Staley Wessel Photography
http://www.kcphotoparty.com
staley wessel
Clouded Yellow Butterfly at Lake Jacomo
This little beauty was at Lake Jacomo Marina also.
This is resized for the web but I think you can see the detail in it's face and legs.
I like the way it's little black eyes reflect the yellow of it's body.
Staley Wessel Photography
Blue Springs, Mo Photgrapher
Blue Springs, Mo Photgrapher
Great Blue Heron Lake Jacomo Marina
This Great Blue Heron (I think) was not too keen on getting it's photo taken and kept creeping away from me so this is about as close as I could get.
They are so lovely.
I see them all the time out here but it is usually when I don't have a camera handy.
They are so lovely.
I see them all the time out here but it is usually when I don't have a camera handy.
Staley Wessel Photography
Blue Springs, Mo Photgrapher
Blue Springs, Mo Photgrapher
Gold Carp at Lake Jacomo Marina
I am sure any of you who visit the marina even once a summer will recognize this guy. Or girl - I don't know. This one and a white one have been out there for years and even though you see them they typically stay a bit farther away than the black carp. This year I have not seen the white one yet but the gold one is there almost every time we visit and is getting a bit braver when it comes to begging for food. Pardon the glare on the water. I did not have a polarizing filter with me.
Staley Wessel Photography
Blue Springs, Mo Photgrapher
Blue Springs, Mo Photgrapher
Bird and Snake at Lake Jacomo Marina
You may already know that when I get some time to myself I like to take photos out in nature. It is not really my strong suit but it makes me happy.
A couple of weeks ago I decided to go to the marina and take some pictures of the mallard ducks.
I did get a few of the ducks but also happened to catch something else that I thought was fun.
Please forgive the lower quality of these. I was not anticipating seeing this and my settings weren't right for the action and distance - but I think it is cool anyhow.
A couple of weeks ago I decided to go to the marina and take some pictures of the mallard ducks.
I did get a few of the ducks but also happened to catch something else that I thought was fun.
Please forgive the lower quality of these. I was not anticipating seeing this and my settings weren't right for the action and distance - but I think it is cool anyhow.
This Common Grackle caught a Northern Water Snake and was trying desperately to keep a hold on it. That snake was a wriggilin' all over the place and did eventually get free.
Attention 2013 Seniors!!!
It may seem a little early to be thinking about your senior portraits but, believe me, it most definitely is not!
This is a great time of year to get those senior portraits done. They days are longer and the light is great late in the day. More importantly though, if you schedule your senior session NOW - to be taken before the end of September 2012, you have the opportunity to earn free prints and products.
Here is how it works:
Phase 1
1.Schedule your session before the end of June 2012 and pay your session fee (non refundable but it is applicable to a rescheduled session)
2. Refer your friends.
3. Wait for them to schedule and pay for their session.
For each friend who schedules and pays for his/her session and claims you as their referrer you receive $20 credit toward your prints and products.
Only one referral per person so you will want to get to your friends first of course.
You must have already paid for your session for this to work. If your friend schedules and pays before you do, they would be the one getting the referral credit.
Phase 2
1. After your session sneak peek is posted on the blog - encourage your friends to look and leave their positive comments within one week.
2. Tally 20 unique positive comments on your blog post and receive $20 credit toward prints and products. You can earn a maximum of $40 credit on phase 2.
(comments must be from individual posters - multiple posts from the same "poster" will count as one for the purposes of this promotion.)
RECAP:
Save money by contacting me and scheduling your session before the end of June 2012.
Sessions must take place before the end of September 2012.
Refer your friends and earn credit when they schedule their sessions.
Earn even more credit when by getting positive comments on your sneak peek after your own session.
Your friends can also get in on the promotion when using you as a referral as long as they also schedule their own session within the time frame stated above.
Keep in mind when scheduling:
*Emailing me is best because it gives me a chance to check my schedule before responding.
*I work on location as you will see from all of my images.
*The best time of day for your session will be about an hour and a half before sunset. Sunrise works too BUT most people tend to look puffy for a while after they get up. Sunrise is early - in June it will be around 6am for example. Sunset however is around 8:30pm in June which makes 7pm a good time to schedule a session. Which would you prefer? My vote is always going to be sunset.
*Sunrise and sunset change all the time so September won't be the same as June. Check the internet or ask me if you are trying to work around sports or work schedule.
*When contacting me it is good to have a few dates in mind that would work for you so I can pick one. With busy teen schedules this seems to work best when scheduling senior sessions.
OK now...go look at your schedule and email me
This is a great time of year to get those senior portraits done. They days are longer and the light is great late in the day. More importantly though, if you schedule your senior session NOW - to be taken before the end of September 2012, you have the opportunity to earn free prints and products.
Here is how it works:
Phase 1
1.Schedule your session before the end of June 2012 and pay your session fee (non refundable but it is applicable to a rescheduled session)
2. Refer your friends.
3. Wait for them to schedule and pay for their session.
For each friend who schedules and pays for his/her session and claims you as their referrer you receive $20 credit toward your prints and products.
Only one referral per person so you will want to get to your friends first of course.
You must have already paid for your session for this to work. If your friend schedules and pays before you do, they would be the one getting the referral credit.
Phase 2
1. After your session sneak peek is posted on the blog - encourage your friends to look and leave their positive comments within one week.
2. Tally 20 unique positive comments on your blog post and receive $20 credit toward prints and products. You can earn a maximum of $40 credit on phase 2.
(comments must be from individual posters - multiple posts from the same "poster" will count as one for the purposes of this promotion.)
RECAP:
Save money by contacting me and scheduling your session before the end of June 2012.
Sessions must take place before the end of September 2012.
Refer your friends and earn credit when they schedule their sessions.
Earn even more credit when by getting positive comments on your sneak peek after your own session.
Your friends can also get in on the promotion when using you as a referral as long as they also schedule their own session within the time frame stated above.
Keep in mind when scheduling:
*Emailing me is best because it gives me a chance to check my schedule before responding.
*I work on location as you will see from all of my images.
*The best time of day for your session will be about an hour and a half before sunset. Sunrise works too BUT most people tend to look puffy for a while after they get up. Sunrise is early - in June it will be around 6am for example. Sunset however is around 8:30pm in June which makes 7pm a good time to schedule a session. Which would you prefer? My vote is always going to be sunset.
*Sunrise and sunset change all the time so September won't be the same as June. Check the internet or ask me if you are trying to work around sports or work schedule.
*When contacting me it is good to have a few dates in mind that would work for you so I can pick one. With busy teen schedules this seems to work best when scheduling senior sessions.
OK now...go look at your schedule and email me
Sunset Silhouette.....Tips if you are interested.
A friend and I went on a short photo walk that included her three boys and two of mine. This takes some of the relaxation out of the activity but does lead to photo opportunities that would not otherwise have occurred.
We went to a lake nearby and she showed me a couple of areas that I did not know were there.
One was this nice little peninsula where we could watch the sun set over the lake and trees.
She accidentally got a silhouette image and it occurred to me that I am never in the right place at the right time to do one - so of course I joined in.
Typically when taking a sunset silhouette image you want to be in an open field or on a hilltop. This is so that the trees, or buildings, or whatever happen to be on the horizon do not chop your subject in half. In this case we were still too low for a typical sunset silhouette BUT we had a lovely reflection in the lake. This allowed us to get the silhouette even though we were below the horizon line. It did make for some problems with getting images of jumping children though. Unfortunately I deleted all the ones where someone had no head - because it blended in with the trees across the lake. However, I think that you can get the idea of what it looked like. Just legs. Not quite what we wanted. In this instance the kiddo had to be down the bank close to the water for this to work. This is because if he was up the bank he is closer to that horizon line AND because of perspective. If he is closer to the camera he is bigger in the frame of the image. That said if he was closer to us he would blend with the horizon and have no head even if he didn't jump. I wish I had not deleted the images so you could see what I mean but it would be like if you made the boy above larger. All you would see is a torso. No head and no legs.
Meter for the sky - if you know how. If you don't know how or are using a point and shoot just don't use flash. You should get a similar effect - although not as colorful.
I just have to share this one because he looks a little psycho
Don't cha just love those forced smiles they give sometimes.
We went to a lake nearby and she showed me a couple of areas that I did not know were there.
One was this nice little peninsula where we could watch the sun set over the lake and trees.
She accidentally got a silhouette image and it occurred to me that I am never in the right place at the right time to do one - so of course I joined in.
Typically when taking a sunset silhouette image you want to be in an open field or on a hilltop. This is so that the trees, or buildings, or whatever happen to be on the horizon do not chop your subject in half. In this case we were still too low for a typical sunset silhouette BUT we had a lovely reflection in the lake. This allowed us to get the silhouette even though we were below the horizon line. It did make for some problems with getting images of jumping children though. Unfortunately I deleted all the ones where someone had no head - because it blended in with the trees across the lake. However, I think that you can get the idea of what it looked like. Just legs. Not quite what we wanted. In this instance the kiddo had to be down the bank close to the water for this to work. This is because if he was up the bank he is closer to that horizon line AND because of perspective. If he is closer to the camera he is bigger in the frame of the image. That said if he was closer to us he would blend with the horizon and have no head even if he didn't jump. I wish I had not deleted the images so you could see what I mean but it would be like if you made the boy above larger. All you would see is a torso. No head and no legs.
Meter for the sky - if you know how. If you don't know how or are using a point and shoot just don't use flash. You should get a similar effect - although not as colorful.
I just have to share this one because he looks a little psycho
Don't cha just love those forced smiles they give sometimes.
makeshift macro spider
Finished with other folks photos for the moment so I took a few minutes to rummage through some I have taken just for my own enjoyment.
I have been having a lot of fun with macro and makeshift macro
(putting the lens backward).
Every summer we get these little spiders and this one was in my kitchen sink - which made him a wonderfully captive model.
However I did find it difficult to get the parts of him I wanted in focus to be in focus since I was sticking my head and camera in the sink with him.
Lucky for me he was very patient.
In case you are wondering - no I did not smash him after his photo session.
I did move him out of the sink into the nearby plants.
I have been having a lot of fun with macro and makeshift macro
(putting the lens backward).
Every summer we get these little spiders and this one was in my kitchen sink - which made him a wonderfully captive model.
However I did find it difficult to get the parts of him I wanted in focus to be in focus since I was sticking my head and camera in the sink with him.
Lucky for me he was very patient.
In case you are wondering - no I did not smash him after his photo session.
I did move him out of the sink into the nearby plants.
Staley Wessel Photography
Blue Springs Mo
Blue Springs Mo
Senior Session Sneak Peek
Today is family day but I wanted to share one quick sneak peek from yesterday's senior session.
Just beautiful!
Just beautiful!
Staley Wessel Photography
Blue Springs Mo
Blue Springs Mo
Newborn Girl Sneak Peek...
Oh how I love what I do!
Here is a sneak peek of from a newborn session this morning.
Here is a sneak peek of from a newborn session this morning.
Update...had to add one more...what a doll.
Staley Wessel Photography
Blue Springs, Mo