Szandra

I went out with another Meetup group last night, and I'll tell you if something could go wrong it did. I had equipment issues that I never did get resolved, but I came away with some pretty decent shots anyway.

This is Szandra, a Hungarian model. It was the first time I worked with her. The weather was pretty cool and very windy. I felt bad for her, but she toughed it out. There were 8 or 9 of us photographing her and she did her best to keep up with us all.

We went to Ft Desoto in Tierra Verde and, as you can tell by the lighting, it was just before sunset. Most of the others shot until after the sun set, but I was worried because the group had moved pretty far from the equipment. I went and "babysat" everyone's equipment. It would've been a shame if someone walked off with it. It didn't really matter to me since I'm not that into shooting models, but I had fun anyway.

I also had an added bonus while babysitting the equipment. I got to meet and talk to one of my favorite bird photographers, Andy Long. He runs First Light Tours and although he had a client with him, he took the time to talk with me and I came away from the conversation with a really good tip. I can't wait to try it for myself. I asked him if he would post the results on his website so I could see it. He said he might; so I'm going to watch for it. He's such an awesome birder, and a nice guy, too.

Gorilla

I went to Busch Gardens again; this time in pursuit of a Chimpanzee photo that one of my stock agencies was looking for. Unfortunately for me, the Chimp never struck the pose the art director was looking for (head and shoulders profile with hand on chin, like he was thinking).

I did get some great shots anyway--especially of this magnificent Gorilla. I was standing next to 3 other female photographers and this Gorilla posed for us for a good 15 minutes or so. As you can see, he was looking right at the camera and kept changing positions as if he was modeling. I swear any minute, his keeper was going to ask us for a modeling fee.

Once he got tired of showing off, he moved to the side of his habitat where he's separated from the people by some thick glass. I'm sooooo glad that glass was thick! Someone in the crowd ticked him off--big time. Just as we were trying to inch our way up front for more shots of this amazingly powerful Gorilla, he spotted something in the crowd he didn't like. He walked back a few steps, then charged at the glass. I was so glad that glass held him because he wasn't a very happy camper. Get a look at those forearms!