Flowery Friday 9

So there I was yesterday, photographing 7 kids and their instructors in a circus camp. It was terrific fun! Well, aside from having a tired right hand and sore shoulders.

 The only downside is that I shot about 2400 photos. A few were obvious eliminations from the back of the camera. That leaves 2384 photos imported into Lightroom. 

It takes far longer to review photos to pick which ones to edit, than it does to actually take the photos. Taking the photos, you're in the moment. Looking for the next shot. Waiting for the swing of the trapeze to get to a certain spot, hoping the smile is still there. Starting to shoot just before what you think will be the magic moment. Knowing the shutter speed is slightly on the slow side (indoor lighting), knowing focus isn't always perfect.

7 kids, 13 activities overall (though not all kids did all activities), plus a few instructor shots, plus some of the kids being unbelievably photogenic. There are a few photos it would hurt not to show the client. They are print and frame, and it's not even my kid. The parent would swoon, unless maybe they're sick of their kid being photogenic. 

The task is to boil those 2384 photos down to between 100 and 200 photos. I have a plan. I have created a grid. 7 kids across the top, 13 activities down the side. Wish me luck. I'll be at this most of the day, except for a visit with a community association committee head to discuss upgrades to the building security, and a hearing test to tell me I should wear my hearing aids and that I'm essentially deaf in the upper tones without them.

We are back into the heat again, plus smoke. This isn't as bad as it was during the summer of smoke, which I forget if it was last year or the year before. But it still isn't fun.

To distract you, here's more flowers starting from May 25 to May 29.

Of the Day

Driftwood

Celina, but first a flowery serendipity from 2017.

This is why Celina is such a difficult subject. Curtis was somewhat amused by the camera. Sort of an, 'all right, if you really must, and don't forget you'll hear from my agent.' kind of thing. Celina is not amused. Not even slightly.

Flower, (I've been having a tough time with the begonias this year, but the light was lovely.) then an important serendipity.

This is one of the most important photos I've ever taken, in terms of understanding the relationship between photographer and the photographed, and learning that what I think is a good photo isn't always what the person thinks is a good photo of them, or what they like.

So there I was, shooting a triathlon. I knew a bunch of people competing, but was mainly there to photograph the famous Michelle. I'd seen Amy come in, I called hello from a distance, showed her the camera and said, 'be dramatic!' The result was a great photo of her looking dramatic. Then a few minutes later I caught her coming into transition looking for her team mates.

When I was editing, I almost didn't edit it. In fact I almost deleted it. Amy and Michelle were coming over to look at the photos on the big screen, and I didn't want to show this one. I didn't think it was terribly flattering. 

She loved it! She got a print. She calls it her 'Resting Bitch Face.' I remember this all the time when I'm shooting people.

Peony

A second peony, actually, since the first one today is the red peony. At least I'm pretty sure it is.

Bee

I was asked if there was any significants to the order in the Of the Day photos. There is not. Driftwood is usually first because that's the one I started with. Often any people are next, just because. The rest could be in the order I think of them, or the order I see them in my folder, or anything. 

Happy Friday!