With one graduation left on the schedule (Apollo High in Simi, on Wednesday) graduations are just about over. This week's paper will have Agoura High, so I can't post those until Thursday, when the paper comes out. But the flickr set - and the slideshow in my previous entry - now include all the outtakes and extras I promised. I did end up with some nice shots this year, and I'm proud of them. Have a look, leave me a comment! :)
And just so this post won't be without photos, here is a pair of shots taken a few weeks ago. Moorpark High's band director is retiring after decades at the school. The moral of the story these photos tell is don't always shoot from the audience. Ask to shoot from the wings, too!
Also, as it turns out I really like twitter. It's fun, a little silly, mostly just a nice way to punctuate and take note of the highlights of my day. You can follow me by clicking the twitter icon in the column to the right (the big blue "t").
Quick camera update, forgot to mention. I've been using the Mark II for the past 2 weeks, as well as Joe's 20D, since the part the Mark II needed was on backorder. It was supposed to come in this week, so I'll be taking her in on Tuesday to get all fixed up. She worked surprisingly well through graduations, fairly infrequent Error 99 issues. Not nearly as often as I expected. Nonetheless, I will be ever so happy when the Mark II is all fixed up.
This year I was pretty sick for the grad season. First a throat/head cold of some sort and then the kicker, a stomach flu immediately following. So I don't feel that I did as well as I had hoped. I was quite dizzy and hacking through most of them. But anyway, here are the results.
I've put them into a slideshow to make it easy on the front page. You can also find a direct link to the set on flickr here.
The next post will be all graduations outtakes, the shots that I didn't submit for publication. Some photos I just don't have the graduate's name, some photos are detail shots, some photos are just silly. These are usually my favorites. Coming soon! :)
Also, in other news, I get my nose pierced on Monday! I've been trying to do it for months, but first vacation, then being sick, then schedule problems... it's finally all worked out. I'll get Joe to shoot it, of course. We have to document what a sissy I am around needles.
I feel like all I've been shooting for the past few weeks is graduation after graduation. I hear the song in my sleep. All the speeches sound the same. You really get stuck in that rut!
But I haven't been shooting ONLY grads. Here are a few photos from the not-graduation assignments of the past couple weeks.
A benefit concert by Jet Stream at The Canyon Club, for 15-year-old Taylor Messina. The concert, silent auction and raffle raised funds for Messina's treatment for Stage IV Midline Carcinoma.
Some wild art for Moorpark at Underwood farms. Little kids and strawberries. Let the insanity begin.
The One Gathering in Camarillo, 14 local churches came together for Pentecost. It was massive.
And on the other end of the spectrum... the wine and food fest for Casa Pacifica out at CSUCI.
(I love the shot above. I really, really wish it had run. Something different!)
I went out to the Camarillo Pond Rats pond for the very first time in Acorn history (we're fairly new to Camarillo) and shot some photos of the guys racing their RC boats around the pond. Those guys are FAST! The boats were super trick, I ended up with about fifty really nice shots. I normally wouldn't shoot so many, but I was having a good time playing with shooting angles and the water reflections and spray (plus my new lens' servo - first test!). I promised to post more photos here, so in a couple of days when I get all those edited I'll upload some additional photos from this event.
And finally, the Greek festival in Camarillo. The photo that ran was of the "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" star, who came to sign posters for her new movie "My Life in Ruins." I didn't think it was as interesting as these shots, but you know... celebrities... I guess just don't get that excited about them as most people do!
In other news, I am now on twitter! My twitter name is "snapitsiris"... yes, as in snap like a camera shutter. You can follow me and my daily adventures shooting. I'll add a direct link here to my twitter profile for easy access.
And the 70-200 arrived safe and sound just before graduations began. It's a beast, a big lump of metal and glass to lug around, and it's already making me wonder if my chiropractor offers frequent flyer miles. But it shoots like a dream and I'm thrilled to have it. It was so nice for graduations.
