Be Kind, Create, Repeat
As it gets hotter outside here in San Diego, it’s becomes a little easier to see these little guys out and about!
I wanted to shoot wide open for a much dreamier shot but that makes this process that much harder. These little guys (or girls) are really fast and don’t stay in focus very long.
The best thing to do was wait for them to take a pit stop for some rest (which was about 10 seconds) and that’s how I captured these
An afternoon drive down the I5 freeway passing through downtown San Diego
Woke up fairly earl this morning but not any earlier than a normal day lol.
I grabbed my camera as I headed out the door preparing myself to not get any good shots (because it happens way more than I’d like it to). I set off for a drive and for a while the fog was so dense and muggy I was beginning to think it would be another disappointing trip. Around the Escondido area I found a small break in fog and there was the most amazing light peaking through the hills and fog. The light was nice and golden and the rays were streaming beautifully!
Below is the before and after image. Hope you enjoy !
This technically should be a “Photo(s) of the Day” but instead I felt the title be a bit more suited to the truth. These two photographs are not “new” but I’ve sat on them a while and haven’t really gotten the edit for them that I wanted. Whenever I can decide on a good edit I tend to just leave them be … and that is exactly what happened in this case. Well I decided to pick back up and try again and after a few hours I would say I particularly satisfied.
Enjoy.
Normally I am the individual behind the lens but today I got a rare chance to be in front of it. So its a little out of the ordinary but technically still photos of the day even though I didn’t take them lol.
Photographs owned and taken by Shara McGlothan (my wife❤️)
Last Saturday I had the pleasure of taking Eboni’s maternity photographs and heres how it went..
She wanted a cotton candy sky, warm, golden hour
shoot and being in San Diego that isn’t unfamiliar..
But that was NOT what happened
The morning of I noticed that the weather was clear skies but leading into the afternoon the overcast was creeping in and the temperature on the shoreline was decreasing. We regrouped before the shoot and I let her know that what she wanted to achieve wouldn’t be possible and she gave me the “ok” to proceed. I scouted the location for a bit and used the dramatic gloomy lighting to my benefit.
It was gloomy, cold, CROWDED and getting darker by the minute..
But after our hour concluded I felt happy with the results and thanked Eboni for her willingness (because she was in the water and it was cold) and her outstanding patience ! Everything didn’t go as planned but at the end of the day I was happy with the ending results.
Here are some of the images.
Ever heard of OneTigris ? Neither had I until last week and here’s how it happened.
I have a Labrador pup named Almond (you can follow her here @WheresAlmond) and I’ve been slowly getting her more in tuned with going hiking, exploring and overall just doing outdoors stuff. Well I was looking through other dog pages on Instagram and came across a hiking pitbull by the name of Penni. She had an awesome hiking bag and then it became clear to me that I wanted one for my pup as well. I noticed that OneTigris was tagged in the photo and decided to look at their product. After reading reviews and seeing how fairly priced their items were, I decided to pull the trigger. Everyone else seemed happy with their backpack so I’m sure I would be too !
I received my pack (Almond’s Pack) and I was blown away at the quality and durability of it. You never know what you’re going to get by looking at pictures but it feels great to the touch and it has a snug/adjustable fit for all dog sizes. 
It has 2 main pouches on the outer sides with a zipped sub-pouch on the inside with another small pouch on the outside of the main pouch. A total of 6 pouches in all. Plenty of room to carry things on hikes (because don’t we all get tired of carrying bowls,bags, snacks etc..?). It also has 2 harness points for easy connection to your leash.
But don’t forget.. they’re dogs, not horses.
If you’re tired of carrying your stuff AND your pups stuff on hikes/walks then I would definitely recommend purchasing one of these for your dog today! Its only $32.98 and will save you a headache (and possibly a backache) over time.
Two guys prepare to enter the chilling ocean waters of La Jolla Shores.
I have been recently shooting film a lot more often and learning how to process, develop and make prints on my own instead of outsourcing to a 3rd party. I must say that it gives you a greater appreciation for photography as a whole. I’m not a newbie to photography but film is another level of control and patience. I can’t tell you how much film I’ve wasted due to rushing or not accurately testing my light meter. To be completely honest.. getting a good exposure, preventing spotting and avoiding defects in the processing is a daunting task. Once that is all complete and you develop your film in a darkroom and get your final images.. it is a very rewarding feeling! To know that you shot the film, processed, developed and made prints certainly puts in perspective of how difficult they had it in the early 1900’s. I encourage anyone that calls themselves a photographer to take it back to the roots and get the basic knowledge and it will make you a more deliberate and overall better photographer.
I have been wanting to shoot a series for digital but decided to take the opportunity to shoot the series in film since I had access to a darkroom. I own a Canon AE-1 Program (which I feel is one of the best film cameras ever and paved the way for digital cameras.. but thats another topic in itself). For those that don’t know, the AE-1 Program is a 35mm format manual slr camera. I used a Canon 50mm lens to shoot the images for the reason that it offers dreamy bokeh and has a few more stops for when there is not too much light available. As for film I used Kodak Tri-X ISO 400 black and white professional film.
Here is my series. I hope you enjoy
If you’re new to photography or a seasoned vet I still think the best way to progress at anything is to continually learn. I have been taking photographs for as long as I can remember but I have recently found a desire to take animal photos. Whether wild, domestic, at the zoo or a pet store.. doesn’t matter. Capturing animals gives you a realness that isn’t often able to be seen by everyone. I will outline what I find useful and hopefully you can pull from my list and offer your own tips as well.
Living in a city as populated as San Diego can definitely make it a lot harder to find wild animals to photograph so normally the only animals at disposal are domestic pets and local birds and squirrels. We do however have a pretty awesome Zoo that has tons of wildlife. The zoo is an animal photographers paradise.
On any random day you will find a multitude of photographers at the zoo with there telephoto lenses on hand. You will even find the average Joe and his new compact dslr waiting to capture his images. The point is to shoot what you like while remaining technically sound and soaking up new knowledge as you go.
Enough small talk, lets get into the list.
Any photographer that has taken his work seriously has researched and knows about composition. Thats easy enough but considering your competing with tons of people at the zoo you’ll need to be crafty but also have a plan of how you’re going to make your photo look as natural as possible. The habitats will look really natural but there will be fences, glass, nuts and bolts etc that will ruin your photo. Make sure you keep that in mind before shooting and just being satisfied without taking a deeper look.
Now if your at the store and you spot a hawk or squirrel you’ll want to capture an awesome image without necessarily a bunch of carts, people etc. Thats when your creativity is up to bat.
Whenever you’re dealing with photographing anything that are not people, timing is a major factor.. especially with animals! I’m sure you already know this but a lot of animals don’t typically sit still around humans. This tip might not help so much at the zoo because for the most part they are typically relaxing and lets be honest.. where are they going to go? But local animals such as squirrels, raccoons and birds will take off as soon as they feel threatened. Most of the time they notice you before you notice them so this can be particularly tricky. If you know what you’re shooting and have a plan then you have an upper hand. Patience plays a huge part and you can just wait for your moment and “CLICK”.
A wise photographer once said “If you think your close enough.. you’re not close enough.” That statement could not be more true. Countless times I’ve come home to photographs that I felt were great until I opened them up in Lightroom only to wish I had gotten closer. Just imagine using a wide angle lens and setting up your foreground and you have your subject and the background is great. Now you get home and think you can crop it but have to make the sacrifice of what will now be missing from your photograph. I’m not saying that a simple crop couldn’t fix the issue but trust me, save yourself the time. Make the composition right from the start.. it’s good practice.
Have a plan is the simplest tip I can give but yet the most rewarding. I know I know, things change and that is ok but you need to have a basic overview of where you plan to go and what you plan to shoot so you don’t waste a bunch of time just winging it. Know what kind of photograph you want to finish your day with and if you have a detour along the way then so be it. Don’t just get in your car and drive around seemingly looking for something because you will spend a lot of time looking and not shooting and potentially ending up with nothing.
This is an all too real fact that I’m sure almost all photographers can attest to. Sometimes you shoot for hours throughout the day just to get home with nothing that you think is up to par. Maybe you didn’t get an image at all. Its ok.. it happens. It will definitely occur more often capturing images of wild animals. You sit and wait for a hawk that may never come. You prop yourself up on a tree in hopes that a mountain cottontail will scurry by and after hours you just give up hope. Its fine to hang it up for the day and regroup for another time. Just don’t fall off the horse without getting back up.
Giovanni McGlothan