Gorgeous the piglet & photographers trunks

Living around photographers

Gorgeous the Pot belly piglet

According to Nancy shepherd owner of "Pig O my Heart" a farm in central Missouri, This wonderful little piglet is named Gorgeous and she is is a Potbelly. (Link to Pig o my Heart) Nancy wrote to say "I remember so well Gay coming  here to photograph a complete litter.  It was so much fun watching her work.  As I recall for this one she brought a piece of sod and we placed in on top of the picnic table so that we could get the beautiful background of sky and pasture"

Note to reader-- it is well worth a careful look in the trunk of a photographers car.  One can find bits of sod, dead possums (more on that later), food for low blood sugar or to appease animals for photos, model and property releases, cloth for backdrops, a towel, odd bits of equipment, a box to hold special found things, etc etc. In fact I am sure it would be interesting to see what photographers consider absolutely necessary equipment to do what they do.

Pigs make wonderful subjects for photos. They are game, willing, expressive, and cute.  They can even pose for photos and if you don't believe me see Jezebel posing for show.  She is just one of the amazing Showpig photos from Nancy's ranch.

Let us know if you have a caption for Gorgeous or any questions.

Sharon

Yes, four frogs. Thanks for counting

Hello, this is a bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana, smiling up at me from my "swimming pool" in Maine. She/he has her very own mosquito sitting in front of her that I think will be lunch (is it shocked into inaction or unaware?)

Thanks to all who played the guessing game.  You were right-- there were 4 visible. Most of you figured that if I was asking the question then there must be a trick so, most said "I see four but there are probably more".   Such a crafty lot you are.  But, I really wanted to know if the pictures on the website are actually visible in the way we have sized them.  Seems like everyone could see the details and count the 4 (visible) frogs.

The question is whether we should move away from thumbnails and offer bigger web pictures that will do them justice.  However, the problem comes when you try to make navigation and selection easy. I haven't seen what I like yet. It is just one of those head scratchers that may never be answered.

This big wonderful frog makes me happy because our "pool" is not going to get its complete maintenance this year and thus will be given over to the wildlife. Most of the wild life is amphibian and they sing deeply and with enthusiasm each evening.  They don't seem to mind my daytime visits with my camera at all.   I spend a lot of time archiving Gay's photos and some of the photos are 20 or 30 years old. Thus, the animal or creature in most cases is long dead. But, in this case I have a pool filled with frogs, tadpoles, and eggs, and a camera to learn so I am going to get to know them awhile in real-time.  I have even taken to giving them names.

In one of Gay's photography journals she admits that the frogs are one of her favorite animals to photograph. I agree but perhaps for different reasons. Right now I appreciate that they sit still a lot and although they are amphibian I find their faces seem expressive and interesting.

So, stay tuned to the updates from the frog pond in Yarmouth.  Join the blog if you want the updates...its free, easy, & more reliable than me remembering to send it to you by email.

Next will be a love story of cardinals with an unveiling of new cardinal and winter birds with berries.

My  health os still improving but it is slower than I would wish.  Thanks to all the well-wishers.

Sharon

ps here is the next photo taken after the one shown in previous blog-- those ol anti-social frogs just haven't read the books about amphibians I guess. I only see three here but we know there are more.

New England Photography-Yankee Magazine

New England Photography-Yankee Magazine

Congratulations Gay Bumgarner
Yankee Magazine Shutterbug of the week

Gay Bumgarner is featured in Yankee Magazine's online gallery this week after being selected as Shutterbug of the week for June 26, 2010. Gay was nominated posthumously by Linda LaCroix who, more recently, has become familiar with her nature and animal photography. You can see the pictures that were selected by the editor, read some of the back-story, and enjoy the enthusiastic comments by fellow photographers on this link-- Gay on Yankee magazine photo gallery.

To be selected is an honor and particularly as it comes posthumously. It has provided a wonderful opportunity to introduce Gay and connect to a new generation of photographers and viewers. Gay was a fierce critic of her own work and threw out most of what she shot. Nevertheless there are about 60,000 transparencies carefully filed in metal cabinets organized by topic and each slide labeled with a unique alphanumeric ID. An astonishing achievement and level of discipline that has made it possible to follow behind her.

After she died, in lieu of any real plan, I moved her entire photography operation into my home in Vermont. I wanted her business interests to remain as viable as possible and, I loved her pictures. This plan, albeit vague, insured that I could get endless copies of her photos including her signature photo "Quarter horses running in snow". My relevant experience with the business was thin but I had asked questions. I drew a diagram of her office based on what she said was important and we packed her collection up based on that floor plan. Too much of what she explained back then was lost on me and little of what happened next was as tidy as it sounds.

In the nearly 2 years since then many things have happened--- things that you “Shutterbuggers” might understand better than most. I became enthralled with the photographs, then the subjects of them, and finally, I started taking photographs myself. Oh, my, she is indeed having her last laugh. I can now give the common and Latin name to most birds of New England and the Midwest, many flowers, the host plants for the caterpillars, the butterflies, and how to submit pictures to 3 separate stock agencies via my new website. I have waded into a strange and foreign world and her business has survived. The critical secrets to this survival have been my flexible day job, my love of big complex gnarly computer data-base challenges, and my mother’s impeccable record-keeping. I have jettisoned lots of things– some wisely and others less so. My family has been sturdy and good humored about this enormous change and I have been graciously helped by many of her fellow photographers, editors, and even the scary stock agency people.

I am honored when people are interested in her pictures or the subjects and scenes in the pictures. I love telling the stories and I am grateful to Jeff Folger (Foliage) who manages the online elements of Yankee magazine including their facebook site and an active discussion group of both novice and professional photographers from all over New England-- a wonderful community.

You can see the pictures selected for the online Yankee Magazine on our website too.

Next post-- some storytelling about the adventures of the past two years and some good humored backstory for your entertainment.

Perfect Meadows