Hawaiian Days

I so miss Hawaii! Every time I look back at the photos I miss it even more. I’m going to get Mikey to take me one day when he goes back there He has no choise! He just HAS to! Here’s a really beautiful shot I found.

I remember Mikey diving out of the boat there, crazy! He loves the water so much it’s like you could throw him in the middle of the ocean and he would love every minute of swimming back to the beach. I remember the stories him and his friends used to tell us, I think he’s ran into sharks like more than 5 times, and he still loves the beach, just thinking about it makes me want to stay out the water! Miss you crazy boy!

Lost Memories

A long time ago I was invited over to my best friends beach house, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, I think it still is. One of those moments I find myself thinking about a lot when i’m upset or down to cheer me up. It’s sad sometimes too, you can’t imagine how beautiful it is there. The picture tells one story but being there, waking up and sitting up in bed to have that be the first thing you see in the morning, it’s amazing. I miss him sometimes, a lot, I miss being at the beach with him, watching him surf and wipe and have my heart skip a beat for him until he gets back on his board.

Those were some really good days, days i’ll never ever forget!

Colorful Friends

I was going through some of my photo archives and I found one of me and my best friend CJ! She’s in France right now and I miss her so so much. I remember the times we used to just play with makeup as children and dress up, a little while back we thought it would be funny to do that again. I guess the child in us never leaves, sort of just stays there waiting for the moment you call upon it to enjoy life and be silly. I don’t know if that makes much sense to anyone, but at that very moment, we were children again, without a care in the world…

We all miss those days i’m sure, get in touch with you best friend now, say hi, show them you care. It’s the least you can do, you owe it to them and yourself.

Smile, be happy!

I love capturing moments of happiness, laughter, people playing and just having fun. It brings photographs to life and it’s a source of joy every time you look at them. My friend Kim had gotten back from Germany, she had been having a rough couple of months, breaking up, finding a new job, and figuring out where she wants to live. It was rare to see her smile and it just makes me sad. So I took her out and we walked and walked for hours. I took close to 40 shots of her, and by the end of the day, I got it! That one perfect shot I wanted to capture. Something to give her, to remind her that it’s all going to be fine int he end.

My friends mean the world to me, and to see them happy, smiling, laughing, that’s the greatest a friend could give me! We’ll be hanging out a lot again so every time i catch her laughing her heart out, it’ll snap a picture and share! Smile! Be Happy!

Into the light

It’s been a while since I last blogged. I guess life got the better of me. I’ve been working (yay!) and taking even more photography courses in my spare time. I’m addicted to taking snap shots of people in the streets now, and you thought New Yorkers were weird huh? So anyway, after reading some of the posts Blondie and Mikey have been posting, I got somewhat inspired and decided to return to the blogging world.

Anyway, I have to get up out of bed now for work *rolls eyes* but I’ll try to keep this up to date with shots I take every now and again. Oh and Jeff got married! Like any of you know who Jess is, well some might! Yes and he’s moving here soon! i can’t believe everyone is moving to NYC all of a sudden, a little birdie told me that even MIKEY is going to!! I know right?!

No words can express what we felt…

Never have i seen so many people at a funeral sharing the same heartach in real life like this before.

Over 100 close relatives and friends, were in pain, watching the man that brought one of the purist, kindist, most beautiful  souls into this world, move on.

Not one person, man, woman or child, could believe what took place at the funeral. I am in tears as i type this, the memories of that moment, may haunt me, and every person there, for years to come, the pain, the heart ache, all was so overwhelming. His two sons stood there, one in tears, the other, staring, not a word, not a tear shed, in disbelief, the look on his face, carved was nothing but pain, and anger, confusion, I could only imagine how Michael felt, i can only imagine what was going through his mind.

David, his older brother, helps up their uncle, who was also in tears, and walks him away, he could not stand it anymore. Michael left there, standing alone, people stared at him, wondering how he could suppress so much pain, which was visible on his face.

An hour went, he did not move, everything was over, and everyone started to leave, we turned around and walked away, and our hearts sank, a scream, yell, tears just rushed from my eyes, i couldn’t believe it, everyone, everyone there, turned, to see Michael on his knees, looking up, it was a sight I had never seen, the pain expressed never felt. You can not imagine, the effect one mans pain had on a hundred people, he brought others half way to their knees, everyone was in shock and tears, his screams, a man so strong, one that has been through this before, his loving mother passed away when he was barely a teen, but nothing prepared him for this again.

I froze there, as men and his brother, Corey, Erik, friends from all over ran towards him, I felt like I was in a bad dream, I was dizzy, I felt sick suddenly, hearing only his screams of pain, saying ‘Why…” just shouting out amidst all his tears, his mouth would open, nothing would come out, but that’s how hard he was screaming, only seconds after would the sound of his heatbroken screams follow, he was paralysed, he could hardly breath, his brother to his knees now, friends around him, pulling him away from the last physical memory of his father,  then more screams “no…” people holding him down as he lashed out in anger, people with their hands over their mouths in disbelief, the one person everyone depended on, the one person who was bigger than any challenge in life, the one person everyone there looked for, for support, was on his knees, screaming, expressing pain I have never witnessed.

I’m shaking as i type this, but I have to, people who cared for Michael need to know this, his friends all over the world, need to know, he helped everyone he could, he was there for everyone in time of need, he never hurt a soul, treated strangers as friends, that’s how good a person he was.

 Michael, if we could take your pain, we would.

I recently read in an offline message a close friend of your say;

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Michael, your mother and father love you, they look over you now, proud of the man you have become, we all love you, that will never, EVER change, never…

Sometimes it’s best…

He loves me, he loves me not…does it really matter?
I’m, still young, and i have my life ahead of me, time to move on maybe?
I’ll always love him, always have a place in my heart just for him…
With time, who knows, maybe we could…maybe not…

Taking Photographs of Animals

Animal photography is challenging because it’s difficult to get your subjects to do what you’d like them to do, well, if you had a well trained dog, you might get him/her to sit still, otherwise you’re out of luck.

So, these are some things I’ve learnt over the years, and from classes, to help you take that ‘almost’ perfect photo! Hope they help

Get ready to say cheese:

If you have a cat or dog, or another animal, and you’ve had a go at taking a photo before, you might have noticed how they fear the camera. This could be because of it’s size, shape, the sound it makes, or flash, so it’s always best to introduce the two. By that I mean, when you’re not using the camera, let your pet sniff it, to break the ice if you like. Mose housepets can be trained to have their pictures taken, but it’s always good to give your pet a treat after taking a photo.

Know their personalities:

Most pets have, habbits, do things at one point or another every day over and over. Some get tired at one point, others get playfull, hungry. Whatever it is, if you know the moods of the animal, you’ll be able to tell if they are about to do something playful, funny or interesting, and that will hel you take that perfect shot.

Get closer: Another trick for good animal shots is to get really close to the subject. Try to get as close as your camera will focus and see if your pet looks interesting from that angle. Sometimes the texture of a pets fur, or even the details in the wings of a parrot are great subjects. Now don’t take this as, an ok to jump into a lions cage and get really close! that will get you in trouble, might even get you eaten, but zoom in as much as you can or even use a telephoto lens to make you picture appear close.

Clear out the clutter:

Like a lot of pictures, shots of animals sometimes have really distracting backgrounds. A problem that’s particular to animal photography is that animals are generally much shorter than people. As a result, a lot of photographs are taken from above the animal, which isn’t the best angle. Move around the subject to get that perfect angle, move up down, sideways, tilt the cam even if you must.

Freeze your subject:

If you’re taking a picture of an animal when it’s moving quickly, it’s good to use your camera’s flash. Even if it’s a bright day out, if the animal is moving quickly (and it’s not something dangerous like our friend the lion), turning on your flash will help freeze the animal in motion. Take a Frisbee-catching-doggy to the park and the little boost from your flash will help keep shots of your pet sharp, right down to the fur. It might be a little harder to get good pictures of animals, but using some of these tricks will get you some great shots of your furry, feathered, scaly, or curly-haired friends.

(Hope these tips help some of you, and happy photo taking )