Quack, Quack!

Summer in Phoenix is not a prime time to take photos due to the crazy heat. Even though this summer has been fairly mild compared to the last few, I still haven't felt like braving the heat to go out shooting. So my photography got put on the back burner, and I'm finally getting back to editing more of the images I took back in May at the nature preserve near my house.

I got a later start than I wanted to on the day I was out shooting, and it was getting pretty warm, so I decided to find myself some shade to hang out in for a while. I settled myself in a shaded little clearing near the water, and just sat there watching the world go by. It was obvious by all the feathers around the area that it was a favorite hangout for the ducks, and slowly, one by one, they started swimming up and gathering themselves all around me.

I was able to hang out and snap quite a few photos of them, and managed to catch a few good ones.  Here are my favorites...

As I was taking these photos, I decided that I'm probably not cut out to be much of a nature photographer.  It seems like you'd have to have an insane amount of patience to sit quietly and stay still while the wildlife adapted to your presence and resumed it's routine, and I definitely don't have it.  My backyard is full of birds every time I look out the window, yet whenever I get it in my head to go out and take photos of them I'm never able to capture any images.  They always fly off when I open the door and I'm never able to make myself stay out there long enough for them to come back.  I think the only reason I was able to stay still long enough to capture these photos is because I needed to cool off before heading back out into the hot sun!

Michele Whitacre used to be a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona.  Now she just takes photos for fun when the mood strikes.
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© 2017 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Take Flight

I wanted to share a few more photos I took recently at the local nature preserve.  I enjoyed taking these images, and I was surprised that I managed to capture a few good ones.  I really don't have the equipment for this type of photography so I feel like what I capture is a bit hit or miss sometimes.

This one is my favorite!...

As always, thanks for stopping by!

 

Michele Whitacre used to be a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona.  Now she just takes photos for fun when the mood strikes.
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© 2017 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Back So Soon?

I am really struggling with what the heck I'm supposed to be photographing now that I'm back to shooting but no longer taking portraits.  I'm used to looking at my surroundings to find good locations as backdrops for portraits.  I have no idea what I'm doing as I attempt to actually take photos of those surroundings! I've set out on a few outings recently to take photos of something, only to look at the images later and realize that they are complete and utter crap.

I am learning a lot about what I do and don't like to photograph, though.  Or maybe I should say I am being reminded, as the same applied when I was shooting portraits.  I love shooting when I have time to create exactly what I want with my photos.  I like being able to really consider my shots. I enjoy looking at my subject from different angles and experimenting with different options.  I don't enjoy photography as much when I'm in a rush to try to capture a moment before it is gone.  It feels too stressful to photograph things when I don't have time to fully study or consider them.  I guess to me it feels like the difference between creating and capturing.  I like knowing that I created great shots, versus just hoping I managed to capture them while things were whirling past.

I've been spending some time working through a list of exercises to 'improve your photography' that I found online.  I keep hoping that eventually I will have some photos that I like well enough to share on the blog.  In the mean time, I resorted to an old fall back for when I feel taking some photos, but have no clue what to point my camera at - Zoe & Lexi.  So, even thought it hasn't been very long since they were on the blog, I decided to share some new images of them. (It's a good thing they're so darn cute!)

My goal was to capture candid images of them, so I put on my longest zoom lens and sat on the patio waiting for them to wander out into the yard.  However, they had other plans!  They knew it was time for photos, and they never left my side.  So, I finally gave up my plans and opted to take more portraits of them.

They definitely did a lot better than they did last time!  I had a hard time narrowing down the photos, so I opted to just share a bunch of them...

Thanks for stopping by!

Michele Whitacre used to be a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona.  Now she just takes photos for fun when the mood strikes.
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© 2017 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Hummingbirds

A few weeks ago I spent my Sunday morning at the nature preserve near my house. I was sitting on the bank of a pond under the shade of a large tree, photographing birds that were hanging out on the opposite bank. (Stay tuned for those photos soon!)

While I was sitting there I heard a noise behind me and turned around to find another photographer standing behind me looking into the tree I was sitting under. When I turned and looked at her, she began talking to me and said that there was a hummingbird in the tree. I began looking and saw it flying around, but from my position sitting under the tree there's no way I could get any photos. Plus I didn't want to encroach on the other photographer. She continued to take photos until the hummingbird flew off and then she left. I continued sitting there watching the larger birds across the water, but noticed that the hummingbird kept returning overhead. I'm assuming there was a nest in the tree, but I never saw it.

I finally decided to stand up and see if I could capture any photos of the hummingbird since it seemed determined to stay near the tree. It wasn't until I returned home and began looking at the photos that I realized there were actually two hummingbirds there! I never saw them both at the same time and just assumed it was the same one every time I saw one...

I really have no idea if these photos are all of the same one or some of each of them. Regardless, I was excited to capture these photos. I love hummingbirds - something I've acquired from my mom over the years! She loves them, and puts feeders out for them.

I love this one, with its wings spread out!...

I hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I do!

Michele Whitacre used to be a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona.  Now she just takes photos for fun when the mood strikes.
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© 2017 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Dragon Flies

I'm not feeling overly creative with my blog post titles, can you tell?

Recently I went shooting at a nature preserve near my house and captured some fun shots while I was there.  I was hoping to spend my day taking macro photos of dragon flies and other bugs, but I really didn't see very many.  Those that I did see where too far away for me to use my macro lens, so it ended up being a day of shooting with my zoom lens instead!

Here are the photos I did mange to capture of the few dragon flies I spotted:

I really liked this one in black and white!...

This is the same dragon fly, just a few color shots...

The next three images are all of the same dragon fly.  The first image is my favorite...

I missed getting the his (her?) body in focus by a little here, but included it because I love how you can see the detail in the wings where the image is in focus...

I have a lot more photos from the adventure that I am still editing, so stay tuned for more photos soon!

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 | Follow Michele on Twitter

© 2017 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC