365(6) Project 2012 Susan Lloyd Photography

I'm sure I looked half crazy to the people who witnessed me shooting this morning.  Out on the sidewalk in front of a condo complex, I was highly visible with my bed head hair, my baggy sweats, and all my lighting gear. But I was a woman on a mission. 

 

Mission accomplished.

Bonus shot!!

I'm not sure how I got from watching a online workshop about weddings to taking pix of my dogs today.  Maybe it was that I was totally inspired to try some new lighting, and they were the only models available?  I'm not sure, but the resulting shot was inspired by wedding photos taken by an amazing husband and wife team based in Nashville, TN.  I'm sure they would be proud to know that I'm taking photos of my dogs while incorporating some of their lighting techniques.

I have every confidence I will be using these techniques (and more) on brides and their wedding parties.  With several weddings booked this year already, I'm looking to book more and really can't wait to document the day of several beautiful couples who are committing to each other.

By the way, this is Clover...she's been featured on this blog before.  Lucy is in the background. She's probably wondering how tiny Clover stole her chew toy so easily. Yes, that's a hair bow. 

Who sets up a school shoot with 40 kids on a Monday?  Apparently, I do.  That's what I did this week anyway.  And as far as Mondays go..it was typical.  I couldn't seem to move my feet in a forward motion fast enough and was late (gasp!) setting up for this shoot.  As a result, I set up in a hurry and ended up with a power cord inalmost every shot, so much post processing was required.  Lesson learned...take time to set things up properly, even if you are running late!!

That said, I was really happy with the way these pix turned out.  I had envisioned them several months ago when I finished my last sports shoot and had decided that the next time I had the chance, sports photos would look more commercial and less....traditional.  Don't freak though! There are several traditional shots for parents to order from...but the more contemporary ones are my favorites.

So, with a few verbal directions from me, the basketball teams (and the cheerleaders too) that I had the chance to work with ended up looking very intimidating...and not typical.  Day 20 is one example of the fierceness.

 

 

Yes, I'm missing a few days.  Maybe you'll see them posted, maybe not.  At this point, I'm just making sure that I don't give up completely!  I feel certain I'll get back on track and post every day, but for now, you'lre going to get days 19, 20, and 24. So here we go.

On day 19-which if I were to be shooting a 365 correctly would actually be day 22- I participated in another CPG event.  I'll be featuring more photos from that event on my regular blog, but I knew I needed to post at least one here.  The subject of this event was "couples".  Some were engaged, several were dating, and a few were already married.  But the task was to capture these couples doing what they do best- loving each other. This is Ashley and Matt...currently dating.

 

 

Well, there seems to be a sunset theme going here on my 365 project.  Maybe that's because I wait until the end of the day to start thinking about my shot!  And truth be told, this shot wasn't taken today.  Yes, it goes into the "previously unposted" category for which I have no shame. 

Actually there is a funny story behind this.  Sort of.  I took this shot after having finished shooting a Charleston Photography Group event at Old Sheldon Church (more than likely, in a desperate moment of mine, you'll see a few shots posted from that on this project too) Anyway, as I was driving back down the short stretch of Old Sheldon Church road to get to hwy 17, I looked to my right an noticed how amazing the sky looked with the marsh silhouetted in the foreground.  And lucky me!  I actually had my gear with me so stopping to take a few frames seemed to be the natural thing to do.  I pulled over onto the shoulder, grabbed my camera from the bag, and slid over to the passenger seat.  In my rush to get the shot before the light changed, I slid without paying attention and knocked over a nearly full bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper (if you know me it will come as no surprise that this was in car with me).  Yep.  Onto me, all over the passenger seat, all down my boot on my right leg.  Nearly 16 oz of drink makes for more of a mess than you would imagine. And it was cold too!

But I got the shot.

The sky was pretty again tonight with nice pastels.  I didn't really have time to head out and get a proper sunset shot, so I took this from my second floor window.  It's not the most amazing shot ever, but I do like the colors, and I like the window panes contrasting with the random arrangement of branches outside.  Tomorrow I'll actually plan out a shoot and take my time to get something with some thought behind it.

Okay, legitimate Day 14 shot!  As the game was ending, I decided to do a long shutter speed shot from the floor.  I had the camera sitting on the floor, aperture closed down to f/22 and the ISO at 100 so I could leave the shutter open for as long as possible.  This is the resulting shot.  If you look very closely tpwards the top of the frame, you can see the jersey numbers of the kids in white.  They do look a little like ghost players from the past, don't they?

That kid shooting is my oldest son Cameron. He LOVES basketball...and I know I'm his mom, but he's pretty good at it too.  This game was tonight (not yesterday as Day 13 might imply), and after I shoot a game Cam will come look over my shoulder as I edit.  He liked this one but not because his shot went in.  He likes how high he is in the air.  And I think he's channeling some Michael Jordan!

 

As a general rule, I'm drawn to pretty glass, especially when colors are involved.  Today, as I was out shopping with Caroline, this set of shot glasses caught my eye.  They were relatively inexpensive, and since I didn't have an idea for my shot of the day, I bought them hoping to be inspired. This photo was taken from underneath a very small glass end table with a flash to the LH side of the frame being bounced off the adjacent wall.  I took a gazillion shots using various angles and arrangements of the glasses, narrowed down to six favorites and then had Jamie come and choose the one I would post.  And here it is! 

This falls under the "previously unposted" category. I took this shot at the beginning of December when Jamie and I were treated to a gourmet meal. The meal was prepared by my friend Matt Shearer, a professional chef. It was one of the best meals I have had in a long time, and that's saying a lot since I live in a city where food is highly celebrated and well prepared.
This is a phoo of our dessert- Matt's version of German chocolate cake. And it was amazing. Yum!