The Munchkin's Notebook

City Skyline from ferry We went up New York City on May 11 th for a one day photography workshop on Ellis Island (see other blog post: Finding the Light on Ellis Island ) and decided if we were up there to just spend the weekend and take in the city.  We spent a mere day and half exploring the city, and only saw a few of the big attractions. We flew into LaGuardia, which was closer to our hotel then JFK. Our hotel was in lower Manhattan near the Financial District and Battery Park. We chose this area because it was the area the workshop recommended, we also found it was quieter section of the city. Arriving at the airport and grabbing a taxi was fairly easy. The taxi fare was a bit expensive, but I was expecting that, and it let us check NYC taxi experience off our bucket list. We had a nice view of the harbor and the Statue of Liberty, from our hotel room on the 34 th floor.   We grabbed a light dinner at Bill’s Bar & Burgers after we dropped luggage in our room and ...

ISO 100, Aperture F9, Shutter 1/320s, Focal Length 60mm On May 12 th , my husband and I attended a photo workshop on Ellis Island hosted by Joe McNally and Ari Espay through Fancy Girl/Street Boy Productions . This was a one-day workshop and one of McNally’s more affordable workshops, at around $750 per person for the day.  It was worth the price as we had access to the closed side of Ellis Island, hands-on photo instruction, were able to talk one-on-one with Joe and Ari, a flash demo, a light breakfast, and lunch. The day started with a 5:45AM arrival at the Battery Park Pier, so we could take the employee ferry over to Ellis Island.   Once gathered at the pier we went through security, and boarded the 6:30AM ferry to the island. We were met at the Ellis Island pier by Joe McNally and members of the Save Ellis Island team.   Save Ellis Island is a non-profit that works in conjunction with the National Parks to maintain the hospital side of Ellis Island.   From ...

On April 22, I attended the D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots ’ meet up at Burleigh Manor Animal Sanctuary and Eco Retreat in Ellicott City, MD.   The Federal-style manor house was built by Colonel Rezin Hammond in 1802 as well as several other out buildings.   The sanctuary provides unwanted, neglected and abused farm animals a home to live out the rest of their days. The animals are well cared for and guest of the manor can interact with the animals. For these sessions I used: Canon 80D 1 Speed light Small square soft box Trigger Light stand 18-200mm lens Camera Settings: For this shoot we had access to all the outdoor areas, to include a few of the animal pens.   We also had access to the wine cellar, guest cottage, and pool area, which I did not use for my mini sessions.   For this event I shot at ISO 100 and ISO 200.   There was a big storm rolling in that day and the lighting conditions where slowly changing throughout the course of the eve...