Rain, Rain and More Rain 5/27/10
With all the rain we've had in the last couple of days, I haven't had much time to get out and shoot. But, I needed some time at the computer anyway, and spent a lot of time looking through thousands of raw files gathering images for several new and old book projects. I also did a few small photoshoots around my house to pass the time and work on some lifestyle/architectural ideas for my portfolio.
In the last few weeks I also managed to have a birthday party for my girls, turn 40, and watch them finish up 1st grade.
Book Work and Bugs 5/17/10
My mother (author Jane Yolen) was in town for a short visit over the weekend, and as usual we did a good bunch of business, discussing current book projects we are
collaborating
on and brainstorming new book ideas. We end up spending time sitting at my computer looking through old raw files searching for certain things to fill out a project or inspiration for a project we don't know exists yet.
Besides the work, we had a great visit, my girls love their time with Nana and are now emailing poetry back and forth with her. Here are a few shots I took recently for one of our future books, a book of bug poetry:
Tiny colorful metallic looking fly in my backyard
Solo Lovebug
Large Stink Bug
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JasonStemple.com Relaunch 5/13/10
I spent the last few days shooting a few remaining exteriors andediting the photos from the architectural shoot and finishing up the redesign of my website www.JasonStemple.com. This morning I launched it and can now get back to work on many other projects, that have been on the back burner.
Redisgned Website www.jasonstemple.com
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Architectural Work 5/11/10
I shot a beautiful Kiawah house last week for Architects Shope Reno Wharton. It's marsh-front on Cinder Creek, and we finally had perfect weather. My good friend Karen Bacot did the styling and my wife Joanne assisted. We started early and finished up 18 interior shots by 6:00PM, the light was just getting really pretty on the outside so we set up in the front and shot some exteriors. As the sun was setting we lit the house up and got a few great night shots as the swarms of mosquitoes tried to carry us off. Made it back home at 9:30 for dinner and wine after our 13-hour shoot.
Kiawah House Shot at Night
Living Room
Back Porch With Marsh Views
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Dolphin Frenzy 5/3/10
I went out on the boat fishing with a friend on Saturday for fun and maybe get some good fish/fishing photos. Well we had fun but the fishing and fishing photography was a bit of a bust. But near the end of the day we found a pod of dolphins going crazy. So we followed them around for an hour or so, he drove and I shot. They were rolling and jumping and splashing all around (truth be told, they were making baby dolphins). So here are the results, it was the first time I was able to get a good number of shots when you could see their faces out of the water over and over.
Sorry, 4/30/10
if you're getting sick of the fox pups, I myself, can't get enough of them. And since they will only be pups for such a short time, I've been visiting them pretty regularly. So here are a few more I picked up this morning, just one pup was out for ten minutes or so before ducking out of sight.
Red Fox Pup Waiting For Mom
Red Fox Pup Getting Sleepy
Red Fox Pup Scratching an Itch |
Web Work and an Award 4/27/10
I've been busy plugging away at redesigning my original website, www.JasonStemple.com. It is slow tedious work, especially for someone like me with very limited self-taught web skills. But it is a necessity and satisfying when complete. Over the past few days I managed get out of the house once to check up on the fox family (they were underground) and then to Magnolia Plantation where I saw the Red Shouldered Hawk feeding her chicks a crab. The feeding was obscured from a good camera angle but I got a few shots of the chick (which I'll share in a future post).
I also recently received my certificate for the John Burroughs Association award which put A Mirror To Nature on it's 2009 list of nature books for young readers. It sure is nice to be recognized for doing something you love.
New Book Page For www.JasonStemple.com
A Mirror To Nature with the Certificate For The John Burroughs Award
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Spring Continues To Sprung 4/22/10
A few days ago I decided to check up on the foxes again, and they were there in all their cuteness. As soon as I arrived, Mama fox noticed me and took off across the field with a turkey leg and left the pups to play with me for a while. I'm not sure of the logic of this parenting technique, she may think I'll follow her if I'm indeed a danger, or she might just figure she can make more pups next year. Either way, I was left for a little while to visit with the pups. Unfortunately the only angle I can get them from leaves a fence and low weeds in the way, so I miss a great deal of what goes on while I'm there, but I still manage to get a few good-great shots whenever I visit.
It was such a nice morning, so after Mama had returned and sent the pups underground before running off again, I decided to head over to the Swamp Garden at Magnolia Plantation and check up on the heron/egret rookery. After a short drive from John's Island I arrived at the Swamp Garden. I stopped on my way towards the rookery to check out a Red Shouldered Hawk's nest I found my last time out. She was there, being harassed by some crows and blue jays and flying from tree to tree to either hunt or avoid the pests.
I left her alone after a few minutes and made my way back to the rookery. The Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets and Little Blue Herons were building nests. The great egrets were on their nests, and a few had small chicks. The great blue herons were busy hunting and returning to the nests every now and then to feed their large rambunctious chicks. I witnessed a mother regurgitating a huge bull frog and the three chicks battling for the prize. It was entertaining but a little gross.
So Spring has most definitely sprung and the opportunities for seeing and photographing nature in and around our great city are great right now. In fact I saw an otter this morning while driving across the Ashley River Bridge this morning, so keep your eyes open wherever you are.
More Crazy Cuteness 4/16/10
Is there anything cuter than a fox pup? I went back to check on the fox den and finally they were above ground. There was a parent and 2 pups playing around for a minute or two before they were aware of me and disappeared. Enjoy.
Lesesne and KMK Web 4/14/10
While reading my earlier post about the cute fox pup my wife mentioned that I had promised in an earlier post a few other topics. My mistake, I often get sidetracked by wildlife (especially cute fuzzy wildlife).
A few weeks ago I started working with Kit Menis (Kit Creative Marketing) who is working on developing a new website for King Street boutique Lesesne with her new web company KMK-Web. We did several shoots around the store and at one of the owner's houses shooting vignettes and individual products. It was very nice working with Kit and doing some more commercial style work. Here are a few shots from the shoots, their website will be up soon.
Lesesne Storefront on Upper King Street
Green Vase With Lesesne Tag
Ceramic Pears Product Shot
Handcrafted Van Dalen Design Furniture at Lesesne
Handcrafted Van Dalen Design Furniture Vignette
Vase With Table Horizon Which Will Be Used For The Design Of The New Lesesne Website |
Aaaaawwwww!! 4/11/10
I
was driving around John's Island with my wife last week trying to get a closeup of either a horse or cow grazing for a book I'm working on with my mother. After shooting a few cows Joanne sees something smaller running on the edge of a pasture. So we pull over and see a red fox joining his mate and a pup by their den. I got a few of them together, but the light and quality was poor. So I returned this week with permission from the property owner to get a little closer and get some better shots. Of course they have stayed underground with my subsequent visits except for a brief peak by the pup where I quickly collected this Aaaaww so cute shot.
Red Fox Pup Peaking Out of His Den |
Downtown Charleston and a Boat Trip to the North 4/7/10
It's been a while since my last post, in that time spring has sprung and the lowcountry is alive again. If it wasn't for the gnats and the pollen, this would be the perfect time of year. I was out of town last week on a family spring break and it was amazing to see how much greener Charleston was after five days.
Since my absence from the blog, I've been busy shooting and gathering Charleston images for a client, shooting for a downtown store's new website (more on that next post), out in the boat shooting wildlife (and fishing a little) and shooting the spring bonanza at Magnolia Plantation Swamp Garden(more on that later as well).
So I'll leave you with a few recent downtown shots, and some oystercatchers from a boat trip north of the Harbor to Hamlin Sound.
St. Phillips Church Rises Above it's Cemetery
St Phillips' Steeple Framed by Blooming Tree Branches
A Church St. Gate lit up in the Morning
An Oystercatcher that appears to have been busy.
An Oystercatcher hanging out in the Oysters |
February/March 2010 Archives
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