Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Tania's Sneak Peek {Maternity Session}

It's been a hot minute since I took any portraits, but I broke out my camera last weekend to take some maternity photos for my beautiful co-worker, Tania, and her boyfiend, Enrique. Tania was gracious enough to let me select the location for her photos, so we headed to one of my favorite places for her session - the Riparian Preserve.

We started the session with a few photos of the proud parents to be...
Is it even a maternity session without a belly shot?...
Is she stunning or what?...
Can we say GORGEOUS?!?!...
I ADORE this one! Definitely one of my faves!...
How cute are they?!...
A few with baby Emma's (or Tammy Sue as she's affectionaly called around the office) ultrasound photo...
Love this one, too!...
Tania, You. Are. Gorgeous!...
A few more of the proud parents...
Tania ROCKED her photos from beginning to end! She had to be exhasted but she never showed it! Two hours in and still just as stunning as when we first started...
I absolutely love this entire series of photos on these steps. It's one of my favorite places to shoot here...
STUNNING!...
Another favorite!...
We had a lot of fun playing around with these shots in the water. Tania was a total trooper and was game for any pose I asked her to do!...
Is she ROCKING this orange dress or what?!?!...
Another favorite...
Can we say Hot Mama?! Hands down, FAVORITE PHOTO from her session!!...
Simply stunning!...
Another favorite...
Tania, Thank you for allowing me to take these photos for you! It was a pleasure spending the time with you and Enrique during your shoot. Congratulations on the addition of your new little one! I wish you all a lifetime filled with love and happiness.
 
Michele Whitacre used to be a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona.  Now she just takes photos for fun when the mood strikes. 

Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram


© 2022 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Friday, February 25, 2022

Self-Portrait | February 2022

Life has been all puppy, all the time, for the past year as we added first Sylas and then Hazel to the family.  I have been working very hard to turn both of them into well behaved dogs.  In that regard, I have spent most of February consumed with training both of them.

Sylas is currently enrolled in his sixth (Yes, SIXTH!) training class, which is a part 2 of a class he took in the fall.  Last year he learned skills to be well behaved while on a leash and now he is practicing those skills at a variety of public places.

Hazel is currently enrolled in two classes simultaneously through two different trainers.  One of them is a basic obedience/skills class and the other one is a leadership and obedience class. Really both classes are teaching her the same type of things but one is just at a higher level than the other.

I really love working with the dogs on training.  I find it rewarding when they learn something new and I find the process of teaching them new things really fun. Hazel is an exceptionally fast learner and picks up on every new skill almost immediately.  Sylas takes a little longer to catch on to some things but while we are training he gives 100% of his full attention to it.  He seems to really enjoy training sessions.  It might just be all about the treats, but I like to pretend he likes the experience!

When I am working with one of the dogs, I usually take that dog by itself into the bathroom where we can work without being distracted by the other dogs.  Once all the dogs know a skill, I may work with them as a group or else I may tether them all and work with one dog while the other dogs wait for their turn.  But the majority of the training is done one on one.  So for February's self-portrait I opted to take my photo in the Master Bathroom with Hazel and Sylas to represent what I have spend so much of the month doing.

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre used to be a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona.  Now she just takes photos for fun when the mood strikes.
Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram


© 2022 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

A Trip to the Nature Preserve

Back in mid-January, shortly after signing up for my photography classes, I got the bright idea to take some new photos of the burrowing owls.  I was thinking that if I got there bright and early maybe I could catch them up and active.  So I set my alarm before the crack of dawn and was out the door just as the sun was rising.

Only to get to the park and find that THERE WERE NO OWLS!  Apparently, they have been relocated to an undisclosed location.  *sigh*

So instead, I headed off to a nearby nature preserve to see what I could find to photograph.  Since I really didn't have any agenda or expectations, I just wandered around and took photos of whatever caught my eye.  I can't say I captured anything earth shattering, but I did get several images that will work for my first class assignment and that was the goal of the outing!

Here are my favorites from the day:

There were tons of these birds up in a tall tree near the parking lot.  I spent quite a while taking photos of them but only caught a few decent ones.  Since my longest zoom lens is only 70-200, wildlife photography can be a challenge.  I often have to do a lot of cropping of the photos after the fact so the subject doesn't look like an ant on the horizon.  If I intend to take up wildlife photography with any regularity, I definitely need a different lens.  I have been thinking about renting one in the near future just to see what I think.
Whatchu looking at?...
I was so excited to see this heart shaped leaf! I see people posting images of hearts they find in nature all the time and this was the first time I have ever noticed one!...
This little guy caught me taking his photo...
A few bunnies just for fun! These guys are EVERYWHERE at the preserve...
Oh to be able to just spend my day lazily gliding through the water...
So tranquil! I really am a water girl at heart. Even just being near it feeds my soul...
Love the coloring of this little guy...
This series of images cracked me up! I don't know if he didn't like the piece or if he sneezed (do birds sneeze?) or coughed and spit it our or what...
I'm not quite sure what it is about it, but I really like this photo a lot...
This guy just hung out and let me take several photos of him until someone walked by with a big dog that scared him off the ledge...
A few more of the ducks flapping their wings. One of the photos I need to turn in for my assignment is one that freezes motion, so I was specifically trying to caputure the ducks flying or flapping their wings...
The eye color of this bird really caught my attention. It seemed like an odd color...
This guy didn't seemed thrilled with me photographing him, or even being on his bridge!...
I was pretty shocked to see that I actually caught one of the ducks in mid-flight! Photogrpahing wildlife feels like it takes an immense amount of luck mixed in with the skill...
I had fun watching the ducks chase each other around in the water. I couldn't tell if they were playing or fighting, though!...
I liked this photo best as more of a silhouette in black and white...
As always, thank you for stopping by the blog!

Michele Whitacre used to be a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona.  Now she just takes photos for fun when the mood strikes.
Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram


© 2022 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC