Christmas is a busy time of year for Tiny and Lola. Taking family photos for Christmas cards seem to begin the minute all the turkey sandwiches are finished.
Author Archives: Mindy Towns
A3 Nature
Tiny and Lola recently attended a photo workshop in Grand Teton National Park near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. During one night of the trip they camped near the Mormon Row barns so they could practice light painting after dark. They came prepared with loads of flashlights, bug spray and of course wine!
18. Hidden From View
This week I joined Tiny and a group of her friends on the beach for pizza and wine. I will call them Stacy, Morag and Roxana. Hidden from view were Carolyn and Patricia who ran back to the car for plates and napkins.
52. Yellow
Well it doesn’t get more yellow than this! Â I have learned all about the minions thanks to my grandson Greyson. If it has a minion on it he wants it.
I was on a Walmart run to buy mailing labels and took a side trip down the toy isle. Because that is what I do now because of this ridiculous blog… I think I may have let out an audible giggle when I saw this 8 pack of tiny little minions. Let me introduce you to Carl, Kevin, Phil, Jerry, Stuart, Tom, Dave and Tim.
So here you go, more tiny toys that the grandkids think will belong to them in August. HA!
20. In The Park
Tiny and Lola had to wake up at the crack of dawn this morning to meet some new friends in the park and take photos. They were hoping that the weather would be cooler if they went earlier. The lighting was wonderful but the mosquitos were big enough to carry them away!
6. Celebration
Tiny was part of the best kind of celebration last night. She was able to document the birth of a baby with her camera. Each delivery is always unique and this one was no exception. When the baby was born and the new dad saw his beautiful new baby he was overcome with emotion and passed out cold. Fortunately the Dr. was able to patch him up quickly so he could get back to his wife’s side.
When Tiny left both mommy and baby were resting comfortably.
5. Bird’s Eye View
This past weekend Tiny and Lola attended a charity event at the Longboat Key Club in Sarasota Florida. One afternoon, while relaxing with a glass of wine, she and Lola had a birds eye view of a lovely beach wedding and the pool area below.
44. Speed
Yes, I am out of control… who knew that at 50 years old I would revert back to a 5 year old and be having this much fun playing with little toys. What can I say, I needed to try something new with my 52 week photo challenge. Tiny has freed my imagination to run wild. I have no excuse to be behind on my weekly posts because most of the photos have been taken in my office, yard or the street in front of my house.  And when the year is over my grandkids will have some new toys to play with. Well maybe… 😉
What can I tell you… Tiny and Lola got stopped for speeding on the way to a photo shoot. She’s sorry.
7. Circle In A Square
One of Tiny’s friends recently told her about crystal ball photography. It can give the effect of taking a photo through a fish eye lens. Or if photographed from further away she can get even more creative, especially during sunrise and sunsets. The ball turns the reflection upside down similar to taking a photo on the inside of a spoon.
She ordered her 80mm crystal ball on Amazon for just $16.00. She can’t wait to take it on future trips with other photography friends to experiment and see what kind of fun shots she can come up with!
10. Dawn’s Light
Tiny and Lola are not early risers. But recently they were visiting a rocky patch of Florida coast with a group of ninjas. They both woke up early to tag along and enjoy a beautiful sunrise.
46. Tell A Story
This past week Tiny took her little dog Lola on a trip to Yellowstone National Park to photograph wildlife. Right away they saw a bison grazing in the tall grasses near the edge of a river. Lola was content to just stay close and be a good little dog while Tiny snapped off several shots. Tiny didn’t know at the time but the photos she took of the bison would be some of the last she would get that day. After Lola spotted a moose off in the distance, Tiny would spend the rest of the day chasing Lola and saving her from being eaten. First by the moose and later by an angry mother grizzly bear when Lola got too close to her cub.
Disclaimer- Lola was never put into any danger during the making of this blog post. A stunt dog was used for all photos taken near any dangerous wildlife.
41. Shades Of Gray
Oh yes I did! This post idea is not mine alone… I won’t begin to take credit/blame for this idea. Recently I volunteered to drive myself and 3 other photo blog friends on a photo outing. You can see where the conversation went while discussing upcoming blog themes…
Disclaimer- Tiny was not hurt or abused in any way during the making of this post.
3. Before/After
Tiny’s very favorite style of photography is contemporary glamour and her favorite photographer is Sue Bryce. She owns almost all of Sue’s Creative Live video classes and even belongs to her members only convocation, critique and feedback group. She has been studying Sue’s techniques for a couple years and loves it when she has a client who wants to have a makeover before a photo shoot. She is always sure to do a Before and After photo during each session.
Before
After
4. Biggest Fear
I live in Florida so of course we all have a fear of sharks! I used to go occasionally, pool noodle in hand, to the beach with friends and float for hours. Now I prefer water aerobics at the YMCA or floating in a friends pool.
Disclaimer- No Playmobil people were harmed during the making of this post.
9. Complementary Colors
Tiny and two of her friends spent the afternoon sorting and painting sea shells in complimentary colors for a craft project. Sometimes she gets inspiration from Pinterest for her crafts. And sometimes she even finds inspiration there for her photo shoots!
27. Memories
During this time of year I always think back to my memories of my kids starting a new school year. I began the tradition of them holding a sign with the date and what grade they would be starting when they were very young. The photo HAD to be taken on the very first day. Over the years their expressions changed a lot! During the early elementary years they held their signs with pride and gave me giant smiles. When they entered middle school their smiles were forced and their eyes were rolling. In high school sometimes they went along just to shut me up or I would have to chase them as they tried to leave the house without doing it all together. It was a game that I didn’t mind playing because I loved the photos so much.
When school ended and they left home I was sometimes surprised by them sending me photos of themselves holding a sign they made on their own to mark an important first; a first day of college or a first day on the job.
Now they are taking their own photos of their kids firsts’. Â I hope while they are taking photos they will also be remembering when they were the one holding the sign. And at least once I hope they have to chase one of them down the driveway waving a sign in one hand and a camera in the other!
I decided that Tiny  taking a photo of  her little friend wearing a backpack would be a good way to bring this memory to life. But because it’s such a happy memory for me I decided to take the photo myself!
16. Frame Within A Frame
This week Tiny and her little dog Lola attended a show at a gallery showcasing the work of a local pet photographer. She was pleasantly surprised to see that a large framed portrait of her and Lola had been included.
51. Upside Down
The air is full of laughter in my office this morning. As I sit and edit photos Tiny and one of her friends have been enjoying a game of Twister on one corner of my desk. They are certainly finding themselves upside down over and over again! I couldn’t help but pause from my work and snap a quick photo of them having fun.
35. On The River
Rain in Florida is not unusual. What does feel unusual for me is rain lasting for days upon days. The rains we have been getting in the last couple weeks feel more like the rainy seasons we used to experience when we lived in Panama. The morning news has been full of flood advisories and warnings not to drive through flooded streets.
I decided to take another tiny Playmobil man out to the street/river in front of my house for a little creative photo shoot. The gutter must seem like a river when you are 2 1/2 inches tall!
All my clothes are now in the dryer….
14. Four Letter Word
Last year when Patricia, Mary Nell and I were finalizing the themes for this year I thought this theme was going to be a breeze. And I had a lot of giggles wondering what everyone would come up with. It ended up being much more difficult than I thought… hence the reason why it is the last post of the year for me.
This morning I was reading a post to the LWRDPC facebook page by Morag Reid. The post was a list of 13 exercises to help photographers jumpstart their creativity. One of the exercises reminded me of a little ‘TINY’ photographer I bought while I was on vacation in Maine. I was in a toy store looking for some fun and creative things for my grandkids. Instead I found a whole line of little people by Playmobil for myself! I thought it would be fun to take my little photographer on vacation and pose her in all sorts of exotic places. That didn’t work out so well…. she ended up in the bottom of my purse instead.
So, today I got out my tiny little friend and challenged myself to take several photos of her while never leaving my desk chair. Silly things like this make me laugh… so I fully expect that Tiny will be showing up in more of my photos in the future!
Tiny on my hard drive
Tiny on my power cord
Tiny on my Wacom tablet
Tiny on my shelf
23. Lamp Posts
I have been struggling to find a lamp post that fits my personality. Today I think I finally found just the right one. I loved the game Barrel of Monkeys when I was a kid!
If you are interested in seeing more silliness I recommend stopping by The Marietta Museum of Art and Whimsy in Sarasota, Florida.
31. Panning
Today I was finally able to take some photos to fulfill the panning theme! I had a few shots that I was unable to use because they were taken before last August 1st. That would be against the rules so I had to start from scratch. With the help of my photography partners in crime, we stood on the streets of downtown Sarasota practicing until we got it just right!
Shutter Priority; 100 ISO; 1/25 sec; f/7.1
32. Painting With Light
Last night a location had to be confirmed for an upcoming LWRDPC field trip we are having next week. During a practice session two nights ago we found out the original venue has a closing time. Sometimes I forget that we live in an area that everything closes and the sidewalks roll up at 10:00pm.
Not to worry though! A new location has been found! And it’s all walking distance from our meet up location at the town hall. If you are a photo club member you can get all the details at our club website www.lwrdpc.com. Â And if your a 52 week blogger as well it will be a perfect chance to fulfill your light painting theme!
A-1 Blue
I had the pleasure recently to do a senior photo shoot for a girl named Abi. She had never had her portrait taken before and was a little nervous at first. Abi is hands down one of the sweetest girls I have ever met. Hopefully by the time we were finished she knew just how photogenic she was as well. Â I think her eyes are a beautiful shade of blue and makes a perfect photo for the ‘Blue’ theme.
A-2 Circles
For the theme Circles I decided to go with a photo I took of round Chinese lanterns along with a photo of the shadows they cast on the sidewalk below them.
35. Rocky Waterscapes
I recently took a trip with my husband back to some of his old stomping grounds in the Northeast. We knew some of our activities would include visiting a few light houses. What we didn’t plan for was any type of cold weather! While I took this particular photo of the Portland Head Light, I had the hat on my jacket tied tight trying to block the blowing wind from my face. I wasn’t wearing gloves, because who knew I’d need them in June!! My fingers still hurt on my right hand hours later! When I look at this photo I can still feel the wind and cold…
9. Drops Of Water
A few months ago I had the pleasure of going on a trip with a group of photographers to Kowiachobee Animal Preserve near Naples, Florida. They had been working on a play area for two, 9 month old white bengal tigers. We had the pleasure of being some of the first to watch them enjoy an enormous pond build especially for them. It was so much fun watching them splash in the water with each other. They spent hours sneaking up on each other and then pouncing on one another in the water. The air was filled with roars of excitement. I ended up spending the majority of my visit sitting on the ground just watching them have fun.
A-4 Night Shot
On a recent visit to Boston my husband and I spent the better part of a day trying to track down a particular spot to take a night shot photograph of the Boston skyline. I had done a search on 500px.com before we left to see what kind of shots others had taken in the places we would be visiting.
I saved a couple of the photos to my phone and as we explored the city I asked various people, waitress’ bartenders and a security guard if they knew the place. As dusk approached we finally spotted ‘Fan Pier’ from a horse drawn carriage ride we were on. We found our way back before the sun set and spent about an hour or so just sitting and watching the sun go down and the city lights coming on.
I love the memory attached to the photo because of how hard my husband and I worked together to find the location…
A-5 Reflections
I have been wanting to try this reflection technic for a very long time. Susan Karski, another 52-week blogger showed me a photo she had taken out west with a beautiful reflection awhile back. I was really surprised when she told me that the photo had been taken using just a small puddle of water. I thought it was near a LAKE! Today I finally had my opportunity. I was at a near by light house called the Nubble Light. I took the iconic shot but kept searching for how I could make it mine. I saw a couple puddles of water and thought of Sue’s puddle trick…. The arrow points to the puddle of water and the creative doodle is supposed to be me laying on the ground holding my camera!
The second shot shows my finished photo.
21. It Happens Over Time
Last fall when I visited Venice I loved to hear about the history of the city. It is sometimes referred to as the floating city because it was built by setting wood pilings on the 118 submerged islands in the Northern end of the Adriatic Sea. There are 400 foot bridges and 170 boat canals connecting the city.
Modern technology has proven what everyone has suspected for a very long time. The city is sinking…  Venice has battled rising water levels since the fifth century. But today, the water seems to be winning. Several factors, both natural and man-made, cause Venice to flood about 100 times a year — usually from October until late winter — a phenomenon called the acqua alta.
52 Weeks Of Photo Challenges 