MY COMMUNITY: Procyon Wildlife - Another Visit

I've had the opportunity to visit Procyon Wildlife a couple of times in the past couple of weeks. The purpose of these visits has typically been to take photographs of the animals, however today I needed to take photographs of the Board members for use on the new Procyon web site.

Of course, since I was there and was told that a new animal had been brought in, I couldn't resist trying to catch a glimpse of it. I think this is the first time Procyon Wildlife has been brought a weasel.

The Weasel

It's difficult, sometimes, to get really good photos of these animals as I don't want to disturb them too much. This is an example of one of those not so great photos, but I couldn't resist posting it. This little weasel was about 3-4 inches in length and its eyes weren't even open yet. So cute. I think it has sharp little teeth already though!

Most of the animals being cared for at Procyon are raccoons like this little fella.

Baby Raccoon

There is always a hub of activity at Procyon whenever I've gone to visit. It's amazing the amount of work involved to take care of all of the animals there.

I've been able to take quite a few photographs that we will hopefully be able to use on the web site and in various marketing materials. I just need to get some time to go through and process them all!

-- Lisa P.

MISCELLANEOUS: The end of another very busy weekend

No photos to post along with this entry unfortunately. I'm too exhausted.

I often wonder how people managing photography businesses part time in addition to 'day jobs' and family obligations do it. During the past couple of years there have been times when things have become very overwhelming.

But at the end of the day, as I sit and reflect on this weekend (and even on the past couple of weeks), I'm reminded why the many, may hours are worth it.

The Boudoir photo shoot last weekend was an absolute blast. It was and exhausting 5-6 hours of shooting and testing lighting, etc. but was so worth it in the end. The ladies were fantastic and while not all shots turned out the way I had hoped, I was very surprised at how many proofs for each woman I was able to provide them with and was equally surprised at how many of them they like! :) And the feedback from some initial post processing has been very positive as well. Oh how I love this job! :)

My 5 year old asked me if we could do another 'Photo Walk' so he could take pictures of the sun coming up. How cool is that?! So we were out the door shortly after 6am this morning. I didn't take many photos this time. This was his trip and I was the chauffeur. It's interesting the things he wants to photograph. I can't wait to buy him his first DSLR one day. I'm having troubles trying to show him how to use some of the not so automatic settings on our old Point and Shoot that I gave him. Would be so much easier on me if he had an entry level Nikon (like the D40 or D60...or anything similar)!! haha He even commented today that he would be able to get the entire pond in his shot if he had a big one like mine (as he said pointing to my lens which has a wider angle than his camera does). He asks questions and wants to know what the settings are for and can't wait to see his pictures in 'big' on his computer. While we were having breakfast at McDonald's, he told me it was the best day ever! :D

This afternoon I must have spent almost 4 hours (over two trips) at Procyon Wildlife shooting pictures of the animals there. Was a great experience and I'll write more about it in another post. I think I've definitely found the right place to volunteer my time and give a little something back.

So yeah, I'm still exhausted and can barely type because my arms are so tired, and I must still have somewhere close to 1000 photos that still need to be reviewed and processed (between personal photos, client photos and volunteer work photos), but it's all sooooooo worth it!! :D

Thanks for reading and next time I promise to include some photos! ;)

-- Lisa P.

CLIENT SHOOTS: Boudoir Photo Shoot

I was finally able to schedule a Boudoir photo shoot last weekend. My 5 yr old son was disappointed that he wasn't able to 'help' at this photo shoot. How do I explain Boudoir Photography to a 5 yr old? Well, I told him that I was going to be taking pictures of some women in their underwear and that they were too shy to have boys see them in their underwear. After the giggling stopped (he's at the stage where underwear is funny to him), he seemed to understand and moved on to the next thing in his life.

As the weekend got closer, he told me that he told his teachers that his "Mommy was going to be taking pictures of Mommies in their underpants in the basement". The simplified definition of Boudoir Photography! haha :)

What is Boudoir Photography?

Boudoir Photography is photographing a woman in her bedroom or private sitting room in various stages of ‘undress’. Boudoir photos can be revealing, but they don’t have to be. Sometimes what you don’t see makes the photograph that much more sensual than what you do see. Some people are more comfortable revealing a little more of themselves than others. Boudoir photos are very personal to the woman being photographed.

Debbie

My goal is to help each woman portray herself in the way in which she feels her most sensual. This is done by providing a comfortable setting (whether that be in my studio or in her own home), ensuring communication throughout the shoot and allowing the client to view a sample of the images along the way to ensure that the proper look is being achieved.

Renee

I've found that processing/editing Boudoir photos is more involved than with regular portraits. I want to make sure that I simply enhance the beauty of each woman that already exists and not over do things. Lighting tends to be more dramatic and there is typically more skin exposed. Balancing skin colour from face to body can sometimes be a challenge, especially in the cooler months where the body is typically covered up.

Aimee

Aimee - High Contrast

I absolutely love it! I can never get through the raw photos fast enough, as I can't wait to show the client her proofs. And once she has chosen her favourites for editing, I can't wait to publish the finals to her private gallery. It is so rewarding when a client is as excited to see her photographs as I am to take them. :)

In addition to individual Boudoir sessions, I'm really hoping that I will be able to book Boudoir Photo Parties. I will be posting more about this in the near future once I update the Boudoir Photography section of my web site. They are sure to be a lot of fun and what better thing to do for a 'Girls Night In'.

I want to thank the 3 beautiful and sexy women whose photographs are featured in this blog post. It was an honour taking your photos last weekend and your patience as I tested various lighting placements was very much appreciated!!

-- Lisa P.

ON THE BUSINESS SIDE: Meeting with my Accountant

I intended to meet with my new Chartered Accountant, John Karram from Norton McMullen & Co. LLP a few weeks ago, really....I did! It's amazing how time slips away.

Fortunately, I had spoken with him in March and had gotten most of the information I needed to collect ahead of time.

I'm surprised he didn't laugh out loud at the amount of Revenue I have vs. the amount of expenses. But hey! I still have a full time 'day job' and photography equipment and supplies are expensive!! ;) He was also surprised at how little mileage I had listed down and was sure it was a mistake. Once I explained where my 'day job' is (approximately a 90 KM round trip each day), the numbers made a bit more sense.

He sent me away to try and find more revenue, more mileage and a few other things. Funny thing was, I actually did find some. Seems I need to keep a bit better track of things. How did he know?!

Amazingly enough, despite my tardiness, it sounds like there's even a chance that they will complete our returns by the end of April on time! Of course, I forgot to confirm what the cost will be. I'm bad that way. I'd buy time if I could. And of course, it was the first thing Paul asked me.

So even though I was relatively organized, it was quite different this year getting things ready for someone else to do our taxes, as well as having to track the business expenses for the first time. I'm sure next year will be even more straight forward. I think I'll invest in Quickbooks though. Seems it would be a bit simpler than using my 'start from scratch' excel worksheets.

The final file of information has been e-mailed to him and now we wait to see how it all turns out.

Don't forget the deadline to file taxes in Canada is this Thursday!!

-- Lisa P.

CONTINUAL LEARNING: Daytripper Photo Algonquin Trip

What does less than 2 hours of sleep, having to be in Newmarket by about 2:30am, a ride in a big limo, sore arms, legs and pretty much the rest of my body and a memory card filled with over 350 photos on it mean??

It means I must be crazy!!!! No, it means I went on a Daytripper Photo excursion today to Algonquin Park :)

Since everyone already knows how behind I am in my photo editing, it's pretty certain that I won't be able to finish processing these photos for a little while. But that doesn't mean I can't put up a little teaser. :)

Here Comes The Sun!

Our Ride

(No, not the van - the van was our lead vehicle)

Scenery

Not a Moose

That was a little hint of what's to come. ;)

It was a fun time. It was nice to go on a trip like this with other people who are actually interested in photography too. There were 9 participants and I think 5 others, in addition to Bryan Weiss (Daytripper Photo), who were there to educate, guide and help us along the way. We were able to test out some lenses. I tried a 120mm-400mm telephoto zoom lens. Hence the sore arms. It was nice to have the opportunity to try it out in a real situation.

Thanks for looking. Hopefully I'll have more posted soon. :)

-- Lisa P.

FROM MY PHOTO LIBRARY: Our Jamaica Holiday 2009 - Part 3

I think the main attraction of the YS Falls is swinging off of the vines and jumping into the water. But of course, we didn't go there to get wet. We went there so I could take photos :)

YS River Falls

From Near The Bottom

There Are Always Rules To Follow

A Few Of My Favourites

Such a beautiful place :)

Thanks for looking!

-- Lisa P.

FROM MY PHOTO LIBRARY: Our Jamaica Holiday 2009 - Part 2

It's amazing how quickly the time passes by. I've been sick for over a week and am behind in pretty much everything. I've managed to continue making my way slowly through the 700+ photos I took on our Jamaica vacation. I can't believe how many more I still have to go through!!

Here's a few more:

Heading Out To Snorkel

Beach Volleyball

Just To Prove I was Actually There ;)




The Infinity Pool Looking Out To The Ocean




Poolside Loungers




Six Beach Chairs With Our Names On Them




For When We Needed Shade

Thanks for looking!

-- Lisa P.

(Note for my family & friends: There are more photos located on our personal photo web site, so check it out when you have time)

PHOTOGRAPHY FOR FUN: Hello Spring??

Yesterday was quite a nice day. The sun was shining and Im pretty sure the temperature was over 10 degrees celcius where I live. Unfortunately, I was stuck inside, sick in bed, with the blinds closed to stop the light from adding to my already pounding head.

Now, let's fast forward to today. I'm still sick in bed, however what's going on outside was quite a surprise when I actually took a look! Unfortunately I'm not feeling up to venturing outside, so I took these from my back door at around noon today. I think it's still snowing out there. The tobaggan hill looks like it's ready for use again!!

I assume it will most likely be all gone in the next day or two. But for today, school buses were cancelled and we have a snow day in April. Thankfully my 5 yr old goes to a daycare before and after school so he didn't have to stay home with me. While his intentions are always good, he really isn't that good at taking care of me when I'm sick ;)

You can see in this first photo that some of the tree tops really suffered from the large amount of snow, ice and wind we received over the winter. Many of them are leaning over.

If I were feeling better, I'd venture out to get some more shots, as I really do love how peaceful and clean things look right after a snowfall. Especially in the country. But I think I'll stay under the covers with my juice, chicken soup and box of kleenex.

EDIT TO ADD UPDATED PICTURE:

I took another shot about 6 hours later. I think there was almost another 2 inches of snow. And it's still snowing out there tonight too!! If it keeps it up, we might lose a few more trees tonight. The snow is very heavy because it's wet and there are a few smaller trees REALLY leaning over with the winds. :(


-- Lisa P.

CONTINUAL LEARNING: Terms of Use

Over the past year or so I've spent way more time doing research online. What have I been researching? Everything from photography techniques to best business practices to the legal aspects of photography. I never used to pay much attention to things like Terms of Use when signing up to photography related sites or if entering photo contests, etc. Well you can be sure that I do now.

Here are links to a few blog posts from www.photoattorney.com with related information:

http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/03/photo-contests-here-and-abroad-grab.html
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/03/newspaper-gets-rights-beyond-sharing.html
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/03/photo-contest-takes-license-for.html
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/02/facebooks-terms-of-use-to-be-revised.html

I think the most important thing is to make sure you educate yourself. It's not necessarily a bad thing to contribute to contests and sites as discussed in the above posts. The exposure and experience you receive may be well worth it. The main thing is that you are aware what rights you are or aren't giving away. Then you can make a conscious choice to submit or not submit.

-- Lisa P.

FROM MY PHOTO LIBRAY: Our Jamaica Holiday 2009 - Part 1

I can't believe it's been about a month and a half since we went to Jamaica on vacation and I haven't posted one photo on here yet of that trip. To be totally honest, I haven't even finished processing all of the photos yet. But I have gotten through a few. Most of the photos are just fun ones of us and our friends doing the things you'd typically do while on vacation and are more appropriate for my personal photo site. But I did get a few interesting shots that I'll share here.

We went on a boat down the Black River to see some crocodiles. Here are a few photos from that excursion.

The Mangroves

Sunbathing Crocodile

Someone's Got An Eye On You

What I'll do is post a few at a time as I work my way through them. :)