If you follow my blog, you’d know that my aim this year is to stretch myself with my photography.  So, with that in mind, I’ve signed up for an online advanced Lifestyle photography class for the next month.  It’s being run by Brooke Snow in the US, and a week into the course I’m loving the content.  Not only is her content about the topic for the week, but she’s added a whole host of things to help run a photography business.  It’s always fantastic to learn from other successful photographers.

Anyhoo, the assignments have to be posted on our blogs, and this post is my first submission .  The aim of this week was to do a photoshoot in a location that you’d never used before, and to create a shot list and really work the location.

Because I didn’t have a portrait shoot booked for the weekend, I used my boys as this week’s subjects (Nicole, your shoot on Sunday afternoon will be including my topic for the next week’s assignment ).

As for the location, I chose a narrow strip of veld (greenbelt) that’s a few blocks away from our house.  We walk the dogs along the pathways, and I’ve been dying to have a photoshoot there in the late afternoon with the sun in the long grasses.  Thankfully the boys were keen (I’ve given them a bit of a posing break in the last few weeks), and we stopped there on the way home this evening.

We’ve had a LOT of rain lately, and I didn’t realise how marshy the land was.  The municipality had cut the grass along the river so that residents can walk their dogs easily, but thankfully they haven’t cut the rest of the long grass yet.  My plan was to get the kids into the long grass and take photos of them with the sun glinting off the tips of the grasses.  That didn’t work all that well because it was quite cloudy.  And I was going to get them to lie in the grass… which they refused to do because the ground was actually very wet.  So instead I had to make other plans. With the grass under the trees being so short for a change, I discovered how gorgeous the line of willow trees was, and used that.  Then Connor got bored and sat on a log… and I snapped away.  Then they found some dandelions and those are always fun

I’m only allowed to choose 3 images though… so here are my favourites…

* My Every Day project is my 2012 year-long project reflecting my life and things around me

I know it’s unusual for me to post personal photos on a weekend, but I’m so proud of Connor right now  (I did do a shoot this morning but not going to post the images online)

Connor got in the pool this afternoon, and after a bit I convinced him to take his armbands off to practise his swimming again.  He’s getting more and more confident without the armbands, and today I think we made a break through

He swam underwater for the first time… and then he floated on his back!! Without armbands I’m THRILLED!

Taken with the Sony A77 and the 16-50mm f2.8 lens that I’m reviewing for Girl Guides.

* My Every Day project is my 2012 year-long project reflecting my life and things around me

The boys decided that my TV program that they were being “forced” to watch was far too boring for them, so they got the checkers board out

I used the opportunity to test the Sony A77 (I’m reviewing it for Girl Guides) in low light… I think I pushed it too far for the camera, ISO 2000 is far too grainy.

* My Every Day project is my 2012 year-long project reflecting my life and things around me

Oh I do love it when clients are fun and adventurous!! And this family has it in spades!!

Desere booked this photoshoot a few months ago and she was very specific about going to Newtown.  She wanted the urban vibe and mentioned using the graffiti walls… I was thrilled.

I had an absolute ball with this shoot… partly because I got to take photos where I’d been dreaming of going for ages… in the old Park station next to the Mandela bridge! Travis mentioned while we were at the graffiti walls that he’s always wanted to go into the station and he’d really love to have there photos done there, and I warned them that I didn’t think we’d be able to get in.  Every time I’d tried before, it was barricaded or swarming with security who’d turned me away.  Not this time though… the gate were open and even though we were being watched by police on the bridge (who were at a film set that was set up on the bridge), we had free reign

And it was SO SO SO worth the effort

He was stretching his dragon wings…  because he had a dragon hair style

LOL he was so cute here… trying to copy the expression of this “sad” man.  He couldn’t quite get the winking, so used his hand.  The reason his hand is on the floor is because he thought that’s where the claw would go

The week’s themes at school for both kids has been all about themselves, and today they came home with self portraits that they’d drawn of themselves.

I love the big smile that Connor drew on his image, and that little tuft of hair at the top of Bradley’s head made me smile.  Bradley was quite proud to point out the shark tooth around his neck… LOL not sure where that comes from.

* My Every Day project is my 2012 year-long project reflecting my life and things around me