Where's Wendy? Busy Busy Busy!

© Spellbound Images by Wendy - All Rights Reserved

I've been a bit busy lately, but I thought I would take a short break from Art History, Algebra, and Public Speaking homework to let everyone know what's been going on in my other world!

The photo above was taken on a weekend camping trip to Fort Desoto and then enhanced with a little trick by Corey Barker from NAPP (which I am now a proud member of).  I thought it was a great way to show off her new hair color, and the natural light was perfect for it!

I photographed a wedding on Clearwater Beach.  Lisa and Kerry were married near the Palm Pavilion, but had their reception at the Grand Bilagio.

I helped Girl Scout Troop 513 get their "Camera Shots" badge, which was great fun!

I ran out and captured the Super Moon...

Found rapper Lil Jon at Shephards Beach Resort on Clearwater Beach...

Worked on some ad images...

Received some cool new Candy Sticks backdrops from Backdrop Outlet (I haven't even had time to take the other two out of the tube)!  They are really cool 5'x7' peel and stick to any wall!

Did some business photo's down on Island Estates, on Clearwater Beach.

All of this plus....

Booked a flight to see my children in NY the first week in April, Gave two speeches (both terrifying experiences), kept up with all my other classes, kept the house in order and the laundry done, and updated my Facebook and Twitter as regularly as possible.

That's all for now Friends... back to the school work!

Love, Laughs, and Photographs,

Wendy

All images captured with the Olympus E500 and the E420 on Lexar digital media.









Where's Wendy? Fort Desoto... Day Two!

© Spellbound Images by Wendy - All Rights Reserved

Day 2 of our Fort Desoto trip was spent mostly on the water, with bright sunshine and a cool breeze!

Early morning view... up before sunrise!

Even though I'm not much into flying... I thought this was pretty cool!

Love birds?

And speaking of sunshine, I love the Skyway bridge in the background of this couple rowing by!

Until next time!

Love, Laughs, and Photographs,

Wendy

All images captured with the Olympus E500, and the Olympus E420 on Lexar digital media.

Where's Wendy? Fort Desoto... Day One!

© Spellbound Images by Wendy - All Rights Reserved

Enjoyed a beautiful weekend in Fort Desoto, Florida!  The Fort was closed but we enjoyed the museum, fishing on the pier, boating, and camping!  Here are a few images from day 1!

I'll be back soon with day 2!

Love, Laughs, and Photographs,

Wendy

All images captured with the Olympus E500 and the Olympus E420 on Lexar digital media.

Where's Wendy? The Dali Museum!!

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing ~Salvador Dali~

As an Art History Student it is only normal that I would be going to several Museums of Art this semester... About a month ago I got to visit the New Dali Museum, I enjoyed it the first time I went to the old museum and enjoyed it even more this time around. They have added a a very nice gift shop, and cafe' which cover the entire downstairs except for ticket desks. The museum is much larger with a very artistic stair case leading to the galleries. The galleries are well laid out with an audio presentation which I recommend. You receive a cassette tape with headphones and the works are set up by numbers so you can listen to the audio and learn about the piece you are standing right in front of.


I did have a few dislikes about the New Dali Museum... First of all you were not allowed to take photographs in the gallery. Understandable... However, as a student, if you have to write an essay on your most favorite piece and your least favored piece it makes it more difficult to do so. Now you have to go look up the work on line and hope you find a decent printable size to include in your essay. Furthermore the museum was too crowded... because we were with a class, and there were other customers at the museum it was too jam-packed to really enjoy it. We were appointed a tour guide who was suppose to be telling us about each piece as we went around the galleries. The problem was... we couldn't hear the tour guide unless we were front and center. Maybe she should have used some type of microphone to ensure that all of us could learn about Dali's art. Thirdly... while the price of the museum visit isn't bad if you're a student, the regular price is a bit steep. And the gift shop prices seem a bit outrageous... but I'm sure that is how they are paying for their New State of the Art Museum on Dali Blvd.

On the other hand there were some very nice things about the museum that as I said before was thoroughly enjoyable. Dali is a surrealist, and his art is in my opinion absolutely breathtaking! Viewing the man himself is a work of art... from his mustache to his clothing, and the expressions of his face, you can tell that this was surely an eccentric being! I loved that the gift shop held many items that replicated Dali's work, from prints, to ash trays, to screen printed clothing, and everything in between... the choices were phenomenal! The cafe' gives the museum a sense of belonging, a place to fall into the art world, a place to relax, and a place to create while being inspired. Finally and importantly I found that all of the employee's at the museum were friendly and informative whenever I had a question. I like that everyone of them at different times didn't have trouble answering anything that I needed to know.

I say go visit the New Dali Museum! Maybe a call ahead of time will help figure out a day when they are not too busy so you can really enjoy your stay! Get the tape and headphones so you can fall into the mans art and get a great understanding of his work, his life, and his thoughts. I am certainly going to go back and will hopefully enjoy myself more than I did this time!

Good Luck!

Love, Laughs, and Photographs,
Wendy

Video captured with the Flip video recorder.

Where's Wendy? Shooting A Casual Beach Wedding!

© Spellbound Images by Wendy - All Rights Reserved

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”

~Henry David Thoreau~

In my attempt to keep up with everything going on in my life I thought it best to also catch up on my blog... As you all know school is one of my top priorities right now... it comes first after my family and my photography. So needless to say I don't have much time for anything else.

This past Thursday I did a casual beach wedding for a couple that came from the UK. They had no idea that there would be a professional photographer at their very informal gathering on Clearwater Beach. I was a gift from a sister and a friend. So needless to say, when I walked through the door with a camera over my left shoulder and another in my right hand things got a bit emotional.

It was actually a horrible day to do a beach wedding... it was cold, and gray, and the chance of rain could have come about at any second. Thankfully it held off until the ceremony was finished and we made our way back to the beach house. With a brief reception of wine, and cake... it was done and over with. I spent just an hour photographing a lovely family and their friends. I did my editing that night and had their images ready by the next morning. It was a pretty easy edit with the exception of pumping up the sky a bit to remove some of the gray.


Tomorrow I have another beach wedding with a reception at the Grand Bilagio here in Clearwater... I'll share that one with you as soon as I have a free moment. In the mean time it's back to studying!

Love, Laughs, and Photographs,
Wendy

P.S. Stay tuned for my blog on the new Dali Museum, and my brand new website!

All images captured with the Olympus E500 on Lexar digital media.

Where’s Wendy? The Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art!!

Photo captured at The Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art

I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free — Michelangelo

Taking two art classes this semester has me intrigued, and excited, as well as exhausted, and overwhelmed at times. Learning about the Masters is a great way to learn lighting, composition, and perspective. I find myself looking at pieces by Higher Renaissance Greats and dreaming that I could have lived to see those days. From paintings, to sculpture, to architecture, it seems that everything was beautiful during that era. Now I know that life was probably much harder, and the rules were different back then, but it seems that everything was surrounded with beautiful art.

One of the requirements for my “Understanding Art” class was to visit a museum and do an essay on my most favorite work, and my least favorite work, that included pictures and a picture of myself showing that I was actually at the museum. In this essay I was to use Feldman’s Method of Critical Analysis on both my favorite and least favorite. I pulled it off with a grade of 92%, and a comment that wasn’t well accepted by my professor.

The Leepa-Rattner Museum has some interesting pieces of Artwork, including a reproduction of Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, which is accompanied by an audio presentation. Although I love the work of the old masters and find them very inspiring, I find that the more modern art doesn’t really move me. Some of the sculptures just don’t make sense and some of the paintings are just not as esthetically pleasing as the works by the greats such as Michelangelo, or Donatello. The museum itself opened in January of 2002, and is located on the Tarpon Springs Campus of St. Petersburg College. It houses a 6,000-piece collection of works by Abraham Rattner, Allen Leepa, and Esther Gentle (Rattner's second wife). Some of the work was well done, such as the sketches, and one particular portrait that Rattner did of his wife. Most of the paintings seemed to be inspired by Picasso, and if you have seen any work done by this artist you certainly have to be a fan to appreciate it. By taking these art classes I have at least learned a little about this artist and what motivated and inspired him to create the pieces that he has.

The Leepa-Rattner Museum is laid out well and is very pleasing to meander through. It has a nice area for young students as well as work displayed by digital artists (my favorite section). The museum also offers mini workshops for adults, and story hour for children. What a great way to gain some knowledge about art right here in our community. Even if you are not a fan of modern art the Leepa-Rattner Museum is a great place to learn about the artists, the collections, and fine art. If you would like to visit the Leepa-Rattner Museum you can check out their website for information on hours and fees.

Love, Laughs, and Photographs,
Wendy

All images captured with the Olympus E500 on Lexar digital media with the permission of The Leepa-Rattner Museum.

Where's Wendy? On the Roof Top!

© Spellbound Images by Wendy - All Rights Reserved

A former client came to me last week and asked if I would do a shot of downtown Clearwater for him to use on his upcoming website. A skyline type of shot with streets and buildings that depicted the lifestyle of downtown. So... we headed for Clearwater, and hit every major street corner, and some not so major, to see what the best angle would be to get a good shot. Well, needless to say there wasn't one... with the array of buildings in Clearwater, some short, some tall, some VERY tall, it just wasn't happening. As we looked around and tried some different angles, I decided the best way to do this shot was to get up high. I could have shot from the top of the causeway bridge going over to the beach, but I've done that shot before and although it captures some of the city... I didn't think it would give me enough content for my client.

I decided to try a shot from the corner of Cleveland and Ft. Harrison... I pulled out the tripod, set the camera and waited for passerby's so I could try to capture the image without too much obstruction that I might have to remove later in post editing. As soon as I was set, and ready to grab a shot, I noticed a friend of mine coming down Cleveland Street to my left. We said our “Hi's” and she proceed to pitch me on an Art's Festival that was happening the first weekend in February, that she would like me to participate in. After all was said about that subject and I agreed it was a good idea, I told her about the shot I was trying to get at the moment. Sylvia is the local painter in town and the owner of Dewall's Painting Company, so she knows a lot of people with VERY tall buildings! She mentioned the building she was working on and said she could probably get me up to the roof! Perfect! She made a few phone calls and viola! A few days later and I'm walking around on a roof top 11 stories off the ground!

Now... anyone who knows me well, also knows how afraid of heights I am... so for me to get up there was a bit freaky, but very exciting at the same time! Not only was I going to get the shot I was looking for, but I was going to get some other cool images as well! I spent about 30 "light-headed" minutes on the roof, and captured every angle I could of downtown Clearwater. When we got back to the parking lot we were saying our good byes to Sylvia (she and her crew were working on the back side of the building), I mentioned how cool it would be to come back sometime and get some night shots. She got on her phone and hooked me up right then and there! A few hours later I was back on the roof in the pitch dark (with only city lights illuminating the scene), it was perfect! Again.... I shot all angles of downtown, and came up with some pretty nice stuff!

So, in closing I would like to remind you... sometimes it's not only what you know... it's who you know!


Love, Laughs, and Photographs,
Wendy



All images captured with the Olympus E500 on Lexar digital media.