State Fair Continued
I’d like to share some more images from my time at this years State Fair. This collections focuses on the people, the expressions and the animals. Enjoy!
State Fair 2022
Fall is my favorite time of the year, and each year I look forward to attending the State Fair.
I love the sights, the sounds, the smells. All of the different people interacting, having fun. The lights, the rides, the colors. It’s really a beautiful experience. It’s also a literal playground for photographers.
With that being said, I’d like to share a few moments from my trip to this year’s fair.
Enjoy!
Food Festivities Part 2: Black & White
Black & white photos taken a few months ago while out and about.
Too Hot To Be Out?
I’d like to share a few photos that I captured last weekend. Due to the excessive heat I only ventured out for a little while, and the city was basically a ghost town anyway. The few people that were out were all near the water trying to cool off. I wasn’t able to shoot very much for very long before I could no longer stand the heat, but below are a couple of shots that I thought were cool. Better luck next time I guess? This is the time of year when shooting can be tricky due to the amount of heat and humidity, especially in the areas of this country that are prone to higher temperatures such as the south. You really have to pick and choose when to come outside. More often than not when the sun starts to go down, effectively giving you much less time for actual shooting. It truly makes me look forward to fall and winter! That tends to be the time of year when I shoot at a much higher volume.
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!
(Click on each image for a larger view)
Spring River-fest In Color
The downtown River-fest is one of my favorite local events. I absolutely love food trucks and I’m happy that this city has decided to embrace the growing food truck culture. I’ll admit though, it is very overwhelming for me with all of the wonderful sights and smells everywhere! I’m always so tempted to try all of the different foods on display that I sometimes forget to photograph it. It’s also very difficult to take pictures and eat at the same time, but somehow I still manage to multitask! 😉
Here are a few color selections of the people, pets, and food from this beautiful day posted in chronological order.
(Click each image for a larger view)
Park Dwellers
I see these little guys every time I go out to the park so I try to capture a few shots of them each time. It’s actually a lot harder than it seems because they’re so fast zipping around constantly. It’s a fun challenge to try and freeze them in motion or get in close enough once they’ve settled down. The last time that I ventured off into the park I took lots of shots of just the squirrels, but here are a few that I happen to enjoy.
Las Vegas Aquarium Part #1
I’d like to share with you some of the beautiful and exotic looking sea life I experienced while at The Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. I hadn’t been to an aquarium in years! I use to love to go to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago as a child. Going as an adult and photographer was a much different experience because, I was finally able to capture images of all the interesting sights that I can now keep forever. This was a very lovely facility full of enthusiastic people and I hope that I get the chance to go back very soon. My favorite exhibit was the color changing jellyfish. They were so strange, yet so beautiful to watch. If you’re ever in Las Vegas I highly recommend taking your family to check out this very cool exhibition.
(Please click on each image for a larger view)
Enjoying Ourselves
A couple out walking their big beautiful dogs, enjoying the weather as well as each other’s company.
Enjoying Fall & Nature
Fall is finally here and I couldn’t be happier! To exercise my excitement I went out to the big park over the weekend and shot in nature for several peaceful hours. While shooting the colors, textures and details of mother nature I came across quite a few of these little guys below. I didn’t plan on capturing images of them but, there were so many of them running around and doing interesting things I figured why not try to shoot a few pics of them? Honestly, there were far too many squirrels to shoot, so I decided to just focus on 2 that were closest to me. Trying to shoot these fast moving animals proved to be quite the fun challenge. Instead of trying to shoot a bunch of motion I waited until they settled down a bit and capture more still images. I’m not sure, but I think it might be matting season? If not, then the male was very frisky! He chased the female around endlessly and tried his best to get her in the “mood” In the end all of his advances were denied and he finally gave up. I couldn’t help but feel his pain…we’ve all been there, right?! 😉 Here are a few of the shots I thought were cool, and I will be posting more of my nature images in the coming days as soon as I sort them all out.
Same Area Different Results Part #1
Whitewater, Downtown Columbus
My sign is Cancer, a water sign, so I love water. I especially love the sound of water. Unfortunately I can’t swim in it but I can’t deny the calming effects water has on me. I’m also from a “Windy City” so I enjoy wind as well. One thing I feel I never have enough of living in Georgia is a consistent cool breeze. So whenever I’m feeling low or need a break I usually go downtown near the water. There I can get my fix of both wind and water with the added bonus of meeting new people that I can also photograph.
Normally I don’t like to shoot in the same places over and over again because I get bored with repetition very easily. I’m the type of person that needs to explore and find something new to do with myself constantly in order to truly feel challenged. But, there is value in shooting in the same areas repeatedly because, the same areas can yield totally different results on different days, or in some cases different results during different times of the day. The photos that I will be sharing over the next few weeks will represent this theory of shooting in the same area at random times and days to see what the resulting images will be.
Here is part #1
(As always, please click on the photos for a larger view)
Searching For Food
This mother and her ducklings were out searching for food so I convinced my son to purchase some of the food they have in the machine to feed them. They all rushed over and gobbled it down immediately! I wish that I would have recorded their reaction because it was quite funny. I told my kids that this picture reminds me of them when they’re hungry and looking for food! 🙂
Spring Is Here!
The weather has started to warm up and I like most people have been out enjoying it. I spent last weekend with my family at the local marina meeting new people and watching all the families playing in the sun. One of the more fun moments of that outing was when the families, and more specifically the children were feeding the birds. For some it was their first time both feeding and being so close to all the different birds. The reactions were priceless! One particular moment stood out, and that’s what I’ve decided to shared today. A very friendly and energetic grandmother was teaching her equally excited granddaughter how to feed the ducks. It was a touching site to just watch the two of them interact with one another. As a photographer I live to capture these moments but, as a person I live to experience them as well.
October Fair 2014
It’s that time of the year again already! Fall means the county fair, and I love going! I try to take my kids every time it’s in town and this past weekend we were able to go once again. The weather was nice and we had a really good time. Below are a few of the many pictures I took while there.
Enjoying The View
People gather, some with their pets, at the river to watch the water sports as well as enjoy the wonderful late summer breeze.
A Quick Stop At The Park
The other day I stopped at the park to see if there was anything interesting going on. Not much was happening but, these little guys were out so I decided to snap a few shots of them before hitting the road again….
January & February Adventures
Good evening! It’s been a while since I’ve added anything new but, that’s because I’ve been quite busy lately. Right now I’d like to share just a few random images from some of my outings during the end of last month up until recently. Included is everything from, the out of the ordinary snowstorm that hit Georgia, to an older man who looks like a motorcycle rider preparing to surf in the cold river, to my photo excursion with my Aunt Robin, my son sleeping, and my neighbor walking her dogs. I have lots of new pictures that I’ve been working on very hard to share with everyone. I hope to have them up soon. Until then, I hope you enjoy!
Fashionable Stroll
Good Monday evening everyone. I just wanted to share with you a picture I shot of a gentleman and his wife (not visible) walking their very big, fashionable dogs in the downtown area last weekend. You never know what you’ll see when you venture out into the streets. Stay adventurous!
Christmas Day Adventure
Merry Christmas to you all! I had a wonderful day today! I spent the day in unseansonably warm weather shooting with my aunt Robin. We were able to navigate the city in peace and quiet since most people were inside eating and celebrating with their families. Even more important than the pictures we were able to capture today was the experience of being out together as family enjoying each others company, and doing something we both love. Doing what you love is great but, doing it with someone you love makes it even better! Below is just a sample of some of the shots that I captured. I hope you enjoy them. Please be safe and enjoy the rest of your holidays!
Rolling Pastures
Happy Hump Day everyone! Today I’d like to share an image taken while in the passengers seat with the window down, in freezing weather, going 70mph. We were driving along the highway in Cartersville Georgia and I noticed these cows at the last second. I quickly rolled down the window, aimed my phone and took the shot. This was the result. I thought it was kinda cool because of the motion blur in the foreground and along the fence. Due to our speed the fence appears to be slanted. Shots like this don’t come along as often as I’d like but, when they do I try hard to pay enough attention to try and capture them.
Feathered Visitors
I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend? I wanted to share a few images of these little guys that were everywhere while I was in Florida. They were out in the rain, wind, heat, it didn’t matter. I think they were all starving because I saw them fighting constantly! I think I have a few shots of one of the battles? I’ll check…maybe I’ll add them later? That’s it for now, enjoy.
The Gathering Part 1
Hello everyone! Today I want to share with you an image I captured while out walking in the park. While I stopped for a break an older gentleman and his granddaughter walked over to the area that I was standing in. Almost immediately after they sat down a group of ducks and geese began to surface from the water and walk over to them. After a few seconds the group grew larger and larger, so I decided to run back to the car and grab my camera. By the time I returned the man and little girl were completely surrounded by the birds! The child was excited and afraid, and her granddad seemed amused by the whole thing. We couldn’t figure out exactly why the animals were so attracted to them? They never fed them or even tried to call them over, but the birds really seemed drawn to the 2 people. I thought it was a very sweet moment as the grandfather tried to explain to the young child what was happening and I tried to capture as much of it as I could. This particular shot is one of the few that I would consider my favorites because the look the little gave me when she realized I was taking their picture was priceless! I’ll post more soon so please check back.
Painting With My Camera
This is a shot that I captured in December 2010. I love how the water reflections gives this image the look of a beautiful oil painting.
Versatility By RNJ 