So these were taken back in May. I'm a wee behind on posting photos. Here is the first post in an attempt to get caught up.

What a beauty!

Tarantulas, Snakes and Lizards you say? Yes, this was one of my more unique photo shoots. Good thing I'm not squeamish around these kinds of creatures... well, for the most part. The Tarantulas had me a bit nervous after I saw just how fast they can move, but my desire to photograph their incredible beauty overcame any worry.

Breeders Joey and Whitney Mugleston asked me to photograph some of their awesome collection for upcoming shows. Let's start with the tarantulas shall we? First off is the beautiful "ballerina spider" as I call her.





Spider or no, those pink and blue hues are stunning right? And below is why I call her a ballerina. She's got pink slippered toes.



Next we have another vibrant beauty in electric blue and yellow:



A close up of her eyes, and yes, I was really that close:



This little beauty, well...the day before the shoot, ripped two legs off of a male that wanted to get feisty.



Look at this one with incredible black fangs, ready to strike if I get close enough:



Here is a crested lizard with stunning blue eye liner:



And another crested lizard with a vibrant blue and yellow gullet:





I got a little too close to him here. Upon seeing the crested lizard in the camera lens he tried to attack. He whipped my cheek with his tail as he did so.

Now for the snakes. Albino Python babies that will be going up for sale soon. They start out orange and as they mature become a creamy yellow.





This little fella struck and missed me by about half an inch.





I'll be sssssseeing you with more exotic animal pictures in the future as I photograph more of their collection.

This sweet little bug has a lovely head of hair:



She wanted to stay wide awake at first:





But eventually she drifted off for a tiny bit:

So my cousin is currently living at my parents house and I think she is crazy gorgeous.... so yeah, mini photo shoot time!





Just look at those big green eyes!

This little guy had recently celebrated his 1 year birthday. He lost his beautiful mommy a few months ago to cancer and is now very much attached to daddy and grandma. At first he wouldn't leave grandma's side. She tried to put him in position and walk away but he would inevitably follow. First in tears.



Then, almost in tears:



We took a short break and put a sweater on since it was a little chilly. Even with tears though, this little guy is gorgeous. Look at those long lashes:





Eventually he was willing to stay put, even if it was with anxious looks:



Then he moved on to glaring at me:



But eventually, after getting onto the playground, and getting used to a scary lady with a huge black camera in front of her face, we got some smiles:







At one point, big brother decided to join in the fun:







Thanks so much for asking me to take pictures of your beautiful boy!

So I recently photographed my brother in laws wedding (pictures to come) but I also took some family photographs for my other in laws. A mini photo shoot, if you will, between the ceremony and reception. Love the way they turned out!