OH MY GOSH!!! + Photoshoot with my sister! :P

So I have been away for a while and so much has been happening!!!

I have hardly been able to pick up my camera for the past like 4 months because I have been in the Fire Academy at College of the Mainland. It has been an amazing experience but it's taking so much time! I can't really do anything else. Classes are Monday-Friday 8am to 5pm.
Luckily though, I will be done on May 10th!!!

Well here is one of my most recent shoots!
Also my first time to really use my new Paul C Buff Alien Bee external strobe that I got!!

All the images were takin with 50mm 1.8 in my makeshift studio in the garage!!! :)

Let me know what you think!! I love critiques!!!! xD

I know there are quite a few where the background is not consistent... :( I was working with the limitations of my equipment and just trying some new things out.

Please critique!!! :)

So I would love to get you honest opinion on this image. I take nothing personal, so please you can be as harsh as you want. :)

My Little Nephews

So my sister has been visiting for the past 2 months (I thing that's how long) from Alaska and she asked me to do my nephews 4 year old pictures.  

This first one was just taken one day when we went to the park. but the rest were taken on the day of the actual photo shoot.

I think this black and white photo is on of my favorites. :)

This last one is of my youngest nephew. He is 18 months. 

What do y'all think? I would love some critiques on these.

Using Flash in Outdoor Portraiture

Yes! I did indeed use a flash for these shots, and no I did not photoshop the background into the picture.

I used the flash to light my subject but had my shutter speed slow enough that it was open longer then the flash, thus allowing the ambient light to fill in. 

Inks Lake

Alright!!! I know this post has been a long time coming. Anyway these pics are from our trip to Inks Lake up near Austin, Texas. It is a beautiful place. 

So this was our first night at the state park and the view from out camping spot. These first 3 photos are long exposures, 20 to 30 seconds. 

So the second day we woke up and did our morning devotions and then I tried to get a reflection photo of a camp site across the water from us. I wish the water was more calm but it is what it is. :)

Mom doing her devotions.

Then later that day we went over to the Devil's Waterhole and jumped of the cliff! It was a ton of fun!!!

This is the cliff that we jumped off of. 

Then we went to one of the fishing piers so I could take some pictures.

Day 3 consisted of staying around camp for awhile then we went into Austin to se the Capitol! 

This was just 2 guys walking up the stairs and the light was crazy cool with the old looking stair rail. I really like this one.

The view from the front steps of the capitol.

Then the next day we went back to the Devil's Waterhole and I did some hiking.

The our las day came and after we got all packed up and hit the road we stopped at a scenic spot near the top of a hill and I snapped even more pictures. :) 

Now for some fun random pictures of our trip.
I know the quality of this video is not the greatest but that happened through the upload process and I can't fix it.... :(((

Also check back soon because I have a new post coming. We went to the Houston Fire Fest at the Firefighter Academy in Houston and I got some really cool picture. I will be posting them sometime Thursday. :)

Day 3 in Oklahoma - Western Museum - Drive Home

So on our third day in Oklahoma we went to the Western Museum. It was a lot of fun. They had a TON of western stuff, and the museum was absolutely HUGE!

I couldn't take a lot of pictures because there were a lot of places where they didn't want allow flash, and the lighting was so dim that it was impossible to take pictures with out either a flash or a tripod.

So there aren't as many pics in this post as the other 2. :( 

Western Museum

They have this big statue in the entry way, it is huge. I think it's kind of the Oklahoma City mascot. lol There's painting, rugs, coasters, and blankets of it there. 

They had this big bronze statue of "The Duke" (that would be John Wayne for those of you who don't know), and being the big John Wayne fans we are, we HAD to get a picture with him. 

left to right: Dad, John Wayne, Me, Moriah.

Ok! There is something horribly wrong with these next two pictures. 

I still don't see how I got stuck with the super small saddle..... :\ The tallest guy gets the smallest saddle..

Left to right: Me, Miranda, Moriah, Jordan