Fishy Fishy. Terrible name...awesome food! Mmmm....ok now I want to go back.

Ah the summer sure is fun...but I'll be honest. I really miss Spring and Fall.

Thanks for reading!

-Liz DiNatale
www.oakcityphotographync.com

Photo Friday: Bloom

Yay! I can take a picture of any bloomin' thing! Blooming Cantaloupe, Squash, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Daisies um...pretty tree thing that's blooming (I still have no idea what it's called) - so many options! And I wasn't lazy this time! I faced the heat and snapped a few bloomin' photos! *pats self on back*

I really should have been taking photos all spring and summer long. I've had all sorts of random things blooming. 

What's your favorite bloom? Mine would definitely have to be Bleeding Hearts. There is something so beautifully sad and dramatic about them. The plant is so picky, but the blossoms are so worth it. After Bleeding Hearts, I'd say Magnolia tree blossoms because they smell so incredible. That was one of my favorite times at NC State - when the Magnolia trees would blossom. They are all over campus, and they are HUGE. But lucky for me and my shortness, they have low hanging branches, so I could pick a blossom and carry is with me for the day. I remember one day I came home with a blossom and shoved it in Steven's face and said "Here, smell! Yummy!" at which point he began sneezing...allergies...forgot about those...whoops. 

Back to the point at hand. So I'm walking around my sweltering back yard yesterday, taking photos of the bloomin' things. Those consist of the Cantaloupe, Squash, Cucumbers, Daisies and the blooming tree thing. This year we replaced the random lava rock stone thing behind the house with a Daisy garden. For about 2 months it looks like huge weeds but then it exploded with blossoms and now it's completely taking over that area. Good thing they're annuals. The photo I chose was from the Daisy garden. I was able to sneak a couple photos of a bee in action! I've always wanted one of those shots!

He kinda looks like he's dancing doesn't he. Don't forget to VOTE! Votes are only taken until Sunday! 

Shades of Red news...Unfortunately I won't be doing a photo shoot of my parents this weekend. Communication got lost somewhere and the Army decided to steal my Dad for the weekend. Lame. So unless we book a new client before my bridal portraits (August), you'll have to be satisfied with my ramblings about bees and blossoms and other Photo Friday topics. I hope that's alright, if not, feel free to book a photo shoot. ;-) 

Everyone stay cool in the hot hot hot weather! I'm off to the beach!

Thanks for reading!

-Liz DiNatale

www.oakcityphotographync.com

July 2nd Photo Friday: Motionless

I skipped last week's post. The Photo Challenge was "Standing out" and I had no clue or motivation. I didn't want to let anyone down two weeks in a row though, so, I made it happen for this Photo Friday challenge. I was still lazy/not motivated so I used a photo I had taken previously. I think it fits the challenge pretty well though!

Here is my Motionless:

As you can see from the photo, Masi is intend on staring at...nothing. There's not anything out there but leaves. But OH, she's gonna get it! When I see this photo, I think of Elmer Fudd "ssshhh, be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits!" I can guarantee you Masi wasn't moving a muscle when I took this photo, she was very motionless, obsession will do that to you.

I need to stop using old photos of my dogs for this challenge. That's just lazy of me. The next challenge word is Blooming! Which is perfect considering I have several blooming things.

Recent news for Shades of Red, we shipped off our photos of the pups! The "Endo-Bendo" package may only say 100 photos, but they definitely got more around 160. Oh well, those pups were just too photogenic I guess. You can check them all out here: Shades of Red Photography - Best Friends. Next up, I'm finishing up the edits on Leslie and Jesse's wedding and have started posting the photos to the website, but they are the only ones with a password for now. Once I am finished, I will e-mail the location and password to everyone who signed up at the wedding. Next weekend I am doing a photo shoot for my S-Mom and Dad at Carolina Beach. This is a belated Mother and Fathers day gift. I'm very excited! I'm planning on getting some fantastic photos of them on their new toys...er..motorcycles. Lastly (for now) in August, Chrissy will be doing my Bridal Portraits! YAY!

I think that's it for now. Don't forget to vote HERE, my number is 303.

Thanks for reading!

Liz DiNatale

www.oakcityphotographync.com

June 11th Photo Friday: Heavy

When I first began visualizing this challenge, I pictured something in nature, like a water droplet about to fall off a leaf because its weight had exceeded waters' surface tension properties. Or a big fat ripe tomato pulling the tomato plant down by its weight. Something to that effect. 

However, as the week went on, I noticed that my cat's new favorite place to lay was smooshed in between the free-weights (that are sitting idle) in our living room. I couldn't pass this up. It was too cute. I had an image in my head of her saying, "These weights are too Heavy for me, so I'll just lay next to them". She's a lazy kitty, so this makes sense that she would say that. If she could talk. Also, I think if she could talk she'd probably yell at me for constantly bringing new dogs home that think she's an interesting, interactive, toy. Sorry, Sweety. Actually...now that I'm looking at the photo and the expression in her face...I think that's exactly what she's saying.What do you think?

I feel like her gaze is scolding me.*shudder* So this is my Photo Friday: Heavy submission. Please don't forget to VOTE. I know I always do! Yep, I forget to vote for myself even. Winning is kind of unlikely I think. 

Chrissy and I have been hard at working processing and editing our recent photo shoot's  photos. I think we'll end up with about 160 photos for them. It has been tough narrowing it down to only a few photos. Those pups were so photogenic. 

We've decided to keep with tradition and showcase a few of our favorites in a "teaser-photo" blog post. With out further ado, I give you Austin:

 

Ok, join with me...AAAAaaaaAaAAWWWWWW. I nearly stole this puppy. No I don't need a puppy, but...but...oh he was so cute. 

He had a case of the "I wants" he wanted to eat my lens, my ring, my hair...and both of these balls. 

The other pups were impressively patient with him. 

Well...generally speaking I suppose. 

That brings us to the next cute little fuzzball, Andre. I asked the owners if he was named after Andre the Giant, since his personality fit that perfectly. We are told he spends his days perched on the bench at the front of the house keeping an eye on the neighborhood.

We asked Jason and Tina their favorites parts of each dog so we could be sure to focus or at least capture those features. Austin, they didn't have a clear answer, he's just a big ball of cute. Ava, her cute brown nose! Andre, his smile, as they put it. Andre smiles with all his teeth...

I don't mean to play favorites but if I had to pick one, I'd have to say Ava. She was so beautiful. I'm a softy for Dobermans, and especially the lighter ones. Believe it or not, Jason and Tina actually adopted Ava from the shelter. I like this photo that Chrissy took. It really captures her regal personality.

She is a gorgeous example of a dog.

I've always felt that the soul of a dog can be seen through their eyes. Her eyes made me melt. 

These 3 were quite the pack. We loved working with them and with Jason and Tina. We hope to be able to photograph them again. 

Thank you, Jason and Tina for the opportunity to get to know your pups, it was a real pleasure! 

-Liz DiNatale

www.oakcityphotographync.com

June 4th Photo Friday!

ACK! I haven't posted in 2 weeks...Sorry. Though,  honestly, I have NO idea who I'm apologizing to. Does anyone actually read this? Haha.

Just in case I do have a few followers, I appologize for not posting for the last couple weeks. One week was the Burn Race weekend and the next we escaped to the beach! I had no time to post! Enough excuses though.

June 4ths Photo Friday challenge word was Aqua. Perfect! I went to the beach that weekend. What? I actually had to take a photo of the blue, blue water? Oh, well, never mind. Lucky for me a week or so ago, we took the dogs to the park and I took my camera. I love getting photos of the dogs when they're swimming. They are so happy then. I really think they were meant to be ducks.

Here is my challenge photo for this weeks Photo Friday.

Dog shaking-off-to-dry photos are the best! What's particularly awesome about this photo in my opinion is that Masi is this wet, because she actually swam! Yeah, I know she's been swimming since last year. But it took me 3 years and some very wet shorts to teach her how to swim! and now she does it on her own! without further encouragement! If you knew Masi when we first got her, you'd be as excited about this as I am. Good girl, Masi.

While I didn't submit this for my challenge photo, this is my new favorite photo of Rhea.

It just makes me wanna smoosh her wet face in my arms and kiss her.

On another note. Shades of Red Photography had a photo session this week! We had the pleasure of meeting Ava (Doberman), Andre (Schipperke and Chihuahua mix) and Austin (puppy Weimaraner). I have a fondness for Dobermans, I think they are so regal and beautiful. Ava was such a gentle, patient girl. And Austin...lets just say he was exactly what I needed for my puppy fix. He LOVED the cameras and when I say that, I mean he loved to chew on them. Their people, Jason and Tina were great to work with and they have some of the nicest pups. We should have a few photos ready for a teaser post in the next week, so tune back to see those!

One last note. To all those waiting on Jesse and Leslie's photos. I have about 250 more photos to edit/process until they will be available online. I'm hoping to have them done by the end of the month!

Thanks for reading, don't forget to VOTE for my photo and have a great weekend!

-Liz DiNatale
www.shadeofredphotography.com

Jesse & Leslie say "I Do" and Photo Friday: Symbols

I, Liz, come from a small town in Upstate NY called, Volney. Volney is rural county with rolling hills and farmland; it is pretty secluded. Without many neighbors of my own age, I mainly played with my older brother, James since I was also home schooled. Poor kid, he put up with a lot. Then one year my Aunt and Uncle moved to Volney and stayed on my grandparents farm, which was next door, while they found themselves a new home. Their children were about the same age as my siblings and I. Their youngest boy, Jesse, was only a couple months older than me. During the time that they lived there I spent almost every waking "play" hour with my cousins, especially Jesse.

I lived in Volney from when I was around 5 till I was 12. My back yard was about 240 combined acres between my grandparents and great grandparents land. I remember so many trips in the woods with my cousins. Jesse, do you remember the "Iron Wood" walking sticks? Or swimming in the beaver pond? Or finding that strangely serene meadow before continuing into the "deep woods".

Fast forward 12 years, Jesse took the plunge on May 6th and brought a new, lovely woman into our family. I had the pleasure of providing the photography of their nuptials as my gift to them. Their wedding came with a bit of a struggle. First their reserved wedding site was flooded with 5 ft of water from the rains in Kentucky. Then the chair rentals fell through. Then we lost the wedding music! But true to form, they pulled through admirably. In the end, Jesse and Leslie accomplished what they intended - they were married.

Leslie was such a beautiful bride.

And not an ounce of bridezilla in her! The first time she met me was the day before the wedding and she welcomed me with a smile and light, sarcastic, banter - my kinda girl. Even with everything that went on, she held her composure and even joked about it. Bravo, Leslie.

The ceremony was short and sweet; Jesse and Leslie stood in front of a lovely waterfall with their close friends and family. Leslie's dress was a gorgeous champagne color with a chapel train that had a lovely french bustle for the reception. After the ceremony, it was picture time! I had to have some fun with the groom and the groomsmen ( I've known most of them since I was 5). I love non-traditional poses. They always make people laugh and genuinely smile. One of my favorites for the groom and his groomsmen is the "Captain" pose.

I stole in on an intimate moment between Leslie and Jesse and captured this. I feel like their eyes are saying "finally!" They are so good together.

I think this photos says, "Finally!" for very different reasons. ;-)

Someone once told me that it appears that I find it hard to post a photo shoot without including a picture of a dog. Maybe they're right. Meet Gage, their Husky. What a cuddle bug! He was such a well behaved dog, and so sweet. Jesse and Leslie requested he be in a few of the wedding photos - this is my favorite.

I know this is a lot of "teasers" but I couldn't help myself. I was so happy to be a part of their special day and to be able to capture their love and commitment to each other. I'll leave you with one last photo. This is also the photo I used for May14th Photo Friday challenge: Symbols. I think the image speaks for itself.

Congratulations Leslie & Jesse! Welcome to the family Leslie, I think you'll fit right in. Thank you two for letting me a part of your day and I can't wait to give you the remainder of your photos!

For those who would like an e-mail notification of when Jesse and Leslie's photos will be available online, please e-mail me at oakcityphotographync@gmail.com.

As always, thanks for reading!

-Liz DiNatale
www.oakcityphotographync.com