A Roon-Boppin' Photography Adventure

The end of the adventure

2010-03-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

Well, everyone - this is the end of the road for this Roon-Boppin' Adventure. School is done and I am ready to enter the world of photography.

As such, I now have my very own website that I built with my own two hands - well mostly it was my fingers that did all the work.

I hope that you'll all come and visit me at my new website: www.roonbop.com

Here you'll find my portfolios as well as my new blog. I'm really excited about all of this. There is much change happening in my life right now and I couldn't be more excited.

Thank you all very much for following & checking out my blog for all these years.

:) Roon-bop

Camera being cleaned

2010-01-30T15:10:00.000-08:00

I have brought my camera in for its first ever cleaning. I feel very lonely without it. My camera bag is lonely as well, and the lenses. It's a very sad day. On the upside, tomorrow will be a very happy day when we are reunited once again.

I felt like I should explain why I have not posted any pictures in a while. As you know, I am currently working on my new website, which I thought would be done by now, but a lovely friend took a look at it and gave me some very good pointers, so there is more work to be done. The reason I have not posted any pictures is because selfishly, I have been holding back so that I have lots to show you once it's time to release the website to the world AND the new (possibly not improved) blog. The new blog will not be following my journey through photography school, but will be a journey of my professional photographic self. I'm really excited about it and have already decided on a weekly post :) Though, I'll have to start shooting for it... once I'm reunited with my camera.

On another note. I just realized that I have not named my camera. As names are incredibly important to me, this is something that I will ponder & get back to you on. Please feel free to make suggestions.

:) Roon-bop

Never using exclamation points again!!!

2010-01-25T09:10:00.000-08:00

I've been reading Chuck Klosterman's latest book, Eating the Dinosaur and I just want to say: Chuck, I hear you loud and clear - the exclamation points are gone.

Sadly, I am willing to admit that I had instinctively used an exclamation point when writing "the exclamation points are gone" and had to backspace and replace with a period.

My name is Sarah Blakely and I am a recovering exclamation point user.

:) Roon-bop

Check out this photographer: Brilliant!

2010-01-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

I recently came across Dina Goldstein's latest exhibition: Fallen Princesses. I LOVE it! Great excecution, lots of fun, great tones.

I really hope you all check out this project & take a look at her other work as well.

Finding great work & inspiration is always so much fun.

:) Roon-bop

Still working on my new website

2010-01-18T06:52:00.000-08:00

I am still working on my new website. It has taken me longer than I would have expected. There have been a few bumps in the road, but I guess that is to be expected considering I've never created a website before. I mean, I have updated a website plenty of times, through various jobs, but I've never created one from scratch and connected it.

So here is the latest update. I have created the home page, contact page, set up my new email address, and I'm currently working on customizing my new blog space. I decided to go with Wordpress, because I could link it directly to the site, but I have to say, so far it is not nearly as user friendly as blogspot. There is definitely going to be a learning curve here. I have already customized it to look (sort of) like my website, but now I need to customize the sidebars and what is included there.

Also, I still need to create my portfolios. This I have left for last, because I have NO clue how I'm going to do this. I have considered doing it through Adobe Bridge, because I know it's capable of it, but I'm not sure if I am able to embed that into the page I have already created for my portfolio space.

All I have to say is this: Thank goodness for the internet! Oh how it has made my life so much easier. I remember back in the day if you wanted to learn something, you had to go to the library and take a book out, and maybe that wouldn't even have all the information you'd need. The internet is such a wonderful thing. And thanks to everyone for contributing to it, making it so wonderful.

Tonight, while Curtis is at school, I'm going to continue to work on the site. Soon I hope to share it with a handful of friends to take an objective look at it and let me know what they think, and then it'll be time to launch. I'll be sad to see this blog go, but it'll be here for me to look back on.

The future is where it's at!

:) Roon-bop

Sincerest Condolences

2010-01-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

It is not often that a photo blog will make you weep, but unfortunately, Natalie Norton's Pics and Kicks has done just that.

As you may know from previous posts, and my list of favourites, I have long kept up with Natalie's blog. Over the past few weeks I followed as her newborn child was fighting for his life and was very sad to read today that Baby Gavin has passed. I wish to send my sincerest condolences to Natalie and her family. Though we have never met, she has let us enter her life through reading her blog.

May the comfort of family and friends help you through this difficult time.

:( Roon-bop

Been working

2010-01-03T06:46:00.000-08:00

I've been working dilligently on creating my new website the past few days. And I think I would have been ready to put something up, but I have to wait for something or other to tranfer before I can connect to it. This should take about 5 business days... drag.... I am hoping to have an official launch of the new website by the end of Jan, or possible Feb1. I'm pretty excited about it, considering I've never made a website before and I think it looks pretty good if I don't say so myself!

So stayed tuned for more excitement in 2010!

:) Roon-bop

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T06:56:00.000-08:00

With the first post of 2010 I would like to wish you all a very happy new year! I hope that 2010 brings nothing but goodness for everyone (too bad we know that'll never happen). After having a couple of not-so-fantastic years, I am hoping this is the year of awesome for my husband and I. Hopefully this is the year of buying our first home, getting my website up, reaching my photography goals, taking on more responsibility at work and so on and so forth.

I also hope that everyone had a fun and marginally responsible evening last night.

:) Roon-bop

Back from Stittsvegas!

2009-12-29T10:40:00.000-08:00

I am officially back from Stittsvegas! I had a great time spending time with my family and friends and enjoyed the holidays thoroughly. I hope you all enjoyed the break as well.

While in Ottawa, I had the opportunity to take pictures of Bob & Lisa who are engaged to be married! Ah, young love! I will be posting photos of them shortly, but I still have some unfinished business to attend to: The last of my school photos.

:(

Here are the final pictures of my handsome husband from bring your own model to class night.

:) Roon-bop

Bring your own model night

2009-12-24T04:39:00.000-08:00

For our last class, we got to bring our own model. I brought my husband, who is an aspiring composer for film and TV. He will be creating a website soon, and will need a headshot of himself for that.

We decided to go with harsher lighting to make it more interesting. In these shots, it's just him (he's so handsome)! Next post will be him with his guitar. But that won't be until the 28th of Dec because I am Ottawa bound!

Happy Holidays to all!

:) Roon-bop

Happy Holidays

2009-12-23T09:29:00.000-08:00

OMG I just saw this video greeting and its SO cute!

Happy holidays everyone. Looking forward to goodness in 2010!

:) Roon-bop

She's got a good Aura - part 3

2009-12-23T06:18:00.000-08:00

So, this is the last pictures of Aura. I really like these ones. I think they are my favourite of her. Mostly because to me they look like a classic painting. I love the tones, I love her sari, I love the way she is posed in them. She's so awesome!

Tomorrow I leave for Ottawa, so hopefully I'll get my pictures of Curtis posted before I leave. My in-laws only have dial-up and my parents don't have the Internet at all (I know, I can hardly believe it myself!). So that means that there will be very little internet activity from yours truly until my return to Toronto. I will make sure to get something posted tomorrow before my early morning departure.

:) Roon-bop

She's got a good Aura - part 2

2009-12-22T04:56:00.000-08:00

Well, last night was my last class. It was nice to see everyone's work. I am sad that its all over... but well, it isn't quiet yet, because I still have pictures to show.

Here are some more of Aura. I really like the way these turned out. She was such a great model to work with, great personality, beautiful, fun and down to earth. And good news! More of Aura tomorrow.

:) Roon-bop

She's got a good Aura!

2009-12-21T04:45:00.000-08:00

I'll be heading to class for the last time tonight at 6 o'clock. Today is the day we show our final work. There are no more pictures to be taken. There is however some bright news: I still have photos from 2 models left to share.

Today and probably for the next couple of days will be Aura. I had a lot of fun with her, and as a result, have a whole bunch of pictures of her. That and the fact that I got a LOT of time with her on the set, because 2 of the 4 other people taking pics with me didn't feel like taking pictures. It was a nice change to have more time with the model.

Aura came to the studio with a couple of beautiful saris. I had a lot of fun playing with that and allowed for a good variety of poses and shots. She was great too and brought some ideas to help make some awesome pictures. And I love her green ring!

:) Roon-bop

D&E

2009-12-17T12:25:00.000-08:00

And here are some pictures of the lovely couple! This is it for Elena, Daniel and Matteas. Thanks again to all three for some great pics!

I guess I'd better get started on post-production on the pictures of Aura. I've already picked my favourties, but I haven't done any work on them. I'm excited for these pictures though, because Auro wore 2 beautiful saris.

I can't believe it! There is just 2 models left in my post production - Aura and Curtis... and then that's it... finito! After that I need to work more dilgently on my website. w.o.w.

:) Roon-bop

Daniel

2009-12-16T08:11:00.000-08:00

Daniel is also a model. He came to class full of energy and a bag full of clothes. He was certainly a funny guy! This is evident by his choice of accessories. I really enjoyed working with Daniel, because he was up for anything.

Don't worry, this isn't the last you've seen of Daniel and Elena. Tomorrow you'll see pictures of the two of them together.

:) Roon-bop

Elena

2009-12-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

Elena and Daniel, the parents of sweet little Mateas, are themselves models. It was a very diferent experience working with a professional model. Elena would move very fluidly into different poses. I hardly had to speak with her at all! (As in providing coaching). She was very nice, and I LOVE her sweater. She said it was her mother's. The fact that its vintage makes me love it even more.

Last night was my last class in the studio. Last class for People Photography - last studio session in the GBC studio ever. It's crazy. I have 2 more classes (last business class on Saturday and last People class (which will be going over our work) on the 21st). Then that is it for me. Crazy.

Tomorrow will be pictures of the wild and wacky Daniel.

:) Roon-bop

Baby Mateas

2009-12-14T10:07:00.000-08:00

Baby Mateas was the youngest model I have had in the studio to date. There certainly were some challenges. It was difficult to get a good picture of both baby and parent. Sometimes it'd be a great pictures of Mateas, but not so great of Elena or Daniel (and vice versa).

That being said, Mateas is such a good baby! He didn't cry once, and the little guy was there from 6-10! Amazing! Funniest part of the evening? Mateas going to the washroom on set with no diaper!

Tomorrow? Pictures of Mateas' mother Elena.

:) Roon-bop

The last of Kyle

2009-12-08T06:28:00.000-08:00

So, I wanted to take a moment to explain this picture of Kyle, because it slitghtly fits into Rembrandt lighting, which was one of our assignemtns. There was a whole class dedicated to this, but of course, it was the class I missed. We even have an assignment to produce one and it was looking like I wasn't going to get it, when I found this! It's not perfect, but considering I hadn't set up the lights with this goal in mind, its not bad.

This was achieved by using one light on the left side of his face. Generally, I believe that the model would be looking straight on. The light has to be positioned just right, and the second the model moves, the effect is gone. Rembrandt lighting, is a traditional lighting technique used for portraits, however is not employed often today. The goal is to light up one half of the face, much stronger than the other, and have a triangle of light under the eye.

This picture of Kyle is not a great example of such, because of his angle and the strength of the triangle, however you can find more pictures from Google images.

:) Roon-bop

Into the Light, Kyle

2009-12-07T06:02:00.000-08:00

These pictures might be the result of one of my most awkward moments behind a camera (thus far). Asking a man I just met to take his shirt off... was... weird. However, I did learn from the experience. The more awkward I make it, the more awkward it will be. Thank goodness Kyle was not shy!

So, for these pictures, I decided to do something a little different. I shot into the light, so the light (soft box) is behind him. I really like the effect this had on the contours of his muscles and the way it lit up his face.
The third picture I also really like. Kyle looks like an alien or something. I was plesantly surprised with how that turned out. Something to keep in mind for the future.

:) Roon-bop

Sponge Kyle Square Pants

2009-12-06T05:53:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I forgot to post yesterday! I had pictures all ready, and it just slipped my mind. In my defense, eysterday was a very busy day... school in the a.m. then a meeting for a few hours, then the first Christmas party of the season... I suppose its understandable.

Kyle was fun. He was teaching me some new dance moves (which is essentially a hopeless cause). My favourite of which was called Sponge Bob. I have no idea why and I still don't fully grasp the dance. It felt a little more like ho-down dancing, but maybe that's just my lack of skills. In turn, I taught Kyle my own dance, called the Roon-bop. It's very simple: just flop around and move your head side to side in time with the rythm of the music. Genious, I know!

I got to try a lot of things with Kyle which is nice, and used 3 light settings. As such, Kyle is going to be a three part series so I can discuss what I did with 2 of the light settings.

:) Roon-bop

Danica

2009-12-04T06:22:00.000-08:00

Danica is a jazz musician and also sings and plays guitar for children as young as a few months old. I really enjoyed taking pictures of Danica. She was very easy going, easy to talk to and was very relaxed. I love the pictures of her in the plaid shirt, because it matches her eyes, and I love the photo of her smiling because it looks so genuine.

Tomorrow will be photos of Kyle & then I have to get back to work and edit my photos from the last class. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself once class ends. I've gotten used to this & I really enjoy meeting new people and taking pictures of them. I'm going to have to get down to some serious business to feed my addiction!

:) Roon-bop

Revisiting Donna

2009-12-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems as though the world listened! Back in October, Donna came and modeled for us on our day trip to Centre Island, however, I didn't really get much an opportunity to work with her and I had been hoping to get another chance. Donna came into the studio and brought props! A fancy old style hat & feathered fan. She looked so cute! In fact, I am of the opinion that she shares a resemblance with Kirsten Dunst in some of the photos.

Donna is not an experienced model, but that worked out in my favour. This gave me a great oppounity to practice speaking with the model, finding new ways to pose them, and make sure that I articulate myself well. Obviously, this is something that I do with everyone, but is so much more important when the model is looking for direction.

Hopefully Donna will come visit the class once more before its over. It's hard to believe that we only have 3 weeks left.

:) Roon-bop

Stephanie x4

2009-12-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

I worked with Stephanie the same night as I worked with Quincy & Freddie. There was a definite difference between shooting the two. Especially considering the fact that Stephanie is a model! :)

She was very nice, sweet & quiet and was a pleasure to work with. For this photoshoot we had a light facing her as well as white reflectors surrounding her, left, right and above, as well as lights with umbrellas for the background.

:) Roon-bop

Quincy Gets Tired

2009-12-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

Well, by the time it was my chance to take pictures of Quincy, he was getting pretty sleepy. Which brought its own challenges, but also some great opportunities, especially once I asked his father to join him.

Luckily, young Quincy and I have something in common - video games! He was all about Mario & Luigi... Mario is his favourtie of the 2... personally I'm a big fan of Luigi. He's pretty awesome. But talking about video games only held his attention for so long & that's when the eyelids started to drop.

Tomorrow we're back to adults.

:) Roon-bop

Kids, Kids, Kids

2009-11-30T08:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, so obviously in this week, we got to work with kids. This is Quincy & Freddie. Freddie wasn't actually scheduled to be a model, but is the son of one of my classmates. I was really glad to have the opportunity to take pictures of both of them, because they were SO different. Quincy was very shy and quiet & had been posing for a while, so by the time I got to him, he was also very tired. Freddie on the other hand was FULL of energy. This kid was bouncing off the walls. It was funny most the time, some of the time it was scary, like when he was running around the wires, or when he almost knocked down one of our reflector set ups, or when he almost broke through the background paper, which looking back, was all very funny too. :) Luckily, no children were harmed in the process of taking these photographs.

I have only one photo of Freddie, as I didn't get much time with him. But there will be more photos of Quincy & his father tomorrow.

:) Roon-bop

Quincy.

I thought he was pondering, but he later informed me that he was biting his nails.

I suspect that'll be a tough habbit for him to quit once he gets older.

Freddie.

Sitting still for a moment :)

Quincy.

Caught in the act again. But looking SO cute.

The Amazing Duo: Ben & Cole

2009-11-29T05:46:00.001-08:00

First there was Ben & Jerry, now there is Ben & Cole! Writer and Director tag-team extraordinaire.

They were a lot of fun to shoot together, because they get along so well. They were laughing and having a great time.

As this is it for photos of Ben & Cole, thanks so much guys for coming and spending some time with us!

:) Roon-bop

It's Ben time!

2009-11-28T10:48:00.000-08:00

And now here comes Ben! In addition to being an actor, he is also a playwright. He has worked closely with Cole on projects and so they are great friends. Today are pictures of Ben by himself, but tomorrow you'll be seeing pictures of Ben & Cole together.

I had a lovely time meeting and getting to know Ben & his infectious smile!

:) Roon-bop

Cole 4

2009-11-27T12:50:00.000-08:00

Ooops! I forgot this last one of Cole. And it wouldn't be fair NOT to include it, so here it is. I like to call it "Cole 4" because it's the fourth picture of him that I have uploaded. You can't argue logic people!

:) Roon-bop

Cool Cole

2009-11-27T08:05:00.000-08:00

So today we venture on to Cole. Cole is an actor and director. I always find it amazing to meet people who follow their dreams, whether that becoming an artist, a lawyer, a vet, a dog walker - whatever it is that floats your boat. To find people who know what they want, what drives them, what makes them happy AND they go out and do it? Awesomeness.

:) Roon-bop

And With Daisy, I Am Back On Track!

2009-11-26T06:31:00.000-08:00

What a relief! Yesterday my husband had a nap, and I processed some of my images! Good to my word, I present you with pictures of Daisy.

I was going to do a light map for this week... but because it was so long ago - I can't remember. I'm sure if I spent some time looking at the pictures I could figure it out, but I'm sleepy and possibly will consider for another day... but who am I kidding - I'll probably just keep moving forward.

Daisy was a treat to shoot. She was very quiet, very sweet & look at her - she's cute as a button!

Tomorrow? I think we'll go with Cole. Yes - tomorrow is Cole day.

:) Roon-bop

I know... I've been bad

2009-11-25T10:43:00.000-08:00

Very, very bad. I have not blogged in far too long. I had been doing SO well.

I have been busy with school & life. I am behind in processing my photos from class. Good news, is that I have been working on branding my company & creating my new website, which I'm hoping to launch in the new year. Plus Christmas is coming up, which means there is a lot of shopping to do, parties to prepare for, and so on. But I promise to get cracking and bring more of the good stuff.

My people class was good this week, soon you'll see pictures of Donna, Kyle and Danica, in addition to the 2 other weeks I'm behind on. Hopefully I'll have time to get started on them this week (after I work on my homework for business, which is due Saturday - thank goodness I got my business cards prepared a week early).

For now, I'd like to share an article I received from Modern Dog Magazine re: photographing dogs.
Please follow this link.

:) Roon-bop

No gig last night

2009-11-11T07:21:00.000-08:00

Well... the trials and tribulations were many last night. Curtis and I didn't end up going to Absolute Comedy for The Dark Show last night. Curtis' intern videographer backed out AGAIN last night & at the very last minute. I feel pretty bad for Curtis, this is the third time this guy has failed to get equipment for filming.

So, because there was no filming equipment and the fact that Curtis has H1N1, we decided to stay home. I decided that I would go out for a jog and ended up exerting myself a little too much. I haven't gone running for months and I went for a 7km run. It felt great, until it was time to stop. Luckily, a long cool down has left my legs feeling okay today, but my poor back is not happy with me.

As such, there are no photos from last night's event (from me at least). Tonight I am meeting up with some friends from my Fashion Photography class, so it'll be a couple days before pictures of Daisy, Ben & Cole find their way online.

:) Roon-bop

Loving the Fall Weather!

2009-11-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

So, as promised I've got what everyone has been waiting for!

More pictures of MY DOGS! :)

I just can't help it... beautiful weather, super duper new lens, little critters... how could I resist?

Class last night was good. You'll soon be seeing pictures of Daisy, Ben & Cole. And tonight I've got a gig. I'll be taking pictures of the Dark Show at Absolute Comedy. Nothing like working for your husband :P He is filming the event tonight and will use my still shots for the video & promotion.

Dogs Will Be Dogs

2009-11-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

Here are some indoor pictures of the dogs rough-housing. Not as strong as the outdoor ones, I admit. But they are my babies and I love them!

Tomorrow? More pictures of the Dimi & Poco. Why? Because Sunday was such a beautiful day to spend outside.

:) Roon-bop

The dogs

2009-11-08T14:02:00.000-08:00

Well, I had a lot of fun this weekend with my new lens. The weather was ABSOLUTELY amazing here in Toronto. I think it was up to 16 degrees Celcius today, which is CRAZY!

Here are some pictures I took of the dogs (& Curtis). The challenge with my new lens is getting the focus correct. It is manual focus, and with two dogs running around, it's a challenge. A challenge that I hope to master :) And I had some trouble with exposure, but overall I had a blast with this baby. I went out again today and took some more pictures of the poochies with the leaves and sticks. Once I have uploaded them, I'll be putting them up.

Tomorrow I'll be posting some pics of the dogs playing inside the apt.

:) Roon-bop

New 50mm!!!

2009-11-08T08:05:00.001-08:00

First pic with the new 50mm lens
Originally uploaded by Roon-bop

Recently, it was my birthday... the BIG 2-7 :P

My lovely, wonderful, amazing, thoughtful, loving (among other things) husband bought me a new toy to add to my camera bag - a 50mm f1.4 lens (woo hoo).

This is the first picture I took with it.

Tomorrow... more pictures of the dogs! It's been a while and is long overdue.

:) Roon-bop

Can Humans Infect Pets with H1N1?

2009-11-06T05:48:00.000-08:00

This is not photography related, but is pet related. I recently found an article which may be of interest to some:

Can Humans Infect Pets with H1N1? from the Discovery Channel.

The results may surprise you. It looks like no dog has been infected at this point, but they aren't so sure about cats.

:) Roon-bop

25 Inspirational Dog Portraits

2009-11-03T06:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a post from the Digital Photography School that peaked my interest. It is a post on 25 inspirational dog portraits. They don't all float my boat, but many of them are spectacular!

View the article here.

:) Roon-bop

Maria & Devon

2009-11-02T04:34:00.001-08:00

And now on to the second set up from last week's class. Here we have 2 large soft boxes focusing on the model and 2 umbrella lights bouncing on to the background. We used this set up with a white background and it was a very bright shoot.

Here are some of the images produced with this set up:

The only thing I had to be conscious of when shooting this was not to get in the way of the lighting while trying to get close to the subject. So, other than making sure I was aware of what was around me, it worked just fine.

In tonight's class we will be presenting 2-3 of the photo's we've taken so far in class. One needs to be a Gap-like ad, one of a person in their environment and the third a Rembrandt portrait, which I have yet to do, because I missed that class. There will be no photos taken this week in class.

:) Roon-bop

Devon & Maria

2009-11-01T10:16:00.001-08:00

Alright, so as I mentioned last time, I'm going to be doing things a little differently this week. Instead of focusing each post on a person, I'm going to focus the post on the lighting set up and include a lighting map.

This week we had two set ups. To begin, I'll start with the simpler of the two.

Here you see that we had two lights, one on a stand in front of the subject with a large soft box, and the other on a boom stand with a large soft box to highlight the hair of the subject. For this set up we had a gray background.

Here are the results of this set up:

There were two major challenges with this set up.
1) The large soft box in front of the subject made it difficult to shoot the subject. All my photos were head shots or upper body shots. Also, the large light made it difficult to get a shot straight on.
2) The initial set up had the light in front on a short stand pointing upwards, however this created dark shadows under the subject's eyes, which obviously, is not flattering. So, we moved the light to a taller stand, however, I found that it didn't completely do away with the rings under the eyes. It was a MAJOR improvement, however if I were to use this set up again, I would tweak it a little more.

:) Roon-bop

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T10:14:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a lovely Halloween. My husband and I dressed up as Vampire Bill and Sookie Stackhouse from HBO's True Blood, our first couples costume.

:) Roon-bop

A little studio fun - part 2

2009-10-27T04:49:00.001-07:00

So, as I mentioned yesterday, Lisa decided to steal my camera and take some pictures. According to Lisa I was in need of a new facebook picture... so now my profile shows the last picture. I'm sure my husband is so proud of me!

In class last night, we started to get more complicated lighting, so I'm considering using a lighting map to keep track of everything, which I will also be placing in my blog for your viewing pleasure. Last night we took pictures of Devon, an actress and Maria, a make-up artist. And of course... Lisa and I got goofy again, and we even got someone to take pictures of us together. I'll have to wait a while for those ones, but I look forward to seeing them! And sharing them.

:) Roon-bop

Me explaining to Lisa that I am a quote: real photographer: end quote. Though, on closer inspection, I look more like an angry chipmunk with talons.

A little studio fun - part 1

2009-10-26T04:52:00.001-07:00

So, Lisa and I had a few minutes alone in the studio while photographing Andrew and this is what happens when you leave the two of us alone with cameras, lighting and a model.

And tomorrow you will see the results of Lisa taking my camera and pointing it at me! The nerve of some people...

:) Roon-bop

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Lisa's dance moves are still haunting me!

Surprise!

Showing a little faux groupie love.

Natalie is Truly Truly Truly Outrageous

2009-10-25T06:40:00.001-07:00

While taking some pictures of Natalie, it hit me. She looks like Gem! Awesome!! But with that eye make-up... maybe she looks more like the lead singer of The Misfits (from Gem)... either way - its pretty awesome because I loved that show growing up.

So if I remember correctly, the lighting for this was similar to what we had done in earlier weeks with a white reflector between me and the model. I was up on a bench shooting over it and the light bounced around it to light her face. We also had a light behind her with a red or I guess pink gel over it. Unfortunately in this picture you can't see it (the pink was what made her hair look pink and thus Gem-like). I suppose if you look very very closely you can see a bit of it in her hair at the bottom left hand side.

:) Roon-bop

The Other Andrew

2009-10-24T05:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Andrew by himself. All these pictures were shot with the same set up as the shot of Andrew and Natalie in the last post.

Andrew himself is a budding photographer, and has been in a couple of my classes. It's always slightly more stressful taking pictures of a photographer, because they know what you're doing and what you may be doing wrong. Luckily, taking pictures is all about trial and error and trying new things in order to learn new things.

:) Roon-bop

Faux Hair Metal

2009-10-23T09:33:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been WAY too long since my last blog and I'm so happy to be back. I've been very busy with my real job putting together a conference, but I'm back and ready to get back to photography and school and all that fun stuff.

So, as promised blogs ago, here are some pictures of Andrew and Natalie, our Faux Hair Metal models. They were pretty fun to shoot with. They certainly took on their roles with gusto.

The first pic is of the 2 of them in studio. Lighting was a boom right over top and if I remember correctly, another light in front, both in soft boxes.

Next up will be solos of the two and then a little more fun.

:) Roon-bop

Barbaro & Security

2009-10-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

I am back from Ottawa!!! I had a great time visiting everyone, but I am very glad to be back home! Now I just need to find some food...

Until then, here are the last two pictures from the Sunday Centre Island trip. The last two models were a little late getting there, because they missed the ferry we took and then apparently they had some trouble with a grumpy ferry dock worker. The bad news is that because of that, I didn't get much time to take pictures of the two of them.

I feel really bad, because I have no idea how to spell his name and I'm too afraid to attempt to write it, so I'll refer to him as Security, because he is our wonderful night security guard at the school. I walked by him one class and asked him why he never modeled for us... and then when I get the chance, I have to go home. He brought with him a friend, Barbaro. They were both very, very sweet. But as I said, I didn't get enough time with them, and it started to rain pretty hard shortly after they got there. It would be nice if we had another opportunity with them. After I left, the class moved on to the animal farm. I'd love to see some pictures my classmates took from that portion.

:) Roon-bop

Noelle & Donna

2009-10-09T04:40:00.000-07:00

Okie Dokie, today we have Noelle la chanteuse and Donna the HS student. I considered writing the entire blog today in French, all because Noelle is French for Christmas, but I decided against it, figuring my writing skills would be too shameful.

I didn't get to spend much/any time alone with either Noelle or Donna, however, they were both very pleasant. Donna brought her camera along. She is the granddaughter of one of the students and I later found out that she's been selected to take her HS yearbook photos this year. Hopefully, if she like photography, this is part of her photographic journey.

And, as I mentioned, its Thanksgiving weekend this weekend. I'm traveling to Ottawa and the wonderful world of dial-up Internet. I would like to note that Ottawa does have access to high speed Internet, just not in my parents' and in-law's homes.... or my sister's... possibly my brother's. In any case, I'll be offline for a while.

To all my Canadian friends: Happy Thanksgiving & Happy long weekend!
To everyone else: Sorry you have to work Monday :(

:) Roon-bop

Noelle

The Toronto Island is a great place to take pictures, because you can take pictures of the city.

I love Donna's hat in this picture. It reminds me of Holly Hobbie (from when I was little - not this new millenium version).

Father Murray

2009-10-08T14:28:00.000-07:00

So today we have Murray. As I mentioned yesterday, Murray is Lucy's father. He was a great sport and up for anything. At one point he was climbing and dangling from an abandoned Ferris wheel! I am told that we will be seeing Murray again for classic portraits class.

On another note, today I signed up for my last photography class at GBC. I may take more in the future, who knows, but its the last one I need to complete my certificate. This means that I'll be done all my classes on Dec 21st. Crazy.

:) Roon-bop

Lucy in the Sky with Duckies

2009-10-07T15:10:00.000-07:00

Alright, so as it turn out, I did have time to edit and now to post some pictures from Sunday's extra outdoor class. For this class we went to the Toronto Island, and to Centreville, which was closed for the year, giving us great opportunities for pictures.

First up is Lucy. Lucy is Murray's daughter. You'll meet Murray later. I got talking to Lucy while she was watching the geese in the water. She then went on to tell me how much she loves ducks. She has a cousin with a farm and her favourite stuffed animal is a duck. And guess what? She had it with her. The stuffed duck's name? Ducky!

It was a good opportunity for me to take pictures of a kid, because I never really get that opportunity, except for when I visit Ottawa and take pictures of my nephew. Photographing children certainly has its own challenges. They need a different kind of attention than adults.

So, here are some pics of Lucy, with and without ducks.

:) Roon-bop

Announcement

2009-10-06T07:26:00.000-07:00

I would like to announce that I am officially following Lisablog. Apparently, its not good enough to follow it manually, by checking in via direct link, nor to have it listed on my list of favourite photography blogs to the right, or even to have posted about it back in July 2008. However, you will all be happy to know, that I am officially following it through the Google "follow" button.

In addition, I would like to take the opportunity to re-endorse Lisablog. Lisa has a great eye for photos. If you visit her blog you will find many lovely photos of live music shows and of course, be exposed to her lovely Winnipeg charm.

In addition, I would like to say that last night's class was fun. We got to take pics of Andrew (not Andrew, Andrew - a different Andrew) and Natalie, who were both dressed up in hair metal regalia.

In addition, I would like to mention that it might be a while before I am able to post the aforementioned photos, as it is Thanksgiving weekend and I will be traveling to Ottawa with my husband and dogs to visit family and friends.

In addition, Happy Thanksgiving.

In subtraction, I apologize for the gratuitous use of the term "in addition".

:) Roon-bop

James the Great - part 3

2009-10-04T06:48:00.000-07:00

All good things must come to an end. And so too it is with Jamesness.

These final pictures were taken on a black background with two primary light sources (soft boxes) on either side of him and an umbrella light pointing at him (from afar) to light up his eyes.

Big thanks to James for spending an evening at GBC.

:) Roon-bop

James the Great - part 2

2009-10-03T06:09:00.000-07:00

So for part 2 of Jamesness you will see pictures from the black background set up. Very similar to Sarah's set up, except that we also added a strong back light to the mix. I had much fun with this. And I got to listen to James sing to boot! Who am I kidding, Erykah Badu was playing, so I was singing too.

:) Roon-bop

James the Great

2009-10-02T04:38:00.001-07:00

I had such a great time photographing James. He gave me so much energy and variety and he was great fun. James is a dancer, but he has got some amazing modeling skills as well. He was smizing and modeling H2T, which for those of you who have not watched ANTM means smiling with the eyes and modeling head to toe. (I say that with such confidence, like I know what I'm talking about). Long story short, he was awesome and as a result, I got some pretty awesome pictures that I'm really excited to share with the rest of the world.

So because I had such a great time taking James' pictures, you will be seeing more of him. This is the first of a three part series. Each blog will have 3 photos of him. In this first one you will see a picture I took outside while we still had light, before we set up the studio lighting. The last 2 are from my first of 3 sittings with him.

Stay tuned for more James! You know you want more.

:) Roon-bop

Sarah the Pondering Actress

2009-10-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

I have some pictures ready from Monday's class. First up: Sarah the Pondering Actress.

I got to take pictures of Sarah in 2 different light settings. It was nice meeting her. I think I prefer the light setting with her in the red sweater best. For that one, we had a light set up on her left side, pointed towards a large piece of white paper. This allowed the light to hit her smoothly and drop off on her right side. Very nice.

She told me that she will be taking part in one of the Nuit Blanche art pieces this Saturday. Too bad she has to work it! I'll be making my way through Nuit Blanche on my way home from the Louis CK show that night... oh it'll be a good Saturday evening!

Next I'll be sharing some pictures of James the Great. This will likely be a multi-post series.

:) Roon-bop

Great Class Last Night

2009-09-29T06:37:00.001-07:00

I had a great time in class last night! We got to photograph 2 lovely people: James & Sarah.

Sarah is an actress and James is a dancer.

Last nights class was good because I felt like it was really easy to speak with and connect with the models who I had just met. And not only did I have a great time while I was taking pictures, but I had a great time just hanging out in between turns. The flow of class was SO much better. It felt like there were fewer people in class last night, but its possible that we just had better flow. Hopefully the rest of the classes go that smoothly.

In any case, I can't wait to start working on my pics!! Hopefully it won't be too much longer until I can share them with you. In addition, I'm getting a new ergonomically correct computer chair delivered to my home this evening, so yay to proper seating! Goodbye wooden kitchen chair! Well... not goodbye... it can just you know, go back to the kitchen, where it belongs.

:) Roon-bop

Red Letter Days

2009-09-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

As you know, once in a while I like to let my millions of readers (no need to point out the obvious my dear friends) know about other photography blogs that I like. So today I'd like to introduce you all to Red Letter Days.

This blog follows the beautiful work of Scarlet (see pictures of her below). She is a very talented emerging artist & her blog is not only wonderful to look at, but fun to read as well. She just posted some new pictures, in particular some pictures of a violinist that she took at night time... simply gorgeous! She will inspire you.

I'm am very happy to have met her acquaintance and hope that you will be too!

Now stop reading my blog and head over to Red Letter Days !!!

:) Roon-bop

Studly Andrew

2009-09-27T06:05:00.001-07:00

Well everyone, the last of this week's People Photography photos have come. I'm not sure what the plan for Monday is... but I'm sure it'll be fun. As fun as it was working with Scarlet, Tamara and Andrew... I don't know.

For now let's take a look at Studly Andrew. For his photos I was trying to work on my first assignment, which is to create a GAP ad. I figured he had the GAP look and the background and lighting fit perfectly as well. I love the first one of him. This is a picture of our introduction - too cute!

Until next time, Gadget.

:) Roon-bop

Tamara Mara Bo Berra

2009-09-26T07:40:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in last night's blog, I also had the supreme pleasure of photographing Tamara. She is a natural in front of the camera and knows how to work it.

I didn't get an opportunity to take any pictures of Tamara on the white background. With so many people in the class its hard to get the time to do everything you want. I had a great idea for a picture of Tamara and Andrew against the white background together in a group shot, but the world will never know it. It is sad.

Thank you, Tamara, for coming to our class so that we could take lovely photos of you. Taking pictures is FUN!

:) Roon-bop

Scarlet Night

2009-09-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

First night shooting pics for People Photography was a great night. We had two set ups, a white background and a black background with two very different light arrangements. I was able to set up the lights for our white background shot, which was a great opportunity. I didn't feel like I got to take all that many shots, because the class is so large, but even with only a limited number of frames, I was able to get shots that I am happy with.

Our models on this night were fantastic! Scarlet, Tamara and Andrew. Great bunch of peeps, really easy to connect with and very relaxed in front of the camera.

First we'll take a look at Scarlet! What a pleasure to shoot someone I already know & think is fantastic. She was super cute all night & I could tell she wanted to be on the other side of the camera. It was fun hanging out with her again!

:) Roon-bop

That's a Dog You Fools!

2009-09-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

Jerry Ayer, owner of Blanco Taxidermy School has made a fool of himself - and his student should be charged with cruelty to animals. As an animal lover and aspiring dog photographer, I thought I'd comment on this.

If you are unaware of the story, a video including footage of the dead animal can be found here:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2009/09/01/roldan.chupacabra.KSAT?iref=videosearch

Recently (actually it was during my walk-about from the previous post), I had the pleasure of meeting a couple with a very rare dog. I had never seen anything like it before. So, Michelle and I stopped to talk to the couple and pet their dog, a Mexican Hairless dog. When I saw the footage of this "mythical creature", I knew right away that it was the same breed, or at the very least a related breed. More information on the Mexican Hairless can be found here: www.littlepawz.com/m_hairless.html.

Mr. Ayer and his student are fools, and so is the media for allowing him to tell people that he has found some mythical creature. Dear Media, next time you support an individual with a claim like this, do a small amount of research yourself and let the public know how ridiculous these men are.

:) Roon-bop

thegolfmap.com

2009-09-01T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well everyone, more good news for Roon-bop Photography. You can now see my work on a blog for thegolfmap.com. See it here. Note the legitimacy with the credits... oh... yea... :P

I would encourage anyone who enjoys golf to check out the rest of the site and to read Mr. Blakely's blog (hmmm.... that name sounds familiar...and he sure is handsome).

:) Roon-bop

Neighbourhood Walk-about

2009-08-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

Recently I spent the day with my friend and neighbour, Michelle. We spent the day walking around our neighbourhood in Toronto - Summerhill, Rosedale and Yorkville. There were lots of great photo opportunities. First we walked through Summerhill, then to Rosedale, stopped for lunch in Yorkville and made our way back home.

I think I should go on more photography walk abouts. They are fun. Its just a shame the camera weighs so much.... on a hot day, its a bit of a pain in the butt... but, well worth it. It was a great day. Here are a few of the pictures I took.

:) Roon-bop

Slice

2009-08-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the adorable Slice. She is a sweet little puppy from Ottawa, ON. Her owner, Peggie, is into Agility training and her big sister Shaylie is a champion. I suspect sweet little Slice has success in her future.

I have to admit I had a little trouble with this photo shoot. There were two other dogs running around in addition to Slice and with the pool in the backyard, and a deck to hide under it was difficult to get her concentration with all that puppy energy. A good learning experience though.

:) Roon-bop

Happy Anniversary

2009-08-25T14:02:00.001-07:00

Today is my second wedding anniversary to the most amazing man :)

I have made these in honour of him.

To many, many more years.

:) Roon-bop

The Last of Fashion Class

2009-08-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

Well, this is the last set of pictures from Fashion Photography @ GBC.

These pictures were taken at High Park in Toronto. A great location, very scenic. Make-up is done by the lovely Leslie Grey and the model, the very beautiful and reliable Ashley. I met a lot of very nice and talented people and am glad to have had the experience.

From now on I'll need to find my own models and location if I want to keep it up. For now... I think I do. Its fun working with all sorts of people to make a good picture.

My next class, People Photography starts in Sept and I'll be reunited with my girl Lisa for this one.

For now I think I will go back to basics. Take my camera for a walk, meet some nice people with some nice dogs and hopefully get a chance to do some beauty shots for friends.

:) Roon-bop

Queen Street Fur

2009-08-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

At this point, I have finished up my fashion photography classes, but I'm way behind in posting the results.

In this week, we headed to Queen Street West to take some pictures of our beautiful models with some fur coats. One of my classmates was kind enough to pick up a couple coats from Value Village to help get the right look.

I'd say it worked. So thanks.

Stay tuned to see pictures from my last class photo shoot at High Park.

:) Roon-bop

Fashion - Bohemian

2009-07-15T17:43:00.000-07:00

For this week's class we shot in Yorkville and with a Bohemian theme. I had made the final decision for the theme. I enjoyed the theme.

One funny thing to note. I just watched an episode of Zack Arias' photo critic videos and he and his wife went off on a guy for taking slanted pictures. My collection includes a tilted camera shot. Hopefully I do not offend the masses by including it :P She is falling off the planet and she is enjoying it! lol

The class today has been good. We've been discussing portfolios and websites and I have to say I'm starting to get really excited with the prospect of taking on clients. I don't feel quite as scared as I used to. Next up - - build a website, hopefully using Dreamweaver.

:) Roon-bop

Guest Blog on NerdBallon.com

2009-07-14T07:31:00.000-07:00

I know I've been away for a while. I've got some fashion pics to put up (2 weeks worth) and I've just been lazy. Well... not even that ... I've just been playing a lot of Sims 3. I get home from work and the best thing I can think to do is play video games. I'm hoping that this obsession will start to dwindle. I've raised many children and screwed around with many people's lives, so hopefully I'll have the majority of it out of my system soon.

I just wanted to let you all know that I've written a blog as a guest on NerdBalloon.com. It is not at all photography related, but gaming is a long-time love of mine, so I'm letting you know about it.

You may remember NerdBallon.com previously mentioned by me, as I've supplied them with photos from a MLG tournament I attended.

So, view the blog here and be sure to check out NerdBallon's podcasts if you're a fan of listening to a group of guys chat about video games.

Fashion Photography - Metallic

2009-06-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

In last week's class our theme was metallic. It was pretty slow starting, some of the makeup as you will see was pretty heavy duty. Leslie Gray worked on Ashley to create an "Ice Queen" look, and Ellen Jung gave Emily a gold metallic look.

I love taking pictures of the models when they have heavy duty make-up. It is lots of fun! Leslie and Ellen both did fantastic work this week (as always) and the models I worked with Ashley and Emily were fabulous as always. Lise was also there this week, but for some reason I have yet to take a picture of her. Next time I'll have to make a point of it.

There is no class next week, and the week after that we will be heading to Yorkville. I'm excited for that shoot for two reasons:
1) its a fun location
2) its close to home!

:) Roon

Fashion Photography - The Beach

2009-06-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

In week 5, our class went down to the Harbour front and took some pics of the girls dressed up in summer wear. It was a pretty good time, but I have to tell you, it got COLD that night.

Here are a couple pics from that evening, including a surprise male model. He was such a good sport.

:) Roon-bop

Fashioin Photography - Goth

2009-06-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

Hello,

So I've been very lazy lately with photography. Mostly because I went on a volunteer build two weekends ago, and it messed up my scheduled completely. But I think that I'm finally back on track ... except for the fact that I got the Sims 3 last Friday and now all I want to do in my spare time is play that .... but still.... I think I'm getting back to reality.

Here are some pictures from my class 2 weeks ago. The theme was Goth. Ellen and Leslie did great jobs with the make-up. It was a really stunning week for them both. And of course, the models - Ashley and Emily were fantastic as usual. I didn't get to shoot Emily as much as Ashley that week - there never seems to be enough time.

I hope you enjoy them.

:) Roon-bop

Dogs and the People Who Love Them

2009-05-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

I figure it is about time that I post the pictures from my Independent Study in Photog 5:

Dogs and the People Who Love Them

It is a collection of photos of people and dogs that I know. Some old friends, some new.

Please feel free to leave any comments, constructive criticism, etc. I didn't really get any on the last day of class, because my reviewer is too nice.

I hope you love the poochins as much as I do!

:) Roon-bop

Pics from Class

2009-05-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a while since I've posted any pictures. Mostly, because as usual I'm crazy busy, but never the less, the show must go on.

Here are some pics from last week's assignment at the Distillery District.

A big thanks goes out to my beautiful and talented models and make-up artists, without whom none of these pictures would have been possible.

:) Roon-bop

Fashion Photography

2009-05-14T07:31:00.000-07:00

I had my first class of Fashion Photography. It was actually week 2, but my first class.

Everyone in the class has different skill levels, so sometimes in class we talk about things that I already know about. It is nice to have a new instructor. Asif is amazing, wonderful, the best, but after having him for the past 3 classes, it is nice to hear from someone else. In the last class, we watched a video about the history of Fashion Photography, which I actually enjoyed. We were exposed to Photographers that mix photography and graphic art to create beautiful pieces. It certainly inspired me.

Most importantly, we discussed the importance of thinking about your photo. What are you trying to communicate? What is your message? The importance of talking to the model and make-up artists. What is the overall look you are looking for? He told us how important it is to talk to the model, because if you don't there is no way the model can give you what you want (unless s/he is a mind reader, in which care, sweet).

We also had the opportunity to set up a beauty shot, with our beautiful models. I was surprised to see that no one in class knew the basic 3-light set up. Very strange. In any case, we eventually got something set up. I think there are too many people. When there are lots of people trying to set up lighting, I tend to retreat. I don't like having too many cooks in the kitchen, and feel that the best thing I can do is get out of the way. And of course, there are some people who like to take leadership roles and take over, even if they don't entirely know what they are doing. I think that I would get a lot more out of it if the group sizes were max 4 people instead of 8. But that is just me.

Overall I am looking forward to the class. The instructor, Guy, emphasizes the importance of planning, and thinking about your photos, which is what I need right now. Also, we will be learning some things in photoshop, which also pleases me, because I was unhappy with the quality of what I learned in my Photoshop class.

Stay tuned for more adventures in Fashion Photography.

:) Roon-bop

Photographs by Blind Photographers

2009-05-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

This has certainly opened up my eyes:

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1897093_1883570,00.html?iid=digg_share

I need to work on...

2009-05-05T12:53:00.001-07:00

My photoshop post-production.

I am missing something, and I think this is the place I'll find it.

I look at photos of professionals, or others that I know, and I think if I could just figure out what it is they do to make their pictures pop ... well ... maybe one day I could be as good as them.

It is so nice to have photographers to loo up to.

Don't forget to keep looking for new people to inspire you. They are everywhere!

:) Roon-bop

My New Printer

2009-04-28T06:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I bit the bullet and I bought a printer. I wasn't expecting this to happen, but after my last class of madness, it had to be done.

There were 4 of us trying to print pictures, and of course, every one was doing fine. I started off fine, but then every single one of my pictures came out with lines through them. Lines, like the rollers of the printer was screwing everything up. Every. Single. Time. Did this happen for anyone else? Maybe the guy with thicker paper than me? NO! Argh. I was so frustrated that I had a mental breakdown. It was brutal. Imagine trying to print from 9 am and finally giving up at 3 p.m. and all you have to show for it is one picture and a test page. So these are the options I was left with:
1) Come back next week and try again with even MORE people who are desperate to print - not an option, as my mom and dad were visiting this weekend
2) Go and print them at a print house (which would cost about $100)
3) Buy a printer.

So the only 2 viable options for me were 2 and 3 and I figured if I'm going to invest $100 to print pictures for a class project, I may as well invest money in something that I'll have to make more prints later, and thus "Buy a printer" was my final decision.

So the next decision is: which printer? The most difficult part of this decision was how much to spend. I hate spending money. My husband LOVES it. He kept telling me, buy the good one, buy the good one. So, I bought the Epson R2880. The one good thing about spending all this money is this: Every time I spend money on photography, I feel like I have invested more in it. As such, I feel like I absolutely MUST make the money back through photography, thus giving me even more of a push to do it professionally. Hopefully this works.

As I have said before, I have never regretting any of my photographic purchases (except maybe that dang paper that was giving me such a hard time - btw I won't be shopping at Vistek for a while, because they were giving me a hard time as well. One guy, super nice, but then they sent me to "bad cop" and I just don't like being played like that. This unfortunately means that I will have to give Henry's my business when buying paper, which is okay, because they have a much better selection of paper than Vistek anyway, but still. I still heart Downtown Camera though). Hmmmm... that was an unexpected rant.... where was I?

I tried my new printer, and me likes. Me likes a lot. The colours (even on my matte paper that I didn't really like before, but now seems to work) pop. I've had some issues with the black being REALLY black, but I wonder if perhaps I should have been using Photo Black instead of Matte Black. This is something that I'll have to figure out on my own, but I won't worry about it just yet. I will say this though, I am excited to print more. It's fun. I really feel like I've accomplished something. I get a feeling that I don't get when posting images. It feels nice. I think I may have created a monster!

:) Roon-bop

And now what you've all been waiting for ... waterfalls!

2009-04-25T06:03:00.000-07:00

So, on our trip in Argentina, we took a couple days to see the sights of the Iguazu Falls, which are in a word SPECTACULAR! Just beautiful. Okay, well, there are a lot of words that can describe them.

The Iguazu Falls are in the Iguazu National Park. They are in both Argentina and Brazil. We stayed on the Argentinian side, so I don't even get to say that I went to Brazil. One day. And that is what is SO great about the Falls (that they are in a Park). It is trees and trees and trees and far as the eye can see. Unlike Niagara Falls which is a commercial cesspool.

The national park is a subtropical rainforest, which I now know means that it is humid (yes, yes it was) but not as humid as a tropical rainforest. Okay, this is how I would describe the humidity. It felt like I was spending my entire days in hot yoga. The sun was beating down on us at all times, and there were stairs ... so many steep stairs. I should have taken a picture of them, but I was concentrating so hard on not losing my life to a heart attack, that it slipped my mind.

The Iguazu Falls was most definitely the highlight of the trip. I saw toucans for crying out loud and vulchers. How could that NOT be a highlight?

All these pictures below are of the Devil's Throat, which is the largest of all the waterfalls in the park. It is the section that is shared with the Brazillian side.

:) Roon-bop

Happy Anniversary!!!

2009-04-23T14:30:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it! It has been ONE WHOLE YEAR since I started this blog and on May 6th it will be one year since starting my Photography classes.

Because of this momentous day, I've taken some time to look through some of my first posts. Boy has my skill changed! It's pretty amazing to look back on that person who was interested in learning more about photography. That's still me, but I have definitely evolved some.

I don't regret my decision to go back to school, getting a camera and spending all my money. I am proud that I have kept up with it and continue to have goals. It's not my usual self, but it feels good.

I can't wait to see where I am April 23, 2010. For now, I encourage you to take a moment and look at some of the older stuff. Take some time to smell the roses and see what one year can do.

:) Roon-bop

I'm on yet ANOTHER website!!!

2009-04-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well, cheers be to me! I can be found on the front page of another website.

The Ontario Community Support Association asked me to take pictures of a press conference. Yes ... I realize they are my employer (I work as the program assistant for the Personal Support Network of Ontario, which is part of OCSA), none the less, my work is there!

There were definitely some challenges and I learned a lot!
1) The lighting was poor, so I had to use my flash, which meant I had to wait for the flash to reload after every shot - there were a couple GREAT shots that I missed because of this - some that I tried taking anyway, but were too dark even to salvage.
2) The people I were photographing were speaking, therefore most of the pictures their mouths are open, or their eyes looked closed (because they are reading). Therefore, I really need to work on my timing, making sure to pay attention to when they are looking down, and try to shoot as soon as they look up.
3) I tried to move around the room often to get different angles, but I would sometimes find myself on the wrong side, so I need to better anticipate the speaker's potential movements.

One step closer!

:) Roon-bop

The pier, Diego and some random Parks

2009-04-12T06:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some more random shots. First is the pier where we met Diego. Diego is a stray dog we managed to pick up at the pier. On our first day there, he came up from behind us. We assumed the guy walking close to the dog was his owner, so we gave him a little pat hello. Turns out, Diego was a stray. He followed us for a good 2 hours. He followed us across from the pier, across very busy streets, not always obeying the rules of the road, until finally we made our way back to the pier, had a seat on a bench, and he left our lives as quickly as he came into it. We named him Diego, because he was cute, and I like that name.

The other pictures are of random parks we came across on our various walks around the city. They are small parks that locals spend time in. One beautiful thing about BA is that it has a lot of parks and greenery.

:) Roon-bop

2009-04-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

These pictures are some miscellaneous pictures, and the last 2 are from the Botanical Gardens.

I really can't say enough about the photographic opportunities in Buenos Aires. There are beautiful parks everywhere, with statues and monuments and fountains. Dogs, cats, birds, butterflies. There is always something to look at and explore.

:) Roon-bop

2009-04-08T11:48:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from the Japanese Garden in Buenos Aires. Overall, this was a very disappointing portion of the trip (and the only thing we paid to enter). It was a nominal fee, so not a big deal, however, I got a lot of nice shots while I was there, so complain, I will not.

:) Roon-bop

The February 3rd Garden

2009-04-05T07:05:00.000-07:00

This was one of my favourite places in Buenos Aires. I have a soft spot for parks to begin with. I love walking around them, finding bench to just sit relax, breath in the fresh air, take in the sights. Quite honestly, my fondness for parks has grown since moving to Toronto. It is just nice to be around greenery some times.

This park was BEAUTIFUL! It had a pond, bridge, rose garden, statues, fountain. It was very peaceful and a great place to sit and rest after a long morning walk to get there.

:) Roon-bop

Oh do I have pictures for you!

2009-04-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I am back from my vacation in Argentina and I took over 1 THOUSAND pictures.

Let me tell you, that is a lot to get through.

So far, I think I'm about half way through. As such, it is time to share.

I won't really get into details of the trip, because this isn't a travel blog, but I have to say, it was a great time. We spent the majority of our time in Buenos Aires, which is basically a European city in South America. Then we spent 3 days in Iguazu at the Iguazu Falls National Park, which was amazing. I haven't got to the waterfall pictures yet, so for now, please enjoy these pictures of La Boca.

La Boca is a district in the city of Buenos Aires. It is a poor part of town, however attracts tourists because of it's brightly coloured buildings. They were originally painted this way, because residents were so poor they would "borrow" paint from the docked ships to paint their homes. This tradition has been kept up as a means to bring in tourists, and boy does it every. On the main strip you will find tango dancers, artisans, guitar players and restaurants. A great place to take pictures! Very inspiring.

I hope you enjoy.

:) Roon-bop

De La Salle College

2009-02-27T19:32:00.001-08:00

As I mentioned, I took some time and went out and took pictures at De La Salle College. For some reason I was really into the trees and snow that day. The sun was a little too high, and didn't give a lot of contrast on my subjects. I was out around 3 p.m. I thought that would have been late enough, but I was wrong.

I think my favourite picture of the shadow of trees in the snow. I had a good time playing around with Photoshop with this picture, and looking at the different options I have in post-production. I've decided that I should probably focus a little more time on taking pictures of things other than dogs (especially my own dogs). Cute as they are, and as much as I want to become an expert in dogs and pets, I need to make sure I'm able to think of making good shots from other subjects.

:) Roon-bop

NerdBalloon.com

2009-02-24T06:38:00.000-08:00

I can be found on a website, other than my own!

I took some pictures of a Pro Gaming League event in Toronto for an up and coming website, called Nerdballoon.com. They have just launched, and you can see my pictures on their site!

So, go visit, look at my pictures, and definitely listen in on their podcast teaser for the Lunchpail Platoon. It just may be something that interests you! It's all about video games and they don't hold back.

http://nerdballoon.com/

:) Roon-bop

Poco in the snow

2009-02-23T16:15:00.000-08:00

Sunday was a relatively nice day out. Not the best we've had, but certainly much warmer than today! The sun was shining and the wind was taking a break, so I went outside to take some pictures.

First I took pictures of Poco in the snow. He enjoys the snow. Mostly, he enjoys eating it - regardless of colour. I try to teach him the best snow is white, but he can't help sniffing around.

First up are pictures of Poco. Stay tuned for pictures from De La Salle College later this week.

:) Roon-bop

Photography 4

2009-02-21T12:23:00.000-08:00

My photography 4 class is starting to wind down. The White Box Assignment has been handed in and we have no more assignments left to hand in.

As such, I am already looking forward to Photography 5. In this class we will focus all our attention on completing a project of 10 photos. I have already decided on my subject matter. Intimacy between pets and owners. I think it will be very good for me. I absolutely LOVE animals, and I really need to start photographing people and dogs other than my family. I am hoping that this will increase my confidence and also give me good experience having a photo shoot with a "client" without the stress of having to get some great shots, because the pictures I'm taking are for me. I will of course share my pictures with my very kind models if they like.

Until then, however... you poor readers are stuck looking at more pictures of the dogs I love most: Miss Dimi and Mr. Poco. They are the most wonderful pups and I'm madly in love.

:) Roon-bop

More pupper dogs!

2009-02-03T16:41:00.000-08:00

So, I went to take some panoramic pictures this evening, but it didn't go so well. So instead I took some more pictures of my favourite little creatures. Poco is growing SO much and changing every day, so it's always good to take some time for some pictures.

He and Dimi were playing a lot, but I managed to get a few great shots of my little Polkaroo.

Panorama will have to wait for another day & I think I'll be doing it outside. I didn't find anything inspiring in the apartment building.

:) Roon-bop

Assignment #2 - Photograph a specular object

2009-02-02T14:14:00.000-08:00

Below is my submission for my second assignment in Photography 4.

The assignment was to take a photograph of a specular object. I chose to take a picture of a sterling silver clock I am borrowing from my neighbour (to help Poco sleep at night). With the clock I placed a book and reading glasses to give it some context.

The photograph was assessed in class. Overall it was well liked. A few pointers were that I should have used a white reflector on the left side of the clock, instead of a black one, and the second was that there is some dirt on the table, that obviously should have been cleaned off. You get so wrapped up in the details of the lighting and the placement of the objects, that you forget about the simple things. I did however, remember to clean the clock... lol... there is always much to learn.

On the plus side, I would also like to announce that I was able to photograph the White box successfully. I still need to get the Photoshop work done, but it felt SO good! I stayed behind after class with 2 other people, and we all managed to get it. There were high fives all around.

I will post that once I get the photoshop work done. My next assignment, due Saturday is to properly photograph and merge a panoramic photo. I'm still not sure what to take a picture of. But for now, enjoy my specular object.

:) Roon-bop

Bio Pics for my Hubby

2009-01-25T17:49:00.000-08:00

My husband and some of his friends are starting a podcast on gaming. They will be posting this on their website, and are posting bios and pictures of themselves. So, I had a photo shoot with my hubby. He wanted a pic that showed his "producer" role, including his affinity for music.

Here are some pictures I ended up with. He will be using the one of him at the computer, which is a good pick. The others are cool pictures, but not appropriate for a bio picture.

I thought I'd share them, because I like them.

:) Roon-bop

More Poco and Dimi

2009-01-22T06:50:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm sorry to do this to you all, but very soon you are going to be deathly ill from all these puppy photos I'm taking and upload. It can not be helped. I love dogs. However, I promise, once the summer comes, I'll at least have DIFFERENT dogs up. For now you are stuck with Dimi and Poco. I realize that my opinion of their cuteness is biased. But look at them... :)

I hope to have something a little different up soon. I've been working on some pictures of... my husband! lol. These however were done for his new project, website and details to be released shortly.

For now, its still dogs!

:) Roon-bop

My cute new model!

2009-01-19T15:50:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm back from Ottawa, and my husband and I have brought home our new bundle of joy! He is SO cute and very well behaved. We're so happy.

Now I have yet another model!!! Plus, taking pictures of dogs is probably my all-time favourite. I just need to hone my skills. Oh, I can't wait for the dog park this spring!!!

:) Roon-bop

Totally Stressed Out

2009-01-15T09:53:00.000-08:00

Well everyone... I apologize for being away so long.

I had my first class of Photography IV. The first assignment is due on the second last class, and I've been working on it all week. And I have nothing to show for it. I'm pulling my hair out, losing sleep... it's terrible. Hopefully I'll get a breakthrough at some point.

The assignment is to take a picture of a white box, lighting it so that the exposure of each side of the box (top, front, side) are one stop different from the next. The front should be perfectly exposed, the top overexposed by 1 stop and the side under exposed by 1 stop. We are to do all of this with light. I have been using my neighbours' lamp, because I don't own one, and she is away this week. But she gets back tomorrow, and I have nothing, so for the next few days, I'm not even going to think about this assignment. Instead I will focus on...

...Poco... the new pup. We're picking him up on Sunday! I can't wait. And while I'm at it, I think I'll also pick up a lamp... something I can use in my assignment... I don't even want to admit how many shots I've taken, and how many times I moved the light... oh, it's all too pathetic!

I can tell you one thing. If I'm ever able to pull this white box assignment off... I will be on TOP of the world! If I can't pull it off... well... then I've failed the class and wasted $400....

:S Roon-bop

PUPPIES!

2009-01-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

Well, dog-obsessed as we are, my husband and I are adding another poochie to our family. De minimis maximus will have a new little brother Jan 25th. Over the holidays we were lucky enough to go and meet and pick out the little fellow.

We chose the dark one. Why?
1) Because he was very sweet and had a good temperament.
2) Because he is dark and will contrast nicely with Dimi.

Here are a few pictures I took at that meeting. We are really looking forward to bringing him home. It does require a trip to Ottawa, but its okay, because it means we can visit family and friends. Particularly, some friends who have just had a little baby girl. I have seen pictures, and I have to say... she is one of the cutest little girls I have seen in a very long time. I hope they let me take some pictures of her cute littleness.

For now, the cuteness I will share is of the puppy variety.

:) Roon-bop

Poco & his brothers and sisters

Poco

Poco's brothers

More From Christmas

2009-01-03T06:44:00.000-08:00

My decorations may be down, but my spirits are still high! And as such, I will share more pictures from my Christmas this year. These pictures will reflect the people side. Dad carving a turkey, my nephew playing with a new toy, which was later used by the adults (funny how that happens).

Today I am off to my last Christmas dinner. It should be a good time.

:) Roon-bop

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T07:54:00.001-08:00

Well, to all of you: Happy New Year! I wish you all the best in 2009!

Lucky me was sick over new year's... yup that's right. But regardless I had a great time staying in with my husband and poochie.

I thought I would share some Christmas pictures I took over the holiday while visiting my family. I have to admit... I was lazy and definitely did not follow the rules I had set out for myself. I did however find some time to take pictures before the family came over and I did take a few pictures of the food being prepared... sort of! :) Its so hard. You're hanging out, taking time to relax enjoying conversation with the people around you, and then BAM! You realize you haven't even taken one photo... below are some photos I took.

I had a really great time using my new tripod. I set it up so that it would go really low. I am glad that my camera supports live view because there were times I was unable to look through the viewfinder, because it was so low and on a weird angle. I absolutely love the new tripod! I can't wait to use it at the dog park this summer!

:) Roon-bop