Photo Friday: Minimalist

Happy Friday everyone!

I hope everyone has fared well through the storms and are looking forward to a nice weekend.

I was having a hard time picturing something that would work for this Photo Friday. I even went so far as to check what other people had submitted but unfortunately that only helped my showing me what I didn't think was an appropriate way to show minimalist.

Inevitably, I ended up flipping through my recent photos to see if there was anything that spoke to me. To my luck, there was. This was a photo I took back in January. We were on a walk in Umstead park with the dogs.

The more I look at this photo, the more I feel right about it. Interpret it as you like. The way I see it, is a man alone with his companions in nature. Without the busy, complicated infrastructure we create around us. This picture feels like a long deep exhale.

So, that's my interpretation. What do you picture when you think, minimalist?

I hope everyone has a nice weekend planned; this might be the last weekend without the threat of mosquitoes! I killed my first one yesterday. It's always down hill from the first mosquito killing.

Thanks for reading!

-Liz DiNatale

Celebrating James & Emily

Last weekend I participated in my brother and his fiancee's wedding shower in Greenville, NC. They held the event at a nice sports bar-type venue called CPW's. 

It was a fun event with the usual quirky games and present opening. And of course, the awesome prizes. 

Seriously awesome:

We played a game with clothespins on a string around our neck. You were given one clothespin when you arrived and lost your clothes pin if you were caught saying "James" or "Wedding". I lost my clothespin after about 30 seconds. I managed to steal a few other clothespins but would always end up losing them. Yep, I failed. 

 

On a better note, I met my brother's future mother-in-law. And now I know where Emily gets her sweetness.

After the gifts were opened and the party was drawing to a close, we gathered for a few serious group shots....completely serious. 

I love that I could simply say "Ok, now everyone try to lick Emily" and no one questioned me or even paused. Excellent job, ladies. Now for the serious photo. These are Emily's ladies, or at least most of them. They are all wonderful girls; I really enjoyed getting to know them. 

I also took the time at the shower to get to know a couple of James's guys. I'll be standing up there with them after all and I had no idea who most of them were. I think we'll all get along famously. The real test will be in Asheville in about two weeks. If we survive that we'll be golden. 

Gratuitous group shot:

I giggle every time I see this photo. I love everyone's expression, including those that aren't actually trying to be funny. 

Good times. If the wedding shower was this much fun, I'm very much looking forward to the wedding. I'm looking forward to stealing Emily away for some bridal portraits soon. Hopefully I'll be able to share a teaser from that session in the next few weeks. Stay tuned.  

Happy Easter Everyone!

-Liz DiNatale
www.oakcityphotographync.com

Photo Friday: Riding

I appreciate those who bother to check on these updates. I'm SO sorry I've been lazy about posting weekly. 

Thank you for sticking with me. 

The challenge for this week's Photo Friday was "Riding". I had so many awesome ideas in mind for this photo. I wanted to incorporate cycling but not in the typical way. I decided to show riding without actually showing any riding. What are the essentials for a good bike ride, besides the actual bike? The things that are essential to me are my bike shoes, my bike gloves, my helmet and water. One could argue that you could do without one or two of these things but to have a good, safe ride, you should have all of them. 

Then the question was, which style of riding do I show? Mountain or road? I decided to go with mountain. All the necessities are the same, the shoes are just knobbier. I chose mountain biking because it is my preferred type of cycling. 

Yeah, yeah, I got into cycling via road biking (and the MS150 to be exact) but my loverly then b/f (now husband) pushed and prodded and nagged and gingerly suggested I try mountain biking. Eventually I made a deal with him. He had to ease me into it by taking me on the Umstead bridle trails at least 3 times before going with me on the Crabtree Lake trails *by our selves* for my first time on "single track". I think I got two rides in Umstead in before he dragged me to a group ride at Beaver Dam near Oxford. Let me tell you, Beaver Dam ≠ Crabtree Lake. At that time, Beaver Dam was around 10-12 miles long, Crabtree was maybe 5. Beaver Dam has this section called "The Drop Zone", Crabtree....has an optional tricks section. I was doomed.

Luckily that not-so-ideal first try at single track didn't make me swear off mountain biking. After several repeat outings and eventually a new bike (holy crap my Santacruz Blur is my hero) I was good and hooked.

Road biking is fun and all and you can go way faster on a road bike (and typically way farther). But there's just something to playing in the woods that I've always enjoyed.

I think I've yammered on enough. Below is my submission to Photo Friday (though I actually missed the submission deadline).

Now I want to go ride my bike. 

This weekend I'll be attending my brothers wedding shower. I hope to sneak a few photos of the ridiculously happy couple and then maybe I'll share them with you all. 

Have a great weekend and thanks for reading!

-Liz DiNatale

www.oakcityphotographync.com

Photo Friday: Mother Nature

I apologize for my absence, the last few challenges haven't really been intriguing. I'll read them on Friday, and forget about them until the following Friday in which case it is too late to submit anything.

However, I was excited about this Photo Friday challenge. I love nature photography. It's definitely my favorite next to portrait photography. This week has been pretty dreary though, with no good days for photo opportunities. Plus with the crappy weather I just felt like *bleh* all week long. I'm so glad the sun has finally decided to show its face again!

The photo I'm using for this Friday's photo challenge is one I took while my husband and I were away on our honeymoon in Breckenridge, Colorado. I know I've talked about it before on here so I'll not go into much detail. This photo was taken on our way back from from the summit of Quandary Peak.

Those cool puffs of white are mountain goats! We came across a herd of them trying to cross from the lake side of the mountain to the...non lake side. I thought this was an appropriate photo for the challenge Mother Nature since it is actually a picture of a mother goat and her kid! Besides birds, random rodents and peoples dogs these were the only animals on the mountain. Shortly after taking this photo, they started walking towards us. We felt it was time to go then. 

Coming up for SOR, the weather is turning warm! I'm looking forward to some early summer photo shoots.

Thanks for reading!

-Liz DiNatale
www.oakcityphotographync.com