Beamcatchers was in attendance, and I bring you one of my early favorites with Bobby in the foreground and Michael in the background, and the first published image from the show. A number of additional images from the show are now available for viewing in my Zenfolio gallery. If you weren't able to attend the show, just startup the player for either CD, hit the link, sit back and enjoy.

You do have the CD don't you?

Have We Caught Yours?

Obtaining excellent photographic results in the setting was a bit of a challenge. The room was somewhat small with high medium natural wood ceilings. Being one of those situations where you're really just an observer and not in any creative control of the situation, you do the best you can. Bouncing a flash off of such a ceiling tends to soak up much of the light as well reflect a light that isn't the desired color consistency. The walls in the front and back of the room were the option I chose with varying degrees of success.

The opening act for the evening's festivities was Peter Boehling of the band, Peter Boehling and The Best Life Band. Peter is an obstetrician in Edenton, but if he ever decides to give up his day job, well, we know exactly what he'll be doing, and doing well. Peter sang some familiar old songs for us as well as a few of his own. We were all very impressed and enjoyed his original work. The following is my favorite shot of Peter singing one of his selections.

Peter currently has two "albums" on iTunes - She and Sage. Check him out - I know you'll enjoy listening to him as much as we did Saturday night.

Hey Peter, here's some of that sage you've encountered on Hwy 32, phographed up close and personal by yours truly!

Capping off the evening's entertainment was Bobby Plough and Friends. Singing a number of tunes familiar to their fans, as well as favorites from Bobby's "album", Barn Full of Memories. Dropping the microphones for everything but the bass due to the small room, they went nearly full acoustic tonight and really sounded good. Bobby's strong vocals were accented well with the harmonies of his Van Johnson and bass player, Lindsay Stevenson. They played a full set that lasted until nearly 11 pm and everyone was left wondering where the time had gone. Below is an image of the trio at their best.

Keep in mind, Bobby Plough will be playing with Michael O'Connor on January 16, 2010 at The Maguire Theatre in the Arts of the Albemarle building in downtown Elizabeth City, N.C. Get those tickets while you still can at the Arts of the Albemarle Box Office or at Cypress Creek Cafe!

Everyone had a great time Saturday night, and Beamcatchers caught some wonderful images of dear friends and talented individuals. 

Have We Caught Yours?

All of the wreaths are from Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. The above is just a small sampling of the complete group of 125 images which are available for viewing in my Zenfolio gallery.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

We've also added new products this month with our fine art series. If you're interested in a truly special gift, you might want to check that out. We're continually looking for new ways and avenues to service your photographic needs, and we think these new products are awesome. Printed books remain a hit with all who order them - the price is very good, the quality is excellent and it's hard to beat for the ultimate conversation piece.

I began June with an engagement session for Jamey and Jenna in preparation for their wedding in September. They're a beautiful couple and a joy to photograph. I'm excited to be working with them and offer both of them my heartfelt congratulations and very best wishes for the future.

You can view more of Jamey and Jenna in our Zenfolio galleries - you can already tell the wedidng day images will be spectacular.

This past Saturday we caught the Blue Ribbon Riders 4-H Drill Team on the field at Double T Farms. They're a well rehearsed group of young people that ride both local and state competitions, and their exhibition out at Double T was superb. The following is but a sample of the beautiful beams of life we caught from these guys - many more are available in our Zenfolio galleries as well as other images from this month's Double T Farms show.

We also had the opportunity this past weekend to enjoy the sounds of Bobby Plough & Friends as they sang tunes from their CD, Barn Full of Memories, as well as sample the superb cuisine at the Cypress Creek Grill here in Elizabeth City. It was busy, but the service was attentive, the food delicious, and the entertainment as good as it gets. While there we had the opportunity to photograph these guys in action, a sample of which follows:

The summer is just getting started and we're heating up here at Beamcatchers. Don't get caught by a lack of availability. Give us a call while there's still a few openings in the current season and let us help you with your personal or business photographic and/or desktop publishing needs.

Have We Caught Yours?

I'm almost completely out of Moo MiniCards that I use for my business cards, and have been designing my own for the next batch I print. The last set I used were printed from my own images, but was from a random collection that I upload to Flickr. This time we're focusing on the equine and horse show theme and I'm really looking forward to completing the set and having them printed. Anyway, here's a sneak peak at the first few cards to share with you quickly this morning!

Could your business benefit from the application of photography and desktop publishing to help you create a custom solution such as this?

Have We Caught Yours?

The morning started with a trip up to Virginia Beach for routine service on the EOS since there's no Volkswagen dealership in our lovely town. But every year about this time, we also make a trip over to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens anyway, so hey, grab the gear as you head out the door for pictures since you're going that way anyhow (but next time take the telephoto lens!). Check out the link and head over to their website if you've never bothered - it's a good design filled with useful information. And if you live in this area and have never visited the gardens, then you're simply missing out. Go! Seven bucks a head and you'll have a great time.

It was a bit warm today and surprisingly muggy for the second of May, but a beautiful day overall with only occasional short-lived showers intermixed with sunshine. We arrived roughly mid-day and decided to head over to the rose garden for starters. We knew the roses bloomed in the fall, but we weren't aware they bloom both in May and October. While it's only early May, there were still a few species in full bloom and some that were simply gorgeous. We plopped in the grass and sat in the rose garden a little while - laughing and talking, taking pictures and enjoying the olfactory delight from simply being there. While there, I couldn't resist a photograph of this beauty.

The rose garden area is rather large and has a number of nice vantage points. We found one point in a corner by a stone wall that allowed one to be enveloped in roses (minus the thorns!) and took a few photos in Julie's favorite spot of the day. I added a vignette and converted it into a tonal contrast image for this presentation. 

From the rose garden, we spotted a tree filled with white blossoms way across the canal, and decided to find that tree for taking a few photos. There was just something captivating about the scene and we knew we wanted to find our way there so off we headed in search of the tree of white. Along the way, we encountered these lovely beams of life and stopped to enjoy them.

We climbed the hill to Nato Tower and paused underneath a few minutes during a brief rainshower. If you plan to visit the gardens and are interested in wildlife photography or birdwatching, Nato Tower offers a unique vantage point for photographing or viewing a nearby nest belonging to bald eagles. On the bank of the canal prior to reaching the tower, there is also an observation scope for viewing the eagles. There was an eaglet visible in the nest from ground level at the time of our visit with both parents dutifully watchful nearby. As we left the Tower location, Julie noted the azaleas lining the sides of the path running down towards the bridge that crosses over to the Colonial Gardens, and I asked her to stop for a few pictures. The following is one of my favorite portraits from the day. It's so easy to catch beautiful images when you have a lovely subject!

Not wanting to keep our two four-legged children waiting too long at home, we headed back after enjoying the cool breezes brought on by a 25-minutes tram ride around the gardens. During the ride, we got to see a number of sections of the garden we missed during our walking and made note to visit them during our next trip. I hope that will be this summer instead of waiting until next spring, as there are many, many crepe myrtle trees in the gardens and I'd love to see them in bloom.

We had already planned to enjoy a dinner out tonight instead of cooking and decided this would be the night we'd enjoy our first dinner at Montero's Restaurant here in Elizabeth City. We've lived here 2 years, had previously photographed and watched cooking demonstrations by Andy Montero at the Downtown Waterfront Market, had previously blogged about the restaurant, but still hadn't taken the time to visit it ourselves. Tonight we did, and might I add that while the botanical gardens were a visually inspiring and olfactory wonder early this Saturday afternoon, dinner at Montero's was equivalently delightful to the taste buds. The atmosphere was pleasant and inviting, the service friendly, helpful and attentive, and in terms of flavor and presentation, the meal was simply outstanding. The menu is varied and original, and I can't wait to go back to try the Brown Sugar Encrusted Pork Chops or the Sesame Encrusted Tuna. For one of your side dishes, be sure and pay the extra dollar for "Karin's Salad". It's a special creation by Karin Montero and I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say it's one of the tastiest and most enjoyable salads I've ever eaten. And finally, when all is said and done, the check won't have you crying in your tea glass (even if you had dessert!). If you haven't visited Montero's Restaurant, the next time you're thinking about pulling in to one of the local franchise restaurants, come hungry to Montero's instead and you'll leave a whole lot happier than usual. I promise.

And with a perfect day behind us that I was blessed to be able to spend with my very best friend, all I can say is...

Have We Caught Yours?

There were certainly no worries for me on whether or not there'd be ample light to put the EF 100-400mm IS to work (at least until the sun started going down!). I think it's proven itself to be a worthy workhorse for these types of events despite some of my initial concerns, and I look forward to enjoying it's capabilities for many horse shows to come. I actually finding the push-pull zoom of the lens a pleasure to work with. 

I'm posting approximately 970 images to the Zenfolio gallery from this show. I've been through them a couple of times making minor adjustments like I always do. I give each image a much more thorough review to ensure I'm happy with it at such time someone orders a print of it. This year I'm spending a little extra time to keyword every image so that when I upload them, they're sorted by participant. This should save you a significant amount of time looking for just the images you're interested in. This takes about 2 additional hours in prep work, but I think it's worth it for your convenience. If the keywords upload and you notice I've called you something like "White Tank Girl", it's just that I don't know your name yet. I will though before the season is done :) (Edit: keywords appear to only be visible to me)

I'm not happy with the flash work still but I'm putting it out there for you - I won't be happy with it until I'm convinced I've perfected to the extent my ability and/or wallet will allow. Off-camera ETTL didn't work well at all with the MiniTT1 and the FlexTT5 even with an ST-E2 on top. I kept getting full flash dumps and I finally gave up and dropped back into manual which at least gave me consistent performance and triggering wasn't really a problem. Also, I pushed the shutter too far klling the ambient even though I know better. I could say we'll take care of it next time, but I actually hope we'll be running a bit better on time next month getting most of the gaming done before sundown. I'm not sure if inefficiency slowed us down this month or if it was simply the increased participation.  Maybe a bt of both, huh?

Just in case you ever wondered, after spending 10-12 hours in the field catching these beautiful beams of light, it takes an additional amount of time equal to that before I'm ready to release them for your enjoyment. It takes quite awhile to process and sort 1000 images! However, every time one of you tells me how much you've enjoyed looking through them or that you're happy that I'm here for the show this year, I smile inside and the hours of work vanish and it doesn't feel much like work! Thank you!

Don't forget - FaceBeams are new for 2009! I don't have any produced yet from this show as I'm giving my graphics workhorse computer all the freedom it wants just to get the files uploaded. I will be making some this week; however, so keep checking the FaceBeams folder. If you're interested in seeing an image of yourself coverted into a little something digitally special, just drop me a line. Also, check out the Custom Product page for a few ideas of something special we can do with these images for you keeping in mind that FaceBeams are purely a digital product for use online.

Also, please remember that if you ask me to come over and take pictures for you during the show, you might not get just the results you were hoping for. Beamcatchers is available for hire to do farm calls to get the photographic results you're looking for, and given the proper attention under controlled conditions, I'll always be able to give you better results than I can give you on an impromptu basis.

As I write this, 227 images out of 970 total to go - another 3-4 hours and they'll be done for another month. Thank you for stopping by, thanks for reading, and thank you for sharing a little of your life with me again this month. I look forward to seeing you all again in May.

Edit: Not sure if it's due to the storms in the area, but bandwidth for uploads has slowed to a crawl over the last couple of hours. Image uploads should complete sometime during the night. Sorry for the delay.

Have We Caught Yours?

Keep your eyes peeled on that special folder for a specialized image of YOU coming soon!

Have We Caught Yours?