This past Wednesday my Cousin took me to a location in Murrieta to scout for photoshoots and for general hiking. The location has some ideal spots for sessions, but a lot of the places are not easy to get to and would be especially hard to get gear around. Most of the images I took were on the other side of the creek, which meant crossing over small rocks above a flowing creek. I would be more at ease crossing a creek with gear if I had a waterproof pelican case or find an easier path and way to cross the creek without having to go through it. Despite some limiting factors I will most likely do a photo session here in the near future. The entrance that leads down to the creek would be an ideal place for photos as well as some of the trails that lead down to the creek.

Some other images I took around the house to try out some new stuff:

Have you every had one of those days that you think nature is after you? Well, yesterday was one of those days for me. My goal for yesterday was to get out and capture some Fine Art work. I waited until there was a break in the rain, grabbed my gear and headed out. Not a moment soon after reaching the curb it started to rain and progressed rather quickly. I retreated back into the house and it stopped raining, my luck right! Since it was lunch time and I was hungry I took a few minutes to make some lunch, and sat down to one of my favorite movies. During this time it had not rained and the cement was beginning to dry. I figured the rained had stopped at this point and I headed back out, and you would not believe what happened next. It started raining once again. Frustrated at this point I decided to call it a day, so I thought. Since I wasn’t able to do what I wanted, I figured it was time for my Parakeet to get his pictures taken. Normally Trinity doesn’t like to get his picture taken and runs away, but this time he was all for it. Matter of fact, he was showing off to the camera and to himself. I was able to get a couple of shots from him, but still disappointed in the outcome. During this time my dog was watching, so I also took an image of her as well.

My Spoiled Brats: (Trinity Left, Cinnamon Right)

Early that morning I received a text message from my cousin asking if I would do a mini-session of her child in his raingear. I gave her some information regarding a time that would be best considering the amount of luck that I was having. When she got off of work she stopped by and we started discussing it. I figured since Aiden was already over, had all his raingear with him and the skies were looking amazing I decided lets go ahead and give it a shot. I mistakenly said “I haven’t had any luck today, every time I went outside with my gear it started to rain,” that wasn’t very smart. I hauled all my gear outside, got it setup and it started raining. Aiden was playing behind the shed, having a blast and didn’t want to come out. After a few minutes I got him to come out and stand where I wanted him. I took an exposure shot, readjusted my flash and before I got to compose the shot he started to take off, so I took a blind-fire shot and he said I’m done. Like a true celebrity. I didn’t get a chance to review the image, as I wanted to get all my gear inside and out of the rain. After I got my gear all cleaned up, I finally got a chance to review the image and I nailed it. Exposure was perfect and sharp. The composition wasn’t what I wanted, but who’s going to argue. I got the shot, which counts.

Did you know that you can get through SeaWorld in less than two hours! This is of course if you do not watch any of the shows and go from exhibit to exhibit, but the best part of it all, is that you don’t have to rush. My Dad and I spent time feeding the flamingos, ducks, birds and bat rays throughout the park. I was still able to capture quite a few images, but out of all the images I took only two stood out to me. The first image that stood out was a penguin posing for the camera. The little guy was giving the camera all different kinds of angles while keeping eye contact on the lens. The second image is of a beluga whale. Every time I have been to SeaWorld they were either hiding or the viewing room was packed. Finally being able to capture them was a real treat and I was happy with the shot. Exiting the park was a disaster and those who were entering the park at noon we wished them the best of luck. NBC News was filming an Orcas protest which caused the huge congestion. Personally I don’t understand why people try to protest against places like SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo and San Diego Safari Park. I am Pro SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo and San Diego Safari Park simply because the benefits out weigh the negative.