tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12790645453853260132024-03-13T14:13:34.117-04:00The Munchkin's NotebookPhotography, Travel and WhimsyMunchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.comBlogger371125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-86901100878363927342024-01-01T14:01:00.000-05:002024-01-01T14:01:22.536-05:002023 Year in Review & Looking Forward to 2024This year seemed to zoom by, and I don’t know if that was
because I was trying to fit everything in before school started or just because
I’m getting older. In August, I started
an intensive 10-month Master’s Degree program at the Eisenhower School for
work, and you can’t take leave while in the program. So, I had to squeeze all my annual leave in before
August. Because of Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-2787852872975427762023-12-28T19:08:00.000-05:002023-12-28T19:08:18.252-05:00Gilded Age Inspired ShootOn December 16th,
I did a Gilded Age inspired session with Laci Neal. The inspiration for the shoot was a mix of
the show “The Gilded Age” and historical photos of Mrs. Astor and Mrs.
Vanderbilt from the 1880s.
For this session, I used:
Photography Equipment
Props/Miscellaneous
Cannon R6
24-105 mm Lens
Transmitter/Trigger
2 Phottix Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-3852798286163664462023-12-17T12:16:00.000-05:002023-12-17T12:16:20.484-05:00Sliver Holiday SessionOn November 19th,
I did a holiday themed session with Sanj. For this session, I wanted to do a set
consisting of all silvers and whites with these large ornaments I bought at
Michales Crafts. The set really, I think
is reminiscent of a modern or simplistic window display, giving the shoot a
very commercial feel.
For this session, I used:
Photography Equipment
Props/Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-48103277329089113802023-12-15T18:47:00.000-05:002023-12-15T18:47:07.152-05:00Evermore Inspired Shoot for a SwiftyOn November 18th,
I did a Taylor Swift inspired session with Coralinx Cosplay. The
inspiration for the session was the Evermore album by Taylor Swift and fan art
by Alef Vernon. Since the fan art turned the album cover
outfit into pajamas, I went with a warm and cozy set with warm brown, tan, and
cream tones.
For this session, I used:
Photography Equipment
Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-15888385928875124392023-11-26T15:53:00.001-05:002023-11-26T15:53:20.150-05:00Meet Up at the CemeteryOn November 12th,
I attended the D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots’ meet-up held at the Congressional
Cemetery in Washington, DC. This
event was respectful to the cemetery and in line with other events they host,
such as 5K runs, speaker series, movie nights, tours, and programming.
In essence, the cemetery is going back
to how early rural cemeteries were viewed and used as public parks. Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-55146162492433774262023-11-15T18:14:00.000-05:002023-11-15T18:14:07.321-05:00Special Event at the Big BarnOn September 30th,
I attended a special D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots meet-up at Big
Barn 1810, in Maryland. Big Barn 1810
is a great place to shoot, and I have done several one-on-one sessions there in
the past. It is best known for its large
windows on the far side of the barn that let in a ton of natural light.
For this session I used:
Canon R6
2 Speed lights
Trigger
1 Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-84971804212655150632023-10-10T18:24:00.002-04:002023-10-10T18:24:28.975-04:00Sunflower Fields in PAOn September 9th,
I attended the D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots’ meet up at Lesher's Poultry Farm Sunflower Fields in Chambersburg, PA. This was a rare late evening shoot, so the
photographer could capture a bit of the sunset, which was the thought at
least. A large storm was supposed to roll in the
evening; threatening the shoot, so we ended early to beat the storm. So, there Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-2647301902650495532023-09-05T19:00:00.001-04:002023-09-05T19:00:49.933-04:00Rubber Duckies!On August 12th,
I did a second rubber duckie session in a kiddie pool with the lovely Lena Volkova.
For this session, I used:
Photography Equipment
Props/Miscellaneous
Cannon R6
24-105 mm Lens
Transmitter/Trigger
2 Phottix strobes
2 c-stands
2 Backdrop stands
2 black backdrops
Sandbags
2 rectangular soft boxes
Circular Polarizer
169 Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-22929983641794373752023-08-05T10:00:00.001-04:002023-08-05T10:00:00.142-04:00Cosplay in a Flower FieldOn July 23rd,
I did a cosplay session with Washu
Cosplay at the Field of Flowers in Purcellville, VA. This
session was mainly for me to test out my new camera, a Canon R6 and new 24-105mm
RF lens. This is a big change for me as
I jumped to full frame from a crop sensor camera and changed to mirrorless with
this camera, so some settings and functions are a bit different.
For this Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-2027152439709405592023-08-04T12:00:00.001-04:002023-08-04T12:00:00.145-04:00The Field of FlowersOn July 21st,
I did a session with Sonia
at the Field of Flowers
in Purcellville, VA. The Field of Flowers is a several individual rows of wild
flowers and domestic flowers, that you can come and pick. It is also a lovely place for a small outdoor
photo session.
For this session I used:
Photography Equipment
Canon 80D
18-200mm Lens
Transmitter/Trigger
2 Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-19304397312819125942023-08-03T13:42:00.001-04:002023-08-03T13:42:31.137-04:00Rubber Duck RevolutionOn July 15th,
I did a session with Anastasia.
This session was all about the rubber duck and the colors blue and yellow.
For this session I used:
Photography Equipment
Props/Miscellaneous
Canon 80D
18-200mm Lens
Transmitter/Trigger
2 Phottix strobes
72-inch umbrella with sock
43-inch ocatbox
2 c-stands
1 Backdrop stands
1 black backdrop
4 Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-86489344198877836782023-07-27T12:00:00.001-04:002023-07-27T12:00:00.139-04:001959 Barbie CosplayOn July 15th,
I did a session with Laci. This
session was inspired by the original 1959 Barbie doll.
Note this shoot was
planned before the actor’s strike
and is focused on the legacy of the doll itself not the movie. I fully support both
the actors and writer’s
guild strike and this shoot was not done in promotion of the movie.
For this session I used:
Photography Equipment
Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-84788674776481629932023-07-26T12:00:00.001-04:002023-07-26T12:00:00.137-04:00Cresson Sanatorium & Prison PhotoshootOn July 8th,
I attended the D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots’ meet up at the abandoned Cresson Sanatorium and Prison in Cresson, VA. The
group shot here last in year in April, you can read about that experience here. This time it was warm and sunny as compared
to cold and snow of the last time.
For these sessions I
used:
Canon 80D
2 Speed lights
Trigger
2 Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-53489128465188520112023-07-25T14:09:00.003-04:002023-07-25T15:37:16.266-04:00AwesomeCon 2023 ReviewThis year I attended AwesomeCon. I originally planned to
have at least a week separating my trip to Ireland and my attendance at
AwesomeCon. However, work training interfered with that and my Ireland trip
needed to be shifted only giving me a day and a half between the two
events. I can say I wasn’t 100-percent
at AwesomeCon; because I limited the number of shoots per day it was manageable.Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-63808587586519385032023-06-21T18:21:00.001-04:002023-06-21T18:21:53.904-04:00Ireland Wrap UpPlaces VisitedOur trip to Ireland came to an end on June 14th with
our flight back to Virginia. The trip
overall wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. It was a variety of things from the accommodations,
activities, and us dealing with sinus infections that really put a damper on
the overall trip.
The flight out was good.
I will be booking 1st class lay flat seats again for Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-91602603612519898082023-06-13T11:21:00.000-04:002023-06-13T11:21:13.350-04:00Ireland Day 10 – Galway to Dublin Today was our last day in Ireland, again not a lot of pictures
mostly driving. We got on the road around
9:00AM. Our first stop was supposed to be Newgrange
tombs, however I didn’t book a head of time so by the time we got there, there
were no tours available. The only way you can see the tomb is by guided tour. So that was a bust.
The next stop was the Hills Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-31266311078932276912023-06-12T11:25:00.000-04:002023-06-12T11:25:06.213-04:00Ireland Day 9 – Dingle to GalwayToday was mostly a day of driving. We got up around 6:30 AM
and had breakfast at 8:00AM. We were on
the road to Galway by 9:00AM. To avoid
driving around the peninsula, again we took Conner’s Pass which is one of the
quickest way across the peninsula and involves going up Dingle’s highest
mountain, using a narrow one lane twisty road.
From there we joined up with a more “major” Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-71671743391467439582023-06-11T14:19:00.000-04:002023-06-11T14:19:04.933-04:00Ireland Day 8 – Dingle PeninsulaThis morning we got up around 7:00AM and had breakfast
around 8:00 AM. Breakfast was good, they always give us way too much food. After
breakfast we decided to head out to the “sheep highway” that I missed yesterday
before heading into town for our ocean safari.
However, the weather had alternate plans for us, since it was rainy and
foggy. We braved the rain out at the sheep Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-65808207295966172812023-06-10T14:17:00.000-04:002023-06-10T14:17:00.298-04:00Ireland Day 7 – Killarney to DingleThis morning we got up, ate breakfast and checked out of the
hotel by 8:45AM. After checking out we
stopped by a drugstore/pharmacy to pickup some Sudafed for Jim, since his sinus
are all stuffed up. Then we got on the
road headed for Dingle.
Our first stop was Parkavonear Castle just outside of Killarney. It isn’t much of a castle, just a round
turret next to some abbey ruins. The Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-12131165048510387992023-06-09T14:21:00.003-04:002023-06-09T14:21:32.230-04:00Ireland Day 6 – Ring of Kerry Today we got up around 7:00Am and had breakfast around
7:30AM, beating most crowd from the bus tours, also staying at the hotel. We then got ready to leave and travel around the
Ring of Kerry clockwise, the opposite direction the tour buses go.
Our first stop was the Torc Waterfall in Killarney National
Park. The waterfall was only a short 600m walk away from the car park. It Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-50014129827007845442023-06-08T15:08:00.003-04:002023-06-08T15:08:36.834-04:00Ireland Day 5 – Cork to Killarney After we checked out of the B&B in the morning, we got
on the road headed to Killarney. Our first stop was the Timoleague Friary ruins,
which was about 15 minutes away from our first B&B. I was expecting standard ruins, however what
we got was ruins turned into a cemetery.
Every “room” except one had grave plots in it, and they were not all
really old graves,Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-54519480789517876212023-06-07T14:36:00.001-04:002023-06-07T14:36:27.888-04:00Ireland Day 4 - County CorkToday we started with breakfast at the B&B at 8:00AM. Breakfast consisted of a fresh omelet with
ham, cherry tomatoes, cheese, and mushrooms, Jim didn’t have mushrooms in his,
well as fresh scones and tea. After
breakfast we headed up to Blarney Castle.
The drive up to Blarney Castle took about an hour. Technically according to the tour company,
and the voucher they gave usMunchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-78295179720284749372023-06-06T14:32:00.001-04:002023-06-06T14:32:26.223-04:00Ireland Day 3 - Dublin to County CorkToday we got up at 7:00 AM had breakfast, finished packing
up, and then checked out of the hotel.
We took a taxi from our hotel to the rental car place to pick up our
car, which is an Audi A5. Thankfully it
has Android Auto so we can easily get directions to our destinations.
The first destination of the day was the Irish National Stud
and Gardens, about 45 minutes outside of Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-17894424558472199792023-06-05T11:23:00.003-04:002023-06-05T11:23:38.523-04:00Ireland Day 2 - DublinHa'penny BridgeAfter sleeping for 12 hours, we got up and headed down to
breakfast. Breakfast was a choice of ordering
off the menu or doing the buffet which was a traditional Irish Breakfast. We
ordered off the menu. We both had Belgian waffles with bacon; the bacon was sandwich
between two waffles. The waffles were
good but a but sweeter than what we get in the US. The waffles were Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279064545385326013.post-42327975517971741282023-06-04T13:22:00.000-04:002023-06-04T13:22:06.565-04:00Ireland Day 0 & 1 - Washington to DublinJune 3 started with us dropping Teddy off at the pet sitter
and then stopping at Tysons on the way back for lunch, then REI to pick up a
last-minute item. Thankfully, we didn’t
have to rush to get home or to the airport since our flight didn’t leave till 8:55PM. We checked in for our flight around 5:30PM,
we were flying first/business class on Aer Lingus, which gave access to Munchkin Photoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08666037674174339992noreply@blogger.com0