Category Archives: miscellaneous randomness

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Fergie my love

April 12, 2011 – 5:49 pm

I’ll admit it. This year has been hard. The weather in Seattle has been awful, giving me very little opportunity to do what I love most (pet photography), my health has been crummy, and my personal life has had it’s fair share of ups-and-downs. After a long-delayed reaction, I’ve been grieving the loss of my mom, and am convinced I’m feeling the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder, as many Seattleites are these days. Through it all, this sweet, furry little girl has been there by my side. She has been funny, sensitive, compassionate, and has loved me no matter what kind of grumpy, sad, depressed mood I’ve been in. I can’t wrap words around how much I love this girl or how much she means to me, especially during the hard times in life.

The sun is finally coming out, and I’m excited about the near and far future, I know my SAD will lift along with the rainclouds, and I have made big strides in my grieving process, so the only way to go from here is up, and I’m feeling much better already. (And I’m *really* excited about being in the sun in San Diego in 4 weeks). And I know that all along the upswing, Fergie will still be there. Fergie I know you don’t read my blog, but just in case you sneak into my home office in the middle of the night when I’m dreaming about sunnier days, I just want to say: I love you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for being here. Your warm heart and soft kisses mean the world to me. :-)

 

By Jamie 'Cowbelly' | Also posted in Fergie | Comments (18)

Gorillas in my midst

April 5, 2011 – 6:42 pm

This is the second part of the Woodland Park Zoo post. Because Michelle and I were there on a slow weekday, we were able to get very close to the family of gorillas, who were huddled under cover near the glass due to the inclement weather. Being so close we could reach out and touch them were it not for the glass, and all we could say the whole time was “wow”. What incredible animals.

By Jamie 'Cowbelly' | Tagged , , | Comments (13)

orangutans and jaguars and meerkats, oh my!

March 25, 2011 – 1:48 pm

Back in December I went to the Woodland Park Zoo with my sister Michelle. It has taken me this long to post the photos because I had such a hard time narrowing down my favorites. That trip to the zoo, and my photographic experience there, was honestly one of the best experiences of my life. It touched me, it changed me, and it deeply moved me. So much so that when I got home I did a google search on what it takes to be a wildlife photographer. Perhaps I have found a second career after pet photography? I have had a profound love of animals since I was a tiny little kid, and anytime I get to spend time around animals of any kind the child in me returns. It’s a pretty amazing feeling, and whether or not I ever decide to change careers, one thing is for sure- this won’t be my last photographic trip to the zoo. :-)

(random wild animals in this post- another long post with gorillas to come)

When Michelle and I were there they had an animal enrichment event going on, and we got to see the Elephants and Meerkats get special treats.

For the Meerkats it was cranberries in egg cartons. How cute are these guys?

Many of the photos in this post were taken through glass at very high ISO’s, so I apologize for the noise.

The Woodland Park Zoo is filled with beautiful pieces of art, like you see below.

Oh my gosh you guys, when we were there I fell head over heels in love with the orangutan you see below.

Michelle took some photos of me with the orangutan with her point and shoot, which I just had to include in this post, even with the horrible quality (the glass reflection in this spot was high, so I had to do extensive processing). I promise you I was not staring into her eyes, nor did I make any direct eye contact. But I felt completely connected to her nevertheless.

This makes my heart melt, and I think you can see why.

Thank you Woodland Park Zoo for providing me with one of the best experiences of my life. I cannot wait to come back.

gorillas to come!


By Jamie 'Cowbelly' | Comments (10)

WPPI Las Vegas 2011 review

February 25, 2011 – 5:25 pm

Last night I returned home from the sunny desert of Las Vegas to the snowy chill of Seattle. Here is what my time there this week at WPPI looked like:

1. No sleep.
2. Lots and lots and lots of text messaging.
3. Dying iPhone battery.
4. Meetings and drinks and food with photographer friends.
5. Teaching and preparing to teach and wrapping up teaching.
6. Work emails, and more work emails, and even more work emails.
7. Walking. Lots and lots and lots of walking.
8. Talking. Lots and lots of talking.

WPPI was a whirlwind, and although I didn’t have time to attend any classes or speaking events or even any parties, it gave me some good insight into what the event is like, and I’m really looking forward to going next year and taking advantage of all that WPPI has to offer. A huge “hello!” to all that I met while there, photographers I have only known virtually for years. It was awesome meeting you guys and I can’t wait until next year! And a huge “thank you!” to those who attended my master class. You guys had some awesome questions for me, were a great group, and reminded me of why I love teaching so much. :-)

And now, back to work. Duty calls!

By Jamie 'Cowbelly' | Also posted in Teaching | Comments (5)
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