The sport of speed

It's hard to get a good composition with the sport of barrel racing. Most times the racing is done after dark, which puts limits on my options. But this time I got lucky. I suppose that is because this was not a horse show, but a barrel race. So instead of having to wait for all the boring classes to be over before getting to the racing, the racing started first thing, and it was still a little light.

Most of the time, the arena lights can really get in the way, like causing unwanted glares, or forcing me to move to a position I don't want to be, but this time I was able to incorporate them as part of the composition. I am pleased with the results.

A few recent pics

A sunset fit for a King




This is Boaz in the swimming pool at the Castiles. We stayed with them for a whole day!


Ok, I think this picture would have been absolutely awesome if she where reading a book instead of a computer. But hey, you can't have everything the way you want it can you?

Blog address change

Hey everyone,
After some thinking, and some helpful suggestions from friends, I have decided to change my blog address to
http://www.thekingsdaughterphotography.blogspot.com
You see, "Still Images" just doesn't strike my fancy, and besides, there is already a professional studio that goes by that name. But no one goes by "The Kings Daughter Photography" !
So anyway, if you have this blog bookmarked, please change it accordingly! I will be sending out an email to everyone I can think of, so until then,
shoot away!

Get Ready to Rodeo...

It's called suicide.

Bustin some broncs. ten second timer. Must keep one hand in the air, and must rake the horse with spurs. Failure to comply to any of these rules results in a no-score.

Getting ready to ride the bull. A bullrope with a cowbell attached is wrapped around the bull. The cowbell acts as a weight so that when the ride is over, it will safely fall off. the cowboy wraps the remainder of the bullrope around his hand tightly, trying to secure himself to the bull. When the bull is released from the chute, the cowboy must keep one hand in the air, and he may spur as often as possible for extra points. Touching himself or the bull with his free hand results in a no-score. (btw, guy with the shorts is a bullfighter. Who else would dress so colorfully?)

After the eight second horn blows, the cowboy must unwrap his hand and fall off...lets hope the bullfighters are ready to do their job! (bullfighters distract the bulls attention, and make sure the cowboy gets away safely.)

Unfortunately, bull riders do not always get away safely. The biggest problem is getting their hand free from the bullrope. A bull may slam a cowboy against the fence while he is still secured to the bull, or a cowboy may fall off before he can unwrap his hand, and he gets slung around pretty good, while the bullfighters try to help free his hand. I've never seen anyone get seriously hurt yet, thanks to the bullfighters, but I have seen them get banged up pretty good. Wow, I really admire the bullfighters abilities. I have seen them do some amazing things. I once saw a bull charging a downed cowboy, and the bullfighter jumped in front of him and ended up getting a ride on the bulls horns, he was actually pretty lucky he got off clean.

Hope you all enjoy the pictures, it is really hard to get decent pictures when it's so dark! Also, I think next rodeo I go to I am going to try getting a little more personal,and climb up on the chutes and get pictures of the bullriders getting ready to ride.
Until next time, cowabunga!

Random Pictures

Some pictures I took of all the cute kids at church.

well ok, so she's not exactly a kid...

At The Park

Levi wanted to go to the park for his birthday, so I went along with my camera and a book. Here's a few pics.

Levi

Laurel

Abigail

Boaz

Gettin dizzy!

He's A Bumble

Yesterday I set up a tiny little studio in our greenhouse to photograph my new jewelry. The greenhouse is a great studio, since the plastic softens and distributes the light nicely.
This hungry little guy thought the greenhouse is a nice place too, and thought he would check out the vase of red buds I was using in my pictures.

By the way, here are my new earrings!