Kitty Portraits

A few days ago I purchased a set of Elinchrom SkyPort radio triggers, a Wescott double-folding umbrella, a Justin clamp, and a Manfrotto Nano light stand. Naturally, that meant that I had to play with my new toys, and who better to try my first portrait lighting setups on than my cats? :)

They're not really camera shy, more camera curious; they like to investigate the gear when I pull it out, especially when I turn the lens in their direction.

So, I set up the light stand, flash, and umbrella, and waited. In case you're curious, I put the flash, with a hot-shoe adapter, on the ballhead on the Justin Clamp, bolted the Justin clamp onto the light stand, and used the clamp to hold the umbrella.

After setting the gear up I waited until the cats got over their curiosity and started napping. Loki took up his usual spot on the back of the futon, and I took the opportunity to get some shots. He didn't seem to be bothered much by the flash. I used my 105mm VR macro lens and my D300. The SkyPorts triggered the Metz flash flawlessly once I set it to manual mode, and gave me plenty of light.

Usually Calypso is the easier of the two to photograph, because she's more placid, but last night she was being either frisky, or in my lap. Even so, she did pause long enough to let me take a picture or two, and I realized that I should have turned down the power on the flash even more; her white fur is very white :)

The Taylor River

I hiked the Taylor River trail as far as Big Creek Falls with these two lovely ladies a few weeks ago.



I had hiked the same trail in November before the snow started, and ended up with this shot of Otter Falls. The lake that it pours into is Lipsy Lake. I had wanted to return in spring to get some shots of the falls in higher flow, and also for the spring foliage and wild flowers.
On the first trip, the sky was overcast and the quality of the light was very soft and diffused. It made waterfall photography very easy. The second time, the weather was great for hiking; the sky was clear and blue. The light was harsher though, so it wasn't as good for waterfall photography the second time around.
So instead I photographed mainly wildflowers and my companions. :)
Here is a trillium:

I photographed this with my 105mm VR micro lens with a Nikon 2x teleconverter. I used my RRS focusing rail, and a reflector to balance the light out a bit.

I am not sure what this berry is, but I liked its look and the background.

And this is Otter Falls in spring, photographed with my Sigma DP-1.