What better way to spend a beautiful fall day than to photograph some of nature’s majesty? I took a trip to Lone Elk Park in St. Louis County, and was lucky enough to be able to capture some of the majestic elk as they began their day.

I nicknamed this handsome fellow “His Majesty”.

He was the lone bull elk I saw and he had a “harem” of about a dozen does, a few of whom also seemed to have “teenaged” offspring by their side. I did learn one important lesson, though, they mean it when they say “elk mating season, use caution”. His Majesty took exception to where I was standing and after I snapped this picture, he came directly at me. Needless to say, I thought it best to return to the car and shoot pictures out the window.

As they sauntered across the park’s main road through “Elk Hollow” the elk caused a bit of a traffic jam.

The park’s American Bison were also out on this gorgeous fall day. Beautiful creatures in their own right, they came close enough to the car that I could’ve touched them. There was a mother and baby bison, and I spent some time watching them.

Lone Elk Park is one of the most beautiful parks in the county system. Tranquil lakes and fall colors make for a serene, welcoming atmosphere.

Please click here to enjoy the rest of my photos from Lone Elk Park.

Of Prarie Dog proportions. Took a day to shoot pics at our local zoo and captured these three little fellows apparently acting out a scene from Romeo and Juliet.

As “Juliet” lays helplessly on the ground, her friend checks for a heartbeat while her companion rubs her hands in worry.

But don’t worry…all was well…as you can see from this photo, “Juliet” was just fine and a short time later was running around the enclosure.

Strolling by the zebras, I caught this sweet-faced fellow standing right beside the fence. He seemed rather curious about my camera and he was definitely an appropriate subject for black and white.

This is all a lesson in “capturing the moment”. It took just a half second to press the shutter and capture the Prarie Dog “Romeo and Juliet” in action. I always take time as I walk to look, really look, at the little moments happening around me and those shots have been some of the best pictures I’ve ever taken.

Pictures shot with a Canon 1D Mark II.

Click here to see the rest of my zoo photos.

And another zoo gallery shot two days prior to the one above with a Canon 5D Mark II.

Click here to see more zoo photos.

Need I say more? I was able to see BonJovi live in concert in St. Louis on May 22, 2011, at the Scottrade Center. It was a sold out show (a record crowd of 20,000+) and the last stop on their North American tour. What an incredible show.

The venue only allowed point & shoot cameras, so I borrowed a Canon G12 to shoot the show. I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity to photograph a band whose music I grew up with. I loved shooting this show…great lighting made it easy to get good shots, tremendous energy on stage produced a lot of “moments”.

What can you say about BonJovi? They played nearly two and a half hours

The show started with Jon in the audience singing the opening number. The G12 doesn’t have a huge zoom, but I was able to get one shot.

Jon BonJovi only seemed to get more energetic as the show went. What an incredibly charismatic performer. Playing, singing, interacting with the crowd, he is a consummate showman.

Click here to see the rest of my photos of BonJovi at Scottrade Center.

I had the opportunity to shoot a Kansas City based band called “Mouth” when their travels brought them to St. Louis. Mouth is an Indie band, and I shot them for Rising Magazine. Rising Magazine is a brand new magazine that is dedicated to supporting independent music. You can visit their website here to check out their May issue in which some of my photos were published:

http://www.risingmag.com

While you’re there, check out the other great indie artists in this month’s issue.

I had fun shooting this band. I photographed them twice – once during their setup to get some candid shots at the Halo Bar in University City and once at Pop’s Blue Moon in downtown St. Louis for a performance.

This is a fun shot I took in University City on top of the Moonrise Hotel – with a little photoshop thrown in:

Jeremy Anderson on guitar at Pop’s Blue Moon:

And the boys in the band at Pop’s Blue Moon (Jeremy Anderson on guitar, Zach Rizer on bass, and Stephen Gunn on drums):

Click here to see the rest of my photos of Mouth.

I recently stumbled upon the website for Talenthouse. Talenthouse is currently running a contest (called a “creative invite) for the band Soundgarden. The prize is to be a guest photographer for one of the shows on Soundgarden’s tour this summer. This would be an incredible opportunity for me.

I’ve entered one of my photos in this contest, and I’m asking for your support.

My photo is located here:

My Mind’s Eye Images entry

And this is the photo I’ve entered:

Please help me win this contest. Voting does not start until June 6, 2011. If you visit my page and “support” my photo, you’ll be emailed a reminder when it’s time to vote.

Thanks so much.

Recently I had the opportunity to shoot a great new two-man band named “Dave Angle and the Dog Pound Jangle” at a small venue here in St. Louis called “BB’s Jazz, Blues, & Soups”. What a great time!

It’s always great to discover new musicians, and these guys are great. The band consists of Dave Angle and Andy Rehm. They’ve been playing together for a little over two years. They’ve opened for the Robert Randolph Family Band as well as the Iguanas. Dog Pound Jangle has headlined and shared stages with many great artists in Columbia, Missouri. Andy tours with his main band as well – the “Hooten Hallers”.

Dave says Dog Pound’s music is “our take on the great Delta Blues artists. All of our material covers musicians from the 20′s and 30′s, some who were “rediscovered” in the 60s and 70s. These include John Hurt, Fred McDowell, Furry Lewis, Robert Johnson, and Charlie Patton (whose music dates to the 1900s). Those recordings were mostly a man and a guitar. We put ourselves into that music, that we both love and that is the foundation of American music, and, hopefully, what happens at our shows is a swampy, muddy, energetic translation.” I thoroughly enjoyed this evening, both listening to the music and shooting pics, and I’m looking forward to hearing this band again in the future.

This was also a learning experience for me. I wasn’t hassled about my camera since it was a small venue. The lighting was a bit tough to deal with, but after playing around with my camera settings for a bit, I was able to get some good shots. I tried to shoot from a variety of angles and shot a few pics from overhead in the balcony.

I like the juxtapositon of the lead singer (Dave) and the posters of Miles Davis and another jazz musician in the background.

Andy Rehm, drums & vocals; poster of Bennie Smith in the background:

Click here to see the rest of my photos of Dog Pound Jangle.

Watch & listen to Dave Angle & the Dog Pound Jangle performing “Dust My Broom” here:

I recently made a visit to Busch Gardens in Tampa. What a beautiful place!

I loved all the wildlife and had an opportunity to take some wonderful photos of the wildlife in the Garden.  The giraffes were so lovely, with their gentle eyes, long lashes, and sweet demeanor.  This guy was so sweet.

I also had the opportunity to photograph one of my most favorite animals, Meerkats!  It was early afternoon and apparently naptime. This little guy was the “watchdog” and was awake and alertly scanning the surroundings for any threat to the Meerkat family.

The rest of the family was sleeping and I was able to angle around enough to get a photo of the snoozers.

Busch Gardens is a wonderful place.  My  young son & I thoroughly enjoyed it.

See the rest of my Busch Gardens photos here.

There is a wonderful organization that exists called Charity:Water.  It is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects.  I am a mother.   I have clean water to bathe my son in every night, but not every mother does.

For Adam Lambert’s golden birthday on January 29, 2011, he challenged his fans to donate to this great organization instead of giving him gifts. The original goal was $29,000, which was met in 6 hours. As of this post, over $264,000 has been raised towards the revised goal of $290,000.

I have been honored to have my photos published by the Canadian rock magazine, RockStar Weekly, in their issues wrapping up Adam Lambert’s Glam Nation Tour. RockStar Weekly has now stepped up to the plate and will be donating $2 to Charity:Water for every purchase of either the North American or International Edition of these issues.  I am proud to say my photos are on the cover of both the International and Complete Tour Edition issues. One of my favorites was used on the cover of the International Set List Edition.

This is the first time any of my pictures of Adam’s last two shows in Los Angeles have appeared in print and unwatermarked.  I had so much fun taking them and I am so pleased that some of the money from their sale is going to help Charity Water.

Another one of my favorites….

Please see the links below for more information or to make a donation to Charity:Water directly.

• Adam Lambert’s Charity Water giving page: Adam Lambert’s Charity:Water page
• Ordering info for Glam Nation wrap up editions:
  • International: Glam Nation Set Lists – International Edition
  • North American: Glam Nation North American Tour
• RockStar Weekly article on contribution: RockStar Weekly pitches in
• Link to galleries from Adam Lambert’s final two Glam Nation shows in LA:
  • Adam Lambert, Music Box LA
  • Adam Lambert, Club Nokia LA

I’m lucky to live in St. Louis. We have one of the most beautiful zoos in the world, and it’s beautiful all year round. Our Zoo is located in Forest Park, which also houses the Jewel Box, the Muny Opera, and several other St. Louis landmarks.

It’s been rather chilly here lately, but winter loosened a grip a little so I took advantage and planned a zoo safari.  I made sure my camera was charged and my memory card empty.  If you’ve ever been in the position of missing “the” shot because of a depleted battery or a full memory card, you know why I do that.

First was the Jewel Box. This is a glass structure built in 1904 for the St. Louis World’s Fair.  It’s a very peaceful place to visit; this day it wasn’t crowded, so I took my time and shot some of the beautiful foilage inside. This flower was particularly beautiful with its rich colors barely kissed by the sun.

Next stop was the Zoo.  First I visited the 1904 Flight Cage – an aviary built for the 1904 which still stands and is in use today.  It’s the location of “Cypress Swamp” and houses many varieties of wild birds.  I call this picture “Mirror Image”.

Penguin & Puffin Cove is a place I use to practice shooting in low light with moving objects – penguins & puffins!  Not always easy to capture them, but I caught these two little fellows chattering at each other.

By far the prettiest animal I saw while I was there was this glorious peacock.  He didn’t seem to be afraid at all, so I sat down to get a good vantage point as he strutted around.

He also stopped a moment to admire his reflection in the door of the Bird House.

You can see the rest of my photos in my gallery.

Webster’s Dictionary defines a “curmudgeon” as “a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old, man”, but I believe in this case, it also can be applied to a cat.

I took a drive to the little town of Kimmswick, Missouri, to meet a friend for lunch at the Blue Owl Bakery.  I was a bit early, so I walked around the town to take some photographs. What better way to pass the time?

As I walked along, my attention was drawn to a crusty old pussycat who was perched on the back end of a four wheeeler parked in a very cluttered yard.  The first thing that struck me was his beautiful coat, lovely shades of gold and brown. Then I looked at his face and the first thing word that came to my mind was “curmudgeon”. The look on his face was rather peevish, but to me, very interesting. I snapped a few pictures, but he was definitely not pleased at the sound of my shutter.

What’s the lesson here? Don’t get so wrapped up and set on what you intend your subject to be when you shoot that you miss what may be smaller, fabulous shots; be flexible and aware of your surroundings and don’t miss the small moments. I started out to take shots of building and architecture with my mind’s eye on the big picture; however, I did not forget to look at the little ones. Like the curmudgeon cat.

Link to my Gallery from Cape Girardeau and Kimmswick:
Road Trip – Cape Girardeau and Kimmswick