These pictures are actually from last summer, but I hadn’t had time to go through photos and upload.

This is my brother’s pug dog, Bear. He practically poses for pictures, so it’s easier to get good pictures of him than it is my dog. My dog always tries to look down or away when he hears the shutter. =P

In this one he’s standing on a lawn table that we have outside. He thinks he owns it.

Happy Valentine’s Day! I made these cupcakes for Valentine’s Day and shared some with my class. They’re yellow cake, with cherry frosting, candy hearts, strawberry Pocky, and a cherry on top!

Here’s another dog from Animal FAIR (Foundation for Animals In Risk), where I volunteer to take photos. His name is Jay and he’s a male 2 year old mix (they think Catahoula Leopard Dog) looking for a home. He actually has one brown eye and one blue eye. Really cute! I just took one photo of him to replace his previous headshot (from a different photographer). The shelter got comments that in his photo he looked “mean”, so I tried to take one where he looks more like the sweetie he really is. He can be found on Petfinder.

These next two dogs have already been adopted, but I still wanted to show their photos because they are cuties.

This is Ariel.

And this is Pontz, Ariel’s brother. Aren’t they cute?

It’s easy to get puppies and small dogs like Ariel and Pontz adopted, but since Jay is an older and larger dog, it’s harder for him to find a home. That’s why I hope taking pictures and sharing them will help out!

Animal FAIR can be found on Facebook. They are based in Sedalia, Missouri. If you are interested in adopting Jay, call Phyllis at 660-620-2590. Share this post with anyone you think may be interested.

The last thing we watched was the jousting. We almost left before it, but I’m glad we didn’t, because it was a lot of fun! Above is the announcer talking to the Lord Mayor.

And here is the lady who announced and judged the joust.

This is the knight who was supposed to be the “good” guy.

We happened to sit on the side that cheers for the “bad” knight. He was called Judas and he wore the colors of chaos. It was actually fun sitting on this side because we got to be bad sports and jeer when the good knight would talk.

Here’s Judas giving his speech and getting cheers from the audience.

Here are the knights sword fighting on horseback.

And Judas was taken down! You can see him falling back on his horse.

I have more photos from the Kansas City Renaissance Festival on 10/8/11 to share! Here are some of a performing juggler. He started off with getting people’s attention by juggling lit torches.

He actually stopped and posed and made sound effects when he did this. It was entertaining.

He had a fantastic stage presence, and really engaged the audience.

This was the grand finale. Very awesome!

Not exactly a juggler, but I thought I’d also include this beautiful fairy. I think if I were going to volunteer for the Ren Fest I’d like to be a fairy.

I went to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival on 10/8/11. As always, it was a ton of fun, plus it provided me with many great photo opportunities. Above is one of the performing gypsies.

Here’s another gypsy, spinning a staff.

Someone was selling these really neat dragon fountains. This was one of the large ones. I’d love to own one!

This guy was in the parade and he was spitting fire while walking.

I love that you can see the glow of the fire on his face.

This is a plague doctor. He was walking around silently handing out informational brochures about plague doctors and what they do. Very interesting stuff! I’ve always found them particularly creepy.

I have a few more photos to show of the dogs from Animal FAIR where I volunteer. These ones have already been adopted, but I still wanted to share because they’re such beautiful animals.

Above is Peanut, and I thought her photo was gorgeous.

This is Bonita. She was one of my favorites. She was incredibly lovey-dovey and craved attention. When I wasn’t paying attention to her, she’d “sit pretty” and make cute noises at me. She also has that adorable ear flop going on.

This is Joyce. Another super cutie!

Animal FAIR still has many dogs that need to find homes. Find them on Facebook.

This is another dog from Animal FAIR (Foundation for Animals In Risk), where I volunteer to take photos. His name is Loren, and he is a male 3 year old mix (they think Border Collie/Labrador Retriever) looking for a home.

Loren is playful and energetic. He is around 30 lbs. He gets along well with other dogs. He’s a smart fellow; eager to learn! Find him on Petfinder.

Animal FAIR can be found on Facebook. They are based in Sedalia, Missouri. If you are interested in adopting Loren, call Phyllis at 660-620-2590. Share this post with anyone you think may be interested.

This is another dog from Animal FAIR (Foundation for Animals In Risk), where I volunteer to take photos. Her name is Flower and she is a female 14 month old mix (they think Boxer/English Coonhound) looking for a home.

Flower is such a doll, playful and is good with children and dogs. She’s around 45 lbs, and has beautiful unique spots. Flower will be your shadow as she will follow you everywhere, and she loves giving hugs and kisses. She prefers love over treats, but does like to play with a kong toy filled with snacks. She enjoys car rides. Whoever adopts this adorable girl will have a loving companion. Find Flower on Petfinder.

Animal FAIR can be found on Facebook. They are based in Sedalia, Missouri. If you are interested in adopting Flower, call Phyllis at 660-620-2590. Share this post with anyone you think may be interested.

My final assignment in my portrait photography class was soft light and flattery. I used two LED lights behind a translucent cloth as sort of a giant soft box on the right side of the model, and a white cloth as well as a silver reflector on the other side.  I had a friend of mine from high school model, and her name is Amanda.  She’s really fun because she’s one of the most unique people I’ve ever met.