Tuesday, March 6, 2012

The House of Sulzberger; A Pictorial History


Above, Patriarch of the family... Doober Von Shitinholen.... who changed his name after the invention of the indoor privy to Sulzberger. Below the Princess Ivan Gottitenass of Anorexia de Blueven with whom Doober had a dalliance in 1533. This was an illicit relationship between unequals and led to the War of the Petunias which lasted over three weeks.
One son, below, came from this union. Skippy Von Steppeninit, who, fortunately inherited his mother's charm, good looks and vast territories in Schushen End Gesundheit which was renowned for its deposits of licorice and incredibly loose women and door hinges.
Skippy was raised by his maiden aunt Baroness Lugi tut a Lugi who, after extensive research, has proven to be his actual mother... a fact unknown to the young Prince.
Skippy Sulzberger was consort to Queen Elizabeth of England during her reign and, like all old people who are married for hundreds of years, they grew to look like each other. There was one child from this trystification but we don't know who the mother was. As a result of a misspoken phrase, Skippy was beheaded. His Lopped Off has been handed down from generation to generation since to instruct that manners do matter.
The picture below has nothing to do with the Sulzberger epic, I just like the hat.
Skippy Sulzberger's son eventually became Ardnack the First who secretly ruled the British Empire in a shadow government behind all the royals for decades. He died in a shrimp boat accident on the Adriatic. His Great, Great, Grandson Terrance of Northtown is the last surviving direct descendent of Skippy. The family fortunes have fallen so far in our egalitarian world that he can't even hitch a ride on a cow.... sad....

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Kauffman Center

Finally did a photo safari to the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts today as it was lovely out.... decided black and white was the way to go. All taken with the Nikon D3 and 14-24mm lens. ASA 200... F22 throughout. Multiple exposures for each shot.



The east side looking west. I'll be heading back when things green up.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Amber


One of my favorite subjects is Amber who is getting ready for the Miss United States Missouri Pageant at the beginning of April. Like all really good models she is able to go from sultry to pixyish in a moment... offering me a variety of looks... lighting and shutter release is almost all I have to do.
The black dress and the blue dress shots were all done with one light in a pan reflector covered with translucent white, rip-stop nylon and a silver reflector below her position bouncing light upward. Background was medium gray paper roll. F-stop varied between F16 and F22 throughout the shoot. Nikon D3 with 105mm lens throughout.


Sometimes called "glamour lighting" this light is fired point-blank at the face at a little less than a 45 degree angle and the reflected light fills in from below.
One of these or the many others we took will be her headshot for the competition and an entry in the Miss Photogenic contest.
Three lights were used in the last set-up. The pan reflector, a light overhead bounced from a silvered umbrella and a direct flash on the background which was changes to white. The above shot I did not use the background light as I wanted a more monochromatic image to highlight her eyes an lips.
Amber was called "Barbie" in high school.... but I think she's more like a porcelain ballerina.... she's also got moxie.... which helps in this endeavor :)

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Just Them

Hyper took a road trip to another part of blogger land to meet up with Donna of "Just Me"http://donna-justme.blogspot.com/ online fame and her husband Cliff. They live just west of Wellington, Missouri on sizable acreage above the Missouri River Valley. It's a beautiful place with critters and nice hospitality. Below, the couple outside on a marvelous day.

For a brief time it was dueling cameras as we both wanted photos for a blog entry or two....

But then we got to talk tractors.... Cliff's second love.
Below, the Oliver 1855 which Cliff completely restored.... it's huge....

Iris kept an eye on me..... as is advisable.

Cliff had a number of tractors.... some in storage for friend and family and some for restoration.... he sold two of them on Craig's List the day after I visited.
Iris' official portrait.
I got an official tour of the property.... lots of rolling hills and stands of trees.



A very rare picture of Hyper with Donna..... Bloggers United For Mutual Topic Acquisition. This picture was taken by Cliff.... as are the ones of Donna on her blog... which is: http://donna-justme.blogspot.com/

The famous tractor picture.... which shows the restored Oliver.....


The super-secret blogger area (above) where "Just Me" is created....
The herd.
Jody the cow....affectionate and big brown eyes....


Tree line in the distance is the Missouri River bank.... when the Mighty Mo floods the waters come right up to the base of this hill.



The garden... a panorama with dog.. of what will be bursting with veggies this summer.... (possibly not ALL of it.... Cliff likes to plow :) )

A great afternoon in good company..... Cliff even gave me some bootlaces when I had a blow-out... I'm for sure going back this summer when all is leafed out.....